Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Everybody, back the fuck up,” Candy Vargo announced.

The Keeper of Fate was glowing orange. It was a crazy look, but I was getting used to it. My normal had become anything but normal. Charlie’s eyes were silver. He’d been warned by Candy if he let his power get out of control and made it difficult to breathe, she’d kick his ass so hard he wouldn’t sit for a decade. He heeded her warning and tamped it back. Tim was glowing as well. The look was eerie, and I was beginning to wonder how bad this was going to be. It wasn’t often that all my friends were lit up at the same time.

The ghosts had been asked to leave the room before the spell took place. There was a chance that it could open a portal and suck the dead into it. That was news to everyone except Gideon. I wanted to inquire as to how he knew it but decided that I didn’t want the answer. The gift of keeping Gram, Mr. Jackson, Lura Belle, Dimple and Jolly Sue safe would have to suffice.

“Jennifer,” Candy Vargo said, running her hand over the back of her neck. “I’m gonna say you should leave as well.”

“Cause I might get sucked up into a portal?” she asked, looking bizarrely excited about the prospect. My buddy watched far too many movies.

“Nope,” Candy told her. “Cause what’s about to go down ain’t nothin’ you should see. It’s gonna be bloody and gnarly.”

“Roger that!” Jennifer high tailed it up the stairs with the dead. She had a hair-trigger gag-reflex, and so did I. If she hurled, I’d hurl. Puking was the last thing I wanted to do right now.

“Where should I be?” I asked Gideon.

My husband had gone full-on Demon. The Grim Reaper’s eyes were sparkling blood red, and his ebony-black wings had burst from his back. It was scary and stunning. I found it hot. Getting my head examined was on the to-do list.

“Sit on the couch,” he instructed.

Candy delivered Alana Catherine to my open arms. She was now alert and awake. Her little legs were kicking like she was riding a trike, and she was trying to shove her entire fist into her mouth. My gal was talented. It was hard to reconcile that what we were about to do was on the word of the baby trying to eat her hand.

Were we crazy? That was a given.

Had Pandora been playing us? No. I didn’t believe she had been. It was all too raw and real. Plus, the message from Alana Catherine made sense to our situation. It was filled with info Pandora couldn’t have known. I was still making my peace with what was about to happen.

And then it happened.

Gideon snapped his fingers and produced a wicked-looking, sharp dagger encrusted with shiny red rubies on the handle. The dagger looked ancient. I was sure it was. My daughter and I were the only living people in this room who weren’t older than dirt. The weapon was compact and mostly blade. I took a deep breath and willed myself not to gasp. There was no way I was backing out, but I wanted to face it like the badass I believed I was. I’d fought enemies who’d shot fireballs the size of cars and others who’d tried to decapitate me. This was nothing…

“Okay,” Gideon said, sounding as tense as I’d ever heard him. “Shortly, I’m going to cast a spell on the knife. When it’s done, I’ll slice my palm and then yours. We’ll clasp hands and mingle our blood. Once that’s been accomplished, you will place a drop on Alana Catherine’s tongue.”

“And?” I asked.

“And that’s it,” he replied, scrubbing his free hand over his jaw.

I tilted my head in question. “I don’t understand how I’ll be keeping our daughter from feeling pain.”

Gideon was holding on to his composure by a thread. I got it. I really did. He was dealing with the two people he loved most in this world. He was about to inflict what I could only guess was horrific pain. It was killing him. I completely understood. And if the tables were turned, I would do the same. Because, while causing the love of my life severe pain was nearly unimaginable, allowing our daughter to experience it would be even worse.

“You’ll hold her close to your body after the blood touches her tongue,” he finally said. “As long as she’s touching you, you will feel her pain, not her.” His lips compressed into a thin, flat line. It was obvious he was at war with himself.

I reached out to him. He took my hand and squeezed it. His bright red eyes were wild and unfocused.

