The death dealer paled and glanced at Deidre. Deidre knew that look, the one that said that Harmony was staring down an eternity of demon mercy. It was the same feeling that Deidre got every time she let herself think of what happened when her deal ran out.

"Let the girl go, and I'll make sure your soul goes where it should, right beside mine," Deidre added, carefully wording the deal.

"Or you can risk an eternity with the Dark One personally overseeing your day-to-day ... activities," Darkyn's mate seconded.

Harmony appeared indecisive.

"The soul of a deity or former deity has special standing," Deidre pushed. "Yours will remain right beside mine."

Harmony tossed her head towards the death dealer holding Darkyn's daughter. She held out a hand to Deidre. Deidre took it. They shook, and their deal was sealed with the magic of Gabriel. Darkyn's mate was looking at her hard. Deidre focused on the girl.

The death dealer tossed the teen demoness through a yellow portal, onto the mortal plane rather than into h.e.l.l. Darkyn's mate gasped.

"She's alive," Deidre said quickly, seeing the woman's distress.

"If either of you summons your mates, I'll kill the other. If you try to alert anyone or escape, I'll peel your skin from your bodies and watch you scream," Harmony warned. "Got it?"

Deidre nodded. So did Darkyn's mate.

"Now, we're going to h.e.l.l."

Deidre swallowed hard. This was definitely not how she envisioned the end of her week. Worst of all: she'd miss her first dinner date with Gabriel.

Not even the thought of losing her soul could rival the sorrow she felt knowing she'd disappoint him one last time.

Chapter Thirteen.

Wynn heard the commotion from his place on the terrace taking afternoon tea. He never expected to see the blue sky again or the trees around the fortress, let alone sip sweet tea and nibble on berry scones. He'd been in the middle of deciding which of his collection of knives he was going to use to kill the G.o.ddess once and for all when the noise started.

It sounded as if half a legion of armed Immortals was chasing someone through the fortress. a.s.suming it was some sort of uncivilized training exercise engineered by the half-breed in charge of the Council, he was nonetheless stopped from enjoying his first tea since returning from h.e.l.l.

His peace ruined, he rose and strode into the fortress. The main floor consisted of common areas and wide halls lined with ma.s.sive windows. What he saw was exactly how he pictured it: undisciplined scrambling by about a dozen Immortals in uniform. He watched them, recalling a time he'd overseen the training of all Immortal warriors.

Times had definitely changed. He wasn't certain how Rhyn's men managed to drive away the demons last autumn. If anything, it made Darkyn look bad for not being able to defeat the disorganized rabble.

Determined to find some peace and quiet, Wynn ignored the men racing in different directions through the hallways and went to one of the back stairwells. He climbed halfway up before he heard what sounded like a sob from behind him. He turned in time to see someone racing away. He started to resume his climb then paused.

Unable to explain exactly why, he had the sense that whomever it was that he saw, he knew.

Wynn trotted down the stairs. He heard two of the Immortals shouting from down a nearby hall and saw the dark figure duck into a doorway. Wynn wished of the second time that day he had a weapon of some sort. He would've gutted past-Death earlier if so.

Silently, he strode down the hallway after the figure he saw. He pushed the door to a dark room open, using his senses to key in on where the person was. Though he possessed nowhere near the level of power he used to, he was still able to sense the figure cowering in a corner. Unwilling to alarm them and possibly end up stabbed, he pretended not to know and moved through the room.

He went to the window opposite the figure and closed his eyes, then whipped the curtain open. Someone gasped. Wynn turned and opened his eyes. The figure's arm was raised to block the blinding light.

Wynn moved before his victim could. He s.n.a.t.c.hed the arm and whirled her, arm sliding around the neck of the mysterious person.

The skin against his jaw was rough. Scarred. The body went limp. Her breathing was ragged, her frame shaking. He leaned away to look down and confirm that she wore the dress of a demoness.

"Selyn," he said, surprised. "If that's you, tell me."

He waited to see what she did. The girl tapped his arm then held up three fingers, the sign she'd made to mean Wynn. Darkyn was one finger, his mate two fingers and Wynn three. Darkyn's daughter was unable to speak with the damage done to her head and neck. She was lucky to walk. By the trembling of her body, she wasn't going to be on her feet much longer.

What the f.u.c.k was Darkyn's daughter doing in the Immortal stronghold?

He released her and turned her to face him. There were tears on her cheeks. She held up two fingers.

"Deidre," he said.

She nodded and started breathing hard and fast, panicking. Her eyes were dark, her pixie-cut messy.

"Whatever your father did, don't involve me," he said. "G.o.ds, he'll f.u.c.king slaughter me for talking to you."

Selyn shook her head. She was upset but didn't know how to tell him why. She held up two fingers again.

Frustrated and concerned his self-preservation was at stake, Wynn summoned a portal to take the girl back.

Selyn tried to bolt. Wynn caught her, puzzled. She was shaking her head again, staring at the portal with huge eyes. The growl of a demoness was almost a whimper.

