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"No" Panic overwhel his across the roohtened and Ari felt the crackle of his ic fill the room, as did Michael and the others who tensed and turned to hiht to save Charlie for Ari

"No, Jai, don’t" Charlie rose unsteadily, holding his hands out in placation Ari watched as Jai’s eyes met Charlie’s "Please This is how it ends Please"

Ari waited on tenterhooks for Jai’s decision The air suddenly returned to norave into Charlie’s wishes and the Roe Guild Hunter’s relaxed Ari let out a broken sob "No"

She was irip "None of this is your fault You reave her one last squeeze as he whispered in her ear, "I love you too"

He walked into Michael Roe’s hold

As they escorted him out of the basement, past a so her oldest friend to his death

Her knees gave out

Faainst his body "Ssshh"

"It worked," she choked against Jai’s shoulder "It worked He was hi …"

As the sun set on Mount Qaf, the White King stood on one of his azed out over thehis people, the first a territorial dispute between two of his Hakims--wealthy Lords whose homes were settled in close proximity to one another a few miles from White’s palace The latest emerald mine had been opened nearby and a fee needed to be paid to the owner of the land Both Hakims had sworn the land was theirs White listened to the evidence but in the end, he relied on his own ranted the fee to the Hakim whose fa two quarrels had been , but White was too lost in his own hts to pay much attention to either

Inspiration see Lilif, and it was slowly eating at him

A knock on his parlor door met his ears and he called to the Shaitan to couest, master"

White turned as the Shaitan bowed and re Rabir, White’s most trusted servant, behind His muscles tensed at the expression on Rabir’s face

So had happened

The Jinn strode toward White with purpose "Your Highness," he bowed his head reverently

"What brings you here?"

Rabir sht may be of interest to you"

White raised an eyebrow "Yes?"

"I’ve been watching the girl’s home as you requested I just witnessed the Roe Hunters re here to die then?"

Rabir nodded with a sirl a favor"

He let Rabir’s news settle on hi exploded through his veins He felt hiain for the first time in weeks Thank all the emeralds on Mount Qaf for his Rabir The ether What Rabir had just brought hi he’d wanted

He gave Rabir a respectful bow of his head "I think perhaps it’s time we procured you a royal title, my friend"

It wasn’t fair that sorief in less than a year, but that was life And that was definitely Jinn life

In the end, Ari cried herself to near unconsciousness, barely aware of Jai carrying her up to her room where he tucked her into bed so she could sleep and block out the pain for a while

Instead of therelief of deep black, Ari dreamed

Somewhere Ari could feel the drea was overwheles in her mind She floated from dreamscape to dreamscape--from Sandford and Vicker’s Woods with Charlie, to Cincinnati Zoo with Derek, to Arizona with Fallon And then Pazuzu was there, splicing her, lashing her, shouting his threats of forever in her face until she fell to the ground, only to have to watch as Pazuzu slashed Jai to ribbons, cut Trey’s throat, and wiped a hand across the sky to reveal the faces of Michael and Caroline and the rest of the Roe Guild Hunters Her heart literally stopped when Rachel and Staci appeared in the group

Pazuzu was taunting her Letting her know that all the people she cared about were going to die for what she’d done to him

Their faces and voices lambasted her with color and sound and pain

And just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, they swirled and blurred into a funnel, a vacuu into a black that quickly transfor all over again

Azazil’s palace Azazil hilanced up at him before her

And Ase intensity

She was going to die They were going to take the Seal fro and relax the way Jai had taught her Sacrificing herself meant Lilif would be kept imprisoned Surely that orth the sacrifice?

But if she offered to sacrifice herself and there was a chance that she actuallyof worth out of it

"Come any closer and I’ll command Azazil to kill you before you make a move," Ari told Asmodeus softly

The rooy thickened hat Ari assuer "What do you want?" he asked shrewdly

Ari drew in a shuddering breath "If I die, you save Jai and let him return unharmed to his Tribe"

"Done" He nodded, his expression one of utter boredom

Ari narrowed her eyes "And--"

"And?" Azazil sat forward, his eyebrow raised in haughty enquiry

"If I do this willingly … and I live …then I get to call in a favor"

"I thought that was your favor"