“Jai!” Ari cried as he got to his feet, staring down at the defeated Jinn.

“What happened?” he asked, touching the back of his head and bringing back bloody finger tips.

Ari blanched at the sign of a wound. “Sala… my… my mom.”

“She saved you?” he breathed, his eyes dark with emotion.

“You both did,” she reassured him.

He looked anything but reassured. “Let’s get out of here.” He tugged her close and they both wrapped the Cloak around themselves seconds before Jai pushed off, flying them up into the air and away from the school, and leaving Ari’s stomach on the roof with the dead and unconscious Jinn.

18 - How Can an Emerald Heal When its Poison Caused the Wound?

Good thing Michael Roe had a huge house. He had two more guests to accommodate.

They’d al agreed that it would be strange for Charlie and Trey to remain living in Jack’s house. Charlie stil couldn’t get his head around the fact that he’d never once been training and learning from Jack. He’d been learning from a goddamn, real life Jinn King.

The Glass King had spent hours, days, weeks, patiently teaching him and, in a way, becoming his friend. Charlie knew Ari felt utterly betrayed by Red and

subsequently by Glass, but he couldn’t help but be grateful to them. And yeah, he knew how selfish that sounded. But whatever their personal agenda, they’d been helping him to achieve vengeance. And Glass had been feeding his need for magic every day in doses he could handle. And now he was back to square one because Ari didn’t want them anywhere near her.

Charlie sighed, leaning his head back over the sofa, staring at the ceiling of the second sitting room in Michael and Caroline’s home. He sounded like a dick even in his thoughts. Red had hurt Ari. There was a time when Charlie would have kiled anyone who hurt her. Was he that far gone?

“Dude, you look pensive,” Trey remarked as he sauntered into the room, his hands jammed into his jean pockets. He stopped, staring down at Charlie like a bored little boy. “I wish I was out there with them. Doing something. Anything. I’m not used to sitting around.”

Charlie raised an inquiring eyebrow. “You want to spar using magic?”

“I’m not touching that.” Trey shook his head, eyeing him carefuly. “You addicted Charlie boy?”

Yes. “No,” he grunted. “I just thought we could aleviate the boredom by smashing the hel out of each other.”

“Sounds quite entertaining. I’l watch,” a deep voice murmured from the corner.

Adrenaline spiked, Charlie jumped up off the sofa to stand next to Trey, his eyes wide on the blue-haired Jinn who was leaning casualy against the wal in the back corner of the sitting room. The Glass King smirked at them although his bright eyes lacked any real mirth. “I’ve been standing here in the Cloak for forty minutes watching you brood. I think you miss me, Charlie.”

Before Charlie could say a word, Trey was pushing him back towards the doorway. Trey’s usualy relaxed face was tense, his pale eyes burning, his whole body

bristling with energy as he stalked towards The Glass King. This was a side to Trey, Charlie had never seen. This was his guardian side.

“You dare to come back here after what you’ve done?” Trey was ful of reproach, his voice low with anger.

Charlie wasn’t the only one who couldn’t believe Trey was actualy talking to a Jinn King so disrespectfuly, so carelessly. Glass’ eyebrow quirked, his eyes sliding down Trey with lazy perusal before climbing back up to his face. “You dare to speak to me thus? Have you forgotten who I am?”

“You’re the guy that murdered an innocent man and impersonated him. You’re the guy that’s trying to coax my friend into kiling a ful-blooded Jinn so that he can be taken to Mount Qaf and sentenced to death. You want him out of the way for some reason. Wel you’re going to have to go through me first.”

As Trey’s brave and loyal words settled upon Charlie and Glass, Charlie couldn’t help but smile a little. Maybe he wasn’t such a dick after al if a good guy like Trey was wiling to take a bulet for him. Not that he was going to let him—he thought of the emerald nestled in his trouser pocket. He’d tried to keep it hidden but being too far away from it made him feel agitated, the way his old acquaintance Mel Rickman got agitated when he went too many hours without popping a pil. “Trey.” Charlie shook his head, taking a step forward. “Don’t.” He flicked an anxious gaze at Glass, worrying what his response would be.

Glass’ inscrutable gaze bore into Trey’s and the air around them crackled. It felt like the wals were closing in on them, that together they were sucking al the oxygen out of the room. Suddenly Charlie felt like he was intruding upon… something.

“I do not want to harm you, Trey. And Charlie does not want me to either. He knows the risk he is taking by pursuing the Labartu.” His eyes drifted past Trey’s face to Charlie’s, and they glinted knowingly at him. “He knows what my father wants and he knows what Red is doing. He has al the information.” And Charlie knew then that Glass was aware he had the emerald. That Red had given it to him to help him escape capture after he kiled the Labartu. Any mistrust he felt towards Glass disappeared in a selfish breeze of need to find her. To find the one who’d destroyed his family’s life. It didn’t matter if Red and Glass had kiled Jack, had hurt Ari.

