Deidre's Death (#2, Rhyn Eternal) (14 page)

Cracking of the sky.

“Cora, I think I understand,” she said. As
her excitement grew, she spoke faster. “The dome cracked and the
demons came through. What if the lake cracked, too, and the souls
went the other way, out of the underworld and into the mortal
realm?”

Cora stared at her then out at the lake.

“You’re saying there are fifty cracks in the
Lake of Souls?”

“The Lake of Souls is much larger than any
lake on the mortal world. Maybe it cracked the plane between the
two.”

“Is that possible?”

“I don’t know. Why not?” Deidre couldn’t
remember it ever happening before, but it almost made sense to her.
“We have to see for sure.”

“How?”

“Swimming.”

Cora’s eyes were on the lake. Deidre saw
more than interest in them. She saw hope. Cora was loyal to Gabriel
but wanted to go home, and right now, the only way there was
through Darkyn. For the first time in her life, Deidre pitied the
death dealers. They were caught in an impossible position: stay
loyal to Gabriel and maybe never see the underworld again or deal
with the Dark One to return home.

“Can you swim?” Cora asked.

“It can’t be that hard.” She trotted to the
spot she’d identified from the tree as being where the currents
appeared to originate from.

Cora rolled her eyes. She tugged off her
weapons and stripped down to her bra and pants. Deidre was too cold
to shed her clothing beyond her jacket but did take off her shoes.
The cool mountain air made her shiver. She touched the water of the
lake and groaned. It was colder than her marble floor!

Tying her hair back, she pulled off her
socks, took a deep breath and dove into the frigid lake.

“Wait for –“ Cora’s words were swallowed by
the shock of the cold water.

Gabriel was fed up with everything. His
mate, the demons, his exile to the human realm. Today, it seemed
harder to swallow than before. He wasn’t certain why; they were
making progress on every front. He knew what souls the demons were
after, and his death dealers were equipped with the soul compasses.
His mate was allegedly no longer dying of a tumor, even if he
couldn’t figure out what secrets she hid, and his newfound
independence left him wary of the Immortal Laws but no longer
enslaved by them.

The longer he thought, the
more he realized his frustration had nothing to do with his duties
as Death. It had to do with a certain mate. With not trusting her
but
wanting
to
without understanding why. Andre confirmed that her tumor was gone,
which meant they had a chance at a healthy relationship. Gabriel
could move forward, try to win over the woman who seemed much more
interested in him than she had a few days ago, before her deal with
the Dark One.

Did her secret really matter? It wasn’t
possible that it could affect their life together. Nothing could,
at this point.

“Darkyn,” he summoned the Dark One,
determined to uncover what he could.

Tomorrow.
The response was instant.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. What was so
important that the Dark One ignored a summons?

He tapped the lectern on which the Oracle
was busy writing in her book. The heavy Caribbean air of the
Sanctuary was warm and fragrant with the scent of the sea. Pushing
himself away from the book that would reveal nothing he sought, he
went to the small, square window overlooking the stone structure of
the Sanctuary.

“If Daniela finds you here, she’ll flip
out,” he said without turning.

“Shit. There’s nothing she can do to make my
day worse.”

“She could poison your tea.”

“Gods, I hope she does.”

Gabe smiled, glancing over his shoulder at
the frustrated half-demon. Rhyn looked angry, his air crackling
with agitation. His dark hair was pulled back at the nape of his
neck. He wore jeans and a snug t-shirt that outlined his muscular
frame. He was armed with several knives, and his silver eyes were
fiery.

“You really aren’t supposed to be here,”
Gabriel chided, knowing it was useless. His friend was well aware
he got a pass at just about every rule he broke.

“Hey, you wanna spar?”

“What’s up?” Gabriel faced his friend,
entertained at Rhyn’s apparent restlessness. “You act like you’ve
been shut out of your underworld or your mate made a deal with
Darkyn and turned into someone else. You upset about Erik?”

