Gabriel's Hope (#1, Rhyn Eternal)

Mid-morning sun warmed Gabriel’s face, drawing him out of the deepest slumber he’d experienced in years. He didn’t push himself awake but let his senses register the world slowly. The satiny sheets of the bed smelled of the woman he’d made love to for hours last night. The ocean breeze cooled his back, and his heartbeat was synced to the movement of the tide. The restlessness was gone from his blood, his body relaxed in a way he couldn’t remember feeling.

  Past-Death took him to her bed most nights for thousands of years, and he’d never woken this sated and centered. He knew why: every night was a test. Every night, he had to be better than the night before: More creative, more sensitive to her body. He’d loved her every way he could, knowing the night she was dissatisfied with him, she’d replace him. She never lost control of herself or failed to remind him that it wasn’t her fate at risk each night.

  Last night was different in too many ways for him to count. This woman had been wild, uninhibited. She’d held no part of herself back from him and surrendered in a way that made him want to memorize each sigh, the softness of her skin, her silky depths and the way her blue eyes grew dark with desire. She hadn’t judged him or restrained him. She touched him everywhere, hungry to consume him. She’d wanted him in a way the other women in his life never had. When her body ceased convulsing from an orgasm, she’d kissed him with tenderness and asked him how she could make him as happy.

  He had fun. Gabe snorted at the simple thought. She’d teased and flirted with him, adventurous one minute and submissive the next in a way that made him burn hotter for her. He experienced none of the awkwardness he did with Harmony. Though he intended to make the night about the dying woman, he found it was as much about him.

  It was one night he wanted to enjoy. His guard hadn’t lowered; it crashed as he let himself experience every part of her body, her cries and the passionate spirit that held him captive on the beach. She’d ensnared him with her laughter and touched him with her words about Death.

  About him. What he should be. What he used to be, before the events of the past year. He’d once done what she did: faced Death and refused to cower, instead deciding to live on his own terms.

  Aroused again, he reached over but didn’t feel her body. Gabe twisted his head to see the bed empty. The shower was on, and she was singing. His eyes went to the bathroom door, and he considered joining her. He’d fulfilled his end of the bargain and crossed quite a few things off her bucket list last night.

  Gabe roused himself and sat. One night stand. That’s all this was. This was a good opportunity to leave. He had a ton of work to do and was no closer to fixing any part of his underworld. He came back to search the body of Logan Myers and figure out what it was that Rhyn wanted him to know. He found a strange woman with pink hair and a blue face, sprawled on the beach, staring at the sky with a childlike fascination. He really thought her some sort of underworldly creature that somehow ended up washed up on the beach.

  Last night was an oasis, a slip. It was probably a mistake, but he truly admired her spirit. He’d never been guilty in his role as an assassin or as Death, until sitting with her on the beach. He’d wanted to make it up to her for her life ending too soon. Or maybe, he wanted to get rid of his own regret at the idea of taking such a sweet soul, someone who might’ve been a kindred spirit in a different time and place. He saw himself with a mate like her, one who was able to remind him what it was like to feel human.

  It was one night. He had work to do. He’d see her soul soon in the underworld.

  Gabe got dressed, tying one boot as the sound of the shower stopped. He braced himself to tell her thanks for the night and farewell. Hopefully there were no tears, and he was able to walk out instead of tumbling into bed with her like he wanted to.

  “Can I ask you something?” she called through the door, an odd note in her voice that made him pause as he pulled on the other boot.

  “Yeah,” he said.

  “Are you one of those serial killers who marks their victims?”

  He chuckled. He’d never considered Death a serial killer, but he did kind of fit the bill.

  “Like with a tattoo or something? I’m not mad. Curious. Or whatever,” she paused, as if waiting for his response, before continuing. “It’s pretty. Love the color and the swirlies, like Celtic designs around it. I saw on TV that some serial killers are possessive and do these sorts of things.”

  Gabe rose and swirled on his trench coat. There was genuine uneasiness in her voice that drew his interest. His movements stilled as he listened.

  “Is your name Gabriel by chance?” she ventured.

  He froze. His heart stopped in his chest, and for a long moment, he couldn’t breathe.

  “Show me,” he managed at last.

  “It’s okay. I think I’ll stay in here.”

  He strode to the door. It was locked. Gabe snapped the doorknob with ease. She jumped from her place before the mirror. A towel was wrapped around her and her pink hair clipped on top of her head. Written across the top of her back was his name and the geometric Immortal script marking her as his mate by Immortal law. She faced him, her pink face scrubbed clean.

