by Lizzy Ford
The night before, he’d left his dying mate, praying he was able to save her life. This morning, he left a perfectly healthy woman – who looked like his mate and wore the Immortal mating tattoo – and yet was distinctly different.
Gabriel was still reeling from the sudden, inexplicable changes in his mate and the admittance by Deidre that she had made a deal with Darkyn. Maybe he should’ve felt it. He noticed something … missing the night before, soon after he left her. The instinct was nothing more than a tiny warmth at the edge of his mind. He barely noticed it was gone until this morning, when it abruptly reappeared. He was able to sense her presence once more without knowing she’d been gone from his reach for an entire night.
What if she was in danger? What if Darkyn hadn’t let her go? If he noticed her absence soon after it occurred, would he have been able to follow and stop her deal with Darkyn?
Right now, the only thing that made much sense was killing shit.
Gabriel hacked at the demon before him then straightened. Chest heaving, he gazed around the meat locker to assess how many bodies were present. Immortals and death-dealers battled the remaining demons at the warehouse-sized storage facility where the demons had been gathering the human dead.
There were hundreds of them. He sheathed his weapons, grim at the discovery. Rather than taking souls and risking a run-in with him or his dealers, the demons snatched the dead or killed whomever they wanted and brought them here, where they’d have more time for soul extraction.
“Clear!” one of the Immortals shouted from the far end.
“All good,” Landon, Gabriel’s second-in-command, told him.
“Count and collect,” Gabriel ordered.
Landon issued the orders through the mind message system. Gabriel moved through the meat locker, unaffected by the cold after the half hour battle.
“Fifty four dead demons, three hundred dead mortals,” Landon reported after a few minutes. “Fifteen dead Immortals, three dead dealers.”
“Damn.” Gabriel’s attention was caught on a faint green glow on a table in the middle of the stacks of dead bodies. He crossed to it and saw a shallow bowl filled with water. The glowing green gems on the bottom were souls the demons had extracted. “This isn’t three hundred souls. Maybe twenty.” He lifted a small soul-tracking device off the table, a round compass whose edges were lined with symbols from a dead language too old for him to read.
“They’re picking and choosing the ones they want,” Landon said.
“Darkyn’s after someone in particular,” Gabriel said. “They got another compass. Unlike me, they can read it to find who they want.” He studied the compass. It was a new one, recently made by the Ancient Immortal that Gabriel hired to help, indicating another of his dealers had defected. “Find out who this one was issued to.”
Landon accepted it. Gabriel drained the bowl of water and placed the souls in his pocket.
“Darkyn doesn’t have the numbers to set up a facility like this in too many places. He’s not in much better shape than we are,” Rhyn, the leader of the Immortals and Gabriel’s best friend, said as he approached. The half-demon rippled with power. His silver gaze was wary and his muscular frame only slightly smaller than Gabriel’s.
“Whatever he wants is around Atlanta.” Gabriel’s thoughts drifted to Deidre. He initially suspected the soul in Deidre’s tumor was what Darkyn sought. But the demon lord had Deidre in his clutches and let her go.
At least, it appeared that way. The woman Gabriel touched today wasn’t the one he touched last night. The mating bond present last night formed anew the moment he healed her from the demon attack. She looked like past-Death. She had the haughty edge of past-Death.
She was human like Deidre. Gabriel hadn’t wanted to believe her story of Darkyn combining the two Deidres into one, but it certainly seemed possible. The extent of the Dark One’s powers on his home turf in Hell was beyond anyone’s ability to know. It was said he had no limitations. Could he then merge two souls together into a single body?
Why would he do it?
“Meanwhile he distracts us with a fucking goose chase across the world chasing the demons raiding human schools.” Rhyn’s gaze was stormy.
“Your brother found this place, right?” Gabriel asked, focusing once again on his surroundings. The five remaining death-dealers he brought with him were quickly extracting souls.
“Yeah. No word yet on whether or not there are more.”
“They are way too comfortable in the mortal world right now.”
“No shit.”
At the half-demon’s frustration, Gabriel glanced at him. “Not your fault, Rhyn. You’re doing everything you can.”
Rhyn grunted in response, his fury clear. As the head of the Immortal Council That Was Seven, Rhyn was charged with protecting the human population from demons. In the course of a few months, the old understanding between Immortals and demons – that humans were off-limits – crashed to the ground. Rhyn’s Immortals were struggling to recover from battles with the demons, while he struggled to keep the Council together, let alone focused.
