Page 22 of Into the Abyss
Something about those demon scrolls beckonedme to remember it as I gazed into her eyes, but I couldn’t quiteput my finger on what it was. There was something there aboutchanging eyes, something….
Laughter floated to me again; I turned as itdrew closer. “Mara,” I whispered as a couple appeared and grasssprouted beneath my feet once more.
The couple ran around the lake, laughing asthey toppled to the ground. From the shadows, the lower-level demonemerged. Releasing Amalia, I stepped forward to intercept the demonbefore it could attack the couple. Like a ghost gliding throughwalls, it went straight through me and lifted Ricky.
Unable to stop it, I watched as the demonkilled Ricky again and Mara wailed once more.
This time, Amalia knelt at her side andrested her hand on Mara’s shoulder. “It’s not real,” Amaliamurmured. “This isn’t real. You can pull free of this if youtry.”
Before Mara could reply, she vanished.Amalia remained kneeling on the ground, her hands on the rocks asshe bowed her head. She didn’t cry, but I could feel her sorrowacross the distance separating us.
“It’s running on a loop,” I stated.
Taking a deep breath, Amalia lifted her headand met my gaze. “Yes.”
“Was this her wish?”
“I doubt it,” Amalia replied. “She mighthave wished for Ricky back, or for things to be different, or anyone of a hundred things. I suspect these were her last moments withhim and she’s trying to change it, but since you can’t change thepast, she’s only reliving the extreme high of their love and theabysmal low of her heartbreak.”
“There has to be some way we can stop this.Something we can do to intervene or get through to her.”
Amalia gazed helplessly around as thelaughter started again. This time, when the couple emerged, Iintercepted them and pulled them apart. Like the demon, my handswent straight through Ricky. Gripping Mara’s shoulders, I pulledher away from Ricky. Kicking and slapping at me, she fought againstmy restraining hold.
When the demon materialized, Amalia leapt infront of it and threw out her hands. Like me, the demon ran throughher and caught Ricky again. Mara was still in my arms when thedemon slaughtered her lover. She turned on me with her fingershooked into claws. Unprepared for her attack, I couldn’t stop herbefore she tore a chunk of flesh from my cheek.
Then she was gone, and I was left holdingnothing. Warm blood streaked my cheek and dripped off my chin.Amalia came to me and, lifting the hem of her skirt, she went todab the blood from my face. I claimed her wrist before she couldtouch me.
“It will ruin your dress,” I said.
“That’s the least of my concerns rightnow.”
Maybe it was, but I didn’t want anythingstaining her. Using the hem of my shirt, I wiped the blood awayfrom my face. Since my skin was already repairing itself, no freshblood trickled from the gash.
“It will be fine,” I assured her andreleased her wrist. “How is Mara solid while the other twoaren’t?”
“Because she’s still alive and the other twoaren’t. She can die in here, they can’t,” Amalia said as thelaughter started again.
“We have to figure out some way to breakthis cycle. If we can do that, maybe we can save the others.”
Amalia nodded, but I saw the doubt in hereyes as the scene started playing through again. This time, afterRicky died, I knelt at Mara’s side. “Listen to me, Mara. This isn’treal. You have to fight it if you’re going to break free of thisplace. You have to fight tolive.”
Tears swam in her eyes, and she seemed notto hear what I said before she disappeared again.
“Shit!” I smashed my hand on the ground asthe grass vanished.
“We’ll break through to her,” Amaliainsisted, but I wasn’t so sure as the scene started to replay.
I had no idea how much time we spent tryingto break through to Mara and end the loop, but I did everything Icould think of to stop it. I tried casting an illusion of demons tointerfere with the lower-level demon, but they did nothing to deterthe monster, and Mara tried to shoot my creations. Whereas herbullets repeatedly knocked the lower-level demon down, they wentuselessly through my illusions.
“How did you do that?” Amalia asked when thescene faded once more and I allowed my illusions to dissolve.
“I have my ways,” I told her. Her face fell,and she focused on the wall behind me. It was best I kept mydistance from her; maybe she was different from the others of herkind, but she was still a jinni. However, I despised thecrestfallen look on her face. “I can create illusions.”
A tiny smile curved her lips, and she openedher mouth to reply, but before she could question me further,Mara’s nightmare started again.
“What do you think Mara wanted most fromthis?” Amalia asked as Mara and the man went to the ground again.“To have one last time with Ricky, to kill the demon before itkilled Ricky, or something else entirely?”
“Does it matter?”
