Into the Abyss

by Brenda K. Davies

  The jinn were locked behind the seal years before the fallen angels entered Hell and the newest varcolac demon, Kobal, rose from the Hellfires to become the king of Hell. Before we were freed, we knew nothing of who ruled Hell, the angels, or what was happening within Hell. What the jinn learned of Kobal and his followers came from other craetons on Earth.

  Once freed from the seal, we’d learned fast that things had changed a lot over the years. And now, the varcolac who’d sealed the jinn away was dead. Hell was in ruins, and the fallen angel Astaroth, some demons, seal creatures, and the horsemen had aligned to become a threat to the newest varcolac’s rule. My parents and most of the jinn had chosen to align with those craetons, leaving me… lost.

  I didn’t want to be a craeton, but I didn’t want to leave my family either, especially while I was still mortal and therefore susceptible to death more than most demons. Once I stopped aging, became immortal, and my empath ability strengthened further, I might have no choice but to leave them as I feared their penchant for cruelty might ultimately destroy me.

  Behind the seals, there wasn’t anyone for the jinn to persecute; on Earth, there were so many they could destroy, and I couldn’t stand by and watch it happen.

  But that was a problem for another day; I had a far larger one looming over me. What had I gotten myself mixed up in here with these palitons? Most of their allies were trapped in the Abyss, but these were still some of the most powerful creatures on the planet, and they had me. I cursed my curiosity and empathy as I tried and failed to plot an escape.

  Why wasn’t I faster? But I knew the answer. Jinn were extremely fast, but I wasn’t immortal yet, and I hadn’t fully come into my abilities.

  Cursing my inability to outrun them, I glared at the demon restraining me. His smile didn’t falter. I’d never seen a demon quite like him before. Even the jinn, who were some of the best-looking demons, couldn’t boast one as sculpted as this man.

  His ice blond hair and dark blond eyebrows emphasized the chiseled planes of his face and silver eyes. His hair mostly covered the black horns curving back against the sides of his head, but the polished, sharp tips poked out, and I guessed them to be about six inches in length.

  I bit my lip as I wondered what it would be like to run my fingers over those horns. I’d love to discover if they were as smooth as they appeared. Lithe in build, I couldn’t stop my eyes from raking over his broad shoulders and tapered waist as desire spread through me. I’d experienced desire before, of course, but not toward a man who would probably prefer to kill me just because of my jinni status.

  Get it together, Amalia, or you’ll die today.

  Lifting my chin, I pushed aside my lust and stared defiantly back at the demon as an arrogant smirk curved his full lips. I could pretend he didn’t intrigue me, but he knew he did. Well, of course he did, I wore my emotions on my face and in my eyes. If I spent enough time with my captors, it wouldn’t take them long to figure that out.

  The fact I wore my emotions openly for everyone to see hadn’t been an issue in Hell, but now it was a curse.

  The demon with the black hair holding the woman stepped closer to us, drawing my attention to them. I didn’t need my empath ability to know he loved the woman; I recognized love when I saw it. Even if I hadn’t been an empath, the jinn were adept at reading emotions.

  Then, I saw the marks on his neck and hers and caught their mingled scents.

  Chosen! No wonder he was so desolate; he probably felt like a big part of him was dying.

  My heart twisted as his sorrow beat against me, and yet again I cursed my empath ability. Some might see my ability to feel another’s emotions as a weapon; I saw it as a burden but one I couldn’t rid myself of as I’d been born with the Fault that ran through the jinn lines.

  Behind the seal, being one of the Faulted didn’t matter as jinn had empathy toward each other, but most of them felt nothing for anyone outside our breed of demon. Outside the seal, with so many more emotions and other creatures to deal with, my empath ability made me feel weaker than most of the other jinn as I didn’t possess their ruthlessness.

