"Do you already know what's coming or what will happen?" I asked, feeling stronger and more powerful with each passing second.
"No, but it's coming soon," she said and the other two nodded.
"I come from here," I said. "This is where I was born. It's why it feels familiar and it's why my father sent me back here."
"I think you're right," Janet said.
"There was an old lady who told me a story about a little girl named Dixie who died. That was me." I stood and paced. Was that little old lady my mother? She certainly didn't seem like someone my father would have mated with, but what the Hell did I know? It felt wrong, but I was going back there to find out. "Shit, as I figure it out, the ball starts rolling faster," I muttered. "Will this mean all the Angels and Demons will descend and wreak havoc?" Shitdamndamnballs. Again, I checked for balls. . .
“Relax your crack,” Myrtle rolled her eyes and scooted over next to me. “Very few immortals, Demonic or Angelic, can destroy you. . .but you, on the other hand, can do a buttload of damage to them.”
“It really would have been fucking awesome to have known this a little earlier." I shook my head in disgust.
Myrtle shrugged and grinned. I wanted to slap her. “Why do you think your father sent us with you?”
“So you could drive me insane?”
“Nooo,” Janet clapped her hands together in glee. Her cackle bounced around the room. I bit my lip to hide my smile. “Our gifts are different from other Demons,” she continued. “It’s why we were shunned in Hell.”
“We are caretakerth.” Carl climbed back on the bed, gauging my mood with caution. “Ath you can imagine, thath not a great quality for a Demon.”
I nodded and waited.
“We can read the intentions and powers of others,” Janet’s voice changed. For the first time I was aware of her true age. “That’s a dangerous power to have.” All of her mirth disappeared. “Most of our kind have been destroyed.”
“We behaved like circus show freaks in Hell,” Myrtle explained. “We were dismissed as weak, stupid and inconsequential. It was our cover.”
Wait,” I interrupted as I tried to piece their story together. “Why were you in therapy with me? Was that a set up?” I gasped. My head swirled with doubt and distrust.
“No!” Carl bellowed. “No thet up.” He rubbed his bald head, a sure sign of distress. “Dixthie, we have been athigned to you from birth. We were created hundredth of yearth ago for you.”
“We never knew our purpose until you were brought to Hell.” Janet grasped my arm, determined to make me understand. “When I saw you as a beautiful little toddler, it was the greatest day of my life.”
“We’ve stayed hidden most of our lives,” Myrtle said quietly. “To be recognized by our Lord and King as protectors to his most beloved child is an honor beyond anything we could have hoped or imagined for ourselves.”
“We love you, Dixthie,” Carl added shyly. “We will protect you and die for you.”
“So the volunteering in Hell to come with me to Earth?”
“Was just for show, in case any traitors were in the midst,” Janet said.
“Therapy?” I asked.
“So you could know us better,” Myrtle said.
I was speechless. As the pieces of my life puzzle clicked together I wanted to laugh. I stared at the three Demons waiting patiently on the bed for my reaction. My brain was racing with whys, hows, what ifs and WTFs. I took a deep breath and in a moment of both perfect calm and utter insanity. . .I decided to just go with it. One moment at a time.
“I love you guys too,” I told them.
“Thank Satan!” Janet giggled, expelling the breath she’d been holding. “Now that we have all that sorted out, there’s something odd I’ve noticed in Eden, Kentucky. The mortals here are not what they seem.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, hoping she could shed some light on Miss Evelyn and Rhonda.
“I haven’t been able to put my finger on it.” She sighed unhappily.
“Is there a species on Earth that I don’t know about?” I turned to Myrtle, the Keeper of Secrets. If anyone knew, she did.
“Shifters,” she said and my brain clicked so hard it hurt. “Mortals are mortals, but I do believe some of them possess significant magic.”
“Demonic or Angelic?” I asked.
“Neither,” she replied as she shrugged her shoulders.
I ran my hands through my tangled hair and realized I had a few very important visits to make today.
