The Underworld (Rhyn Eternal) (9 page)

“Yes.”

“I’m not a … well … I wasn’t
born
a demon.”

“They’re hatched. You were born,” the woman corrected absently. “She saw that, though. You were turned.”

“Saw?” Deidre waited.

“When you are balanced, all is revealed, from the moment you entered the world until the moment you take her hand. The content of your soul is hers to examine.”

Deidre shivered at the explanation. “Who are you?”

“The Great Balancer, the scales of justice in a world that does not like it.”

“Do you have a name?”

“Karma.” The word was a grunt.

Oh, shit.
Deidre didn’t speak for a long moment. She’d met the devil, Death, and Fate. Never in her imagination did she believe Karma was real, too.

“Your scales are severely off balance. You have experience such evil and so little joy.” Karma’s voice grew soft. “Karma cannot let that injustice stand.”

“So you didn’t kill me because I’ve been tortured and killed a couple times over?” Deidre asked, recovering herself. “Kinda seems like ending it all would be a better alternative.”

“Not the way it works.”

Deities and their bizarre rules.
“I never thought I’d like … I mean, meet … um, like to meet Karma.”

“No one
likes
Karma, but everyone is supposed to meet her.”

Deidre felt a little bad at the quiet note in the deity’s voice. “They can’t if you’re here. Why are you in prison?”

“Immortals and deities don’t like Karma either.”

Deidre gave a husky laugh, startled by the disgruntled note in the woman’s voice, as if the deity was truly hurt that no one liked her.

“Who put you here? Harmony?”

“
You
did. At least, your deity form did. Captured Karma a thousand years ago. Karma has been forgotten here and Immortals and deities have run amok, doing as they please.”

“Wow.” Deidre’s thoughts went to the Dark One. “What do you do to those who are securely on the side of evil?”

“She can do little to deities, aside from a temporary re-balancing. Immortals and humans, Karma can balance as needed. Whatever they have earned, she delivers.”

“And I earned being healed?”

“You have nothing to fear from Karma. You cannot commit the amount of evil needed to balance your scales in your lifetime.”

“That’s good. Just confirms what I know about my life.” Deidre drew her knees to her chest. “It’s fucked up, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

At least in Hell, she had Darkyn, and no one would dream of fucking with him or his mate. Deidre felt tears rise for a different reason. “I miss him,” she murmured. “I shouldn’t, but I do.”

“He’s your blood mate. You
should
, even if he didn’t earn you.”

Who knew she’d find Karma supportive? There was a time when she’d cursed the deity several times a day.

“He will come for you,” Karma added. “He is already here.”

“What?” Deidre’s breath caught. “Is that possible?”

“She can always feel great imbalances from a distance. He is here.”

Hope bubbled within her breast. Deidre wasn’t certain what she felt at the news: relief, exhilaration, fear.

Hunger that made her mouth water and the furnace at the pit of her stomach blaze to life.

“We need to get out of here,” she said and stood, pacing.

“
We
? You would take Karma?” Karma asked curiously.

“Yes, I would take Kar – you. I would take
you
.” Deidre caught herself. “Any reason why you refer to yourself in the third person?”

“Bored. Karma started it to entertain her and then forgot how not to talk about Karma like that.”

We’ll fix that later.
“Where do you want to go? Do you have a … uh, domain or home like Death and the Dark One?”

“No. She has nothing.”

“Okay then. Let’s focus on leaving.”

“She needs out of these.” The chains rattled. “You need to avoid the death dealers, lest you end up half-dead at Karma’s feet again.”

Deidre shivered. “Not that I want to, but why can’t I remember what happened?”

“You earned peace of mind. Karma can separate the memories that cause you the most pain.”

Do I thank her or freak out she messed with my mind?
Deidre shook her head. “We need keys.”

“Or … search the corner opposite her. They toss Immortals in every once in a while for her to balance.”

Deidre’s gaze lingered on the dark shape of the deity. She’d learned a lot about how shifty the gods and goddesses of the universe were. She’d learned never to trust them, too.

She saved my life.
After a brief hesitation, she went to the corner and knelt, feeling around with her hands until she found something.

