It was rarely sunny in this part of the world, and he chalked the irritation up to his sudden plunge in luck. He breathed in deeply of the scent of snow. The chances of him ever returning were slim to none. He was early this year, but he'd rather visit now than risk he'd be grounded during winter solstice in a month.
He'd miss the smell and sight of his homeland and yearned already to stay here rather than return to his dark corner of the Immortal underworld! He began to think Death was right-- he was going soft. Before he gave his Immortal soul to death, he'd never noticed how sweet the air was or how the grass sang as the wind whipped through it. He missed the smells and sounds in winter.
He walked a familiar path to a graveyard so old, not even legends remained about its location or the importance of those buried there. A stone cottage up the road was the only sign of inhabitation, and a herd of sheep raised their heads as he neared. He ignored them and went to a place only he knew, stopping when he was atop the graves he sought. "Mother, Father," he said quietly, "I may not be able to come back again."
He never expected his long dead parents to respond but waited anyway. When only the winter wind greeted him, he continued.
"Father, I did as you told me not to do long ago. I gave Death my Immortal soul. It was for a worthy cause, and I don't regret what I've done," he said.
His gaze lifted, and he recalled vividly the last time he'd seen his parents in this very spot, when they were cut down by bloodthirsty demons during the only period in Immortal history when demons attacked humans. They'd been led by the demon leader Darkyn, whom the Dark One had punished when Death discovered what the demons had done. He didn't know what happened to Darkyn, but Death adopted him, raised him, and trained him to be the most ruthless of all assassins.
Rhyn had become like a brother to him, and the idea of killing his mate reopened wounds that hadn't bled since he stood in this place thousands of years before. He tried not to think of that sad time, instead blinking away dark memories and focusing on the snow at his feet.
"I'll come back whenever I'm allowed," he said with resignation. He gazed around once more and then turned and walked away, back into the shadow world.
* * *
Still in her jogging clothes, Katie made her way to the super-lab on one of the castle's upper floors. She knocked and waited.
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