Page 107 of Into the Abyss
“All of you!” she commanded. “Open a portalfor us to get out of here, now!”
I couldn’t kill all the jinn, and she knewit. Some of them edged further away from the horsemen, but more ofthem came forward.
“No!” Eron shouted. Lifting the headlessbody of his brother, he spun it and smashed it into three of thejinn closest to him. “Nomore helping them!”
I didn’t need Amalia’s empath ability tofeel the madness oozing from her father. The severing of his bondto his Chosen had broken him.
The emotions Lust, Pride, and Sloth releasedamplified until I found my head bowing and my eyelids drooping. Thejinn closest to the horsemen started to react to the horsemen. Acouple of them sat, three of them started tearing the clothes fromeach other, and another stood haughtily by while fluffing her hair.Those farthest from the horsemen hadn’t been affected yet, but itwas only a matter of time.
Caught up in their spell, the illusions I’dsent forth started to fade.
I have to fight this for… for…Istruggled to recall what was happening, where I was, and then aflash of freckles and multi-hued eyes burst through my mind.Amalia! I have to fight for her!
Lifting my head, I focused on Amaliastanding in front of the monolith. The jinn who had started towardher again were frozen halfway up the base of the monolith. Caimstood ready to take them on, but they didn’t look willing to go anycloser to Absenthees.
More of the metallic color cracked andchipped away from the monolith. The vivid glow of the wakingAbsenthees suffused Amalia in a radiance nearly as dazzling as thesun. The symbols on the structure all burned a brilliant white, andas it grew brighter, I felt the effects of the horsemen weakeningfurther.
When the last of the metallic color fellaway, four bolts of light burst out the top of Absenthees andstruck the smaller, rotating pieces of stone. Fissures zigzaggedacross the surfaces of those smaller structures as Absentheesstarted to emit life once more, instead of absorbing it as the jinnforced it to do for thousands upon thousands of years.
“We have to go,” Lust said, unable to keepthe hint of panic from her voice.
While I’d been focused on Amalia, andfighting against the horsemen’s powers, a jinni succeeded inopening a portal next to Lust. She turned, and without lookingback, disappeared into it.
Shaking off the last of their effects on me,I ran toward Pride when he started to follow her, but Amalia’sfather got to him first. Grasping Pride’s leg, Eron yanked thehorseman from his steed.
Pride hit the ground with a small grunt, butit was the only sound he made before he turned and lunged at Eron.Enclosing his hands around Eron’s throat, he rose again as he droveEron to his knees. Pride squeezed until Eron’s face turned a floridred.
Arriving at their side, I drew back my fistand hammered it into Pride’s face. His cheek caved beneath the blowand knocked his hold on Eron free. When my punch connected with thehorseman’s cheek, the last of my illusions faded away, includingthe one cloaking me.
“Pride goeth before the fall,bitch,”I snarled at him.
Pride fell to the ground as his mountcharged me. I tried to leap out of the way, but I wasn’t in time toavoid the horse’s head from bashing into my side and flinging meback a few feet. Mouth wide open, the horse grabbed Eron’s arm whenhe threw it up to protect himself. The beast lifted Eron off theground and flung him into the air.
Eron’s breath exploded from him when he hitthe rocks a few feet away, but he was already regaining his feetwhen Pride whistled, and his mount spun toward him. The beast’shooves clattered off the stone as it galloped at full speed towardits master.
Pride seized his mount’s mane when it racedby him and swung himself onto its back in one fluid motion. Sloth’smount followed at a much faster speed than I would have believedpossible for the rider and his rotund beast.
They raced for the portal as Eron launchedat Pride again. Eron caught Pride as I ran at Sloth and, leapinginto the air, hooked my arms around his thick neck and yanked himto the side.
My momentum carried us over the side of thehorse and toward the ground. When we hit the earth, my grip onSloth was knocked free. I bounced across the terrain beforecrashing into the base of Absenthees. As I rolled, I realized therocks forming the ground of the crater were losing their darkcoloring and becoming the same multi-hued stones that surroundedthe pool and been hidden behind the waterfall.
Sloth landed a few feet away from me, and Iwatched as he stumbled to his feet before staggering forward.
I expected the jinn to rush forward to helphim, but some of them were either fleeing through the open portalor creating their own to escape through. The ones not fleeing theAbyss were staring at the monolith or Eron and Pride as if theywere trying to decide what to do.
Shoving myself to my feet, I ran for Slothas his horse galloped toward him. I poured on the speed, determinedto beat his mount to him. Lowering my head, I ran my horns straightthrough Sloth’s neck.
Sloth jerked, choked, and then gasped whenthe tip of my horn burst out the other side of his throat. Hishands clawed at the horn as I lifted Sloth off his feet beforetossing him to the ground. Slamming my foot onto his back, I pinnedhim down and yanked my horn free.
His mount snorted, and smoke billowed fromits nostrils as it closed in on me. It was only three feet awayfrom me when I lifted Sloth and spun him toward his steed. Thehorse’s hooves tore up chunks of pale pink and orange rock as ittried to stop itself from crashing into its master, but it was toolate.
Waiting until the horse was nearly on top ofus, I released Sloth and dove to the side. Rolling across theground, I bounded to my feet in time to see the steed trampling itsmaster. Sloth’s thigh bone burst free of his skin, his other legtwisted awkwardly, and one of his arms flopped to the side as bloodspilled from his mouth.
I ran toward the broken horseman as hismount turned back to charge me again. Falling at Sloth’s side, Isank my fingers into the wound I’d left in his throat as hishorse’s nearing hoofbeats thundered in my ears. Its breath heatedmy cheek as I tore Sloth’s head free.
Three inches away from me, Sloth’s horseburst into a cloud of brown dust that coated my clothing and filledmy mouth as it showered me. Blinking away the dust coating mylashes, I lifted my head in time to watch Pride toss aside Eron’sdecapitated body. The horseman dropped Eron’s head on the groundbefore his horse strolled through the portal.
Amalia, I thought sadly, a secondbefore a swelling light filled the Abyss.
