Rhyn's Redemption Read online

  “Raid is a bit of an overstatement.”

  “Trespass?”

  He wasn’t sure what to say. Andre had never spoken well of Death, but the woman in his tent seemed harmless. It was enough that she came to see him.

  “It’s not a good idea,” she chided him. “Though lately, I’m surrounded by fools with bad ideas.”

  “Is that why you’re here?” he asked. “To talk about my potential trespass?”

  “As troubling as I find the latest trend of people entering my domain uninvited, I feel able to handle it. What I came to discuss with you was a dream you had.”

  Kris drew a sharp breath, unaware that the deity could enter his dreams.

  “The one where you died,” she added.

  “I haven’t had that dream,” he said.

  “Maybe you don’t remember it.”

  “I would remember a dream where I died.”

  “Humor me, Kris. Let’s pretend you had a dream where you died,” Death said. “It was a noble death for a good cause.”

  The eerily familiar words – the same he’d spoken to Rhyn before sending him on the suicide mission – sapped Kris’s enthusiasm at Death’s visit.

  “You will go down as legend among your people,” she continued. “That would please you, wouldn’t it? Your legacy has been of concern to you.”

  “No one wants a bad one,” he said carefully. “My reputation is important.”

  “Which is why you hope to keep the Council together.”

  “I hope to keep the Council together because it will do the most good.”

  “Of course. It has nothing to do with living in Andre’s shadow your whole life and now having the chance to prove yourself,” she said with a faint smile. “Only you can’t do what Andre did, what Rhyn can do.”

  “I’ve done it so far.” He bristled at the mention of Rhyn in the same sentence as Andre. One half-brother had been noble, courageous, honorable, willing to sacrifice himself for their cause. Rhyn was the opposite.

  “Andre has only been dead-dead for what? A few weeks? And the Council has broken up at least once.”

  “What are you saying?” Kris crossed his arms, looking hard at the deity.

  “I think I said it.”

  “You want me to let the Council break apart.”

  “That’s not quite what I’m saying. I know you understand that great sacrifice is sometimes warranted for a greater good. And what you might be learning is that the greater good also sometimes requires doing what might be called evil,” she said.

  “Evil cannot be done in the name of good.”

  “You buy assassinations from my death-dealers. Maybe your definition of evil is different than mine.”

  “I don’t have time for philosophy,” he said, growing irritated with her word play. “Are you here for any other purpose than to discuss my definition of good and evil?”

  “I guess not. Except … “ She trailed off, gazing around the tent.

  “Except what?” he asked after a long pause.

  “Several weeks ago, you bought two assignations from Gabriel. Do you remember?”

  Kris blinked, trying to figure out what the deity wanted. He thought for a moment, remembering. He’d paid in advance for two assignations after he began to suspect there was a traitor in his organization. The second had been for Katie, in case she couldn’t be reasoned with. She was a risk for revealing the Immortal society to the human world or alerting the demons as to where Kris’s strongholds were.

  “You remember,” Death said, reading his features. “You paid for two deaths. Gabe came to collect, and those two lives … disappeared. They’re in my underworld right now, running from me.”

  “One was for Katie. But who was the second? Rhyn killed Jade when he attacked me. He was the traitor operating beneath my nose.”

  “What a broken heart will make a person do.”

  “So he wasn’t the second,” Kris said, ignoring her mocking reference to his former lover, Jade.

  “Rhyn’s daughter was the second.”

  “Rhyn’s … “ Kris’s thoughts flew from Katie to another woman, Lilith, who long ago had been pregnant with his own son. She – and the child – had died at Rhyn’s hands, which was the catalyst for Andre sending Rhyn to Hell.

  Death’s words made the air in the room feel heavy. Kris sat down at the table.

  “Think about that when you enter my domain,” Death said.

  “I settled an old debt and didn’t even know it.”

  “That’s one way of looking at things,” she said. “Kris, what if I said you could have anything in the world from me? A favor. A wish granted. Whatever you want to call it. What would you ask for?”

  Her bizarre changes of subject made him understand why Andre hadn’t liked dealing with her. Was there hidden meaning in her words? Or was she a bored deity there to mess with him?

