Free Deidre's Death (#2, Rhyn Eternal) by Lizzy Ford Page B

drank the rest
of her tea but had lost her appetite. She knew Andre to be
discreet, but could even he withhold these secrets from Gabriel,
the deity who raised him from the dead-dead?
    Remorse. Heavy in her mind was the thought that there
might’ve been something Gabriel could’ve done to save the other
Deidre. What if there was? What if her assumption about Darkyn was
wrong?
    What if it was her fault the human Gabriel
loved died?
    “I need some fresh air,” she mumbled. “My
head is killing me.”
    “I can walk you outside, if you’d like.”
    She nodded and rose. Andre waited as she put
on shoes. He led her through the stronghold and into the courtyard
and garden area between the walls and the fortress. Deidre’s eyes
were caught by the gardens but drifted to the pine trees beyond the
walls.
    “I believe Cora is staying with you,” Andre
said.
    Deidre glanced over her shoulder, not really
caring at that moment, not when she felt like her world was
squeezing the life out of her. She headed for the door in the wall
that led from the gardens to the exterior of the compound.
    She was able to breathe easier when she
stood outside the massive fortress that sat on a clearing the size
of two football fields. Deidre gazed at the strange human forest,
whose trees weren’t alive like those of her underworld. These
didn’t move out of her way when she started into them. She stopped
and gazed around, spotting a small dirt trail a few feet away.
    Deidre started down the trail, holding out
her hands to the pine trees. The needles were long and soft, their
vibrant green coloring leaving her breathless. The forest air was
cool and damp. It smelled of earth and sunshine. She walked slowly,
taking in everything from the patches of blue sky visible through
the trees to the spring flowers sprinkling the forest floor.
    She traded everything for this moment, and
Gabriel wasn’t beside her.
    Were Wynn and Andre both right about telling
him?
    Did it matter, if doing as they said cost
her Gabriel?
    Deidre walked deeper into the forest,
wrestling with herself mentally. After half an hour, she grew tired
of the internal argument. She wasn’t able to win either way. She
loved human emotion, but she hated the doubt and insecurity she
felt.
    “Gabriel.” She didn’t know why she summoned
him, except that right now, she wanted to see him, to reassure
herself.
     

Chapter Five

     
    Thousands of miles away, Gabriel was with
one of his death dealers surveying the gruesome discovery. His
dealers were beating the demons to the souls. Gabriel was working
them – and himself - overtime to try to catch up. Their list of
outstanding collections was growing smaller.
    So was his list of dealers able to collect
them. Landon reported one more going missing and another killed in
a fight with five demons when he went to claim a soul.
    Gabriel rose from his position crouching
over the body of someone he knew. This Ancient Immortal hadn’t
given up his soul without a struggle. Erik, one of Rhyn’s
half-brothers, was bloody and bruised from what looked like a
prolonged battle with several demons. Four demons lay dead in the
living room of his house, while the Immortal had dragged himself
into the garage.
    Not that it mattered. The fifth demon had
finished him off by crushing his skull and taking his soul. Gabriel
studied the scene before deciding finally he had to tell Rhyn.
    He summoned the half-demon and waited.
    Each of the Council members had a unique
gift. At the moment, he wasn’t able to remember what Erik’s was.
The quietest and most distant of the brothers, Erik was charged
with protecting northern Europe from demons. Gabriel doubted Darkyn
was after the Immortal because he was fighting demons. Rhyn
reported Erik missing months ago. It appeared as if he’d been
living quietly here, until discovered by demons.
    “Yo,” Rhyn said, stepping through a
portal.
    Gabriel moved aside. Rhyn froze, staring at
the body of his half-brother. Gabriel