Deidre's Death (#2, Rhyn Eternal) (24 page)

The Dark One approached him. They circled
one another.

“I will destroy you and your underworld and
anything else between,” Darkyn growled.

“An eternity in Hell or what? Poor girl
probably dove off a cliff.”

“Unlike yours, my mate accepts her
place.”

“I fucked ‘em both, Darkyn. You’ll never
live that down.”

The demon stopped, rigid enough Gabriel knew
it wouldn’t take much more to make him snap.

“Gabriel, let’s not lose focus,” Andre said
calmly. “Your past is irrelevant. We need to resolve this.” The
Immortal approached with caution, his movements deliberate and his
voice steady and low.

“Boss,” Landon appeared. He took in the
situation and stepped back.

Gabriel glanced at him. Landon shook his
head.

“Seems both girls are missing,” Gabriel
said, zeroing in on Darkyn. “Where’s my mate?”

“Not in Hell, where she belongs,” Darkyn
snapped.

“Gabriel.”

“Now
you fucking show up,” Gabriel replied to Wynn.

“You both might be interested in this.”
Andre’s gaze was beyond the two deities. He nudged Gabriel’s arm.
“Come closer, Wynn.”

Darkyn didn’t move, and neither did Gabriel.
Two forms came into his peripheral and stopped just out of their
reach. The Dark One’s fathomless eyes were colder than a winter
night, and Gabriel wasn’t about to back down this time. He’d let
the demon bait him before at Deidre’s old apartment, before the
truth was revealed.

“My lord.” The girl’s voice was timid and
raspy, no more than a whisper.

Gabriel looked and so did Darkyn.

Wynn stood with a slender teen demoness,
half of whose face was knotted with thick scars. Her eyes were the
same shade as Darkyn’s, her skin pale. As soon as the Dark One’s
gaze fell to her, she dropped into a deep curtsy.

Darkyn gave a low order in the demon
language. The girl scrambled up and approached him, eyes on the
ground. With little gentleness, the Dark One took her neck when she
was close enough. She closed her eyes, unmoving. He released her,
and she gave another curtsy then took a few steps back.

“My guess is that the Deidres are missing
together,” Wynn murmured.

“Fucking death dealers,” the Dark One
muttered. He twisted and motioned one of the waiting demons
forward. Sheathing his dagger, he issued a sharp order to the girl.
She obeyed quickly, hurrying towards the demon.

“She told you where they were,” Gabriel
guessed. “Where?”

“Fuck you.” Darkyn spun on his heel and
strode towards his demons.

“Hell or the underworld?” Rhyn asked.
“Either one, I can get into. Don’t think anyone else here can say
that.”

“You won’t get past my demons this time,
half-breed. No one will.”

“If they aren’t in Hell, they can only be
one other place where I can’t sense them,” Gabriel said. “Somewhere
you can’t go without my agreement.”

Darkyn stopped.

“Unless you don’t plan on going after your
blood-bound mate yourself.”

The demon was still.

“You will fucking tell me, Darkyn, or I will
make sure you never find her.”

The Dark One faced him. Gabriel stood his
ground as the demon strode to him. The others stepped back
quickly.

“This is because you did not heed my
advice,” Darkyn hissed. “I warned you. You win your battles or they
destroy you!” He shoved Gabriel.

Gabriel shoved him back.

“This shit I can handle. Back off, Andre,”
Rhyn said. He planted a hand on the chest of each man and pushed
them a part. “Let’s get one thing straight. You brought your shit
into my backyard. You want my help getting your women back, you
shut the fuck up and listen.”

Gabriel said nothing, anger barely
contained.

“We’re going to make a little deal, the
three of us. Everyone gets to name one thing they want,” Rhyn said.
“I’ll start. Darkyn, you keep the fuck away from my daughter.
Forever. Gabe, your turn.”

“Permission to traverse Hell to get to the
underworld,” Gabriel said without hesitation.

“Permission to access and
leave the underworld to claim my mate, with power intact, no
interference from
you,
and no unwritten terms,” the demon lord replied.

“No deal,” Gabriel said. “You want to come
in, you can’t bring Hell with you.”

“Your dealers are rebelling. If I have no
power, my mate is defenseless.”

Gabriel said nothing, troubled by the idea
of either girl being unable to help herself. At the same time, he
couldn’t jeopardize the underworld more.

“No deal,” he repeated. “You come in without
power. We leave the gateway between the two open, so she can access
Hell’s magic.”

“I retain the ability to heal myself and my
mate,” Darkyn said.

“Deal.”