  “I don’t have time for this,” he said and rose.

  “Answer me, Kris. What is your deepest desire?”

  “To be more powerful, so I can wipe out my enemies and force my brothers to stay in the Council.”

  “I can’t help you there.”

  As suddenly as she appeared, Death was gone. Anger rising, Kris looked around to make sure she really was gone then cursed. He no longer felt slighted by her exclusion. Instead, he was grateful he hadn’t had to deal with her before.

  “Kris, I –“

  “What, Kiki?” he snarled.

  Kiki froze halfway through the doorway, frowning. Kris breathed a sigh, wondering how one tiny woman could make him tense enough he wanted to raze the beach.

  “Sorry, Kiki,” he said. “I’m ready if you are.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “Did you have something for me?”

  “It’s nothing. I’ll open a portal.” Kiki left, and Kris felt he’d frustrated the one brother willing to help him.

  Instead of following, Kris dwelt a moment longer on Death’s words. He hadn’t realized Katie was dead because of him. He hadn’t believed her death inevitable, and only bought contracts on those he perceived as potential threats. He had every right to feel vindicated after losing his own potential mate and son so long ago. As much as he’d loved Lilith, Andre had told him she wasn’t meant to be his mate and encouraged him to focus on his duty rather than the woman.

  Kris’s memories stirred stronger than he liked. He remembered Lilith, a beautiful Immortal whose laugh had filled him with happiness. Their love had been intense and brief, lasting less than a human year in total. One day, she was just … gone. Slaughtered by Rhyn, who had taken her head the same way his brothers took the head of Rhyn’s demoness mother.

  Even if Lilith wasn’t meant to be his mate, she didn’t deserve such a brutal death. She didn’t deserve death at all. Instead of mourning a son, Kris could’ve spent the past few thousand years raising a successor.

  Yet he didn’t feel vindicated. He’d unknowingly killed a woman and her child. Was this what Death meant about doing evil for the greater good? It couldn’t be. Katie had stabilized Rhyn, allowed the half-demon to use his power and join the rest of the Immortals. Without her, Rhyn was a hazard to everything and everyone. Maybe Death meant he would have to kill Rhyn to keep the peace. Not attacking one of their brothers had been Andre’s sacred rule. Perhaps this had been the evil of which Death spoke.

  The alternative – that Death might see Rhyn as a viable leader for the Council – was inconceivable. No self-serving, reckless, half-evil being could be entrusted with the fate of humanity!

  Baffled by the deity’s bizarre visit, Kris pushed the memories out of his mind. He had to find Rhyn. He picked up his rucksack and joined Kiki outside the tent. Kiki stood before a portal on the dark beach. Of all the things Death had told Kris, she hadn’t seemed in the least concerned about trespassers in her domain.

  “Rough night?” Kiki asked as they stepped into the shadow world.

  “Let’s get this over with. We’re going to
find Rhyn. Then what?” Kris asked. “We try to talk some sense into him? Kill him?”

  “Kill?” Kiki snorted. “We wouldn’t have a chance.”

  “We would if we had Andre’s dagger. It was fashioned by Death. He’d die-dead if we – “

  “You’re serious.” Kiki stopped walking.

  “Come on, Kiki,” Kris said, continuing onward. “I’m sure it won’t come to that.”

  “You don’t sound convinced.”

  “I’ll do whatever I must to protect the Council and Immortals. If Rhyn tries to kill Death or something stupid … “

  “Rhyn is the only one who has half a chance of keeping the Council together,” Kiki replied. “If you’re serious about not splitting, you need him.”

  His words were an echo of Death’s assertion. They struck Kris bone-deep. Kiki’s doubt was apparent for the second time that day. Kris watched Kiki pass him and disappear through the portal to the underworld. Kris stepped through, distracted from his dark thoughts by the new world. They stood on a small rise overlooking a jungle-like forest edged in the distance by an ocean of black water.

  “So this is the underworld,” Kiki said. “Where the fuck do we start?”

  Kris caught a glimpse of what looked like a shopping mall west of them. His gaze lingered. As far as he knew, no Immortal voluntarily came to Death’s underworld.