  Immortal Code, Rule 973: An Immortal mate of human origin is marked with its Immortal’s name so that other Immortals know to protect and welcome the human into the Immortal society.

  “Deidre,” he whispered.

  She nodded uncertainly.

  Deidre. The name past-Death adopted when she took on a human form in her underworld before she quit. Though her hair was pink, there was no mistaking the delicate facial features, porcelain skin and large eyes of the woman who tormented him his entire life then dumped the underworld on him. The eyes that once turned from black to white to every color in between were now blue-green in color, and her face held a human flush enhanced by his lovemaking. Her lips were plump and red from their night.

  She was scared, probably because he was a second away from killing her.

  Gabe took a step back. His body tensed to the point of snapping. He whirled, called for a portal and left his betrayer, his former lover, the woman who had been his world, until she snatched it from him.

  His mate by Immortal law!

  She’d tricked, cornered and beaten him one last time.

  Thousands of years of repressed fury bubbled within him. He was too angry to see where he went as he crossed through the shadow realm. After awakening feeling at peace, he was close to pulling a Rhyn and decimating the world around him in an explosion of raw fury.

  Gabe was halfway across the gym where the Immortal foot soldiers were training before he knew where he was. Sensing the pulse of power, Rhyn whirled from the far side. He issued a quick order Gabe couldn’t hear through the blood pounding in his head.

  “How fucking long did you know?” he roared.

  The Immortals scattered while Rhyn remained.

  “I’m not going to-“ Rhyn started, hands up.

  Gabriel smashed into him, picked him up and threw him. Rhyn slammed into the wall above the doors the Immortals were fleeing through. Gabe saw the half-demon’s eyes flare silver and pursued, wanting … needing a fight.

  “How long, Rhyn?” he demanded again.

  This time, Rhyn didn’t back down. Gabe drew sword and dagger and unleashed on the half-demon, whose demon magic and quick reflexes responded with power that’d overwhelm anyone but Death himself. Gabe fought, not caring what happened. They smashed the gym around them, two titans dueling.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity lost in his fury, a dagger sliced his forearm. The physical pain penetrated his mental anguish, and he lowered his weapons. Gabe threw his head back, breathing hard and sweating.

  “You … good?” Rhyn panted.

  “Define good.”

  “I figured you’d be by yesterday.” Rhyn tossed his weapons. “We’ve known for a little over a week.”

  “About the time everything started going to shit with the underworld.”

  Anger rose, bu
t Gabe reined it in, exhausted. He flung away the weapons and the trench coat. His clothes were strangling him in heat after the match. He pulled off his sweater then dropped back onto the sparring mat, focusing hard on calming himself down. Unfazed by Gabe’s attempt to hack him into pieces, Rhyn sat beside him.

  “Rhyn?” One of the half-demon’s brothers called from the doorway.

  “Bring it.”

  Gabe twisted his head to watch Kiki, Rhyn’s right hand and the most dependable of the brothers, walk into the gym. He looked around in disapproval at the disaster that remained of the new gym. Gabe sat up as Kiki approached, and the tall Immortal paused, critical gaze taking in both of them.

  “It’s Gabe, Kiki. He’s not gonna kill you,” Rhyn said.

  “Yet,” Gabe added.

  “Neither of you are funny,” Kiki replied. He set the iPad he carried on a totaled machine a few feet away without coming closer. “Rhyn, a reminder that Gabriel is a deity or at least, a human-turned-immortal-turned-deity, which means you must use-“

  “-discretion,” Rhyn finished through clenched teeth.

  “Exactly. The first page has the talking points outlining what you can share,” Kiki said before addressing Gabriel. “Do you have any idea how much this gym cost to set up?”

  Practical and detail-oriented, Kiki was well-dressed and lean. Like all the brothers on the Council That Was Seven, he had the same father and a different mother. His Oriental features were chiseled, his turquoise eyes bright. He’d lived in Tokyo before Rhyn dragged him to the castle as his charge d’affairs.

  “Send me the bill,” Gabe said drily.

  Kiki was unimpressed. “Discretion, Rhyn.” He turned and walked out. Rhyn stood and crossed to the iPad, reading quietly.

  Gabe heard the voice of Rhyn’s mate, Katie, from the direction of the hallway as she greeted Kiki on her way in. Her blue eyes lit up when she saw him. Curly brown hair was pulled into a ponytail, and she wore jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt that was tight over her swollen belly. The last of Gabe’s anger slid away at her glowing smile.

  Rhyn glanced up, gaze lingering on his mate, then shook his head.