  There were other Faulted jinn who were also empaths, but they’d branched off and gone their own way a few months after being freed from Hell. I’d yearned to go with them, as I fit in more with the Faulted than the jinn I remained with, but I wasn’t ready to leave my parents.

  And now I was in this mess because of my empath ability—which was stronger than the rest of the Faulted despite my young age—and what my family did to the palitons today. I had no idea how to get out of it either.

  Even if I could get out of it, I couldn’t leave this demon in such misery. I couldn’t stand the idea of a Chosen losing their mate. My parents were Chosen. I’d grown up surrounded by their love, and if something happened to one of them, the other would die.

  I may not completely fit in with my parents, and they may not understand me, but we deeply loved each other.

  “Who are you?” I asked the man on my chest.

  His smile somehow managed to be arrogant and seductive all at once. This guy knew exactly how gorgeous he was, which only made me want to kick him more.

  “I think the better question is, who are you?” he asked.

  “I am Amalia, and you?”

  “Pretty name,” he murmured.

  The liquid silver of his eyes deepened to a nearly black hue when they latched onto my mouth. My breath caught as my body reacted to the desire he emanated. I contemplated trying to wiggle out from under him again, but I wouldn’t succeed, and I might only arouse him further.

  “Stop flirting with her, Magnimus!” the demon holding the woman barked.

  “Magnimus,” I muttered.

  Magnimus sat further back as he tilted his head to survey me. “I prefer to be called Magnus,” he said.

  “Magnus,” I repeated the familiar name. He was a close friend of the king, but that was all I knew about him.

  My eyes flickered to the demon with the lethal talons who looked about to gut Magnus and me.

  “That is Corson,” Magnus said.

  Corson was one of the king’s second-in-command, I knew.

  “Fix this!” Corson snarled at me.

  “I can’t,” I whispered.

  “Yes, you can! Undo whatever you sick fucks did and bring her back to me!” Corson commanded.

  Taking a deep breath, I focused on Magnus. He was far more rational than Corson, and I suspected he would be easier to deal with. “Please, let me up.”

  Magnus snorted with laughter. “I don’t think so.”

  I gritted my teeth against my frustration. “I’m not going to run. You’ll only catch me again.”

  “Maybe you won’t run, and we would catch you, but we also can’t have you casting any spells or whatever it is you jinn do.”

  I rolled my eyes. “We don’t cast spells; we seep into minds.”

  Though his expression remained arrogant, I felt a tendril of unease waft from him. “You seep into minds?”

  “Yes, kind of. Let me up and I’ll explain.”

  He studied me before releasing my hands and rising to his feet in one fluid movement. Sitting up, I rubbed my wrists together while I surveyed those gathered around me.

  “Do you know nothing of the jinn?” I asked.

  “No one does; it’s one of the reasons you were locked away,” Magnus replied.

  “Because you feared what we could do?”

  “Because our ancestors did. Until recently, we’ve had zero interaction with your kind.”

  “And what are the other reasons we were locked away?”

  “Because you’re sadistic, manipulative liars who take joy in tormenting others,” Magnus stated.

  I forced myself not to wince at his harsh assessment of the jinn. “Aren’t all demons like that?”

  “Many demons don’t turn on each other the way the jinn and other craetons do; we focus our need to wreak havoc on warping souls into wraiths. The jinn, and
everything else once locked behind the seals, would have destroyed Hell and all the demons in it if they weren’t caged.”

  Not all jinn are like that.

  “None of this matters,” Corson interjected.

  “But it does,” I said. “I can’t fix this. It’s not a spell woven over them, but something deeper. Only the affected can break themselves free of the Abyss. If they’re strong enough to escape the Abyss, then they’ll survive; if not, they’ll die.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Magnus

  “No!” I shouted and leapt in front of Corson when he charged toward Amalia.

  The sound he emitted would have made a barta demon cower, but I remained in front of him, blocking his path to her. Even with Wren cradled against his chest, I had no doubt he could slice Amalia’s head from her shoulders without getting a speck of blood on his Chosen.

