Into the Abyss

by Brenda K. Davies

  “Many have already died, and many more will perish over the coming days and years of this battle. It is the natural way of things.”

  I gawked at her as I tried to think of something that might help sway her to our cause, but there wasn’t anything I could say; she would not be moved.

  “Can you at least tell me a little about the Abyss?” I asked. “I know nothing of it. How is it that the lightning is a life?”

  Rislen didn’t speak for so long that I didn’t think she would reply; then, her eyes met mine. “It’s not lightning but an actual life force is striking Absenthees, and when it strikes, that life spreads to all the jinn within the Abyss.”

  I rubbed my skin in a useless attempt scrub away the remnants of life clinging to me.

  “Absenthees is the monolith in the center?” Magnus asked.

  Rislen’s lips clamped together before she closed her eyes and nodded.

  “What is it? What does it do?” Magnus inquired.

  “It does what the jinn require it to do,” Rislen replied.

  “What does that mean?”

  “That’s all I’m going to tell you.”

  I buried my rising annoyance. It wouldn’t get us anywhere with her.

  “What is with the grass in there? Why is the Abyss so beautiful in some places and so hideous in others?” I asked.

  “It was once all beautiful,” Rislen whispered. “And then the lines crossed, and it was never the same.”

  “What do you mean the lines crossed?” I asked in confusion.

  Rislen sighed before turning to face me. “Three hundred thousand years ago, the jinn and fae bloodline intermingled.”

  “Yes, I know.” I hadn’t known it was that long ago, but the jinn had told me about my ancestry. “It’s why the Faulted are so different, but what does that have to do with anything?”

  Rislen’s black eyes held mine, but she didn’t speak.

  “Tell her, Rislen,” Marhee urged. “She can’t do anything with the information and neither can the demon. All the fae perished while we were behind the seal. There is nothing anyone can do anymore, and she deserves to know the truth. Besides, we planned to tell her when she reached adulthood and her time is nearing, we can all feel that.”

  I smiled gratefully at Marhee. At eighteen thousand twenty, she was the closest jinn in age to me. Her yellow eyes crinkled when she smiled back before ducking her head, so her yellow braid fell over her shoulder. With her coloring and matching freckles, she bore a strong resemblance to her brother, Aral.

  “She’s still young and not fully in control of her abilities, this might upset her,” Aral said.

  I gritted my teeth and tried not to glare at him. I understood why they treated me like a child, compared to them, almost everyone in existence was a babe, but I was tired of it. “I have made it through a day in the Abyss, seen things most of you probably haven’t seen, and I’m still in control. If it upsets me, I will handle it.”

  Rislen remained pensive for a minute before speaking. “You are right, and I suppose it is time. We’ve kept our history vague with you because we felt it best you didn’t know until you could cope better.”

  I had a bad feeling I was not going to like whatever they had to say.

  CHAPTER 24

  Amalia

  Magnus bent over me and clasped my hands in his. I frowned at him before glancing at my arms. I hadn’t realized I’d rubbed my skin raw, but then I would do anything to rid myself of the life tainting my flesh. I had to stop; otherwise, Rislen might decide I wasn’t ready to learn this.

  “You’ve kept your history vague with everyone,” Magnus said. “I spent a lot of time researching demon history and reading through the scrolls, but until recently, I’d never heard of the jinn and fae line crossing.”

  “Our history goes back to a time before demons started recording it,” Rislen replied. “And once that started, there were some things the fae and jinn didn’t want to be known.”

  I glanced at the circle of Faulted. All their faces were devoid of any emotion as they remained riveted on Rislen, but I sensed their uneasiness.

  “Three hundred thousand years ago, the jinn and fae line crossed,” Rislen said and placed her hand on my knee again. “And it wasn’t just one fae and one jinni. Over the course of a few thousand years, more than a dozen fae and jinn found their Chosen with each other.”

  “Oh,” I breathed.

