Darkyn's Mate (#3, Rhyn Eternal) (20 page)

The teen took Deidre’s arm and circled her.
Her cool fingers ran across Deidre’s markings. She made a sound
like a squeak.

Deidre faced her curiously. Selyn’s smile
was lopsided because of the unresponsive, scarred half of her face.
Her eyes, however, glowed.

“You’re happy about this,” Deidre said.

A look of pained yearning crossed the girl’s
face, as if she wanted badly to speak but couldn’t.

“I can see that. Your daddy can be
scary.”

Pride crossed Selyn’s face. Deidre gave an
unsettled laugh. How long would it take her to adapt to a culture
where the ability to cause fear and pain was so revered?

Deidre.
She was almost grateful for the summons then
anxious in the next breath. It wasn’t Darkyn, and the vision
accompanying it was from the shadow world. Like when Past-Death
summoned her.

She wasn’t ready to face the former goddess
again.

“I have to go,” she said grudgingly.
“Someone is summoning me.”

Selyn frowned. She tapped her chest. Deidre
looked at her quizzically. The teen took her arm then nudged her to
walk.

“You want to come?” Deidre asked.

Another nod.

“Okay. Are you allowed out of Hell?”

At the look of offense, Deidre almost
laughed. Instead, she called a portal.

Deidre stepped through just as Past-Death
did. Selyn crowded her, almost tripping them both by how close she
was.

Past-Death didn’t look in any better shape
than when Deidre saw her last. Her intent gaze was inquisitive, her
eyebrows raised in a silent question. Deidre had the sense the
woman was surprised to see her.

“Hi, Deidre,” Deidre said, puzzled. “I
wasn’t expecting to see you so soon.”

“Um, I thought you summoned me,” Past-Death
replied.

Deidre shook her head. She was almost
relieved. Maybe someone had accidentally summoned her, and she
wasn’t about to have yet another confrontation today.

Past-Death had frozen. A flicker of alarm
went across her features, warning Deidre something was wrong.

“Deidre, I think we need to –” Past-Death
started, backing towards her portal.

Alerted by Past-Death’s sudden tension,
Deidre turned and took Selyn’s arm. She didn’t know what the former
deity sensed, but she wasn’t going to stick around too long to find
out. She pushed Selyn towards the portal to Hell.

Two forms stepped between them and the
portal, blocking it. Deidre gripped Selyn’s arm more tightly, fear
spiraling through her. She didn’t recognize the two men before her,
but they were dressed much like the two death dealers that tried to
turn her over to Harmony in her old apartment.

Deidre glanced over her shoulder and froze.
Two people stood between Past-Death and the yellow portal leading
back to the human world.

“Harmony,” Deidre said at the sight of the
female death dealer.

It was a trap. Suddenly, Deidre wished she’d
left Selyn in Hell. The girl had started to tremble, no doubt
reminiscing about the last time she’d dealt with Immortals. Deidre
squeezed her arm in reassurance, not at all certain what Harmony
wanted. Last time, the death dealer wasn’t interested in her.

“What do you want?” Past-Death demanded of
Harmony.

“You aren’t Death anymore.” Harmony punched
Past-Death hard.

Deidre flinched as the small blonde woman
went down. Harmony bent over her, saying something Deidre wasn’t
able to hear. Gabriel’s mate was struggling to sit up.

“Deidre, are you okay?” Deidre called.

“Yes.” The response was more of a grunt.
Past-Death managed to stand. She faced Harmony. “What’s going
on?”

“Simple. Because of Darkyn’s bitch, I’ve got
a price on my head from the Dark One. I didn’t betray Gabriel to be
stuck in the human world,” Harmony said. She snatched Past-Death’s
arm and hauled her closer to Deidre. “Who is this?”

All eyes fell to Selyn, who was shaking. The
growl low in her chest sounded more like a rattle.

“A servant,” Deidre said, not wanting them
to hurt the poor girl.

“Kill her,” Harmony said, motioning to one
of the other dealers.

He grabbed Selyn and hauled her a few feet
away. The panicked teen stared pleadingly at Deidre. She started
forward when the dealer pulled out a knife.

“No!” Deidre cried, heart racing. “I lied.
She’s Darkyn’s daughter.”

