Into the Abyss

by Brenda K. Davies

“It wasn’t until you came out of the water that I did.”

  Bending his head, he nibbled on my lower lip before drawing it into his mouth and scratching it with an upper and lower fang.

  I was starting to lose myself to him again when a life force washed through me. I froze as reality hit me like a boulder to the head.

  “We have to go!” I gasped. He tried to snatch me back when I scrambled from his lap, but I moved away from him and jumped up. “The others!” Guilt tore at me as I realized what we’d been doing while someone was dying in here. “We have to….”

  My voice trailed off as I gazed around with a dawning mix of awe and shock. How did we not see? How did we not know?

  Because we were too caught up in each other to notice anything else.

  But this? How could we have missed this?

  Magnus rose beside me, and I knew the second he registered what had happened as his body became rigid beside mine.

  All around us, the once deadened stone had returned to life. Oranges, pinks, yellows, blues, greens, and purples shone anew everywhere I looked in the small area surrounding the pool. The water was the same multi-hued combination as the rocks, and the stones inside the pool brimmed with color.

  Tilting my head back, my mouth dropped when I saw the trees lining the edge of the wall. They were only half deadened as the branches closest to us had come alive and rose toward the sky. Orange-brown leaves and bright yellow and purple flowers decorated half the tree.

  “What happened?” I breathed.

  Magnus studied the surrounding area with a look that said it awed him as much as he distrusted it. Then, his furrowed brow smoothed, and he turned to me. “You happened.”

  “What? Me? How?”

  “We have to get out of here. There’s a good chance the jinn will notice those trees.”

  “Magnus, what did you mean I happened?”

  He dove into the water and returned less than a minute later with my dress. His frantic energy beating against me overwhelmed me. My hand flew to my forehead as I stepped back and inhaled a shaky breath.

  “You okay?” he inquired as he grasped my arms.

  “Emotions,” I murmured and took the sodden dress from him. “Everything is so much more now.”

  Clasping my chin, he turned my head back to him. Peace stole through me as I gazed into those beautiful silver eyes. “You will get used to it, and I will be here to help you through it all.”

  Those words stole my breath more than his chaotic emotions had earlier. “Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me.” He pressed a brisk kiss against my lips. “You’re mine to protect, and I will do that every day of the eternity we’ll have together. Now, get dressed quickly.”

  I tugged the dress over my head, and accustomed to being barefoot, I decided to forgo the slippers for the rest of the journey. I was ready before him as I watched him tug on his pants. Standing with my hands palm out at my sides, I savored the swell of power in this area. This is what the Abyss was supposed to be, what it should be, but I had no idea how to bring this beauty back to all of it.

  Magnus clasped my elbow and led me toward the crevice we’d entered through. “Why did you say I did this?” I asked as I jogged to keep up with him.

  “When we were at the waterfall, after we came out of the water, I noticed a single yellow stone at the bottom of the pool. At the time, I believed it was always there and I missed it in my rush to get you somewhere safe.”

  “And now?” I prodded.

  “I know the stone was from you. You must have touched it. This place, or at least certain elements of it, are feeding on you.”

  “What? Why do you think that?”

  “Because, for the first time in countless years, you are feeding this starved land something other than death. You funneled your emotions while you were claiming your Chosen into it, and fed it a whole lot of good emotions, especially ecstasy.”

  “Awfully certain of yourself,” I muttered as I contemplated his words.

  “I always am.” His arrogant words couldn’t hide his desperation to get me far from here.

  “So that’s why I’ve felt an affinity for this place since entering it. Beneath all the horror, the Abyss was straining to come alive, and it’s been calling to the fae part of me.”

  “That makes sense,” he said.

  “Not much else does here.”

  “I agree.”

  When he grinned at me over his shoulder, he revealed that his teeth were back to normal, but I distinctly recalled his four fangs piercing my flesh. It seemed different demons developed different fangs to mark their Chosen, and I knew the Chosen bond also strengthened a demon.