“Shit no.” Rhyn flashed a grin. “Ever have
like a secret you can’t tell your best friend but you really,
really want to?”

“Yeah.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t have one now. It was about Katie,
when she was in the underworld and you didn’t know she was alive,”
Gabriel clarified.

Rhyn stared at him then began to laugh.

Gabriel eyed him, unaware of what the
half-demon found funny about the major event preceding his takeover
as Death. Rhyn stopped after a minute of belly laughs.

“Alright. You made my day,” he said.
“Where’s this poisoned tea?”

“Something going on?” Gabriel asked,
perplexed.

“For once, I think Kiki is right. I need to
be discreet. Besides, we’re even now.”

“I don’t want to know.” Gabriel shook his
head. “I feel like I’m winning my battles but losing the war.”

“I won a battle today,” Rhyn said with a
frown. “No idea what it’ll cost, though. The demons stopped killing
human kids.”

“Please tell me you didn’t make a deal with
Darkyn.”

“I didn’t. All I did was ask someone who had
some influence with the bastard.”

“No terms?” Gabriel asked, unaware of the
Dark One doing anyone favors for free.

“None.”

“That’s great, Rhyn.”

“I want to think so.” Rhyn didn’t look happy
at all. He shook his head.

“There’s a lot more, isn’t there?” Gabriel
asked. “Darkyn doesn’t listen to anyone.”

“Yeah. But, it’s done,” Rhyn hurried on.
“Your dealers are finding souls and you’re beating the demons. I
don’t think you’re losing the war. Making up ground, maybe.”

“Could be. Something isn’t right yet. I’ve
got a handle on things, but the underworld is still closed to me. I
can’t fix whatever is wrong down there,” Gabriel said in
frustration. “I found out there’s a way for the rebellion to
permanently remove me from my position.” His gaze went to the
Oracle, who had shed no light on what was going on in his
underworld. Even the book was shutting him out.

“So you’d be stuck here?” Rhyn asked.

“No, I’d be sent to Hell.”

Rhyn grimaced. Gabriel felt a pang of guilt.
He’d been the one to deliver his friend to Hell many years ago.
Though he had visited Rhyn regularly, Gabriel never was able to
fully forgive himself for what felt like a betrayal of the only
friend he had.

“I need to get back home,” he muttered. He
definitely didn’t look forward to waking up one day in Hell. He
wanted to think that being booted from his position was the least
of his concerns. He always put his duty first.

But he was worried about his soul.

“Can Deidre help?”

“Not sure. Darkyn did a number on her before
sending her back,” Gabriel said.

Rhyn looked at him blankly then said. “Oh,
yeah. Your current mate.”

Gabriel eyed him.

“You could always ask her. Maybe there’s a
backdoor or someone she knows in Hell who can help you.”

“I will,” Gabriel said, doubting that Deidre
was able to help without her memories.

“Any news on Erik?”

“No. None.”

Rhyn watched him. To anyone else, the
predatory stare of a demon would come across as threatening.
Gabriel knew his friend well enough to know he was
contemplating.

“Sometimes, you have to let go of shit that
happened in the past,” Rhyn said at last.

Gabriel laughed. “You are the worst
philosopher I know.”

“I’m being straight with you.” Rhyn grinned.
“I think you’re here looking for answers in that thing.” He
motioned to the Oracle’s book. “You have your mate. She’s healthy.
She adores you. Go with it.”

“I’m waiting for the tables to turn and
there to be another Deidre. I’ve known what? Three in the past few
months?” Gabriel shook his head.

“I think this is the last Deidre you get. I
don’t think the other one is coming back,” Rhyn replied. “Not that
there is another one. Just that … whatever happened, it’s
done.”

Gabriel studied him.

“You’re afraid of being hurt and not willing
to take a chance,” Rhyn assessed. “I know you Gabe. Trust me.
Whatever is going on, this Deidre is your mate.”

