Deidre's Death (#2, Rhyn Eternal) (9 page)

With a frustrated growl, she threw herself
into bed. It was bedtime on her side of the world, but dawn was
breaking the sky outside her windows. Her eyes went to the green
glow of souls again. The sight dulled her desire. She walked to the
French doors.

There had to be millions of lost souls to
create that vibrant of a glow. She’d broken the rules from the
time-before-time for a chance with Gabriel. What else had she
broken to cause Gabriel so much hardship? Lost souls, shut out of
the underworld, was the greatest nightmare for Death. The innocent
were vulnerable to creatures like Darkyn.

Deidre struggled to remember if this had
ever happened before and if so, how it was fixed. Her memory was
stunted by whatever Darkyn did to her. Without them, she’d never
know for sure. How did Gabriel get souls back to the underworld if
he wasn’t allowed there?

In the meantime, the lost souls were stuck
in a lake in the mortal world. She’d taken her duty seriously, even
if it caused everyone around her to hate her. But she protected her
souls. They never once suffered because of what choices she
made.

Until now. The underworld was cracked when
she left; that much she remembered. It was the sign it was time to
resign, for her power was nearly gone. Gabriel was the only person
she trusted to take over.

Deidre watched the sunrise, awed by the
colors that filled the sky. The verdant pines outside the fortress
wall were beautiful, and she watched their long pine needles stir
in an early morning breeze. When the sun was up, she retreated from
the French doors, troubled by the lost souls and what she did to
make Gabriel’s life worse, when she’d hoped to make it better.

A knock at her door drew her attention from
her thoughts. She waited. If it was Gabriel, he’d made it clear
he’d walk in. When no one did, she crossed to the door and opened
it, startled by who stood before.

“Andre!” she exclaimed.

The Immortal offered a polite smile. Deidre
recalled dealing with him many times before without remembering
exactly what they’d discussed. The only calm, civilized Immortal on
the Council That Was Seven, she had sought him out rather than try
to reason with the irrational leaders of the Council.

“I brought you breakfast,” he said. His
French accent rolled off his deep voice in a way that made her
smile.

She realized he was holding a tray of food.
Deidre opened her door to him and closed it behind him.

“Gabriel raised you?” she asked
curiously.

“He did a few days ago.”

“My Gabriel. Breaking all the rules.” She
was proud of him. He used to frown at her when she acted outside
the Immortal Laws, unable to appreciate that a deity charged with
managing a domain often had to take steps outside the rules to
protect one’s underworld.

He had no idea how many rules she broke in
her time as Death. That he understood now how he needed to break
rules from time-to-time to preserve his domain was gratifying after
years of him judging her for it.

“Becoming a deity makes one different, I am
certain,” Andre said. He set down the tray on the small table near
the blazing hearth and sat. “Come. Sit with me.” He poured them
both tea.

Until that moment, she thought him there to
visit. Deidre crossed her arms as she went to the other chair
before the hearth. The air around her felt heavier as she sat. She
shook her head, her body relaxing involuntarily. In the distance,
an alarm sounded.

Andre was a mind reader.

The warning instinct faded, leaving her
pleased to see him again. Deidre accepted her tea.

“He’s learning what it means to be a deity,”
she said. “Why did he bring you back?”

“To help him track demons.”

“Ah, of course.” She reached forward for a
croissant and bit into it, almost groaning at the buttery, flaky,
airy bread. “This is heavenly!” she exclaimed when she’d swallowed
her first bite. “I can’t get over how incredible the human world
is. The colors, the food. Why did no one tell me there was so much
pleasure?”

“Deities view the world differently?”

“Very,” she said emphatically. “It’s … grey.
The colors are faded, the flavors nonexistent. When you touch
someone, you feel nothing, not the warmth of their skin or the
smoothness.” She dwelled on Gabriel’s touch, lost momentarily.

“You are happy now?” Andre asked. He sipped
his tea.

“This, too, is different.
I
feel
Andre.
Emotions. Real ones. As a deity, it was not so. The only emotions I
felt had to be so intense and when they were, they still felt
nothing like those I know now,” she explained. “I loved Gabriel,
but I know now that love was nothing compared to what I feel
now.”