  My empath ability had increased before I emerged from the pool, but I felt it heighten further when Magnus and I claimed each other. Though there were numerous times when I saw my ability as more of a curse than a gift, it was powerful and very useful. When I learned to control it better, and I was confident I would over time, it would save lives.

  I suspected Magnus’s illusions would be stronger now too. His horns had flattened against his head again; as they were now, his horns weren’t much of a weapon, but when they straightened, they could gut an enemy.

  But will they straighten in battle as they did when I was gripping them?

  There was only one way to learn the answer to that question, so I was content to remain curious for a while. Unfortunately, I didn’t think we would have much time before the answer found us. We were too close to Absenthees not to encounter someone, and I didn’t see how those half-alive trees could go unnoticed.

  “Rislen also said the Abyss would be more difficult for me, and while it hasn’t been easy, I’ve handled it better than the other Faulted did. I came back, and I will again, but the other Faulted said they would never return. Perhaps, they are more fae than me.”

  “They’re not,” Magnus said as we arrived at the end of the crevice. Poking his head out, he examined both ways before stepping out and pulling me with him. “Rislen said you’re more fae than the others; your kindness and abilities are giving life to the Abyss again. This place resonates more with you than them, it makes you sadder, yet you refuse to retreat from it. You may be the youngest and the most fae of the jinn, but you are also the strongest of all the jinn.”

  “Oh, no, not me.”

  “Yes, you.” Turning to face me, Magnus cupped my cheek in his hand and drew me closer. “You stand up for what you believe is right. In doing so, you went against the only family and existence you’ve ever known. That is far stronger than any of the jinn who are too angry to forgive or too scared to get involved, so they hide beneath the calamut trees. This place has been waiting for you to enter it.”

  “And do what?”

  “Bring it some life.”

  “But what good will that do?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe none, but it needs you.”

  He kissed the tip of my nose before reluctantly turning away.

  Needs me to do what?

  I didn’t voice the question as I worried I might not be able to survive whatever the Abyss and jinn had in store for us.

  CHAPTER 33

  Magnus

  I kept Amalia close to me as we wound our way more cautiously through the Abyss toward the monolith. Around every corner, I expected someone to leap out at us, but the pathway remained empty. I could put a cloaking illusion over us, but I preferred not to use it until we were closer to Absenthees.

  After leaving the pool, I’d realized the jinn wouldn’t hunt us in here anymore, not after I pulled my disappearing act and nearly killed Nalki. No, they would wait for us to come to them as all the paths led to one place. That didn’t mean the newly resurrected trees wouldn’t draw some of them into the Abyss.

  Stopping, I leaned against the wall and drew Amalia into my arms.

  She frowned at me, but I didn’t let her go as I bent my head to kiss the top of hers. Her fingers curled into my back, and she bowed her head to rest it
against my chest.

  “Magnus?” she whispered.

  “They’ll be waiting for us at the monolith. You must be prepared for that.”

  Her fingers dug deeper into my flesh. “I am.”

  A mix of possessiveness and fear crept through me. I’d never known fear before her, but since meeting her, it had become an increasingly familiar emotion. Even in battle, I wasn’t afraid; I did what I had to, and if I happened to die in the process, then so be it.

  But with Amalia, I felt like someone had torn my heart out and placed it inside her; I could not allow anything to happen to her. Somewhere along the way, I’d fallen for this complicated woman who was so unlike anyone I’d ever encountered. I’d fallen for a preferred pacifist with the heart of a warrior. A woman who wore her every emotion in her eyes and knew so little of the world.

  One day, I would show her everything she wanted to see and have her experience all she was denied while locked away. But first, we had to get through the many enemies out there who would prefer nothing more than to destroy us.

  “I’m not going to lose you, Amalia.”

  “And I’m not going to lose you.”

