Burning Hearts

by Melanie Matthews

“What was that?” asked Kylie.

  “Felt like a mild earthquake,” Riddick said casually. Then his eyes widened. “Like an earthquake,” he repeated, turning to Jenna. “Do you think?”

  Jenna looked around. The crowd had felt it too, but no one was panicking. Not yet. Everyone looked…good. No demons. No Jinn. No one with eyes wreathed in flame except for Malcolm’s blues. He was looking at Jenna from the field. He knew something was wrong.

  “Do you see any of them?” asked Pru, panicking.

  Caleb held Pru’s hand. “It’s okay. Jenna will take care of them.”

  “With what?” Jenna held out her bare hands. “I don’t have my weapon.”

  The ground shook again, not so mild this time. The bleachers swayed, drunk, knocking people off balance, as the metal made a horrible screeching sound.

  Then several voices yelled in panic, “EARTHQUAKE!”

  KISMET

  There was a shrill laugh in the distance, and then the ground shook terribly. It started to break down and sink, until finally a chasm opened up, running the length of the field and wide enough to swallow fleeing attendees.

  Jenna and her friends held onto each other.

  Kylie panicked, clutching Pru’s arm. “What’re we gonna do?!”

  “Kids, kids!” Ms. Daphne yelled from above. “Let’s get outta here!”

  Riddick, Pru, Kylie, and Caleb followed Malcolm’s aunt to her SUV while the ground continued to tremble beneath them. Everyone else had scattered too. The Deadfall Vultures had flown away. The Oasis Scorpions had skittered off. Game over. And the Scorpions were actually ahead for a change.

  “Jenna!” Malcolm ran faster than she’d ever seen him. He caught up to her in no time. “We need to get out of here!”

  Somehow, he’d miraculously changed from out of his football uniform and into a pair of black jeans and a white tank, perfectly showing off his sculpted caramel muscles.

  There was still some sweat in his black hair. “We need to hurry,” he urged, gently grabbing her arm.

  She didn’t want to leave until she knew her friends were safe; she breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that they were already gone in Ms. Daphne’s SUV. Next, she turned her attention to the field. She and Malcolm were the only ones left. At least, they were the only ones she knew about. In the darkness, she tried to find a pair of fiery red eyes, but only a sweeping blackness met her gaze.

  “What’re you waiting for?” he asked, impatient.

  “I wanna see if—”

  She was interrupted by another tremble, almost knocking her to the ground; Malcolm’s grip on her arm held her steady.

  “Now can we go?” he urged again.

  “Lead the way.”

  They ran to his car, the only one left in the lot. It was a red Dodge Challenger.

  “You drive this?”

  “Yeah, why?” he asked, opening the passenger door for her.

  She got in and strapped the seatbelt on. The black leather seat felt nice and smooth against her bottom that’d been sore from sitting on a hard metal bleacher all evening. “Nothing. I just figured you more for a Jeep or something.”

  He shook his head, laughing as he closed her door. Then he ran around to his side and got in beside her, not bothering to put on his belt. He turned over the engine. It purred to life.

  “Well, when I was in Egypt,” he began casually, “I traveled by Jeep all the time as I explored the pyramids.”

  “Really?”

  He chuckled. “No.”

  She gave a mild grunt. “All right, clearly, you’re in a jokey mood, but let’s talk about something less humorous: that was no ordinary earthquake. It was a Jinn, right?”

  “Jinni, actually. The male ones.” He smiled. “Did you already forget your grandfather’s descriptions?”

  She gasped and motioned to her backpack on the floorboard, near her feet; amidst all the chaos, she’d been clearheaded enough to hold onto and secure her grandpa’s heirloom.

  “How’d you know about his journal?”

  He tapped at the outside corner of his fiery blue eye. “I have excellent vision. I saw you reading in the stands. Was the game that boring?” he teased her.

  She shooed him with a wave of her hand. “Just drive before the ground opens up and we get sent down into Hell.”

  He put the car in gear and took off, out of the lot, and onto the road, named Scorpion Way.

