Rhyn's Redemption Read online

  Death held out two small emeralds, and Rhyn’s breath left him. She snapped them back up in her hand and put them in the pocket of her pants.

  “You swore you’d free her!” he whispered, stricken.

  “I can give her back to you,” Death said slowly. “But it means this.” She held out her hand again. A hologram-like image appeared in her hand.

  Rhyn saw the demons pouring from the skies over major cities in the mortal worlds. He turned away, not wanting to care about the cost of getting his mate back.

  “Look at it!” Death commanded.

  His body obeyed her, and he found himself struggling against himself not to turn around. Death won the fight for his body, and he watched. Demons slaughtered humans and Immortals alike, razing the mortal world.

  “This happened once before, long ago,” Death said and held out her other hand. “Gabe remembers. This is when I found him.”

  Rhyn saw the young man he assumed was Gabriel fighting demons.

  “It was stopped by the Dark One, who knew what I’d do if he didn’t stop it,” she said. “Darkyn led this assault without the Dark One’s permission. He was banished deep into Hell. This time, I can do nothing, and they know it. If you ask me, I will give Katie and your child back to you. The price will be this.” She held up the hand holding the scenes of demons destroying the mortal world.

  Protect what’s left of good in the world.

  Rhyn gripped and released the dagger, struggling between the tiny voice that reminded him of his promise to Katie and the vision before him. If he took back his mate and child, there would be nowhere safe for them to go. But he didn’t want to live eternity without her.

  “Rhyn … “ Kris murmured. “You have a duty to protect all mortals, not just one.”

  “Will you take my soul in exchange for Katie’s?” Rhyn asked.

  “If she were alive, that might work. Once I claim a soul, the price climbs. And in this case, the price is beyond my control,” Death answered.

  Rhyn stared at the scenes playing out in Death’s outstretched hands. His heart grew heavy as he watched demons kill humans by the hundreds. The promise he’d made to keep Katie happy made him feel sick, and duty would never fill the hollow part of him that would remain during a lifetime without his mate.

  “Choose, demon,” Death ordered him. “Your mate or the fate of humanity.”

  Maybe Katie had known this was how it would end when they’d last met in his dream. Maybe this was his penance for being what he was. Rhyn didn’t know, but he knew he couldn’t choose his own interests over those of humanity.

  “Is she safe and happy?” he asked.

  “She is,” Death answered. “I made certain of that.”

  “As much as I love her, I can’t condemn her kind to the demons.”

  Death lowered the hand displaying the end of the world scenario. The images of Gabe fighting demons switched to those of Katie on the beach under the moonlight. Rhyn’s breath caught at the sight of her. She appeared exhausted, tattered, and drenched from the underworld rain. She’d never looked as beautiful as she did, even if she looked as if she’d just left the underworld. Toby was with her, pulling her from the beach towards the Sanctuary.

  “What the fuck is this?” he demanded.

  “You let her go?” Gabe asked in surprise.

  “You were right, Gabe,” Death said. “You’ll never hear those words again.”

  “She’s not dead-dead,” Rhyn said, afraid to believe the images he saw. He searched Death’s impassive features.

  “I had to know you could serve a purpose greater than yourself,” Death said to Rhyn.

  He stared at her, certain he’d throttle her if Gabe didn’t eventually.

  “But, that leaves us in a difficult position. There are four of you here. A contract was put out for two souls, and two souls were sent to my underworld. Unfortunately, they left before I could claim them. Which means, I need two souls to fulfill the contract.”

  “I can’t believe you freed Katie,” Rhyn said. “Is this a trick?”

  “I made you a promise, didn’t I?”

  “You broke rules older than you,” Gabe said, moving to stand beside Rhyn. “Even you are not allowed to so without some sort of consequence.”

  “I never should’ve interfered, Gabriel. I set things right. So what if I broke a Code or two to right things?” Death said with a shrug.

  “You are sworn –“

  “No time for a lovers’ spat,” Rhyn interrupted. “Tell me what it’ll take for us to get the fuck out of here.”

  Death turned her attention to him. “I told you. I need souls.”

  “Easy. Mine,” Rhyn said.

  “Not yours.”

  “Mine is the most obvious choice.”

