Darkness, Kindled
Page 31

Your dad, the Guild—our Guild—was given the task of hunting him. I was given the task of hunting him.”
Fallon’s eyes softened. “But you
couldn’t.”
“Would you have been able to? Even
after …”
“Even after having my neck broken
by the bitch he was obsessively hunting?” Fallon asked, her eyebrows rising at the suggestion. “I walked into that, Ari. Charlie didn’t want me there. He tried to protect me. But I love him. I thought …” She shook her head, laughing bitterly. “I thought he needed me to protect him.”
Feeling tears sting her nose, Ari
pushed the emotion back, knowing Fallon didn’t need that kind of sympathy right now. “He did need you. Your death really broke him up.” Ari silenced to let her meaning sink in. She saw gratitude shine in the Hunter’s eyes, so she took a second before destroying the moment. “Charlie decided to blackmail me. He wanted me to keep the Guild off his back, so he hooked up with Pazuzu and a Ghulah I’d used the Seal against. He said he was going to lead them to me if I didn’t help him. So we used it against him. We killed the Ghulah but Pazuzu escaped. We got Charlie, though.” Ari tried to control her emotions as she remembered those horrible weeks and their heartbreaking conclusion. “I dried him out.”
Fallon took a step toward her. “Did
it work?”
“Yes. But I was too late. He’d
broken down about everything—about us, about you, and then your dad and the Guild came for him.” Fallon’s eyes narrowed at that piece of information and Ari held up a beseeching hand. “Fallon, your dad was doing his job. He was trying to protect the only family he had left. You have no idea what your death did to him and Caroline.”
And just like that, the anger
melted from her expression. “I can imagine,” she whispered and then heaved another sigh. “So what happened?”
Ari shrugged. “I couldn’t let
Charlie die. You know that. So … I called in my favor with Azazil. As long as things existed as they did, the Guild wasn’t safe. Jai and Trey weren’t safe.
None of us were … not from Pazuzu. Charlie was going to die, which meant that in total, I’d inadvertently killed my adoptive father, my best friend, my best friend’s girlfriend, and his little brother. So I changed it.”
Fallon nodded. “You had Azazil make
it so you were never involved in your dad’s life. But … I don’t get how that means you’re standing here. With Jai and everything still the same for you.”
“I asked Azazil to keep my reality
the same. In effect, I don’t have another past. It was an incredibly complex thing I asked him to do, and it literally drained him.”
“It also means that Charlie doesn’t
know who you are.” Fallon’s eyes dropped to the floor. “He doesn’t know me anymore.”
“I’m so sorry. It was the only way
I could think to save you all. And you should see him. He’s himself again and Mikey’s alive and it’s … wonderful.”
Fallon’s head jerked up. “You’ve
seen him?”
Trepidation froze Ari in place. She
answered carefully. “I hid in the Cloak.” She shook her head slowly.
“Fallon, you can’t see Charlie ever again. I did what I did to keep him out of this life.”
Her dark eyes dimmed. “It doesn’t
matter to you that I was in love with him?”
“If you love him, you’ll let him
go.”
“Maybe some of us can’t be as noble
as you.”
“It’s not about being noble. It’s
about doing what’s right for the person you love.”
“So if it was Jai you had to let go
of … would you?”
The question halted Ari, the mere
thought causing a pain deep in her chest. Finally, she replied, “If I had to let Jai go to save him … then yes.”
The tears slipped down Fallon’s
cheeks, and she wiped them hurriedly away. “I’m not trying to be ungrateful,”
she told her hoarsely. “I think what you did was amazing. It’s just … I was in that motel room with him only a few days ago, and now you’re telling me I’ll never see him again.”
Choking up, Ari nodded briskly. “I
get it,” she whispered back.
Their eyes met and for the first
time since Ari had known her, Fallon strode toward her and wrapped her arms around her tight. “You’re the only one who does.”
Ari rubbed her friend’s back
soothingly, letting her friend cry for the boy she’d loved and lost.
The sound of the double doors
crashing open broke them apart. As Fallon quickly cast an enchantment to hide her red eyes, Ari spun around to find Jai and Trey in the doorway, their expressions grim. “Oh, God.” Her heart beat hard in her chest. “What? What now?”
Jai gestured to her to follow him.
“You need to see this.”
Exchanging a quick, concerned
glance with Fallon, Ari hurried after her roommates as they guided her and Fallon into one of the family rooms. Upon entering, Ari found Caroline and Michael watching TV, Red and Glass by their sides.
“What …?” Her gaze moved from them
to the news channel and the devastating images flashing across the screen.
“The 7.9-magnitude quake hit
central Ethiopia in its capital city of Addis Ababa at six thirty eastern time this morning, causing devastating destruction in the densely populated city. Currently, the estimated death toll sits at over 100,000 people and growing—”
“What’s going on?” Ari drew
everyone’s attention from the news report, the blood whooshing in her ears as her fears began to whisper the answer.
Her uncle Red took a step toward her,
his expression severe but thankfully not accusatory. “The White King used Azazil’s current physical weakness to storm the palace, steal the Seal of Solomon from Asmodeus, and command Father to tell him where Lilif’s body is.”
The news hit Ari in the gut. She shook her head frantically but Red continued, “Azazil had hidden her in a secret underground chamber built under the Menelik Mausoleum in Addis Ababa.”