Into the Abyss

by Brenda K. Davies

  Rising, I raced back up the rocks, uncaring about any noise I might make as four jinn surrounded Amalia. The jinni she was fighting with the whole time finally succeeded in lifting her. Amalia hit his shoulders before rearing back and smashing her forehead off the bridge of his nose. The jinni squealed and released Amalia as if she were on fire.

  Blood pooled from between the jinni’s fingers as he clutched his nose and stalked toward her. When Amalia’s back connected with the monolith, it stopped her from retreating any further. The jinni pulled back his arm to punch her.

  No!

  I covered the distance separating us in three large bounds. Coming up behind the jinni, I gripped his head and yanked it to the side. One of his hands flew up to mine but not in time to stop me from ripping his head from his body.

  Amalia pressed against the monolith with her eyes closed as she waited for the blow to land. When it didn’t, she cracked open an eye as the jinni’s body hit the ground and I released his head. She blinked, her mouth parted on an O before excitement lit her face.

  “Magnus!” she breathed.

  • • •

  Amalia

  “Amalia.”

  I still couldn’t see him, but his whisper caused his breath to caress my face, and then his hand cupped my cheek. I turned my head into his palm as a wave of his love swept over me.

  And then, he was gone.

  Opening my eyes, I discovered three jinn tackling an invisible mass onto the rocks. As they rolled, Magnus’s feet came into view, then his extended horns and head. The disconcerting, patchwork way he shed the cloaking illusion made my breath catch. His legs and torso remained invisible until a punch to his gut knocked the breath from him, and his upper body reappeared, followed by his legs.

  Resting my hand against the monolith, I rose to my feet and turned to face the two jinn coming at me. A thrill of power raced into my palm and up my arm as the warm glow lit the symbol beneath my hand again.

  I wanted to turn to look at Absenthees, but I didn’t dare tear my eyes away from the approaching jinn whose loyalty only went as far as anyone who didn’t stand against the horsemen, I realized with a heavy heart. Behind the seal, we were all so close; there hadn’t been this hatred toward each other and the world. There was resentment, of course, but not to this degree.

  The falling of the seals did more than set us free; it also released all the hatred and bitterness the jinn suppressed over eighteen thousand years of captivity.

  They’d kill me to get what they sought, and I’d fight them to the death, theirs or mine before I let them return me to the horsemen. My life, and Magnus’s, might as well be over if those abominations had control over one of us again.

  Kill or be killed.

  Bracing myself for a battle, I removed my hand from Absenthees and fisted them before me. When this was over, I was going to learn how to punch as I’d broken my thumb when I hit the jinni earlier. It was healing, but not fast enough.

  I was about to launch my first blow when Magnus plowed into the side of one of the jinn and shoved her into the other. The strike took them both out. With no jinn before me, I could see what was happening below. Though at least twenty jinn swarmed the monolith and were climbing toward us, almost a dozen remained below, uncertain about jumping into the fray.

  Nalki and another jinni restrained my father while he struggled against their hold. Olgon stood between Pride and Lust; their attention was focused on us, and their fury was a hot ray I felt from nearly two hundred feet away. Sitting beside Lust, Sloth yawned as he surveyed the fight with a bored air.

  I didn’t know why they hadn’t set their powers free to put an end to this, but then I realized that if the horsemen unleashed their abilities, they would trap all the jinn too. Doing such a thing might render the jinn useless to them and might make it so the horsemen couldn’t escape the Abyss.

  And Pride had told Lust she should have suspected the Chosen bond would make Magnus capable of withstanding her power. They loved to create death and destruction, but they preferred to do it without getting their hands dirty. Magnus had almost killed Lust once already; they wouldn’t take the chance such a thing could happen to one of them again.

  Still, I didn’t want to see what would happen if the horsemen decided they had no choice but to free their abilities.

  We have to get out of here, now!

