by Ford, Lizzy
Stephanie stopped in place, a chill working down her spine. He walked past her, at ease telling her she could’ve died. Stephanie turned around to run back to the beach only to find the portal behind them had closed.
“Come on,” Ileana said.
When she turned, the woman was disappearing through the portal. Uncertain where else to go, Stephanie followed them.
And emerged somewhere where it was daylight, next to a window overlooking a wide expanse of green forest. It was cooler here. The stone hall was flanked on one side by massive windows and the other by tall, wooden doors, currently closed. She seemed to be in a castle, if she had to guess.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“French Alps,” Ileana said. “Home.”
“Seriously?” Stephanie raised her eyebrows.
Neither of them appeared pleased to be there. They began walking down the hallway, and she trailed.
“Whatever happens, don’t piss him off,” Kiki whispered over his shoulder.
“Our father?”
He nodded.
Was her lifelong curiosity about her father about to be over?
Dread sank into her stomach. What was going on? How was any of this real? What about her suitcase in Carmel? Olivia’s body? With some dismay, she realized she didn’t even know Olivia’s middle name or birthday. They’d been roommates but not really friends yet. As she progressed through a castle in the Alps mere minutes after being in California, Stephanie wasn’t certain which was stronger, her guilt or the sense of familiarity that was growing stronger. She knew this world or at least, felt like she did.
Chapter Four
As promised, Fate returned to the scene of Olivia’s death. The dead-dead demons were gone, taken away by their brethren, though they’d left the human where she fell. He assumed part of his Karma-balancing was to do as many good deeds as he could, and keeping his promise to the pretty woman with bright eyes was part of it. He hadn’t really wanted to turn her over to the Immortals before satisfying his curiosity about what she was, but there’d been little choice. If demons were in town, she was safer with the Immortals.
If she were truly the daughter of Wynn, he didn’t want to be further involved anyway. The dangerous leader of the Immortals was not what Fate needed at the moment, not when he’d played a hand in having Wynn killed the first time around and was vulnerable to anyone seeking revenge. His mind went to the chain of events he’d been puzzling over how to alter for years. The run-in with Wynn’s daughter held double meaning. It was a warning, a reminder he hadn’t yet corrected the path the single-minded Wynn was on.
Fate doubted the soul collectors would be long in coming, but he decided to call the man in charge, hoping it would add a few Karma points to his debt.
Gabriel. He spoke the word in his mind and waited, curious to see if Death himself could hear him since he was now human-ish. A light breeze touched him, and seconds later, the towering, muscular figure of Death appeared.
“She’s already on the list,” he said brusquely and checked the list of souls his death dealers were obligated to collect this night. Only he could see the names scrawling across his arm.
“I told someone I’d make sure this one was taken care of,” Fate answered and stepped aside for Gabriel to collect the soul.
The large man with dark hair and eyes knelt. “Demons?” he asked, looking over the woman’s throat wounds.
“Unfortunately.”
“It’s been quiet for a while. Haven’t seen many demon incursions.”
“Darkyn used up a great deal of power to cause that second breach in the mortal world before we went gallivanting to the Underworld,” Fate said, referring to the last adventure he’d gone on with Death.
“I wonder if this means he’s starting to recover.”
“It’s possible. Something’s going on.” Fate replied. “You missed a party today. Demons, Immortals, an Ancient … everyone was in town, including me and Karma.”
Gabriel muttered something about Karma being crazy, which Fate chose to ignore. Even the foreboding figure of Death knew to be wary of Karma, for no one – even a deity – was immune from balancing.
Green mist formed around Olivia’s body and coiled around Gabriel’s hand as he coaxed the human’s soul free. He glanced up at Fate as he worked and then back, tilting his head.
“Long story,” Fate said before he could ask.
The soul coalesced and solidified, turning from fog into a flawless emerald dwarfed by Gabriel’s large hand. He rose and eyed Fate. Fate didn’t have to have his powers to know Gabriel was debating whether he should ask.
“What’s wrong with you?” Death asked finally. “You aren’t reading as a deity.”
“Because I’m temporarily not one,” Fate replied.
A glimmer of amusement, if not satisfaction, crossed Gabriel’s gaze. “Now I do want to know.”
Their relationship was better than Fate’s dealings with most, partially because Gabriel had been a a deity for little more than a year, nowhere near long enough for Fate to have fucked him over in the course of his normal political maneuverings. If anything, Gabriel was an ally.
“My sister balanced me,” Fate admitted.
Gabriel laughed loudly.
“I seem to be stuck here. It’s a good place to be. Tons of interesting events today.”
Death flashed a rare grin and tucked the soul into his pocket.
“Pie?” Fate asked. “I know a good diner.”
As a deity, he ate rarely, if at all. Food was an indulgence. But since being human for almost half a day, he found himself craving human food, and his stomach felt empty.
“Why not.” Gabriel started walking down the alley. “I gotta hear this story.”
They left Olivia’s body for the police to discover. Fate was more interested in saving her soul from the demons, who were known to steal them before Gabriel could take them someplace safe for eternity in his Underworld.
