Rhyn's Redemption Read online

  “Wow,” she said, taken aback. “I’ve never heard you speak bad about anyone. You have a thing for her?”

  “Not anymore.”

  “But you really were, um, with her?”

  “For thousands of years. And then I wizened up and realized I’m just another gem in her collection.” Gabe’s bitterness was quiet but evident. “I think I might’ve entertained her until she grew tired of me.”

  “Her loss,” Katie said. “Any normal woman would know you’re a catch.”

  “Death is far from normal.”

  “She’s an Immortal or demon or what?”

  “She’s almost as old as time itself and older even than the Ancients. I think she was a goddess at one point,” Gabe answered. “She found me when I was a youth, after I’d seen the slaughter of my family at the hands of demons. I watched her take their souls.” His voice took on a hushed note.

  “And she let you live?”

  “She can’t take a soul whose time has not yet come, and she was in the mortal world. She offered me a job instead, to work for her.”

  “And you took it.”

  “I did. But she never let me forget I was once a human. She always resented my human weaknesses.”

  “So you started working for her, and then you guys became … romantic,” Katie said. “Then, what? She got tired of your humanness and dumped you?”

  Gabe was quiet for a long moment, leading them through the jungle in thoughtful silence. Katie felt the strange sense of something following again and moved closer to him.

  “I guess you can say I ceased to fascinate her one day,” he said at last. “I was her only voluntary assassin. I traded her my soul for the life of a friend.”

  “Wow, Gabe. You’re friend must’ve meant a lot to you.”

  “And to you. You did the same,” he said with dark humor. “She wanted to kill the one person who always believed in me.”

  “Rhyn?”

  “Yes. We both saw something in him that she didn’t. He’s fortunate to have someone like you, who would give her life for him. You are exactly what he needs to balance his nature,” Gabe continued. “I ended up Death’s plaything because she pursued me. She was beautiful, and I had eternity alone ahead of me. Made sense at the time. What drew you to Rhyn?”

  Katie didn’t answer for a moment, pensive. Gabe glanced back at her then slowed, as if sensing she was growing tired.

  “At first, I think it was knowing he was a black sheep like me. My sister always treated me like I was a blight on the family name. She tried to help me in her own way, I guess, which was better than what Rhyn’s brothers did to him. I wanted to believe he could make it in the Immortal world, because if he could, I could, too,” she started. “And then I saw how good his heart is. He’s a train wreck, but he’s honorable and capable of such good. Kris pulled me into this world and assumed I’d do what I was told like a good little human. But when I told Rhyn I wanted to leave him, he asked for another chance. It’s like he woke up then and realized he wasn’t in Hell anymore or trapped by his brothers’ expectations.”

  “He had a reason to be more than what people told him he was,” Gabe said.

  “He did. He wanted to make the world safer for me, for our …” Katie’s throat tightened. She cleared it. “He realized he doesn’t have to be in the shadows anymore. And the way he looked at me that last day…” she drifted off again, this time recalling the intensity of emotion on Rhyn’s face the last time she’d seen him in the mortal realm. “I almost believed we had half a chance.”

  “You have more than half a chance,” Gabe said with a chuckle. “You saw in him what I’ve always seen and no one else has. He would do for me what I did for him. Trading my soul to Death was not an easy decision, but I never would’ve done it for anyone else.”

  “I probably wouldn’t have walked into the ocean for anyone else,” she said. “I am only sorry for you, Gabe. I don’t think Rhyn or I can save you.”

  “I’m not sure I can save you. We’ll deal with one soul at a time.”

  Katie’s gaze flickered from the snakelike movement of lively jungle trees to Gabe’s back. Gabe’s words terrified her. If the strongest man she’d ever met couldn’t save her, what hope did she have?

  “I do know you need to be back soon, within a few days,” Gabe continued. “I’m not sure your mortal body will hold up much longer down here.”

