Gabriel's Hope (#1, Rhyn Eternal) Read Online Free Page A

way. They’d been either enamored by her beauty or terrified of her, rightly so.
    The stern woman whirled away from the door, leaving it open for him to follow. With a last look at the Oracle, Gabe trailed. His gaze took in the new wall they’d installed after the last one was destroyed by his best friend, Rhyn. The ultimate peacekeepers, the nuns running the Sanctuary would likely never let him forget the day the half-demon took out their wall.
    The cafeteria where she led him looked medieval at best, a stone hall with lines of crude picnic tables and dark hearths. The only difference was the electricity powering lights in the heavy iron and wood chandeliers overhead and the intercom system installed into the walls beside each entrance. Located right off the kitchens, the cafeteria was awash with the smells of bread, fruit pies and the jerk-spiced meat the Caribbean was renowned for.
    She poured them each a cup of steaming tea. Gabriel didn’t touch his.
    They sat and stared at each other. A man of few words, Gabriel hadn’t gotten used to the political side of his job yet. Someone his size with his specific skills didn’t ask for favors or need to be polite. Past-Death had only played nice with those she needed something from. Thus far, he didn’t know what it was he was supposed to need from the nun in front of him, and he was too cautious to set this bridge on fire.
    “You don’t even like tea,” Daniela accused him finally.
    “No.”
    “Then why do you come here?”
    “I’m maintaining Death’s routine.”
    Daniela’s eyes narrowed. “Friendship isn’t a routine.”
    “She had no friends,” he replied. “And the ones she did, she fucked over twice as bad as her enemies, like dumping her job on me with no instruction manual.”
    “The Code is an instruction manual.”
    “There’s nothing in the Code about what I’m dealing with,” he said.
    “What are you dealing with?” Daniela folded her hands in her lap, her irritation at him replaced by interest.
    Gabriel hesitated. “Our radars are broken. We’re missing souls and fighting off demons to get to the dead.”
    “And the Lake of Souls?”
    “Still bubbling.”
    “Two very separate issues,” she said, pensive. “Maybe the problem is you. A former-human running Death’s domain? What’s the world coming to?”
    “Not helpful,” he said. “The Immortal Code, rule seventy four states that my status as a former-human has no relevance, once I was made Immortal.”
    “It was an attempt at humor, but I can see you have none,” she replied flatly. “If Andre the Ancient was still around, he’d be able to help you with the demons. He was the most gifted tracker in the history of Immortals.”
    “Also not helpful, since he’s dead-dead.”
    “You’re Death. Bring him back.”
    Was she joking or not? She had to know raising the dead-dead broke thousands of rules! What little patience he had was waning fast. Gabriel stared at her stonily.
    Daniela shook her head. “Past-Death would’ve figured it out. But if you can’t do your job, then go back to the way it was originally, before past-Deaths hired on all that help. You fetch souls instead of the death-dealers. When in doubt, go back to the basics.”
    Surprised at the casual wisdom of her words, Gabriel was quiet.
    “Use your compass instead of the radar. Maybe it’ll reset things.” Daniela sipped her tea.
    “What compass?”
    “The soul compass. It was what she used long before your time. I’m sure she left it there for you.”
    Gabriel didn’t say what he wanted, that if his predecessor knew he needed something, she’d probably torched it before she left. He’d roamed the palace that was his home many times before returning to live out of the tiny cabin he preferred in the Everdark forest. He never thought twice about searching the rooms for something he didn’t know existed.
    “That’s probably why she told me about it,” Daniela smiled. “To tell you. I wondered at