  “Hasn’t hatched yet?” he asked.

  She rolled her eyes at him. Gabe watched as she crossed the gym to give her mate a kiss on the cheek. The tension in Rhyn’s body doubled. Gabe cleared his throat, amused at seeing the half-demon putting so much effort into restraining himself.

  “Good to see you, Gabe,” she said, moving to stand near him. Rhyn trailed, never farther than arms reach when she was around.

  “You, too, Katie,” Gabriel replied. He reached out to rest a hand on her belly, as he did every time they met the past few months. The life within always greeted him.

  “So you let Gabe touch you but not me,” Rhyn said, bristling.

  “Gabe didn’t knock me up,” Katie replied archly.

  “Trade you an iPad for your mate,” Gabe replied. He tried to grab the iPad with his other hand. Rhyn yanked it away.

  “Take her. Keep her, until she’s normal again,” Rhyn growled.

  Katie ignored him. Gabe lifted his chin towards Rhyn in a silent request. She winked.

  “What color are her eyes?” she asked. “Can you tell yet?”

  Gabe used his magic to communicate with the small life.

  “Silver, like Rhyn’s,” he said.

  “Well, I guess you’re right, Rhyn. It is your kid,” she said with a sigh. “I wasn’t sure there for awhile. Kind of a blur. Nothing memorable.”

  “Nothing memorable?” Rhyn shifted his attention to glower down at his mate. The edge in his voice and the flash of his eyes made Gabe hide a smile.

  Sensing his dangerous mood, Katie leaned into Rhyn and gazed up at him. He wrapped one arm around her instinctively.

  “I’m having a mood,” she said.

  “Gods. What now?” he snapped. “Cheeseburgers? Ice cream? Another fucking week on the couch?”

  “More like, you give Gabe the iPad and take me upstairs,” she murmured. “Now.” As she spoke, she pulled the iPad loose and handed it to Gabe. She tilted her head to the side, exposing the delicate skin on her neck in an unmistakable invitation to the demon side of her mate. Rhyn made no attempt to reclaim the iPad, attention fully on her.

  “I’ll find you later, Gabe,” he said, his fangs growing.

  Gabe didn’t waste time. He silently thanked Katie and grabbed his gear. With Rhyn nuzzling Katie’s neck already, Gabe sensed they weren’t going to make it to their bedroom a few floors up.

  He returned to his underworld, reading the information on the iPad as he walked. The talking points Kiki had given Rhyn told him nothing aside from the name, date the Immortals found her and the human-Immortal blood percentage. She was ninety eight percent human.

  He flipped to the next page as he emerged near the palace, agitated at realizing he’d get no privacy, not with the hundreds of assassins loitering. Instead of taking a portal to his cabin in the Everdark forest, he hiked through the woods. A trail formed in any direction he wanted to walk. The branches of the trees slithered overhead while brush and bramble scampered out of his way.

  His cabin was tiny, two rooms, with the walls lined with weapons he’d collected over the years. He stretched out on his back on his bed. The picture of Deidre almost made him throw the iPad, but he forced himself to flip through the various surveillance pictures Rhyn’s Immortals had collected. Until he saw the one of her kissing someone.

  Then he set down the iPad, reminded of how often past-Deidre teased him by taking other assassins to her bed.

  He couldn’t think straight. Nothing made sense. The Deidre he’d spent the night fucking was not the same as the goddess who tormented him. And yet they were. The deity had purposely left the underworld in shambles then gone to the mortal world, probably knowing her reincarnated human form was his mate.

  His mate.

  It was too much. By Immortal Code, he was obligated to claim her and protect her as Rhyn had Katie. Seeing her made him want to explode.

  Her scent lingered on his skin. Gabe hated her yet couldn’t escape the memory of the compassion and spirit that made him take a stranger to bed last night.

  Death lets you see the stars and the moon instead of how dark the night is.

  He heard the unquenchable life in a dying woman. Her words touched him on a level he didn’t expect, one he thought was dead, destroyed by past-Death.

  She was alive. She was his. She was dying.

  He sank into stormy contemplation, clueless how to handle the latest of his challenges. Thousands of years of love-hate memories left him conflicted. How did he follow the Code, when it felt like it was betraying him? He’d never resented the Code before. It was his life, a sense of comfort and structure. This time, it was suffocating him.

  The forest outside his windows grew dark, and he forced himself to his feet. Sitting around wasn’t going to solve any of his problems. Whenever he was frustrated by her before, he went back to doing what he did best: his job.

