“My desire to be up to speed is in direct conflict with my desire to remain sane,” Gideon stated flatly.
Tim kept going. “Not to worry, friend! I’ll consolidate the rest. The very first episode of the show was on January 15, 1974. It was so popular that there were several spinoffs!Laverne and Shirley, Mork and Mindyand the classicJoanie Loves Chachi.All terrific shows.”
“Okay,” Gideon said, doing his very best to stay calm. “While that was informative, I simply wanted to know what this Richie Cunningham and Fonzie look like.”
“Oh! Of course. Not a problem!” Tim assured him. He pulled out his phone went online. Without missing a beat, Tim showed Gideon a photo of Ron Howard as Richie and Henry Winkler as Fonzie. “There are more fun facts if anyone would like to hear them.”
“Nope,” Candy Vargo, Gideon and I said in unison.
“Roger that,” Tim said with a giggle. “Just let me know if you change your mind.”
“We won’t,” Candy told him. “So, Daisy, you ready?”
“Umm… sure, but do we do it like we did it before?” I questioned.
The Keeper of Fate shook her head. “Fuck no. We do not.”
“Not helpful,” I muttered. “You wanna give me a clue?”
She chuckled. “I don’t have one, Angel of Mercy. It’s all on you.”
I wasn’t sure if she was messing with me. They were all older than dirt. I was barely over forty. How was this fair? There was too much to lose if I screwed it up. Gideon walked over and pressed his forehead to mine. His scent and physical touch calmed me. I was a force of nature all by myself. I knew it and believed it. However, Gideon helped me be my best self. He’dtold me over and over I did the same for him. Love could be as powerful as magic.
“There are no right answers and no wrong ones, Daisy. If the Keeper of Fate can see that you’re the one to lead us to the plane, then it’s fated,” he said. “Go with your gut, baby.”
Gently pressing my lips to his, I kissed the man who had more faith in me more than I did in myself right now. The gravity of the situation hit me again. Hard. Our daughter’s life was on the line along with Jennifer’s and Shitty Ritchie’s. Hell, the future of the entire Immortal world was on the line.
I’d gone with my gut before and succeeded. I’d do it again.
Closing my eyes, I let my mind wander. I prayed to every deity I could think of and a few I probably made up. Didn’t matter. I’d take any help I could get right now. My thoughts immediately landed on the fact that I could decide how long I was gone in a mind dive. Alana Catherine had shared that tidbit with me. It would have been fantastic to have known earlier considering I used to be out of commission for days at time after I dove into the minds of the dead. I wasn’t sure how it was connected to getting to the Higher Power’s plane, though.
Wait… maybe nothing was as difficult as we’d made it in the past. Leaving the past where it belonged was the goal. Maybe, the Immortal world didn’t have to be so damned cryptic.
It was possible. Anything was possible. There was a chance we didn’t have to do some big formal ritual that hurt like hell. I was over that shit. We’d just freaking go. Out with the old ways and in with the new.
I hoped…
“Hold hands,” I directed, feeling my heart hammering in my chest. “Form a circle. It’s way past time to leave.”
Candy Vargo grinned and reached for my hand. Tim put his phone and notebook back into one of the pockets of his mailuniform. He took Candy’s hand and reached out to Gideon. Gideon took his place and grabbed my hand along with Tim’s.
“Plan, fucker?” Candy asked.
“We’re going to transport,” I informed her. “From here on out, we’re going to simplify.”
“I like it,” Tim said.
Gideon squeezed my hand and gave me a smile.
“On three,” I announced. “On the count of three we’re going to the Higher Power’s plane. It will not be painful. It will not be violent.” I inhaled then went for my last new and improved requirement. “And time will run the same on that plane as it does on the one we’re standing in now. Period fucking period.”
“Can she do that?” Candy Vargo asked Gideon.
He grinned. “Sounds to me like she just did.”
Tim nodded at me and smiled. “Indeed, she can. Daisy is not only the Angel of Mercy, she’s the Death Counselor, and gave birth to one third of the true Higher Power. She’s risen on the Immortal food chain exponentially!”
I caught myself before I made a cannibal joke. It would have fallen flat.