  Her fate was uncertain, but his was sealed. She saw it on his face every time he looked at her. Where he’d once looked almost noble with his chiseled features and air of command, he now looked haggard. When she gave herself too much time to think, she began to understand the depth of the despair he must’ve been feeling. After all, her own soul – and that of her daughter’s – was just as likely to be lost if she didn’t escape.

  “How will I know if Death takes my soul?” she asked. “Does it hurt?”

  “It doesn’t seem to,” he answered. “You’ll be made dead-dead first and then she’ll take your soul.”

  “So the soul is a physical thing?”

  He turned, and she stopped. With the tip of one dagger, he tugged a necklace free from the shirt hiding it. On it was two small green gems.

  “Death has a twisted sense of humor, worse than mine,” he said. “These are what souls look like. She let me keep my mother and brother’s.”

  Katie stared at the necklace, horrified by the idea of looking at a soul and fascinated by the fact they looked like emeralds. Gabe turned away and started through the forest again.

  “They’re beautiful,” she managed at last. “And creepy. She makes necklaces out of them?”

  “She makes whatever she wants out of them. Most of them go in the bottom of the Lake of Souls, where they can find their loved ones and be in peace.”

  The idea of emeralds swimming around in a lake was too much for Katie. She felt nauseous again at her overwhelming situation and stopped, leaning against a tree. What she would give for a sip of real water!

  “You ok?” Gabe asked, returning through the forest to her side.

  “Just don’t feel good,” she said. “And, Gabe, I feel like someone’s following us.”

  “I would sense it if so.”

  “I’ve felt it since we started out again. Maybe I’m immune to magic here, too.”

  Gabriel went still like he did when he was stretching his senses to test their surroundings. She held her breath.

  “I sense something, but magic is blocking it. C’mon. We need to leave the forest,” he said, shifting after a long moment. “We should move as fast as you can.”

  Her hopes rose as he started forward at a faster pace, until she realized he hadn’t yet abandoned his pursuit of concentric circles. By the time dawn came, she was breathless from keeping up with him, and the jungle looked as if it’d never end.

  The snakelike branches overhead were creepier when she could see them in daylight, and the few birds and insects she saw made her shudder. The sense of being followed didn’t leave even in the full light of day.

  Gabriel stopped at midmorning, and she sagged against a tree, exhausted. The large death-dealer’s gaze went from their surroundings to her face. She wondered if she looked as tired as she felt.

  “Start eating one every couple of hours,” he said, holding out a handful of the food and water cubes.

  She grimaced and took them. Gabriel peeled off his heavy jacket as she chewed and watched him. His hands absently traveled over all the places on his body where weapons were hidden and he pulled free a dagger with a jagged edge.

  “Stay here,” he said and moved into the jungle. “I’m going to circle back to see what might be there. Rest for a few minutes.”

  Katie bit back a plea for him not to leave her in such a creepy place. She sat on a thick log. He disappeared into the shadows of the jungle, and she pulled her knees to her chest, listening. He was silent while the branches overhead hissed and rasped against one another and the cries of distant birds drifted to he
r. She inched away from a plant whose slender stalk was maneuvering through several other plants to position its leaves in direct sunlight.

  She’d long suppressed fear, knowing there was one way to Rhyn, and it was with Gabriel. Unless Rhyn got himself killed first. Then she wasn’t sure what she’d do. One hand went to her stomach, where their child grew. Her emotions started to surge again, but she pushed them down with her fear and steadied her breathing.

  She had no idea how to be a single mother in the real world, let alone in a world as unforgiving as the Immortal one. She’d proven she couldn’t raise Toby without a bottle of vodka permanently glued to her hand. Rhyn had been exiled for his mixed origins, and she’d never been especially welcomed by anyone but Gabe and Toby. If something happened to Rhyn or if she couldn’t leave here …

  Panicking made her already surging hormones worse. She felt nauseous.

  The snap of a branch pulled her from her misery. She twisted to face the direction from which it had come, expecting to see Gabriel. Nothing was there. The jungle around her fell suddenly still, and the possessed branches stopped in place, as if watching her.

