Chapter Eight

Rhyn’s power rippled through him, the shockwave knocking down Gabriel before he could deliver the death blow. Darkyn fell as well, and the walls around the Sanctuary tumbled in the distance. He sat up, bloodied and lightheaded, unable to quell the power roiling through him. He spit blood and pushed himself to his feet. Gabriel and Darkyn rose, their attention going west toward the ocean. He didn’t remember his power being so strong. He couldn’t catch his balance and steadied himself against a rock.

“Ready when you are,” he called to his opponents.

Darkyn growled from deep within his chest before returning to his human form. Gabriel sheathed his weapon. Confused, Rhyn joined them and followed their gazes. He saw nothing but a distant beach and the ocean. He glanced to the rocks where Katie had been, only to find she was gone. He looked back at the beach without seeing her.

His heart felt as if it stopped. His powers were back in full force, without her to steady his control. She’d broken their bond. He didn’t have to ask how.

“Gabriel,” he said.

Gabriel turned to him. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small black pouch, pouring its contents-- two green gems holding the dust of human souls-- into his palm. He dropped them onto the ground and crushed them with his heel. His job was done.

“Gabriel!” Rhyn’s voice turned raw with emotion.

“Next time,” Darkyn said, agitated. “I kill you both.” He opened a portal and disappeared.

Rhyn’s head spun with power and emotion. He dropped to his knees, unable to battle both influences for his balance. Pain rippled through him and another wave of power radiated off him, turning the boulders nearby into powder. Gabriel knelt beside him.

“You have to trust me, Rhyn,” the assassin said. “I have to go, before she comes. Don’t do anything stupid.”

The words registered slowly. Rhyn sagged to the ground and watched Gabriel walk away and then disappear. Sorrow and rage pierced him to the core. He could think of nothing but Katie and his ultimate failure.

“Not looking so good, half-breed.” Another form knelt beside him, this one with blond hair. “I had no idea you were that half-breed, the brother of the Ancients.” The demon righted him and tried to heft him but stopped.

Rhyn blinked himself out of his stupor enough to steady himself. Jared squatted in front of him, looking more bruised than the last time he saw him.

“Now that we’re friends, I thought you might let me have a taste of your monkey.”

“She’s dead,” Rhyn whispered. He felt as if he stood outside his body, watching the world around him.

“And the body …”

Rhyn grabbed him and smashed him to the ground. He staggered back, unable to control the power within him. Jared lay still for a moment before sitting up.

“That’s some serious power,” he said. His eyes began to glow again. “We make a good team, don’t you think? We could do a lot together.”

“Leave me be.”

“For now, I will, but I’ll be back to talk. I still owe you a favor. I overheard something you might want to know.”

Rhyn flopped onto his back and covered his eyes with one arm. He was alone, roasting in the sun for a long moment before he sensed Kris approach. He lowered his arm enough to see his determined brother, unsteady on his feet with one arm in a sling.

“What happened, Rhyn?” Kris asked, sitting heavily on the ground beside him.

“You’re alive.”

“I owe you one.”

“Kill me,” Rhyn said.

“What?”

“You owe me. Kill me!” Rhyn snapped.

“I can hardly walk let alone lift a weapon. At one time, I would’ve probably agreed,” Kris admitted. “What happened here? Where’s Gabriel?”

“Took Katie to Death.”

Kris was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “Not sure how to break it to Hannah. That would explain why the walls around the Sanctuary are in ruins.”

Rhyn saw enough to see that what his brother said was true. He could look straight into the courtyard of the men’s wing, and the furious Daniela standing in the middle staring at him.

“I can’t control it, Kris. Stuff just happens.”

“I see. And Gabriel won’t come back.”

“Better not.” Even as he spoke the words, he knew he’d never completely disregard his friend. He had one, now that Katie was gone. Even thinking of her made him feel as though his insides were burning and dying.

“Come to the Sanctuary. I’ll figure something out,” Kris said. He struggled to rise.

“I’m staying here.”

“Fine. I’ll send Toby out to check on you. He’s yours now, Rhyn.”

“I don’t want a fucking angel dogging me everywhere.”

“No choice. You were her mate, and Toby was hers.”

Rhyn said nothing more, aware it was all he might ever have to remind him of the mortal intended to be his mate. If he had it to do over again, he never would’ve un-bound her. He would’ve taken her and run away somewhere safe where no one would ever find them, as he initially wanted to do. In all his years in Hell, he’d never known this kind of pain.

It was too late. He’d failed. He’d lost the only thing that’d ever mattered, and the only person who ever truly loved him. He threw his head back and roared with fury and pain until his throat was raw.

* * *

The waves had pulled her under before darkness took her. She awoke with a jerk and looked around at the tiny cottage, lit only by a candle. The bookshelf was empty and weapons lined the opposite wall. Her heart beat like a hummingbird’s wings as she took in the one-room cabin. The windows were open and the sky beyond the trees dark. She didn’t notice Gabriel in the corner until he spoke.

“Took you long enough.”

She jumped at the sound of his voice.

“What happened?” she asked. “I don’t think I like this place.”

“Welcome to my home.”

“Your home? I’m in … Deathland or whatever you call it?”

“Sort of.”

“Is Rhyn okay?” she ventured and braced herself for the answer.

“He is.”

“Oh, thank God!” she said with a deep sigh.

“Are you well enough to travel?”

“Travel where?”

“At any time, I expect a furious Death to knock on my door. I told you about the loophole, and she won’t like that.”

“What loophole?” she asked uneasily.

“When someone sacrifices himself for someone else, the assassination contract is void.”

“But I’m still dead, aren’t I?”

“Eh, tough to say,” he said.

“What the hell does that mean, Gabriel?”

“It means, if Death finds you, probably. But if I can get you to the mortal world and back to a Sanctuary, then she’ll have to reissue the contract,” he explained.

“And then you come to kill me again?” she asked with a frown.

“Nope. Consider not killing you my resignation.”

She gazed at him, sensing the importance of what he’d done. Gabriel rose and began pulling weapons from the wall and planting them on his body.

“You sacrificed your soul for Rhyn and your life for me,” she said. “You’re incredible, Gabriel.”

“No offense, but I did both for Rhyn. I barely know you, but he’s all I’ve got.”

“Me, too.”

“She’s okay, too,” he said. “Rhyn’s gonna flip out when he finds out it’s a girl.” He glanced at her, his face softening. His eyes went to her stomach.

“Does he know we’re okay?”

“No one does or can until I get you back. Death and Darkyn will have every assassin they own roaming the shadow world. We’ll take the back way.”

“I hope you’re good at what you do,” she said with some discomfort as he continued to load his body with weapons. She doubted the back way was more dangerous than a short cut.

“The best.”

“What happens to you after we get to the Sanctuary?”

“Don’t know and don’t care.”

She rose and tested her legs. She felt weak, but she was alive. Sorta. Her heart ached for Rhyn. Even though she stood in Death’s realm with a slim chance of ever seeing the blue sky again, her life had never seemed so clear to her. She’d faced Hell, and now Death. There was nothing else to fear.

“C’mon,” Gabriel said and whipped the door open. “This won’t be easy.”

“I’m ready, Gabriel,” she said, in awe of his determination and dedication. At the quiet resolution in her voice, he turned to face her. “Take me back to Rhyn.”

“I will. I swear it.”

I’m coming, Rhyn.

The Rhyn Trilogy

Katie's Hellion (May 2011)

Katie's Hope (September 2011)

Rhyn's Redemption (March 2012)

Rhyn Trilogy: Origins (October 2011), short story

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A Demon’s Desire