“I love you. I trust you. I believe in you,” I said. “You’re doing this because you love me and our baby. Here’s what I say, let’s get this f-ing party started. The faster we go, the faster we come back.”

“As you wish,” Gideon said, pulling his shit together. He kissed my hand before reluctantly letting it go.

The love of my Immortal life chanted in a language that I’d heard him use before. I didn’t understand a word if it. It was haunting and lyrical. If I wasn’t anticipating pain, I would have enjoyed it. The blade sparked and hissed. A foggy red mist seeped from it and rolled off like dry ice in hot water. Gideon continued to chant. I was transfixed on his face. His gaze was fixed on mine. I felt his love. I felt the pain of his indecision.

I gave my head the smallest of shakes and then smiled. “We’re in this together. No regrets. Just do it.”

He nodded and continued. As the chanting stopped, the mist turned to sparkles and burst in the air above the dagger. Alana Catherine squealed and clapped her chubby hands. It seemed as if our baby knew what was happening. I wasn’t sure how that was possible, but in our world, pretty much anything seemed possible.

Quickly and almost medically, Gideon ran the blade over his palm and sliced it open. The blood ran down the sides of his hand and dripped to the floor. He stared at the wound for a long moment. There was no time to think. I took the action into my own hands, so to speak. Keeping one arm around our squirming daughter, I shoved my other at him. An offering for his blade.

“Slice my hand,” I insisted. “Don’t hesitate. You heal quickly, and so do I.”

He sliced across my palm with the bloodied dagger. After, we joined hands and held on for dear life.

The word ‘pain’ didn’t even begin to describe the excruciating agony that rattled my bones and burned through me like a red-hot poker covered in metal barbs and razor blades. I’d descended into the Darkness with the dead. That little trick was excruciating. I’d fought battles and lost limbs. That had sucked. But this was the worst pain I’d ever experienced.

Screwing my eyes shut and gritting my teeth so I didn’t scream, I tried to quench the inferno burning me from the inside out. No avail. My blood was pure molten lava, dehydrating my body as sweat poured off my skin. I held tight to Alana Catherine to keep her from slipping out of my grasp. I used her as a tether to reality, a reminder of why I was holding court for the agony so that I wouldn’t let it go. Letting it go meant I couldn’t protect my little girl, and I couldn’t—no, wouldn’t—allow that to happen.

I groaned through gritted teeth as a series of burning jolts rocketed through my body. They started in my stomach and spread fast through the rest of me. I was sure if the pain didn’t let up I would black out, but then Gideon wrapped his arms around both me and our baby, giving me the strength I needed to persevere. The pain was intense, but my biggest fear was allowing it to spill over into my child. This was how I kept the bad from touching her. This is how I kept her safe. I held on for what felt like years but had only been a few minutes. Then, suddenly, it ended as quickly as it had begun.

Laughing weakly with intense relief, I peeled part of my soaked shirt away from my body. The sound was gross. My throat was parched and raspy as I uttered, “Water.” And “Dry clothes.”

“I’ve got this, fucker,” Candy said, waving her hands from across the room and gifting me with new dry clothes and a cold glass of refreshing water.

“Thank you,” I whispered, refraining from commenting that she’d dressed me in mismatched sweats and ratty tennis shoes. I was thankful for a dry outfit.

Gideon held the glass to my lips as I sipped the cool liquid. Miraculously, it quenched me as if chocked full of magical electrolytes. Trying to regulate my breathing was harder than expected, but the look of concern on my child’s face forced me to have superpowers. Within a few seconds, I no longer sounded like I’d just run a marathon.

Looking down at my palm, I noticed the wound had started to close. There was no way in hell I wanted to go through the first half of what I’d just been through again.

I could do this. I had to. “Round two,” I muttered, putting my open palm near my baby’s mouth. I glanced up at Gideon who was paler than I’d ever seen him. “Will it break the spell if you help me with the next part?”

He shook his head, reached over and cupped his hand around mine. Gently, he squeezed my palm, and a single drop of our mingled blood landed in Alana Catherine’s open mouth. We exchanged a shocked glance. Did she understand her part in this magic? It appeared that she did.