  “Gabe?” She rose.

  Another snap of branches from a different direction. Katie whirled in time to see the shadow of someone – or something – disappearing behind a thick tree.

  “Gabe, if that’s not you, you better be about to kill that thing,” she called. She pulled free the small knife the death-dealer gave her.

  Snap. She turned, expecting to see another shadow disappear. Instead, someone stood before her, close enough to touch her. Katie yelped and leapt back at the familiar form.

  “Andre?” she breathed, adrenaline surging fast enough for her to lose focus. She stared at the dark features and glowing turquoise eyes of the eldest of Rhyn’s brothers, who had died weeks before. Andre showed no emotion, didn’t even seem to see her. He was like a statue, only she felt the warmth of his body and the tingle of magic in the air.

  “C’mon,” Gabriel said from behind her.

  “Gabe!” she cried, facing him. “He’s here!”

  “Who?” Gabriel asked.

  “Andre. He’s …” She turned as she spoke to see the figure had vanished. “You didn’t see him?”

  “I saw the demon I killed,” Gabriel replied and knelt to retrieve his jacked. He wiped the bloodied dagger on the ground. “You’re seeing dead-dead Immortals?”

  “I did. I think. But it’s not possible.”

  “Your pupils are dilated. Did you eat one of the plants?”

  “Gabe, he was right here.”

  “Must be the effects of the underworld on you,” the death-dealer said and rose. “Somewhat-dead mortals aren’t supposed to be here.” He peeled off the necklace he wore around his neck and gazed at it briefly before handing it to her.

  Katie took it and eyed it, not sure she could handle wearing the souls of others around her neck.

  “They should keep you anchored in time, too, since your world’s time means nothing here.”

  “They look like emeralds.”

  “You want to know their names?”

  She felt nauseous again. As if reading it in her features, he smiled.

  “Those are the most precious things in the world to me. If you lose it, I’ll kill you. Quickly, though, because I do kinda like you,” he said with dark humor. “If you talk to them, they’ll talk back.”

  “Oh, god!”

  “I’m joking about that. Not about the quick death, though.”

  “You have the worst timing for your jokes.” Katie swallowed hard and finally put it on, feeling even more nauseous about the idea of wearing souls around her neck. “Gabe, does it ever strike you as odd that Death hasn’t found us? Isn’t this where she lives? Why hasn’t she tracked us down?”

  Gabe looked away and started walking again. Katie saw his shoulders hunch. When he didn’t respond, she asked,

  “Has she tracked us down?”

  “Pretty sure she has,” Gabe answered. “But … something is off. She might be trying to fix it.”

  “What do you mean? Isn’t she a god? Goddess, I mean.”

  “She’s bound by rules older than she is. She may have interfered somewhere she shouldn’t have. There are Immortal Codes too old for even me to know and some that only the deities know. I think she violated one of those.”

  “Maybe she cares for you more than you thought,” Katie said thoughtfully.

  “Hardly. She’s not capable of acting anyone’s interest but her own. And, if I don’t try to get you out of here, she’ll still take you and your baby’s souls.”

  “Then why would she have done something against her nature?”

  Gabe glanced at her, his frustration at Death on his face.

  “Ah, ok. It’s a sore subject,” Katie said. “But, maybe she did something for you?”

  “She never does something without getting something in return.”

  “If Rhyn can learn to overcome his nature, she can to.”

  “You’ve never met her.”

  “I hope I never do, but not because I’m not curious. More because I’m not ready to die.”

  “Speaking of dying, do you still sense someone following?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” she replied after a pause.

  His pace quickened. She looked around, waiting for Andre or a demon to leap from her surroundings. Nothing did, and she trailed Gabriel once again.

  Chapter Three

  The demon lord, Darkyn, circled the shapeshifting demon, looking for any signs its true nature hadn’t been completely screened by the combination of its own skill and the injections. Demons that could take on the forms of whatever human they pleased were rare, and Darkyn had hand-selected the one before him for this mission. Impressed, he stood back and motioned the cowering Immortal in the corner forward. The Immortal scientist, Ully, crept towards them, the chains around his feet rattling with each step.

