Page 16 of Another Underworld

“Lilith isn’t dead,” Pandora hissed.

Dagon might be bleeding and in pain, but he shot Pandora a glare so vicious that even I wanted to hide. “She is no longer a Demon. She is no longer a Goddess. In the Darkness, Lilith may as well be dead. You are responsible for that,” he coldly.

Pandora’s gaze dropped. She stared at the floor. She had no comeback. There was no comeback. Truth was set in stone.

“I’m not human anymore,” I said. “I’m a full Demon now.”

Dagon nodded. “Yes, I know. But this false God has run with the fact that a human man fathered you. He’s convinced our kind that it’s time for change—that a man should be running the Darkness… not weak and fallible women.”

“What kind of sexist, misogynistic bullshit is that?” Pandora demanded. “The Darkness belongs to me… and Cecily.”

Dagon stared at her, his expression hard.

Again, she dropped her gaze.

“No one wants you back, Pandora,” he said. “Your sins have eclipsed any power you may have held. Your name is spoken like a curse. The Darkness does not belong to you anymore.”

While a small part of me felt for the person she could become, the person she had been was despicable. I felt no mercy for her past self, but I knew what Pandora could be, and I also knew that the only way the Darkness would survive was if we worked together.

“Enough,” I said. “We’re moving on. Help me understand why Corny, Irma, Stella, Moon, and Jonny aren’t with you?”

May I, Bitch Goddess Cecily?” Shiva inquired.

I nodded. “You may.”

“Your friends went rogue,” she said with a hint of fury in her voice. “When Dagon told them it was time to leave, Irma shifted into a mouse. It was terrifying. The mouse took the guards by surprise, and the other four, plus the rodent, slipped into the castle.”

It was bizarre and somewhat funny that Demons were deathly scared of mice, but Shiva’s story made no sense. “What castle? Mine? Pandora’s?”

“Yours,” Shiva confirmed. “Pandora’s castle was destroyed.”

Pandora’s lips compressed to a thin line and her hands clenched into fists at her sides. I could feel her power rippling in the air from across the room.

I shook my head. I wasn’t sure what she had expected. The entire Demon race was aware that she’d killed Lilith. There was always going to be backlash.

I crossed the room and seated myself beside her on the couch. I put a comforting hand on her arm and kept my voice gentle. “Don’t do anything stupid, Stinky Whore.”

She swore under her breath then forced herself to calm down.

My shoulders slumped with relief as her power receded. Whew. “Okay,” I said, turning my attention back to Dagon and Shiva. “Why did they sneak into the castle?”

Dagon closed his eyes for a long moment, then sighed. “Your guess would be as good as mine. Corny Crackers had stripped down to his birthday suit and was wielding knitting needles. Jonny morphed into some kind of monster with claws, fangs and a detachable jaw.”

Shiva shuddered. “It was… interesting. Did you know that Stella’s bosom is a machine gun?”

“I did,” I replied. I’d been in battle with the fearsome five by my side. Their talents were bizarre and deadly. “And Moon?”

“Started singing,” Dagon said, perplexed.

“Shit,” I muttered. Moon sang to draw the danger out. “What’s in the castle?”

“The new God,” Dagon said. “Or that’s the rumor.”

I stood up and paced the room. Those idiots who I adored were going to get themselves killed. Their shenanigans made me itchy, and I was tempted to peel off my own skin. That would be counterproductive. I had shit to take care of.

“You really think they went after the fake usurping God?” I asked, circling the room at a quick clip. If I didn’t move, I’d spontaneously combust. Again, counterproductive. And it would suck if I accidentally set myself on fire. I liked my house, and didn’t want to burn it to ash.

“I do,” Shiva said. “From what we saw, they will not succeed.”

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