“So,” I said, examining the remarkable amount of chest hair on my comforter, “I have several people I need to surprise today. Is there anything else we should be doing?”
“We keep doing what we’ve been doing. . .going to school, fight training, planning the dance, having sex in the science closet with Timmy.” She smirked, but then on a dime turned deadly serious. “I believe the trouble will come to us. We don’t need to look for it.”
“Eden is neutral territory,” I reminded her as I wondered if I was going to have to throw my bedding away. I suppose I could take it outside and beat it before I washed it.
“Neutral won’t mean anything to pure evil. They will come,” Carl said, getting off my bed and putting on a t-shirt. Why in Satan’s name couldn’t he have covered the hair rug on his chest before he shed all over my bed?
“He’s right,” Janet added disgustedly. “True evil plays by no rules.”
“Everybody off the bed,” I instructed. “I don’t want to set any of you on fire.”
“What in the Hell are you going to do?” Myrtle asked, wasting no time removing herself from my bed.
“I’m going to use Black Magic to get rid of the massive gift from Carl that’s covering my sheets and making me want to hurl.” I eyeballed Carl who sheepishly grinned. "If I'm gonna save the world, I'd better be able to clean a comforter."
“Holy Baby Beelzebub.” Janet was in a panic. “Be careful and don’t blow up the house.”
She plastered herself against the wall and began inching her way towards the door.
“Janet, if you try to leave this room I will freeze you and zap you bald,” I calmly informed her.
She stopped and gave me a guilty smile. “Sorry,” she whispered contritely.
“No prob.”
I closed my eyes and began to chant, but this time it was different. I narrowed all the thoughts in my mind to encompass exactly what I wanted to happen. I let myself completely relax. . .I trusted myself.
I continued to chant and tried something else new. I opened my eyes. Maybe if I watched what I was doing, it might go a little better.
A glittering black mist mixed with lavender and gold engulfed my bed. It smelled of citrus and wind. It tickled and I scrunched my nose to stifle the sneeze that was threatening to escape. Myrtle, Janet and Carl’s eyes were wide with anticipation and a healthy dose of fear. I laughed with delight and reached out to run my hands through the mist. It was warm and silky.
I felt right and strong and joyous. I closed my eyes, raised my arms and stopped chanting. As good as I felt, I hesitated to open my eyes.
“Is it gone?” At the very least, I knew I hadn't blown up the house. I would have heard that.
“Yeth!” Carl shouted, tackling and tickling me.
I opened my eyes and screamed, trying to swat Carl away. Janet ran across the room and started bouncing on my clean hairless bed. It was utter chaos and I loved it.
“I’m so proud of you,” Janet trilled, jumping so high she touched the ceiling with each bounce.
I glanced over at Myrtle. She stood quietly against the wall, arms crossed with a wide, open smile on her pretty face. “You done good, my friend.”
Satisfaction and pride burst through me. I was happier than I’d been since coming to Earth.
"Myrtle, are shifters immortal?"
"Not sure. Why?"
"I was just curious."
“We can teach you many things.” Myrtle approached
the jump-fest on my bed. “But the trust part is all you. This may seem small,” she said as she referred to the hairless bedding. “However it’s really quite monumental. You can do what needs to be done as long as you trust yourself and believe.”
The room quieted and my friends curled up with me. A cool calm floated through my mind and for the first time I knew I could do it. Do what? I still had no real clue, but it was coming and I would be waiting. And I would win. Maybe Dad had picked the right Demon. . .
Eventually the Rogue Demons would arrive and wreak havoc. They wanted to kill God and Satan. They were currently in possession of the Sword of Death. That was going to change.
The Balance of Chaos was still a mystery to me. Was it a thing or a person or a state of mind? Maybe killing the Rogue Demons would restore the balance between good and evil. Could it be that simple? Not that killing Rogue Demons would be easy. . .And Cole? He was a sneaky fucker and I was sure he wasn't clean. Elijah? Another problem along with Miss Evelyn and Rhonda. They were part of the puzzle. But first things first.