  “I’d never let you fall into Hell,” he said in a serious tone.

  “I was just joking.”

  He kept his eyes on the road; his face was tense. “You should never joke about Damnation.”

  Well, this conversation was going off the road. She decided to bring it back between the lines. “Okay, let’s talk about something else: when were you gonna tell me you’re part Jinni?”

  His jaw relaxed as he continued to stare ahead at the road. “When you learned more about your destiny.”

  “Did you know about me? Being a Mage?”

  He finally smiled. “Not until you asked me about my eyes in chemistry.”

  “Well, technically, we’re enemies, right? I mean, I supposed to kill you.”

  He decelerated, and then stopped at a red light. “And I’m supposed to torment you.” He turned to her. “But I’m not going to. Are you going to kill me?”

  Jenna thought this had to be the worst beginning of a relationship. Ever.

  “I don’t wanna. I…like you.” She swallowed, nervous. She didn’t hate him anymore. He’d done nothing to deserve her condemnation. Her initial reaction must’ve been the slayer side of her talking. “It’s not like you’ve hurt people, right?”

  The light turned green. He went back to facing the road and accelerated. “Well, I’ve never killed anyone, if that’s what you’re asking.” He paused, and then added, “No, I’ve never hurt anyone.”

  Phew, she thought. What a relief!

  “That Jinni who created the earthquake—is he planning on killing in Oasis? Why’s he here?”

  He sighed. “I’m afraid he’s followed me here. When I left Egypt, I went in secret. I suspect he wants to bring me back, believing I abandoned my kin.” He shook his head, blowing out a breath of exasperation. “Like I’m some kid who ran away from home.”

  “Why’d you come here?”

  “My human side sort of called out to me. It wanted to be around other humans…lonely, perhaps. My mother grew up in Oasis, and my Aunt Daphne was here so…I came home, so to speak.”

  “Did you know Ms. Daphne took care of my grandpa before he died?”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Your aunt’s very nice. She treated my grandpa well.”

  He smiled, appreciative of Jenna’s praise. “She welcomed me into her house even though she’d never met me before. Not many people would do that. At first, I was very nervous, especially being around so many strange humans in such a little place. He turned to her and winked. “But then I met you.”

  She was glad he couldn’t see her blushing. Or maybe he could. She tried to hide by casually brushing her red hair against the side of her face, creating a makeshift veil.

  “I’m not strange?” she pondered.

  He turned back to the road. “Strange is a bad word. Humans are more…oblivious. But you always have this look on your face as if you’re searching, trying to unravel the mystery of the world.”

  “But…I’m human.”

  “Yes, you are, but you’re also more than that. You’re a Mage. You have super strength and fast healing. You can’t be influenced. Those traits will come in handy when you’re slaying the Jinn of the world.”

  “I dunno if I wanna do that,” she confessed, tucking her hair behind her ear, removing the wall she’d put up between them. “I dunno if I wanna embrace my destiny, even though I feel it’s the right thing to do.”

  They’d finally stopped, outside her house. She didn’t ask how he’d known. It wasn’t exactly a secret where Jacob and Rachel Love lived, the onl
y ones who legally buried and cremated dead people.

  He turned to her. “That earthquake was nothing. Child’s play. The Jinn can do so much worse.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry I brought him here. Hopefully, he’s the only one.”

  “Why all the dangerous theatrics just to get you to come back to Egypt?”

  “It’s what the Jinn do. They wreak havoc. I think, no, I know he’s here for me, but he can’t help being bad.” He shrugged. “He’s a demon, after all. He also knows who I am, who I choose to be. By unleashing chaos, the Jinni is trying to lure me into joining Team Evil, so to speak. To come back to the fold, rejoin my fellow Jinn brothers and sisters.” He shook his head. “His lures won’t work on me.”

  “But you’re half-human. How can you resist him? Can’t he sway you? I know you can sway other humans, successfully, being only half-Jinni.”

  “I can resist him because I have no intention of leaving or harming Oasis. And I can only sway to a certain extent.”

