"What's broken?" he asked.
"The portals are working."
"Really?"
"Yes. We tested them. Soul radars are still broken, but we can at least travel to the mortal world."
Instead of being cheered by the news, he was annoyed. He didn't know why they broke in the first place or how to fix them if it happened again. She was waiting for him to tell her what to do.
"That's good," he said at last. He rubbed his jaw. "Send half of the assassins to the mortal world. Have them positioned at the Sanctuaries and at Rhyn's. I'm not taking chances this happens again."
"Will do. Are you alright, Gabriel?" she asked.
He hadn't thought twice about running into her in the forest. It was past dark, and she'd come to his cabin most nights for the past two months. Gabe realized she was coming to see him for pleasure, not business this time. And he had a mate, one he refused to touch but who now kept him from finding solace with any other woman.
"I'll survive," he said, waiting for her to get the joke. When she continued to gaze at him, he sighed. "Get it? I'm Death, and I said I'll survive?"
"Interesting," Harmony said.
The Deidre from the beach would have appreciated it. She'd laughed hard when he murmured to her about famous last words. He'd found it funny for his own reasons. By the end of their conversation, he understood why she laughed, too.
Anger building again, Gabe strode forward. Harmony followed.
"Is the hole in the sky sealed at least?" he asked, referring to the entry the demons had made into Death's underworld prior to his takeover.
"Sealed this morning. The last of the demons are dead-dead."
"Good. I'm going to see someone about something that might help our radars. You know how to find me." He didn't wait for a response but opened a portal and crossed into the mortal world.
It was daylight here, and he instinctively assessed it was still Sunday on this side of the world. Time passed differently in the underworld than the mortal world. Sometimes, a night in the underworld was equal to seconds in the mortal world, sometimes a night and sometimes, a few nights. A few hours had passed since he left Deidre's bed this morning; it was early afternoon in the mortal realm.
He strode through the crowded Egyptian street market, the Khan al-Khalili, one of the oldest markets in the world. Gabe made his way through the narrow alleys and disjointed walkways that wound like a maze through the market. Tourists and locals alike bartered with vendors, and he entered a tiny silver shop, where he sensed the Immortal he sought.