  “Killing her isn’t going to solve anything,” I told him. “And we may be able to get her to help us.”

  Corson’s talons extended and retracted as he gazed at Amalia with a look of pure hatred.

  A rustle caused me to glance back as Amalia rose. Caim and Raphael moved to flank her, but she didn’t try to run again. Instead, she held Corson’s gaze while she smoothed the front of her dress.

  I kept one eye on Corson and one on her. I didn’t trust either of them not to do something reckless. “What is the Abyss?” I asked her.

  Her fine-boned hands stilled on her dress. “It’s our world, kind of.”

  “What does that mean?” Corson demanded.

  “It’s another plane; one only the jinn can open a doorway into and where they trap their victims.”

  Victims? What an odd choice of word for her to use. I would have thought the jinn saw those they snared more as prey or playthings, but never victims.

  Is she putting on a show for us? But I didn’t think so as she seemed unaware she’d used the word.

  Lifting her hand, she held it sideways in front of her face. Then, she weaved her fingers in a slow wavy line from her forehead to her chin. As she did so, a ripple stirred the air before she wiped it away with her hand. She lowered her hand and folded it into the skirt of her dress.

  “And in the Abyss, the jinn hold those they trap,” she said.

  But they’re all still here. Amalia followed my gaze when I looked at where Wren lay nestled in Corson’s arms.

  “Not physically hold them; they mentally trap them in the Abyss,” she said as she seemed to guess at my thoughts. “The jinn possess a form of mind control, but it only works on those who allow them in with a wish.”

  “I’ve seen humans screw themselves to death while the jinn watched. They were moving freely and not trapped in any Abyss. Why is Wren there?” Corson demanded.

  Amalia sighed. “The bodies of those humans may have still moved, but their minds were in the Abyss.”

  “So, jinn are somehow capable of separating the mind from the body?” Raphael asked.

  “Or conscious awareness at least,” Amalia said. “Depending on what someone wishes, the jinn are capable of doing many things. If someone wishes to be good at sex, then the jinn may make it so they practice it over and over again, until they die. The wisher might not even be aware of their body’s deterioration.”

  “Those humans were miserable and aware of what was going on,” Corson spat.

  “The jinn are also capable of allowing that to happen,” Amalia whispered. “They can keep the mind in the body but give the mind no power over the body. Some jinn take great pleasure in pain.”

  “And what about you?” I demanded.

  “What about me?” she retorted.

  “Do you take great pleasure in pain?”

  “I’m not like most of my kind.”

  Corson stepped toward Amalia. “Oh, I’m sure you’re different.”

  An almost pleading look came into her eyes when she looked at me. “I am different.”

  I wanted to believe her, but one thing we all knew about the jinn was they were manipulative creatures capable of almost anything.

  “Fine, don’t believe me,” she muttered when none of us responded to her.

  “How can we get them out of the Abyss?” I asked.

  She refused to meet my eyes as she spoke. “I told you, only the affected can free themselves, and when they do, their mind will return to their bodies.”

  “There has to be something we can do to help them get free.”

  Her fair eyebrows drew together over the bridge of her slender, freckled nose. “I’m not sure if I would be able to do anything, but I can enter the Abyss and at least see what they’re going through or maybe try to do… something.”

  “And to do that, you would separate your consciousness from your body?” Caim asked.

  “No, I can physically enter the Abyss.”

  “You expect us to let you out of our sight for one second?” Corson demanded.

  I shot him a warning look over my shoulder, provoking her wouldn’t do us any good, but the panicked gleam in his eyes silenced my censuring words. Not only did Wren’s life hang in the balance, but so did his.

  When I turned back to Amalia, her attention was focused on Wren, and if I hadn’t known any better, I would believe the sad look in her eyes, which had become a more ochre hue, was real.

  “No,” she murmured. “I don’t. But it might be the only hope you have.”