  She was reminded of Malcolm’s statement about it being better to humiliate the leader than to strike his followers. “You swayed Val to strip down in the cafeteria and sing, didn’t you?”

  He gave a slight smile. “Yes, that was…fun. I just wanted to embarrass him for all the hurt he was causing you.” He paused, and then asked, “Why’d he break up with you?”

  Her eyebrow shot up. “You mean you dunno?”

  “I’ve heard rumors, but I want to know from you.”

  Her eyebrow drooped as she turned away from his penetrative gaze, embarrassed. “I refused to have sex with him.”

  “That’s a big step in a relationship.” His voice was soft, understanding. “Why’d you refuse him?”

  She shrugged. “I dunno. At the time, I loved him.” She turned back to Malcolm. “People who love each other have sex, right?” she inquired.

  He seemed embarrassed, blushing. “Yes, they do.”

  “I dunno why I refused him. I just wanted to wait. Is that so wrong?”

  “No, Jenna, no.” He held her hand between his. His skin was like fire. “You did nothing wrong.”

  The kitchen light came on in her house. A few seconds later, the front door opened with her mom standing in her nightgown, looking out at the unknown Challenger in her driveway.

  “I’d better go.” She turned back to him. “But I have to know, earlier at school, when you told me you were bad—”

  “I am bad,” he self-judged. “Well, part of me is. I suppress it, preferring to expose my human side, showing love and compassion toward others. I want to be with you, but I don’t know what the future holds. I’m half-demon. You’re a slayer of demons. One day, I could snap,”—he struck his fingers together for effect—“go bad. You may have no choice. You may have to kill me.”

  “That won’t happen.” She leaned forward and without thinking of the consequences, kissed his warm lips; her heart felt like it was on fire. “And I can’t kill someone I love.”

  She started to panic, embarrassed that she’d admitted her feelings. Although the tender kiss was probably a clue.

  His fiery blue eyes seemed to get brighter. “I love you too, Jenna.” He kissed her back, soft in reciprocation. Her whole body was on fire now.

  She smiled, relieved. “But how? We barely know each other.”

  “There’s a word in the Islamic culture that is similar to destiny or fate: Kismet. There are forces beyond our comprehension and out of our control. I believe I was meant to come here, to Oasis, to find you. When my human side yearned for others, it wasn’t yearning for any ordinary human. It was searching for you. My love. My soul mate.” He smirked. “Now as for you loving me, well, it’s not that hard considering my good looks and charm.”

  She giggled. “Yes, that’s exactly it!”

  He cupped her cheek in his hand, sweeping his thumb across her skin, then he trailed his fingertips down the side of her neck, and slowly pulled away.

  “Sweet dreams, Jenna.”

  His warm touch still lingered on her skin and it took her awhile to speak again.

  “Do Jinn sleep?”

  He nodded. “But only for a few hours. We don’t tire as easily as humans, but being half-human, I need more than pureblood Jinn to function.”

  “Do you dream? Have nightmares?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “Nothing. Just wondering.” She kept the murderous dream about him to herself. “See you tomorrow?”

  “I can pick you up.”

  “Uh, I think I’ll take the bus. I don’t want my friends to think I’ve abandoned them just to be with my new boyfriend,” she explained, wanting to keep everyone close to her.

  He smiled. “I understand. So I’ll see you in chemistry?”

  “Yep.”

  “Mrs. Quinn is giving another quiz.”

  She was confused. “And?”

  “Well, I’m just letting you know that even though you’re my girlfriend, you cannot cheat off of me.” He pointed at her, smiling.

  Feeling frisky, she grabbed his forefinger, squeezing hard and pulling at the same time. He winced in pain and she immediately let go.

  Her heart almost stopped. “Oh, my goodness, did I hurt you?”

  “A little.” He bent his finger forward at the knuckle, showing it was okay. “You have to be careful.” He smiled. “You might just break me.”

  “Well, you’re strong too.” She smiled back. “You might just hurt me.”

  “Never.”

  He undid the gauze wrapping around her hand and kissed her skin with warm lips; there was no evidence that she’d even bashed it against a mirror; the scar had disappeared.

