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“It’s showtime, folks,” I whispered as the butterflies in my stomach came back with a vengeance.
I didn’t look to Abaddon to tell me how to proceed. I didn’t ask Ophelia to have my back. I had no intention of asking my agent to represent me on this job. And I wasn’t going to command Sushi to take out any naysayers with a bang. Pun intended.
I was going with my gut. I was in charge. If the Demons didn’t believe it, there was no way I would earn their trust. We faced the palace, but I was very aware we were not alone. Slowly turning around, I let my gaze sweep over the valley below.
I didn’t have to worry about callingmypeople. They were already here.
The sea of stunning male and female Demons appeared endless. Thousands of them had gathered on the other side of the moat. The expressions on the faces I could see were ones of wariness and sorrow.
“Is it true that the Goddess Lilith has perished?” a booming voice from the crowd bellowed.
The acoustics in the Darkness were outstanding. The man’s voice echoed like we were in a canyon. I glanced around for speakers or a mic, but there was nothing.
I stepped forward and addressed the masses. “It’s true.”
The wails and screams of the Demons tore at my heart. I’d felt the very same way when I’d held her dead body in my arms.
I kept going and let my voice boom and carry across the valley. “The Goddess Lilith is dead. The human Lilith remains.”
The crowd went silent. I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad, but I definitely had their attention.
“I’m Cecily Bloom. Daughter of Lilith.”
“Lies. Heresy,” a female in the front hissed. “We would have known. She would have told us. You shall be put to death.”
My eyes narrowed to slits, and the woman backed away. I realized with an almost inaudible gasp that I was glowing. Whatever. That was the least of my worries at the moment. The asshole in the front just called for my death. I was getting really sick and tired of people wanting to kill me.
“Would you have known?” I demanded. She couldn’t look at me. “WOULD YOU HAVE?”
“If it’s true then you killed the Goddess,” another shouted. “You wanted her power and riches. You murdered her for it.”
I rolled my eyes and electrocuted the jerk. I needed to say my piece without worrying if someone would charge across the bridge and try to lop my head off. I didn’t think. I just went with my gut. Waving my hands, I froze every single Demon in front of me. I was shocked it worked. So were they. Sadly, it didn’t work on their mouths. The shouts and insults were loud, plentiful and profane. I hoped that I hadn’t inadvertently frozen Abaddon, Ophelia, Cher and Sushi, but I couldn’t look back. My future was in front of me… even though I didn’t really want it. Being in charge of a bunch of dicks wasn’t my idea of a good time.
“Here’s the deal,” I snapped. “I love my mother. She loves me. She kept both me and all of you in the dark my entire life until recently. It was for my safety and, ultimately, yours. So… you’re stuck with me.”
“What qualifications do you have?” a man yelled out from the back somewhere.
The short answer was none, but I didn’t think that would go over very well. The phrase the truth will set you free came to mind… It was also a whole lot easier to remember the truth than lies. However, it could also end in bloodshed—mine.
Facts. I would go with the undisputable facts.
“I’m a direct bloodline of Lilith. Her wish is that I take her place as your goddess. It’s my birthright to do so,” I said as my mind raced for something impressive. Shit. Improv wasn’t my thing. Didn’t matter. I was here to do the fuck out of it. If I’d been even an iota aware of the word salad I was about to vomit up, I would have cut my losses and run.
Hindsight is twenty-twenty.
“I’ve singlehandedly ended the existence of quite a few flaming assholes.” The crowd looked confused. Crap. “Umm… I went after the Shitty Whore and came very close to taking her out. Which I’m aware is a big no-no, but she had killed my mother.”
“Wait,” a gorgeous female at the end of the bridge shouted. “What is a flaming asshole, and who’s a shitty whore?”
“You’re a shitty whore,” another female next to her snarled.
I electrocuted the bitchy one. The other gal asked a good question. Ignoring that the rude one was on fire, I addressed the more polite of the two Demons, though polite might be a stretch. At least, she wasn’t being nasty.
“A flaming asshole is one who’s loyal to Pandora. Shitty Whore is what I call Pandora.”
The crowd went from hostile to… well, I wasn’t sure what to call it. They started laughing, and they couldn’t stop. I was pretty sure they were laughing at me and not with me, but it was better than having my life threatened. I did feel kind of bad that Bitchy Demon was consumed in flames. Wiggling my fingers, I doused the fire. Of course, I drenched her so she wasn’t quite so stunning.
“More,” the Demons yelled in unison. “More. More!”
