Page 43 of Into the Abyss
It was then I realized Dana was like Erin.They both knew something wasn’t quite right; they just weren’t surewhat it was, or how to break free of the wrongness.
“The one that allowed demons to roam theEarth,” Magnus said.
Dana rubbed his temples. “The gateway,” hemurmured before his attention returned to the laughing family.“They’re exactly the way I pictured my family, from the two boys tothe pretty blonde wife. I find that weird too. I mean, no one getsexactlywhat they want in life.
“I used to play soccer; I planned to teachmy kids to play it too, but how many kids and wivesalllovesoccer and are willing to play it? My father wanted me to playfootball; I hated it. He wasn’t at all impressed with me when Itold him I was going to play the European version of the game.”
Magnus chuckled, but I gave up trying tofigure it all out. I assumed the family kicking the ball around wasplaying soccer, but the rest of Dana’s words went over my head.
“The gateway,” Dana said, as if justrecalling that part of the conversation.
Another bolt hit the monolith, and I bitback a whimper when more life washed over me. We were losing farmore than we were saving in this place.
“Yes, the gateway to Hell,” Magnus said. “Itopened fourteen years ago. Bombs were dropped—”
“Demons killed my family!” Dana blurted andthen shuddered. “That’s why I wanted a family like this one. Oh, mymom, my dad, my brothers. They’re dead,” he moaned and rockedhimself forward. “Oh, I remember it all now.”
Magnus went to pat him on the shoulderagain, but Dana vanished before he touched him. The woman andchildren disappeared too, but the ball remained rolling across theground. Then, as if a breeze caught it, it changed direction andcame toward us.
I stepped out of the way, but then had todance back when it zigged and zagged toward my feet. A chill racedup my spine as the sensation of being watched burned into myneck.
CHAPTER 19
Amalia
The ball finally rolled by me, and I braced myselfbefore turning to face the presence I sensed behind me. The ballcontinued unerringly toward the man standing thirty feet awaybefore it disappeared.
“Amalia,” the man greeted in his calm,sultry voice, but his electric blue eyes were crueler than I’d everseen them before.
This man had tossed me in the air, bouncedme on his knee, and patiently let me braid his waist-length,pitch-black hair for hours on end. Many times, I’d experienced hislove for me, but now he looked as happy to see me as he would havebeen to see a hellhound.
“Unshi Olgon,” I murmured while trying tocontrol the rapid beat of my heart.
My empath ability wasn’t as sharp around thejinn; I still picked up some of their emotions, but far less than Idid from other species. However, I didn’t require my empath abilityto know he was pissed in a way jinn seldom were. Mostly reserved,jinn rarely let their emotions get the best of them, but Olgoncouldn’t hide the fury radiating from him.
Bending, I carefully placed my bouquet onthe ground, and the butterfly took flight. I suspected I would needboth hands free for whatever was to come.
“This man is your uncle?” Magnus inquired ashe came to stand beside me.
“I am,” Olgon purred. “I’ve watched littleAmalia here grow from a babe to a traitor.”
“Unshi!” I gasped. “That’s not true! I’dnever—”
“Silence,” he hissed, and my lips clampedtogether.
Magnus’s shoulders went back, and his eyesnarrowed as Olgon’s gaze pinned me to the spot. At nineteenthousand, Olgon was the oldest jinn alive, a leader, and my family.I wanted to argue further with him and convince him I wasn’t atraitor, but no one argued with Olgon.
“You brought apalitoninto theAbyss.” Olgon spat the word paliton at us.
With slow, subtle movements, Magnuspositioned himself between Olgon and me. Olgon’s eyes slid toMagnus, and his frown pulled his pale skin tighter over the sharpblades of his cheekbones.
“I am nineteen thousand years old,demon, you do not want to mess with me,” Olgon stated.
“Unless the seal made it so the jinndeveloped new powers, I don’t think there’s much you can do to me,”Magnus replied.
“We don’t need powers to tear you apart.You’re in our world now. We’ve been itching to destroy the bastardswho imprisoned us, and you arefaroutnumbered here.”
“No!” I grabbed Magnus’s arm to halt himwhen he stepped forward. “Magnus wasn’t even alive when you wereimprisoned!”
