Page 39 of Into the Abyss
“I staked out a corner of Hell, claimed itas mine, and started practicing,” I said. “I created a demoniccarnival meant for Hell alone. I trapped craetons and lower-leveldemons there, turned them into sideshow freaks, or killedthem.”
“Kind of like the jinn with the Abyss,” shemurmured.
“The demons who entered my world weren’ttricked into it; they went there to kill me. I may have been flyingunder Lucifer’s radar, but there were still plenty I’d pissed offover the years and others I pissed off after I left the war. Thosedemons just weren’t prepared for what they encountered, but believeme, they all deserved what they got. The jinn are not sodiscerning.”
“No, they’re not,” she agreed, “but I stilldon’t like it.”
“Then it’s a good thing I don’t need tobuild any carnivals on Earth, Freckles.” As I’d hoped, a smallsmile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
CHAPTER 17
Magnus
“What is a carnival?”
Reluctantly, I released her hand and knelt.“It’s a human thing. A place of games and rides, food, animals, andall kinds of assorted things.”
As I mentioned each thing, I weaved afoot-high replica of a carnival over the path. Colorful tentssprang to life, and roller coasters and carousels rose from theground. The miniature humans strolling the midway pointed to thegames and rides. Barkers leaned out to wave at them as theyencouraged the humans to spend their money.
When Amalia knelt before me to examine mycreation more closely, the colors of the carnival flickered overher face and illuminated her awe-filled, coral eyes. She laughedwhen the roller-coaster wheels clattered over the wooden tracks andscreams echoed from the humans when the cars plummeted down a steephill.
With two fingers, she tried to touch the topof the carousel as it rotated into life and the proud horsesstarted to rise and fall in rhythm with the music playing. Unlikethe malevolent carousal and carnival I’d created in my corner ofHell, this fair held only the delights of the human world. Amaliahad witnessed enough ugliness in the Abyss; I would make sure shedidn’t see any more of it than she had to.
A bell rang as someone slammed a hammer downon the strongman game and a giant teddy bear was handed over to awoman who hugged it. More tents and buildings rose from the ground.Animals stood idly by as people strolled through the barns toadmire them.
Amalia clapped her hands when the racetrackmaterialized and the harness horses and their drivers raced aroundit. The horse’s hooves pounded across the dirt as the crowd cheeredthem on from the grandstand.
“Amazing,” she murmured.
“Humans are creative creatures,” I said.
“Yes, they are. How didyouknowthese places existed on Earth?”
She never took her eyes off the carnival asI weaved new rides and games into place.
“Once I retreated from the war, I startedreading through the scrolls, but they weren’t exactly entertaining,so I spent a lot of time watching Earth too.”
“How did you do that?”
“I would journey to the oracle.” When shegave me a confused look, I realized she didn’t know what that waseither. “The oracle is a lake of fire in the bowels of Hell, andthe focus of all the heat in Hell, but Earth could be looked onfrom it.”
“Oh,” she murmured and focused on myillusion again. “And you saw this through there?”
“This and many other things both gruesomeand astonishing. Humans are a fascinating, loving, infuriating,self-destructive, angry, and selfish species. Some are as cruel asdemons, but as horrendous as some of them can be, far more of themare good and loving. I was fascinated with Earth, humans, and themagnificent things they created before I ever left Hell.”
Behind the carnival, I weaved the pyramids,Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, and Sistine Chapel into creation.“And Earth itself is remarkable.” Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon,and Mount Everest came to life. Above it all, the Northern Lightsshimmered over my creations. “Everything about the human worldinterested me, and I found myself watching it more often with everypassing year.”
Her striking eyes took on a more ochre hueagain when she lifted her head to look at me. “Is itallgone?” she whispered. “Did all of it get destroyed when the gatewayopened?”
“No.” Gradually, the illusions faded away.“Some of it still exists. One thing I’ve learned about humans overthe centuries is they often come back stronger after they facedestruction. And much of the natural beauty of this planetremains.”
“Since coming to Earth, I’ve tried to learnas much as I can about it. I find this planet fascinating with allof its creatures, plants, and people, but I haven’t met many humanswho can answer the questions I have about it.”
“I know plenty of humans who will be morethan willing to answer your questions.”
Hating the sadness in her eyes, I lifted mypalm again. Within it, I brought to life a bouquet of lilies thatmatched her hair and eyes. “I’ll answer what questions I can foryou and reveal to you anything you ask to see,” I vowed.
Offering this wasn’t exactly the best way tokeep my distance, but if she were my Chosen, I wouldn’t be unkindto her; she deserved far better than that, and she would haveit.