“You traverse my domain without power,” the
demon lord countered. “You, the half-breed, and two Immortals of
his choosing.”

“I’m bringing five death dealers,” Gabriel
replied.

“One.”

“Three.”

“Done,” Darkyn said with a nod. “As for you,
half-breed, I agree on the condition that I get Sasha’s soul.”

“Shit. If I knew where that was, I’d turn it
over to you without a second thought,” Rhyn replied.

“You better find it, if you don’t want your
daughter dragged to Hell,” Darkyn snapped. “Deal or no?”

“Deal.”

Darkyn whirled and walked away.

“That felt like a good deal, but I always
worry with that bastard,” Gabriel muttered.

“I’m mostly sure we didn’t fuck it up,” Rhyn
seconded. “Andre can track demons in the underworld, right?”

“I hope so.”

“I’ll bring him and –“

“Tamer,” Gabriel said instantly.

“Tamer?” Rhyn frowned. “He’s a
nightmare.”

“He fights almost as good as you and has a
low tolerance for bullshit. I have a feeling we’ll need that
combination,” Gabriel reasoned. His eyes followed Darkyn.

“You might be right. We’ll want as much
muscle as we can get, if the worst happens,” Rhyn said quietly.
“Darkyn is blood bound. If the Dark One can’t feed, he’s going to
massacre everyone in his path. He’s from the time-before-time.
Hopefully, he can handle a little bloodlust.”

Gabriel hadn’t given Darkyn’s bond to his
mate a second thought.

A little bloodlust.

The Dark One could drain a village in two
days. There was nothing little about his lust. Gabriel’s throat
tightened at a second thought.

“Deidre is blood-bound, too.”

“Five minutes, half-breed!” Darkyn barked.
He and his demons disappeared through a portal.

“Might be why he’s in such a hurry. She’s
not gonna last,” Rhyn responded.

“I want to know what the girl told him,”
Gabriel replied, eyes on the timid teen that hung on the heels of
the demon lord.

“I took a peek into her mind,” Andre replied
from behind them.

Gabriel turned.

“The Deidres were lured into the shadow
world and ambushed by death dealers. They brokered the girl’s
release.”

“Who is she?” Rhyn asked.

“Darkyn’s daughter,” Wynn replied from
nearby. His arms were crossed and his cold gaze on Andre.

“The one killed by Sasha?” Gabriel asked,
surprised. “I thought a daughter was just an excuse to declare war
on everyone.”

“No. He kept me in Hell to undo what Sasha
did,” Wynn answered.

The portal to Hell closed. Gabriel’s eyes
lingered. Just when he thought there were no more surprises …

At least he had a way into the underworld.
Like always, Fate had given him a glimpse of his future without
warning him how traumatic it would be.

“Andre, do me a favor and interrogate the
death dealer in the dungeon,” Gabriel told the eldest of the
brothers. “When you come to the underworld, tell the trees to take
you to me.”

“Of course,” Andre replied.

Gabriel exchanged a look with Rhyn.

“You ready?” Rhyn asked.

“Always,” Gabriel replied. “I’ll go grab
Tamer and meet you in the portal room in Hell.”

Rhyn grinned.

Whatever happened next, Gabriel prayed the
underworld didn’t throw him out. He had to find his mate and
Darkyn’s, quell a rebellion and find a way to reopen the portals to
the dealers trapped on the mortal plane.

And find his soul, before it was crushed and
he was sent to Hell.

Gabriel opened a portal and crossed through
the in-between place.

Deidre took the first step down the path of
their future when she told him her secrets. As much as they angered
him, Gabriel wasn’t going to let anything happen to her, especially
in his own domain. No, he’d find his mate. For the first time this
week, he realized that he, too, wanted to take the next step.

I’ve waited my whole life
for this.
Deidre’s words returned to him.
He loved her since the beginning. For the first time in their
history, they stood a real chance of turning a sordid love story
into a pure one. It was going to be hard, maybe even harder than
finding his soul in the underworld, but the opportunity was theirs
for the taking.

He wasn’t about to lose her or the chance to
build a life with the woman he’d loved for tens of thousands of
years.

Gabriel left the portal and blinked at the
bright light of Tamer’s study.

“Tamer.”

The Immortal glanced up from his laptop,
brow furrowing in irritation.

“How would you like to go to the
underworld?” Gabriel asked, smiling.

Rhyn Eternal Series

“
Gabriel’s Hope”

“
Deidre’s Death” (July
2013)

“
Darkyn’s Mate” (July
2013)

“
The Underworld”
(2014)