  “The fae initially controlled the Abyss, and it was once a beautiful place. The fae used Absenthees to harvest their emotions when the feelings of others became too much for them to bear. They would funnel those overwhelming emotions into the monolith, which spread them across the land and into the fae who were in the Abyss at the time. This bound the fae together and helped them to handle their empath powers by allowing them to share the burden. The good emotions such as love fed the land while the bleaker feelings were dispersed and borne by the fae.

  “When the lines crossed, the resulting offspring were also able to enter the Abyss. Over the course of a hundred thousand years, the fae/jinn line spread until almost all jinn were offspring of the crossed line.”

  “How is that possible?” I asked.

  “The original jinn were so heartless and ferocious they would often turn on, and kill, each other, but the introduction of fae blood to the jinn line bound the Fae-aulted jinn together and made them stronger. Their ability to enter the Abyss also strengthened them. Over time, the original jinn were killed off by each other, the Fae-aulted, and other demons until only the Fae-aulted jinn remained. And, as you know, some of that line is more fae than others.”

  “Like us,” I murmured.

  “So that is why when someone desires something deeply, the jinn know it and are attracted to them,” Magnus said. “All jinn have at least some empath ability.”

  “Yes,” Rislen agreed. “Before the fae and jinn intermingled, the jinn granted wishes and fed off their victims, but they more or less blundered their way into them.”

  “The crossing of the lines made them exceptional hunters.”

  Sorrow tugged at my heart, but I buried it. The emotion would only work against me here. “That’s why all jinn, and not just the Faulted, can block my empath ability on some level?”

  “Yes,” Rislen murmured. “Your empath ability is the strongest I’ve ever seen, but you still don’t feel an empath the way you do others because two empaths counteract each other. I think it’s a survival mechanism. Could you imagine how horrible it would be to have two empaths feeding off the emotions of others, and then being in close enough proximity to feed them into each other? Such an influx would force them away from each other, thus weakening them and making them more vulnerable to attacks from others, and if they did stay near each other, it would probably drive them insane.”

  It would definitely drive me insane. “What exactly is the Abyss?”

  “It’s a separate plane that evolved with the fae.”

  “What do you mean it’s a separate plane?” Magnus inquired.

  “It’s a plane, or if you would prefer, a separate universe, but unlike Earth, Hell, and Heaven it evolved much later and came from the abilities of the fae,” Rislen said. “I’m sure there are many more planes or universes out there, perhaps connected to other planets and galaxies. The universe is far too big for there not to be more beyond our world.”

  “True,” Magnus murmured.

  “I believe the Abyss was more than a place for the fae to find release from the emotions of others, but also a place of protection for them,” Rislen said. “The fae were so much weaker than all other demons, and they could hide in the Abyss. Or at least, they could hide there before the jinn took it from them.”

  I didn’t have to ask who took it, that was obvious. “How was it taken?”

  “Over the years the Fae-aulted line spread throughout the jinn, the jinn who entered the Abyss started to twist it into something more sinister. With the mix of their jinn and fae powers, they disc
overed a way to bring their victims into the Abyss and feed the life force of their victims into Absenthees, which in turn filtered it over the land.

  “The suffering of those who were tortured and killed drove the pacifist, empath fae from the Abyss. With nothing good to feed on, the Abyss rotted away until it became the place you have seen. Most of the beauty is gone from it, but some remains, like the field.”

  “Why does it remain?” I inquired.

  “Because there is still some fae in the jinn, they still feed at least a little good into the Abyss, and even the cruelest of us is not entirely destructive.”

  “Have you ever been to the Abyss?” I asked her.

  “Once, many millennia ago, for a brief time. I would never return.”

  “Have any of you gone?” I asked the others.

  “We’ve all gone. We did not spend much time there, and we will not return either,” Marhee said.

  “Why did the fae and jinn keep this history from being recorded?” Magnus inquired.

