Page 52 of Blaze of Our Lives

“There is so much you don’t know, idiot,” she groused. “Yes, that’s my magic, but you have to power to do it as well.”

“Got it. Thank you.” That was a relief. “I really appreciate?—"

“No time for mushy shit,” she snapped. “Fly over the fucking bridge. We have places to be and things to kill… I mean, do.”

“Sure, you did,” I said with a laugh.

“Whatever,” she hissed. “Just do it.”

“Roger that.”

Realizing I wasn’t scared anymore was empowering. I was about to take a leap of faith. I trusted my worst enemy, and she trusted me. We might not be bosom buddies in the future, but I hoped we would be better to each other than we had been prior to this messed-up adventure. I pushed the thoughts away. We still had a long way to go.

I spotted the box sitting atop a pedestal a few feet past the far end of the bridge. That was my goal. I could do it. I had to do it.

With a long stride, I took the three steps and launched myself at the bridge. My shriek of delight as I zipped over it was only marred by the shocked and furious shouts from the talking ashtray and the dancing doofus. We were winning, and they didn’t like it.

“Youse are a cheater,” Phyllis yelled through the bullhorn.

“Takes one to know one,” I shouted back as I landed ungracefully at the pedestal holding the box.

“Drop a protection bubble around us,” Pandora demanded. “Keep them away until we have the directions.”

“Do I need to do a spell?” I asked frantically.

“Hell no,” she snapped. “We don’t have time for that. Just ask for a fucking protection bubble.”

“On it,” I said. “I need a protection bubble… umm… please.” It instantly appeared as commanded. “Holy crap! It worked.”

“Of course, it worked. You’re a Goddess.”

The combination was 666. I shook my head at the absurd implication. Thankfully, the box didn’t explode. It opened right up, and a piece of paper floated out and landed in my hands.

“Riddles,” I said, feeling panicky. I wasn’t great at riddles. I was good a puzzles—the kind with pieces. “Shit. Shit. Shit.”

“Read them,” Pandora said in a tense tone. “I’ve got this.”

I sure as hell hoped she did. If not, we were screwed. Phyllis and Dumbass were circling the protection bubble looking for a way in. We needed to work fast.

Quickly, I read. There were seven riddles on the page. “What has a neck and no head?” I had no clue what the answer was. My mind was a blank slate, and the solution wasn’t writing itself down.

“A bottle,” Pandora replied as I groaned in relief.

The minute she solved the riddle, it disappeared from the sheet of paper.

“You got it!”

“Of course I did,” she said, clearly bewildered at my surprise. “Next?”

“I’m not a blanket, yet I cover the ground. I’m a crystal from above that doesn’t make a sound. What am I?”

“An idiot,” she replied with a laugh. “But the answer is a snowflake.”

The riddle faded away. “What has a head but no brain?”

“Well, that could be any number of Demons I know, including you,” Pandora mused. “However, I’m going with lettuce.”

“Bingo!” I said, letting the dig slide as another riddle disappeared. “Four more.”

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