Maybe one day it might matter to him again. But not today.

“He’s right, Trey. I know what I’m doing.”

“But, Charlie-” As Trey turned to argue light exploded around the room with a crackle and hiss. It wasn’t until Charlie watched in frozen shock as Glass jumped in front of Trey, taking an invisible hit from the strange Jinn who’d appeared out of the Peripatos to attack the young Ginnaye, that Charlie realized there was more than one of them.

They were under attack.

Pain exploded in his left shoulder just as the fog began to clear, and eyes-watering, struggling to draw breath, Charlie whirled around in time to create a cushion for the glowing fist that came at him. He swung back, eyes narrowed on the tal female Jinn in her leather trousers and white shirt. She sneered at him and jerked her hands out towards him, palm up, a wave of energy pulsating out at him. Without thinking, Charlie yanked the emerald out of his pocket, curling it tight in his fist and with feeling more than thought, struck his hands up like a conductor before an orchestra.

His feeling must have been one of pure destruction.

The female froze completely, her eyes widening in horror, her mouth faling open in a silent scream. Her skin began to turn lucid with transparency as al her veins popped up, emerald green fluid rushing through them. Blood spurted from her wrist as the first vein exploded and Charlie stumbled back in horror as he realized what he’d done. It was too late.

Warm, wet bits splattered across his face, the floor, the ceiling, the wal behind where the female Jinn he’d just exploded had been standing.

Sick silence drenched the room along with the heady, stomach churning coppery smel of blood and innards. Momentarily paralyzed, Charlie was only shaken from his stupor by Trey’s voice.

“What?” he murmured, feeling the Jinn’s blood on his cheek. He glanced at Trey, the room seeming to tunnel in around the guardian.

“Charlie?” Trey was pale, shaken.

What? Charlie blinked, shaking his head as the tunnel vision dissipated and he could see clearly again. The Glass King and Trey stood staring at him, the former with a severe expression and the latter in shock. Scattered around the room were five unconscious, possibly dead Jinn. Trey had not a mark on him and although Charlie knew he was powerful, he knew he was not formidable enough to have taken out five Jinn in a mere few seconds.

The Glass King had saved their skin.

“Charlie, how did you…?” Trey gestured to the mess Charlie had made. “It’s not possible.”

“He didn’t.” Glass strode forward. “I did.” He stopped before Charlie and it was easy for him to read Glass’ expression. ‘Put the emerald away and let me take the credit.’

Hastily shoving the emerald back in his pocket, Charlie watched with a churning gut as Glass swiped a hand over the air around Charlie, the floor, the ceiling, the wal, the blood and body matter disappearing. Just like magic.

Taking a shuddering breath, Charlie tried to calm himself enough not to be sick.

He’d kiled someone. Again.

Worse stil—the way he felt, the way the emerald felt— it was intoxicating. Exhilarating.

He felt invincible.

“Hel, I thought for a minute there he was going back to Mount Qaf for trial,” Trey blew out a relieved breath.

“He wouldn’t have anyway.” Glass gestured to the bodies of the Jinn. “I didn’t give you much time to realize it before I took them out, but these are sorcerers.”

“Sorcerers? I don’t understand. What are sorcerers doing here? Looking for Ari?”

Before Glass could answer the sound of chaos reigning from the back of the house met their ears. Cries of outrage mingled with the destruction of furniture. And then the gun shots rang out.

“My brother,” Glass growled as al three of them rushed towards the sounds. “The Shadow King. Many of his servants are sorcerers. And I can smel his dishonor from here.”

Adrenaline pumping, Charlie hurried after Trey and Glass, coliding with Trey in the doorway of Michael’s office. In one corner Caroline fought hand to hand with what Charlie was sure was a human man. Michael was aiming a gun at him, trying to get a clean shot. On the floor were two more humans, a young man and a woman, and a third body with an energy pulsing from them. A Jinn. Not dead, Charlie registered, seeing the rise and fal of the male Jinn’s chest. Or was it a sorcerer?

And in the corner, hovering above a glass cabinet where Michael displayed ancient weaponry he colected, was another Jinn. His long dark hair was braided over his shoulder, and like Glass, he wore a stark leather vest and leather trousers. His dark gaze bore into Glass, an amused smirk twisting his lips as he just floated there, cross-legged. “Just in time for the entertainment, brother.” He swept his hand over the scene.