“Oh, please. If your mom knew what we were doing, she would insist on seeing you too and would probably bring you a fucking packed lunch, so shut it. Maybe I’ll give her a little call and let her know what her baby boy is up to...” Echo threatens.
“Don’t you dare,” Jerif growls out menacingly.
“Echo, quit antagonizing Jerif. Jerif, stop pretending like you don’t talk to your parents every day and wouldn’t like to see them. Crux, we all know you voted the way you did because you do want to show off, so let’s not make-believe otherwise,” Iceman states smoothly and clearly over the bickering.
“What vote?” I chime in, too curious to stop myself.
“Rafferty and Jerif voted to get in and out as fast as possible,” Echo tells me, his tone seductive. “You should remember that’s how they like to do things in the future,” he adds with a smirk that I can hear rather than see.
Flames flicker to life low in my stomach, but I pull out a fire extinguisher and smother them as quickly as possible.
“Echo and I voted to start with the other Rings first,” Crux tells me over his shoulder.
“Yeah, because you paid him off or something. Echo doesn’t have anyone to show off to. We all know this bullshit plan is all you, Crux,” Jerif accuses.
Everyone grows quiet. The statement about Echo not having anyone circles awkwardly around us. Tension rolls off of Crux’s back, and I feel Echo stiffen behind me. Jerif just lanced a serious nerve, and the threads connecting the demons all around me suddenly feel volatile and brittle. What a dick move.
“So what do you do in the event of a tie?” I ask woodenly, in an effort to quell the silent agitation.
“We asked Strut to vote,” Iceman answers.
“Strut? Who the hell is that? Another Guardian?”
“No, he’s our butler. Did he not introduce himself to you?” Iceman inquires, concerned.
I snort. “Um, between calling me the help, telling me I’m not allowed to come through the front door, and judging my ability to leave an epic mess in my wake, no. He dispensed with the pleasantries.”
Strut, I repeat in my head. The name suits the guy, but not nearly as much as Grumpy Lurch does. He’ll always be GL to me.
“I think when he voted to have you go through more Rings, he was just hoping you’d get snatched somewhere in Hell and never return to muddy his floors again,” Jerif announces over his shoulder, killing the happy thoughts I was just having about Grumpy Lurch and all the ways I’ll probably piss him off when I’m inducted as a Guardian.
I scowl. As soon as I get back, I’m releasing a bunch of dirty pigs in the mansion and leaving GL to deal with the aftermath. He wants me to get snatched, well, I’ll show him. I am Swamp Thing, hear me roar.
While I’m thinking about how many pigs it would take to make GL squeal, I accidentally miss a step on the stairs. I go tipping over sideways, interrupting my inner evil laugh. I yank back on Crux’s pants with a white-knuckled grip, but I’m pretty sure he’s not only not going to catch me, but I’m also about to take him with me right over the edge as I tumble into the depths of Hell and probably die.
Fuck my life. This is not how I saw things ending.
21
“Stop screaming and open your eyes, Delta! You’re fine, I caught you, but you have to stop panicking or you’re really gonna make yourself fall,” Echo grunts.
My lids pop open, and I see Echo has caught me by my shirt and is straining to hold onto me. He’s lying fully on his stomach, his fist closed around the fabric. I look down, realizing that I’m hanging off the side of the railless stairs. I immediately start to panic again.
“Oh God, oh God!” I chant, at a loss for what else to say when you’re almost certain you’re about to fall to your death.
“None of the Gods can come down here and help you, so how about you stop invoking them and grab Rafferty’s hand so he can pull you back onto the stairs before you make Echo lose his grip on you,” Jerif barks at me from above.
His tone is stern enough that it makes my eyes fly up to his, and my panicked parroting cuts off. As soon as our gazes lock, I see the orangish flames in his irises flickering, and I take a shaky breath, his angry tone both pissing me off but also quelling my fear enough to make me react.
Iceman is lying on his belly too, his hand reaching down as far as he can without tipping over. I don’t know how Echo reacted fast enough to grab me, but hanging over the edge with nothing but my cotton tank top to save me from impending death is not comforting.
“Focus,” Jerif snaps again, regaining my attention. “We can’t grab you unless you reach up. So unless you want to hang there all damn night, get your fucking head together and grab Raf’s hand.”
“God, you’re a dick,” I whisper shakily, my scythe tapping against my thigh as we both hang. Thank fuck the belt is holding it.
“Yep, now stop fucking around.”
Fucking around? I have never wanted to junk punch a guy so much in my entire life.
Like the thought of doing just that propels me, I gain enough courage to twist and strain up, reaching for Iceman’s blue hand. Crux is on the other side of Echo, looking like he’s ready to jump right off the stairs if I fall, his green eyes wide and his muscles bunched with tension.
Just as I manage to snag the tip of Iceman’s cold fingers, I slip again, my body jerking back as my tank top twists. I go spinning with