  “The transformation is complete?” Darkyn asked.

  “Yes,” came the hushed answer.

  “Certainly looks convincing. I see why Andre recruited you. And the immunity blood?”

  “It’ll render him near-invincible for several days.”

  “Define several for my demon.”

  “Four, maybe five. He can test for it by cutting himself. When he no longer heals instantly, the shots are wearing off,” Ully explained.

  “And there is nothing hidden in these injections that will alert your kind?” Darkyn asked again.

  Ully shook his head and looked down. “It’ll work like it should.”

  “You’re a smart creature, Ully. If I suspect you’ve betrayed me, I’ll turn my new super-demons on your Immortals. Four days is long enough to wipe all of them out.”

  “Except Rhyn,” Ully whispered.

  “Rhyn,” Darkyn dwelled on the name of the half-breed. “He’s about to lead my demons to the underworld. With the Immortals in disarray and Death’s … mistake, I can own the underworld before Rhyn can control his power enough to stop me.”

  “He won’t do it,” Ully whispered. “He won’t betray his brothers.”

  “The Immortal side of him is weak. He’ll do whatever it takes to get his mate back, and I intend to plant the idea in his head.” Darkyn turned his attention to the shapeshifter. “You will kill any demon or Immortal in your path. They must believe you are who we made you to be. Understood?” Darkyn ordered.

  “Yes, my lord,” the shapeshifter answered.

  “You are to find your way to the underworld. When you are there, you will plant this in the ground.” He handed the demon a small pouch that contained the concentrated magic of Hell. One pouch wasn’t enough to break through Death’s weakened barriers, but three would. “Your name is Gabriel. You will find the death-dealer you resemble and assume his place until the sign is given in the sky for you to attack.”

  “Yes, my lord.”

  “Go. Await my messenger. Once Rhyn enters the underworld, you wil
l follow him,” he said, looking over his creation with satisfaction.

  The super-demon opened a portal and disappeared.

  Darkyn held out his hand. An hour glass with streaming black sand appeared in his palm. He’d lost three days already. Four was cutting it close. Once the bond between the half-breed and its human re-emerged a mere seven days after it was severed, Rhyn could channel his power again. Death was waiting for that day, and Darkyn had to beat her at her game. That meant making it into the underworld in four days.

  He glanced at the demon guards in the corner and motioned for them to leave. A moment later, a thin figure entered the room. The last of the shapeshifters created, this one was a mirror image of the mad scientist, Ully.

  The Immortal cowering in the corner gasped. Darkyn circled the super demon in satisfaction.

  “You have your instructions,” he said to the demon.

  “Yes, my lord.”

  “This is for the underworld, and this you will know when to use,” Darkyn said. He handed the shapeshifter a pouch identical to the one he’d given the other shapeshifting demon and a small talisman on a chain. “Go. Remind Jared what happens if he disobeys me.”

  “Yes, my lord.” The Ully demon left.

  “And now, Immortal, we wait,” Darkyn said to the mad scientist. “I want you to see the underworld fall and the Immortals destroyed as you die. Unless you’d like to take Sasha’s place in my lab.”

  “Sasha was a traitor. I’m not,” Ully said in a quiet voice.

  “When I take over Death’s domain and her army of souls, I’ll be invincible. By my side is the only place anyone will be safe.”

  Ully shook his head again.

  “Very well.” Darkyn suspected twisted Immortals like Sasha were rare. One of the brothers on the Council That Was Seven, Sasha had been strategically placed to provide Darkyn more information than he’d hoped for. Sasha’s only flaw had been his madness, which ultimately resulted in his death. Sasha had identified Ully, who was hand-selected by Andre. While Darkyn didn’t know the full details of how Andre had gotten Death to release the once-dead human, he did know Andre and Death wouldn’t have done something so important if Ully wasn’t the brilliant scientist he was.