Harmony stared at her then at the teen girl.
Suddenly, she smiled.

“Perfect. Even better,” Harmony said.
“Darkyn’s bitch will get us into Hell. Gabe’s will get us into the
underworld. Once we’re there, we’ll have all the leverage we
need.”

Deidre looked from Harmony to Selyn, wishing
she knew how to diffuse the situation in a way that Selyn was able
to escape. The girl didn’t need any more trauma, and Darkyn would
unleash Hell if one of them disappeared and the other was dead. Her
thoughts went to what Darkyn taught her about dealing.

“Will you leave her?” she asked. “I have the
power of Hell at my back. I can grant you almost anything in
exchange for her life.” She spoke carefully, aware no one knew
about her private agreement with Darkyn that disallowed her ability
to make deals. She didn’t know what happened if she tried to make
one, but she’d do what it took to protect the terrified teen.

“I will, too,” Past-Death added. “Any deal I
make will be sealed by Death’s magic.”

Harmony was quiet for a moment. Deidre
exchanged a look with her look-alike.

“Darkyn made a deal with Gabriel for your
soul, Harmony,” she said. “Whoever finds you first, Darkyn keeps
you.”

The death dealer paled. Deidre guessed the
death dealer knew enough about Darkyn to fear him. She definitely
feared him, and she was shown mercy by the Dark One.

“Let the girl go, and I’ll make sure your
soul goes where it should, right beside mine,” Past-Death said with
calmness Deidre envied.

“Or you can risk an eternity with the Dark
One personally overseeing your day-to-day … activities,” Deidre
seconded.

Harmony appeared indecisive.

“The soul of a deity or former deity has
special standing,” Past-Death continued. “Yours will remain right
beside mine.”

Deidre studied her, hearing the carefully
chosen words. Seeing Past-Death, it was hard to remember that the
human with the mussed hair and tear-reddened eyes had spent
thousands of years cultivating deals. She probably knew many of the
same rules Darkyn did about creating terms.

Harmony couldn’t know that Past-Death’s soul
was destined for Hell in a matter of days, or more specifically, to
Deidre herself. Darkyn had bargained with Gabriel for Harmony, and
Past-Death just sealed the deal for her soul. Deidre waited
apprehensively. Right now, no part of her was willing to protect
Harmony’s soul from Darkyn the way she planned to Past-Death’s.

Harmony tossed her head towards the death
dealer holding Selyn. She held out a hand to Past-Death. Deidre
took it, and they shook, the deal sealed with the magic of Gabriel.
Deidre stared at Past-Death, wondering why the former goddess was
trying to help the daughter of the Dark One that meant to crush
her.

Whatever Past-Death’s reasoning, Deidre was
grateful. She couldn’t stand the thought of seeing Selyn hurt, as
much because of everything the girl had been through as the thought
of hurting Darkyn. Even if he was incapable of feeling real
pain.

The death dealer tossed the teen demoness
through a yellow portal, onto the mortal plane rather than into
Hell. Deidre gasped, stunned. She was about to demand to know where
the girl was sent when Past-Death’s words jarred her.

“She’s alive.”

Deidre swallowed hard and nodded, reining in
her panic. Selyn could find her way home. Nothing else mattered
except that she was alive.

“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 Past-Death.

“Now, we’re going to Hell.”

One of the death dealers took Deidre’s arm
and waited. After a moment, she realized none of them could see the
portal to Hell the way she could. She pointed and started forward.
The death dealer yanked her back against him, his one hand roaming
down her side.

With a sickening feeling, she realized she’d
never asked Darkyn what she meant to: how to turn off the
seductress or at least, defend herself against those drawn to her.
She gave a sidelong glance to Harmony as the death dealer joined
them.

All of them had to know they’d just sealed
their own fates. No matter what happened from here on out, neither
Darkyn nor Gabriel would ever let them live after this.

For a moment, Deidre pitied them. As noble
as Gabriel was, he wouldn’t hesitate to turn over anyone who hurt
his mate to Darkyn. This much she knew.

She prayed for Selyn to find her way home
safely then led them through the portal into Hell.

Rhyn Eternal Series

“
Gabriel’s Hope”

“
Deidre’s Death”

“
Darkyn’s Mate”

“
The Underworld”
(2014)