  He pushed Deidre out of his mind. Composed enough to handle his duties, Gabe left his cabin. Wired energy made him edgy and his step quick. Harmony met him in the woods, coming from the direction of the palace.

  “What’s broken?” he asked.

  “The portals are working.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. We tested them. Soul radars are still broken, but we can at least travel to the mortal world.”

  Instead of being cheered by the news, he was annoyed. He didn’t know why they broke in the first place or how to fix them if it happened again. She was waiting for him to tell her what to do.

  “That’s good,” he said at last. He rubbed his jaw. “Send half of the assassins to the mortal world. Have them positioned at the Sanctuaries and at Rhyn’s. I’m not taking chances this happens again.”

  “Will do. Are you alright, Gabriel?” she asked.

  He hadn’t thought twice about running into
her in the forest. It was past dark, and she’d come to his cabin most nights for the past two months. Gabe realized she was coming to see him for pleasure, not business this time. And he had a mate, one he refused to touch but who now kept him from finding solace with any other woman.

  “I’ll survive,” he said, waiting for her to get the joke. When she continued to gaze at him, he sighed. “Get it? I’m Death, and I said I’ll survive?”

  “Interesting,” Harmony said.

  The Deidre from the beach would have appreciated it. She’d laughed hard when he murmured to her about famous last words. He’d found it funny for his own reasons. By the end of their conversation, he understood why she laughed, too.

  Anger building again, Gabe strode forward. Harmony followed.

  “Is the hole in the sky sealed at least?” he asked, referring to the entry the demons had made into Death’s underworld prior to his takeover.

  “Sealed this morning. The last of the demons are dead-dead.”

  “Good. I’m going to see someone about something that might help our radars. You know how to find me.” He didn’t wait for a response but opened a portal and crossed into the mortal world.

  It was daylight here, and he instinctively assessed it was still Sunday on this side of the world. Time passed differently in the underworld than the mortal world. Sometimes, a night in the underworld was equal to seconds in the mortal world, sometimes a night and sometimes, a few nights. A few hours had passed since he left Deidre’s bed this morning; it was early afternoon in the mortal realm.

  He strode through the crowded Egyptian street market, the Khan al-Khalili, one of the oldest markets in the world. Gabe made his way through the narrow alleys and disjointed walkways that wound like a maze through the market. Tourists and locals alike bartered with vendors, and he entered a tiny silver shop, where he sensed the Immortal he sought.

  “Tamer,” he said to the small man behind the counter.

  He pointed to a set of narrow stairs. Gabe climbed them, forced to go sideways to make it up to the top.

  “If Rhyn sent you…” Tamer, Rhyn’s half-brother and one of the four surviving members of the Council That Was Seven, growled from across the room.

  “He didn’t.”

  “You here for me?”

  “No.”

  The largest of the brothers in size, Tamer’s temper most closely resembled Rhyn’s. The two were always at each other’s throats, and Gabe had witnessed their decision making skills on the Council. Rhyn always won, but Tamer got his punches in. Lounging in a pillowed corner of the room, Tamer resembled a cross between a lion at rest and a desert Bedouin with his muscular form and loose garb. His skin was dark, his eyes turquoise, as their father’s had been. He drank hot tea from a glass.

  “You’re my last resort,” Gabe started.

  “Great way to start a discussion. I feel motivated to help you.”

  Ignoring the acid tone, Gabriel sat in the chair a few feet from him. He pulled off the compass and held it out. Tamer studied it. After giving him a moment to examine it, Gabe spoke.

  “Two questions. One, can you read the symbols?”

  “They’re archaic. They predate anything I’ve ever seen before. I might have a later text with similar symbols I can use to trace the roots of the writing,” Tamer answered. “What’s the second?”

  “Can you duplicate whatever this is?”

  Tamer’s eyes took it in expertly before he rose. “Come on.”

  He strode through a curtained doorway in the corner and down a long hallway almost too narrow for either of them to fit.

  Each of the brothers on the Council was gifted in some way. They’d never trusted one another enough to share, and their father made things worse by compartmentalizing the Council’s business and pitting the sons against one another long before he was killed. Gabriel knew the secrets of all seven from interacting with them over the years. There were things Immortals told Death – or Death’s messengers – they dared not tell anyone else. Who better to keep a secret?

  Tamer’s gift: He was the keeper of the Immortal histories, records not even Rhyn knew about, that only Tamer could read with his magic.

  “Shouldn’t you know this shit? Since you’re Death?” Tamer asked over his shoulder.

  “Shouldn’t you be in the Alps with Rhyn?” Gabe returned.

