Page 20 of Having the Time of My Midlife

“Well, that’s fuckin’ frightening,” Candy Vargo announced.

The Keeper of Fate was ignored.

I stared at Pandora. The Demon Goddess stared right back. She had changed but could a leopard ever truly lose their spots?Trusting her was off the table, but I’d hear her out. “And they are?”

She smiled. It was scary. The woman was beautiful but as cold as ice. Gideon growled again and the smile left her lips. “It will cost you,” she said.

The Immortals weren’t big on owing favors, and it was never a good idea to owe anyone anything—especially someone like Pandora.

If she wanted to play games, I would play. Having no clue where to start to solve the problem wasn’t a great place to be. Steve had said I only had days to figure out how to fix the rift. If Pandora was useful, I would pay. If the thoughts were bullshit…

“Fine,” I said flatly as I heard all the Immortals in the room groan. “If you have something worth saying I’ll pay. If you don’t… you’ll pay.”

That gave the Demon pause. Cecily took her hand and held it. The kind gesture made Pandora squirm, but she didn’t pull away. It was beyond clear that Cecily believed in her. Why? I didn’t know, but that wasn’t my problem.

“Fine,” Pandora hissed. “No payment.” She rolled her eyes again. Twice. “I think It is testing us—all of us.”

I squinted at her and said nothing.

She continued. “I think that It wanted to make sure the Goddesses of the Darkness would work in somewhat of a harmony,” she said, then sighed dramatically. “Itis an idiot. However, if that was the plan then it worked to a certain degree.”

Mulling that over, I glanced around the room. Cecily and Abaddon exchanged loaded glances. Charlie was pensive. Tim scribbled notes like his life depended on it. Candy Vargo had shoved her hands into her pockets and was looking up at the ceiling. Gideon was still staring daggers at Pandora. The ghosts were silent.

“Possibly,” I said. “But that makes no sense for our situation.”

Pandora shrugged. “That’s why I decided not to charge. Either It is trying to fix things or Armageddon is coming.”

And on that lovely note, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse came galloping through the front door—or what used to be the front door. It was kind of shocking. The steeds were breathing hard like they’d just run the Kentucky Derby. The boys were all done up and didn’t appear pleased—fangs out, horns on fire and still in sequin gowns from the wedding. Dimple rode with Dirk. Lura Belle rode with Wally and Jolly Sue rode with Fred. They looked a little worse for the wear. Carl rode alone.

As they dismounted, Cecily, Abaddon and Pandora took a few steps back. Clearly, it was the first time they’d met the harbingers of the end times…

“Hey,” Candy Vargo grunted, pointing at the queens. “I meant what I said about them horses shittin’ in the house. They poop, you eat.”

Dirk waved his hand and the massive horses trotted back outside. There was no smile on my buddy’s face. His expression was grim. The four queens stood shoulder to shoulder. Their gazes roamed the great room. When they landed on Pandora, they stayed.

“Interesting you should mention Armageddon,” Carl said coldly. “You’ve done your very best to bring it on, I’d think you would have stated that with far more joy,Goddess.”

The Horsemen were not silly or fun right now. They were angry. Part of me worried for Pandora’s safety. However, an imbalance in the Immortal world wasn’t something that anyone wanted—even the queens. That would hasten the end times by a hell of a lot.

“I’ve always wanted to meet you,” Dirk told the Goddess with an expression of utter disdain. “It’s quite fascinating to observe how such impressive beauty was given to one so vile.”

Wally laughed. It held no humor whatsoever. Pandora looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. Why in the hell did I feel bad for her? I was losing my marbles. Yes, I was the Angel of Mercy, but from everything I knew, the woman had shown no mercy to anyone in millions of years.

“You’re repulsive,” Wally said calmly. He didn’t raise his voice. “It’s academically interesting to see you standing there with no shame. I feel filthy in your presence.”

It was strange to hear such horrible words doled out as if he were discussing the weather. It made his words cut faster and deeper. Pandora, whose head had been held high, now stared at the floor.

After a long moment, she raised her chin. “You are not inside me,” she said with no emotion in her voice. “You have no idea what I feel.”

Fred was having none of it. “And do you care what you’ve made hundreds of thousands of others feel?” he demanded through clenched teeth.

I was aware that very little in our world happened without reason, but for the life of me I couldn’t find one good reason for what was happening now. At the rate it was going the next part of the scene would have carnage in it.

Stepping forward, I held up a hand. “This is not the time or the place for Pandora’s trial,” I said. “There’s a tear in the Light. I have to fix it. All I wanted was some information about the Higher Power’s plane. That info isn’t mine to be had.” I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. “I’m just going to wing it. It’s worked so far.”

“‘So far’ means that eventually it won’t,” Cecily said.

Walking over to the wooden table with the dead plants on it, I knocked on it. Hard. The brown crunchy leaves fell from the dead stems and floated to the floor. “Not going to give that any energy,” I told her. “Thank you for coming. I’m sorry we wasted your time.”

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