Page 6 of Generally Hospitable (Good To The Last Demon #7)

CHAPTER THREE

After an hour of Pandora and Decatalain reminiscing about the good old days—which had been horrifying in and of itself, I could feel a modicum of my power coming back.

How she was making nice with the fool was incredible.

When he went into graphic sexual detail about what he wanted to do with her, she giggled like a blushing schoolgirl.

It took all of my fortitude not to gag or puke.

Her acting skills eclipsed mine. I felt like I needed a bath.

The excellent news was that whatever spell the Demon had cast on us was wearing off. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to be aware of that nifty fact. The subject of me eating shit and losing my head had not come up again. I was being ignored. That was fine. I just watched, listened and waited for my cue.

My hand kept going to my flat stomach. A tiny life created by Abaddon and me was growing in there.

It blew my mind. The human side of me worried, since I was forty, if she would be okay.

The Demon side of me was confident that she would be perfect.

I mean, Lilith had been thousands and thousands of years old when she gave birth to me. Forty would be a piece of cake, right?

What I wanted more than anything was to tell Abaddon. What I wanted wasn’t on the agenda… yet.

“So, Pandora,” Chub Chub Wang said, grabbing his crotch and jiggling his junk with pride—a sure sign it was as unimpressive as he foul methods of love making that I’d had to hear about.

“Are you finally ready to commit? Be the Goddess to my God. Oh, the fun we could have and the bloody terror we could wreak. Of course, you will be a Goddess in name only. I shall rule the Darkness.”

“But of course,” Pandora assured him. “I’ve grown quite tired of being the Goddess in charge. I’ll happily let you take over the day-to-day grind. However, darling, you are aware that in order to keep the balance, there must be two Goddesses. Armageddon would be such messy business.”

“Irrelevant,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand that had just been cradling his junk. “As long as two supreme beings are in charge, the genitals of the leaders are not an issue.”

“Interesting,” Pandora said sounding bored. “If that’s the case, then I’m in.”

I was anything but bored. Was this information correct?

My gut said it wasn’t, but what the heck did I know?

I’d been a Demon Goddess for a few months.

The ins and outs, along with the fine print, were a freaking mystery to me.

And it was looking like my lack of knowledge of the ancient world was about to bite me. Hard.

A mini panic attack rose up from my stomach into my chest. Maybe Pandora had been deadly serious about throwing me under the bus.

I didn’t want to believe it, but my experience with being a Demon was freaking limited.

Hell, my experience with Pandora was limited.

I was way in over my head. If I were pregnant, that could raise issues.

The discovery of my birth had set off a chain reaction by Pandora that culminated in my mother’s death.

If there was a third Goddess in the picture, maybe Pandora wanted to get rid of both of us—especially if what Chub Chub said was accurate.

Shitshitshit. The need to pace off my distress was intense.

With my feet still firmly planted on the floor, it wasn’t an option.

Plus, drawing attention to myself would be as stupid as Chub Chub Wang himself.

I didn’t have much of a choice but to trust Pandora until my magic was fully back.

I prayed to every deity I wasn’t sure I believed in that she hadn’t turned on me.

Only time would tell. Hopefully, enough time to get my power back.

Chub Chub Wang stared at Pandora, trying to assess if she was lying or not.

Hell, at this point, I wondered if she was telling him the truth.

She was either a consummate actress, or I was the fool…

not Chub Chub Wang. The idiot pulled a cell phone from his pocket and began to text madly.

Who he was texting was a mystery. Did the disgusting fool actually have friends?

The narrative was too outrageous to suspend my disbelief.

However, the distraction gave me the break I was looking for.

It was time to test out the new skill I’d been gifted.

“Dude,” I said in my mind, not entirely sure she would hear me. Pandora was such an excellent liar that her pledge of loyalty to me could have been as full of bullshit as all the words she’d spewed in the last hour. “Have you lost your sanity?”

“Millions of years ago,” she answered.

My sigh of relief was audible. The fact that we could silently communicate meant the we were indeed pledged to each other. It seemed she was still on my side. Or that we were at least on the same side.

“Testing me?” she inquired dryly.

“Yep.”

“Smart,” she said. “You’re not going to enjoy the next part of the conversation.”

