Page 19 of Generally Hospitable
The yesses came immediately and the bows followed. All the bowing still made me uncomfortable. However, Demons loved pomp and circumstance. While I might never get used to it, I’d learn to accept it. I was their Bitch Goddess Cecily and a whole lot of strange baggage came with the title.
“Army, move now. Go, go, go,” I ordered.
They moved silently and stealthily into the distant tree lines surrounding the castle. Most moved so quickly, they seemed invisible. The speed in which Demons could run amazed me.
Tiny was reluctant to move away from the castle and the woman who was trapped inside, but he followed my command with the others. I was fairly sure that he would want the honor of shitting down Chub Chub Wang’s throat and I would let him have it.
The only people left were Abaddon, Cher, Fifi and me.
And us?” Abaddon asked. “What are we doing?”
“We’re going back to Venice,” I answered. “I need to talk to my mother about Decatalian. I have a gut feeling that the information we need to take him out is hers to tell. We’ll leave immediately so we can get back in time to save Pandora.”
“I’m in,” Cher announced, finishing her wine cooler and dropping the empty bottle into her bottomless Parada bag.
“As am I,” Fifi said. “Your wish will always be my command, my liege.”
“Where you go, I will follow,” Abaddon promised. “Everyone, take each other’s hands. I will transport us back. The transport will be bumpy, so hold on. Speed is the aim, not pleasure.”
We stood hand in hand. I spared a look at my castle before we left the Darkness. I wasn’t sure if Pandora could hear me, but I gave it a shot.“I’m coming back for you, Stinky Whore. You just have to hold on a little while longer.”
She didn’t answer. I hadn’t expected her to. But I’d hoped. However, through our connection, I could feel that she was still alive. It would have to do.
“Let’s go,” I said firmly. “There’s no time to lose.”
Bumpy was an understatement.It was the worst and most violent transport I’d experienced so far. I didn’t complain. We were home and that was what mattered most.
Dagon and Shiva were still healing. They looked better, but not a hundred percent. Didn’t matter. They were still standing. Candy Vargo was still recovering, but she was practically back to her old profane self. Her bestie Tim had gone back to Georgia since she was back on her feet.
“Well, would ya look at what the fuckin’ cat dragged in,” Candy said with a chuckle and a toothpick hanging out of her mouth.
The Keeper of Fate might be laughing now, but I was sure she wasn’t going to be laughing in about ten minutes.
“Fifi,” I said, all business. “I need you to bring Lilith to me. We don’t have a lot of time and I need answers. And please let Uncle Joe know that Corny Crackers is alive and well. Go now, please.” I was fully aware that I could command people without saying please. It was my right as a Goddess, but I wasn’t going to roll that way. If I wanted respect, I owed respect in return. I would never be above or any better than the people who followed and believed in me. Period.
“On it, my liege Bitch Goddess Cecily,” Fifi said, disappearing in a blast of sparkling silver dust.
My tone had alerted my company that all wasn’t fine.
“Dagon and Shiva, can you remember anything about how you were infected with death magic? Anything at all?”
Both shook their heads. “It was chaotic,” Dagon said. “I’m not sure how we were hit or who did it.”
I was reaching, but it was worth a try. “Is there any chance you spotted a four-foot-tall-ish chain-smoking redhead anywhere when you were in the Darkness? Speaks with a wise-guy accent—very New Jersey?”
Shiva gaped at me like I’d lost my mind. She wasn’t too far off, but I was grasping at straws. I was certain that the Higher Power was at the root of the shitshow, but solid confirmation would be helpful. I didn’t need it, but I wanted it.
“No,” Dagon finally said. “We saw no one that fits that rather bizarre description.”
Candy Vargo stared at me with laser focus. Her expression was unreadable, but I was pretty sure she didn’t believe that I’d lost it. There was no time to reassure her. Candy would be filledin when Lilith got here. Repeating myself would be a waste of time I didn’t have. The clock was ticking.
“Cher, compile all you know about the Higher Power, please. You’re an Angel. You might have different insight than a Demon,” I said in a clipped tone that verged on panic. The reality of losing Pandora was beginning to feel more real by the second. The image of her leaving me while collared and chained was sickening.
“Can do. Will do,” Cher said, pulling a notepad, a pen and a fresh wine cooler from her bag. “Not sure I have much to tell, but I’ll jot down everything I know.”
“Thank you,” I told her. “Anything is helpful now.
“Badass,” Candy said, eyeing me warily. The smile had been wiped from her face. “Talk to me. What in the actual fuck is going on? Where’s Pandora?”
