Rhyn's Redemption Read online

  “What did you just do?” Kris asked, looking around for any change in their surroundings.

  “One person can help us. I just encouraged her to come find us.”

  Coldness settled over Kris. He gazed around warily. Rhyn rose and flipped the dagger he held in the air, catching it effortlessly.

  “Did you tell her off or ask nicely?” Kris asked. The jungle stilled around them, and the snakelike branches froze.

  Rhyn responded by pulling a dagger from the small of his back and tossing it. Kris caught it by the hilt and waited, the sound of his heart pounding loud in his ears.

  They waited.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Katie heard Deidre’s footsteps stop abruptly and turned around. The woman was facing the opposite direction.

  “Deidre, we should hurry,” she called.

  “I hear something.”

  Katie listened hard and soon heard it as well. It sounded like a herd of horses plowing through the jungle.

  “Demons,” Toby said. “We can take the trees, but sometimes they drop you.”

  “Sounds like hundreds of them,” Deidre said, troubled.

  “I told you there were – “

  “Not now, Toby,” Katie said. “We need to get to safety, and I don’t have enough food to blow up the amount of trees it’ll take to stop a herd of demons.”

  “Trees!” Toby yelled. “Hold onto them, Mama.”

  Before Katie could respond, one of the nearby trees snatched her and flung her into the air. She soared above the treetops and let out a cry when she started to fall. A branch caught her and flung her back up. She saw Deidre and Toby sailing through the air in a similar fashion. The second branch almost missed her and snatched her around the leg before throwing her back up.

  She gritted her teeth in pain and sucked in a breath as she started to fall again. She glimpsed demons hovering a short distance away over an opening in the jungle. They looked like massive, angry hornets before disappearing from her line of sight. A branch grabbed her arm this time and threw her back over the treetops. This time, she faced a different direction and saw a sprawling palace the size of a mall. They were closer than she thought.

  Deidre screamed, and Katie twisted in midair. The woman was tumbling towards the treetops. Branches snatched at her and missed, and Deidre fell through the canopy to the jungle below.

  “Toby!” Katie cried. “Toby, Deidre – “ A branch grabbed her around the chest, squeezing out the air in her lungs. When she was sailing again, she looked around for Deidre and Toby. The angel was soaring through the air, head over feet, but Deidre was nowhere to be seen.

  Helpless until the trees finished flinging them around, Katie struggled to grab the branches, so she didn’t end up like Deidre. Finally, a branch wrapped around her and pulled her through the canopy, dumping her at the edge of the jungle. Toby landed with a grunt beside her, and she lay still to catch her breath, still hoping Deidre reappeared.

  “Deidre’s okay,” Toby said.

  “The trees got her?”

  “More or less.”

  Katie rolled onto her stomach, almost too tired to get up. The sky and jungle were growing dark. Through the bramble, she saw the marble palace. Death’s palace. Katie’s heart beat harder as she looked at her destination, not at all certain this was where she should’ve gone but not knowing where else to go.

  The sound of the demons’ pursuit reached her again. She stood on wobbly legs and all but dragged Toby to his feet.

  “Toby, come on.”

  The angel found his footing and took her hand. They raced through the last of the jungle and across the expanse of grassless yard between the jungle and the palace. The sounds of demons grew louder.

  Katie sought an entrance into the palatial estate, not seeing one along this side. She ran alongside the marble structure. It was well over quarter mile in length. Toby pulled away from her suddenly, and she stopped so fast, she tripped.

  “Dammit, Toby, come on!” she yelled.

  He faced the jungle. The trees were battling demons, but one then a few then a dozen of the creatures escaped the jungle’s grip to pursue.

  “You know any more tricks?” she asked him, taking his hand again.

  “I’m a failure!” he wailed.

  “Jesus, Toby, it’s no time for a fucking meltdown. Come on.” She pulled, and he ran.

  Katie felt the ground shake beneath them as the demons pursued. Several flew overhead and dropped directly in their path. She stopped and shoved Toby behind her, drawing the knife Gabe had given her. Before long, they were surrounded.

  “Toby!” a male voice yelled.

  “Gabe!” the angel cried.

