Rhyn's Redemption (12 page)

Nothing happened.

She sighed, wondering why she was paying attention to a dead-dead Immortal in the first place. Maybe Gabriel was right. Maybe the underworld was having some effect on her.  She’d been fatigued since arriving, but she’d explained it away with the fact she’d had little sleep and an unexpected pregnancy.

She reached the place where the food cubes had landed, bending to pick them up in case she needed them later. The cubes were gone.  Swiping at lively bushes, she inched forward, searching for the cubes.

The ground beneath her rumbled suddenly, and she straightened, balancing herself against a tree.  Gabriel stopped ahead of her and Andre motioned her quickly away from the spot.

“What is that?” she asked as the tremors grew stronger.

“I don’t know.  I don’t sense any magic,” the death-dealer said with a frown. “Do you?”

“No. Nothing.”

Andre’s motioning grew frantic, and Katie looked down.  A small crack had begun to form where the food cubes fell. The crack grew fast, flying down the trail towards Gabriel.  The sound of the earth tearing grew louder.  The trees on either side of her expanded, quickly doubling and then quadrupling in size.  Afraid of being crushed between them, Katie darted off the trail towards Andre, who ran ahead of her. She heard Gabriel shout something that was lost in the roar of the ground splitting apart.

Andre ran hard for a creature that was already dead.  Katie chased him, terrified of looking back when the awful sounds seemed so close.  Only when the ground stopped trembling did Andre stop. Katie doubled over, breathless.

“What the … hell just … happened?” she gasped and turned.

The two trees whose girth had been small enough for her wrap her arms around had expanded in width and height, reaching towards the gray sky of the underworld.  Katie craned her neck, unable to see the tops of the trees.  Their trunks had grown outward from the trail until they were as wide as a football field.  Their massive roots ruptured the ground that had been the trail, creating a ravine she could see even from their safe distance.

“Don’t feed the trees.” She repeated Gabriel’s warning, stunned. She shuddered and glanced at the phantom. “Where is he?”

Andre shrugged.  Katie heard nothing outside of the rasping trees.  Gabriel was gone. Andre motioned her to follow him, and she drew a few more heavy breaths before following.

“We’re going towards the lake,” she said.

He nodded.

“Are you getting us out of here?”

He shrugged again.

“Do you have a plan?”

Andre shook his head.

“Wait, so I just ditched my guide to follow you and you don’t know where you’re going?” Katie demanded. “Was that supposed to be a rescue?”

The phantom ignored her and continued to walk.

“Rhyn’s rescues look like well-planned military campaigns compared to this,” she muttered. Her thoughts went to him and her latest dream. He claimed to be coming for her.  She didn’t think she’d ever leave the underworld, especially now that she didn’t have Gabriel.

Katie looked over her shoulder again towards the massive trees.  She didn’t know what happened with Gabriel, but she hoped he was safe, wherever he was. Her fate, she was certain, was sealed.

Chapter Eight

Rhyn awoke from the island dreamscape in the shadow world.  He rose, uncertain what happened but recalling his urgency.  He crossed through the glowing black portal into the one place he’d hoped never to see again: Hell.  Unwilling to get stuck in the cell where he’d spent many lifetimes, he chose to open the portal into the office of the Council’s betrayer, Sasha.  The office was as he remembered it, down to the black flames in the hearth.

His half-demon blood would render him cloaked among the demons, as it had in the castle. Rhyn shuddered, recalling just how bad Hell could be.

The room even smelled like Sasha.  Rhyn cursed his dead half-brother silently and left, traveling the black stone halls of the fortress in Hell where he’d spent most of his life.  He reached the door before the block of cells where Sasha had collected his favorite creatures in Hell to create his own twisted, private zoo.  They’d referred to the sick Immortal as the zookeeper, a creature as deserving of a cell as any.

Shaking his head, Rhyn realized how sweaty his palms were as he stood before the door leading to the zoo.  Sasha’s mages had sat in the antechamber, repairing any damage the inmates did to their cells or preparing some magical torture that Sasha wanted.