  “Because it revealed a weakness in both the fae and jinn line,” Rislen replied. “The jinn pushed the fae out of a land that protected them, and the jinn didn’t want anyone to know they could possess what they saw as the weakness of the fae, so they hid the truth.

  “The fae might have been the only ones who stood a chance of reclaiming the Abyss from the jinn, as they were the only others who could open a portal in and out of it. But it would’ve required them to fight the jinn for it, and they weren’t capable of doing that.”

  “Why didn’t they return there after the jinn were sealed away?” I asked.

  “I assume, by then, the Abyss was so corrupted they couldn’t tolerate being there for much time, if any,” Rislen replied.

  I pressed my hands over my aching heart. It was difficult for me to handle the Abyss, it must have been torture for the fae to be there. The fae had been so fragile, yet kind, and they’d lost the one place that could have saved them from the fallen angels.

  “Hidden behind a waterfall, we found a cave with beautiful pink and yellow stones,” I murmured.

  “If it was hidden, then it most likely managed to avoid the corruption of the jinn,” Marhee said. “I’m sure there are other such hidden treasures in there too.”

  “I hope so. How can two bloodlines be so different, yet both be a part of us?” I asked.

  “That is often the way of things,” Rislen replied and patted my knee again. “Night follows day, day follows night, both are complete opposites, yet this world needs them to survive. Throughout all the worlds, you will find opposing forces working in a symbiotic nature that supports life.”

  “True,” I agreed. “We have to return to the Abyss; we have to try to help those trapped there. Are you sure you won’t help us?”

  “We cannot go against the others.”

  I placed my hands on the ground and stood.

  “Stay with us, Amalia,” Rislen said as she rose before me and took my hands. “You belong here more than anywhere else. We are not the fighters.”

  I squeezed her hands and released them. “Neither were the fae, and look at where that got them.”

  “But you are more fae than the rest of us,” she said as she lifted my hair to let it slide through her fingers, “with your coloring and your telltale eyes. The Abyss is not for you.”

  “No, it’s not, but I’m already involved, and I can’t turn away from helping now.”

  Rislen’s gaze shifted to Magnus. “You better keep her safe,” she said.

  • • •

  Magnus

  My eyebrows rose at the vehemence behind the jinni’s words. For someone who claimed not to be a fighter, Rislen looked more than willing to tear out my heart.

  “I will,” I said and rested my hand on Amalia’s shoulder. Beneath my hand, her collarbone felt fragile as it pressed against my palm. Mortal, and with her tender heart, she was more delicate than any I’d ever encountered; I’d do whatever it took to keep her safe.

  The shadows beneath Amalia’s eyes gave her a raccoon-like appearance when she glanced at me. I suspected she was more than just exhausted, but also hungry and beaten down by the emotions battering her for the past day. It might be time for her to give this up, but that was something we could discuss later.

  “We believe Sloth is mixed up in this and that he helped the jinn trap everyone,” I said to Rislen, and the jinn gathered around the fire gasped.

  Rislen’s chin rose. “Our brethren have chosen their alliances, but they are not ours.”

  “You will remain neutral?”

  “We will.”

  I couldn’t do anything to change her mind, it was their choice, and after what she revealed, I understood it more. Not only the Faulted, but all the surviving jinn were part fae.

  If someone told me this last week, I would have laughed in their face and said they were crazier than a crantick demon. And the cranticks were known to run head first into walls and throw themselves over cliffs for the fun of it. When a group of them were together, they often howled at nothing. Many demons were afraid of them, and though they enjoyed a good fight, the cranticks were mostly innocuous and about having fun.

  I now understood the bond and protective nature of the jinn toward each other. The most vicious demon species had bred with the kindest. They must have been the strangest couples in Hell.

  “We have to go,” Amalia said. “The longer we stay here, the more deaths occur.”

