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.”