Gabriel understood why the old standard was gone. He wasn’t allowed to tell Rhyn, due to Immortal laws governing the dealings between deities. The Dark One that ruled Hell since the time-before-time had fallen to a ruthless demon lord whose goal had long been to take over the mortal realm. Forged by war and hardened by exile to the bowels of Hell, Darkyn understood only violence, war and bloodlust. He honored nothing but laws from the time-before-time, deals he made and the occasional Demon Laws, which he authored. An understanding was not worth acknowledging and definitely not binding to the new Dark One.
The thought of the Dark One reminded Gabriel that he lost three death-dealers to him in the course of a week, not to mention the deal Deidre made.
“If it makes you feel better, I’ve got another traitor,” Gabriel said in cold anger, motioning to the soul compass the demon’s had obtained.
“Morale is low. The dealers think we’ll never get home,” Landon supplied.
Gabriel and Rhyn eyed him. Gabriel bristled at the reminder that his own underworld had shut him out.
“I’ll check in with the lake,” Landon muttered.
“Take these,” Gabriel said, handing him the souls he took from the bowl. “Then call everyone in. Looks like I’ll be conducting mind checks morning and night.”
“Got it.” Landon pocketed the souls before calling a portal.
“I need to move Deidre,” Gabriel said when the death-dealer was gone.
“Something happen?” Rhyn asked.
“Yeah. She got attacked by demons today.”
“Drop her off at my place,” he said, referring to the Immortal’s stronghold in the French Alps.
“I thought being in Atlanta might help her. It won’t work,” Gabriel said. He shook his head. “I need Wynn, but he’s nowhere to be found this morning.”
“Haven’t seen the fucker,” Rhyn said, tone hard.
Gabriel knew how much Rhyn hated his father. Not many people thought differently of the first Ancient Immortal, who had led the Council with six of his sons for many years before being killed. Wynn was a brilliant surgeon, the only person Gabriel knew to bring in and evaluate Deidre’s claim that she was healed.
Not that he didn’t believe her. But, well he didn’t. He pushed aside the nagging instincts he’d been ignoring since seeing her earlier.
“Hey, boss,” one of the dealers approached. “We got everyone.”
“Drop them at the lake and hang out for a bit,” Gabriel said.
“Go get your woman. I’ll see you at the castle,” Rhyn said, calling a portal.
Gabriel nodded. He looked around, furious at Darkyn for earning the trust of people who didn’t trust him in his new role as Death. With some dread, he returned to Deidre’s apartment.
It was past dark, and she was dozing on the couch. Cora waved from the kitchen. Gabriel sat down across from his mate, studying her. It was ha
rd for him to remain detached around the beautiful woman with silver-white hair. She slept peacefully, her delicate features and shapely body at ease as she slept on her stomach. His eyes went over her perfect legs and lingered on her ass. Their history made him want to touch her, to feel the softness of her skin before waking her to gaze into the huge blue-green eyes that were able to stop him in his tracks.
Both Deidres in one. He rubbed his jaw. He didn’t know how it was possible. He barely accepted the idea of being mated to a woman who only looked like his ex. Now, she was at least half the woman he’d spent lifetimes loving and hating.
She was human. No matter how many Deidres were shoved into that perfect little body, she’d never have the control over him she once had. He was Death, after all, a deity in his own right. It was his turn to protect her the way she never bothered protecting him.
“Deidre,” he spoke her name quietly.
Her face skewed a moment before her eyes opened. She stared at him and sat up quickly.
“I’m moving you to Rhyn’s.”
“Why?”
“It’s safer there.”
She appeared lost as she looked around her. She had the artless expressions of a human, an endearing trait that made him want to wrap his arms around her.
“Why don’t we go home?” she asked.
“We can’t right now,” he said. “I’m locked out of the underworld.”
“Locked out?” She arched an eyebrow at him. “You’re the master of the underworld. It can’t lock you out.”
“Apparently it can,” he said dryly.
“What on earth did you do?”
That was the tone of the goddess. Gabriel drew a deep breath and stood. He motioned her up.
“Come on,” he said. “I’m headed to Rhyn’s. I’ll take you.”
She frowned. “Gabriel, I want to stay here.”
“No.”
“You never used to tell me no, either!” she snapped and rose, marching towards the stairs to the second floor.
“Get used to it,” he called after her.
He watched her angry walk, gaze on her swaying hips. A smiled spread across his face. Maybe having the former deity as a mate wasn’t so bad. He definitely liked the look on her face when he told her no.
“Get your shit and let’s go,” he added.
She glared at him, the blue fire in her eyes stirring his blood.
