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

CHAPTER SIX

The transport into the Darkness had been painful, but I’d come to expect it. Everything in the Immortal world came at a steep price. Getting from one place to another with magic was one of those events that was never free or easy. Back in the old days—a month ago, to be precise—I thought an ingrown toenail was agony…

That was then. This was now.

“This place is really something neato,” Cher said, looking around in awe.

A vast mountainous landscape of raging fire lay in front of us as far as the eye could see. The words wicked and sultry came to mind as I watched the flames lick up the sides of trees bearing wildly unusual fruit—definitely not something you could get on the mortal plane at the grocery store. Swarms of brightly colored birds soared through the fire. Their wing spans were the size of an SUV, and the sounds they made reminded me of metal on metal in a deadly pileup of cars. I felt a glorious kinship to the scene. A colossal red sun hung low in the inky purple sky.

I glanced over at Abaddon. His expression was neutral, but I could see the relaxed and comfortable stance of his body. He felt the call of this place even more than I did.

Fifi took everything in with a grenade in each hand. Cher gave her some crap about that but zipped it when Fifi pointed out that Cher was holding a sword and a bazooka.

Pandora walked away from us, her gaze roaming the fiery landscape. Her expression was unreadable, but her slumped shoulders displayed her melancholy. She was finally back in the land that she loved… that no longer loved her.

The conundrum of getting our people to accept her was clawing at me.

Abaddon leaned in and whispered in my ear. “It’s not up to you. It’s up to her.”

I gave him a sharp glance. “Can you read my mind?”

He chuckled. “Your face, Cecily. I can read your beautiful face.”

I smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

“Hey, come on over here,” I called out to the others. “I need to test something.”

Cher and Fifi walked over. Abaddon already stood by my side. Pandora didn’t move.

I shrugged and kept talking. “I need you to open your minds and focus, please,” I told them. We made a circle. “Lilith could talk to her people in mind speak. I’ve been able to communicate like that as well. I know it works with Abaddon. I’m not sure it will work with you two.”

“Why not?” Cher asked. “I’m team Bitch Goddess Cecily all the way!”

I stared at her for a hot sec and did my best not to laugh. I hadn’t realized she’d touched up her makeup before we’d left. Her lips were lined in bright green, and her eyes in fire engine red. She looked diseased. I really needed to buy her a compact with a mirror in it.

“And I am as well, My Liege Bitch Goddess Cecily,” Fifi added with a respectful nod of her head. “I would fornicate the life force out of anyone who wishes you harm. And if time is of the essence, I would joyously blow the enemy to bits with my hand grenades.” To demonstrate her violent loyalty, she opened up the coat she was wearing. I’d never seen so many grenades in my life.

“Okay,” I said with a slight wince. “Thank you, Fifi. You humble me. I’m gonna say that screwing people to death is probably off the table, but the offer is very considerate of you.”

The Succubus preened with delight. Cher cackled. Abaddon groaned. Pandora still had not joined us. Whatever. She was going through some stuff, and I hadn’t expected her full attention, all things considered. I only hoped she’d pull herself together when the time came to step up for our people.

“The reason I’m concerned is because Cher is an Angel and Fifi is a Succubus, but it’s worth a shot. Okay, here goes nothing,” I said, then thought the rest of my message. “ Hi Fifi, Cher and Abaddon. I want you to know that I love all of you and am so grateful you’re with me.”

“Back at you, favorite client of mine,” Cher shot back with a grin.

Fifi’s eyes grew wide. “This is quite wonderful! My Liege Bitch Goddess Cecily is the most powerful Goddess of them all!”

“I’ll second that,” Abaddon added.

“Should I see if this will work with Pandora?” I asked the trio.

“It won’t,” Abaddon said. “She isn’t loyal to you.”

That made sense. And the same could be said for me. I wasn’t loyal to her. Right now, I couldn’t imagine a time that would change.

“Alright,” I said aloud, instantly realizing I should have asked Dagon and Shiva for more specifics. “While I’ve been here a few times, I’m not familiar with the geography of the Darkness. We need to find the camps.”

“We’re all going to die,” Pandora muttered.

“Cake hole. Shit it,” I snapped.

“It won’t be difficult for you to find the camps,” Abaddon said, ignoring Pandora’s unhelpful comment. “Close your eyes, Cecily.”

I did.

“I’m going to move away from you. When Cher touches your shoulder, you tell me which direction I went.”

“When do I open my eyes?” I asked, unclear on the game we were playing. However, Abaddon didn’t play games. There was a reason for almost everything he did.

He didn’t say a word. That was fine. I was all in. With my eyes shut, I concentrated hard. When Cher touched my shoulder, my answer was instant. “Abaddon is to my left, about thirty feet away.”

“Open your eyes,” Abaddon called out.

I was correct… and confused. “How did I do that?”

Again, he was cryptic and didn’t answer my question. “This time, Cher will move, and you will tell me where she is,” he instructed. “I’m curious if it will work with a non-Demon.”

I closed my eyes. I smiled when I felt Abaddon touch my shoulder. Without missing a beat, I announced Cher’s location. “About twenty-five feet away, directly in front of me.”

“Bingo!” Cher crowed as I opened my eyes and laughed.

“My turn,” Fifi insisted.

I closed my eyes. It was Cher who touched my shoulder this time. “Five feet in back of me, holding two grenades in the air.”

