"I don't know. I mean, I couldn't leave h.e.l.l with any deity powers and um, basically only one of us left. Because we were combined."

He didn't need to read her mind to know she was lying. But why? If the deal was over, and she was here, what did she need to lie about?

He made the mistake before of not reading her mind when he should have. Though he hated the idea, he wasn't about to take any chances this time around. Gabriel prodded her thoughts.

They were sealed off to him. Surprised, he tried again. He almost felt relief, knowing he couldn't ever be tempted to read her mind again. She had violated his mind at every turn when she was Death. He swore never to do that to her and now, wouldn't be able to. Except suddenly, he realized this was the one time he needed there to be an exception. Too much could be at stake for him not to know what went down with Darkyn.

"Do you have an outstanding debt to Darkyn?" he asked.

"None." This a.s.sertion was firm.

"I guess I can check the Oracle."

She tensed in his grip. "It was a private deal."

"Convenient."

"You don't trust me?"

"No."

Deidre pulled away enough to meet his gaze. She was frowning.

"I want Wynn to verify your tumor is gone," he added.

"You'd trust that Immortal over your mate?" she asked, anger flaring.

"You trusted Darkyn over me."

"He could do something you ..."

It was Gabriel's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Care to finish that? Or maybe explain why you didn't even tell me before seeking him out? It's not like you didn't have the opportunity."

She pushed at him to try to move away. Gabriel didn't let go. Deidre appeared frustrated and wiggled again.

"Easy," he warned. "We're having a nice little chat about trust. Something neither of us does well."

"You didn't use to be like this," she snapped.

"You didn't used to be a weak, puny human."

"Son of a b.i.t.c.h!"

Gabriel chuckled. "Things have changed, Deidre."

"You're scaring me, Gabriel."

"You know I'll never do anything to hurt you."

When he refused to release her, she sighed and leaned against him. The warmth of her body made him not want to let go.

"Wynn is in h.e.l.l," she said at last. "We were both in the portal room. Darkyn sent me home, but Wynn didn't follow."

"He's still there?"

"I don't know. I didn't stay to find out."

"Why was Wynn there?"

"To make sure my ... operation went well. Darkyn dragged him down to help, since it was his magic in my head," she replied.

"I didn't think Darkyn needed help with anything."

"I think Wynn was insurance, in case something went wrong. What Wynn did was really bad, Gabriel. I was going to die in a few days."

One arm tightened instinctively around her while he lifted the other to touch the soft skin of her neck. The scars from the demon attack were there. He rested his hand around her collar, disturbed by the scars. He found himself drawn to her again, almost too strongly to resist, and reminded himself something was off about her story. What if the tumor wasn't gone? He'd pushed her away in order to keep the tumor from growing.

If he wasn't able to find Wynn, there was always Andre, who could tell him if it was there. Maybe Andre could read the thoughts that were blocked to Gabriel.

Her breathing was quick, the pulse he felt in her neck flying. She was affected by his touch. He ran his hand down her arm and rested his hand at her lower back. He wanted to let his hand drift downwards but stopped himself.

The urge almost seemed stronger with her today than when he left her last night. He was already struggling not to let his hands roam her body freely, the way he wanted to.

But something was wrong. His mate was lying to him. It had to do with her trip to h.e.l.l, with the deal she made Darkyn.

Gabriel. Landon's summons drew his attention.

"I've gotta go," he said, standing.

"Where?" she asked.

"Work."

He hugged her close. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him back.

"If you need anything, Katie is four doors down on the left," he reminded her.

"Okay."

Gabriel withdrew and called a portal to take him to the lake. He glanced over his shoulder as he entered the shadow world.

Deidre was watching him, her large blue eyes lost and frustrated.

He forced himself to walk away, uneasy. Disliking the thought, he did what he should've done last night. He shut down her ability to use the portals, just in case there was something else going on.

"Did you find out who it belonged to, Landon?" he asked as he emerged onto the bank beside the eerily glowing lake.

The ma.s.sive lake was roughly round with a panhandle on the side nearest the fortress. His death dealers were lined up along one side of the panhandle, waiting for the invasive mind check, where Gabriel went through their heads for signs of betrayal. He hated the idea but understood the necessity, especially after finding the second compa.s.s in the hands of demons within a week.

"Boss, we have a bigger issue," Landon's voice was hushed.

Tymkyn, the best tracker in the underworld, stood behind him, hands clasped and chest heaving. He looked as if he'd fought his way through a herd of demons to reach them. The tracker was wide and thick, a head smaller than Gabriel, and built like a boulder.

"Mind check," Gabriel said.

Both death dealers bowed their heads without hesitation. Gabriel knew they were loyal before he placed hands on their heads based on their body language. Still, he made a show of checking the two a.s.sa.s.sins before he let them continue.

"You find Harmony?" Gabriel asked Tymkyn in an even voice. The highest ranking of his death dealers to defect, Harmony had been Gabriel's lover for months and his second-in-command since he took over the underworld. She disappeared, and Gabriel a.s.sumed she was in h.e.l.l hiding.

"I did," Tymkyn replied. "She's in the underworld."

Gabriel stared at him.

"They've been moving through the portal in h.e.l.l," Tymkyn explained. "Harmony and a few others."