  “I was granted leave. I need goddamn permission to take a piss.”

  As much as the brothers hated one another, Rhyn and Tamer were too similar for Gabe to feel anything but amused by the open hostility. They emerged through a back door into a massive foyer made of white marble and limestone with ancient carvings on the walls and statues positioned throughout. Tamer continued to a locked door on the other side of the foyer. It led down another hallway lined with wooden doors, each marked with an Immortal symbol.

  He pushed open the fourth door, walking into a large room stacked from floor to ceiling with ancient tablets, manuscripts, and books. In the center was a table stacked with more of the records.

  Gabe paced as Tamer climbed a ladder to tablets stacked at the top of one limestone shelf. His thoughts kept straying to a certain pink-haired woman whose scent on his skin was driving him crazy.

  “You’re making me edgy,” Tamer snapped.

  Gabe stopped and crossed his arms. Tamer descended, one cracked tablet in hand. He tossed it on the table with a thud then set the compass on top.

  “Some similar,” he said, pointing out the symbols.

  Gabe frowned. Whatever Tamer saw, he did not. The writing on the tablet was too faded to make out, and the symbols he did see looked nothing like those on the compass. He sensed magic, though, and understood the Immortal was able to access the tablet in a way Death had no need to.

  “The writing on this is from the time-before-time,” Tamer said, motioning to the compass. “Before the last great demon raid. Maybe even before the first demon raid. It’s an interesting piece. Not an original, but probably kept to spec.”

  “How old is the compass?” Gabe asked.

  “Compass? That would’ve been nice to know.”

  “Does it matter?”

  “It might. Its function could determine the meaning of the symbols, since the most ancient Immortal writing is based on a complex system of symbolic context. A letter in one place might mean something completely different somewhere else,” Tamer explained. “This compass is only a few thousand years old. I can spend time researching it or I can try to duplicate.”

  “Duplicate,” Gabriel replied. “I’ve got an army of bored assassins on the verge of killing off the wrong souls. I’d rather fix that first. If you can duplicate, I’ll need as many of those as I can get.”

  Wariness crossed Tamer’s face as he realized what the compass did. He stepped back from the desk, as if fearing the compass would claim his soul right there.

  “The magic binding it is Death’s,” he said. “If I can piece it together, I’ll need your help to test it.”

  “Easy.”

  “And of course, I’m a businessman.” Tamer smiled. “This’ll cost you.”

  “I’m sure you wouldn’t dream of charging past-Death.”

  “She wasn’t best friends with Rhyn.”’

  “I’ll owe you a favor of your choosing, if you can make these work,” Gabe said.

  “Nice. Deal.” Tamer held out his hand. “Come back tomorrow. I’ll have something for you.”

  Gabe shook on it, satisfied he at least had the right person looking into the issue. Tamer pulled out his cell phone and scowled. Gabe saw the screen light up with a text message.

  “Rhyn says to send you his way when you’re done here. Didn’t think deities took orders from half-breeds,” Tamer said, shoving the phone back in his pocket.

  “Thanks.” Gabe left the library. He called a portal when in the hallway and walked into the shadow realm, stopping in place.

  The gray door to his underworld was gone. It denied entrance to its o
wn master. Gabriel’s temper was close to boiling over, for the umpteenth time since he inherited the responsibilities of Death. If his week was any indication, this was not about to fix itself as easily as the portal shutting out his assassins.

  Immortal Code, Rule 22: Only deities can interfere with the duties of another deity.

  He suspected Fate was done with smiley faces and polite invitations. Locking him out of his underworld wasn’t a summons Gabriel could ignore.

  Determined to fix what he’d fucked up, Gabriel drew a deep breath then strode towards one of the sunny portals to the mortal world.

  Rhyn stood beside a lake on the property the Immortals owned around the castle in the French Alps. The shade of the forest where Gabe emerged was cool, the spring sunshine warm. The scent of pine and blooming flowers was thick in the air. He sensed the presence of his assassins nearby, relieved a few had made it out of the underworld before the portal disappeared.

  “Notice anything out of place?” Rhyn asked, peering into the lake.

  Gabriel joined him and cursed. The bottom of the lake glowed with souls. The green gems reflected the sunshine, shimmering through the clear water.

  “How many of my dealers made it here?” he asked after a moment.

  “Five. I dragged them out here as soon as we found this.” Rhyn lifted his chin to the far side of the lake. “Want me to drain the lake?”

  “Not yet. I have no way of getting them back to the underworld,” Gabe said.

  Rhyn met his gaze, surprised.

