Gabriel's Hope

Deidre couldn't manage a response to such a ridiculous statement. Daniela didn't seem completely insane, but who else said things like that? Deidre drank more of the brandy, until it stopped burning her throat, and the world grew a little less sharp around the edges.

Daniela's head twisted to the side, and she frowned. "I hate it when he visits." She stood and walked to the door, saying nothing more.

Deidre slumped and held her head up with her hands. She heard Daniela outside the dining hall, lecturing someone. Deidre rose, eyes settling on the doorway leading into the neighboring kitchens. Wobbling after the alcohol, she crossed the dining hall, hoping to find a way back to reality. Or heaven. Or … somewhere else.

The kitchens were dark. Loaves of bread were rising along one counter beneath thin cloths. It smelled of chicken and rice and something sweet. The scents were real enough and made her realize she hadn't eaten all day. One whole wall was lined with homemade brandy.

Deidre stretched upwards to grab another carafe. She heard voices in the dining room, one distinctly male. Terrified Gabriel was coming to kill her, she sought a place to hide, finally settling on a small, dark space under a counter.

She sat as far from the opening as she could, brandy clenched in shaking hands. The footsteps of those entering the kitchen were solid against the stone floor. A pair of legs paused in front of her cubby hole.

"You can come out or I can drag you out." While male, this voice wasn't Gabriel's. This one was more of a growl, part human, part something else.

Deidre rested her forehead against her knees, tears on her face. The speaker crouched, a muscular man with liquid silver eyes. He wasn't human, either. He reached in and snatched the brandy. Deidre pushed herself against the wall.

"Why do you insist on giving our women alcohol?" he demanded of Daniela, who stood beside him. "You know it's against the Code."

"If you didn't bring them here either half-eaten by demons or thinking they're dead, they wouldn't need alcohol," Daniela snapped.

Demons. Deidre hadn't landed in heaven; she'd landed in hell. Was it for killing herself or for killing Gabriel? She squeezed her eyes closed, ears buzzing and tunnel vision forming.

The man's arm wrapped around her and pulled her out of the hiding place. She shook too hard to resist. He grunted as he swung her up in to his arms and carried her away. Probably to be thrown into a lake of fire.

"You were banned from here," Daniela sounded angry.