“Bababababababababaaaaaa,” she squealed with a giggle.

“Hold her,” Gideon insisted. “I’ll be here to brace you if it gets to be too much.

My nod was robotic, and I held Alana Catherine close. At her first whimper, I held her tighter.

“Mama’s got you,” I whispered against the top of her head. “I won’t let go. I promise.”

The sensations were no less painful than the blood exchange with Gideon, but they were entirely different. Where I’d felt like I was melting from the inside out when Gideon and I had clasped hands, this time I felt as if the literal weight of the world was crushing my lungs and every part of my body. Speaking was impossible… no matter how much I believed. Trying to breathe through it was not happening either. If it went on much longer, I’d pass out.

Only a fool makes light of agony. Novels glorify it. Movies are made about it. It’s not romantic or even noble. It’s brutal and cruel. But in this case, it was worth it. Did I want to repeat it? No. Would I do it a million times for my child? Yes.

In the distance, I heard my little girl’s happy babbling. It gave me the strength to hold on. She was feeling no pain. That was my reward.

As the pressure began to subside, I was able to take short, shallow gulps of air. Oxygen was glorious. Gideon held both of us as tears streamed down his cheeks. That had to have been horrible to watch. It sucked all kinds of ass to live it.

Again, I hoped this was the one and only time I’d have to do this.

“Are we bound?” I whispered brokenly, looking down at Alana Catherine. She smiled up at me and pointed at my mouth.

“Mamamamamama,” she said, touching my chin. “Mamamamamamama!”

I laughed. She was too young to be speaking. It had to be a mistake, but I was going to pretend that her second word was mama. I needed a win right now.

“You’re bonded,” Gideon said. His voice was rough, and his eyes were sparking. “I don’t ever want to witness that again.”

“Trust me,” I said with a pained laugh. “I’m with you on that.”

“Hate to be a ballbuster,” Candy Vargo said, walking over and examining both me and Alana Catherine. “But you got one more fuckin’ bout of hell to suffer.”

“Fufufufufufufufufu,” Alana Catherine babbled, waving at a horrified Candy.

“Oh shit,” she choked out, glancing around wildly for Gram. “Is that my fault?”

I blew out a raspberry and tried not to laugh. “Yep, that’s your fault. You have to tone down the f-bombs or you’re going to spend the next year with Gram in the bathroom with a bar of soap in your potty mouth.”

Candy Vargo was mortified. I’d never seen that look on her yet. “Baby girl,” she cooed at Alana Catherine. “That word is a no-no! Don’t be sayin’ that crap.”

“Nonononononono!” she answered to Candy’s relief.

However, when she yelled ‘crap’ as clear as day, Candy Vargo excused herself from the room and went to get Gram. She was going to be in deep doodoodoodoodoo. However, she was correct. I had one more painful episode to endure before entering the dream state. I had to let Gram into my body. I just hoped I would be able to get her out. Right now, it didn’t matter. It was the only way to get the past, present and future to the Higher Power’s plane. Even if Gideon could bind me to Gram, I would have declined and let her hop a ride inside me. Once was enough with the binding spell.

“Daisy girl,” Gram called out as she zipped down the stairs. “You ain’t never gonna believe it!”

There wasn’t much I wouldn’t believe at this point. “Tell me.”

“Daisy!” Jennifer yelled as she ran down the stairs like there was a fire. My dogs, Donna and Karen were on her heels wagging their tails so hard it created a breeze. “Did Gram tell you yet?”

I was confused. We all were. Jennifer couldn’t see or hear the dead. She was human. How in the heck did she know Gram wanted to tell me something?

“Umm…” I didn’t know what to say.

“It’s nuts!” Jennifer shouted, going right for the wine and drinking it straight from the bottle.

“What’s nuts?” Candy Vargo demanded, standing at the bottom of the stairs with a preening Lura Belle, Dimple and Jolly Sue surrounding her. Mr. Jackson was by Gram’s side.

