Page 11 of Another Underworld (Good To The Last Demon #6)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“How far are we from the castle?” I asked Abaddon as we spotted the final prison camp in the distance.

“Five miles, give or take,” he replied. “Why?”

I’d been to my castle. I couldn’t say I was all that familiar with it, but I’d been there. The fact that I had a castle was preposterous. Cecily Bloom, the actress, lived in an adorable Craftsman in Venice, California. The bungalow was paid off, and I’d been the one to pay for it. It was all mine. It had been a shock to learn that Bitch Goddess Cecily lived in a Castle in the Darkness. Occasionally, it didn’t compute that the two women were the same person… but they were.

“Hold that thought,” I told him as I grabbed Pandora and pulled her into the conversation. We might be at each other’s throats most of the time, but I valued her judgment when she wasn’t telling me to crush the spirits of our people. The truth was that we worked well together. I’d made it through the Higher Power’s plane with her help. Without her guidance, we’d probably still be on that batshit crazy plane. The thought was bile-inducing. I had no clue if what was to come would be better or worse than what we’d already experienced, but it wasn’t looking like we had any choice unless we were jonesing for Armageddon to arrive early. I wasn’t jonesing for the end of the world, and I was pretty sure Pandora was on the same page.

“What do you want, Bitch?” Pandora demanded rudely.

God, she was such a cow bitch. Although, I’d noticed that Tiny and a few other Demons chose to walk with her for the last few hours. She didn’t speak to them much, but I could tell she was moved by their gesture. She might be all prickly on the outside, but I was beginning to think the Goddess might be a little bit mushy on the inside—not much but a little. That was good enough. I’d wear her ass down eventually and the woman would embrace the hope that was dying to come out.

Until then, I’d deal with the rude version.

“I want both of your thoughts on a plan that I just pulled out of my ass,” I told them.

“That’s certainly a lovely way to start,” she snapped. “Gives me so much confidence in you as a leader.”

“Thank you,” I replied, giving her a sweet smile.

“Are you brain dead?” she asked. “I just insulted you.”

I shrugged. “You’re gonna have to do better than that to piss me off.”

“I’ll try.”

“I’m sure you will,” I told her. “Quick question. Are you done being a jackass, Stinky Whore?”

She smiled in spite of herself. “For now.”

“Excellent,” I said with a small eye roll in honor of the action being one of her favorite things to do. “We’ll take Tiny and the assassins with us to the third camp. The others will go ahead of us and surround the castle from a distance. They will stay hidden but ready to fight when we call.” I tried to gauge the expressions of Abaddon and Pandora. Both were neutral. “Tiny seems to be a pretty good leader.” I looked at my Demon love for confirmation.

He nodded. “He has the respect of the other Demons. He took care of them, even deliberately taking the punishment for a few of the weaker ones when he could.”

“Why would he do that?” Pandora asked.

I glared at her but softened my expression when I saw she wasn’t being sarcastic. She was genuinely curious. “Because it’s a good leader’s job to take care of their people, not the other way around,” I told her.

“Huh.” She grunted. “Continue.”

I rolled my eyes again. “Tiny can choose a small group he trusts to get as close as they can without being discovered, and then I can communicate with them so we’re not going in blind.”

“What about the prisoners in the fourth camp?” Pandora asked.

This was why I was running my pull-it-from-my-ass plan over with them. I’d forgotten about the thousand people we were about to liberate. “They’ll be in no shape to fight for at least eight hours. We’ll leave the fruit, food, clothing and water with them. When they’re stronger, they can join us.”

“I have a question,” Abaddon said.

“Ask,” I replied.

“Have you tried to communicate with Irma, Jonny, Stella, Moon or Corny yet?”

“Oh my God,” I said after I’d gasped. All the fighting had left me little time to think of anything else, and in the thick of everything, I’d forgotten about my crazy, brave battle buddies. “I haven’t.”

“Try,” he suggested.

I nodded. Sweat broke out on my upper lip and under my bra. I’d have felt like the shittiest Goddess in existence if I hadn’t been standing next to the shittiest Goddess in existence. As it was, I was sure I was the first runner-up. Why hadn’t I thought of reaching out to them earlier?

Because I was an idiot—as Pandora liked to say. However, I could change that. Now.

“Irma, Jonny, Stella, Moon, Corny,” I called out into what felt like the abyss. “It’s me, Cecily. Bitch Goddess Cecily. Can you hear me?”

I waited.

Nothing.

And I waited more.

No response.

Then I tried again.

“Irma, Jonny, Stella, Moon, Corny .” My voice sounded desperate to my own ears. “I’m coming for you. Don’t do anything stupid. Or… don’t do anything else stupid. Disobeying Dagon’s orders was stupid enough. I have no clue if you can hear me, but if you can, know that I love each of you, and I’m on my way. Please, stay safe.”

I waited for a response and got none.

“Nothing,” I said aloud. “Either they can’t hear me or they’re…” I didn’t want to say dead. I didn’t want to give the word any power in case they were still alive. The fact that they didn’t respond was alarming and made me feel lightheaded. My hand went to my pocket to check for the toothpicks. They were there. I also had Cher’s and Fifi’s boxes. It was possible my friends had been infected with death magic. If they had, I had the antidote. The terrifying thought made my boob sweat trickle down my stomach. Death magic—as awful as it was—would be a far better scenario than dead.