  Stepping back, I pressed against the monolith and flattened my palms on it as Magnus brawled with the two jinn he’d tackled. When another jinni came toward me, I remained where I was and hoped my face reflected my fear. I kept my eyes lowered so they wouldn’t see the rage simmering in them while I waited for her to get closer. Then, I’d surprise her by shoving her backward.

  I had crossed a line when I brought Magnus into the Abyss, but what they planned to do to us went far beyond that line. I was looking to save lives, they were looking to end ours, and any loyalty I might have felt toward anyone standing with the horsemen died with my mother.

  Now, I would play the role they expected of me, helpless and frightened. I may not be the best fighter, but I would not go easy, and I would not let them destroy my love for Magnus.

  Love?

  I would always believe peace was better than war; it would always be my preferred course of action, but whereas before I would have walked away from this and let the jinn do what they wanted, I would not back down.

  Magnus, the Abyss, the humans, the world, and I were all worth fighting and dying for.

  The jinni was only a foot away from me when, keeping my head down, I leaned against the monolith, lifted a foot, and smashed it into her chest. Her mouth formed a startled O, and her astonishment hit me like a hammer as she clawed at the air. However, there was nothing she could grasp to stop herself from falling over, and I watched as she toppled head over heels down the rocks.

  I took no pleasure in having beaten her, but I did take satisfaction in it.

  Magnus succeeded in throwing one of the jinn away from him before bashing the head of the other off the stones and tossing their limp body aside. Overhead, Caim swooped down to pluck another jinni from the rocks.

  The man screamed as Caim flew across the cavern and released him over Pride’s head. The sound the raven released sounded like laughter as the falling jinni flailed his arms. Pride jerked his horse out of the way in time to avoid being hit by the jinni. The man hit the ground with a resonating crunch.

  Pride fixed hate-filled eyes on Caim as, against my back, Absenthees heated further.

  CHAPTER 43

  Magnus

  Turning back to Amalia, I took one step toward her and froze when my eyes fell on the monolith. The jinni stalking her hesitated before stumbling away. With her head bowed, Amalia’s hair shielded her face from me when I desperately wanted to see her.

  “Amalia,” I breathed, but she didn’t respond as she kept her gaze turned away.

  The jinni fled down the rocks as a molten gold hue started to burn from the symbols etching the structure; the color illuminated each of them as it spread higher. Light radiated out from Amalia’s palms, and the orange-yellow hue burned hotter with each passing second.

  I took a step toward her to pull her away from the monolith before stopping. I had no idea what was going on here, but she wasn’t in pain, and something about this felt right. The memory of what she’d done by the pool drifted back to me. She’d awoken so much beauty there, and she could do it here too.

  She is a part of the Abyss and it’s a part of her.

  A stirring of air from behind the monolith drew my attention to the portal forming there. My eyebrows rose when Rislen and the other Faulted stepped into the Abyss. Rislen’s gaze locked with mine, but from her position, she couldn’t see Amalia or the glow spreading toward the sides of Absenthees.

  Then, Rislen turned to take in the death and destruction scattered around the monolith. Her eyes shone with displeasure when they met mine again, but her attention was drawn swiftly back to the symbols now
illuminating all sides of the monolith. Rislen stepped forward before halting abruptly.

  When her eyes shot questioningly back to me, I mouthed, “Amalia.”

  Longing speared across her face before she composed it into a blank mask.

  Amalia lifted her head, and when she looked at me, a radiant smile lit her face. I’d never seen her look so beautiful before. This was what she was meant to do.

  “Magnus,” she whispered.

  The second she released the monolith, the light vanished from it. And that could not be allowed to happen. There was a chance this place coming back to life would not be good for the horsemen. It might not be good for Caim and me either, but we’d hurdle across that bridge if we came to it.

  When Amalia stepped toward me, I clasped her hand. Her smile grew as I lifted her hand to my mouth and kissed the back of it before turning it over and flattening her palm against the monolith again.

  “Whatever you do, Freckles, don’t let go of this.”

  “What?” she asked as Absenthees glowed beneath her touch once more.