  “That way,” he said, pointing. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s a place to start.”

  “Do you feel that?”

  “Feel what?”

  “Feels like our power is gone. I tried to open a portal and couldn’t.”

  Kris attempted to summon a portal. Nothing happened.

  “You think Death knows we’re here?” Kiki asked.

  “It wouldn’t surprise me.”

  “At some point, we’ll have to ask her to help us out of here.”

  Kris didn’t answer, not wanting to think of how that conversation would go with the deity. He tested his power again. Kiki was right; they had none.

  “Kris?”

  Both of them spun at Hannah’s timid voice. Kiki was the first to regain himself.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” he demanded.

  Hannah looked to Kris, her blue eyes watering. “I overheard you talking. You’re coming to save Katie. I’m going, too.”

  “Hannah, you shouldn’t have followed us,” Kris said. “I have no powers here. I can’t send you back, and I can’t guarantee any of us will live through this.”

  “She’s my sister.”

  Kris pursed his lips, wanting to release the curses coiled on his tongue. He looked her over. She’d at least worn sturdy shoes, long pants and shirt. She was in decent shape, slender and toned from Pilates and the gym.

  “If you have any problem keeping up, you have to tell me,” he said.

  “Seriously, Kris?” Kiki demanded. “She can’t –“

  “What alternative do we have?”

  Kiki shook his head and stalked off into the brush. Kris held out his hand to Hannah, unable to shake the small part of him that was grateful he had one ally, even if she shouldn’t have come.

  In Hell, Hannah had been crying since Toby started to tell her the truth. He was an angel, and he wasn’t her real nephew. Oh, and they were in Hell. From there, things had gone downhill, and Toby no longer knew what to say.

  “But Rhyn is coming back for us,” he told her again. “You shouldn’t worry.”

  “What … is wrong with this world?” she sobbed.

  “Mama took it a little better. She didn’t cry. She just drank a lot of vodka.”

  “Katie knew?”

  “Yeah. She’s immune to us.”

  “Why didn’t she tell me?” Hannah demanded, looking up at Toby through tear-swollen eyes.

  “I don’t know,” he mumbled. “She tried to tell you she didn’t remember me.”

  “Not remembering and getting sent to Hell are two different things!”

  Baffled, Toby shrugged and moved to the bars of his cell, looking to Ully for help. Ully rolled his eyes.

  “Hannah, try to be a bit calmer, in case that creepy demon comes back,” he said.

  “Demon?” she echoed and burst into a new round of crying. “What did I do to deserve this?”

  “Rhyn’s coming back,” Toby said helplessly. “He’s a half-demon. They’re not that bad. Well, he’s not. The rest of them will eat you.”

  “Katie married a half-demon? Is she going to Hell?”

  “She’s already been.”

  Toby felt almost as distraught at having to stay in the cell while his human was lost in the underworld. Not that he didn’t trust Rhyn or Gabe, just that, he might be able to find her first. He knew about Death’s domain from the angel memories.

  “Hey, Toby,” Ully said in a quieter voice. “I’ve been playing with this. I think I got it.” He held out a hand that contained a small talisman. As Toby watched, Ully stuck his hand out of the cell and placed it on the wall.

  His cell door clicked open. Toby bounced to his feet.

  “Me, too!” he exclaimed.

  “Ok, but let me talk to the demon first. We have to get past him to leave Hell.”

  Toby held his breath as Ully disappeared through the door to where Jared sat. When the mad scientist wasn’t sent sailing back through the door, Toby sat down to put on his shoes. He glanced at Hannah. She was in no shape to walk, but she’d have to. He couldn’t help thinking his mama had been a little tougher when she found out about the Immortals.

  Ully returned a couple of minutes later. He strode to Toby’s cell and dangled the talisman before it. Toby’s door opened.

  “C’mon, Auntie Hannah!” Toby cried.

  “No, she has to stay,” Ully said quickly. “Jared won’t let us all go. Just two of us. Um, no offense, but I think you and I should go.”

  “Agreed.” Toby stepped out of the cell and closed it. “We’ll be back, Auntie Hannah. Promise.”

