Gabriel's Hope

"You okay?" he asked, bothered by something he wasn't able to pinpoint.

"I think so. I've lived with the idea of dying for so long, I'm kinda freaked out by the alternative," she admitted. "It's a lot to think about."

"I'll come by to talk later," he heard himself saying. "Tomorrow sometime." During daylight, when he wasn't fighting the desire to make love to her that grew with the disappearance of the sun.

"I'd like that," she said with a small smile.

"I'll send someone over in about half an hour."

She nodded.

He'd gotten what he wanted from her, but he didn't feel like he'd won. If anything, Gabriel sensed something was off again. He pushed the thought away and took a portal to the lake near the Immortals' fortress. It was dark and cool, the forest quiet while the waters before him no longer glowed brightly enough to be seen from the stronghold.

Landon appeared at once, and Gabriel waited for his new second-in-command to join him.

"It's working!" Landon exclaimed. "The Ancient Andre's mind magic. He implanted it in the mind of two Immortals. We tested them today. They were able to track the demons attacking schools. The spell lasts twenty four hours, but it works."

"Excellent," Gabe replied.

"We're testing it out on death-dealers tomorrow," Landon added.

"If we're able to find the souls before demons, we'll be back on track."

"I still can't find Harmony," Landon said.

Gabe said nothing, suspecting he knew where the death-dealer was hiding out. He almost felt sorry for her. Darkyn was not a kind master. Why she'd chosen to serve a demon over him… was there any part of her that cared for him? Or had he been a simple source of information for her and Darkyn? He grieved her choice but also believe she got what she deserved for betraying the souls they were all charged with protecting.

"We'll keep looking," Landon said.

"Thanks. Let me know how tomorrow goes with Andre's mind tricks. I'm going to pick up more compasses from Tamer," Gabe said. "Send Cora to guard my mate. Tell her to sleep on the couch."

"Got it, boss."

Souls, demons, Deidre. For the first time since taking on the mantle of Death, Gabriel was hopeful. He had the right people helping him, a mate who reluctantly agreed to his plan to help her, a better understanding of when to break the Code and a plan to repair all that was broken within his domain on the mortal realm.

He'd turned a corner. It was time to pursue his duties relentlessly to continue to build momentum. By this time next week, he'd be back in the underworld. With Deidre in his arms and the souls in the otherworldly lake where they belonged.