  “I get to choose who I take, and I don’t want yours. Maybe the Immortal who issued the contract for two souls should step up,” Death said. “It would be a noble death for a good cause.”

  “I don’t have time to track down whoever it was that crossed you,” Rhyn snapped. “Take mine, send everyone else back.”

  “Even if I took yours, that’s one. Or do demons not know how to count?”

  “Demons aren’t known for thinking,” Gabe said. “You’ve got a mate and child, Rhyn. Take mine.”

  “It’s raining souls now,” Death said and pursed her lips. “I own you already, Gabe.”

  “You own me, but I’m not dead-dead,” he argued. “If I’m not mistaken, the souls of your assassins are more of a personal collection than an official one.”

  “Minor details.”

  “Mine,” Gabe said, stepping closer to her.

  “Fine. That’s one,” she said. “Another soul, or I can still claim Katie or her child.”

  “Am I the only one who hears me?” Rhyn demanded. “Take. Mine. Be done with this nonsense. Leave my mate and my hatchling alone!”

  “Not yours!” Death snapped. “You’re making me second guess myself, Rhyn. Don’t be so stupid.”

  “There is no one else!”

  “Mine.”

  Rhyn turned, surprised. He’d forgotten Kris’s presence. The Council leader stepped forward.

  “No,” Rhyn said. “You’ll take mine, Death, if you take anyone’s.”

  “It’s my choice, Rhyn,” Kris said. “It’s the right thing to do.”

  “The Council needs you.”

  “The Council needs you.”

  “As you and everyone else like to remind me, I’m the brawn, not the brains,” Rhyn said.

  “I issued the contract to Gabe.”

  Rhyn stared.

  “It was for Katie and someone else, someone you killed. I didn’t know about your child. I didn’t know Katie would end up your mate. In truth, it might not have altered my decision, but it’s a little late for holding millennia-old grudges,” Kris explained. “You chose your duty over your mate. You are more fit to lead the Immortals than I’ll ever be.”

  “Done,” Death said, pleased.

  “Wait, it’s not done,” Rhyn said and approached Kris. “You can’t be serious, Kris. I’m the last person you want in charge of something important.”

  “Andre always saw something in you that I never saw, until now,” Kris said with some difficulty. “You made a selfless choice, one I’ve failed to make more than once. Besides, I ordered Katie killed. I alone can make this right.”

  “Kris – “

  “I thought about what you said in the forest, about Lilith. Kiki said something before he left that makes me think you’re not lying. If what you said is true, you do deserve a second chance, Rhyn,” Kris continued. “Swear to me you’ll keep the Council together. Father and Andre always said we were stronger together than apart. I was unwilling to do whatever it took to keep them together. But you will.”

  Rhyn saw the resolution on Kris’s face.

  “I swear it,” Rhyn said.

  “And, free Hannah from Hell.”

  “I’ll march into Hell and c
onfront Darkyn myself.”

  “Don’t make me regret this,” Kris said and shook his head. “Just get her out.”

  “I will, Kris.”

  “Oddly enough, I believe you.” Kris said. He strode past Rhyn to stand before Death.

  Rhyn watched, torn between defending his brother as he’d done before and letting Kris go. Even in Hell, Rhyn comforted himself with the knowledge that he’d protected his brothers.

  “I’m happy to call you my brother, Rhyn,” Kris said. His gaze focused on Death. “I’m ready.”

  His words made Rhyn’s throat tighten. He’d never acted in order to gain his brothers’ favor, but Kris’s words affected him more than he thought they would. There was a flash of light and Kris was gone. Gabe jerked, as if surprised to find himself still standing.

  Death held out her closed hand to Rhyn. He crept forward warily and extended his. She dropped a small green gem into it.

  “You can keep it,” she said.

  He looked at it hard, not sure what to think about holding Kris’s soul in his palm.

  “Why am I still here?” Gabe asked tersely. “You got your two souls.”

  “I’m sure you noticed that my domain in overrun with demons,” Death said casually. “My … interference put the underworld – and all the little humans’ souls – at risk, weakened the barriers between here and Hell. You were right, Gabe. Even my actions have consequences.”