“Don’t forget shoes,” Cora yelled as Deidre disappeared down the hallway. Her voice lowered as she faced him. “Gabe, she needs a babysitter.”
“What’s wrong?”
“She doesn’t understand the human world yet.”
Gabriel met Cora’s eyes. The death-dealer was shaking her head in disbelief. There was something else in her gaze, the knowledge that she’d figured out this Deidre wasn’t the same one she was yesterday.
Gods, he had a headache already.
“You want the job?” he asked.
“I’m not sure I can keep up with her. She tried on every piece of clothing today and took five baths to test the different soaps. She discovered the toaster this afternoon. She used it to warm up her socks. Nearly caused a fire.”
Gabriel smiled, entertained as much by the story as he was by Cora’s visible exasperation.
“We went to the other side of the country to find her more funnel cakes. It’s all she wants to eat.”
He listened, thoughts turning darker. Deidre made a deal with the Dark One, one good enough to bring her soul back from the dead, combine the two Deidres, cure the tumor of one and release the final product from Hell. It sounded far too good to be true, especially since Darkyn knew who she was and what he might extort out of Gabriel to have his mate returned.
It had to be the private deal, the one Gabriel found no trace of that Darkyn himself had mentioned to him. What were the terms? Did Deidre owe a debt? What of the deal made with Darkyn by human-Deidre? Was it, too, unofficial and therefore not recorded in the Oracle’s book?
The instincts that warned him the night before were louder this night. Whatever happened, there had to be more to the story than what Deidre told him.
He gave her five minutes then started up the stairs. He knocked before opening her door and saw her wardrobe empty with clothes piled and stacked on the bed. She was leisurely sorting through everything.
“I mean now,” he said.
“I’m not ready,” she replied archly.
He crossed the room and snatched the gym bag at the bottom of her wardrobe. He tossed it on the bed and grabbed a handful of clothes then stuffed them in.
“Oh, no, I don’t want that one,” she objected and pulled out a sweater. “It’s not soft like the others.”
He grunted and stuffed another handful in.
“Gabriel, stop!”
She sounded so distressed, he did. Gabriel let her push him aside so she could squeeze between him and the bed to protect her precious clothes from his callous groping. She paused to consider her options again then dumped out what he’d started.
“You’ve got sixty seconds,” he told her.
“No, Gabriel, I can’t decide that fast,” she said in the haughty, dismissive tone that used to infuriate him.
His gaze traveled her body as she bent over the bed and stretched for a maroon sweater. He resisted the urge to take her hips. She straightened and very carefully folded the sweater before placing it with similar care into the bag. The deliberate movements alone took a minute.
“Gods, are you trying to test me?” he growled.
“I’m going to do this my way.”
Her way. It was how things always used to be with her. On her terms, her time, her way. Her way involved deals with Darkyn and lying to Gabriel. Something within him clicked, and he recalled his resolve not to let the woman in his life strangle him anymore.
He reached around her and tugged free his favorite sweater. His hand settled on her back, and their bodies brushed. Deidre stilled suddenly, her breath catching softly. Gabriel glanced at her. She was trying hard to control her expression and the flush moving up her features.
Amused, he dropped the sweater into the bag, grabbed a few more and a pair jeans. He loved touching her and loved even more watching her try to figure out what to do about it. When he was satisfied, he lifted the bag and stepped away.
“Come on,” he said and called a portal.
“I have to just leave them?” she asked, gaze on her clothes. “They’re so beautiful.”
“They’ll have more for you at the fortress.”
Gabriel waited in front of the yawning portal. Deidre sighed. She kept her distance from him. He motioned her into the portal. With a look of dread, she went ahead of him. He followed.
“You really are locked out,” she said, stopping in the middle of the shadow world. The portal to his underworld was grey; only yellow mortal portals and the black one to Hell were visible. “How can that be?”
“Someone didn’t leave an instruction manual when she walked out on me,” he replied calmly.
“Why would you need one?”
Gabriel stopped and turned, glaring down at her.
“It’s not that hard,” she murmured as the silence grew.
“Maybe to someone who’s been doing it for tens of thousands of millennia,” he replied. “When you left, the demons were pouring in, the Lake of Souls was bubbling and everything else was falling apart. Guess who gets to clean up that mess?”
He started walking again and waited for her at the portal to Rhyn’s.
“I guess I didn’t realize you weren’t ready,” she said as she joined him.