  “C’mere, Harmony,” Gabe said, using his magic to project the quiet order across the lake.

  “I never thought I’d be the one to say this, but I think you have real issues, Gabe,” Rhyn said.

  Gabe nodded, forced to admit he no longer had any idea how to fix whatever was broken in Death’s domain. Harmony appeared beside him.

  “We’re shut out of the underworld,” he started. “How many made it up?”

  “Forty three, five here, thirty eight spread among the Sanctuaries,” she answered promptly.

  “Can you sense them?” He indicated the souls.

  “Within a short distance. We sensed them from the castle but not much farther.”

  “About five kilometers,” Gabe judged. “It’s something. Spread everyone out and have them start searching. We need to locate how many lakes are now possessed.”

  Rhyn chuckled. Harmony didn’t get the joke. Gabriel wasn’t surprised.

  “And then what?” she asked.

  “For now, our mission is to protect the lost souls from the demons.”

  “Very well.”

  Gabe turned towards Rhyn, in sore need of a pep talk as only his best friend could provide.

  “Gabriel,” Harmony’s voice was hesitant.

  He looked at her once more. She considered for a moment then shook her head.

  “Later,” she said. “I’ll catch up with you.”

  “You’re doing good, Harmony,” he said, sensing her concern.

  She smiled politely then opened a portal.

  “Even I know what that was, Gabe,” Rhyn said, amused.

  Gabriel suspected he did, too. A status check on their relationship, the one he hadn’t told her he couldn’t have, because he was trapped into mating with a formerly sadistic psychopath-turned-human he was trying hard not to kill. If he slipped and broke that rule, he didn’t have to break it off with Harmony. He hadn’t made up his mind about either woman yet.

  “I have a bet with Katie,” Rhyn started. “She thinks you blew up the gym because Deidre is your mate by Immortal law. I said it’s because you slept with her.”

  Gabe grimaced. “You’re both right.”

  “That is not good, Gabe,” Rhyn said with a shake of his head. “You realize that means you can’t kill the bitch who tortured you for all those years?”

  Immortal Code, Rule 10 & 11: An Immortal must regard the protection of its mate above its own safety. It cannot purposely kill its mate.

  “I …no. Son of a bitch.” He was quiet for a moment, broiling internally. “None of my dealers can either, if I can’t be directly involved in her death.”

  “Did you read the file?”

  Gabe gave him a cold look.

  “You couldn’t get past the pictures, could you?” Rhyn asked. “I didn’t think so. If I saw Katie with another man, there would be nothing left of this world.”

  “I spent thousands of years and broke the Code twice. The past few months, I’ve come close to breaking it hundreds of times to keep the underworld from shutting down. Now, I know what I should do by Immortal law. I saw the mark with my own eyes. I knew what it meant. And I walked away. I didn’t even try. I have an obligation, Rhyn. To the lost souls, to the underworld, to a woman I want to hate,” Gabe finished. “I’m failing every one of them.”

  “I did a shit ton of damage trying not to be Katie’s mate. She wouldn’t have survived, if not for you, Gabe. From the beginning, you were willing to do what I couldn’t,” Rhyn said. “You didn’t fail me. You won’t fail the underworld or her.”

  Gabe listened. He’d watched over Katie every night for months while she and Rhyn struggled to find their paths. He’d helped build the bridge between the two who were sworn together as mates after they barely learned each others’ names. He’d talked Rhyn off the ledge a million times then defied past-Death to protect Katie. He’d done it for the people he cared about as much as out of his sense of honor. He did what was right. He always did, no matter what the personal cost.

  “What is wrong with me?” he muttered, furious at himself. Somewhere along the past few months, he lost his way. He didn’t even know what the right thing to do was anymore. He’d caught himself creeping closer and closer to breaking Immortal Codes.

  “She’s human now. She can’t do to you what she used to,” Rhyn said at the silence. “I mean, the deity we knew would never dye her hair the color of a water sprite’s.”

  Or paint her face blue, Gabriel added.

  “She’s yours by Immortal law, which means you’re fucked. I know that much. I can’t help you much with any of these things.” Rhyn motioned to the souls. “I figured you’d freak out. I’ve got Immortals keeping an eye on her. The demons want her bad, but they’re waiting for something.”

  “The demons are stealing my souls, too. I can’t figure out how they’re beating us.”

