“Alrighty, boys and girls,” she announced as they hung on her every word. “This here is an adventure. Y’all are gonna stay at this good-lookin’ steel house while I have to work out of town for a bit. You listen real good to June, Missy, and Amelia. Y’all hear me?”
A small boy with loads of blond curls wrapped his chubby arms around Candy Vargo’s leg. “Who is gonna tell us bedtime stories, Mamma Candy Vargo?”
My brows shot up, but I didn’t utter a word. It was the sweetest thing. I almost giggled that he’d used her full name. Candy liked to keep her badass rep intact. Mamma Candy Vargo wasn’t exactly badass, but it was accurate. When the Keeper of Fate loved, she loved with her entire heart.
June squatted down next to the little guy. “I can,” she said with a warm smile. “My kids are grown now, but I’ve told many a bedtime story. They won’t be as good as Mamma Candy Vargo’s but I’ll do my best.”
“Okay,” the child said with a giggle as he booped June’s nose.
“And,” Candy added, winking at June. “June here is a master peanut butter cookie baker! If y’all behave, I’m bettin’ June might teach you little stinkers how to make cookies.”
The cheers were loud. My dogs’ excited barks were louder. Even though my heart was breaking, it made me smile. Innocence was stunningly beautiful.
“Can we eat some?” a little girl asked, who couldn’t have been more than six-years-old. Her red hair and freckles were adorable.
“Heck to the yes you can,” Candy told her. “Now hustle on up to the house and get your little rumps situated. You hear me?”
“Yes, Mamma Candy Vargo!” they shouted in unison as they skipped and ran to the house with June, Missy, Amelia, the ghosts, and my dogs trailing after them.
After a brief but thorough recap of what had gone down, Rafe, Prue, Gabe, Abby, Tory, Zander and Catriona spread out and surrounded the house. They were armed to the teeth and ready to fight if necessary.
“Are we ready?” Gideon asked.
Before anyone could reply, a blast of sparkling red mist appeared ten feet from where we stood. Three new visitors had arrived.
While the new guests weren’t terrifying or necessarily unwelcome, the timing was bad.
The Demons immediately dropped to their knees and bowed their heads in reverence. The two Goddess’ of the Darkness had joined us—Goddess Cecily and Goddess Pandora. The women were strikingly beautiful. Cecily’s gorgeous exterior matched her insides. Pandora’s, not so much. Cecily was my niece by marriage, since her mother Lilith was Gideon’s sister. The Grim Reaper had very little patience or compassion for Pandora, but he held his niece in high regard.
Abaddon, Cecily’s mate and right-hand man, materialized as well. Cecily eyed the crowd with curiosity—no malice in her direct gaze. That was a relief. I liked Cecily very much. She was smart, compassionate and deadly. She’d been thrown into the Immortal world as unceremoniously as I had. She’d lived most of her life not knowing she was a Demon and having no clue that she was the daughter of one of the Goddesses of the Darkness.
Pandora, on the other hand, was not beloved. She’d been terrorizing the Darkness for millions of years. She’d also committed the most heinous crime a Goddess could commit. She’d ended the life of Cecily’s mother—the former Goddess of the Darkness, Lilith. I wasn’t completely clear on how they’d worked that issue out, but they had. Cecily and Pandora presented as themselves as a partnership. I supposed the fact that Cecily’s mother hadn’t died for real helped. Lilith had been rendered human by Pandora’s hand. Lilith was now living out the rest of her years with Cecily’s dad, her true love, by her side.
Strange but true. Somewhat unbelievable, but I was learning that nothing was too outlandish in the Immortal world. Nothing.
I knew Abaddon the best of the three. He’d helped us in battle a while back. He and Gideon had immense respect for each other. Alone, they were insanely powerful. Together, they were a sight to see.
Pandora stepped forward with a sour expression and prepared to let it rip. Cecily calmly held up her hand and silenced her. That was shocking. Pandora was older than dirt. Cecily had only spent a little over forty years on this earth. However, it was clear who was in charge.
Pandora’s body tensed, but she nodded jerkily and stepped back.
“I do believe you might be withholding information,” Cecily said evenly, letting her gaze bounce between Gideon and me.
I answered. “We do have information, but we weren’t withholding. There is a true Higher Power.”
“Yes,” she replied. “I know that.”
I was surprised. I shouldn’t have been. The Demons who Gideon had called in favors from to protect the Trinity were the Goddess Cecily’s subjects. Of course, she would know about Alana Catherine, Shitty Ritchie and Jennifer. However, I’d betthe ugly steel house behind me that she didn’t know the latest happenings.
“The third of the Trinity didn’t reveal herself until very recently,” Gideon explained. “Once she did, all hell broke loose. There was no time for a chat to bring you up to speed.”
Abaddon’s eyes narrowed dangerously. While he and Gideon might be friends, his loyalty was with Cecily. He clearly thought Gideon was being glib.
Candy Vargo walked to the middle of the group before everything went sideways. She gave Goddess Cecily a high five and a box of toothpicks. She patted Abaddon’s cheek and flipped Pandora off. The Keeper of Fate was nuts.
“Daisy and Gideon ain’t blowin’ smoke up your asses,” she assured the Goddesses and Abaddon. “But there is some more info to fuckin’ know. Juicy shit.”
“Let’s hear it,” Cecily told her.
