Page 31 of Generally Hospitable
When I turned back to the guys, they were both impressed and shocked.
“I’m good to go,” I said, giving Abaddon a kiss and Tiny a hug. “I’ll be out soon. I promise.”
“Keep that promise,” Abaddon said gruffly. “The alternative is unacceptable.”
“Roger that.”
I entered the room.
I had no clue what awaited me, but I only had one goal. Get Pandora out alive. And I was going to succeed.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The room waslike no other I’d ever seen. Instead of a boxy square or short rectangle, it was more of a long, dark, narrow hallway. A dim glow at the end was like the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, but I know that sometimes the light was an oncoming train, and I was most likely headed for a collision.
It didn’t matter. That’s where Pandora was, I felt it with my entire being, so that’s where I was headed.
Carefully, I made my way down the hallway, heeding Earl’s warning to look for traps. I didn’t see anything, but that was the point… If traps were obvious, they wouldn’t be traps at all. The farther I walked, the farther the glowing endpoint seemed to be. I was fairly sure it was an optical illusion.
“Shit,” I muttered. “Just take it easy, Cecily. You’ve got this. Stay calm. The Bee Gees would definitely want you to keep staying alive. And Pink would be broken-hearted if you never made it back to the party.”
Yes, I was aware I was talking to myself, but in order not to freak I decided to go with the flow.
“Help me, Cecily. I beg of you, help me,” my mother cried out.
What in the hell was Lilith doing here? Did she think I wasn’t capable of handling this on my own? She was human. Could a human even be in the Darkness?
“Mom?” I called out warily. “Where are you?”
“Please, Cecily,” she begged. “I don’t have long. Get me out. I’m dying.”
“What the actual fuck?” I hissed. Had the Higher Power dragged my mom into the Darkness to mess with me? How was this even happening?
“Find me Cecily, I’m here.”
“Where?” I shouted. “Where are you? I can’t see you.” The panic was rising fast. All the magic and power in me was jonesing to come out and play. I just needed to find my mom. “Are you in the hallway?”
“No,” she said, sobbing.
My heart was now residing in my throat. I wanted to crawl out of my skin. Killing the Higher Power was racing to the top of my list. If my mom dies because of Phyllis, I’d make Phyllis feel pain like she’d never known.”
“Mom,” I said, doing my best not to lose my shit. “Tell me where you are. It sounds like you’re close. Try knocking on something. I can follow the sound.”
The knocking began. It wasn’t knocking at all. It was explosions and it rocked the entire castle. But did it? Maybe this was one of the traps? Maybe the traps weren’t the kind I was looking for. Maybe the traps were psychological. Maybe Chub Chub and the Higher Power were sicker than I thought.
“Cecily, the throne room. I’m in the throne room.”
I wanted to scream bullshit. I didn’t. I still wasn’t sure if this was real of fake. “Mom, tell me what Dad calls me.”
“Your name. Cecily,” the voice of my mother shrieked. “Hurry, they’re coming. Please.”
“Mom,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “Tell me my nickname. Tell me what Dad calls me. You’ve called me that plenty of times. Tell me. Please, tell me.”
She couldn’t. It was possible she was so traumatized she didn’t remember. I’d try another one. “What am I going to name my daughter someday?”
“You’re pregnant?” she wailed. “Oh my god, you’re pregnant?”
“Hypothetically,” I said quickly. I was pretty sure I wasn’t talking to my mom—just someone who sounded like her. There was no way in hell I was going to tell the Higher Power or Chub Chub I had life inside me. “Tell me the name you chose for my daughter.”