  I gripped her closer as love swelled within my chest. I’d been determined to keep her at a distance, but it was impossible to do so with Amalia. With her unique spirit, loving nature, and spine of steel, she’d worked her way into my heart without me realizing it.

  Amalia gave a small sob and nestled closer.

  “Shh,” I whispered. “I’ll keep you safe.”

  “I know, it’s not that.” When she met my gaze, her eyes were the most vivid yellow I’d ever seen. She rested her hand over my heart. “Your emotions. They’re so strong, and they’re for me.”

  “Only for you,” I said and kissed her tenderly.

  When she leaned into me, I broke the kiss before it deepened into something more. We had a mission to complete, but this woman could distract the sun from its orbit, and I was nowhere near as strong as the sun.

  “Only for you too,” she murmured, and I claimed her hand.

  “I’m going to put a cloaking illusion over us before we continue, so don’t make any noise and don’t let me go.”

  “I won’t,” she promised.

  Digging into myself, I drew forth my ability to make us invisible to anyone beyond us. Typically, it was more difficult for me to weave the illusion as I found it easier to create layers of existence rather than hide them, but with Amalia’s hand in mine and her claiming bite on my shoulder, I found it much easier to strip our presence away. When I finished, I didn’t feel as drained, and I knew it was the Chosen bond strengthening me.

  Kissing her again, I hugged her one last time and kept hold of her hand as we continued down the path.

  Overhead, I barely saw the top of Absenthees poking above the high walls, but the monolith was only half a mile away at most. Turning a corner, we came to the end of the path and stopped five feet behind the jinni standing guard there.

  A small jolt of surprise went through me, and Amalia’s hand tightened on mine when Absenthees came into view. At the base of the monolith, boulders were piled at least twenty feet high against the structure. The silvery-black monolith shoved those rocks out of its way when it tore through the ground to rise high in the clearing.

  And Absenthees rose far higher than I’d realized as I had to crane my head back to take in the top of the structure nearly three hundred feet above us. The smaller monoliths were silent as they rotated around Absenthees, and beneath them were mounds of earth around the four holes from which they’d risen.

  The etchings I’d first suspected seeing on the monolith were some form of demonish, but I didn’t recognize most of them. The ones I did recognize were the symbols of unity, strength, and bound. Instinctively, I knew the jinn didn’t put those markings there. The fae or the Abyss itself had hewn them onto Absenthees’ surface.

  Most of the jinn, including Nalki, stood inside the pit. Two or three jinn stood guard in front of the seven other paths I could see leading into Absenthees. From what I’d witnessed at the top of the hill, two more paths led into the pit, but the monolith blocked them from my view. I’d bet more jinn guarded these pathways too.

  At the bottom of the monolith, a few jinn stood on top of the boulders with their hands resting on Absenthees. The rest of the jinn in the pit were focused on it. Like one of the movies the humans were once so fond of, a scene played out on the monolith as if it were a screen.

  The woman running through the woods was a Wilder. Her eyes were frantic as tears streaked her face and her arms pumped faster. I couldn’t see what propelled her onward, but I suspected it was another of the jinn’s torments.

  Amalia crept closer until her shoulder brushed mine as the woman screamed, opened her arms, and threw herself off a cliff. The woods faded away while the woman plummeted, and I realized she’d thrown herself off the top of one of the labyrinth walls. The jinn all leaned forward as the woman’s head smashed off an opposite wall and the impact threw her backward.

  She was dead before she hit the ground, and lightning hit Absenthees less than a second later. The bolt lit the etchings as it traveled all the way to the bottom before flowing up again. Amalia shuddered when the markings at the base of the structure became the color of molten gold. Heat crackled across the open space separating us from the formation.

  All the jinn stretched their hands out at their sides and turned their palms toward Absenthees. Their heads tilted back as they savored the life making Amalia shiver. I looked away from the spectacle of the jinn basking in death as the ones touching the monolith lowered their hands and stepped away. Four new jinn climbed the base of Absenthees while the ones standing there retreated. When the replacements rested their hands against the structure, a new scene unfolded before them.