  Rhyn lowered his hand, the strange note in her voice warning him the game wasn’t over.

  “Darkyn won this round,” she said again. “I can dispel the demons, but they’ll return. As long as I am here, the barrier will remain weak. There are Codes older than me, older even than my predecessors. I have no choice. I interfered, and now I must relinquish my title. I’m leaving.”

  “Leaving?” Gabe echoed, gaping. “What do you mean you’re leaving?”

  “I’m going through the portal. Wherever it takes me, is where I’ll go.”

  “And the demons and souls?” Rhyn asked as Gabe stood, speechless. “What about them?”

  “I always thought Gabe’s humanity made him weak. It appears my inhumanity did me in,” she mused. “The underworld will still exist. It just won’t be my problem anymore.”

  “Whose problem will it be?” Rhyn asked, his gaze going to Gabe.

  “It looks like I’ll be promoting my best assassin before I leave,” Death responded. “Don’t make the mistakes I did, Gabe. And get rid of the demons.” And with that, she strode past them both, towards the door. “I’m leaving now. Rhyn, you’ll want to be gone before I cross through the portal, or Gabe won’t be able to send you back. Gabe can’t break that many Codes his first day on the job.”

  Rhyn grunted as he pulled Kiki over his shoulders. He feared the palace would go down with Death, what with the nonsense she was spouting about leaving. He took in his best friend’s features, uncertain whether becoming Death was a good thing or not. Gabe looked the same, and hopefully, he wouldn’t turn into the riddle-talking sociopath that preceded him.

  Gabe shifted finally and faced him. “What the fuck just happened?”

  “Don’t change, Gabe,” Rhyn said. “I’m getting out of here. If what she says is true, you can come visit whenever you want.”

  The death-dealer looked around, lost. Rhyn moved away and drew off his demon power to call forth a portal.

  “Gabe,” he said, pausing before he stepped through. “You’ll make a good Death.”

  “I fucked up this time, if this is what I get,” Gabe said, regaining himself at last. “Eternity at the day job I was trying so hard to leave.”

  “No, I think she fucked you up.”

  “She’ll be the first soul I hunt down.”

  “If the Council can help, let me know,” Rhyn half-joked.

  They gazed at each other, and Gabe shook his head, a smile spreading across his features.

  “At least we’re a good match for Darkyn,” he said.

  “Maybe that’s why things ended up this way,” Rhyn said, his humor fading as he thought of Kris. He looked at the emerald in his palm.

  “You can’t save him, but you can save Kiki. Get going, Rhyn.”

  “We’ll see you around, Gabe.”

  “Yeah.”

  Rhyn stepped into the portal. He crossed fast and leapt through the portal leading to the Caribbean Sanctuary. No sooner had he hit the sandy beach than the restraints of the underworld fled, knocking him off his feet. His body bucked under the influence of power. Sudden pain shot through him, followed by the sensation of his magic snapping back into a bond too strong for him to access.

  Rhyn gasped and struggled to sit. Kiki’s still body lay a few feet from him, the ocean lapping at his brother’s feet. The Caribbean night was humid and warm, and the moon large over head.

  “I told you that you needed me,” Toby grumbled. “You’ve got a couple hours until midnight.”

  Disoriented, Rhyn glanced down and pulled the syringe out of his thigh, where the angel had stabbed him.

  “Where are you getting these fucking things?” Rhyn gasped.

  “Well … maybe you should get Hannah and Ully out before Jared eats them. I can tell you that stuff later.”

  “Where’s Katie?”

  “I brought her back!” Toby said, beaming. “She’s at the Sanctuary.”

  “I want to see her.”

  “No. Go get Hannah. If Death let you go, then Darkyn’s pissed. If Darkyn’s pissed then –“

  “Hannah and Ully are in trouble,” Rhyn finished and rose. He looked at the wound in his chest. It might be tough taking on the demons of Hell, but he had a promise to fulfill. “Take Kiki back to the Sanctuary’s healer.”

  “Me?”

  “You see anyone else here?”

  Toby looked at the unconscious Immortal twice his size and back up at Rhyn. Rhyn pointed. The angel sighed and crossed to Kiki. Rhyn opened a new portal, took a deep breath and crossed through to Hell.