“No,” Pandora said without an ounce of derision in her voice. “Chub Chub Wang is powerful. If that fucker can wield death magic, then he certainly can block a Goddess’s communication with those in his palace.”

“Cecily’s palace,” Abaddon corrected her.

“Not until we eliminate the bastard,” Pandora shot right back. “And to be honest, if Chub Chub Wang had taken over my castle—not that I fucking have one anymore, I’d burn that sucker to the ground five seconds after I removed his head. There’s not enough sage in the Universe to get rid of that rank crap.”

Her words, all of them, brought me comfort. And she was definitely onto something about decimating my abode after we decimated Chub Chub Wang.

“Okay,” I said talking to myself more than them. “I’m choosing to believe that Irma, Moon, Stella, Jonny and Corny are alive. The alternative is too horrid to consider, and if I do consider it, I’ll have a panic attack.”

Pandora tsked me. “You’ve made a grave mistake becoming friends with your people. It was unwise. Personal attachments to Demons are detrimental to leading them. Period.”

“Nope,” I contradicted her. “You made a grave mistake not becoming friends with yours. Look at you now. You have no one.”

That shut her up fast. The fleeing expression of hurt that crossed her face made me feel bad, but not bad enough to take back my words. They were the truth… and sometimes the truth hurt.

“Moving on,” I said curtly. “Thoughts on sending the Demons ahead?”

“I think it’s prudent,” Abaddon replied, looking thoughtful. “Thousands of us coming in at the at the same time could be a deadly disadvantage. We’d lose the advantage of stealth. However, you need to be prepared that you might not be able to communicate with them.”

I mulled that over for a hot sec. “Honestly, if Chub Chub Wang has cast some kind of blocking spell, I wouldn’t be able to communicate with my people there anyway. At least, we have a chance of knowing what we’re walking into if we send them ahead. The blocking spell might only be powerful in the castle… which I’m going to blow up when we’re done.”

Abaddon winced. Pandora gave me a thumbs up.

“That castle is millions of years old,” Abaddon pointed out.

“And I’m forty. Time for an upgrade.”

He grinned. “As you wish, Bitch Goddess Cecily.”

“I wish.” I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. I had no idea how Lilith would feel about me incinerating her castle, but it wasn’t hers anymore. It was mine, and I wanted to tear it down and wipe the slate clean. “It’s time to let my people know about the new plan.”

“Agreed,” Abaddon said. “Make it quick. We’re getting too close to the castle to waste time. Chances are good that the false God is aware someone has broken the prisoners out. He could be reinforcing the castle protection as we speak.”

“His name is Chub Chub Wang,” I reminded Abaddon.

He shook his head and groaned. “Can’t bring myself to say that.”

“Fair enough,” I said with a laugh. “But I love it. It’s gross and insulting.”

“It’s perfect,” Pandora said with a delighted chuckle. Right after she spoke, she looked horrified.

It warmed my heart. Agreeing and becoming part of the group was foreign to her. The hope was emerging whether she wanted it or not.

“Let’s get this show on the road,” I instructed.

“You’re the director,” Abaddon said. “You call action.”

I smiled at the job title. Goddess often felt foreign to me, but Director was a title I could understand, and my direction for the next few scenes would have to be stellar. Stellar enough to win whatever was equivalent to an Oscar in the Darkness. And when I won my award, I’d make sure Cher didn’t have the poison dart vibrator in her bag. She seemed to have a bad record at award shows.

The Demons were down with the plan. Tiny proclaimed its excellence with enthusiasm. I wasn’t sure if he was kissing my ass or was truly impressed. Didn’t matter. It was the new script, and we were going with it. The Demon was so damned sweet, and he did make an excellent suggestion. The group going into the camp would consist of Abaddon, Pandora, Tiny, me and only ten of the assassins. The forty chosen to go ahead and hide on the outskirts of the castle’s perimeter to await my call would plant themselves in advantageous spots to take down any Demon defending Chub Chub Wang and the castle.

I’d agreed immediately, much to Pandora’s chagrin. Good ideas didn’t have to come only from me. I was smart enough to listen and not let my ego get in the way. Giving my people a say would only make my authority easier to trust. As a newbie that was a positive step. I might technically be the leader, but a leader was only as strong as the people who followed her. Plus, we’d only needed five of the assassins in the last two liberations of the camps. We’d have that, and we’d have backup in case things went south.

“Are we ready?” I called out to my people.

Three thousand purple fire swords surged high into the air in answer. It was a beautiful sight. I glanced over at Pandora. Her eyes shined with emotion, and I had to stop myself from asking her if she was crying. Tears were a sign of a burgeoning humanity, and Pandora having any humanity was a sign of hope.

I looked away before she caught me staring and took in the wonderous sight of our people rallying to our cause.

We were ready. The action was about to begin. I hoped that the final scene would play out as written. It would be a guaranteed blockbuster with a happily ever after where the good guys came out on top.