  “Don’t waste your anger on those girls. There are scarier things out there.”

  TWIST AND SHOUT

  The earthquake at Scorpion Stadium was the major news at school. Second to that was Jenna and Malcolm’s outing as girlfriend-boyfriend.

  Malcolm was waiting for her, leaning against the red-bricked building in the lot where bused students are dropped off.

  Pru gave Jenna a smile and walked on with Riddick, who’d been silent the whole bus ride over. But Jenna was hopeful that they’d remain friends. Riddick stayed beside her, although he preferred to listen to his distractive heavy metal.

  “Hey,” Malcolm greeted her with a smile, and then kissed her cheek.

  Jenna blushed. “Hey.”

  They held hands, fingers interlaced, as they walked inside the school that was abuzz in conversation about last night events.

  “I heard a bunch of people died,” said one student.

  “No. No one died. That’s just a rumor,” countered another.

  “I heard people almost died,” corrected an eavesdropper.

  “It was a stampede,” added a passerby. “People were running all over each other, trying to get away.”

  “Were you there?” asked the eavesdropper.

  “No, but I heard.”

  Malcolm rolled his eyes at Jenna as they kept walking down the hall. Soon the rumors of what did or didn’t happen at the stadium were replaced by the new couple at school.

  A girl standing in front of her locker almost spit up her breakfast shake. “Oh! My! Gosh!” She nudged the girl beside her, sucking on a lollipop. “Those two are going out!”

  “I thought she liked girls,” said her friend in a muffled voice, refusing to remove her candied breakfast. “Isn’t that why Val broke up with her?”

  “Hmm…guess not. You know, the new guy played last night—replaced Val as quarterback,” informed the first girl.

  The friend removed her lollipop and laughed with a red tongue. “Jenna must like jocks.”

  “No, she likes Muslims.” The breakfast shake girl gave a crooked smile. “Look at him. You can’t tell me he didn’t come from Al-Qaeda Academy. I bet he’s here undercover…settling in…making everyone think he’s nice and all, and then BOOM! He’s blowing up the school!”

  Jenna was enraged.

  “Ow,” Ma
lcolm grunted.

  “Sorry.” She let go of his hand. “Did I crush it?”

  He flexed the fingers of his right hand. “No, but close.” He wrapped his arm around her waist. “Don’t listen to those idiots. Al-Qaeda runs camps, not academies.”

  “You shouldn’t joke about that. These are sensitive times.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he conceded. “The fact that I came from Egypt and that I’m dark-skinned doesn’t win me any favors, but the majority of people here know I’m no harm. They haven’t come at me with pitchforks yet. If I used slang all the time, I’d fit right in.”

  “You sound perfectly American. The first time I heard you, you had an accent, but that’s mostly gone now.”

  He went back to holding her hand as they made their way to first period chemistry. “Jinn can mimic very well. That’s how we blend into society so easily. The pureblood Jinn are more proficient at seducing, persuading, and that helps when you can speak someone’s language, using their accent.”

  “So what’d you do in Egypt?” She smiled. “When you weren’t seducing, that is.”

  He smiled back. “Well, believe it or not, I was very good, like I am here. I was around my own kind, but I was my own self. I didn’t do bad things to fit in. As for what I did, well, I went to college and studied classical literature.”

  “You what? How old are you?”

  “Seventeen.”

  She raised her eyebrow. “Really?”

  “Yes, really. I did use my talents to persuade the dean to admit me, just like I did here with Principal Greene. There are no records of my birth, or any paperwork to identify what I’ve been doing for the past seventeen years.”

  “You said your parents are dead, right?”

  “Right. My father was part-Jinni, like me. His name was Ishmael. I can only assume his birth was the product of dark designs by a pureblood Jinni.”

  “Dark designs?”

  He gave her a sickened look. “Rape.”

  She felt her heart tear. “Oh.”

  “Or a Jinni influenced a human woman,” he gave as an alternate possibility but still the same. “Either way, it wasn’t consensual. So…rape. And that’s how my father came into this world.”