"I wondered where that went," the scientist murmured as he withdrew a vial of violet gel from his lab coat. He whistled as he shook it, and the color went from purple to orange.
"This is bad shit," he said to no one in particular. "It's contaminated."
Gabriel didn't need to understand modern science. Death dealers were immune to disease, poison, and any other thing humans could throw at them. They had to be, because mankind had been trying to outsmart Death since the beginning of time.
"Gabriel."
The immortal Council's leader, a silver-haired man with violet eyes and a face untouched by time, stood at the entrance. He was one of the oldest warriors among the immortals, a man with the body of a thirty-year-old and the soul of the Ancients.
The scientist, whose name was Ully, replaced the vial and leaned back in his chair.
"Death dude said it's not working."
Kris raised an eyebrow and turned to Ully.
"Where did we find her?"
"She was referred by another immortal, Giovanni," Ully replied.
"Then what's the problem?"
"It's not working," Gabriel said.
"Ully, check the info we got from her," Kris ordered.
The scientist hopped up with a cheerful salute. Kris waited until the door closed.
"You should've killed her, Gabe," he said with a frown.
"Sasha wants her as much as Toby."
"Sasha wants a human?"
"Yeah. She's an immortal mate, a special one."
Gabriel knew the impact of his simple words just as he knew the impact of his appearance. Kris's normally iced features clouded, his violet eyes going green as he thought.
"How special?" Kris asked, the worry lines on his forehead deepening.
"Special enough she's immune to immortal magic."
"That doesn't make sense," Kris said, and leaned forward. "Unless you're saying…"
Kris looked at him hard.
"Are you saying she's an Ancient's mate?"
Gabriel shrugged. Neither Kris nor Sasha was capable of mercy or empathy. For that sake, neither was he. But an immortal's mate was off hands. An Ancient's mate had never before been found. As the leader of the Council That Was Seven, Kris would be obligated to take the first Ancient mate.
Kris's features clouded, and Gabriel suspected it was because Kris had been with his current lover, Jade, for hundreds of years.
"This isn't good," Kris voiced. "Keep an eye on her and stay my execution order for now. Ully might figure something else out."