"I'm listening," Gabe said. "Tell me whatever it is I'm screwing up, so I can fix it."
"I did tell you. Stop fighting me." Fate grinned. "Stop overlooking the resources you have at your disposal. For example, there's a room in your palace in the underworld where you've refused to go. You know what's there. You know why you haven't wanted to visit."
Gabe looked away. "I don't know exactly what's there."
"You know when you cross that threshold, there's no going back. It's a one way visit, and that is what you fear most, the possibility you turn into what you hate."
"Yeah," Gabe said quietly. "That's it, then. All these issues because I didn't open one door?"
Fate shrugged. "It's one of your issues. You'll have to figure out the rest, first. You had access to that door and didn't walk through it. Now, you get to earn your way back to that choice. Right now, I can't trust you to set up what I'd call healthy chain of events."
"Clean up my messes in the mortal world then you'll let me go home," Gabe summarized.
"Correct. Easy, isn't it?"
Fate narrowed down his challenges to those he was able to handle. But only because he fucked it up so bad, there was no other choice. The emeralds in the mortal lakes, the uncollected souls, the broken radars, the demons stealing souls. His challenges on the mortal realm alone were overwhelming.
"Will I know when I'm on track?" Gabe asked.
"It will be so obvious, even you will see it. You now have a thirty five percent chance of succeeding. Isn't that better than one percent? No need to thank me. Just doing my job."
Gabe smiled. He should've known he'd end up liking someone past-Death hated. The deity managing the Future was wise in the way of an ancient immortal that had seen everything since the time-before-time, yet laid back and friendly, two traits Gabe didn't expect.
"Why did my predecessor hate you so much?" he asked.
"Because I had the power to tell her no, and I did it often," Fate replied.
"That sounds about right," Gabe said, recalling how much she liked to be in control. "Why are you helping me?"
Fate winked. "I like having the last laugh."
"Deidre."
"Past-Deidre made a wager with me. I agreed and of course, yanked her Sight so she couldn't cheat. She lost," Fate said. "I've been sitting here all day, waiting for you and debating what I'll say when I see her again."
"What was the bet?" Gabe asked, amused to know the woman who fucked with him had herself been fucked with by the man beside him.