  On the structure, a demon having sex with three other males was revealed. The jinn watched for a minute before this scene faded away and a new one replaced it. And then, I understood how the jinn found us earlier.

  The monolith was the equivalent of the humans’ TVs. It showed one channel at a time, but the jinn could flicker through the different channels until they found something they wanted to watch. Through Absenthees, they watched different wishes unfolding, but they could only see one at a time, and the jinn would focus on the ones heading toward their tragic conclusion. They must have accidentally flipped to us with Dana while searching for something better to watch.

  I examined the pit while I tried to decide what to do next. With the height of the walls and their rocky formations, climbing in or out of the crater without making some noise or knocking rocks free would be impossible.

  The angles of some of the walls would make descending nearly impossible as in certain areas they curved in until some of them would have us hanging upside down. The place would be impenetrable if there were still two or three jinn at the end of this path, but we could slip by one.

  I suspected the resurrection of the fae world Amalia created by the pool had caught someone’s attention and drawn away the other jinn guarding this path. We’d somehow missed the jinn searching for us, or they’d tried to find us by stalking us from above.

  No matter what they’d decided to do, or how they’d done it, they would be back, and we had to be out of here before they returned. Movement from the pit drew my attention back to Absenthees as, from around the corner of it, three of the ten remaining horsemen rode their mounts into view.

  There are horsemen here!

  It was a complication I hadn’t seen coming but should have. I knew they were all in league with each other, and the horsemen would enjoy playing in the Abyss almost as much as the jinn.

  At least the jinn hadn’t invited any of the fallen angels to the party, or at least I didn’t see any of them here.

  Briefly, I searched the sky, but when I saw nothing there, I turned my attention back to the horsemen. If any of the fallen were here, they would have started hunting us from the sky long a
go. Cloaking illusion or not, those pricks would scour the land ceaselessly until they found us.

  My attention returned to the horsemen. In the center of the three, Lust sat proudly on her horse with her lush body on full display. Her white hair spilled over the ass end of her gray horse.

  I recognized Pride by the way he carried himself. Like Lust, he sat bareback on his smoky, purple-gray horse. Out of all the horses, Pride’s was the most beautiful with its thick, curved neck and its black forelock brushing against its nose. The horse’s black mane and tail touched the ground, and its eyes were the neon color of lavender.

  Pride’s broad shoulders were thrust back as he sat taller on his mount than the horsemen with him. His black hair was brushed back from the planes of his angular face to reveal eyes the same color as his horse’s. Not one speck of dirt or wrinkle marred him or his clothing from his black pants and shirt to the royal purple cloak he wore. An almond-shaped broach with a single, unblinking purple eye gazing out from its center clasped the cloak together.

  Next to Pride, Sloth’s pudgy frame slouched on the back of his horse. His legs barely wrapped around the horse’s thick belly. The mane and tail of his brown horse were matted, and its forelock was a tangled knot between its ears. The horse had one lazy blue eye drifting toward the right and one lazy brown eye falling to the left.

  Some of Sloth’s tousled brown hair stood on end, and the rest of it draped across his round, florid face. Sloth personified laziness, yet the intelligence in his pale blue eyes didn’t match his apathetic persona.

  Amalia gave a subtle tug on my hand. When I turned to her, her red eyes burned with fury, but she’d paled visibly. “They brought the horsemen here,” she mouthed.

  And if the growing pallor of her skin was any indication, the putrid emotions the horsemen emitted was battering her newly escalated empath ability. I had to get her out of here.

  “Focus on me,” I mouthed back.

  Her jaw set before she pointed a finger at the horsemen. “They should not be here. We can’t allow them to remain.”

  Then I realized the horsemen weren’t just escalating her empath ability and fueling her anger; she was enraged at the jinn for bringing the horsemen into the Abyss.