Deidre leaned back and moved it into the light, dropping it with a startled yelp.

“That’s a femur!” she exclaimed.

“Should be femurs for five over there. Not that they’ll help,” Karma said, unconcerned.

“I’ll never understand how dismissive you deities are of life!”

“Not dismissive. We understand it differently.”

Whatever that means.
Cringing, Deidre patted the ground delicately. Her fingers grazed another bone, then a pile of them. She ordered herself not to get sick and sorted through them. Bile rose in her throat at the thought of the dead Immortals piled like rocks in a corner of a cell.

She began to understand why the Immortals and Deities didn’t want Karma loose, too. If this was evidence of what she did to most …

“Anything?” Karma called.

“Bones mostly.”

“Knives, tools, belt buckles?”

Deidre grimaced then grabbed an armful and moved to the lighted part of the cell. She deposited it.

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” she said, gazing down at the bones. “You did this?”

“They earned it.”

“They hurt people or something?”

“These were death dealers who didn’t obey Harmony. She tossed them down here. They hurt many people outside the confines of their sworn duties. When they were balanced, they were found lacking. It cost them their lives and souls.”

Unwilling to dwell too long on what Karma did to them, Deidre drew a few deep breaths then knelt and began searching for something the deity in the corner could use.

“What happens if we run across someone once we escape?” she asked.

“They must agree to be balanced.”

“Or … what?”

“Karma kills.”

Her eyes flew up. She could almost see Karma shrug.

“Okay. Let’s just try not to kill anyone helping us escape. Can we do that?” Deidre asked.

“If you help Karma out of here, she will be indebted to you.”

Don’t sound too disappointed.
“I don’t know about a tool, but this um, bone looks like it was fractured to a point. Will that work?” She had no idea what part of the body the bone in her hand came from.

“She can try it.”

“
I
can try it,” Deidre corrected absently.

“I can try it,” Karma echoed.

Deidre walked to Karma’s corner and handed it to her. “I’ll keep looking.”

She continued searching and listened to the sound of the deity jamming and manipulating the chains. Deidre brought another two piles of bones to the center of the room. The effort – and idea of touching human-like remains – left her lightheaded. She took a break for a moment before sifting through the remains.

“Karma freed one lock!” Karma said in excitement. “But the bone is broken.”

“I think I found another.” Deidre pulled free another one with a jagged point. She slid it across the floor to the deity. “I’m not seeing tools.”

“We need more bones,” Karma said with a grunt. “Karma can make that happen.”

“Um … I don’t think that’s the best alternative. I’ll keep looking for bones.”

“Half the Immortals in this palace have it coming.”

“Do you and Death ever scuffle over territory?”

“Sometimes, like when Karma balances someone whose name hasn’t been written on the list. Past-Death put her … me here for it.”

“Who did you judge?”

“Gabriel.”

Deidre gasped. “But he’s …
Gabriel
. You wanted to kill him and past-Death wouldn’t let you?”

“Kill? No. He didn’t earn death.” There was a silence as Karma worked on her bonds. “Past-Death pissed off Karma again. Karma figured out how to get back at her and was going to tell Gabriel what past-Death was doing to manipulate his future.”

“And she imprisoned you.” Deidre grew thoughtful.

“My brother turned me in. Said I needed to learn not to fuck with deities.”

“That sucks. So you knew exactly who I was when I was brought in.”

“Yes.” The sound of something snapping drew a curse from the deity.

Deidre flinched at the thought of desecrating the remains of anyone, even an Immortal serving Harmony.

“More bones,” Karma ordered.

Deidre sought out two more and took them to the corner. Suddenly, Karma’s movements stopped.

“They’re coming,” she whispered. “They want to see what Karma did to you.”

“No!” Deidre said, starting to panic. Her eyes went to the bones in the center of the room. “I’m not going with them again!”

“Toss your clothing on the bones. They won’t dare come close enough to be balanced.”

Deidre obeyed without question and went to the dark corner with the rest of the bones.

“Three.” Karma’s count was accompanied by the snap of another bone.