He closed the portal. At a loss as to what to do next, he was about to summon Darkyn when the room shook. Wynn went still. He'd felt the earth crack open once before. It happened the first time Darkyn invaded the mortal world from h.e.l.l. The demon lord tore the plane between the two.

Wynn took Selyn's arm. He led her to the window. She looked out and squeezed his arm in excitement. Wynn was far less thrilled by what they saw.

Darkyn was standing beside a molten tear in the earth, flanked by seven demons that stood one and a half times the size of Gabriel, the largest man Wynn knew.

"Darkyn's here with his back-up squad. You're clearly upset about something. I don't see Deidre," Wynn said, thinking fast. "Should I a.s.sume something happened to her?"

Selyn nodded vigorously.

Rhyn and several other Immortals spilled out of the fortress.

"I think we need to get down there," Wynn said.

Selyn started away, tugging at him to follow.

"Wait, Selyn. The Immortals won't hesitate to hurt you."

Her eyes watered again. She'd been raped and killed by an Immortal. She knew what danger she was in. Wynn doubted she knew that the Immortal who did it was his son. She wouldn't be anywhere near him if she did.

"If you don't want to go through the portal" - She shook her head - "then we'll have to go through the back pa.s.sages."

She waited.

Wynn almost sighed. Whatever happened, it could break bad. Darkyn didn't tear the fabric between worlds for a simple h.e.l.lo.

"Stay with me no matter what, okay?" he instructed her.

She nodded. G.o.ds help the girl, she trusted him of all people.

Chapter Fourteen.

Gabriel.

Rhyn's summons came at a bad time. Gabriel finished collecting the souls from the bowl then straightened, motioning to Landon. Andre had tipped them off about another, smaller warehouse. This one was the size of a small apartment, stacked ceiling to floor with bodies. Ten demons guarded this one, two of which he'd slaughtered before leaving his dealers to handle the rest to search for souls.

"Rhyn's calling. Can you handle this?" he asked Landon.

Landon nodded.

"I'll take these to the lake. Stay available." Gabriel summoned a portal and emerged at the lake.

He froze. He could feel that something happened. It was a new kind of sense, one he'd never experienced before. Something was broken and for once, it wasn't Death's domain. Another sense grew stronger. It was familiar. He last experienced it ...

... Monday night, when Deidre had gone to h.e.l.l. He didn't understand it at the time. It was less an instinct and more of an absence of something. A warmth at the edge of his mind.

Gabriel.

He started towards the fortress at a trot, struggling to decipher the instincts of a deity. Something broken and something missing. His pace quickened, and he left the forest and trotted to the Immortals' stronghold. His attention shifted from his thoughts to the scene before him, and he slowed.

Rhyn and Andre stood near Darkyn between two lines, one of Immortals and the opposite of demons larger than any Gabriel had ever seen. Both demon lord and half-demon were bristling with power, the Dark One's growl audible long before Gabriel reached them. He paused near the crack in the ground.

He saw it once before, when he was seventeen. When Darkyn's demons had wiped out his village, a tiny stopover on their journey to enslave the mortal realm.

"Gabriel." Only Andre would manage to sound calm standing before two creatures with enough power to turn him to dust.

"What's going on?" Gabriel asked, hands on the hilts of his weapons.

He wasn't expecting anyone but Andre to answer. The two demons were locked in a silent staring contest. When he was close enough, Darkyn addressed him.

"My mate. Now," the Dark One snarled. His eyes were cold and sharp. With the tear between worlds, he was able to use more of the power normally restricted to h.e.l.l. Dark power surged around him.

"Where's your Deidre?" Rhyn asked Gabriel, his gaze never leaving Darkyn.

Gabriel summoned her with enough power that she wasn't able to ignore him, even if she was upset.

No response.

He waited another moment, unleashing his senses.

He should be able to find his mate no matter where she was but couldn't.

Something missing.

If he couldn't find her, she was in one of two places: h.e.l.l or the underworld.

"What the f.u.c.k happened?" he asked, focusing on Andre.

"You f.u.c.king tell me." The Dark One faced him.

Gabriel didn't react, instead motioning to Andre to do something about Rhyn, who was ready to explode. The half-demon had the impact of a nuclear bomb with absolutely no control. He summoned Landon and gave his second-in-command an urgent message.

Find my mate.

"I want my mate," Darkyn repeated.

"Harder to hang onto than you thought?" Gabriel couldn't help baiting the enraged demon. He didn't think he'd ever be able to rationalize that both Deidres had gone to Darkyn instead of trusting him without resentment.

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 h.e.l.l or what? Poor girl probably dove off a cliff."

"Unlike yours, my mate accepts her place."

"I f.u.c.ked 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 h.e.l.l, where she belongs," Darkyn snapped.

"Gabriel."

"Now you f.u.c.king show up," Gabriel replied to Wynn.