Page 67 of Into the Abyss
“You’re a canagh demon?” I inquired and wassurprised my voice didn’t squeak a little.
I’d heard about, and been cautioned to stayaway from, the canagh demons who feasted on sexual energy. Theycould snare a lover and turn them into withered husks of what theyonce were through sex. Like the jinn, not all canaghs fed off thosethey enslaved, but many demons feared them.
“Not by choice,” Hawk replied.
“None of us have a choice about what kind ofdemon we are,” I said, confused by his choice of words.
“Hawk was once human, but he wasaccidentally turned into a canagh when the blood of one mingledwith his while he was dying,” Magnus explained.
“Oh,” I murmured.
“And you are?” Hawk inquired with anappreciative twinkle in his eyes as they ran over me.
“Off limits,” Magnus warned.
Hawk’s hands shot up, and he grinned atMagnus. “I didn’t realize that, and I didn’t mean any offense tothe beautiful lady.”
“None taken,” I said, and Hawk gave me agrateful smile while Magnus made another, menacing sound. “Myname’s Amalia.”
“Nice to meet you, Amalia. I’m Hawk.”
I stepped around Magnus when Hawk extendedhis hand toward me. I recognized the gesture as something I’d seenhumans do and, grasping his hand in both of mine, I gave it anenthusiastic shake that brought it up to our heads before down toour waists.
Hawk’s eyes widened before he started tolaugh. Though I could still feel Magnus’s annoyance, he chuckledand stopped my next upward jerk.
“Easy, Freckles,” he said. “Leave his armattached.”
I released Hawk’s hand when Magnus’s fingersgently pried mine away from his friend’s. Magnus gave my hand asmall shake up and down. “This is the traditional human way ofgreeting others,” he explained.
“Oh,” I replied and frowned at our shakinghands. “My way is more fun.”
Hawk laughed as he shook out his arm. “It’smore of a workout. So, where did you come from, Amalia?”
“From Hell; I was behind one of the seals.I’m a jinni.”
Hawk’s smile never left his face, butuneasiness washed out of him. The change in emotion was subtle andone I probably wouldn’t have picked up on before. However, myempath ability was growing. I didn’t know if it was this placecausing it to expand, or if my immortality was closer than Irealized.
“She’s not like the jinn who placed youhere,” Magnus said.
“I see,” Hawk murmured, and this time hiseyes were more inquisitive than interested when they ran overme.
“So… did the women not please you?” I askedto distract him from his perusal.
“Oh, they pleased me quite well,” Hawkmurmured and licked his lips. “But something wasn’t right.”
“How did you know something was off?” Magnusasked.
Hawk gazed at the women before looking toMagnus again. “If this is a land of wishes, then I guess I didn’tget mine.”
“I don’t understand.”
“As a canagh demon, I feed on sexual energy.As a human, I had different partners because I was young and havingfun. But I was also waiting for… I guess you could say therightoneto come along. I wanted someone to love and to love me,someone to have my children and share a life with, when I was oldenough and ready for that to happen, of course.”
He wants that more than anythingelse,I realized when his longing coiled within my chest.
“Whoever put me here saw me only as a canaghdemon and must have assumed sex was what I would want, but Ialready have this, and it’s….”
Hawk’s voice trailed off. Focusing on usagain, he flashed a grin, but I’d already sensed the emotion he wasabout to name—lonely.
