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.

“I have no sway over you and can’t ensnare you,” she said to me.

“And how do we know you’re telling the truth?” I asked.

“I am different from most of the jinn, but I can’t make you believe me. So, we’ll all stay here and get to know each other better while we wait to see if any of those in the Abyss are strong enough to come back to us.”

Corson didn’t look at all happy with that idea.

“Has anyone escaped the Abyss before?” Raphael inquired.

“Some did before the jinn were sealed away. I’m not sure if anyone has broken out of the Abyss since the jinn were freed. I stay out of this aspect of the jinn’s lives.”

She held my gaze while I stared skeptically at her, Corson snorted derisively, Caim smiled in amusement, and Raphael remained straight-faced. Something about her made me want to trust her, but only a fool believed a jinni, and I was no fool.

“What do the jinn do with those they have in the Abyss?” I asked.

“Like you feed on the wraiths, and so do I, the jinn also feed on the life force of those they trap,” she said, “but I suspect you already knew the answer to that.”

I had known the answer, but I was curious to see if she would admit it to me. “Will there be other jinn in the Abyss?”

“Most likely.”

“And they’ll most likely be feeding on our friends.”

She bowed her head, and though it hadn’t been a question, she replied, “Yes.”

Corson held Wren closer as I rubbed my forehead. I could well be walking into my death, but Corson wasn’t stable enough to go, and Raphael and Caim were needed here. Plus, I wasn’t sure Raphael would intervene to help someone in the Abyss if he felt he might be interfering with their fate, and I didn’t know if Caim could be completely trusted.

I was the only option.

“After Amalia and I go, you’ll have to gather everyone and move them somewhere they’ll all be together and easier to protect. You know the place,” I said to Corson.

“I do,” Corson replied.

I refused to say the location or that it was a cave out loud as I wouldn’t give this jinni any clue about where the bodies would be hidden. And I couldn’t stay to help them get everyone to safety without giving away the location to her. They would have to handle this on their own.

“It’s not only the jinn we have to worry about; they’re all vulnerable to any enemy now,” I said.

Corson’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t protest my words.

“We will keep them safe,” Raphael vowed.

Caim inspected his nails, but when he felt the weight of all our stares, he lifted his head. “What?” he asked.

“Did you hear what I said?” I demanded of him.

“Oh, yes, we will keep the others safe,” he said distractedly. Then, he tilted his head to study Amalia. “There’s something about you….”

When Amalia stared back at him, her eyes lost their reddish hue to become the color of a sunrise. With a start, I realized her eyes appeared to shift with her emotions, and I found myself questioning what each color revealed about her.

Who cares? She’s a jinni and someone to stay far away from. That’s the only thing that matters about her. Sometimes, I couldn’t deny I was as intelligent as I was good looking.

“What do you mean; what is there about her?” I asked Caim.

Caim seemed to rouse himself from somewhere else as he blinked and unfurled his wings. “I should keep watch,” he said before taking to the sky.

“Is he losing his mind?” I asked Raphael as Caim circled overhead in ever-widening arcs. He vanished over the trees before reemerging in raven form.

Raphael shrugged and rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. “Caim is as he is, and as he will be.”

“Angel riddles, delightful,” I muttered before turning to Amalia. “Let’s get on with this. What do we have to do?”

• • •

Amalia

I didn’t tell Magnus I wasn’t sure I could do any of what was necessary to enter the Abyss. Corson was staring at me like he intended to gut me, and unlike the other jinn, I wouldn’t recover if those talons eviscerated me.

I hadn’t been lying; I’d never entered the Abyss before. Within the seal, our ability to enter the Abyss was shut down, and since being freed, I’d never had a reason to enter the plane. Out of curiosity, I once opened a doorway into the Abyss, but I never went through the portal, and I’d never considered taking a non-jinni with me. I’d heard it was possible, but I wasn’t fully matured, so who knew what I could or couldn’t do.