Gabriel said nothing, but it took effort. She stepped into the portal, and he trailed. They emerged in the chamber she’d been in before. Deidre gazed around her, eyes settling on the green glow, visible through the French doors. It was night on this side of the world, and the otherworldly glow from the lake near Rhyn’s house reminded Gabriel that he was no closer to getting those s
ouls home yet.
“Why does that look like souls?” she asked, puzzled.
“Because it is.”
Her mouth dropped open.
“You were here yesterday. You don’t remember?” he asked.
She seemed to be thinking of how to respond.
“I’m having trouble with memories in general,” she admitted. “Maybe because everything was um, mashed together. Almost everything feels new. It’s a little unnerving.” She glanced around.
There was a vulnerable note in her voice, one that bothered him.
Gabriel tossed her bag on the floor next to the bed and strode to the doors, opening them. The night air of spring was chilly in the mountains. He breathed it in deeply. Dawn would soon break across the horizon on this side of the world.
Deidre trailed, eyes on the direction of the lake near Rhyn’s fortress. Gabriel sat down on the railing to face her, arms crossed as he took in her features. Shadows played across the delicate, pert features. Her lips were full, a perfect bow, and her large eyes steady and concerned. Her hands were rubbing her sweater absently, her silver-white hair long and loose, hanging almost to the small of her back. Narrow shoulders, rounded hips and a petite frame were distinctly feminine.
“I can’t believe they’re here. What did you do, Gabriel?” she demanded at last, the fire flaring in her eyes once more.
“You always assumed I’m the one who messed up,” he replied.
She met his gaze.
“I never was, though, was I?” he asked.
“I wouldn’t say never.” At her shiver, he offered his hand. She eyed it.
“Gods, woman. You melted for me last night,” he reminded her. “Before you walked off to betray me to Darkyn.”
That did it. Deidre’s face flamed red once more. She took his hand. Gabriel drew her into his body, and she tucked her head against his shoulder, so she didn’t have to look at him. He wrapped his arms around her, breathing in her womanly musk. Her fine hair tickled his chin. He was far too content holding the petite woman he didn’t dare trust.
“What were the terms of your deal?” he asked carefully.
“I told you. He cured my human side, brought the deity side back, and joined our souls,” she replied a little too quickly.
“Darkyn doesn’t do shit for free. What were the rest of the terms?”
She was silent. Gabriel waited. She pressed her face to his neck.
“I love the way you smell,” she murmured.
“Terms, woman.”
“I don’t know. I mean, I couldn’t leave Hell with any deity powers and um, basically only one of us left. Because we were combined.”
He didn’t need to read her mind to know she was lying. But why? If the deal was over, and she was here, what did she need to lie about?
He made the mistake before of not reading her mind when he should have. Though he hated the idea, he wasn’t about to take any chances this time around. Gabriel prodded her thoughts.
They were sealed off to him. Surprised, he tried again. He almost felt relief, knowing he couldn’t ever be tempted to read her mind again. She had violated his mind at every turn when she was Death. He swore never to do that to her and now, wouldn’t be able to. Except suddenly, he realized this was the one time he needed there to be an exception. Too much could be at stake for him not to know what went down with Darkyn.
“Do you have an outstanding debt to Darkyn?” he asked.
“None.” This assertion was firm.
“I guess I can check the Oracle.”
She tensed in his grip. “It was a private deal.”
“Convenient.”
“You don’t trust me?”
“No.”
Deidre pulled away enough to meet his gaze. She was frowning.
“I want Wynn to verify your tumor is gone,” he added.
“You’d trust that Immortal over your mate?” she asked, anger flaring.
“You trusted Darkyn over me.”
“He could do something you …”
It was Gabriel’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Care to finish that? Or maybe explain why you didn’t even tell me before seeking him out? It’s not like you didn’t have the opportunity.”
She pushed at him to try to move away. Gabriel didn’t let go. Deidre appeared frustrated and wiggled again.
“Easy,” he warned. “We’re having a nice little chat about trust. Something neither of us does well.”
“You didn’t use to be like this,” she snapped.
“You didn’t used to be a weak, puny human.”
“Son of a bitch!”
Gabriel chuckled. “Things have changed, Deidre.”
“You’re scaring me, Gabriel.”
“You know I’ll never do anything to hurt you.”
When he refused to release her, she sighed and leaned against him. The warmth of her body made him not want to let go.
“Wynn is in Hell,” she said at last. “We were both in the portal room. Darkyn sent me home, but Wynn didn’t follow.”
“He’s still there?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t stay to find out.”
“Why was Wynn there?”
