Gabriel's Hope (#1, Rhyn Eternal) (31 page)

“That is not a concern of this deal.”

This … deal sounded too good to be true. He wanted the soul in her head badly. Why not kill her and take it? Would it be hurt if she died before they removed it? Was that what no one was willing to risk doing? Was that why Gabriel promised her the world if she survived the operation? Because they wanted to keep her alive long enough to extract it then walk away?

No, not Gabriel. Sometimes, she heard longing in his voice, the same yearning she experience for him. Perhaps he feared getting close to her if she was going to die in a few months, seeing as how past-Deidre crushed his heart, too.

Deidre needed that chance with him. Darkyn alone was able to give it to her.

“Okay,” she said slowly. “One more thing. I’m sick of pain. I don’t want
any
of this to hurt.”

“Not even a little?”

“Everything completely painless from here on out.”

“You drive a hard bargain, but I agree.” He reached out to her. “Take my hand, and the deal is official.”

Deidre approached but hesitated again to take his hand. It was too easy. Nothing yet in the Immortal world had been as easy as this bargain. Reluctantly, she took his hand. Cold fire shot through her. She shivered.

“The deal is done.” Darkyn dropped her hand.

“How can you do what Gabriel and the Immortals can’t?” she asked.

“My magic is that of the forbidden,” he said. “Every deity has a different nature and source for their magic.”

“What does that mean?”

“I will show you.” He strode towards a dark wall of the in-between place. Deidre followed, barely able to make out the shape of a doorway that pulsed darker than night. “We must remove it in my domain in order for my magic to work properly. It will take a great deal of power to preserve you, remove the tumor and heal the damage.”

Dread filled her. He paused at the doorway. As if sensing her fear, Darkyn held out his hand once more.

“Come,” he said.

The deal was done. Deidre accepted his hand and let him take her into a new part of the Immortal world. The moment the shadow world cleared from her sight, she wanted to run. She stood on a covered landing of a fortress made of black stones overlooking a parched desert beneath dual suns too faded to provide anything other than indirect light.

“Welcome to Hell,” Darkyn said, releasing her.

“Oh, god,” she breathed.

“There are a couple of things we must establish up front.”

She whirled. The portal was gone, and Darkyn was in front of her again. Deidre watched in growing horror as his teeth turned from normal to sharpened, and two long canines half the size of her index finger lengthened from his gum. Like a demon’s.

 “It will require a great deal of effort on my part to keep this painless. Pain brings me pleasure. It goes against my nature to avoid it,” he was saying.

Forbidden magic. Hell
. She made a deal with a demon. Starting to panic, Deidre sought some escape route.

“Pay attention.” He snapped his fingers in front of her face. “If you ever want to leave here, you will follow my instructions.”

“We have a deal,” she whispered.

“A deal is as much about the spoken terms as the unspoken ones,” he replied with a predatory smile. “You didn’t bargain to leave here once you arrived. The portal system does not work in Hell for mortals. You bargained for your life and pain. Do you want to leave?”

She nodded, forcing herself to listen.

“You will find your chances improve if you do exactly as I say,” he said. He circled her as he had upon their first meeting. “You also didn’t bargain against not becoming a blood monkey while you were here either.”

“Blood monkey?”

An image not of her own creation pushed itself into her mind. It was of Darkyn’s fangs sinking into the delicate skin of her neck. Her body began to shake, and her hands were clammy.

“I have your attention now,” he noted. “To keep things … painless for my new blood monkey, it will require discipline on both our parts. I won’t hurt you. You don’t run, and you don’t fight me. I love a chase and a fight, but the chances of me forgetting not to dull the pain increase if you resist.”

Another image flashed, and Deidre gasped, covering her face with her hands in an effort to block it. It was of her running and Darkyn tearing out her throat, after doing much more horrible things to her.

“Understood?” he asked.

Gabriel’s one percent was a cakewalk compared to this.

“Why is this happening?” she asked. “What did I do wrong?”

“You will get what you came for,” he assured her. “In the meantime, I can’t have you running from the Dark One. He is not merciful.”

“Dark One. My god.”

“Only a deity can turn a human immortal, which is what it’ll take to keep you alive while we remove the tumor. Be brave, love. You’ve made it this far.” The words were mocking rather than encouraging.