She heard herself talking. A lot. She didn’t
usually talk this much, but something about Andre put her at ease.
The alarm sounded in the back of her mind.

Mind reader.

The air grew heavier in response, and it
faded once more. She wolfed down the rest of the croissant.

“Before we chat, he asked me to verify your
tumor is gone. May I do so quickly?” Andre asked.

“Yes.”

“Be still. It’ll take a few seconds only.”
Andre leaned forward and rested the fingertips of one hand on her
temple.

She closed her eyes at the cool touch. A
ripple of cold energy floated through her head and made her shiver.
Even this sensation she loved. True to his word, he removed his
fingers and leaned back. Deidre opened her eyes.

“Not there, right?” she asked.

“No, it’s not,” he agreed. He didn’t smile
this time but sipped his tea, eyes on her. “Are you feeling
well?”

“Very.” She ate another croissant. “Except I
can’t remember anything beyond my twenty-six years.”

“I may be able to help you with that,” he
offered. “You do seem very …different from the other night when we
talked.”

Deidre struggled to recall what happened,
when human-Deidre had last seen Andre. Vaguely, she recalled
human-Deidre sat with Andre in the penthouse. She recalled no
emotions, though, to indicate if that exchange was good or bad. She
doubted it was bad. Andre was an Immortal, a friend of Gabriel.

“Yes. That night I went to Darkyn for him to
remove my tumor,” she said.

Andre was listening patiently, relaxed and
interested.

Deidre shook her head. The air grew heavier.
She wasn’t certain what was wrong with her, but she didn’t want to
lie to Andre. She needed to tell him the truth. The urge was beyond
her control.

“I mean … she went to
Darkyn,” she said. “I was in her head. I guess
we
went to Darkyn.”

“She?”

“The human I created
twenty six years ago. I made her to carry me and to bring us
together. Except …” Deidre strained. She didn’t
want
to tell him. But she did.
“Darkyn was supposed to find us sooner. I made him a private deal.
I made Zamon, his predecessor, a private deal first … I …” Her head
hurt from struggling.

“Relax. Have more tea,” Andre said and
poured her more.

She took it, grateful for the warmth and
sweetness.

“You made a deal with the past-Dark One,”
Andre prompted after a moment. “I need you to concentrate hard. I
can see your memories are there, and I can see that they have been
bound beyond your normal reach. I’ll help you access them, but we
must both focus.”

Deidre nodded. She drew a deep breath and
thought hard. It was strange to struggle against her own mind. She
felt Andre in her head with her, and together, they pushed away the
dark wall that stood between her and her memories.

“A private deal,” she said. “Everyone knew
Darkyn was beyond a threat. His predecessor, Zamon, knew he was
about to be defeated. With the power of Hell behind him, Darkyn
could raise an Army of Souls to wipe out the mortal realm. Zamon
and a few others sought me out, offered me a private deal, one that
would give me what I wanted and possibly stymie Darkyn.”

“What was it you wanted?”

“Gabriel. I, uh, couldn’t have him when I
was Death,” she murmured. “I waited tens of thousands of years for
one of us to have the mating tattoo appear. It never did. Fucking
Fate told me it was because I was destined for someone else. When
Zamon came to me, I jumped at the opportunity.”

Andre was quiet. Deidre sipped her tea, her
head aching. She pushed at the black wall again, wanting to
remember.

“Private deals are dangerous,” she added.
“I’m lucky Zamon and Darkyn both followed through.”

“What did Zamon offer you?”

“A way to make Gabriel my mate and a way to
prevent Darkyn from destroying everything. At least, that’s what we
hoped happened. I’m still not certain it’ll work, but that chain of
events is in motion.”

“How?” Andre asked, gaze sharpening.

“I made a human into a deity’s mate,” she
paused, thinking hard. “I created one by implanting part of my soul
into hers. She was supposed to attract Gabriel, until I was brought
back, and then she was to be turned over to Darkyn as his mate.
This was Zamon’s plan, to offer Darkyn something capable of
distracting him, of shifting his focus. He’s unstoppable
otherwise,” she explained. “We had to get Darkyn to take the bait.
The deal couldn’t come from Zamon. I made the agreement with Zamon
and then dangled the carrot in front of Darkyn.”