It was the last place in the universe he wanted to be. Rhyn’s body felt wooden, and his heart flew.  He opened the door to the antechamber and stopped, surprised at who sat within.

“Jared?”

“Rhyn!” The full demon dropped the book in his hands and lurched to his feet.

“Darkyn made you the jailer,” Rhyn growled. “You better not –“

“Wait!” Jared barked. “I didn’t do anything. To any of them, as much as I wanted to eat the human. So succulent and sweet-smelling, like barbecued –“

Rhyn drew his knife as Jared’s feature lit up.

“But I didn’t,” the demon rushed on. “I’m as much of a prisoner as they are. I can go here and I can go out on the block.”

“You’re a prisoner.”

“Yes.”

“Prove it.”

Jared motioned him away from the door.  Rhyn stepped aside warily.  The full-demon tried to walk through, only to be thrown to the ground by an invisible shield.

“Darkyn wouldn’t let me stay in the mortal realm. I came here and hid out,” Jared explained. “I knew these
things
were your friends.” He motioned dismissively towards the cell block.

“Is the angel here?” Rhyn asked.

“Yes. And the man in black who used to visit you. Smells like a human, acts like an Immortal.”

“Gabe?”

“Sure.”

Rhyn moved to the door leading to the block, unable to help the small tremble of his hand.  Not only had he spent too long in this very place, he’d seen Katie hurt here and barely escaped alive with her.

“And the girl.”

“What girl?” Rhyn asked, freezing.

“I don’t know it’s name.  It was with Lunchmeat at the Immortal stronghold,” Jared said, using his nickname for Katie. “Can you get us out of here?”

“Why would I do anything for you?”

“As a reward, for not eating any of your friends.”

Rhyn considered how he might use the demon, as he had once before.  He didn’t answer, pushing the door open to the cell block.  Nearly all the cells were empty. 

“Where is everyone?” he asked.

“Darkyn incorporated them into his army.  He sent most to the Immortal stronghold,” Jared said. “Miss your old friends?”

“Not in the slightest.  You put Gabe in my old cell,” he said, stopping in front of it. He sensed the death-dealer’s presence without being able to see into the dark room.

“Rhyn!” Toby’s gleeful shout jarred him. “I knew you’d come! I knew Jared would help.”

Jared bared his teeth in response. Rhyn stopped in front of Toby’s cell and saw the young angel bouncing around.

“Oh, thank gods,” Ully said from the cell across from Toby. “Rhyn, Darkyn created two shapeshifter demons. You must find them before they - “

“Rhyn,” Gabriel’s ragged voice drew his attention.

Rhyn stepped closer to his old cell, hating it and the fact his friend was trapped in it.

“I’m sorry, Rhyn,” the death-dealer said. “I failed you and Katie both.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“The fucking demons got me. I don’t know what they want with Katie, but it’s been almost two days. I was leading her through the underworld.”

“She’s not dead,” Rhyn said and drew an even breath, trying to calm the side of him that was screaming for him to find her as fast as he could. Two days with demons … he’d seen what happened to her here, in Hell, over a similar period of time.  Sasha was twisted, but Darkyn was merciless.

“Yes, she’s alive, or was when I left her,” Gabe said.

“Where were you when this happened?” Rhyn asked. “How did you get Katie away from Death?”

“I told you, she’s not dead!” Toby shouted. “No one listens to me!”

“The underworld,” Gabe answered. “Toby’s right.  She found a loophole.  As long as Death doesn’t find her and we can get her back to a Sanctuary, she’ll live.”

“Darkyn was right,” Rhyn said.

“About what?”

“Death offered to return Katie to me after a few days.  Darkyn said she wouldn’t do it, and he was right.  She doesn’t have Katie.”

“It would break every Immortal Code – some older than Death – if she returned a mortal to the mortal world,” Gabe said. “If she finds Katie, she’ll never let her go.”

Rhyn felt like the fool he was.

“Tell the demon to let me out,” Gabe said. “We need to go.”

“Jared, free Gabe,” Rhyn ordered.

“Only if – “ the demon started.

“Yes, fine. We’ll come back for you.”

Jared returned to the antechamber.