  Katie pressed back against the wall of the palace. The demons gathered around them, and she saw the flash of Gabe’s weapons as he tried to cut a path through the creatures towards them. The death-dealer went down as three demons dog-piled him.

  “Gabe!” Katie shouted. He reappeared, blood flying with his weapons.

  “Oh, no.” Toby tugged at her arm.

  Katie tore her eyes away from Gabe to follow where Toby was pointing, hoping to see Rhyn. It wasn’t Rhyn or anyone else she expected to see, and she gasped.

  “She’ll be killed!” she exclaimed, watching a disheveled Deidre march from the forest towards them.

  The petite woman started to run, ignoring the demons that swiped at her with talons large enough to take off her head with one swipe. She seemed immune to the demons’ strikes. They fell away, as if hitting an invisible shield. The bizarre display drew more than Katie and Toby’s attention. A ripple went through the demons, and they turned to watch the tiny woman sprinting towards them with flashing blue eyes.

  “Is she insane?” Katie breathed. “What is she doing?”

  “She’s pissed,” Toby said and sank behind Katie.

  Deidre reached the group of demons. Rather than attack her, they parted, inching away from her. Speechless, Katie watched her approach. The demons fell silent, and even those fighting Gabe stopped.

  “Go inside,” Deidre said, stopping in front of Katie. “I’ll take care of this.”

  “Nice of you to show up,” Gabe snapped.

  “You’re … Death,” Katie said, stunned.

  “To you, I’m Deidre,” Death said. “I liked being Deidre.”

  “I …l liked you being Deidre,” Katie stammered. Her gaze traveled to Gabe, who was bloodied and beaten. Suddenly, Deidre’s vague story of lost love and Gabe’s bitterness towards her clicked.

  “Go inside and wait for me.”

  Katie turned away and snatched Toby’s hand. They approached the demons tentatively, waiting for the quiet creatures to attack rather than move. As if under a trance, the demons moved away in synchronized steps. Katie ran.

  “Gabe, clean up this mess,” she heard Death say.

  “Working on it,” Gabe growled.

  Toby took the lead, and the demons, Death and Gabe disappeared as Katie rounded the corner of the palace. The angel released her and raced into the palace and up a set of stairs. They ascended several floors, until Katie was sucking wind bad enough to stop. Toby didn’t wait for her, and she stumbled forward. The interior of the palace was unlit, and the darkness of evening crept into the hallways.

  She stopped, but Toby yanked her forward.

  “We have to go!” he shouted.

  “She said to wait.”

  “Mama, if Death –“

  “If Death what, Toby?” Deidre demanded, materializing beside them.

  Toby mumbled. Katie made out the words dead-dead and underworld.

  “What he’s saying is that I’ll kill you,” Deidre said. “Toby, I could’ve done that yesterday.”

  “Worst. Angel. Ever,” Toby said, his eyes watering. “I’m so sorry, Mama.”

  “But I won’t,” Death added. “You have a lot to learn, Toby, but you’ve done the best you can. It wouldn’t have been enough, if there weren’t other issues, but you got lucky. S
ometimes, that’s half of what Fate is.”

  “I’m proud of you, Toby,” Katie said, seeing the look that crossed Toby’s face. “No normal ten-year-old would’ve come to the underworld to find me.”

  “I’m twelve,” Toby said miserably.

  “Seriously?” Katie cleared her throat, not sure what else to say. She looked from Toby to Death. “What happens now?”

  “I want you to remember Deidre, not Death,” the petite woman said. “It would be nice to be remembered for something other than stealing the souls of loved ones.”

  “I can do that,” Katie said. “We made a good pair in the jungle.”

  “We survived,” Deidre said with a small smile. “I don’t have much time. Toby, take her to the portal.”

  Toby gasped. Realization broke over Katie and with it, joy. She flung her arms around Deidre and hugged the small woman tightly.

  “Mama!” Toby cried in shock and pried her away.

  Deidre offered one of her amused smiles. “You should go quickly, before I change my mind, my dear.”

  “One more question,” Katie said. “What about Andre? I know I saw him.”