"I have to go see a girl about a dog," I said as I eased off the bed and headed for the shower.
"Are we supposed to understand that?" Janet asked.
"Nope." I grinned. "It's my turn to be cryptic."
Chapter 29
She was easy to find as she flitted from the English building to the science labs. I wondered where her minions were, but it was far better to catch her alone. She adjusted a huge banner advertising the upcoming dance. "Get your boogie on at the Heaven vs Hell on Earth Dance" was block printed in black and red. I rolled my eyes at the utter unorginality, but what did I expect?
Most of the students had cleared the area and gone to class. Instinctually I scanned the grounds for danger. I was expecting a visit from Elijah soon. There was no way he wasn't going to show himself again. The campus was calm and I quietly approached Lucy from behind.
"Hey Steve," I said. "How you doing?"
Lucy froze.
"I was wondering if you had a moment, Steve."
She turned and grinned. "Took you long enough," she said as she looped her arm through mine and led us away from campus to a clump of trees.
I shook my head and removed her hand. "Were you going to tell me?"
"I was a little afraid because of the turning to dust rumor," she said as she plopped down on the ground at the base of a tree.
"That one's a bitch," I agreed. "Where are the Things?"
"Things?"
"Your fan club."
"Oh my God." She burst out laughing. "You named them the Things?"
"Yes. I did. It was far too complicated to remember their actual names. Where are they?"
"Well," she said, still laughing. "They found some tiny people and went car shopping."
My stomach descended to my toes. I dropped down to the ground next to Lucy and grabbed her by the shoulders. "What did the tiny people look like?" I demanded.
"Um. . .they were very cute in a hideous way. I'd have to say they looked like some of the characters from that show Friends. The other two looked like Abe Lincoln and Beyonce."
"Shit," I yelled. "Text the Things and tell them under no circumstances can they go to a car dealership or a strip club."
"Why?"
"They're baby Demons and they like to eat car salesmen," I snapped. I'd forgotten about my cousin's little friends. This was bad. Lucy quickly and frantically texted the girls to explain.
"Done. It's fine." She heaved a huge sigh of relief. "And just so you know there are no strip clubs in Eden.”
"How is it fine? How in the Hell will humans understand salesmen-eating baby Demons from Hell?" I stood and paced a tight circle around the tree. Astrid was going to have my butt. However it was good news to know I didn't have to worry about strip clubs.
"They're not mortal. Most of us in Eden are not human."
That stopped me.
"You're all shifters?"
"Yep. And you're a Demon."
"Can you tell by scent?" I asked her.
"No. It was when you saved my life."
"You knew I was in the room with you and your dad?" What kind of sight did these shifters have?
"No. No, I didn't know you were there. It was outside the shop when I had shifted to my wolf."
Hades, so much was making sense now—her healing and my feelings of paranoia about her knowledge.
"Dixie, you did save me."
"I just screwed with your father," I muttered. "He's a real asshole, by the way."
"True, but that's not what I meant," she said quietly.
The click was fast and it was painful. Hayden hadn't come for a wolf at all. He'd come for Lucy and he let me have her. Why did he let me keep her if it was her time to go?
"Lucy, if Hayden—I mean the Angel of Death, let you stay it means I need you."
"I figured—that's why I've kept following you. What's happening?" she asked as she paled a little. "That hot dude you crashed into the other day was an Angel, wasn't he?"
"Yep. And the dude who let you stay was an Angel."
"And your boyfriend?" she asked with raised brows and a smirk.
"Something like that," I admitted.
"Angels are hot. I would so date an Angel."
"Beware of what you wish for," I told her. "Can I ask you something else?"
"Sure."
"Why did you hate me so much in the beginning?"
"I was jealous. . .not of how pretty you are or anything so superficial. I'm not even sure I can find the words to explain. It was deep and it hurt. I still don't understand it."
I watched her inner struggle and I believed her. We were connected and I was going to find out how.
