Page 38 of Into the Abyss
“I could see the fires of Hell through thewindows of my seal, but what was it really like there?” she asked.“What was Lucifer like? What istheking like?”
I stopped walking and turned to face her.“It was a hideous pit of misery. Demons slaughtered demons, angelsslaughtered demons, Lucifer was aprickwho deserved to die,and the day I watched it happen wasthebest day of my life.He slaughtered my parents when I was two.”
Her hand flew to her mouth. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be; it was centuries ago.”
“Do you remember anything about them?”
“My mother’s hair was dark, and my father’swas the same color as mine. I recall being hugged between them andsitting on the ground playing with them as they wove illusionsaround me. They loved me, and I loved them, but that’s all Iremember.” I could still feel the warmth of their love for me, butit wasn’t enough to keep my mother alive. “They died before eitherof them could teach me what I was capable of, and there were noother illusion demons to do that either. I am the last of mykind.”
“What happened to you after they died?”
“Kobal, the king, brought me to a Chosenpair of visionary demons who had lost their child ten years before,during a surprise attack from Lucifer and the angels.”
“How awful for them,” Amalia murmured.
“We should discuss something else,” I saidwhen her eyes turned ochre again.
“No. I want to learn more about Hell andyou.”
Those words pleased me more than I’dexpected.
“What happened after that?” she asked andstarted walking again.
I fell into step beside her. “The visionarydemons raised me. They never had another child before they werekilled by the craetons twenty-eight years later, a year after Istopped aging.”
“That must have been difficult for you.”
“It was.” I didn’t like recalling thesadness their passing caused. “I may not have been theirs, butdemon children are rare and precious, and they loved me as if I’dbeen a product of their love. I started fighting with Kobal once Iaged into my immortality, but after their deaths, I plunged intothe battle. I wanted Lucifer dead in the worst way, and I wasreckless in my youth. When I look back on those days, I know onlyluck, Kobal, Corson, and even Bale kept me alive throughout thosecenturies of my life. Then, once my grief, youth, and bloodlustwere spent, I started to reevaluate what I was doing.”
“And what did you learn?”
“I was doing it all wrong.”
Amalia stopped walking, and I faced her. “Idon’t understand,” she said.
“I’m an illusionary demon, and I knew I wascapable of conjuring things such as this.” Holding out my palm, Ibrought to life a perfect, red rose in the center of it. She smiledas the rose started spinning in a slow dance over my palm. “Go on,touch it.”
She glanced at me before stretching herfingers forward. Her smile faltered when her fingers slid throughthe rose, but it returned when the flower remained.
“Amazing,” she breathed.
“I thought the same, back then, but I knewthere was alotmore potential in me. Curious about my kind,I decided to read up on what past illusionary demons could do. Inthe process, I learned I was barely scratching the surface of myabilities. My illusions distracted our enemies for a brief time,but they were parlor tricks at best.”
“So what did you do?”
“I knew I wouldn’t be able to concentrate onthe war with Lucifer and strengthen my abilities at the same time,so I retreated from the war. I hoped our friendship would be enoughto keep Kobal from killing me, as I never told him why I abruptlydecided to stop fighting.”
“Why didn’t you tell him?”
“I was afraid if I told him, Lucifer wouldsomehow discover what I was trying to do and come after me. No onewants an enemy who is trying to grow stronger, and back then myillusions weren’t a concern to anyone. I also don’t think thecraetons knew what I was then, or now, as in battle it’s almostimpossible to tell who is doing what.”
“I don’t think they know either,” she said.“I’d heard of you, but I’ve never heard anything about what you arecapable of doing.”
“If Lucifer never learned the truth of whatI was doing, he’d remain too busy trying to defeat Kobal than toconcern himself with going after the coward many viewed me as. Ipreferred to let themallthink I’d tucked tail and run,than to reveal the truth and risk everything.”
Amalia seized my other hand and squeezed it.When she went to release it, I held on to hers so I could feel thewarmth of her delicate hand within mine. It wasn’t a good way tokeep my distance from her, but Ihadto touch her.