  “Can you take someone into the Abyss with you?” I inquired.

  She held her palms out before her. “I don’t know. I’ve never entered the Abyss before.”

  “Liar,” Corson accused.

  Her eyes deepened to a reddish hue. “I understand your Chosen is in danger and you’re terrified, but you don’t know me, so back off! I don’t have to offer to help at all, and if you keep talking to me like that, I won’t!”

  I planted my palm firmly in Corson’s chest when he stepped toward her again. “Enough,” I growled at him and worried he’d slice my hand off at the wrist. The appendage would grow back, but I’d prefer not having to deal with a missing hand for the next few days. “We’ll see if I can go into this Abyss with her.”

  “I’ll go with her,” Corson said.

  “No. You will stay with Wren and keep her protected.”

  “But if Wren’s in there, I might be able to pull her back through our bond.”

  “I’m not taking you with me,” Amalia stated before I could reply.

  Fury darkened Corson’s features as he scowled at her.

  “I don’t trust you not to hurt me should you fail in freeing her,” Amalia continued.

  “You don’t have a choice,” Corson hissed.

  “She does,” I said. “And it will be me who goes. The angels are needed here to keep watch from the sky and get word back to Kobal should it become necessary. You have to stay with Wren.” I turned away from Corson before he could protest my decision. “Will you take me?” I asked Amalia.

  She bit her bottom lip and studied me intently before replying, “Yes.”

  “And how do you plan to get back?” Corson asked me.

  “I’ll bring him back,” Amalia said, as if the answer was completely obvious.

  It was not so obvious to me or the others. She could easily take me into her Abyss and leave me there to rot.

  There wasn’t anything Corson wouldn’t do to get Wren back, but I saw the doubt and hesitation in his eyes when they met mine. He’d do anything for Wren, but he didn’t want someone sacrificed in his place if that was Amalia’s plan for me.

  “Magnus, once you’re in there, she can take you anywhere,” he said. “For all we know, she can open another portal somewhere else in the world and leave you there. Or it could be nothing but a trap that will spring and destroy you the second you enter.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Amalia said. “The jinn can only open a portal in and out of the Abyss to where they were on Hell, Earth, or the Abyss. If we leave this spot, we will return to this spot
. If we return here and then go back to the Abyss, we will emerge in the last place we left.”

  “And what if you open the portal into some trap for him?” Caim inquired.

  Amalia’s agitation grew as she fiddled with her dress. “There is no trap.”

  “And we’re just supposed to believe you?” Raphael inquired.

  “No matter what I say, you won’t believe me, so make up your own minds about that,” she retorted.

  “If you’ve never been to the Abyss, then where will the portal open?” I asked.

  She looked helplessly at me. “I have no idea where or what we’ll be stepping into. That is a risk we both have to take.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Magnus

  “I doubt this Abyss of yours was designed to harm the jinn in any way,” Corson said. “So I doubt it’s much of a risk to you.”

  Amalia’s jaw locked, and her eyes deepened to a more reddish hue as she focused on the woods.

  The idea of stepping into a plane I’d never heard of and knew nothing about was less enticing to me than having sex with a spiny clackos demon—and the clackos were known to have spikes on every part of their anatomy. But there was one simple fact in this: “We don’t have a choice,” I reminded him.

  “I will go,” Corson said again.

  “What if she does to you what was done to the others?” Raphael asked me.

  “I will bring him back the way he is! And I didn’t do this to the others! I had no hand in this!” Amalia stared at all of us, but when no one responded to her words, she continued, “I also can’t do to him what was done to the others because he didn’t call me to him.”

  “What does call you to me mean?” I asked.

  “If someone is desperate enough for something, the jinn are attracted to them. They can often manipulate those who call them into wishing for something. Once that wish is made, the victim is susceptible to the jinn’s power and pulled into the Abyss.”

  There’s that victim word again.