  “You saw his ghost. I took his form first but found it lacking.”

  “So he’s dead-dead.”

  “But you are not. Hazel is safe. She’ll be a beautiful woman – if you leave now.”

  Katie couldn’t help the bubble of happy laughter that escaped. Death chuckled with her then motioned to the stairwell Toby was desperately trying to pull Katie towards. They ran through the palace. Katie trailed the angel until they reached a small chamber she would’ve mistaken as a janitor’s closet on the top level. Toby wrenched open the door and ducked into the dark room. A portal glowed in the center. Katie entered, overwhelmed by the thought of leaving.

  “Toby,” she managed. “What about Rhyn?”

  “That’s between him and Death,” Toby said. “She’s breaking Immortal Code to let you go. We have to leave, before she changes her mind.”

  “I don’t want to leave without Rhyn.”

  “He has a better chance of making it if you’re not here,” Toby said. He tugged her towards the portal. “Everyone has to deal with Death on their own. Please, pleeeeeeease come with me, Mama! We have to take you to the Sanctuary. You’re still not alive or dead yet. We have to make you alive.”

  “Can we come back through for Rhyn?”

  “Um, yes.”

  Katie had never been so happy to step into the eerie shadow world.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Death didn’t come. Darkness fell, and Rhyn waited. He paced and stretched, imagining there would be some kind of a struggle. At long last, he forced himself to admit she wasn’t coming. No one could’ve overlooked the blow he dealt her underworld. The trees all around them had died off with a tear forming in the earth that led in the direction of the palace.

  “How long are we staying here?” Kris asked at last. “Not that I don’t enjoy your company.”

  Rhyn snorted in amusement. “The feeling is mutual. You’re the reason I spent so much time in Hell.”

  “You earned your place in Hell, Rhyn.”

  Kris’s confident response rankled Rhyn. He leaned his back against a tree and faced his eldest surviving brother.

  “I promised Kiki I’d tell you something,” he started. “But I don’t want to. It won’t help you in your duties.”

  “I do my best, but I’m as flawed as any Immortal. I just hope our brothers see that I’m trying.”

  “They see it. And they know you’re wounded by this business with Jade and Andre. Anyway,” Rhyn said. “That’s not what I promised to tell you.”

  “What is it?”

  “Lilith.”

  Kris’s sigh of aggravation came out as a hiss.

  “She was working for the Dark One,” Rhyn said.

  “Let her serve out her eternity in peace, Rhyn. I don’t appreciate you dishonoring her more than you did.”

  “I swear it, Kris. She was planted by the demons. I don’t know why they chose you, but they did, and you’re the one she came after. She reeked of demon, Kris. I’d be surprised if the hatchling she carried was yours.”

  “Stop there, Rhyn. Whatever reason you have for talking about her this way – just stop.”

  “Why would I lie about this now?” Rhyn challenged, irritated. “I served fucking lifetimes in Hell and kept my mouth closed. I killed her to protect you. Andre always taught me that loyalty was all that mattered.”

  “You want me to believe you killed my lover to protect me, never told me she was a demon-spy, and you went willingly to Hell. It’s ridiculous, Rhyn, even for you!”

  Rhyn clamped his mouth shut. He’d done what Kiki asked him to, and Kris didn’t believe him. He was ready to go silent on it again for the rest of eternity. He turned to leave then stopped.

  “I saved your life twice, and you continue to treat me like shit,” he said. “You care more for the honor of a dead-dead woman who betrayed you.”

  “While I’m grateful you saved me from Jade, you’re still half-animal, Rhyn.”

  “I’m also half-Immortal. I have as much of our father in me as you do,” Rhyn said.

  “Look, Rhyn, none of this matters. I’m willing to go ahead and forgive you for what you did so long ago. It’s still hard for me to think I could’ve raised a successor and not buried a son,” Kris said.

  “I don’t give a shit about your forgiveness, Kris. Think about it. What do I have to gain by telling you about Lilith now?”

  “Maybe you just want to hit me while I’m down.”

  “Down?” Rhyn echoed and looked at Kris. “If this is what you call down, you need to spend some time in Hell. If you don’t believe me, I don’t give a shit. But I fulfilled my part of the deal I made with Kiki.”

