Gabriel's Hope (#1, Rhyn Eternal) (12 page)

Deidre stretched upwards to grab another carafe. She heard voices in the dining room, one distinctly male. Terrified Gabriel was coming to kill her, she sought a place to hide, finally settling on a small, dark space under a counter.

She sat as far from the opening as she could, brandy clenched in shaking hands. The footsteps of those entering the kitchen were solid against the stone floor. A pair of legs paused in front of her cubby hole.

“You can come out or I can drag you out.” While male, this voice wasn’t Gabriel’s. This one was more of a growl, part human, part something else.

Deidre rested her forehead against her knees, tears on her face. The speaker crouched, a muscular man with liquid silver eyes. He wasn’t human, either. He reached in and snatched the brandy. Deidre pushed herself against the wall.

“Why do you insist on giving our women alcohol?” he demanded of Daniela, who stood beside him. “You know it’s against the Code.”

“If you didn’t bring them here either half-eaten by demons or thinking they’re dead, they wouldn’t need alcohol,” Daniela snapped.

Demons.
Deidre hadn’t landed in heaven; she’d landed in hell. Was it for killing herself or for killing Gabriel? She squeezed her eyes closed, ears buzzing and tunnel vision forming.

The man’s arm wrapped around her and pulled her out of the hiding place. She shook too hard to resist. He grunted as he swung her up in to his arms and carried her away. Probably to be thrown into a lake of fire.

“You were banned from here,” Daniela sounded angry.

“You’re welcome for convincing Gabe not to knock down the rest of your walls to get to this one.”

Their voices warbled, until he set her down. A charge of fire tore through her, and Deidre’s eyes flew open. She gasped.

“Coffee. Now.” The man with silver eyes barked at Daniela.

The woman in brown glared at him but stalked towards the kitchen. He sat down across from Deidre, and she would’ve tried to run again, if her body worked right. Solid and menacing, the man across from her was staring at her as if trying to determine if she was edible.

“This is hell, isn’t it?” she whispered.

“Not even close,” he said, amused.

“Am I dead?”

“Yes and no. It’s a really good story. Once upon a time - ”

“The leader of the Council does not discuss these things!” Daniela said sternly. She emerged from the kitchen with a tray laden with coffee and its accoutrements, a slice of pie and water. “Discretion, Rhyn.”

“I’m not dead?” Deidre said. “Or I am?”

“No, you’re not dead,” Daniela answered with a sharp look at Rhyn. “Gabriel brought you here through the shadow world.”

“Which is located near my apartment building,” Deidre said, needing the brandy again already.

“What’d you do to piss him off?” Rhyn asked. “He’s a raving lunatic out there right now.”

“Piss him off?” Deidre repeated. “He killed my boyfriend! Chopped his head off right in front of me!” Her throat was too tight to say more.

“Good man. I would’ve done the same.”

Deidre had the sense of being late to a conversation. She wasn’t able to catch up, though, not with the absolute weirdness of it all. Alcohol buffered her from her all-out panic, enough so that she was able to sip coffee without dropping the mug. At the strong flavor, she glanced at Daniela, who winked. The coffee was half-filled with brandy.

“Gabriel is Death,” Rhyn said.

Deidre looked up. “You said he was alive.”

“
Death
, not dead. Soul collector, grim reaper, death-dealer, assassin, Keeper of Souls. Death,” he said. “That’s why he wears the trench coat all year round. The underworld doesn’t have direct sunlight.”

“I’ll play along.” She held her face in her hands. “He wants to kill me, because he’s Death and that’s what Death does.”

“Oh, no.” The man’s chuckle was terrifying.

Daniela slapped him on the back of the head.

“Goddammit, woman, I heard you the first time!” he snarled at the nun. With an annoyed shake of his head, he addressed Deidre again. “He’ll have to tell you that story. Anyway, now, by Immortal law, you’re his mate, so he legally has to protect you instead of get revenge. That’s why his name is on your back, by the way. You have a list of enemies longer than mine, and he’s obligated to protect you.”

