Page 57 of Into the Abyss
“So that is why when someone desiressomething deeply, the jinn know it and are attracted to them,”Magnus said. “All jinn have at least some empath ability.”
“Yes,” Rislen agreed. “Before the fae andjinn intermingled, the jinn granted wishes and fed off theirvictims, but they more or less blundered their way into them.”
“The crossing of the lines made themexceptional hunters.”
Sorrow tugged at my heart, but I buried it.The emotion would only work against me here. “That’s why all jinn,and not just the Faulted, can block my empath ability on somelevel?”
“Yes,” Rislen murmured. “Your empath abilityis the strongest I’ve ever seen, but you still don’t feel an empaththe way you do others because two empaths counteract each other. Ithink it’s a survival mechanism. Could you imagine how horrible itwould be to have two empaths feeding off the emotions of others,and then being in close enough proximity to feed them into eachother? Such an influx would force them away from each other, thusweakening them and making them more vulnerable to attacks fromothers, and if they did stay near each other, it would probablydrive them insane.”
It would definitely drive me insane. “Whatexactly is the Abyss?”
“It’s a separate plane that evolved with thefae.”
“What do you mean it’s a separate plane?”Magnus inquired.
“It’s a plane, or if you would prefer, aseparate universe, but unlike Earth, Hell, and Heaven it evolvedmuch later and came from the abilities of the fae,” Rislen said.“I’m sure there are many more planes or universes out there,perhaps connected to other planets and galaxies. The universe isfar too big for there not to be more beyond our world.”
“True,” Magnus murmured.
“I believe the Abyss was more than a placefor the fae to find release from the emotions of others, but also aplace of protection for them,” Rislen said. “The fae were so muchweaker thanallother demons, and they could hide in theAbyss. Or at least, they could hide there before the jinn took itfrom them.”
I didn’t have to ask who took it, that wasobvious. “How was it taken?”
“Over the years the Fae-aulted line spreadthroughout the jinn, the jinn who entered the Abyss started totwist it into something more sinister. With the mix of their jinnand fae powers, they discovered a way to bring their victims intothe Abyss and feed the life force of their victims into Absenthees,which in turn filtered it over the land.
“The suffering of those who were torturedand killed drove the pacifist, empath fae from the Abyss. Withnothing good to feed on, the Abyss rotted away until it became theplace you have seen. Most of the beauty is gone from it, but someremains, like the field.”
“Why does it remain?” I inquired.
“Because there is still some fae in thejinn, they still feed at least a little good into the Abyss, andeven the cruelest of us is not entirely destructive.”
“Haveyouever been to the Abyss?” Iasked her.
“Once, many millennia ago, for a brief time.I would never return.”
“Have any of you gone?” I asked theothers.
“We’ve all gone. We did not spend much timethere, and we will not return either,” Marhee said.
“Why did the fae and jinn keep this historyfrom being recorded?” Magnus inquired.
“Because it revealed a weakness in both thefae and jinn line,” Rislen replied. “The jinn pushed the fae out ofa land that protected them, and the jinn didn’t want anyone to knowthey could possess what they saw as the weakness of the fae, sothey hid the truth.
“The fae might have been the only ones whostood a chance of reclaiming the Abyss from the jinn, as they werethe only others who could open a portal in and out of it. But itwould’ve required them to fight the jinn for it, and they weren’tcapable of doing that.”
“Why didn’t they return there after the jinnwere sealed away?” I asked.
“I assume, by then, the Abyss was socorrupted they couldn’t tolerate being there for much time, ifany,” Rislen replied.
I pressed my hands over my aching heart. Itwas difficult for me to handle the Abyss, it must have been torturefor the fae to be there. The fae had been so fragile, yet kind, andthey’d lost the one place that could have saved them from thefallen angels.
“Hidden behind a waterfall, we found a cavewith beautiful pink and yellow stones,” I murmured.
“If it was hidden, then it most likelymanaged to avoid the corruption of the jinn,” Marhee said. “I’msure there are other such hidden treasures in there too.”
“I hope so. How can two bloodlines be sodifferent, yet both be a part of us?” I asked.
“That is often the way of things,” Rislenreplied and patted my knee again. “Night follows day, day followsnight, both are complete opposites, yet this world needs them tosurvive. Throughout all the worlds, you will find opposing forcesworking in a symbiotic nature that supports life.”