  I released her hand to rest mine against the structure. The sizzle and pop of my flesh crackled in my ears before I yanked my hand away. The monolith had seared away the first layer of my tissue and left blisters behind in seconds.

  Lesson learned. I suspected only someone with fae blood could touch this without paying the price. Too bad we couldn’t get the horsemen up here so we could fry their asses with this thing.

  “Magnus!” Amalia cried and released the monolith to reach for me.

  “I’m fine,” I assured her, and using my good hand, I caught hers and set it against the structure again. “No matter what, don’t let go.”

  “Wait!” she cried when I released her. With her other hand, she grasped my arm. “Oh,” she breathed as a starburst of illumination erupted behind her palm on Absenthees. The light became a fissure racing across the metallic surface. “Oh.”

  “Kill her!” Pride barked. “Now!”

  My head snapped toward him, and I bared my fangs as he thrust a finger at Amalia. I’d tear him to shreds for issuing such a command. Many of the jinn had retreated from Amalia and Absenthees to stand by him and the other horsemen. When Pride issued this order, a few of the jinn exchanged a look and stayed where they were, but the others started toward the base of the monolith again.

  “Caim!” I shouted, and the raven descended to land beside me.

  With a ruffle of feathers, he returned to angel form, and his ebony eyes reflected the spreading light of Absenthees. “That’s an interesting development,” he said to Amalia.

  “She’s breathed life into this place before,” I informed him.

  “That makes sense,” Caim murmured. “This dying land is craving the return of the fae. She’s like drops of water on a sun-scorched land to it.”

  “Stay with her,” I said to him.

  “Where are you going?” Amalia demanded.

  “After the horsemen.”

  Her fingers dug into my arm. “I’m coming with you; Pride killed my mother.”

  A twinge of sorrow for her tugged at my heart. Wrapping my hand around her head, I drew her close and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry. I will make him pay for it, but you must stay here. What you’re doing could be what we need to drive them out of here.”

  For the first time, she turned her head to look at the awakening structure. In the growing radiance it emitted, her hair and eyes became more yellow as her face lit with awe and joy.

  When she looked at me again, sadness filled her gaze. “The Abyss is awakening.”

  “Because of you. You must stay here.”

  She looked about to argue with me, but then she closed her eyes, gave a brief nod, and focused on me again. “Be careful,” she whispered and released my arm to rest her hand on my cheek.

  “I will,” I vowed.

  “I love you, Magnus.”

  My heart swelled to the point of bursting. To have her love me as I loved her was more than I ever could have asked for from my life. I ran my lips over her forehead before turning my head to rest it on hers. I relished the feel of her silken hair against my cheek while I inhaled her sweet scent.

  “I love you too, Freckles, forever.”

  I clasped her hand with my healing one and pressed it against my face before placing it on the monolith too.

  “I’m coming back for you,” I vowed.

  “You’d better,” she said, but her smile couldn’t hide the sadness and fear in her eyes.

  Reluctantly, I released her and turned away. I didn’t look back as I raced down the rocks toward the jinn and horsemen; I was afraid if I did, I would change my mind and flee from the Abyss with her. And there were far too many lives that counted on us destroying the craetons to run away from here.

  I wasn’t up to full strength after my last cloaking illusion, but I weaved one over myself again as I ran. Once done, I still had enough power to send out a few duplicates of me. As I ran, I zigzagged back and forth to throw my enemies off my location further.

  Behind me, the light of Absenthees grew stronger, and for the first time since arriving in the Abyss, my shadow appeared before me.

  “This place is lies and shadows.” I recalled Erin saying when we encountered her in here. There were no shadows then, but if Amalia succeeded in bringing the Abyss back to life, there would be again.

  • • •

  Amalia

  I bowed my head against the encompassing light to keep it from burning my retinas. However, I didn’t miss that the colors spreading higher through the monolith were the same as my hair and eyes. Nor did I miss the new fractures racing across the surface of Absenthees.