"How?" Gabriel's gaze went to the waiting death-dealers. He counted a total of seven missing, including the three known traitors.

"Apparently, the portal isn't closed from h.e.l.l. The demons can't access it, but an Immortal or dealer who goes through h.e.l.l can."

"You mean, one who survives h.e.l.l," Landon muttered.

"Or who makes a deal with the demons," Tymkyn added. "They're aggressively recruiting dealers."

"Five reported interactions with demons this evening," Landon said. "Probably when they realized why they're here tonight. Another four are missing, a.s.sumed in the underworld."

"I'll determine who's at risk in about five minutes," Gabriel said firmly, eyes going to the waiting death dealers. "Landon, start taking accountability of dealers and compa.s.ses throughout the day. Surprise visits and inspections."

"Will do. But, boss, that's not the worst news," Landon said with a glance at Tymkyn.

"The dealers in the underworld are rebelling," Tymkyn said. "I caught one of the them in the shadow world on his way back to the mortal realm. They know you're shut out, and Harmony has told them it's because you were of human origin and the underworld is rejecting you. According to the dealer I cornered, there's been some skirmishing between those loyal to you and those who want to install someone else."

"Install someone else," Gabriel repeated and shook his head. "It's not possible."

"They seem to think it is. They're searching for something. They tore a part the palace and your cabin. I don't know what it is, but it's important. They seem to think if they can find it, they'll be able to replace you with a Death of their choice."

Gabriel frowned, unaware of anything that could push him from his position as Death.

Deidre would know.

His gaze drifted towards the fortress.

"How bad is it in the underworld?" he asked.

"Bad. Those who support you are few and are being driven into the Everdark forest," Tymkyn replied. "But, you have to take the information in stride. It's one source only. He might've been bluffing to keep me off guard."

"Where is he?" Gabriel demanded. "I can determine that."

Tymkyn pulled a soul from his pocket. Gabriel sighed in frustration. He took it.

"Find me another one," he ordered. "Keep them alive until I can go through their minds."

"Will do, boss."

"Let me get this over with. Landon, my mate is here. Keep that quiet, though. I want Cora a.s.signed to her fulltime."

Landon nodded. Tymkyn waited for more. Gabriel lifted his chin in dismissal. His second-in-command signaled Cora over while Tymkyn disappeared into a portal. Gabriel checked Cora's thoughts, relieved to find her clean and started down the line.

He found the five who reported the demon interactions with ease. Demons especially those personally trained by Darkyn knew how to sense weakness. They'd done their jobs well. All five of the death dealers were borderline about abandoning Gabriel. He pretended not to notice, though, and thought hard as he checked the minds of the remaining a.s.sa.s.sins.

What did he do to those who hadn't taken that final step but probably would soon?

The responsibility of Death weighed heavily on his shoulders. There was no room for traitors in his ranks, not with his critical mission on the human world and his own mate within striking distance. The underworld would open for him, when he'd conquered his challenges here in the human realm. The deity Fate had told him as much, after shutting down Gabriel's access to the underworld.

A mate lying to him and death dealers deserting right and left.

Gabriel reached the end of the a.s.sa.s.sins and turned to gaze at the lake with its souls. His duty was beyond question the most important there was: protecting the souls of the dead mortals and dead-dead Immortals. There was no room for mistakes or hesitation.

He drew a deep breath then turned to the waiting death-dealers. He walked down the line to the nearest of the five the demons had approached with offers and paused before the Immortal with icy blue eyes. Reading their minds confirmed they were considering the demons' offers.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you now," Gabriel said calmly.

The death dealer stared at him. Those around them were silent, still. Instead of responding, the a.s.sa.s.sin knelt.

"Granted." Gabriel acknowledged the request for a quick death. He placed his hand on the a.s.sa.s.sin's head. A small pulse of power, and the man dropped.

Gabriel called the soul to him silently and watched the green fog form around his hand before it crystallized into an emerald. Gabriel tossed it into the lake. He moved onto the next death dealer whose loyalty was swaying and paused before the slender woman.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you now," he repeated.

She knelt.

Gabriel went down the line. None of the five fought him or made excuses. All obediently requested quick deaths, and he granted them, tossing their souls into the lake instead of crushing them to send them to h.e.l.l, which was the usual fate for the souls of traitors.

"Dismissed!" he called to those remaining.

Landon waited for him a short distance away. Gabriel took a moment to breathe deeply, unsettled by how quickly his a.s.sa.s.sins were falling. He thought them all loyal and supportive when he took over. At the first sign of real trouble, those who weren't had begun to show their true allegiances.

He never expected there to be so many. It was a blow to him, considering he'd worked with many of them for thousands of years. No matter what they thought of his human origins, he was still the deity in charge of the underworld. More importantly, the underworld accepted his appointment. He was starting out doing a s.h.i.tty job, but he was slowly conquering his challenges here on the human world.

Landon was right. Morale was low, and many had lost faith in Gabriel. He wasn't certain how to prove to them he was their leader, aside from doing his job. In the meantime, killing dealers he used to consider colleagues or allies weighed heavily on his emotions at a time when he needed to think clearly.

Eight traitors in the week he'd been shut out of the underworld. If what Tymkyn learned was true, the underworld itself was at war.

He had to get back soon.

"Find Andre," he said to Landon. "Send him my way."

"Got it."