Returning to the diner at the bottom of the hill, Fate wasn’t surprised to find Death a good companion. The only deity since the time-before-time to start out as a human, Gabriel’s compassion had both alienated some Immortals and deities and attracted others. Fate found him a curiosity, hence his interest in him initially when Gabriel was abruptly appointed as Death by the outgoing goddess who then became his mate.
They sat in a booth in the corner and ordered.
“Karma may not be the bitch I thought she was,” Gabriel said. Too genuine to gloat, he did smile. “How’s life as a human?”
“Different,” Fate replied. “Not entirely too bad, though I noticed your kind doesn’t heal quickly.” He lifted his bruised hand. He’d cut his knuckles punching a demon. The bleeding had slowed to a trickle.
“There’s something humans do called a pressure dressing,” Gabriel said. He took Fate’s hand and wrapped a napkin around it. “Put pressure on it and hold it above the level of your heart to stop the bleeding.”
Fate listened.
“You might need to learn a few more first aid tips,” Gabriel advised. “I think I’m the only deity or Immortal in existence that likes you.”
“Ah, but you do like me,” Fate said with a wink.
“You can’t riddle or maneuver your way out of this one.”
Fate said nothing, beginning to suspect the same.
“What happens to the future if you’re not you?” Gabriel asked. “How does the mates-blood-fate laws from the time-before-time play into there being no Fate?”
Fate dwelt on the response for a moment. Immortals liked to make up rules and had a Code with several hundred thousand different laws governing their kind and their interactions with other beings.
But deities were bound by only three bonds, known as the original laws, that survived from the time-before-time: mates, blood, fate. The sacred three bonds were generally open to interpretation as to what they actually meant. The only catch: all three had to exist. Without his power, a leg of the sacred
trinity was missing.
“The three original bonds are necessary to hold the universe and all its laws together. I imagine life goes on. At least, for a period of time,” he replied. “I imagine there’s a possibility of cataclysmic failure of the universe if I don’t work off my karmic debt fast enough.”
Gabriel stared at him. “Are you serious?”
“Very. Every living being on the planet has a bond to Fate. How can they exist, if I don’t?” Fate mused.
Gabriel sat back, too stoic to show the alarm Fate knew he felt.
“Whenever a deity is prevented from his duty, the world pays,” Fate said. “You learned this first hand when you became Death and got locked out of your underworld.”
“You mean, when you locked me out,” Gabriel corrected him. “It was a fucking daily nightmare. And yes, I know now you were right to do it. You helped guide me in the right direction so I didn’t destroy the universe. Can anyone help you that way?”
“Not to my knowledge. My position is unique. I’m the only deity mentioned in the laws from the time-before-time. I must exist,” Fate replied. “Do let me know if the fabric of space-time begins to melt. I’ll try to do good deeds faster.”
“How can you joke about something like this?” Death was frowning.
Fate said nothing. He was rarely serious with anyone, at least, not outwardly. Emotions were vulnerabilities someone else might exploit, so he never displayed them. He sipped cold water from his glass and lowered his bleeding hand from its awkward position extended above his head. He was starting to feel tired, another human experience he’d never felt before. He had certainly never looked forward to being voluntarily unconscious for eight hours.
“You can’t treat this like a game like you do the Futures of everyone around you,” Gabriel warned.
“I don’t consider the Future of anyone a game,” Fate replied.
“You went off to play polo when I was getting ready to destroy the world.”
“Because I can’t possibly control the Future from a polo match?”
“Dude, seriously.”
“You misunderstand what my duty is. I won’t interfere with free will. I will ensure you don’t destroy the world, but I won’t take your choices from you.”
“That’s not true. You’ve done it. I’ve seen it.” Gabriel fell quiet as their food was brought to them.
They waited until the waitress had left their side of the restaurant before resuming.
“You forget – I know how you worked for thousands of years to trap my predecessor,” Gabriel finished somewhat angrily.
“How is Past-Death?” Fate asked.
“Well.” The skin around Gabriel’s eyes softened when he spoke of his mate. “Still adjusting to not being in charge.”
Fate snorted.
“You interfere when you feel like it. You manipulate everyone. Maybe your karmic debt isn’t meant to be paid in good deeds. Maybe you need to learn not to fuck with people like you do.”
“Because fucking with people can never be for a good cause,” Fate replied in open mockery. “Did you stop to think there might be a bigger picture? Another reason why I do what I do?”
“Yep. But I also think you’re so fucking bored, you like to fuck with people, too.”
It was true. Fate did have a reputation for playing games with people. He generally kept his games aimed at deities, who were almost always playing games with him and others as well. Gabriel was too new, too honorable, of a deity to understand he, too, would one day be involved in the complicated politics inherently involved in interactions among those powerful beings who ruled across multiple realms.
“Maybe I should view this as a vacation,” Fate said. “One that might end with snuffing out life as we know it.”
Gabriel shook his head. “Where is Karma? Does she know what she’s doing?”
“She’s wilder now than she was before her imprisonment.”
“I’ll find her and talk some sense into her.”