"Have you ever fought a Demon?" I asked. What good would she be to me if I got her killed?
"I'm not just a pretty face," she snapped and tossed her blonde hair. "I've never had the opportunity to fight a Demon, but I'm deadly around Rogue shifters."
"Are there Rogues in every freakin' species?"
Of course there were. That was how balance was met. The problems cropped up when evil or good outweighed each other. My guess was that evil was winning at the moment. . .but why?
"Looks that way," she said as she stood and shifted back and forth on her feet. "What's next?"
"Do the Things know about me?"
"No. For some reason I told no one about you."
"Good," I said as I grabbed her arm and led her to my car. "Let's pay a visit to your owner."
She blanched and violently pulled her arm from my grasp. Damn she was strong. "I won't go to my father. Never again."
"I wasn't talking about your father, I was talking about Miss Evelyn and Rhonda."
She paused and tilted her head to the side. "I only met the old ladies two weeks ago when they showed up. They don't own me."
WTH? Just when things start adding up they begin to fall apart. Shit. "But I assumed. . ."
"Don't assume—makes an ass out of you and me." She giggled and punched me in the arm.
"Oh my Hell." I groaned and punched her back. "You're a dork. Why did you go to them then? I wanted to keep you."
"I can leave them and shift back to my human version. I wouldn't have been able to do that as easily with you. You seemed kind of needy." She grinned and shrugged. I wanted to deck her, but she was correct. "Plus, there's something about them that I'm wildly attracted to. Especially Miss Evelyn."
I was wildly attracted too.
"She has two daughters," I mumbled and then grabbed my head as the headache blossomed quickly.
"Are you okay?" She gasped as I dropped to my knees.
"Been better," I shot back sarcastically as the pain in my head slowly receded.
"How do you know she has two daughters?"
"She told me."
"And you think we. . ."
"Yes, I think," I hissed. "And if there was any doubt the explosion in my cranium has put it to rest."
"Oh my God. You'
re my sister? Who's your dad?"
"Satan."
She paled considerably and I laughed. "According to most he's really hot and he's not as evil as reported. Oh, and while we're dissecting family trees. . .my other sisters are the Seven Deadly Sins."
"Fuck to the no," she choked out. "I'm related to the Seven Deadly Sins?"
"Technically no, but you can certainly have them if you want them. They're a pain in my ass."
"This is a lot to take in," she whispered.
"Yep." I grinned. "And that's only the beginning."
Chapter 30
"She left? That's impossible," I told the little chicken-eating senior citizen, Miss Sally. "She didn't say goodbye."
"Oh sweetienumnum, I'm so sorry. Was she your grandma?" she asked kindly.
"No. She was just someone I think I used to know."
What did I do now? Lucy stood trembling beside me. Was she going to cry?
"Did Miss Evelyn or Rhonda leave a forwarding address?" she inquired icily. She wasn't going to cry. She was furious.
"Um no, little one. I'm afraid she didn't," Miss Sally said, either ignoring Lucy's ire or not noticing it. "I have to go to pottery class. Would you pretty gals like to join me?"
"No, but thanks. We have to go."
"Well, come back and see me, Dixie." She sighed and shook her head. "Such a tragedy. That little girl died too young."
"She's nuts," Lucy hissed in my ear.
"Isn't everyone?" I shot back. As Miss Sally wandered away, I called out to her. "How did little Dixie die?"
"She was taken by Angels—two of them. I saw it. They fought with each other like the Devil himself. The golden winged one beat the black winged one. The golden Angel won and he flew away with her. No one believes me, but I saw it."
"What the fuck?" Lucy mumbled and I elbowed her.
"Was the child scared?" I asked.
Miss Sally considered me for a moment to decide if I was making fun of her. She shook her head in confusion. "No. She wrapped her little arms around his neck, kissed his cheek and laid her head on his chest. Her poor mother saw the whole thing. She stood there paralyzed and cried. Eve was a good woman. She just broke after the Angels took her baby."
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