Deidre heard the sound of a death dealer rapping on a door nearby. Huddled in the corner naked, she prayed he bought their bait. She didn’t remember her last run in with them, but she could guess what happened by the blood on her body and where the dress was torn.

“Keep silent,” Karma warned. “Karma is almost free.”

I’m not sure that’s a good thing,
Deidre thought. Was she unleashing a plague of a different kind by freeing Karma?

The door creaked open.

Deidre held her breath and prayed. Karma’s rattling stopped.

A death dealer entered, his gaze on the pile of bones and the black dress in the middle of the cell.

“Shit,” he muttered. “Harmony needed her alive.”

“You should’ve thought of that before you tossed her in here,” Karma said calmly. “Karma saw what you all did to her. If Karma knows, the Dark One will.”

There was a pause then an alarmed, “He’ll know you killed her, too!”

“Well … maybe Karma didn’t.”

The death dealer froze in place, gaze riveted to the corner where Karma was. “Is she alive or not?”

“She’s in the corner.”

“You don’t let anyone live.”

“Then go tell Harmony she’s dead.”

The death dealer shifted feet. Deidre could almost see his thoughts: face certain death here or certain death if he disobeyed Harmony. Who did he fear more?

He took a step into the room.

“If you’re alive say something,” he ordered.

“I am,” Deidre said quietly.

The death dealer inched forward then stopped and retreated to the doorway, leaning out to reach the nearest torch in the hall.

“Come here,” Karma whispered. “Quickly!”

Deidre scampered across the bones to the corner where the deity was. Karma took her hands and pulled her closer. Deidre dropped beside her, noticing how warm she was compared to the cold air and stone floor of the dungeon.

The death dealer stepped back into the cell. She covered her chest self-consciously when his torch lit up the corner.

“Close your eyes,” Karma said for her ears only. “Demon or not, Karma has seen your soul. You are not ready yet to see this.”

The words filled Deidre with fear. She hugged her knees to her chest and squeezed her eyes closed, ducking her head.

“She is alive!” the death dealer exclaimed. “Come with me, demon!”

“Come and get her,” Karma challenged.

He said nothing.

“What can Karma do? She is chained, remember?”

The sounds of the dealer’s feet scuffing on the stone floor started then stopped. Deidre’s jaw clenched. She waited to hear the sounds of his horrible death or for Karma’s manacles rattling.

The silence stretched on. Deidre resisted the urge to look, afraid of what she’d see if she did.

“Here.” Karma’s word was accompanied by the brush of the Hell dress across Deidre’s arms. “You can look now.”

Deidre lifted her head tentatively. She saw nothing of the death dealer. The door to their cell yawned open, and Karma stood in the middle of the cell.

Pulling on her clothing quickly, Deidre hurried to the door. She didn’t look too hard at the rest of the cell, not wanting to see what her newest ally was capable of.

Peering around the corner, she stepped into the vacant hallway.

Karma followed. Deidre faced her, startled by the woman’s appearance in the full light. Her dark auburn hair fell almost to her waist. Her eyes were large and deep set, her taller, fuller frame gaunt and dressed in a worn gown from an era Deidre wasn’t able to identify. Karma was beautiful in an earthy way and innocent looking, her appearance nothing like what Deidre expected. Like every other deity she had met, Karma appeared deceptively young, in her early twenties, aside from her inhuman eyes.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Deidre said. “And thank you.”

“Her inevitable pleasure.”

I’ll never get used to dealing with deities.

Karma offered Deidre her hand. Deidre took it, and the deity whirled and ran down the hallway in the opposite direction that Deidre had gone earlier. She was about to object and tell Karma about past-Death being imprisoned when Karma gasped.

“Be still!”

“What? What’s wrong?” Deidre started to turn.

Karma yanked her to face her and released her hand. “Be still!”

Deidre froze, listening, afraid there were guards sneaking up behind her or some other danger she couldn’t sense.

“You have a new soul.” Karma appeared puzzled, her gaze taking in the space around Deidre.

Confused, Deidre looked down. She saw the strange fog form at her feet and frowned. “I don’t understand. What is it?”

She took Deidre’s hand and held it out, palm up. “Look.”