“To make sure my … operation went well. Darkyn dragged him down to help, since it was his magic in my head,” she replied.
“I didn’t think Darkyn needed help with anything.”
“I think Wynn was insurance, in case something went wrong. What Wynn did was really bad, Gabriel. I was going to die in a few days.”
One arm tightened instinctively around her while he lifted the other to touch the soft skin of her neck. The scars from the demon attack were there. He rested his hand around her collar, disturbed by the scars. He found himself drawn to her again, almost too strongly to resist, and reminded himself something was off about her story. What if the tumor wasn’t gone? He’d pushed her away in order to keep the tumor from growing.
If he wasn’t able to find Wynn, there was always Andre, who could tell him if it was there. Maybe Andre could read the thoughts that were blocked to Gabriel.
Her breathing was quick, the pulse he felt in her neck flying. She was affected by his touch. He ran his hand down her arm and rested his hand at her lower back. He wanted to let his hand drift downwards but stopped himself.
The urge almost seemed stronger with her today than when he left her last night. He was already struggling not to let his hands roam her body freely, the way he wanted to.
But something was wrong. His mate was lying to him. It had to do with her trip to Hell, with the deal she made Darkyn.
Gabriel. Landon’s summons drew his attention.
“I’ve gotta go,” he said, standing.
“Where?” she asked.
“Work.”
He hugged her close. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him back.
“If you need anything, Katie is four doors down on the left,” he reminded her.
“Okay.”
Gabriel withdrew and called a portal to take him to the lake. He glanced over his shoulder as he entered the shadow world.
Deidre was watching him, her large blue eyes lost and frustrated.
He forced himself to walk away, uneasy. Disliking the thought, he did what he should’ve done last night. He shut down her ability to use the portals, just in case there was something else going on.
“Did you find out who it belonged to, Landon?” he asked as he emerged onto the bank beside the eerily glowing lake.
The massive lake was roughly round with a panhandle on the side nearest the fortress. His death dealers were lined up along one side of the panhandle, waiting for the invasive mind check, where Gabriel went through their heads for signs of betrayal. He hated the idea but understood the necessity, especially after finding the second compass in the hands of demons within a week.
“Boss, we have a bigger issue,” Landon’s voice was hushed.
Tymkyn, the best tracker in the underworld, s
tood behind him, hands clasped and chest heaving. He looked as if he’d fought his way through a herd of demons to reach them. The tracker was wide and thick, a head smaller than Gabriel, and built like a boulder.
“Mind check,” Gabriel said.
Both death dealers bowed their heads without hesitation. Gabriel knew they were loyal before he placed hands on their heads based on their body language. Still, he made a show of checking the two assassins before he let them continue.
“You find Harmony?” Gabriel asked Tymkyn in an even voice. The highest ranking of his death dealers to defect, Harmony had been Gabriel’s lover for months and his second-in-command since he took over the underworld. She disappeared, and Gabriel assumed she was in Hell hiding.
“I did,” Tymkyn replied. “She’s in the underworld.”
Gabriel stared at him.
“They’ve been moving through the portal in Hell,” Tymkyn explained. “Harmony and a few others.”
“How?” Gabriel’s gaze went to the waiting death-dealers. He counted a total of seven missing, including the three known traitors.
“Apparently, the portal isn’t closed from Hell. The demons can’t access it, but an Immortal or dealer who goes through Hell can.”
“You mean, one who survives Hell,” Landon muttered.
“Or who makes a deal with the demons,” Tymkyn added. “They’re aggressively recruiting dealers.”
“Five reported interactions with demons this evening,” Landon said. “Probably when they realized why they’re here tonight. Another four are missing, assumed in the underworld.”
“I’ll determine who’s at risk in about five minutes,” Gabriel said firmly, eyes going to the waiting death dealers. “Landon, start taking accountability of dealers and compasses throughout the day. Surprise visits and inspections.”
“Will do. But, boss, that’s not the worst news,” Landon said with a glance at Tymkyn.
“The dealers in the underworld are rebelling,” Tymkyn said. “I caught one of the them in the shadow world on his way back to the mortal realm. They know you’re shut out, and Harmony has told them it’s because you were of human origin and the underworld is rejecting you. According to the dealer I cornered, there’s been some skirmishing between those loyal to you and those who want to install someone else.”
“Install someone else,” Gabriel repeated and shook his head. “It’s not possible.”
“They seem to think it is. They’re searching for something. They tore a part the palace and your cabin. I don’t know what it is, but it’s important. They seem to think if they can find it, they’ll be able to replace you with a Death of their choice.”