Deidre did her best to stabilize her breathing. She wiped away tears. She deserved whatever happened. If she didn’t, past-Deidre did. She wasn’t about to get her throat torn out before she found some way to get out of here. Gabriel would come for her, if she didn’t return.

She hoped.

Her gaze traveled from the gloomy fortress to the sickly sky to the creature before her, whose fangs seemed to have grown even longer.

If Gabriel didn’t come, it was because she fucked up bad making a deal with some shady creature she found wandering in the shadow world. Her life was about to enter its next phase of the nightmare.

“What are your rules?” Darkyn asked, pulling her from her mind.

“N…no running. No fighting you,” she said in a hushed voice. “No pain.”

“We’ll see how badly you want to leave. Come here.”

It took every ounce of her willpower not to flee hysterically or give in to the desire to collapse and sob. Shaking and terrified, Deidre nonetheless held his gaze as she closed the distance between them, until she stood less than a foot away.

Darkyn gripped her neck with one hand and tilted her head to the side.

She closed her eyes and prayed.

“Humans are a delicacy. Female humans in Hell with a soul unblemished by evil? I can’t remember the last time I tasted one,” he whispered. He nuzzled her neck.

Deidre braced her hands against his chest, tunnel-vision forming. She felt his fangs sink into her skin and heard him sucking out her lifeblood. Disgusted, she was also relieved there was no pain. From the visions he showed her, he was capable of things she’d never dreamed of. He didn’t drink long, and she was too afraid of moving to wipe away the tears rolling down her face.

“Sweet,” he said in a thick voice as he withdrew. “Like honey. You won’t like trying to earn your way out of here, but I will.”

“Is it even possible for me to leave?”

“Possible? Yes. Probability is an entirely different issue.”

She opened her eyes at his response. He released her and turned away.

“Come. Wynn’s magic is killing you faster than anticipated. You need to prepare.”

Deidre trailed him numbly from the landing into the fortress. It was dim inside the stronghold, and the first torch they crossed that burned with black flames mesmerized her long enough for her to lose sight of Darkyn around a corner. She hurried to catch up. He led her past closed doors and through hallways carved out of black stone.

Deeper into Hell.

Breathe. Focus. Live.

She wasn’t going to make it long here if she lost control.

The demons they passed bowed to Darkyn, their eyes riveted to her once the scary creature strode by. They all looked hungry.

She quickened her pace, not wanting to end up the dinner of some demon before she had a chance to try to plan an escape. Assuming she hadn’t missed more fine print in her deal with Darkyn, she wanted to survive the removal of the tumor.

Darkyn paused in front of a door guarded by two demons. One opened it for him, and she trailed him into a large bedchamber complete with a hearth burning black flames.

“The mate of a deity will be provided what hospitality we offer,” Darkyn said.

“I take it that doesn’t extend to blood monkey status.”

She backed away as he approached, feeling the threat without needing to see it on his face.

“It extends as far it pleases me to extend it.” His sharp tone made her jump. He reached for her neck again.

Deidre sucked in a breath and held it, squeezing her eyes closed. Instead of grabbing her, he slid something cool around her neck.

“To mark you as my blood monkey,” he said. “You have five minutes to change.”

She didn’t open her eyes or release her breath until she heard the door close behind him. Deidre choked back a sob.

“I am so sorry, Gabriel,” she whispered.

She had to stay focused. Swiping at tears, she registered Darkyn’s words as her eyes identified the dark clothing laid out on the bed. Deidre lifted the dress with trembling hands. It was muted black, made out of material smoother than silk that draped over her arm like a second skin.

“I can do this,” she told herself. “I kinda don’t have a choice, since I fucked up.”

She changed out of her familiar clothing into the dress that matched the black world around her. The simple cut reminded her of something she’d seen in movies about ancient Rome: loose-fitted and airy, it was secured by a thin cord around her neck. The material hugged the natural curves of her body, pooling at the top of her feet. It was light enough that she felt naked, especially with the cut that left her back, arms and shoulders completely exposed.