“Ully, Toby, you’re staying here until we get back,” Rhyn said.

“What?” the two responded simultaneously.

“You’re safe here. And, you’re out of my way.”

“Rhyn, no!” Toby whined.

“You need my help!” Ully added.

“Then I’ll come back for you. Right now, Gabe and I are going to the underworld.  You’ll slow us down,” Rhyn said.

“Rhyn, I can help you,” Toby pleaded. “Katie is my human. I can find her for you.”

“I’m not looking for her. I’m going to find Death.”

The cell block fell silent.  Even Jared looked at him in surprise.  Rhyn took the talisman dangling from the demon’s hand and pressed it against the wall of the cell holding Gabe.

“You can’t go after Death,” Gabe said quietly as he stepped from the cell.  The death-dealer was more unkempt than Rhyn had ever seen him. His clothing was ripped and his face unshaven. “Do you know what she’ll do to you?”

“You don’t have to go, Gabe,” Rhyn said. “You can stay here or I’ll take you to the Sanctuary.  I just need you to tell me where she is.  She’s after Katie.  We find Death before she finds my mate.”

Gabe took a deep breath. “I know the underworld better than you. I’ll take you to where she might be.”

“Rhyn, you need to know something,” Ully said. “One of the shapeshifters took on Gabriel’s shape.  I think Darkyn knew Katie was with Gabe, and they wanted to replace him.”

“Why?  Gabe, where were you going?” Rhyn asked.

“There’s a secret portal in the underworld, similar to the one here in Hell that allows Immortals to come in and out.  It’s how I could visit you when you were in Sasha’s zoo,” Gabe explained.  “I couldn’t take Katie through the shadow world place, because Death and Darkyn had assassins waiting for me to step foot in there.  The secret portal is in Death’s palace.”

“Wow,” Toby breathed. “You were taking her straight to Death.”

“Not straight,” Gabe said. “I was taking a route no one else could track.”

“And the demons grabbed you and replaced you with a shapeshifter,” Rhyn said. “But why?”

“Because your bond will reappear seven days after you broke it.” Toby’s voice was a whisper. “I’m not supposed to tell you that.”

Rhyn stopped in front of the dejected angel’s cell.

“I dreamt where Death told me about the seven days … “ Gabe drifted off and shook his head, as if to clear a bad memory.  “You’re saying Rhyn didn’t break the bond?”

“I’m saying, the mate of an Ancient or any Immortal is preordained.  No one can break that bond, not even Death,” Toby answered. “But since no one ever listens to me and I’ve failed at my duty as a guardian – “

“Stop whining, Toby,” Rhyn snapped. “Why seven days?”

“I don’t know.”

“Angels have a shared consciousness with all other angels.  It’s how they pass on memories and human history,” Gabe said. “If Toby can’t find that answer, it’s not something any of the angels know.  Or he’s too young to tap into it fully.”

“I know I’m a failure,” Toby said, blinking back tears.

“Darkyn said the shapeshifters only had to be effective for a few days,” Ully added.

“Whatever he’s planning has to be done by the time your bond returns,” Gabe said.

Rhyn frowned. Toby, Darkyn, and Death knew about the seven days.  He felt a flutter of hope where he’d felt desperation before.  In seven days, his bond to Katie would return. She’d no longer be vulnerable in the Immortal underworld. She could move between worlds as he could, and he’d no longer be at risk of destroying everything he came into contact with.

Death wanted him to wait until the bond returned.  Darkyn wanted him to act before then.  Rhyn didn’t understand the battle the two were locked in, but one thing was clear: Katie would need him before the seven days was up.

“Ully, you said there were two shapeshifters?” he asked. “Who is the second?”

“Hannah,” Ully said and motioned to a cell farther down. “He replaced her before Gabriel.”

“Really?” Toby asked, pressing his face against the cell door. “I didn’t even notice.”

“That’s because I used the Immunity blood to enhance their talents,” Ully said. “No one can tell the physical difference until the injections wear off.”

“Darkyn replaces Gabe to get to Katie. Why replace Hannah?” Gabe asked.