Gabriel frowned, unaware of anything that could push him from his position as Death.
Deidre would know.
His gaze drifted towards the fortress.
“How bad is it in the underworld?” he asked.
“Bad. Those who support you are few and are being driven into the Everdark forest,” Tymkyn replied. “But, you have to take the information in stride. It’s one source only. He might’ve been bluffing to keep me off guard.”
“Where is he?” Gabriel demanded. “I can determine that.”
Tymkyn pulled a soul from his pocket. Gabriel sighed in frustration. He took it.
“Find me another one,” he ordered. “Keep them alive until I can go through their minds.”
“Will do, boss.”
“Let me get this over with. Landon, my mate is here. Keep that quiet, though. I want Cora assigned to her fulltime.”
Landon nodded. Tymkyn waited for more. Gabriel lifted his chin in dismissal. His second-in-command signaled Cora over while Tymkyn disappeared into a portal. Gabriel checked Cora’s thoughts, relieved to find her clean and started down the line.
He found the five who reported the demon interactions with ease. Demons – especially those personally trained by Darkyn – knew how to sense weakness. They’d done their jobs well. All five of the death dealers were borderline about abandoning Gabriel. He pretended not to notice, though, and thought hard as he checked the minds of the remaining assassins.
What did he do to those who hadn’t taken that final step but probably would soon?
The responsibility of Death weighed heavily on his shoulders. There was no room for traitors in his ranks, not with his critical mission on the human world and his own mate within striking distance. The underworld would open for him, when he’d conquered his challenges here in the human realm. The deity Fate had told him as much, after shutting down Gabriel’s access to the underworld.
A mate lying to him and death dealers deserting right and left.
Gabriel reached the end of the assassins and turned to gaze at the lake with its souls. His duty was beyond question the most important there was: protecting the souls of the dead mortals and dead-dead Immortals. There was no room for mistakes or hesitation.
He drew a deep breath then turned to the waiting death-dealers. He walked down the line to the nearest of the five the demons had approached with offers and paused before the Immortal with icy blue eyes. Reading their minds confirmed they were considering the demons’ offers.
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you now,” Gabriel said calmly.
The death dealer stared at him. Those around them were silent, still. Instead of responding, the assassin knelt.
“Granted.” Gabriel acknowledged the request for a quick death. He placed his hand on the assassin’s head. A small pulse of power, and the man dropped.
Gabriel called the soul to him silently and watched the green fog form around his hand before it crystallized into an emerald. Gabriel tossed it into the lake. He moved onto the next death dealer whose loyalty was swaying and paused before the slender woman.
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you now,” he repeated.
She knelt.
Gabriel went down the line. None of the five fought him or made excuses. All obediently requested quick deaths, and he granted them, tossing their souls into the lake instead of crushing them to send them to Hell, which was the usual fate for the souls of traitors.
“Dismissed!” he called to those remaining.
Landon waited for him a short distance away. Gabriel took a moment to breathe deeply, unsettled by how quickly his assassins were falling. He thought them all loyal and supportive when he took over. At the first sign of real trouble, those who weren’t had begun to show their true allegiances.
He never expected there to be so many. It was a blow to him, considering he’d worked with many of them for thousands of years. No matter what they thought of his human origins, he was still the deity in charge of the underworld. More importantly, the underworld accepted his appointment. He was starting out doing a shitty job, but he was slowly conquering his challenges here on the human world.
Landon was right. Morale was low, and many had lost faith in Gabriel. He wasn’t certain how to prove to them he was their leader, aside from doing his job. In the meantime, killing dealers he used to consider colleagues or allies weighed heavily on his emotions at a time when he needed to think clearly.
Eight traitors in the week he’d been shut out of the underworld. If what Tymkyn learned was true, the underworld itself was at war.
He had to get back soon.
“Find Andre,” he said to Landon. “Send him my way.”
“Got it.”
Gabriel summoned a portal and returned to Deidre’s room. She was seated on the bed, folding and stacking the clothes he’d packed for her. He watched her for a minute. Without the senses of a deity, she was unaware of him. Her concentration was on the clothes, and he tried not to smile as she spent a minute petting a sweater.
He hadn’t thought about how different the world would be for her. Human-Deidre was enamored by the world; it was one of the traits that drew him. She found beauty in everything. This Deidre shared that trait. She was just as entranced, just as easily pleased by the world.
“Deidre, I need to ask you a couple of questions,” he said.
She jumped and faced him. The raised eyebrow expressed her disapproval of his sudden appearance in a way that made him want to touch her and remind her that he did what he wanted now.