But I had to do something before they decided I was useless and killed me. I’d just gotten my freedom, and I wouldn’t lose it now.

The only thing I could do was open the Abyss, and if Magnus couldn’t enter with me, at least I might have a chance of fleeing into it to get away from them. If I failed, they’d probably kill me, but if I succeeded in escaping, maybe I could do something to help them.

They hate you simply because of what you are; why would you bother to help them?

It was true, but as Corson’s anguish beat against me, I knew I would help them because, whether they believed me or not, I was different from most of the jinn and I couldn’t stand the suffering of another.

Then, a possible way to help those affected by what the jinn did today occurred to me. However, none of those around me would go for it, so I decided to keep it to myself. If they didn’t kill me, maybe I’d get the chance to put my idea into action later. And if they did kill me, then screw them for not giving me the opportunity to help because they despised my kind.

I’d prefer not to die for the sins of my brethren though.

Taking a deep breath, I threw back my shoulders and lifted my hand before my face. I closed my eyes as I drew on the well of power flowing through the veins of all the jinn. While I concentrated, the creaking branches, bird song, and whisper of the wind faded until there was only the Abyss and me.

Even though I’d never entered the Abyss and only opened a portal into it once before, I knew the jinn were the Abyss, and the Abyss was us. Even locked behind the seal, I’d felt it in my being.

The power of my connection to the Abyss spread warmth through my arms, down my thighs, and into my fingers and toes. Turning my hand sideways in front of my face, I made a weaving motion with it as I ran it down to the center of my chest.

The fabric of the air pulled silently back when I opened a doorway between this world and the next.

Opening my eyes, I stared into the portal before me. Roughly the size of a doorway, it was a gray canvas blocking out the scenery beyond it and revealing nothing of what lay within the Abyss. No breeze flowed in or out of the portal; no noise sounded in my ears in this world or the next, but the Abyss beckoned me to enter it.

When I opened the doorway before, the unknowing of what lay beyond was too frightening for me. I’d quickly closed it before something could escape or something that didn’t belong inside it could enter. The unknowing still unnerved me, but I no longer had a choice; I had to step into the Abyss.

Tearing my eyes away from the portal, I turned back to find Magnus’s gaze riveted on it. “Can you see it?” My voice rang louder than normal in my ears.

Magnus strode forward to stand beside me. “Yes.”

“We all can,” Raphael said.

Easily eight inches taller than me, I had to tip my head back to meet Magnus’s eyes as I spoke to him. “I’m not sure if it’s necessary or not, but I think I should hold onto you while we enter.”

Uncertain of how he would react, I hesitated before slipping my hand into his. I started when a small current of something ran through me, but instead of disrupting the flow of my power, it swelled my ability within me.

I couldn’t stop my fingers from stroking his hand. His skin warmed mine, and for a second, I almost stepped closer to him as a frisson of need rocked me. Magnus’s emotions caressed my skin as his surprise faded to curiosity then desire. When he met my gaze again, his thumb stroked the back of my hand.

“Are you ready, Amalia?” he inquired.

The way he said my name sent a shiver down my spine, but was I ready? Throughout all of this, I hadn’t stopped to think about the consequences of my actions. I was bringing an outsider into the Abyss, and not just any outsider, but a paliton close to the king. The jinn would be furious with me, but they would forgive me. Would they forgive me if something went horrifically wrong though?

“I won’t tolerate the jinn being hurt,” I said to him. “We are going to find your friends, not to fight the jinn. I’ll bring you back immediately if you try to hurt them, and know that I am your only way back here. None of the other jinn would allow you to go free, but I will.”

Magnus’s silver eyes narrowed at me. “I won’t purposely hurt anyone, but I will defend my life and the lives of my friends if it becomes necessary.”

I absorbed the emotions coming from him. He was uncertain about this, but his words were true, and that was the best I could hope for.

“Okay, let’s go.”

Keeping his hand in mine, together, we stepped into the Abyss.