  “Their activity is off the charts. It’s my responsibility to monitor and deter them in the mortal world,” Rhyn said. “I’m as fucked as you. The Council is a mess. My dear half-brother Erik went into hiding and hasn’t been seen in weeks, leaving his part of the world completely exposed. We’re still trying to recover from the demon raids last fall. We lost so many Immortals, Gabe. I destroy shit. That’s what I do. But even I can’t keep up with the demons. I’m the only one who can track them, and only when I’m close enough to kill them.”

  “We’ve both got issues,” Gabriel said.

  “Kiki keeps telling me Andre would’ve figured this out by now,” Rhyn continued. “You know how fucking annoying that is?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Gabe smiled. “I get that a lot, too.”

  “I know one thing for sure: the Immortal mood beast that is my mate is the only reason I’m making it through this. Pick your battles, Gabe. You won’t win this one, so give up now.”

  Gabe sensed Rhyn’s words came from an enormous amount of thought. The Immortal had the temper of a demon, the power of a deity and the self control of a child. His bond to Katie tempered what was otherwise a disaster of epic proportions. That he’d grown a little more thoughtful and a little less reactive in how he handled adversity impressed Gabe.

  It didn’t mean Gabriel was ready to swallow the reality of being bound to the woman who tortured him. Not yet.

  “She’s human, Gabe.”

  “I get that,” Gabriel snapped.

  “This must be what it’s like when Kiki’s trying to school me,” Rhyn said with a laugh. ??
?No, you don’t get it. You’re not hearing me. She’s helpless, like Katie was.”

  “You’re calling me a piece of shit for walking away, aren’t you?”

  “I’m saying, learn from the shit I went through and go get your mate. Dump her off here, if you don’t want to deal with her, then get your ass down to the underworld and fix that shit. You’re Death. The only person who can do it.”

  Everything Rhyn said was right. By Immortal Code, Gabriel was obligated to protect Deidre. He didn’t have to love her or live with her or even talk to her. Past-Deidre controlled his life. Now that she was gone, she only ruled his life if he allowed her. He didn’t know how to shake off that yoke or his anger.

  His thoughts went to the door in the corner of past-Death’s bedroom in the underworld. Would walking through it prevent more issues and fix those he had? Would it help him figure out how to deal with Deidre? What about Fate, who’d been hounding him for weeks? Would the deity shed light on what Gabriel was doing wrong?

  “Alright,” he muttered. “There’s something I should’ve done awhile ago. I need to go do it now.”

  “Go.”

  “If the death-dealers give you any issues, talk to Harmony,” Gabriel advised. “This might take me a little while.”

  “I already had a discussion with one of them,” Rhyn said. “They understand.”

  Gabe snorted, knowing his assassins were unaccustomed to being challenged by anyone. If they backed down, it was because Rhyn did much more than talk.

  He called a portal and walked into the center. The gateway closed behind him.

  “You win, Fate. I’m coming to see you,” he grated. Turning in a full circle, Gabe waited for a sign the deity still sought him. It took two full revolutions before he saw it, a mortal gateway that pulsed brighter than the others, beckoning him. Uncertain what to expect, Gabe went through it.

  Someone was waiting for him at the Sanctuary, seated on the beach. Gabe’s step slowed as he neared the man dressed in a white shirt held closed by two buttons and cream linen pants rolled to his knees, as if he’d been walking in the ocean. He wore no shoes and sat with his arms draped over his knees. His body was wiry and lean, his skin golden from sun. His eyes were white then black then changed from every color in between, his brown hair of medium length and wavy, ruffled by the sea breeze. He was stunning, ageless, as the goddess of the underworld had been, except this deity’s smile was genuine.

  “I knew you’d come,” Fate said.

  Gabe studied the deity gazing up at him. He wasn’t expecting Fate to crack a joke. Past-Death and Fate had been at each other’s throats for as long as Gabe could remember. He’d never met the enigmatic deity, but he’d heard past-Death go off about this man after every interaction.

  “You didn’t find that funny.”

  “I did,” Gabe said, allowing a trace of a smile to slip free. “I don’t know why I’m here.”

  “Because you’re single-handedly destroying the universe. No pressure.” Fate patted the sand beside him.

  Gabe lowered himself into a crouch a few feet away, recalling the last time he’d been on a beach. He wanted more of the woman he’d sat with yet guessed he’d kill her if he was allowed. Or make love to her again. Or both.

  “I’m doing something wrong, aren’t I?” Gabe said.

  “I’d say so. You’ve been fighting me since you took over.”

  “Not on purpose.”

  “That’s what they all say,” Fate replied. “Sometimes, you need to acknowledge the path at your feet and just go with it.”

  “Fucking deities speaking in riddles,” Gabe muttered.

