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9
ABIGOR
The stone was smooth in my grip, and I paused to rub the pad of my thumb over the edge before twisting my wrist and flicking it out over the surface of the water. It skipped—once, twice—before sinking beneath the dark surface with a ripple. Abruptly, the shining surface of the water turned to fire, the ripples from the stone swallowed by licking flames.
I chuckled, remembering—I was just minding my own business, you know, fishing in a lake of fire or whatever you think I do in Hell. Those were some of the first words I’d spoken to her. How had so much happened in such a short span of time?
And yet my return to Hell hadn’t stopped things from happening. The villagers were still aging. It had been three days—though who knew how that would translate into time Earthside? Did they even still live?
I had to believe they did. Lilin would find a way, if she had not already. She was smart, and competent, and would surely think of some solution now that she was no longer hindered by my presence. And if not…well. Still, there was nothing I could have done for them.
The silent assurances did nothing to ease the knot in my stomach.
A second later, the lake of fire shivered, transforming back into water. I lifted another stone from the bank. It was silvery white, cut through with a glimmering iridescence as it caught the light. It reminded me of her wings. Stop it, I chastised myself, but it did no good. Three days, and I could still see them when I closed my eyes. I’d never gotten a chance to find out if the feathers were as whisper-soft as they’d looked. If they were maybe even as soft as her lips—Enough.
I shook my head and opened my eyes. Just then the sound of footsteps crunching across gravel met my ears, and I startled, dropping the stone. I turned, ready to inform whoever was joining me that I was not particularly in the mood for company, and my eyes flew wide.
“Julian?”
He was so haggard he was almost unrecognizable. The stubble I remembered on his cheeks had grown into a full beard, his clothing was torn and stained, and his eyes were haunted by the kind of knowledge humans weren’t meant to hold.
“Abigor,” he breathed, his boots crunching on the rocky beach as he approached. “I fear I am too late. It has taken me far longer to find you than I anticipated.”
I stared. “Okay, setting aside the fact that you’re here in the first place, too late for what?”
“To bring you back. The village needs you. Lilin needs you.”
I ignored the pang I felt upon hearing those words, and turned back to face the water. A thin sheen of ice now covered the surface of the lake. “No. I’ve done all the harm I’m willing to do. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help.”
He joined me at the water’s edge. “I am not certain of that. I believe your presence may have had…an effect.”
I snorted. “A destructive one, certainly.”
“No, not only that,” he said. “I think there is hope yet. You should return.”
“What hope could there—look—how are you even here? This is impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible,“ Julian said matter-of-factly.
I rolled my eyes toward the sky. “Yes, okay. But impossibilities aside, how are you in Hell? It takes an enormous amount of energy to travel between the realms. Something I am quite sure humans are not capable of generating.”
“It was a spell.”
“Of course it was,” I muttered under my breath. Someone really needed to take this guy’s spell book away. Louder, I said, “I’m surprised Lilin permitted you to use any more magic after…” I cleared my throat.
“It is her energy that brought me here.”
I blinked in surprise. “She…sent you here? To bring me back?” I couldn’t quite identify the strange curl of emotion that twisted inside me.
Julian nodded. “She entrusted me with her ring of protection, to safeguard my journey.” He held up his hand, displaying a gold band set with rubies and sparkling diamonds. Even against his mortal skin, it was clearly a holy artifact. I took a careful step away from him. No need to find out what kind of ‘protection’ the ring offered.
“Though I did not expect the journey to take as long as it did,” he continued, his brow furrowing. “I am not sure…” His voice cracked and he stopped to clear his throat, but didn’t finish his thought. He didn’t need to.
“Don’t worry.” I hurried to reassure him. “Time moves differently in Hell. Differently even in different parts of Hell. For me, it has only been three days. There is no way to know how much time has passed on Earth, but it may not be too late.”
All at once, the temperature dropped, and a light flurry of snow began to fall from the sky. Julian glanced up as flakes began to collect on his dark hair. “This is…not at all what I’d imagined from this realm.”
I couldn’t keep from grinning. “No, I would expect not.”
