Her thoughts returned to Rhyn, and she recalled how he’d fought the last day they’d been on the Sanctuary. She’d never seen anything like it, a combination of power, agility and fire. He’d been willing to kill his only friend on her behalf, and the memory was both gratifying and sorrowful. He’d done it for her. He’d do it for others. It was who he was, if he gave himself the chance to realize it. The man who spent lifetimes in Hell out of a sense of family loyalty would be just as loyal to any he was charged to protect.
The night was long and cold. Deidre slept, and Katie drifted between a fitful doze and her thoughts. Dawn crept across the jungle, peering first from the tangled branches overhead then inching through the trees. As soon as she could see well enough, Katie crawled to Deidre’s feet. The woman continued to sleep, and Katie looked her over. She looked like any other college student in cargo pants and a light sweater. Deidre’s long, flaxen hair was in a messy braid, and her skin was pale.
Katie’s gaze dropped to Deidre’s hands. They looked normal, but so had Gabriel’s. Andre had warned her about the Gabriel-demon. She looked around, wanting to believe the phantom would reappear if it sensed she was in danger. The Gabriel-demon had appeared distant, as if uncomfortable acting out its role. Deidre had been open and warm towards her, like a real human.
Katie touched the roots ensnaring the sleeping woman’s ankle. The mess baffled her, as if the roots themselves had reached out to grab Deidre’s ankles instead of her slipping and stumbling into them. The gnarly roots were twisted and thick, wrapped too tightly for her to pry them apart.
She started to saw at them with the knife. The wood was thick and wet. She shifted closer, gasping when the root healed the cuts she’d just made. Furious at the latest trick from the Immortal underworld, Katie sawed furiously at the root, until her arm ached. She’d barely made a dent when she switched arms.
The cut healed itself in seconds.
“Shit!” she shouted and flung the knife into the nearby brush. “This placed is cursed!”
Deidre awoke and looked at her then at her ankles. Katie was caught by the other woman’s eyes. They were large and turquoise, like the shallows surrounding the Caribbean Sanctuary.