"Are you a demon?" she asked in a rough whisper, as if she hadn't spoken to anyone in a long time.
"Yes." Deidre mouthed the word, unable to talk.
"You are hurt."
"I want to die."
The woman raised an eyebrow. "That is not for you to decide."
Deidre started to cry again, and pain filtered through her. "I can't live … like this … anymore. My life is hell."
"Then you want her to balance you," the redhead murmured. "If you are worthy of death, you will die. If you are worthy of life, you will live. If you are worthy of some other state, you will have it."
I don't care anymore! Deidre wanted to scream.
"Do you wish to be balanced?"
"I don't understand."
"Just say yes, and it will be over, in some form."
"Yes."
"Take her hand."
It took all of Deidre's resolve to raise her hand to the one the redhead held out. Deidre took her soft, cool hand and closed her eyes, unable to help the sobs that escaped her. She went over the past few weeks in her mind, from finding out she was terminal to meeting Gabriel to entering the sick world of the Immortals. One choice, and she'd ended up in Hell, the mate of the Dark One, and a demon. For a split second, she'd found a place at his side, only to end up here.
My life was a waste.
"Please let me die!" she begged again, body seizing uncontrollably from pain and sorrow.
"Almost done," the woman replied.
Deidre clenched her hand. The wall between her mind and the pain slipped away, and she started to slide into dark agony. Just when she thought she was about to lose herself for good, the pain stopped. Broken bones grew together and the tears and bruises in her skin healed themselves. The inhuman movement of her body fixing itself scared her as much as the pain.
The woman released her.
Deidre lay still, terrified to move in case the pain returned.
"It is not your time to die," the woman said.
The scent of blood was on her clothing still, and she was weak. She examined the forearm that had been broken in the light. It was healed, along with every other part of her. She gazed at herself, unable to recall fully what happened to her. She'd been taken out of the cell with past-Death, wandered up to discover Gabriel's soul and then … blank.
Without the memories, she no longer had the urge to jump off a cliff and end it all.
Deidre pushed herself up, beyond relieved when the movement caused no pain whatsoever. "This is amazing. How did you do that?" Deidre asked.