The eerily familiar words – the same he’d spoken to Rhyn before sending him on the suicide mission – sapped Kris’s enthusiasm at Death’s visit.

“You will go down as legend among your people,” she continued. “That would please you, wouldn’t it? Your legacy has been of concern to you.”

“No one wants a bad one,” he said carefully. “My reputation is important.”

“Which is why you hope to keep the Council together.”

“I hope to keep the Council together because it will do the most good.”

“Of course. It has nothing to do with living in Andre’s shadow your whole life and now having the chance to prove yourself,” she said with a faint smile. “Only you can’t do what Andre did, what Rhyn can do.”

“I’ve done it so far.” He bristled at the mention of Rhyn in the same sentence as Andre. One half-brother had been noble, courageous, honorable, willing to sacrifice himself for their cause. Rhyn was the opposite.

“Andre has only been dead-dead for what? A few weeks? And the Council has broken up at least once.”

“What are you saying?” Kris crossed his arms, looking hard at the deity.

“I think I said it.”

“You want me to let the Council break apart.”

“That’s not quite what I’m saying. I know you understand that great sacrifice is sometimes warranted for a greater good. And what you might be learning is that the greater good also sometimes requires doing what might be called evil,” she said.

“Evil cannot be done in the name of good.”

“You buy assassinations from my death-dealers. Maybe your definition of evil is different than mine.”

“I don’t have time for philosophy,” he said, growing irritated with her word play. “Are you here for any other purpose than to discuss my definition of good and evil?”

“I guess not. Except … “ She trailed off, gazing around the tent.

“Except what?” he asked after a long pause.

“Several weeks ago, you bought two assignations from Gabriel. Do you remember?”

Kris blinked, trying to figure out what the deity wanted. He thought for a moment, remembering. He’d paid in advance for two assignations after he began to suspect there was a traitor in his organization. The second had been for Katie, in case she couldn’t be reasoned with. She was a risk for revealing the Immortal society to the human world or alerting the demons as to where Kris’s strongholds were.




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