“Good luck.” Fate hid his smile. He could rely on Gabriel to help him without losing any of the favors owed him. He had a feeling he’d be cashing in a great many favors from his debtors before this experience was over.
Gabriel scarfed down his pie. “So … what’s this about Ancients in town?” he asked. “Who was here?”
“Kiki and another Immortal. They were looking for someone.”
“Demons?”
“Not quiet. Apparently, Wynn has an eighth child. Half human.”
Death leaned forward in interest. “Half-Immortal, half-human? How is it possible no one knew?”
“I don’t know, but they were convinced she was legit.”
“She. Rhyn has a half-breed sister.” Gabriel smiled slowly, referring to his best friend and exiled son of Wynn. The other half-breed in the family, Rhyn was half-Immortal, half-demon.
“Allegedly.”
“What’s her … specialty?”
Fate considered the answer. He hadn’t spent enough time with her to know for certain. Each son of Wynn had a special talent, a reason he’d bred with the mother in the first place. Rhyn’s was unparalleled power so strong, he’d been sentenced to Hell, the only place that could contain him, for hundreds of years before meeting his mate.
Deities often knew the secretive talents of the rest of the Council members, even if they tended to keep their abilities hidden from the rest of the Immortal society.
What struck him as odd: there was no benefit for Wynn to breed with a human, and Wynn didn’t do something without a reason. The mystery of Stephanie deepened whenever he thought about her.
“Karma said she was a zombie,” Fate said.
“Zombie?” Gabriel snorted. “Define zombie.”
“She has some interesting traits, namely no future and no karmic load at all. We weren’t able to figure out what that meant or how it was possible for someone not to have either of those things,” Fate explained. “When I asked her, she said she’d had strange issues her whole life. Animals avoid her. People react strangely to her. Karma made the joke she’s a zombie.”
“Reanimated corpses are identical to the humans or Immortals they used to be. At least, when I bring them back from the dead, they are,” Gabriel said, pensive. Fate guessed he was exploring the histories of his predecessors, some of which would be passed down as memories to him when he assumed his title of Death. “What you’re describing isn’t possible.”
“You’ve heard of something like this?”
“I’m Death. I should know a thing or two about zombies, shouldn’t I?” he joked darkly. “There’s only one kind of being who fits this bill, but there’s never been a human or Immortal like this from what I can see in the histories. She’s not a deity?”
“Absolutely not. I met her before Karma stripped my powers.”
Death appeared troubled briefly.
“What is she?” Fate leaned forward, utterly intrigued by the discovery of something that had never existed before now.
“The secondary definition for zombie,” Gabriel gave a small smile. “A body without a soul. By nature, some deities give up their souls when they assume their duties, because it’s considered a conflict of interest. But even deities are born with them. Everyone is born with one. What you’re saying is that this woman was born without one. I can’t find any insight into how that’s remotely possible.”
Fate lost all sense of where he was for a moment, too shocked to respond. “You’re saying she’s a half-breed, born without a soul?”
“Yeah. The first ever in existence.” Gabriel shoved a large bite of pie into his mouth. “Pretty weird.”
“You’re certain?”
“I’d have to meet her to be sure, but what you’re describing fits.”
“It’s impossible.”
“It should be.” Gabriel shrugged. “My view of what is possible and not changed when I became Death.”
It can’t be. Fate had taken every precaution possible to stop the one ev
ent in his own future he wasn’t willing to face. He was still, silent. His mind was too quiet, and the world around him seemed to stop, as if time itself were holding its breath like he was.
“What’s wrong?” Gabriel studied him. “What can be worse than you telling me the world will end if you don’t get your power back?”
“I never thought I’d say these words, but I think I’ve made a mistake,” Fate murmured.
“You made a mistake?” Gabriel asked. “How can someone who can see the Future make a mistake?”
Because this was supposed to be impossible. Fate pulled out his wallet and calmly pulled enough money out to cover the food and tip. Setting it down, he rose. “Fate is not all knowing,” he replied. “Sometimes, Fate’s a little blind.”
Death followed him out of the diner. Fate’s mind worked quickly. He was torn between staying where he was until he’d repaid his karmic debt and going after her. Leaning against the railing overlooking the beach, he found his thoughts drifting down darker paths, such as those he’d joked about with Gabriel.
He was serious about the destiny of life in general resting on his shoulders. The weight of such reality wasn’t any heavier than usual; he’d been born knowing his role in the sacred trinity of laws from the time-before-time. But this … her … now …
Her appearance had the ability to reset the board in some regards and explain how he, and Karma, became entangled in the destinies of the Immortals.
“I think I know what’s worse than the world ending,” Gabriel said suddenly. “Is this woman your mate?”
Fate was silent.
“Holy fuck.” Gabriel faced him. “And you turned her over to Wynn.”
“I don’t exactly have any power to protect her from demons right now,” Fate replied. For the first time in a few centuries, he was losing his cool. “Fuck!” He paced away from the railing and back. “This can’t be happening.”
“It happens to all of us,” Gabriel said, entertained.
“I took precautions!” Fate retorted. “It’s not possible for her to exist.”
“Precautions? How can you prevent your mate from appearing?”