  The rest of the jinn rose and came forward to hug her. I resisted pulling her away from the men. It would only upset her if I did, and there was no rational reason for the impulse. But rational or not, I was tempted to tear their hands off while they embraced her.

  When the last of them stepped away, Rislen clasped Amalia’s hands once more. “I don’t approve of this, but I bid you well, Amalia. I hope you return to us one day.”

  Gripping Amalia’s elbow, I drew her closer. Her warmth and the way her body fit so perfectly against my side eased some of my tension. Savoring her scent, I led her through the shadows of the calamuts. As we walked away, the rustling leaves created a sad song.

  CHAPTER 25

  Magnus

  “Fascinating history,” I murmured when we stepped free of the trees.

  We strode back through the burnt-out town on the border of the calamut forest. The glow of the full moon shone on the land, revealing the pitted road, broken homes, and dilapidated remnants of the humans who once thrived here. Even though it had been fourteen years since the gateway opened and the bombs were released in this area, the stench of burnt flesh and wood was still detectable on the air.

  “Or sad.” Amalia’s skin turned red when she rubbed her arms again.

  “It’s both. You’re hurting yourself,” I said and grasped her hands.

  She tugged her hands away from me and gave me a look of both anger and intense suffering. “Those lives touched me. They’re in me!”

  “Those lives are not in you,” I said as I reclaimed her hands.

  I held them against my chest as her ochre-colored eyes stared pleadingly up at me. Running my thumbs over the backs of her silken hands, I watched as her mouth parted, and my body quickened in response to her. Except, this time I longed to hug her against me and shelter her as much as I wanted to taste her again.

  “But they are,” she whispered. “I felt their strength flow through me.”

  “Amalia—”

  She tugged at her hands again. When she grunted in frustration, I reluctantly released my hold on her, and she spun away from me. The edge of her dirt-streaked dress trailed on the ground, becoming browner in color as she stalked down the remains of the battered street. With subtle ease, she avoided the jagged pieces of asphalt jutting up from the broken road.

  I hurried to catch up and fell into step beside her. “You don’t have to go back into the Abyss.”

  She abruptly halted. “Yes, I do.”

  “We’ll find another way to help the others, and we
’re not doing much good—”

  “But we are doing some good. I don’t care how much I despise that place, I’m going back in there, and you can’t stop me.”

  A smile curved my mouth as I stepped closer to her. The impudent expression on her face was as amusing as it was alluring. Over the course of the past two days, some of her hair had straggled free from her braids and cleaved to her face. She didn’t bother to push it away, but I brushed it back before I cupped her cheeks in my hands.

  “I’m going back in,” Amalia insisted.

  “What if you open a portal and let me go in alone?” I asked as I stroked her silken cheek with my thumb.

  “And how would you get back out if you needed to?”

  “I’d find a way.”

  “There is no finding a way, if something were to happen, you wouldn’t be able to get out.”

  “That’s for me to worry about.”

  She blinked at me before she gave a derisive snort. “Silly, arrogant demon.”

  “We could arrange a designated time to meet up again.”

  “It seems as if they’re the same, but time in the Abyss might pass differently than it does here. A few seconds or minutes could throw us off completely.”

  “I think it’s the same,” I replied. “Or at least I believe it is for anyone not caught up in the loops the jinn create.”

  She pondered that for a minute. “I think you’re right.”

  “I usually am.”

  She rolled her spectacular eyes. “I am going back with you, and there will be no arguments about it.” Patting my hands, she removed them from her face and stepped away. “We should return to the others and the Abyss.”

  “Not before you feed,” I said.

  “We can’t take the time that will require.”

  “Shadows line your eyes and you look drained. We will make time for it. You’re not going to do anyone any good if you’re too hungry and exhausted to continue.”

  She opened her mouth to protest before closing it.

  “Come on, Freckles,” I said and claimed her hand. “With as devastated as this town is, there’s bound to be wraiths somewhere close by.”