He moved to sit on the trunk at the end of the bed, close enough to see the details of her features without being too tempted to take her in his arms.
“Long story short, there’s a rebellion brewing in the underworld. My expulsion hasn’t gone over well,” he said. “The dealers stuck below are flipping out. They’re tearing apart our home, trying to find something they think can remove me from my position.”
Her mouth was agape again, as it had been when he told her he was expelled. She shook her head, clamped her mouth shut then opened it to speak. Gabriel held up his hand.
“I don’t want a lecture,” he said firmly. “Tell me if there is something there I need to be concerned about.”
“Lecture,” she muttered, eyes flashing. “Clearly you found the compass. As long as you took the soul with it, there’s nothing they can do.”
Fuck. Gabriel thought back to the three items he’d discovered in her jewelry box: the compass, a soul and the tarnished ring he gave her hundreds of years ago. He took the soul compass only.
“And if I didn’t?” he asked.
“Why wouldn’t you? It was your soul.”
“My soul?”
“You can’t rule the underworld if you have a soul. It’s a conflict of interest,” she said with some exasperation.
“What the fuck kind of sense does that make?” he demanded.
“I don’t remember why. I only have twenty-six years worth of memories, thanks to Darkyn.” She frowned fiercely. “But I didn’t make that rule up. How do you think I had my soul to plant in human-Deidre’s head when she was born? When you become Death, your soul is rendered unnecessary. You were supposed to place it in with the souls of the other deities.”
“Which was …”
“In the closet in the corner of my bedchamber, the one I told you to go through.”
“You did not tell me to go through it!” Gabriel rose, furious once more, and began to pace. One minute, he was admiring the light of anger in her eyes. The next, he wanted to kill her.
Like old times.
“Of course I did. I told you, if you wanted to be exactly like me, to walk through that door,” she said. “Isn’t that clear enough? Please tell me you got your soul and put it there.”
He glared at her.
“You didn’t, did you?” she stared at him in a cross between dismay and amazement. “And you wonder why everything is in shambles.”
“Don’t go there,” he warned.
“Do you have your soul at least?”
“No.”
“Then you have to fix that, Gabriel,” she said and rose, concerned. “How could you ever think you’d rule the underworld, if you didn’t take it seriously? Yes, there is a way to kick you out of your position. It involves them taking your soul and sending it to Hell.” She neared him as she spoke, pausing close enough that she had to crane her head back to meet his gaze. Her hands were on her hips.
“If you’d left me instructions or told me what to do, I would’ve done it,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Did you ask?”
“You left me,” he hissed. “If you’d given me a fucking day or two advance notice, I might’ve had a chance to ask.”
“You had tens of thousands of millennia to ask!” She jabbed him in the chest.
“Then tell me now!”
“I ...” She blew out a breath. “I can’t. Darkyn took most of my memories.”
Gabriel growled at her, the brief touch enough to stir desire. His blood was already humming with desire; he forgot how much of a turn on arguing with her was.
“You are this close from me kissing you,” he said and held up his index finger and thumb an inch apart.
“That reminds me. Don’t touch me without permission.” She whirled away.
“Oh, fuck no. We’re not going back to that.” Gabriel took her arm and spun her back. She glared up at him.
He kissed her. He expected her to push him away and slap him, and he was prepared to leave and remain furious at her for the next week or two.
She froze as their lips met. When she didn’t reject him, Gabriel deepened the kiss, nibbling at her full lower lip. Deidre responded timidly at first then leaned into him. Gabriel’s arms went around her. She tasted sweet and saucy, like the woman herself, her heat, scent and silky skin filling his senses in a way that left him wanting more of her. All of her. Her lips were soft and warm, her body molded against his. She’d gone from defiant to yielding in the space of a single kiss.
Gabriel. Landon’s summons irritated him.
Gabriel trailed kisses down her jaw line and to the sensitive skin of her neck. She gasped.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do anymore,” he whispered against her ear. “I’ll touch and kiss you whenever I feel like it.”
Assuming she’s not still dying of a tumor. Gabriel almost groaned. The whole reason he’d avoided her was because of Wynn’s warning – pleasure kills – a reminder that Deidre’s tumor was connected to her emotions. Happiness and pleasure caused it to grow faster.
He kissed her again, slow and deep, savoring her flavor, then pulled his head away. Deidre was breathless, her eyes glazed. He loved that look, where her lips were plump from kissing and her cheeks flushed. She wanted him; he saw it on her face.
