Violet wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her, but a shadow shivered to reveal a humanoid form. It took a few more steps for it to come into the light so she could recognize it. “Abrams!”
The ghoul stopped and didn’t move. Finn, moving so he could still keep an eye on anything coming from behind them, frowned. “You’re sure it’s him?”
Not that she knew if all ghouls were identical, but it was unlikely. With Finn’s hand in hers, Violet smiled and headed toward the creature she’d known since she was a girl.
“Oh, goodness… I didn’t know where you disappeared to. We found a door by chance, but it disappeared, and now we’re stuck.”
The closer she moved to Abrams, the more it was obvious something was off. Abrams was tense and looked at her with fear. The ghoul didn’t fear anything or anyone. In fact, it was the first time she’d seen any type of emotion on his sunken face.
After a few more steps she noticed he was trembling and slowly retreating into the shadows. “Wait! Abrams, please. What’s happening? Why are you leaving? You can’t be afraid of me. It’s Violet. You’re my friend.”
The ghoul froze and blinked, which was also a first. “Not anymore. You’re not Violet.”
The deep shivering voice was definitely Abrams, the same one she recognized from all the years spent at Impossibilities Inc. and Layla’s, but his words didn’t make sense.
Finn came close to her ear. “Are you certain this is Abrams? I’m not certain he recognizes you.”
“This is Abrams, but I don’t know why he’s saying that. It’s so unlike him.” Violet took a step, and Abrams retreated again, and it crushed her heart. Whatever he was in this world, Abrams had always been a soothing force, always on the lookout, concerned for the ones under Layla’s care.
“I’m a friend, Abrams. Always. I would never hurt you because you’re my friend. Why are you afraid?”
The ghoul hesitated but stayed in place, his lean and tall body swaying slightly. “You have her voice, but I can’t see the light in her anymore. Violet had disappeared, and now there is only darkness.”
His words sounded like a riddle but still hurt. Was he referring to what had happened to her?
“I was kidnapped and tortured. They painted symbols over the walls of my cell where they’d chained me. Is that what you’re feeling? Is that what’s changed in me?”
Bleak eyes scanned her face and body. If she didn’t know better, Violet could almost discern a frown on his waxy face. “You have suffered, I can sense it. But there is something more.”
For the first time, the ghoul took a step forward, as if investigating something he sensed or saw. “Your flesh is the same. But what swirls inside you, deep down in your belly, is not. How can I be sure your mind isn’t different?”
It was another slice into her soul. Could he be right? And if he weren’t, how could she prove it?
Finn touched the small of her back in silent support. “Her heart is no different. Her powers are dimmed for now, but only until we can figure out what happened. You’re her friend, why did you flee? Why are you afraid of her?”
“If you felt the pulsing darkness coming out of her, you’d be afraid of her, too.”
Violet put a hand on her chest as if she could contain what had tainted her. Was it possible that whoever planted that darkness inside her knew that it would consume her and even destroy the people and world she loved?
“What is inside her? If we know what it is, we can fight it.”
Abrams lowered his head in defeat. “There’s a fight inside her, but she’s losing.”
“No!” Finn circled her hip, bringing her even closer to him as he snarled at the ghoul. “That won’t be. I won’t let that happen.”
It was difficult for Violet to keep a clear head. Emotions pushed at questions and logic, and that wouldn’t help her. “Wait. Wait. If what you say is right, I don’t have much time. That’s why I need to know what’s inside me. Abrams, you feel it, so tell me.”
“Whatever you’re fighting is also planning to dominate you and me, vampire. It’s a force that wants to have dominion over the creatures of the Shadowland, the night dwellers.” He looked at Violet then. “You said you couldn’t find your magic, it’s because it’s being consumed by what wants to overtake you.”
“I won’t let it.”
Now her friend looked sad. “You won’t have a choice. You waited too long, and there’s no going back. Someone has set the wheels in motion when they pushed that. Your forces are combining, feeding off each other. I can sense how the dark is tainting the light. Soon your powers will return, and I can’t bear to see that happen. Or risk having you turn against me.”
Violet shook her head, a mix of anger and panic threatening to overwhelm her. “Then tell me all you know. Give me a fighting chance, Abrams. That’s all I want. Please. Please.”
She wasn’t the kind of woman to beg, but Abrams wasn’t the kind to lie either. If he was afraid, if he felt something in her that was dangerous, it was because he was right.
“Whoever did this to you, they wanted that power for themselves, but couldn’t achieve it. They needed a creature who wielded magic and needed them in their power long enough to transform them. I can sense the desire they poured into their spell, how greedy they were, still are, for you to turn and do their bidding and transform the world according to their wishes.
“Also, I sense a lack of experience in the spell they used, as if it weren’t common for them to do this. It’s probably why their magic hasn’t locked in permanently yet. That may give you a
