“DON’T say a name, jackhole,” Candy Vargo warned. “We’re stickin’ with Tom Fuckin’ Hanks. It’s gonna suck to whack Forrest Gump, but shit happens.”
Heather’s magical tattoos danced all over her skin. It was surreal, macabre and stunning. “Should we try to trap Tom Hanks, or are we going for the kill shot if the opportunity arises?”
“Why would we trap It?” Charlie asked, glowing a bright silvery blue. He was getting better at tamping down his power in tight places. I was able to breathe.
“We discussed suing the Higher Power—a tribunal,” she reminded him. “Are we punting that plan?”
“Right now? Yes,” Charlie said. “The Trinity is in place to take over. And from what I understand to be true, the Higher Power cannot be contained.”
“Not even with magic?” I asked.
“No,” he confirmed. “Its power trumps all of ours. We’ll be lucky to end It.”
I’d rather be good than lucky, but today I’d take lucky in a heartbeat.
“Remember,” Gideon told the Demons. “All of the zombies are powered by one leader. We have to destroy the leader for all of them to die.”
“Right,” Candy Vargo barked. “All of them abominations look exactly alike. Hard to keep track of who you’re fightin’ with and who you already fought. But if the fucker you’re fightin’ don’t go down, move on to another fucker.”
The Demons saluted her. I almost laughed. My guess was that Dip Doody had rubbed off on them.
“Process of elimination,” I told them. “We also don’t know if the Higher Power will show up. It might be cautious since Its replacement exists.”
Gideon glanced around at our small but seriously talented army. We had the Grim Reaper, the Enforcer, the Keeper of Fate, the Immortal Courier, the Arbitrator and the Angel of Mercy, along with fifteen deadly Demons and Zander and Catriona.
“They outnumber us,” Gideon said tightly. “However, we’re just looking for one.”
“Roger that,” Candy Vargo said. “They fight like animals because they basically are animals. It ain’t people out there. Don’t forget that.”
Jennifer stepped out of the circle and right through the ward. She’d just demonstrated that nothing could hold the Higher Power. My stomach tightened to the point of pain.
“I can see,” she said.
“What?” Gideon asked her. “See what?”
Shitty Ritchie stepped through the ward as well. “Cards, G-strings, and ferrets,” he shared. “Quite impressive if you ask me.”
Gideon wasn’t having it. “No one asked you, Shitty Ritchie,” he ground out. “Get back in the circle. If one of you goes down, all of this is moot.”
Jennifer didn’t obey. She walked straight to Gideon and gently touched his arm. “I can see what no one else can. There’s a chance I could see the leader. I could save all of you a whole heck of a lot of limbs if you let me try.”
He shook his head. “Jennifer, you’ve been Immortal for less than a week. You’re part of the Higher Power. Those zombies outside want you dead. Do you understand that?”
“I do.”
“Then, please, get back into the circle,” Gideon said.
She smiled and stood her ground. “For thousands of years, you tried to end yourself. Your recklessness almost led to insanity. Your biggest fear is falling back into the desolation that was your existence for millions of years.”
Gideon went slack-jawed and gaped at Jennifer.
“You also have twenty-three dollars in your left pocket and a small locket with a photo of Daisy and Alana Catherine as a baby in your right back pocket,” she told him.
Gideon looked at me. I was at as much of a loss as he was. Losing Jennifer wasn’t an option. If one of us went down, the world could continue. If she went down, it couldn’t. Well, that wasn’t exactly true… if she went down, the future Higher Power went down. That could not happen. Period.
“I’m thinkin’ it’s too dang risky,” Candy Vargo said. “While it might work, it might not.”
“It’s fifty-fifty odds,” Heather said. “I don’t really like those kinds of odds.”
