Page 86 of Into the Abyss
“Wren?” I asked.
“That’s my name.”
“What are you doinghere?”
“I’m guessing the same thing as you. Where’sCorson?”
Her imprisonment had worn her down, but ithadn’t dimmed her willful nature. I couldn’t stop myself fromscowling at her. “You’re probably not doing the same thing here asme, as I’m physically here while you’re only mentally present. AndCorson isn’t in this place; he was never trapped.”
“He’s free,” she breathed, and tearsshimmered in her eyes. “Oh, thank you.” Then she lunged at the barsand encircled her hands around them. “Is he okay?”
“He’s holding up,” I assured her.
“Good. Good.” She inhaled a jerky breath asshe took a minute to compose herself. “Mentally here,” shemurmured. “That makes sense.”
“Why does that make sense?”
“I’ve tried everything to get out of thisplace without success. However, I’m assuming it would be moredifficult to break out of a mental prison than a physical one. Youcan physically flee your surroundings, but you can never escapeyour mind.”
“True,” I agreed.
I sat and waited for her to vanish now thatshe’d learned the truth, but she remained where she was.
“What?” she asked and rubbed her face. “Do Ihave a booger or something on me?”
“When the others fully realized they didn’tbelong here, or it was all in their minds, they disappeared.”
“Where did they go?”
“The jinn’s spell on them broke, and theyreturned to their bodies. Those who returned are fine.”
“The jinn,” she spat the word like she’dtasted something sour. “I should have realized thoseassholeshad a hand in this.”
“And so do some of the horsemen.”
“Of course they do.”
“Did they bring a woman in here with me?Have you seen someone named Amalia?”
“No, some guys brought you in, dumped you inthe cell, and left. There are some more cells down the hall, butthere’s no one in them. Who is Amalia?” Her gaze fell to the markson my neck. “Is she yourChosen?”
“Yes, and I have to find her.”
“Good luck getting out of here. I’ve triedeverything.”
“Then we’ll try everything again, plussome.”
She stared at me for a minute beforegrinning. “Yes, we will.” Then her smile slid away. “Wait… you saidthose whoreturnedare fine. What about those who didn’treturn, and how many were affected by this, andwherearewe?”
I explained to her everything that happenedwhile she was in here. By the time I finished, she’d settled on thefloor with her shoulder against the bars and her head leaning onthem.
“So many lives,” she murmured. “But why am Istill here? I knew this place wasn’t right before the barsappeared.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “And what do youmean before the bars appeared?”
“When I first got here, there were no bars,and I was a part of the show. However, though I was a part of it,it didn’t feel right, and I don’t think I ever left the vicinity ofthis cell.”
“What show?”