“Of course,” Deidre said, fighting tears. She chugged the coffee.

“You’re handling this better than I expected.”

“Rhyn,” Daniela said with a sigh. “You’re clearly terrifying the girl.”

“She needs to learn her place fast.”

Deidre dropped her head into her arms, sobbing. Nothing they said made sense. All she could do was hope she passed out and awoke in her bed or on the beach or not at all. Her body grew heavy, and she slumped.

“You spiked her coffee,” Rhyn accused Daniela.

“And drugged her. She’ll be out in two minutes, but she should be …manageable when she wakes up. Now, catch her before she hits her head. She needs to rest.”

Rhyn muttered. Deidre felt herself lifted once more. Drunk and crying, she didn’t bother opening her eyes. She didn’t know where he took her, but he set her down on a narrow bed.

“Come find me if you want to know the story of you and Gabe,” he whispered for her ears only.

Out of control, she curled on her side and tumbled into unconsciousness.

Chapter Six

Gabriel stayed on the beach until the sun began to set. Sensitive to the light after years in the underworld, his head felt like it was going to explode. Falling thirty stories onto the hard sand of the Sanctuary did nothing to help. In hindsight, he didn’t know why he thought the rocky beach provided a more yielding place to land than concrete. If he ever leapt off another building, he’d choose pavement, which might have some give to it.

His back was shredded from landing on his weapons as well as the stones on the beach. He’d managed to peel off his sweater and rinsed the blood off his body in the surf. Now, he waited to heal and to calm down. He could think of nothing more appealing than kicking his mate’s ass, as much for leaping off the building as for making him feel what he did when he saw her jump.

Terror. He’d lost her once. He never wanted to lose her again. He’d ignored the demons swarming her apartment building and followed her over the side of the building. He thought of nothing else but saving her. Of all the reasons he resented her, this was the one that stung him the most. He couldn’t forget the energy of the bond that tore through when he held her on the roof. It was unlike what he’d known with his predecessor; this was natural, deep, soothing. Compelling. He understood why Rhyn never let Katie out of arm’s reach when they were in the same room.

Deidre was his. Judging by the strength of their bond, she’d be more than a duty to him.

He wanted to hate her and to tell Fate to fuck off. Watching the sun sink into the ocean, he knew it was only a matter of time before he gave in and accepted it, like Rhyn eventually did Katie.

“Rhyn said you’d be here.”

Gabe glanced at the Immortal. Tamer dropped onto his knees and held out two compasses: the original and a second without the wear of time around its edges.

“I duplicated it,” Tamer said. “The original was put together with magic, and I managed to do the same with the new one. There might be some sort of …”

Gabe grabbed the new one, and the face flared to life. The hands spun several times while the icons around its edges glowed, danced and finally settled back in place. The brightness faded.

“…or that,” Tamber said. He plucked it out of Gabe’s hands and held it up.

Gabe sensed some sort of Immortal power.

“You need to test it, but it reads like the original,” Tamer said.

Hefting them, Gabe glanced at his forearm. Both compasses lit up as the next name on the list appeared.

“You are the first good news I’ve had in a fucking week,” he said quietly. “How many of these can you make me?”

“That thing cost a fortune,” Tamer replied. “I’ve got enough materials to make you fourteen. If I rope in my assistant, I can produce two a day.”

“Fourteen?” Gabe frowned. “I need a few hundred, and I can’t wait months. I need everything I can get in a week or two.”

“Tell the half-breed to fund it,” Tamer suggested. “If you got people, send them my way. I used machinery to cut the pieces. They can assemble it. I’m the only one who can seal it.”

“Get started. Rhyn won’t say no,” Gabe said.

“If you say so. Hope this keeps that dick off my back for awhile.”

“He knows I’m going through some shit right now. He should leave you alone,” Gabriel agreed. “Do you need the original, or can I keep it?”

“Take them both. I have the specs.”

“Thanks.” Within the week, the death-dealers stuck in the mortal realm could start collecting souls again. A trickle of relief went through him as he realized he was able to fix one of the many issues he faced. He had a feeling the most difficult was the one hiding in the Sanctuary.

