Bound to the Abyss Read Free

nail even the tiniest bit along his skin. Dropping the finger, Ean shot Zin an angry look. “What in the Abyss was that? Are you trying to play a joke on me?”
    “Of course not,” Zin replied. “You didn’t think a powerful spell like this would be painless, did you?” The imp flashed him a smile, showing off his tiny, jagged teeth. “Trust me, from what I’ve gathered, the new power you will acquire will more than make up for what little pain you endure now.”
    “Little pain?!” Ean almost yelled but controlled himself. The last thing he wanted was Cleff coming up to check on him at this particular moment. “It felt like I had stuck my hand in a hornet’s nest and then gave it a good shake.”  
    Against his better judgment, he picked up the finger and tried again. The pain returned as he started to draw, but Ean kept reminding himself that the pain would be worth it in the end. Hopefully. He had gotten the first major design finished, a swirl of lines that curved around and back on itself so many times it became difficult to follow, when a particularly nasty jolt made him drop the finger again. As soon as the nail left his palm, the entire rune he had been drawing disappeared.  
    “Oh, you can’t be serious.”
    “Well, look at that. I guess you have to finish it in one go.” Letting out a little laugh, Zin climbed up on the bed. “I guess I can take a nap until you actually get it right.” Taking a few moments to glare at Zin, Ean turned his attention back to his hand and tried again.
    Ean had no idea how long he attempted to get the rune inscribed on his palm. Each time he would get only so far, when a jolt of pain made him mess up again. After a round of cursing, he started again from scratch. As the sun started its downward descent towards the mountains to the West, Ean finished. The completed rune stayed on his palm, giving off a slight glow and the tiniest bit of heat.  
    Ean showed it to Zin, who was lounging on his side. “Looks good, doesn’t it? This better be well worth the effort.”
    “Oh, it will be. You’ll see,” Zin said. He climbed down off the bed and looked down at Ean’s book. “All right, you remember which parts to read, correct? Is there anything you need help pronouncing?”
    “No, nothing too difficult there. Should be easy compared to actually getting it drawn on my palm.” Looking down, he slowly went through the passage in his head twice and then began to recite the words aloud. The language of the Abyss was strange, with many of the words consisting of noises that sounded more like a person clearing his throat than an actual language. He had gotten quite good at pronouncing the words; it was just unfortunate that he did not know what most of them meant. When he finished, the rune on his palm grew cold and started to dim. For a moment, Ean thought he had failed and would have to start all over again, but then the light of the rune sprang back to life, bathing his tiny room in a dark blue glow. Proud of his accomplishment, Ean glanced at the imp expecting him to look impressed. His smile froze when he saw worry lines etched into Zin’s brow instead.
    “This part is going to be bad,” Zin said. “Just do your best to ride it out.”
    “Wait, you said—” He lost his words when pain suddenly dropped him to his knees. Molten lava coursed through his veins. His arms and legs flailed violently. Muscles contorting, he writhed on the floor, trying to escape his own body. Sweat drained out of his pores. Was that his heart pounding in his ears or a war drum? The sound was blighted out by the force of his scream that could not be contained. He had never known such agony.
    The light from the rune disappeared, and with it, the pain. Ean’s body went limp, a few aftershocks of the agony he had been in making parts of his body twitch randomly. His mind was blank, his body exhausted. The door crashed open and a moment later he sensed someone kneeling beside him.