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It was time to get the audience involved.
“Moon, hum,”I directed as I dropped kicked Corny into Jonny.
The tune was barely audible over the shouts and vicious insults from me and my people, but it did the trick. The flaming assholes’ gazes went blank, and they began to advance. Moon’s talent was impossible for them to escape.
“Stop!” Pandora commanded. “I want them to end each other. Better for ratings.”
They didn’t listen. The pull of Moon’s magical song was too much.
The battle grew vicious. I’d taken a claw to the face but had kicked the flaming asshole’s balls up into his esophagus. It only stopped him for thirty seconds. He came at me like a nuclear weapon. All of my people were bleeding, and a few body parts had been ripped off. I wasn’t sure who was missing appendages. There was no time to assess the situation without getting decapitated. That scene wasn’t in this movie.
We’d battled long enough to make it look real.
“Lipsticks. NOW,”I shouted in their minds.
On cue, Corny, Jonny, Stella, Irma, Moon and I tased the flaming assholes. They went down with loud thuds. Pandora’s confusion at the turn of events set her off. She glowed a blinding silver and grabbed my father by the neck.
“What is happening?” she bellowed as she began to choke the life out of Bill Bloom.
“Beg for mercy. NOW,”I directed.
I reassessed my idea that they were bad actors. My ragtag crew gave Oscar-worthy performances.
“Oh, beautiful Goddess Pandora,” Irma cried out, throwing herself at Pandora’s feet. She was missing a leg and an arm. “I beg of you to take me back. I worship you. I have lived in agony and devastation without you.”
“You killed my most trusted generals,” she hissed, electrocuting Irma.
“No,” Irma screamed, writhing on the ground in pain. “They’re not dead, just incapacitated. I swear. It was self-defense. You saw it.”
Pandora considered Irma’s words as she squeezed harder on my father’s neck. It took effort I didn’t know I possessed to not stop the scene and end her. Abaddon had told me I wasn’t capable of ending her. I knew with all my heart he was wrong.
“My Goddess Pandora,” Corny said in a trembling voice I’d never heard him use. “I am your humble servant. I don’t care about winning the prize. I just want to win back your trust.”
He crawled on all fours to her feet. She kicked him in the head with her stiletto-clad heels, but he crawled back for more.
Jonny, Moon and Stella followed their fellow actors’ leads and begged for forgiveness. The shitty whore bought it hook, line and sinker.
I stood across the room, separated from my people. I schooled my face in an expression of disdain for the weak Demons who pled for her acceptance at her feet.
Pandora’s gaze met mine. Her eyes narrowed to slits… then she smiled. “Guess you lose, Cecily Bloom. The prize goes to my people.” She waved her hand. “What say you, we turn off the cameras and let the end play out a mystery?”
The whir of the cameras ceased. My stomach cramped. Abaddon, Lilith and Dagon could no longer see the feed. The Demon I loved, my mother, and the other Demon I considered a friend were in the dark. If they came too early, Man-mom would die. If they came too late, I would.
I was about to be on my own.
The heinous Goddess tossed my father to the Demons, groveling at her feet. She was so focused on me that she didn’t see their grins of delight. Once I spotted Man-mom wrapped in Corny’s embrace, I gave the final direction to the actors inAesop’s Assholes. The movie would continue, but their roles were being retired. I didn’t know how the film would end, but I knew how the current scene was about to play out.
“Plot twist,”I said in a brook-no-bullshit tone.“All of you are leaving now. Pandora wants me, not you. You’re my people, and I won’t let you die.”
My little army's looks of shock and distress were real.
“No, negotiating,”I said sternly.“The minute Corny leaves with my dad, the jig is up. You will obey me. I’m the director and your Goddess. If I bite it, tell Abaddon I love him. Send Candy Vargo a thank you note for the toothpicks and for believing that I was a badass from the get-go. Tell my dad, my brother and dead Uncle Joe that I’ll try to come back as a ghost. Tell my agent Cher that I want her to represent all of you. Let Fifi and Ophelia know that they can have my house and get Fifi some earplugs to block out Ophelia’s snoring. I’m proud to call you my friends. You’re truly amazing Demons. It’s an honor to be your Goddess. And most importantly, hug Lilith and tell her it’s from me. She’ll understand.”
Moon had tears running down her face. Even with the Botox, I could see Stella was devastated. Corny held my dad close and nodded in respect to me.
Irma couldn’t contain herself. “That’s a fuck ton to remember, bitch,” she shrieked. “I’m not good at memorization.”
“I’m an excellent thespian,” Jonny yelled. “I have taken mental note of everything. It shall be done.”
