Deidre's Death (#2, Rhyn Eternal) (8 page)

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.

He liked that. No,
he
loved
that.
The goddess never appreciated anything around her, or anyone. To
appreciate, one had to feel, and those born deities were somehow
numbed to the world. He needed the reminder of the good in the
world, because he saw none of it from the shadows where he spent
his life. The human-Deidre was able to do that. If their souls were
smashed together as Deidre said, he was glad this part of the human
remained.

“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; there
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.

Unable to sleep, Deidre paced, trying hard
to shake the sensations clouding her head. Her body was on fire,
her hands shaking, her thoughts so scattered, she wasn’t able to
think. All it took was a kiss from Gabriel, and the words that
thrilled her.

I’ll touch and kiss you whenever I feel like
it.

She sighed dreamily then shook her head. She
was exhausted but couldn’t sleep. She didn’t understand how humans
could feel so much and still function when she was overwhelmed. She
wasn’t going to fall under the spell of Gabriel’s strong body, his
passion, his taste. Her first kiss as a human obliterated any
resistance she had to him. He tasted as good as he smelled. Those
huge hands had started to explore her body in a way that left her
feeling feminine, delicate, and willing to let him take control in
a way she never permitted him before.