Her fingertips touched the metal choker he slid around her neck. It was solid and slender with no release mechanism or clasp. There was scarring on her neck from where he’d bitten her. Deidre dropped her hand quickly from the knotted skin, alarm pulsing through her.

He was going to turn her Immortal. What did that mean?

Fuck the tumor. If she saw an escape route, she was gone.

“Do as Darkyn says, Deidre.”

She spun at the voice, startled to see Mr. Checkmate, the man she’d met on the beach when she arrived at the Sanctuary the first time. He was out of place, a bright light in the corner of the dimly lit room, dressed casually in jeans, T-shirt and hiking boots.

“This will not provide much comfort, but Darkyn was your only real chance of living,” he added. “Assuming you survive what he does to you.”

“I’m kinda hoping I don’t right now,” she said. “Who are you? How did you get in here?”

“Deities tend to do what they want,” Mr. Checkmate replied.

“You’re … you can’t be the Dark One.”

“I am not,” he said with a wide grin. “I’m worse. I’m Fate.”

“You got that right,” she muttered. “You’ve been kicking my ass for awhile now. I don’t suppose you’re here to cut me a break?”

“I just did.”

“Obey the psycho demon that wants to suck my blood.”

“Exactly.”

“If I do, will everything be okay?” she asked, searching his face for any indication she survived the ordeal and left Hell.

“That’s not how the Future works. There is no single event that determines the outcome of one’s destiny,” he said with a shake of his head. “But, if you do this one thing, you increase your chances of being relatively okay by about thirty seven percent for a total of just under fifty-fifty.”

“Do what the demon says and almost have a fifty percent chance of surviving. Disobey him and I have like, a ten percent chance.”

“You’ve got it.”

“I’m under the impression your kind doesn’t do things for free. Why are you helping me? Do you have an even worse vengeance planned?” she demanded.

“Better. I have a preferred outcome, one that involves you surviving and the soul embedded in your head not.”

She touched her head self-consciously. Darkyn wanted the soul alive while Fate wanted the opposite. Who was she more likely to side with? As if sensing her doubt and growing panic, Fate drew near her, face grave.

“Deidre, you must do exactly as I say,” Fate said. “You must obey him, no matter how much you do not wish to. Your life is not the only one dependent upon this.”

“Gabriel,” she breathed. “Oh, god, have I put him in danger?”

Fate’s eyes changed colors rapidly. His subtle magic brushed by her, through her. It was warm, like Gabriel’s, not cold like Darkyn’s. Comforted by the familiar sensation, she sensed she was better off trusting Fate than the Dark One.

“No,” he replied. “If you do as I tell you, you will increase his chances of surviving the destiny Darkyn intends to inflict upon him.”

 “I’d never do anything to put Gabriel in danger,” she whispered, distressed by the idea. Surviving her own plight meant nothing if there was no Gabriel for her to return to. “I’ll listen to you. I’ll do whatever Darkyn wants me to. I swear it.”

“Good. I like Gabriel,” Fate said, the intensity leaving his features. “He makes me laugh.”

Her brow furrowed at the odd sentiment.

“It’s not easy to do, when you’ve been alive since the time-before-time,” he added with a wink. His eyes went to the door suddenly. “Darkyn comes. Don’t tell him I was here. We’re not on good terms right now.”

She heard the door open and turned. Without looking, she felt the loss of Fate’s warm energy.

“Come,” Darkyn ordered without entering.

Deidre obeyed. Afraid of what the demon was going to ask her to do, she was resolved not to hurt Gabriel by ignoring Fate’s warning.

“Rules,” Darkyn stated as she joined him in the hallway.

“No running. No fighting,” she recited anxiously.

He reached for her neck. She flinched but didn’t otherwise move.

“Good.” He dropped his hand and started down the hallway. “Come meet the Dark One.”

Swallowing hard, Deidre followed. He strode through more corridors than she was able to count, down several flights of stairs and finally to a short, dead end hallway with a ceiling that towered ten stories above. One set of massive metal doors was all the hall contained. Darkyn strode to them and placed his hand on one. It cracked open silently with enough room for them to enter.

Her courage almost gave out at the idea of walking into the devil’s personal hangout. Deidre felt woozy and paused to steady her breathing. After a moment, she entered the room.