Page 37 of A Leaner Meaner Midlife

“Fuck,” Gideon snarled through gritted teeth. “We kill him now, or we all die.”

Micky Muggles continued to undulate as the orb of powerful Purgatory magic continued to grow.

“How do we stop it?” I asked, trying to shove the Nephilim behind me. They were having none of it.

Wally pulled Candy Vargo and Tim onto his horse. “We can’t,” he declared. “It’s the strongest there is. All we can do is get out of its way.”

“Shit,” I grumbled. “Ghosts. LEAVE.” I literally picked up Jolly Sue and tossed her to Dirk. Followed by the tossing of Lura Belle to Fred and Dimple to Carl. “Get them out of here. I’ll handle it.”

“We will handle it,” Gideon corrected me.

“Like hell, you will,” the Keeper of Fate grunted, trying to pull me and Gideon up onto the horse. “You can’t survive it. Fucker drank most of Tory’s blood. Fucker has Tory’s magic. Ain’t no one gonna live through gettin’ blasted by that. Not even the baddest of asses.”

Micky’s deranged laughter filled the air as the sky darkened. A storm brewed and created its own eerie song in the leafless winter trees.

“If I can get to the tail, I can end this,” I roared, running toward the sick man who wanted to be the Immortal King. “I want my juicy justice boner. And if I go down, I’m taking him with me.”

Words and images raced through my mind as I sprinted toward the tail that would end the madness. Silently, I apologized to my daughter. If I died stopping the Dragon King so that she could live a full life, that would have to be my final gift to her. Maybe I could come back as a ghost. As her face faded in my mind, the words of the queens sprang forward.

I spoke them aloud to give me hope. “There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in contrast.” I was the light. Micky Muggles was the dark shadow. I would prove I was stronger. I had to. “You must remember,” I recited, “that out of our greatest battles come miracles.”

I was all about miracles right now.

“Time to die, Daisy,” Micky jeered, as he reared back with the enormous ball in his slimy clutches. “There’s gonna be a new Angel of Mercy in town. And I ain’t got a drop of mercy in me.”

And that was the moment my world went into slow motion and fell apart.

CHAPTER NINE

“Come on, Daisy,” Micky Muggles bellowed. “Last time I blasted ya, ya lived. This time, ya ain’t gonna be as lucky.”

I zig-zag across the field, dodging magical artillery flying from the silvery orb floating above his hands as I made my way closer to Micky. I could feel Gideon doing the same thing to my right, but I couldn’t spare a glance in his direction. If I looked away from Micky, it might be the very last thing I’d ever do. At this point, the Grim Reaper might as well have gone home. The Dragon’s focus was only on me.

Micky’s face with beet red and contorted with rage as he missed me over and over.

Good. I was pissing him off.

Every time he aimed, he had to readjust. Tory’s magic was powerful but heavy, and he strained to wield it. His arms shook from the weight. It was clear that creating the magic ball had drained him. If I could wear him out, he might drop the ball and destroy himself. I wasn’t sure how big the blast would be or how precisely it needed to be thrown, but there was a chance that the Dragon might slay himself.

Trying to make it look like a running maneuver, I motioned to Gabe and Tory to leave the Tower. My brother shook his head, pointed to Micky Muggles and silently urged me to pay attention to staying alive. Tory’s pale eyes were huge with worry, but she made it clear with a gesture that she was going nowhere fast. I didn’t know what they had planned, but Tory understood her magic better than anyone here. Of course, since she wasn’t wielding it, there was a chance she was as lost as I was.

“You can’t win this,” I yelled at Micky. “Even if you kill me, you’ll be hunted like an animal until you’re destroyed.”

“Ya know, Daisy… you’re gettin’ on my last nerve,” he snapped. “You’ve fucked around one too many times, and you’re about to find out.”

I’d keep him talking and distracted. “The grass is always greener on the other side because it’s fertilized with bullshit, Micky.”

“What in tarnation is that supposed to mean?” he growled, doing his best to line up a clear shot.

I wasn’t going to make it easy for him. The fact that he hadn’t thrown the Angel-of-Mercy-killing ball told me he probably could only make the one, and he was waiting for his moment to use it against me.

Unlike Micky’s magic arsenal, an idea struck me. Maybe standing still for a moment would make him go for it. I’d just have to be ready to dodge it. He was weakened by using up the magic he’d stolen, and I couldn’t see him throwing faster than I could run. I’d just have to bide my time.

It was time for a game. Micky Muggles hated word games. He’d flunked English in high school multiple times. I sent a silent thanks to Jennifer for teaching us the game on the car ride up.

“Shipments go by land, but cargo goes by sea. That needs to be reversed,” I called out as I continued to weave closer.

“Quit that educated bullshit jabberin’,” he snapped. “I ain’t got no time for that.”

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