Page 32 of Blaze of Our Lives

“I will make you regret those words, filthy wench,” he snarled, drawing his purple fire sword.

“Is that the best comeback he’s got?” Pandora asked, her disappointment evident. “What kind of Demons are we breeding these days?”

I ignored her and gave Drogruzun, who looked ready to murder me, my full attention. “Funny thing,” I said, raising both hands high and producing two fire swords. “I don’t believe in regret. I find it to be a waste of time. Also, I find it amusing that you would call me filthy, considering you smell like a giant butt.”

“Points for creativity!” Pandora yelled

“Oh! I almost forgot.” I pointed my sword at the Demon oaf. “Word on the street is that your gal pal took your eeny-weenie to court, and it got thrown out for lack of evidence.” He looked dumbfounded as to my meaning, so I added, “There wasn’t enough material present for a DNA test. Too small a sample.”

Drogruzun beat his hands against his chest, threw back his head and roared in fury.

“Yesssssss,” Pandora cheered. “Winning!”

The two Demons on the ground were still rolling around and squealing with laughter. The amount of sand being kicked up was substantial. I was slightly concerned Brolrath might choke to death, but there was no way I was going to save him. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation was not on the table. Besides, if he offed himself, he would come back from it since no one stayed dead here.

Drogruzun had taken a few steps back when he saw that I had not one but two fire swords. I watched him as he considered his next move. If he attacked me, it would be his last move. Well, his last move until he came back from the dead and tried to kill me again.

I was a Goddess of the Darkness. Unsure if my authority extended to Demons in a dream state, it was worth a try. “Get up. Now,” I ordered the two rolling Demons, using my Lieutenant Dede Desiree Duke voice from Phoenix Police Academy.

It worked. Ezzanod and Brolrath were a bit confused as to how I’d gone from comedienne to commander but obeyed. Drogruzun, pride sufficiently damaged, still wanted to remove my head, but the badass tone, along with my two swords, kept the asshole in line for the time being.

“Do any of you know the rules of the obstacle course?” I asked. “I’m a little short on time and need to get this crap over with.”

“Umm, no,” Brolrath said, shaking his huge head. His voice sounded like he’d chewed up broken glass and swallowed it—nothing at all like Pee-wee Herman’s. “We thought you would know.”

“How would I know?” I asked, puzzled.

“Because you’re the girl,” Ezzanod replied as if that made perfect sense.

“Youse is barkin’ up the wrong tree,” Phyllis said from right behind me.

I screamed and almost jumped out of my skin. It wasn’t a badass or even a Lieutenant Dede Desiree Duke move, but the talking ashtray startled me. I hadn’t even seen her get off the bleachers.

I looked around at the island’s trees. All the palms in the area were filled with brightly colored red, yellow, and blue birds the size of vultures, and sporting horns and razor-sharp fangs. I really hoped that I wasn’t going to have to deal with them on any kind of one-to-one basis. I didn’t mind slicing and dicing Demons, but animals were another story—even animals who looked like they could eat me for dinner.

“Which tree should I bark up?” I questioned Phyllis tersely. Trusting the small woman was iffy. But seeing that my other option was the Demons, who didn’t like me much—well, at least one of them didn’t like me—the choice was made for me.

“Own the narrative, Cecily,” Pandora urged forcefully.

I had no idea what she meant.

“Youse have got youse a pretty smart Guardian Angel,” Phyllis commented, handing out lit cigs to everyone. I passed. The Demons didn’t. “Youse might wanna listen to her. Two minds are always better than one. And all of youse, put dem purple swords away.”

I still had no clue what either of them was talking about. Although, it was now beyond clear that Phyllis could hear Pandora. I shook my head and sighed as I retracted my magical swords. It was laughable to call the Demon squatting in my body a Guardian Angel. It was also weird watching Mr. Rodgers, Mr. McFeely and Pee-wee Herman smoke.

Showing my ignorance wasn’t going to happen. So, I laughed. It was wildly inappropriate and sounded a little hysterical. The trio and Phyllis weren’t sure how to react. Keeping them off balance would be to my advantage. Little victories would hopefully lead to a big win.

“What are you doing?” Pandora hissed.

“Not a fucking clue,” I admitted.

I assumed that Phyllis would explain the game and the rules. I was wrong. What happened next was insane. It threw me way off balance.

“Welcome to Superens!” a very familiar voice bellowed from the top of the bleachers. Excitement and relief coursed through me. I wasn’t on my own anymore. Abaddon was here. Granted, he didn’t look like he usually did, but it didn’t matter. The Demon I loved wore board shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, flip-flops, an ornate wooden necklace and a trucker hat. It was odd, but my guess was that he was fitting himself into the scene.

My man was all kinds of brilliant.

“Superens is basically Latin for survivor,” Pandora explained.

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