Deidre's Death (#2, Rhyn Eternal) (17 page)

His second-in-command appeared
instantly.

“I’m going to meet with Darkyn. Stay
available,” he directed him.

“Sure, Boss.”

Gabriel opened a portal and strode through
the shadow world. Setting foot in Deidre’s old apartment again was
surreal. The human lived here for a few years with a boyfriend that
one of Darkyn’s demons killed. This very building was the one
Gabriel dived off of in an attempt to keep the terrified human from
trying to kill herself.

Maybe it was a mistake to come here. His
gaze lingered on a picture of Deidre on one wall. It was her … but
not. At least, not anymore. The Deidre he spent the night with and
the Deidre who went to see Darkyn four days ago were very
different.

On a mission to ensure there was a clean
slate between his mate and Darkyn, Gabriel waited in the middle of
Deidre’s old apartment for the Dark One to arrive. He glanced
around the tiny place, unable to rid himself of the instinct that
warned him he was missing something. He didn’t understand what. The
sense of unease rose again, this time more strongly. He reminded
himself why he chose this place: it was where Darkyn met him
originally, before the Dark One had brokered a deal with Gabriel’s
mate. If Darkyn had a connection to Deidre, he’d be affected by the
place as much as Gabriel was. Gabriel just had to watch for the
signs.

“What brings Death to my door?” the Dark One
asked, emerging from the hallway leading to the master bedroom.

Gabriel assessed the demon lord. A full head
smaller than him, Darkyn was nonetheless the most lethal creature
Gabriel had ever known. The demon’s wiry frame was armed, his black
eyes steady and quiet power restrained. Something about the demon
was different enough to make Gabriel pause. Darkyn normally
simmered with restless energy that emerged in sudden, unpredictable
violence. Today, he seemed … calm, if the ruthless Dark One could
be called that.

“Your choice of venue is …interesting,”
Darkyn said with a glance around.

“I take it you found what you were looking
for, the last time we met here,” Gabriel said. Darkyn had demons
searching the apartment last week for what Gabriel assumed was the
soul contained in the tumor of the human-Deidre’s head. Why he
wanted the soul that he then let go was another mystery Gabriel
wanted to resolve.

A cold smile crossed Darkyn’s face. “You
would guess right.”

“You made a deal with my mate.”

“I did.”

“Are the terms fulfilled?”

“They are.”

“That easy?” Gabriel studied him with a
frown. “You prevent one from dying, bring the other back from the
dead-dead, combine their souls and release her from Hell. In
exchange for what?”

“You misunderstand the terms.” It was
Darkyn’s turn to tilt his head curiously.

“What were they?”

“Ask your mate,” Darkyn said, unconcerned.
“Unless, of course, you don’t trust her.”

Gabriel ignored the barb.

“It seems a deity like you could easily
uncover the information you wish by reading her mind,” Darkyn
added. “Or checking with the Oracle.”

“I can’t read her mind or find all the deals
in the Oracle. The meat of the deal was private, was it not? A
matter between you and her?”

“Perhaps you should look more closely.”
Darkyn shrugged. “The terms are completed. Do you think I would
hesitate to collect, if they were not?”

“Absolutely not,” Gabriel said with a
snort.

“Then why are you here, Gabriel?”

Gabriel said nothing. Darkyn’s question hit
home. As much as he hated to admit it, Darkyn wasn’t one to wait to
claim debts owed him. Gabriel didn’t know what he hoped to obtain
from the demon lord on this issue. Clarity, insight. Reassurance
that no nasty deal between his mate and the demon-lord would arise.
Deidre was evasive about what happened though she, too, was
insistent that the terms were complete.

Andre was the only one who seemed to think
there was a reason for Gabriel to be here, and Gabriel trusted
Andre more than both Deidres and Darkyn combined.

“To discuss how you are assisting my
death-dealers get into and out of my underworld,” Gabriel replied,
changing the subject.

“For the right price, I will assist any of
them get home.”

“There is a way through Hell?”

“Demons cannot pass through it, but your
death dealers can. I simply offer them a route home in exchange for
favors,” Darkyn said. “They are dropping quickly.”

Ten,
Gabriel knew. To complicate matters, he had no idea what
shape the underworld was in, if the reports Landon received were
correct. If true, the rebellion forming in the underworld needed to
be dealt with swiftly and his soul found. He just didn’t know how
to do that without making a deal with Darkyn.

“Would
you
like to go home?” Darkyn asked
with a cold smile.

“I’ve been shut out for a reason.”

“And you accept that. Just like you accept
your mate’s version of our deal.”

Gabriel grated his teeth. “Don’t play with
me, Darkyn. We both know anyone can get to Hell. You are the only
way out of Hell, and I’m not about to make you a deal. There is
another way, and I’ll find it.”

“You brought me
here
to play with me.”
Darkyn looked around again. “I have no business with your mate.
Whatever your concerns, they are not with me. As for the
underworld, I prey on depravity. I will continue to do so and lure
your dealers home.”

“Your demons and my dealers know your
status. Is it no longer a matter of discretion?” Gabriel asked.

“It is not,” he confirmed. “Recent events
forced my hand. Hell is aware I have ascended to the position of
the Dark One.”

“Recent events? Such as …”

“What do you really want from me?” Darkyn
focused his dark, soulless gaze on him for the first time since
arriving. “I cannot undo what I’ve done to your mate.”

“I don’t want you to,” Gabriel replied
firmly.

“You are satisfied with her.”

“My mate is my concern,
not yours.” Uneasiness grew within Gabriel. Darkyn
did
have an interest in
Deidre. There was more to the story of their deals. “One such as
you is not capable of understanding how …complex that relationship
is.”

“One such as me would view that relationship
– and my mate – as a battle to be won.”