“Don’t rightly know how it happened,” Jennifer said, offering Candy the wine. The Keeper of Fate took a swig and handed it back. “But some kind of weird red mist floated into the guest room where I was hanging out and, all of a sudden, I heard Jolly Sue call me a boil-brained moldwarp! It was hilariously terrifying. At first, I wondered if I was wasted, but I’ve only had one bottle today. I need at least three to be drunk. And then…”

“I called her a bawdy, crook-plated hussy,” Dimple announced with pride. “AND SHE HEARD ME!”

I almost choked on my spit. “Can you still hear them?”

Jennifer nodded, thrilled with the strange turn of events. “I can hear them, but I can’t see them.”

“That ain’t the exciting news, though,” Gram said. “Jennifer, tell Daisy what you did for her, you darlin’ little gal!”

“Will do, Gram,” she said with a belly laugh. “It’s a dang good thing I’m goin’ through menopause!”

“I am so confused,” I muttered.

“Join the club, friend,” Tim said with a smile, taking notes on whatever was about to be revealed.

“First things first,” Jennifer said. She turned in a full circle. “Am I sparkling?”

“Sparkling?” I asked.

“Like Edward from Twilight ?” she clarified.

“Umm… no,” I told her.

“Damn,” she muttered with a laugh. “I was hoping I’d sparkle, but whatever. I have bigger news!”

“For the love of the longest fuckin’ lead up I’ve ever heard, get to it,” Candy Vargo grunted.

“Fufufufufufufufufu,” Alana Catherine yelled. “Nonononononono!”

Candy Vargo dove behind the couch to avoid Gram’s ire.

“Ain’t got time to deal with that mess right now,” Gram announced. “But when this is done, Candy Vargo you’re gonna get your backside tanned. You hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” she said from under the sofa.

“Can we get back to whatever happened?” Gideon requested.

“Sure thing,” Jennifer told him. “Mr. Jackson and I had a nice conversation. Kind of hard to understand him, but once we got goin’ it was just fine. Sweet man. I totally approve of him courtin’ Gram.”

“Yep,” I said, getting a little frustrated. She was so excited, I didn’t want to rain on her parade, but I had stuff to do and places to go. Not that I wanted to do the stuff or go to the place, but I had to.

“Soooooo,” Jennifer said, trying to waggle her eyebrows and failing. Botox was some strong shit. “He and the others explained that Gram has to ride inside you to get to the Higher Power’s plane. There was some debate as to if she could leave your body when you guys are done kickin’ ass. Well… there’s not a debate anymore!”

“Wait. What?” I asked, terrified for my human buddy. “What did you do?”

Gram was turning delighted flips in the air as Mr. Jackson clapped and lost a hand. Dimple, Jolly Sue and Lura Belle flew at me like bombs out of a cannon. They were all talking at once. I caught the words beslubbering hedge pigs and weedy strumpet. The rest sounded like gibberish.

“QUIET!” Charlie bellowed, putting an abrupt stop to the chaos. He walked to the center of the room and silently indicated that everyone should take a seat. Everyone listened. Charlie had that kind of authority. “Jennifer, I’d like you to be more specific, please.”

She gave Charlie a thumbs up. He smiled and gave her one right back.

“We tested the theory,” Jennifer explained. “Not with Gram, just in case she got stuck in me but with Dimple. That old coot is nuts.”

“Thank you, you bat-fouling, clack-dish imbecile,” Dimple replied with a wide smile. “It was quite enjoyable. I’ve never flown directly into a human before.”

I didn’t want to point out that she’d only been dead for a few days, but Jolly Sue had no problem with it. “Not a big surprise since you’ve only been deceased for four days, you gorbellied, malt-worm, flax-wench,” she told her.

Lura Belle jumped right on in. “Jolly Sue, you can shove it up your mangled, clay-brained clotpole. What Dimple did was heroic!”