“I like you this way,” he baited her. “Not pissing me off.”
Her face flushed the way he knew it would. Gabriel chuckled and kissed her quickly again before she was able to object. He released her and left.
Landon was in the bottom floor of the fortress, waiting with a familiar face in the study. Andre, the eldest brother of the Council That Was Seven, had been recently reincarnated by Gabriel to help in the search for demons. Able to manipulate minds, Andre was also the much-needed calming force on Rhyn and the other high-spirited members of the Council. A diplomat by nature, he had long served in the peacekeeping capacity among his brothers, before he was rendered dead-dead seven months before.
“Good morning, Gabriel,” Andre said in a smooth voice as deep as his skin was dark. His eyes glowed turquoise, and he held a glass of wine in one hand. Dressed in a mock turtleneck of some expensive fabric and slacks, the seated Immortal was relaxed and bright-eyed, despite accompanying them on the hunt that led them to the meat locker a couple of hours ago. Gabriel was envious of how refreshed the Immortal managed to appear without sleep.
Andre’s calming magic had an effect even on deities. The tension melted from Gabriel’s shoulders as he sat on the settee across from Andre.
“Good morning, Andre,” Gabriel said then tossed his head towards the door. Landon took the hint and left.
“Were you pleased by our rather gruesome discovery?” Andre asked.
“Yeah,” Gabriel said with a snort. “We rescued three hundred souls. I’m grateful, Andre.”
“It’s what I do.” Andre dismissed the praise with an easy smile. “I’m afraid I have no good news on the other front. I visited dear Tamer and spent most of the day with him and his records. I didn’t know he had such an extensive library. I plan on returning to see what my brother is doing with all those histories he’s not sharing.”
Gabriel hid a smile, hearing the gruff-but-gentle disapproval of an older brother in Andre’s voice. Gabriel knew the secrets of all the brothers on the Council; t
here were things people told Death that they never revealed to anyone else. He was accustomed to hearing and safeguarding the secrets of others.
“In any case, Tamer had no information to share with regards to the tumor,” Andre finished. His cultured accent made even bad news sound pleasant.
“We may not need the information anymore,” Gabriel said pensively. “But I can’t find Wynn to help verify. You were able to feel the tumor in Deidre’s head the other night, right?”
“I was.”
“I need you to look again.”
Andre’s eyebrows rose. “Of course,” he said.
He didn’t ask questions, which Gabriel liked. Having played the patient sounding board to the Council members for thousands of years, Andre was adept at discretion.
“She’s here,” Gabriel added. “Sometime today would be good.”
“I will take her breakfast,” Andre said with a smile.
“Appreciate it.” Gabe rose. “Check in when you’re done.”
Andre inclined his head.
Gabriel left for the Caribbean Sanctuary, where the book possessed by a long dead Oracle was busy scribbling notes about the Present. He strode to the lectern where the massive book was perched.
“Show me the deals past-Death and my mate made with the Dark One within the past year.”
Two images sprang from the pages. One he’d seen before – that of past-Death and past-Dark One agreeing on a deal that resulted in raising Wynn from the dead. The second was made two nights ago, after he left Deidre in the Atlanta apartment to help Andre research how to help her.
The Oracle listed the complete terms, but Gabriel was only able to see the portion concerning his domain. Deidre had bartered for Darkyn to remove the tumor and to do so without pain. Darkyn’s end of the deal was hidden from Gabriel, but the deal was marked as fulfilled, according to the Oracle.
What had she paid for this favor?
More importantly, what was the deal that brought past-Death back to life? What had the two Deidres traded in order to be combined and let out of Hell? Gabriel knew Darkyn well enough to know the demon lord would exact no small fee for these favors.
And yet, he couldn’t deny that Deidre was back or at least, a woman who had the knowledge of the goddess and the body and heart of a human. If not for the fact she was lying to him, she would be the perfect mate.
Gabriel rubbed his jaw.
The terms of their deal were over. If Andre verified there was no tumor, did it matter what she was hiding? What could be more important than being able to spend eternity with her?
Nothing was.
The thought eased his concern without completely removing it. Gabriel’s gaze lingered on the images playing before him. Uneasy, he also realized he had to focus on mopping up the rest of his mess in the mortal world, so he could start to address the underworld.
Maybe this was the best solution: the two Deidres combined.
The more he tried to accept the idea, the harder it became to swallow.
It couldn’t be that easy.
He was almost grateful he’d never trusted either Deidre completely. He’d be a wreck if he had.
Day Two
Chapter Four