  “What does Kiki know about this?” For the first time, Rhyn heard a note of uneasiness replace the self-assuredness in Kris’s voice.

  “He knows Lilith was evil.”

  “He’s not here to defend himself from whatever you say about him.”

  “Andre knew,” Rhyn said quietly. “Andre always knew. It’s why he didn’t kill me. You ever wonder why he let me live, even after what I’d done to you? I didn’t know it at the time, but he was doing me a favor. He was putting me some place safe. He knew I deserved a second chance, long before Katie, long before I realized it myself.”

  Kris was silent for a moment before saying slowly, “Kiki said I always had a penchant for traitors.”

  Rhyn could almost see him thinking. In the end, Kris said nothing else, and Rhyn shook his head. For the first time, he’d tried to reason with Kris. He’d never do it again.

  “I’m sick of waiting,” he said.

  “I have a feeling she’s waiting for you to come to her,” Kris said at last. “And she’ll never let us leave her alive.”

  “Back to the palace,” Rhyn said with a glance towards the dark sky. It was the last day he could press Death for a favor. If they didn’t leave tonight, they may never escape with Katie alive. He took off running toward the palace, his demon vision guiding him in the darkness. Kris followed closely, and they burst onto the yards surrounding the palace.

  Gabe and a few other assassins in black fought off hordes of demons. Surprised, Rhyn launched into the melee with his dagger. He slashed through several demons before the creatures realized he was there. Wanting to keep them off balance, he morphed into his demon form and shredded the creatures with talons and fangs as deadly as theirs.

  Only when he reached Gabe did he return to his Immortal form. The death-dealer’s clothing was tattered from demon strikes, his body smelling of blood sure to incense the creatures he fought. Despite this, the assassin’s speed and strikes didn’t falter. Each was sure and powerful. Rhyn maneuvered until his back was to Gabe’s, and he reached back to snatch the knife Gabe kept strapped to one thigh. While Gabe showed no sign of slowing, Rhyn could feel the wound Kris inflicted slowing his movements.
At least Kris hadn’t stabbed him with the enforcer dagger, or Rhyn would be dead.

  “Thanks for … dropping by,” Gabe grunted with his dark humor.

  “I’m always late, but I always show.” Rhyn flung one knife, catching a demon in the eye. The demon that had been ready to run Kris through dropped, and Kris shot him an angry look. “You’re welcome, jackass.”

  “Still fighting?” Gabe asked.

  “Where’s Death?” Rhyn demanded.

  “Inside. Or wherever. She left us to deal with the demons. We’ve lost five assassins already. I hoped she’d recall more but …”

  “She’s pissed at you.”

  “Yeah.”

  “She want you dead-dead?”

  “She wants to make sure I suffer,” Gabe answered.

  “An eternity of her nagging you wasn’t enough?”

  Gabe snorted. “Kris! Form up with us. Rhyn’s slow on his left. Pick up his slack.”

  “I’m slow because someone stabbed me.”

  “You had that coming,” Kris snapped and joined them, following Gabe’s direction.

  “Rhyn, Death’s got Katie inside.”

  Fear made Rhyn’s chest seize. No sooner had Gabe spoken the words than the demons fell away. Coldness snapped over Rhyn, and his surroundings blurred. He blinked, uncertain what happened until he found himself standing in a dimly lit chamber. Kris and Gabe were still beside him, and instead of demons, there was only Death.

  He heard a groan from nearby and lowered his weapons, the first to step away to see whose body lay before Her. It was Kiki’s. Rhyn smelled blood before he saw the soaked clothing of his half-brother. Ignoring Death, Rhyn rolled Kiki onto his back. The Immortal was alive, but barely. Satisfied, Rhyn rose, towering over the tiny woman with flaxen hair.

  “Darkyn won this round,” she said.

  “What did you do with Katie?” Rhyn demanded. A quick look around the chamber showed no sign of his mate.

  “You led him here, Rhyn, a sin made worse by the fact my own weakness made my domain vulnerable. But, I’m going to remedy this.”

  “I don’t give a shit! Where – “