“I was worried and suggested we wait for y’all, but Dimple wasn’t havin’ none of that,” Gram said, patting Dimple on the head. “That there old gal had big lady balls!”

“And get this,” Jennifer said. “I was in the middle of a hot flash when Dimple dove in and it took it away. I think we could start a business.”

“I think not,” Gideon said, pressing the bridge of his nose. “It would be quite difficult to explain that a ghost was going to fly through you to cool you down. That’s the kind of business that could land you in a psych hold.”

Jennifer nodded as she sipped on her wine. “I can see how that might be weird.”

Weird was an understatement, but something else piqued my interest. “Didn’t it hurt when Dimple flew into you?”

I’d always experienced it as icy daggers stabbing all my internal organs.

“Nope,” Jennifer said. “I loved it! But the real kicker was that Dimple was able to come back out.”

That was incredibly good news. I wasn’t thrilled with the method, but it took some of the weight of what we were about to do off my mind. However, I didn’t understand how it had been painless.

I looked over at Dimple. “What was your method? How did you fly into Jennifer?”

Dimple pursed her cat-butt lips in thought for a moment. “I went into her feet and worked my way up. When I got past her intestines, I settled in under her ribcage. I took a three-minute catnap then left the way I entered.”

“Wonderful,” Lura Belle said, fanning herself. “I’m not fond of intestines—all that lumpish, bugger-mugger mess. I’m quite impressed with your technique, Dimple.”

Dimple took a bow. Mr. Jackson applauded and lost his entire arm.

I looked over at Gram. She was grinning like a fool. I grinned right back. “You heard the ancient coot. I say you go for my feet, old lady.”

“Can do,” Gram said. “Get ready, Daisy girl, I’m a-coming!” Gram flew at my feet then disappeared.

I was shocked into happy silence when I felt no pain. My feeling of gratitude to Jennifer and Dimple was immense. I wasn’t sure how much more pain I could take. The fact that Gram hitched a ride without torture on my end was priceless.

“You in there?” I asked.

Her voice was muffled, but we all could hear her. “Sure am! This is just nuts. It’s cozy in here. Gotta say, I’m as happy as Karen and Donna layin’ on the front porch chewin’ on a big ol’ catfish head.”

I wrinkled my nose. That was gross. Donna and Karen didn’t think so, they barked, wagged their tails then took off through the dog door. I was pretty sure there were no catfish laying around, but at the rate the crazy was going, who knew?

“One thing to remember,” Tim said. “Time runs differently on different planes. You are bound to Alana Catherine for twenty-four hours as we know time. I’d suggest you work with haste once you arrive at the destination.”

I nodded slowly and took that in. Keeping my daughter safe was paramount. I was not going to mess around. “Thank you, Tim.”

“Always, friend,” he replied with a warm smile.

“Are you ready, Daisy?” Gideon asked, still sounding stressed.

Glancing down at Alana Catherine, I smiled. “You ready, baby?”

“Mamamama,” she yelled before she stuck her thumb into her mouth and cuddled close.

“I’m ready too, Daisy girl,” Gram shouted from somewhere in my midsection.

“Then I guess it’s time to go,” I said, reclining back on the couch. “I love everyone in this room. I’m going to do this. I’m going to beat the Higher Power at Its own game.”

“Not alone, you’re not,” Gram added. “That’s why you got me and sweet Alana Catherine.”

“Not alone,” I amended. “And after, I’m coming right back home.” I closed my eyes and then opened them, looking straight at my husband. “And when I get back, we’re going on our damned honeymoon, come hell or high water. You hear me, Reaper?”

“Loud and clear, Counselor. I’ll have you packed and ready,” he replied with a sweet kiss to both me and our child. “You will be cautious. You will be smart. And you will come home to me. Period. Nothing else is acceptable.”

“Roger that, bossy man,” I said with a smile as I realized I was tired.

Going to sleep wasn’t going to be a problem.

The rest of the journey? I was about to find out.