The specter shook its head and rose, moving away without disturbing the flora on the jungle floor.
“Because I should trust a creepy ghost that looks like someone I once knew over the Immortal who rescued me from Death.”
Gabriel snapped awake at her words. Andre didn’t bother to disappear, as if no longer worried the Immortal might see him. The death-dealer looked lost for a moment then rose and strapped on his weapons. Katie ate her food and water cubes, waiting for Gabriel. She fingered the second necklace he’d given her, not convinced Andre was wrong. The beads felt like plastic, and something about Gabe had changed.
This Gabriel really did look like the Gabriel she knew. She looked hard at his hands before he pulled on his black gloves. The shapeshifter demon that took on Ully’s form hadn’t fully been able to disguise its arms and hands.
Gabriel’s hands looked like they were his.
“Gabe, what happens in three days?” she asked.
“We’ll find out when the time comes.”
“What happens if I feed the trees?”
“Come again?”
“Can I feed them?”
“I don’t give a shit.” He turned his back to her to start walking, and she was grateful he didn’t see her reaction.
Andre took up his position flanking her, and she shot him a look. She couldn’t imagine why a demon would want to pose as Gabriel – and insist on guiding her through the underworld. Her limited experience with demons was that they all wanted to kill her or drag her to Hell or to Darkyn. This one had taken over Gabriel’s mission.
Then again, she didn’t know what Gabe’s destination had been. Katie looked behind her, wondering what she was missing. Her eyes went to the slithering tree branches overhead. She couldn’t survive on her own in the underworld. That much had been made clear to her by Gabe. And escaping a demon on her own didn’t seem like a smart option.
She counted the food and water cubes she had remaining. A few of each remained, long enough to get her through the day, but not long enough for more than one day.
“Gabe, I need more of these,” she called, holding up a food cube.
The death-dealer faced her then pulled a satchel over his head. He handed it to her. She took it and opened it. There were two small pouches of cubes and nothing else.