Gabriel's Hope

Neither did Death sit back and wait to discover the information he needed to do his job. In all his years, he'd known one Immortal with the unrivaled gifts of not only tracking demons in the mortal realm but manipulating the minds of Immortals and mortals. The same Immortal would balance the damage done by past-Deidre when she raised Wynn and help Rhyn manage the Council and Immortals. Though the power of mind manipulation was far from brain surgery, he might also know how to help Deidre.

It was a long shot, but Gabriel was willing to bet that raising the dead-dead Immortal would pay off.

He was about to fuck the Code hard.

Gabriel returned to the lake. There was no way of knowing whose souls had crossed over to the mortal world, but he was going to trust that Fate was on his side, for the time being. Gabriel stripped off his shirt and weapons then his heavy boots, dropping everything into a pile while two of his assassins watched. He whipped off his belt and added it to the rest of his belongings, leaving a single knife strapped to his thigh.

He dove into the cold water. The souls sensed their Keeper and rose from the floor of the deep lake to hover around him like suspended, tiny green lanterns. Each spoke to him as he swam, filling his head with visions as they told him their stories. Gabriel slowed his movements, quickly overwhelmed by the voices. He stopped trying to sort through everything.

If you're here, come to me, he ordered the soul he sought.

Nothing happened. He swam deeper into the lake. One of the gems touched his face. Images flashed through his mind. He snatched the soul and shoved off from the bottom of the lake, kicking upwards.

Breaking through the surface, Gabriel gasped in a few breaths before swimming towards the shore with powerful strokes. All five of the death dealers on guard had drawn near the lake. He hauled himself out of the cold waters and sat on the shore that turned to mud beneath his dripping body.

He placed the soul on the ground beside him and drew his remaining knife. He heard how to bring an Immortal back from the dead-dead from past-Death but never saw it done. Mainly because it broke a few thousand Immortal Codes. It didn't break the triumvirate of laws he was required to follow, though it was likely to put him on the radar of the other deities, who were going to be cautious to trust him after past-Death's antics.

Gabriel sliced his palm and squeezed blood out over the soul. If there were magic words, they were stuck in the manual he never got. He willed the magic out of his body and channeled it into the blood-covered soul, visualizing what it was he tried to do. And hoping it wasn't like Wynn, who was reincarnated without even Darkyn realizing the soul was revived. Green power flowed from the souls in the lake, through him and into the gem. The lake blinked out for a second, the light gone completely, then blinked back on, this time much, much dimmer.