Page 1 of Into the Abyss
PROLOGUE
“Sometimes….”
“Sometimes?” the woman prompted when theman’s voice trailed off.
The paliton camp was only half a mile away,but they were alone out here in the woods, which was just the wayshe liked it. The woods were a place of peace, and she didn’t wantanyone to interrupt them.
The rays of the sun filtering through thetrees danced across the ground around them. When the barrenbranches swayed and clacked together overhead, they made a soundlike dancing skelleins. Not that she’d ever seen the skeletaldemons dance, but she’d heard them charge into battle, and theirteeth clacked when they got excited, and their bony feet clicked onhard surfaces.
The man’s fingers dug into the rotting logthey sat on as he stared at the forest. When bits of wood brokeaway beneath his hands, the scent of rotting wood, moss, and earthrose around them. He seemed not to notice any of it though.
She batted her lashes at him in the hopes hewould look at her, but it seemed as if he were caught in anotherworld when all she wanted was to catch him up inher.
“Sometimes?” she prompted again.
He shook his head as if he were clearing it.“Sometimes I wonder if things could have been different in thisworld.”
“Oh, me too,” she replied with a sigh.“Every day I daydream about how this world should have been, how itoncewas. It’s all so… so terrible now.”
“Yes,” he agreed.
A bird fluttered between some of thebranches above them. It chirruped before taking flight. Beneath herass, the damp log leeched the heat from her, but she didn’t move.“What would you change?” she inquired.
“What wouldn’t I change?”
She chuckled. “True.”
“What wouldyouchange?”
“All of it.”
“Hmm,” he murmured, and his pinky fingerbrushed her hand.
She glanced down as he continued to rub theouter edge of her hand. He may have been lost in his thoughtsearlier, but she had him now. She gave him a sultry smile fromunder her half-lowered eyelashes.
“I think,” he said. “I would change it sodemons never came to Earth.”
“Oh, what a difference that would havemade.” She leaned closer until she smelled the mint on his breath.“I think about it often.”
“Think about what often?” he asked.
They were so close now she could feel hisbreath on her lips. His hand stilled against hers.
“What it would have been like if the demonsnever came to Earth,” she said.
“I often wish….”
“For?” Her tongue flicked out to wet herlips, and his gaze fell to her mouth as she’d hoped it would.Sliding her tongue over her mouth again, she teasingly licked theedge of her full bottom lip to entice him further.
“I don’t know. There are so many things I’dchange that I don’t know where I’d start or what I’d wish for.”
Disappointment filled her when he leanedback a little and bowed his head.So close!She’d beensoclose!
Then he leaned closer again, his handsliding over hers once more.Gotcha.Excitement hummedthrough her when his fingers dipped between hers.
“I know what I’d wish for,” she said.
“And what is that?” he asked as his lipsbrushed her forehead before moving lower to her temple and down hercheek.