“You think I’m in my own way again.

“I think you’ve suffered enough. Deidre is
here. The rest will work itself out. You might as well accept
it.”

Gabriel smiled. Every once in awhile, the
half-demon surprised him with the depth of his observations and
compassion. Though rough around the edges, Rhyn was the best friend
Gabriel had ever had.

He considered the simple wisdom of his
friend. Rhyn was right. Whatever deal the Dark One made, the result
was clear. Gabriel’s mate was alive and well. No tumor, nothing to
stop them from working through whatever issues they had to make a
life together.

His gaze drifted back to the Oracle. The
only danger he saw of losing his mate – again – was if she had any
outstanding debt to Darkyn. She claimed not, but he wasn’t entirely
certain. Even so, he had his mate, and she wasn’t going anywhere.
Maybe, just maybe, it was okay to take a chance.

“Alright. I’m headed back. You staying
here?” Rhyn asked, opening a portal.

Gabriel looked around. The Oracle had given
him nothing, and he didn’t feel able to sit still and drink tea
with Daniela, the headmistress of the order of nuns who managed
this Sanctuary.

“Yeah,” he said. “I’ll make sure Deidre
hasn’t set the place on fire yet.” Gabriel followed Rhyn into the
portal. Instinctively, he looked around for the grey door leading
to his underworld.

Every time he didn’t find it where it should
be, he grew more homesick.

Rhyn went through one door while Gabriel
went through another. He emerged beside the lake, where two death
dealers stood over Cora. The female dealer was in her bra and a
soaked pair of pants.

Her eyes lit up when she saw him, and he
went to them curiously. Of all the insanity going on around him, he
figured Cora was the last to go crazy and dive into the lake.

“We figured it out!” she exclaimed. “Well,
Deidre did.”

“Figured out what?” he asked.

“Where the souls are coming from.”

Gabriel glanced out over the lake. Cora
flung water from her arms and stood. A rope was tied around a rock
nearby. It was taut. His gaze followed it to the water, where it
disappeared into the lake.

“She thinks the Lake of Souls cracked the
same way the sky did,” Cora said in excitement. “We found where the
souls are coming into the lakes. There are little tears between the
two worlds, and the souls are escaping.”

Though terrible news, Gabriel couldn’t help
thinking it was the best thing he’d heard all week. He was able to
tackle this kind of problem, unlike the strange tension between him
and his mate.

“Deidre figured it out,” Cora said
again.

“How?” he asked, hoping this wasn’t secret
knowledge she hadn’t shared with him.

“She noticed the currents then climbed a
tree and said they were moving in a pattern around the lake. We
went to where the pattern started, and there were the cracks.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. We found five tears. They’re letting
in about five souls a minute.”

“Five souls a minute times how many minutes
in the past six months …” Gabriel shook his head. “If souls can get
out, maybe we found a new way in.”

“Well … I tried to hack a part one of the
tears,” Cora said. “It didn’t work. The only thing we might be able
to do is plug the holes.”

He chose to overlook Cora’s disappointment
at how close she’d been to home without being able to go back. They
were all suffering; the more he dwelled on it, the worse it
seemed.

“What is this?” he asked, kicking the taut
rope.

Cora’s eyes dropped, and she jerked forward.
“Oh, gods. I forgot about her.” She leaned over to grab the thick
rope and yanked it up, pulling it up hand over hand. Her lean body
handled the strenuous task easily.

“Let me guess. My mate?” Gabriel asked.

Cora grunted in response. “By the way, if
she tells you she can swim, she can’t.”

Gabriel crouched near the edge of the lake.
A few seconds later, Deidre’s blond head bobbed to the surface. She
was a few feet into the lake, coughing and sputtering.

“Cora!” she complained.

“Sorry,” Cora replied. “I forgot.” She
hauled the smaller woman closer to shore.