“Like I’ve enjoyed any of it?” I shot back sarcastically. “In the last hour, I’ve considered peeling the skin off my body, hurling, and ripping my own legs off so I could crawl out of here—which would be unwise considering there’s no escape.”

“Trust me,” she said. “I’ve had the same inclinations. However, we’re getting closer. My goal is to leave this room with the scum while you’re still breathing. My power is almost back. You?”

“Getting there. My best guess is about sixty percent. I’d have to test it to be sure, and that would tip the bastard off,” I told her. “However, I’m still stuck even if you leave me here alive. No way out.”

“Please do not prove to me that you have no brains,” she snapped.

“You are such a bitch,” I muttered.

“Takes one to know one, Cecily,” she informed me . “Whose castle is this?”

“Right now, it appears to belong to Chub Chub Wang.”

“Utter bullshit, imbecile,” she ground out. “The castle belongs to you. When you have your magic back, you can create a way out of here. I’d suggest you use it.”

“And you?” I pressed . “What about you?”

“I’m no concern of yours.” She paused, then added, “I can take care of myself.”

“I don’t like that,” I told her. “He’s still at full power and you’re not.”

“That’s kind of the point,” she said, clearly exasperated. “My death is imminent. However, I will be taking Decatalian with me. I give you my word. And while I may be horrid in every way, I’m good for my word. It’s the only thing I have left.”

I shook my head ever so slightly. I wanted to scream at her. She had so much left to do as a Goddess of the Darkness, but she couldn’t see it. I could. If we waited a bit longer, there was a fighting chance that we could take the evil Demon down together. Her death wish made me ill.

Pandora waited impatiently for my reply.

Fine. I would pretend to go along with her idiocy.

I’d already jumped on the yes-and bandwagon.

She might be killing it in the acting department today, but I’d been getting paid to pretend my entire life.

I’d played plenty of characters that I wasn’t crazy about.

The character I was about to play was going to be my least favorite of all time.

I’d let Pandora believe that I was behind her ridiculous scheme.

I wasn’t, but she’d figure that out later.

Right now, I needed to get out of here and get backup if I had any hope of saving Pandora from herself.

“I will do as you say,” I lied through my teeth. “I’ll leave, and I promise to let the Demon world know what you did for all of us.”

She stared at me for a long moment. She wasn’t sure if I was yanking her chain or being sincere . “Good,” she finally replied hoarsely. “I have one last request.”

“Name it.”

She rolled her eyes, then blurted it out. “Tell Tiny that I regret not eating sushi with him. It was the only thing in this dismal world that I was looking forward to.”

If the woman had wanted to make me cry, she’d succeeded. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I wanted to hug her and hold her tight. She was such a broken person, but her pieces had not completely shattered. There was still hope left.

“I can do that,” I said, swiping at my tears. “I will do that for you.”

I had no intention of letting her die, but I knew the saying—‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions.’ I intended to live. I intended for Pandora to live. There was no guarantee that either of us would live. That was the only given. We were both aware of that.

“Thank you,” she replied. “Just go with what I’m going to say. Don’t fight me. Don’t contradict me. If you want to live to meet your daughter, you will follow my lead. Am I clear?”

I wanted to say as clear as mud, but I didn’t. I just nodded. Although I did have a few unanswered questions. “I want to know how Chub Chub can wield death magic against our people. And I need to know who taught him so I can stop it.”

“Fine point. Well made,” she agreed. “If I can’t get the answers now, I will get them before I kill him. Be listening for a message from me.”

I nodded. Decatalian was done texting, and his focus was back on us.

“Very well,” he said, patting his phone. “It has been agreed that we shall rule the Darkness together.”

His statement confirmed he was nothing more than a puppet, and we needed to know who was pulling his strings.

Pandora was on the same page. “By who, Decatalian?” she questioned. “I thought you were in charge.”

Chub Chub didn’t enjoy being challenged. His face turned red, and his lips compressed to a thin line of fury. “None of your business,” he spat. “And I am in charge. I am a GOD. You will never question my authority again, or you will pay the price.”

“Works for me, darling,” Pandora said breezily, lowering the temperature of the jackass substantially. “I was simply curious.”

Pulling himself together, Chub Chub smiled. “Not to worry, my concubine. But just remember, curiosity killed the cut.”