Page 5 of Guiding Blight

For only the briefest second the vile woman’s eyes went wide with fear. It was so fleeting, it could have been easily missed. I didn’t miss things like that. Human nature fascinated me. From an early age, I’d studied people. I’d always thought I did it because I was an actress. Now, I wondered if fate had something else in store for me with that particular talent.

“Answer the question, Pandora.”

She eyed me like I was an insect she was about to swat. “The box exists. However, you’re going to take that secret to the grave, Cecily Bloom.” She stood up and tossed her waist-length raven-black hair over her shoulder. “I was going to kill you slowly, but you pulled one over on me with those deplorable Demons. For that, I shall reward you with a quick demise.”

A knot formed in my throat. I didn’t take her threat lightly. I didn’t have any doubt that she had the power to end my life. It was devastating to think that I would never see Man-mom, Uncle Joe and Sean again, but I knew they’d be fine. My death would ensure their safety.

When I pictured Abaddon’s handsome face, my heart broke. I loved him and he loved me. The only solace I had was that we’d cleared up the miscommunication. He’d be okay too. He had to be.

And Lilith… it ate at me that I hadn’t hugged my mother. I’d wanted to but held back. It was a good lesson in not leaving things undone. It was too late now. In another moment of clarity, I realized I would have done the same as she’d done if the roles were reversed and she was my daughter. She loved me enough to let me live. Leaving me was a selfless act. I hoped to Hell and back that when I died, I could come back as a ghost like Uncle Joe. Telling her I loved her would be one of the first things I did.

Am I supposed to thank you for that?”

She hissed and growled like an animal. Apparently, it was okay for her to be a nasty bitch, but she didn’t like it when the favor was returned.

Too bad, so sad.

The air in the room grew frigid and a sickly-sweet scented wind whipped through. Pandora clapped her hands and produced her purple fire sword. I smiled. I wasn’t going down without a fight. I held my hands out and produced two.

She was not pleased.

“Get ready to die, Cecily Bloom,” she bellowed.

The building shook with her rage. I stood my ground and waited for her to come at me. Dagon had said there was strength in stillness. I was going to take his advice.

The building continued to tremble. Chunks of the ceiling fell to the floor, and the silver throne Pandora had sat upon erupted into flame.

“Stop it,” she ground out. “I will not be so kind with your death if you defy me.”

I wasn’t doing it, but that was for me to know and for her to never find out.

When the lighting fixtures exploded, all of my wishes came true. Lilith, Abaddon and Dagon appeared in a hail of black glitter and silver mist. Pandora’s fury at the twist in the scene was only eclipsed by my mother’s.

“You’re cheating,” Pandora screamed at me with spittle coming out of her mouth.

“That’s rich coming from you, shitty whore,” I shot back.

The vicious Goddess waved her hand. In a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder, at least fifty flaming assholes appeared. The smile on her lips was psychotic. “Kill Cecily Bloom!”

Lilith, Dagon, Abaddon and I fought the army of evil with all we had… and we had a lot. My mother was a freaking killing machine. She was balletic, precise and terrifying. For the most part, the flaming assholes avoided her. They knew who she was and that ending her was forbidden. Dagon was no slouch, but Abaddon fought like a crazed animal.

Blow by blow. Electrocution by electrocution. It was a bloody mess. I’d lost part of my left hand but was still able to grip my sword.

Pandora stood back and watched. Her cowardice was astounding. I might die, but she was going down.

The enemy went from fifty down to twelve quickly. However, the last dozen were determined.

“Cecily, leave,” Lilith yelled over the ruckus. “Now.”

I wanted to obey her. I really did, but I couldn’t. This was my battle. I needed to fight it. “Not until she’s back in her box,” I shouted.

Everything that came next happened fast, but I would replay it in slow motion for the rest of my days. Pandora began to lob explosive fireballs. I screamed in agony when one hit my leg. I refused to look down to see if my leg was still there. The searing pain nauseated me. Moving away from the sizzling fire, I realized that even though I had third-degree burns, or worse, I could still walk. Which meant, both legs were still intact.

I kept my eyes on Pandora’s hands while trying to defend myself from her Demons.

Abaddon was at my side immediately. In the millisecond it took for me to acknowledge him, I saw a flaming asshole come up behind him wielding a fiery sword.

“Duck,” I shouted at the love of my life.