Deidre blew out air in frustration then looked around. She was so tense, her shoulders ached. She shrugged them and glanced back the way she came. No part of her wanted to be cooped up right now. She had to find a way to help Gabe.
Darkyn was right. She wasn't going to reveal her secret unless she had to. Perhaps when she lost her soul at the end of the week or maybe, if she could help him recover his underworld, she'd tell Gabriel then. She had to wait for the right moment, when she wouldn't risk losing him.
She paused mid-step. The thoughts made her feel worse. She couldn't think about human-Deidre, powerless and vulnerable in the hands of the most violent demon in Hell. Then again, Darkyn was right. As guilty as she felt, she wasn't willing to make a deal with him to protect the human she'd condemned. Because if she did, she'd lose what little she had left.
Past-Death began walking again. She was unaware of where she went until a death dealer faded from the surrounding forest. He didn't confront her, but he startled her. She slowed, hating that she no longer had the heightened senses of a deity. No one had ever been able to sneak up on her before, and now, it seemed like everyone did. The human senses that made her gasp at the colors of spring flowers were also ill-made to defend them against Immortals and deities.
The death dealer didn't challenge her, instead melting back into the forest shadows.
Deidre reached the earthly version of the Lake of Souls. She always experienced a sense of peace around the souls. Perhaps it was the knowledge they were safe because of her. No deity or Immortal or living human ever welcomed or accepted Death, but the souls always had.
She went to the edge of the lake and peered into it. Seating herself on a low bank, she studied the souls. They were green, glowing and healthy. They didn't suffer, which was good. The only problem seemed to be that they were somehow trapped on the mortal plane.
"There are so many," she murmured, dismayed by the green glow over the lake. It wasn't a natural phenomenon.
Losing a soul was always a possibility. Sometimes even she had put one in her pocket and forgotten to drop it in the lake for weeks. But how did one misplace or lose millions? Possibly billions?
"Deidre!" Cora sounded frantic.
She glanced over her shoulder. The female death dealer was exiting a portal.
"Don't leave without me," Cora lectured. "I'm under strict orders to keep you safe."