“Alright. I’ll check in tomorrow,” Tamer said. “Looks like something exploded.” His gaze was on the blood-soaked sand where Gabe landed.

“Pretty much.”

Tamer shook his head and rose, disappearing into a portal. Gabe climbed to his feet. The sun was down, the afterglow of sunset lingering on the horizon. His trench and shirt were shredded and his favorite sword shattered, along with the majority of his other weapons. He gathered the three daggers that survived.

His gaze went to the Sanctuary. Reluctantly, he walked up the sloping hill and to the door that opened automatically for its master, unlike the portal home. He glared at it and strode into the well-lit courtyard of the Sanctuary.

He sensed Deidre but didn’t go to her, instead walking through the open-aired hallways until he reached the quarters reserved for him. Pushing the door open with his foot, he dropped the contents of his arms on the bed and opened the dresser drawers. There were no trench coats outside of the underworld he’d consider wearing, but he pulled on a soft black t-shirt and strapped a few sheaths to his body.

Ready, he left his room and walked through the courtyard.

“You’re not going to see her?” Daniela’s voice was heavy with disapproval.

“If she’s in danger, I’ll know.”

“Danger isn’t the problem.”

“She’s safe here. That’s all that concerns me,” he replied in a hard tone.

“She’s scared, Gabriel.”

Gabe paused then forced himself to continue. He’d deal with her after he issued orders to his assassins.

He crossed through the shadow world to the lake near Rhyn’s, emerging near Harmony.

“Take these,” he said, tossing the compasses to her.

She caught them.

“These will be replacing our broken radars.” He stopped beside her, gaze on the lake that glowed green in the quiet night. “Pick someone as quick as you and start collecting souls. The demons are gathering the ones we’re missing. We’ve gotta curb the damage as much as possible.”

“Will do,” she said. “Forty seven lakes.” She added before he could ask.

“Good. We’re bringing all the souls to this one and sending everyone but five guards to the Ancient Tamer. As soon as another compass is ready, send a dealer out with it.”

She nodded. “I’ll issue the orders.”

They stood in silence for a moment, eyes on the eerie lake. Gabe was beginning to feel like he’d be able to clean up the soul mess. He had no way of knowing how many the demons had claimed during the week his dealers had claimed none. Hopefully, they grappled with the same problems locating the souls.

He had little time to redeem himself, and he kicked himself mentally for not walking into the room that would turn him into the Death he was supposed to be. Whatever powers that room contained, he was in desperate need of them. His predecessor had seemed much stronger. Gabriel felt again he was missing something huge, the key to assuming the power he hadn’t inherited with his responsibilities.

“Are you okay?” Harmony asked at last.

“Rough few days,” he replied. He glanced at her, noticing for the first time that she was worn out. “If you need to rest, take a break before you go hunting.”

“I’d rather go home,” she admitted. “I’m used to the trees putting me to sleep at night. It’s hard to sleep in a forest that’s not …alive.” Her gaze went to the pine trees with suspicion.

Death, a word, if you please. Deidre’s place.

Gabriel cocked his head to the side at the polite summons. The timing for the demon lord to request an audience couldn’t have been worse.

“Soon,” he assured her. “I’m getting my shit together, little by little.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah, it is. But I’m fixing it. We’ll get home. Promise.”

Some tension faded from her frame. She sighed.

“It looks like the messaging system is back up.”

“Oh, thank gods!” Harmony exclaimed. “You know how hard it is to track down everyone one-by-one to relay orders?”

“Take a break, Harmony,” he told her. “I’ve gotta go. We’ll catch up later.”

She nodded and kneaded her temples with her fingertips.

Gabriel left, returning to Deidre’s apartment. The dead demons were gone, but someone was waiting for him. Gabriel rubbed his rough jaw. It was sandpapery, covered by two days of stubble. He needed a razor and a trench coat to begin feeling normal again. He didn’t see the demon that summoned him and waited a moment before speaking.