  The heat beneath my palms intensified until I was sure it would melt the flesh from my bones before dissolving them, but my skin remained unmarred, and the sensation wasn’t unpleasant.

  I watched Magnus fade away, but this time, fewer duplicates of him were sent forth to confuse the others. He’s weakening.

  “Caim, he needs help,” I said.

  Caim held his wings open and over his head to block some of the brightness from Absenthees. “And you need protection,” he replied as some of the jinn started up the rocks toward us again.

  “I’ll be okay.”

  “I know you will because I’ll be here to make sure of it.”

  “Caim,” I moaned.

  I almost tore my hands away to grab him and shake some sense into him, but I stopped myself before I did. The Abyss was yearning to be free of the cruelty reigning here for far too long, and I wouldn’t deny it.

  Movement to my right drew my attention, and Caim tensed to pounce. “It’s okay,” I said to him when Rislen and the other Faulted emerged from behind the monolith.

  Their awe beat against me and shone on their faces as they tipped their heads back to take in the spectacle of Absenthees. Slowly, Rislen touched the structure with her fingertips. She hesitated for a second before flattening her palm on it.

  “Amazing,” she whispered.

  “Yes,” I agreed as, with her touch, the fissures raced faster over the structure. “It is, but there are jinn who don’t want this.” When she looked at me in confusion, a burst of anger raced through me. “That means you will have to take a stand against your kind.”

  Her eyes flickered toward the approaching jinn, and I sensed a weakening in her steadfast stance to remain neutral. I didn’t know what finally convinced them to come here, and I didn’t care.

  “You told me if I did nothing to harm the jinn, I would be forgiven for trying to interfere, but if one of them died because of this, I wouldn’t have a home amongst any of you. There are dead jinn here, Rislen. Magnus and Caim have killed some of them, and Pride killed my mother,” I said.

  Horror wafted from her when she looked at me again.

  “I want peace as much as you, but unfortunately, we must fight to earn it. The craetons will destroy us all if given a chance, and you know it. If you stay here, th
en you are choosing a side, and there are jinn who will not be on it. Take a stand, Rislen, or leave the Abyss and take any who would prefer to hide with you.”

  I didn’t look at her again as I focused my attention on Absenthees once more. She had to understand what was on the line here and that things between the jinn could never be the same as before they were sealed away. We could use their help, but if she didn’t understand what was on the line here and what would have to be done to save us all, then she had to leave before she got the Faulted killed in here.

  Beside me, I saw Rislen rest her hands on Absenthees again. When I looked at her, she held my gaze. “We will take a stand against those who would destroy us,” she murmured, and relief washed over me.

  As the rest of the Faulted spread around the monolith, they hesitatingly placed their hands against it. A ripple of astonishment went through them and into me as they connected to Absenthees and the life that once thrived within the Abyss.

  CHAPTER 44

  Magnus

  I was nearly at the bottom of the rocks when Amalia’s father broke free of the jinn restraining him. With a ferocious shout, he raced across the clearing and pounced onto the back of his brother. I’d been expecting him to go for Pride, but he drove Olgon onto the ground. Grabbing the back of Olgon’s head, he smashed it off the rocky earth.

  Blood sprayed outward before he lifted Olgon’s head and battered it into the ground again. I closed in on them, my legs moving faster as I ran toward the horsemen.

  “I think it might be time for us to go,” Lust’s words drifted to me. “Things are getting a little too… bright here for my liking.”

  “I must agree,” Sloth murmured.

  Pride rose taller on his mount, and his chin lifted arrogantly. “We are horsemen; we do not run.”

  “No one is running; I plan to saunter on out of here, but we have no idea where Magnus is or what those Faulted are going to bring forth. Do not be so prideful it condemns you,” Lust murmured.

  I circled to the backs of their horses, searching for a way to take the three of them down at once. I wanted them all dead, but I had to be careful. If I only got my hands on one, the other two would bolt or attack me.