  Hannah was crying too hard to pay attention. Ully led them into the antechamber, where Jared stood to one side with his arms crossed. Toby crowded Ully, not liking the way the demon’s eyes gleamed.

  “I see you left me the cupcake,” it said. “Good choice, Immortal. If you don’t return … “

  Toby shuddered, and Ully’s step quickened. They exited the jailer’s room into a long hallway, and Ully turned to him.

  “Can you get us out of here?” the mad scientist asked.

  “Um, I’m checking.” Toby closed his eyes, focusing hard on searching the memories of all the angels that came before him. To his delight, one of his predecessors had known of the secret portal leading to and from Hell. “Okay, follow me.”

  Ully obeyed. They crept through the hallways, avoiding any that seemed crowded. Toby followed the directions he saw in his memories and led them to a small chamber near the center of the fortress. They entered and closed the door, seeing the open portal hovering in the middle. He took Ully’s hand, and they stepped into it.

  “We’re going to Mama?” Toby asked as they walked towards a glowing portal.

  “Yeah. We’ll probably get in trouble for this. Can you find her?”

  “We’ll have to see.”

  “Do you have any more angel superpowers?”

  “Not yet,” Toby said with a sigh. He ran ahead of Ully through the place between worlds and the portal to the underworld. “Hurry, Ully!” He let out a whoop as he emerged into the underworld. “We’re here, Ully.”

  “Eh, I kinda prefer the other world,” the scientist said, looking around.

  Toby darted into the jungle, knowing they had little time, and that he had to find his human before anything else bad happened to her. He didn’t know where the demon with her wanted to take her, but he knew where anyone leaving the underworld would go to escape.

  “Toby, wait!” Ully called.

  Toby slowed until he caught up then darted ahead again.

  “Do you know where you’re going?�
�� Ully demanded and snatched his shoulder.

  “Ow,” Toby muttered. Ully’s fingers dug into his shoulder. The Immortal didn’t look as if he had that amount of strength in him. “I sense her this way.”

  “I think we have a better chance if we go to Death’s fortress.”

  “No. Because then we can’t beat Death to her.”

  “But if Death already has her, then –“

  “Then it’s too late. We have to go this way,” Toby said and pulled away. “Trust me.”

  When Ully didn’t follow, Toby turned to beckon him forward. The scientist looked in the direction of where Toby’s angel memories told him the fortress was. Grudgingly, the Immortal followed him.

  “Come on, Ully. If you keep dragging your feet, we won’t make it.”

  “Alright. What’s so important about finding her anyway?”

  “I’m her angel. It’s what I do.”

  “Then you probably should’ve tried harder not to get thrown into Hell. You were of no help to anyone there.”

  Toby didn’t answer, unwilling to admit just how much Ully’s words stung. He led them deeper into the jungle. The branches hurried to create a path for him, and he smiled at them. According to his angel memories, the trees were more than trees in Death’s underworld. They were alive.

  “Thank you, trees,” he said as he walked. “Angel memories say …” He turned to see Ully several meters away, suspended in the air and battling branches that tried to grab his arms. “Trees! Stop!”

  Ully was dropped to the ground at Toby’s command. He hurried back to the Immortal, worried he’d be hurt. Ully was unconscious.

  “What’s gotten into you?” Toby asked the trees. “He’s my friend! Leave him alone.”

  The branches around him darted around then fell still, as if watching. Toby knelt beside Ully and grunted as he rolled the Immortal onto his back. Disappointed to have their journey paused already, he looked around then back at Ully.

  Something about the trees’ reaction to Ully bothered him. They’d cleared a path for him then tried to obstruct the Immortal. It didn’t make much sense. Toby rose and walked to the nearest tree, placing his hands against it. There were no angel memories about how trees communicated, but he willed it to speak to him anyway.

  It didn’t. Frustrated he couldn’t help Katie while Ully was out, Toby started off again into the jungle, looking at each tree until he found one he thought he could climb. He leapt to the lowest branch, which slithered in his grip before it wrapped around him. Toby gasped as the branch picked him up then waited.