  “Maybe it’s easier than you’re making it out to be.”

  “Or maybe you all should consider making instruction manuals before dumping your duties and walking away.”

  “You don’t need an instruction manual. The Code is flexible for us godlings,” Fate said, chuckling. “She was better than me at fucking people over. I warned her about crossing the line. It’s one thing to see the Future; it’s another entirely to try to change it. You fuck with the Future, you fuck with me.”

  “I want to do my job. I don’t want to fuck with you or any of the others,” Gabe said firmly.

  Fate studied him for a long moment. “Every chain of events starts with one push, a catalyst, the perfect mix of different elements that craft a path and make an outcome more likely. For example, when you ignored my first summons” - Fate glared at him - “you made the deterioration of the underworld eighty percent likelier. When you ignored my second summons, you forced me to make a choice and start off a new chain of events.”

  “What choice was that?” Gabe asked, genuinely interested.

  “To intervene or not. That eighty percent went to ninety nine. You forced my hand. The alternative was irreparable and too permanent for my taste. I sort of like the mortal world existing.”

  Coldness trickled through Gabriel. He knew he wasn’t performing well in his new role, but to hear Fate tell him he was on a crash course with catastrophe made him sick to his stomach.

  “I’m listening,” Gabe said. “Tell me whatever it is I’m screwing up, so I can fix it.”

  “I did tell you. Stop fighting me.” Fate grinned. “Stop overlooking the resources you have at your disposal. For example, there’s a room in your palace in the underworld where you’ve refused to go. You know what’s there. You know why you haven’t wanted to visit.”

  Gabe looked away. “I don’t know exactly what’s there.”

  “You know when you cross that threshold, there’s no going back. It’s a one way visit, and that is what you fear most, the possibility you turn into what you hate.”

  “Yeah,” Gabe said quietly. “That’s it, then. All these issues because I didn’t open one door?”

  Fate shrugged. “It’s one of your issues. You’ll have to figure out the rest, first. You had access to that door and didn’t walk through it. Now, you get to earn your way back to that choice. Right now, I can’t trust you to set up what I’d call healthy chain of events.”

  “Clean up my messes in the mortal world then you’ll let me go home,” Gabe summarized.

  “Correct. Easy, isn’t it?”

  Fate narrowed down his challenges to those he was able to handle. But only because he fucked it up so bad, there was no other choice. The emeralds in the mortal lakes, the uncollected souls, the broken radars, the demons stealing souls. His challenges on the mortal realm alone were overwhelming.

  “Will I know when I’m on track?” Gabe asked.

  “It will be so obvious, even you will see it. You now have a thirty five percent chance of succeeding. Isn’t that better than one percent? No need to thank me. Just doing my job.”

  Gabe smiled. He should’ve known he’d end up liking someone past-Death hated. The deity managing the Future was wise in the way of an ancient immortal that had seen everything since the time-before-time, yet laid back and friendly, two traits Gabe didn’t expect.

  “Why did my predecessor hate you so much?” he asked.

  “Because I had the power to tell her no, and I did it often,” Fate replied.

  “That sounds about right,” Gabe said, recalling how much she liked to be in control. “Why are you helping me?”

  Fate winked. “I like having the last laugh.”

  “Deidre.”

  “Past-Deidre made a wager with me. I agreed and of course, yanked her Sight so she couldn’t cheat. She lost,” Fate said. “I’ve been sitting here all day, waiting for you and debating what I’ll say when I see her again.”

  “What was the bet?” Gabe asked, amused to know the woman who fucked with him had herself been fucked with by the man beside him.

  “Ask me again when you decide to follow the path at your feet,” Fate said. “Assuming you make it that far.”

  They were quiet for a long moment, listening to the ocean. Gabe wasn’t going to ask what happened if he failed. He wouldn’t let himself fail. He?
??d floundered up until now. Too much relied upon him for him to continue barreling towards disaster. No more excuses. No more personal weakness.

  “Thanks,” he said and stood. “Is it a safe guess that I now owe you?”

  “Only if you succeed,” Fate replied. “I already know what I’ll ask for.”

  “Alright. Wish me luck.” Whatever favor Fate asked of Death, it’d be huge.

  “I’ll see you in an hour.”

  “Not sure I like the sound of that,” Gabriel said, eyeing Fate.

  “Chain of events, my friend.”

  Shaking his head, Gabriel left, headed to the place he knew he needed to be. For the first time since taking over the underworld, he had a small semblance of direction. It wasn’t enough to salvage his mess, but it was a start.

  Chapter Five