Fifi cheered. I whipped around and discovered I was one hundred percent correct. This was a good game, but I still didn’t understand the significance.

Abaddon picked me up and swung me in a circle with a laugh and proud expression on his face.

“Talk,” I said, breathlessly when he put me down. “Explain.”

“You will feel your way to the camps,” he told me. “When those who are loyal to you are near, you’ll know. It’s part of who you are.”

“That’s a nifty trick,” I said, delighted with the discovery.

“It’s nothing,” Pandora spat.

“I beg to disagree, Stinky Whore,” I said flatly. “It’s something. And something is far better than nothing. What are you bringing to the table?”

She didn’t have a quick, sarcastic comeback for that one. Instead, she looked profoundly unsettled and anxious. She really had no freaking clue what to do or how to respond. Pandora had ruled her land and her minions with an iron fist, and that same fist was now crushing her.

I shook my head and scoffed. “Just what I thought,” I added balefully. “If you don’t have anything helpful to add, it’s okay to say nothing. As a matter of fact, it’s preferred.” I turned away from her since I wanted to set her on fire. That would be mean. I wasn’t mean. She was. And I wasn’t going to stoop to her level. I checked for my box of glowing toothpicks. It was in my pocket. I hoped I wouldn’t need them, but having them was like a freaking security blanket.

“Close your eyes, Cecily,” Abaddon said softly. “I want to test one last thing.”

I heard him whisper to Cher, but couldn’t make out what he said. Less than a minute later the game was back on.

“Can you tell me where Pandora is?” Abaddon asked.

I was surprised. It was very clear that the Demon Goddess wasn’t loyal to me. However, I played along. I let my senses lead me. “Umm… twenty feet away to my left with Cher.”

“Interesting,” Abaddon said, squinting at me as I opened my eyes.

I’d been right again.

“It’s not that interesting,” Pandora snapped. “She’s a Goddess. I’m a Goddess. We’re in close proximity, and we don’t despise each other.”

I raised a brow and laughed. “Speak for yourself, Stinky Whore.” The minute the words left my lips, I regretted them. The briefest flash of hurt that crossed Pandora’s face made me feel like shit. “Kidding. It’s a joke,” I said quickly. “A crappy one. I like you. Although, I like you best when you’re not being a colossal bitch.”

“Whatever,” she said tonelessly. “Your friendship isn’t on my wish list in this lifetime or any other.”

“Right,” I said. “Got it. Shall we go?”

Abaddon gave Pandora a withering glare and then checked his weapons. “Yes. We’ll go south. I don’t want to go near your castle, which is north of here, until we have an army.”

“We will stay together,” I commanded. “Pandora, do not screw with me. You’re still on probation, and you don’t want to piss Candy Vargo off. You hear me?”

“Loud and clear,” she said with an eye roll.

Cher stepped forward. “And speaking of my crazy buddy, Candy slipped me a note to share with everyone before we went off and got killed—her words, not mine. I have no intention of dying. I have a hit TV show to produce and forty munchkins who look disturbingly like celebrities to sign. I’m gonna be rich!” she said gleefully, pulling a piece of paper out of her Prada bag. “Here we go… we’re to avoid debating with fuckwits. Just kill them. We are not to save every fucker we come upon. Most fuckers don’t deserve it.” Cher paused and sighed. “Just so you’re all aware, I’m reading this verbatim. My vernacular is not this crass.”

I laughed and gave her a thumbs-up. “Keep going, please.”

“Will do,” she said, going back to the list. “Do not overthink the fuck out of everything—talking to you, Cecily. Do not avoid the bullshit you need to confront. It will get you killed. Life is not fucking fair. Know that and behave accordingly. Do not search for any motherfucker to complete you. Ever. You are not fucking incomplete. Do not seek the approval of shit stains who give zero fucks about you. I may or may not be referring to Pandora with that last statement. Actually, I was, so, bite me. And while we’re discussing Pandora, she should work hard not to be a narcissistic fucking psychopath.”

Pandora was pissed. “Is that how she ended it?” she shouted. “Calling me a narcissistic psychopath?”

Cher shook her head. “Nope, there’s a little more? You wanna hear it?”

“Probably not,” Pandora huffed.

“Read it,” I insisted. “We need to move. I’m worried about Irma, Moon, Stella, Jonny and Corny.”

Cher continued. “I believe in you motherfuckers—even Pandora. She’s gonna need to step out of her comfort zone and stop being a cow bitch, but she can do it. Cecily, I give you full permission to electrocute the living hell out of Pandora if she pulls any crap. And Pandora, if you retaliate, I will shave your head bald and do a little juju so that your face ends up where your ass is, your ass will be your face, and your tits will be on your knees.”

Pandora was horrified. “Can she actually do that?”

“Don’t know,” I replied. “But I sure as hell wouldn’t want to find out.”

“Are we ready?” Abaddon asked.

“We are,” I said as I felt a tingle in my stomach. “But we’re not headed south.”

Abaddon stared at me and waited.

“We’re headed west,” I said, remembering Candy Vargo’s personal warning not to overthink the fuck out of everything.

“West it is, Bitch Goddess Cecily,” he said with a smile and a bow.

The road would be long and the storm ahead would be deadly. But after the storm the sun would rise. I knew it in my heart. And the rainbow? It would be for us.