  He emerged outside the jailer’s door and readied himself for a confrontation. The sounds of activity were thick in the hallways behind him, and he listened, trying to determine if he could hear any sounds that the demons were victorious in the underworld. His instincts warned him to hurry, that he had a reason to grab Hannah and go instead of sticking around to see what was causing the activity.

  Rhyn opened the door, surprised to find the jailer’s room empty. He’d expected Jared at least. He closed the door quietly behind him. He snatched the talisman hanging near the door, the one that freed inmates from their cells. He ignored the quickening of his pulse as he entered the familiar cell block.

  He heard Hannah crying and smelled the unmistakable scent of human blood before he took a step onto the block. He strode down the block and paused in front of Hannah’s cell. She was curled up on the bed, sobbing. When he looked at the cell across from her, he saw why. Jared stood in the cell, covered in blood. The cell looked as if a human had exploded, and Rhyn saw a pile of bones Jared had gnawed clean then stacked neatly.

  “Ully didn’t make it,” Jared said.

  “I see that.”

  “I didn’t touch the cupcake.”

  “Good for you,” Rhyn said. He placed the talisman on the door frame of Hannah’s cell. The door opened.

  “Are we still good? You taking me with you?” Jared asked.

  “I’ll do you a favor,” Rhyn said. He grimaced at the pain in his chest as he hefted Hannah into his arms. “I’ll leave you right there instead of tearing you limb-from-limb.”

  “Fuck you, Rhyn.”

  Rhyn ignored the demon and left the cell block, returning to the hallway before opening a portal. He crossed through the shadow world to the beach of the Caribbean Sanctuary. Toby was dragging Kiki up the beach by one leg.

  “What the fuck, Toby? Go get help if you can’t lift him!” he shouted at the young angel.

  Toby dropped Kiki’s leg and took off for the Sanctuary. Rhyn strode through the loose sa
nd of the beach and paused beside Kiki. He set Hannah down.

  “Hannah, walk,” he ordered. “I can’t carry you both.” He hefted Kiki once again. Hannah sniffled and crawled to her feet. Rhyn hurried towards the Sanctuary, concerned for Kiki but even more anxious about making sure Katie was alive and well.

  The convent members who managed the Sanctuary had replaced the wall Rhyn knocked down with a row of brown tents that matched their dresses. Rhyn eased between two of them, aware of Kiki’s fading pulse. He set his brother down on the ground and looked around wildly, hoping they hadn’t sent Katie’s Ancient Healer, Lankha, home to the underworld.

  “You!” he yelled at a member of the Sanctuary entering the courtyard. “Where’s Lankha?”

  “Sleeping. You’re not – “

  “Go get him.”

  The woman pursed her lips and crossed her arms, eyeing him.

  “I’ll get him,” Toby shouted from across the courtyard.

  Rhyn paced under the watchful gaze of the convent member, itching to leave Kiki to find Katie. Instead, he forced himself to wait. He’d lost one brother this night. He wanted to make sure Kiki was okay before leaving him.

  Toby reappeared after a few minutes, tugging a reluctant Lakhna with him. The otherworldly creature ducked and covered his head from the moon and crowded Toby as they crossed the courtyard. Rhyn pointed to Kiki, and Lakhna cringed. Rhyn was about to demand to know where Katie was when he heard her agitated voice.

  “You had to leave Hannah on the beach?”

  Rhyn stopped in place. He’d never thought he’d hear her voice again, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard anything that stopped his world in place. He turned to see Katie supporting Hannah as they entered the Sanctuary courtyard. Katie wore simple jeans and a t-shirt. Her dark curls cascaded down her shoulders, and her face glowed. Her bright eyes locked on his. She stopped too far away for his comfort, struggling to support her sister.

  “Toby. Get Hannah,” Rhyn barked.

  “Rhyn, I’m too little!” Toby whined.

  “You’ve got to the count of five to have you both out of my sight.”

  Toby hesitated.

  “One.”

  The angel darted forward and clumsily took Hannah’s arms. Katie helped him stabilize Hannah then watched them walk away. Rhyn stared at his mate, heart beating fast. Of all the words in his head, none of them made it to his tongue.