“The carrot being the human you created,”
Andre murmured. “Why would something as cruel as Darkyn want a
mate?”

“Because it’s the one
thing he couldn’t ever have,” she said. “The Dark One is the only
deity without a predestined mate. Darkyn is ambitious. He wanted to
be a deity, and he wanted what he couldn’t have. When I was
reincarnated, the human I created became the only deity’s mate
without a deity.” She shrugged. “Zamon didn’t say why he thought
this would work, and I didn’t ask. When the Dark One seeks
you
out for a deal,
you’d be a fool to say no. He knew what I wanted. I understood why
he needed to defang Darkyn. It was a simple deal.”

“The other Deidre is Darkyn’s mate.”

“Yes. She went to him for him to save her
life. He removed me, raised me, and accepted his mate as payment,”
she replied. “My deal with Zamon is complete. My deal with Darkyn
is complete, and I get Gabriel.”

“Darkyn isn’t just going to kill her?”

“It was a risk.” She struggled to remember.
“If he doesn’t kill her, she might be what prevents him from
building his Army of Souls. The deities plotting against him – and
me, the sons of bitches – will salvage the mortal realm. If he
does, I guess they’ve got to create a new plan.”

“So you left Deidre in Hell at the mercy of
the Dark One.”

She looked up from her tea at the note in
his voice. She wasn’t able to muster any concern, not with the
heaviness of the air around her. Andre didn’t appear to be judging
her.

“Yes,” she said simply. “I didn’t think I’d
meet her before I left Hell.”

“She knew at that point.”

“She did. We made a deal …” Deidre drifted
off. This memory was recent and came easily. “I was angry and
upset. I shouldn’t have agreed. I have to win over Gabriel in a
week. I think she thought that if I failed, she’d get him back. She
doesn’t understand how unlikely that is. Darkyn doesn’t lose deals.
Or battles. He won’t lose his mate, even if he chooses to kill her
rather than give her up. He went after Sasha when Sasha hurt his
daughter and didn’t stop raiding the Immortals until Sasha was
dead. Darkyn doesn’t lose.”

Andre’s hand was over his mouth. He studied
her.

“I, um, didn’t realize how intense the human
world is,” she continued, troubled. Her hand went to her neck, and
her thoughts grew disturbed. “I can’t help thinking I hope he
doesn’t hurt her. But I mean, of course he will. It’s what Darkyn
does. It makes me feel…”

“Remorse?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Zamon manipulated you and Darkyn.”

“Maybe.” She frowned then nodded. “I got
what I wanted. The only thing I didn’t count on was Darkyn giving
me the choice of my power or Gabriel when I left Hell. I chose
Gabriel.”

“The world of deities is messy,” Andre said.
“It is a shame to involve the innocent in such dealings.”

“It is. But sometimes, it’s necessary,” she
replied. “What is one life in exchange for saving the mortal realm?
Zamon phrased it thusly.”

“On the surface, it’s a fair argument. It
grows harder when you meet that one life, doesn’t it?”

She nodded, gaze going to her tea. “Gabriel
loved her.”

“Gabriel has loved you since the beginning,”
Andre said. “She was much like you, though neither of you were able
to gain his trust, for reasons I believe are understandable.”

She flushed at his gentle chiding.

“He doesn’t know all this, does he?” Andre
asked.

“No,” she answered. “Probably won’t help him
trust me if he did.”

“Trust is earned. It takes more than a
week,” he said with some amusement. “Lying to him about what
happened in Hell is going to break bad for you, Deidre.”

“I … can’t tell him, Andre,” she said. “He’d
never forgive me.”

“A secret this size – where the Dark One
takes a mate – is not going to stay secret long.”

She searched his face. “You won’t tell
him.”

“I am a man of discretion.”

“I risked everything to get to this point. I
even gave up my power, my domain, everything. But I won’t risk
losing him,” she said. “Can you not see that?”

“I can,” he agreed. “But can he?”

Deidre was silent. She tried to deny it, but
she knew Gabriel too well. He was honorable and good. He wasn’t
going to understand what she’d done. She won a bet but backed
herself into a corner.