“A battle,” Gabriel said with a snort.
“You’ve never been able to control yourself. You would bleed her
dry the first night.”

“You would hesitate to claim her as you
should.” The demon lord was bristling. “In fact, you did – and do –
refuse to claim your mate. You’re here because you doubt her and
want me to tell you what she would not.”

“No rush. We have eternity,” Gabriel
replied. He didn’t know what nerve he hit, but he’d hit something.
As irritated as he was with Darkyn’s words, he was also fascinated
by the idea the demon lord who prided himself on preying on the
vulnerabilities of others was capable of being offended.

“Would you say the same about your
underworld? You are happy to wait for the rebellion there to settle
down?” Darkyn challenged. “The longer you let both deny you, the
harder it becomes to win.”

“Relationship advice from the Dark One,”
Gabriel said dryly.

For a moment, the demon lord looked ready to
snap. Gabriel rested a hand on the hilt of his sword, waiting for
it. Darkyn shrugged at last and relaxed.

“I won my battles, without being kicked out
of my domain,” the demon growled. “If you wish to return to yours,
you know how to summon me.”

“Would you be willing to let one of my
dealers verify the route exists?”

“For free?”

“Verify not traverse.”

Darkyn considered. “Very well. Summon
him.”

Landon.

A second demon appeared behind Darkyn.
Landon arrived a moment later.

“Go with him to Hell. Verify there is a
portal through Hell to our underworld,” Gabriel instructed
Landon.

The death-dealer stepped forward without
hesitation. Darkyn’s demon opened a portal, and the two
disappeared.

Death and the Dark One stared at each other,
assessing one another. Gabriel was never one for small talk.
Instead, he reviewed what little he’d learned from Darkyn about the
deals Deidre made and the issue of his death-dealers.

I won my battles.
In the context, Gabriel almost thought Darkyn was
admitting to taking a mate. But it wasn’t likely, given the demon
lord’s renowned temper and thirst for blood. He was rumored to go
through five to ten blood monkeys a day and was said to have
single-handedly wiped out whole villages. Gabriel pitied even the
foulest of demonesses, if Darkyn took her for his mate.

“Why did you choose this location?” Darkyn
asked.

“It’s where we met last time,” Gabriel said
with an unconcerned shrug. “It means something to you, though,
doesn’t it?”

“Not as such. A curiosity only. Right over
there is where I sucked Harmony near-dry.” Darkyn motioned to the
wall across the kitchen.

Gabriel glanced the way indicated, noticing
the blood on the wall. He didn’t pity her, even after their
relationship. She’d chosen a side deal with Darkyn and betrayed
him.

Like Deidre, only Deidre came back from her
deal with Darkyn. Standing before the Dark One, he grew more
unsettled.

“Your women have a habit of seeking me out,”
Darkyn observed.

“Yeah, they seem to,” Gabriel agreed,
unwilling to let the Dark One see he was thinking the same thing.
“At least you freed the one that matters.” Inside, he was burning
with anger at the reminder.

“I am pleased you feel that way.”

Gabriel eyed him. He’d dealt with Darkyn a
few times since the demon lord was released from his exile in the
pits of Hell. The demon lord was brash, aggressive – and almost
always honest, until it came time to deal. Right now, the Dark One
was amused but also satisfied, like he just won a deal Gabriel
didn’t know they made.

“Why?” Gabriel asked suspiciously.

“I went to great lengths to assist your
mate. I am pleased that she turned out the way you wished.”

“What were the terms?”

“A private deal is a private deal. You are
not the only one who knows how to be discreet.”

Gabriel was ready to challenge the Dark One
when Landon and the demon reappeared. Landon’s grim expression was
enough to tell Gabriel the route to the underworld was there.

“If you have any desire to address the
rebellion in the underworld, you know how to summon me,” Darkyn
said with a cunning smile. “But before you go, I want to show you
something. It’s for your eyes only.”

Gabriel tossed his head towards the portal.
Landon and the demon both went.

Darkyn was entirely too satisfied with
himself for Gabriel’s comfort. He shifted, waiting.

“Gabriel.”

For a moment he was certain the familiar
voice of a woman was a memory, perhaps brought on by standing in
Deidre’s apartment. Only when he sensed the approach of someone
behind him did he realized it was real.

Gabriel turned. He had the sense of being in
a dream.

She
was real. Except she
shouldn’t
be.

“Deidre?” He faced her fully. “You’re
alive.”

She nodded.

Stunned, he was speechless for a long
moment. His eyes swept over her. Her hair was still pink and in a
loose bun on the top of her head. She wore the clothing of the
women of Hell: a black, silky, backless dress that reached the tip
of her sandaled feet. The faded signs of massive scarring were on
one side of her neck while there was blood on the other, as if
someone had just hurt her. Her eyes were red-rimmed, too, and his
gaze rested on the tiny fangs resting on her plump lower lip.

“What the fuck is going on?” he
demanded.

She jumped at the harsh words. She glanced
at Darkyn, who was still. Silent. Watching. Gabriel couldn’t take
his eyes off the woman who had been his mate, for however brief a
time.

“I, um, made a deal with Darkyn. I went to
Hell and …” Deidre drifted off. She crossed her arms, the range of
emotions crossing her face too fast for him to decipher.

Suddenly, Andre’s cryptic warning made
sense.

“…
had the tumor removed
which happened to be past-Death’s soul. Darkyn brought past-Death
back, fulfilling their mystery-deal, and you were at the mercy of
Darkyn,” Gabriel finished.

She nodded. “As his mate.”

“His
mate.
” This was almost beyond
Gabriel’s ability to believe. He began to think this was a
shape-shifter demon, like he originally thought about past-Death
when she suddenly appeared.