“All right, then they both die.” Maury nodded at the bald man, who began marching toward the women.
“Wait. Wait.” Zac raised his hands.
“Yes…?” Maury’s eyes glowed with utter delight.
“Fine. I’ll choose.” But which one? He still didn’t know for sure who was who.
Okay, think.
If Gola died, and it was really Gola inside, she would just come back through one of their demon portals. Reborn.
But if Tula’s body went into the fire, that was it for Tula. No matter where her soul was at this very moment, Tula could never come back. She couldn’t get a new body. He had to save it.
But what if that’s the choice Maury is expecting me to make? If Zac had learned one thing through all this, it was that you couldn’t trust a demon. Especially this one. He was always two steps ahead.
The same tickle erupted on his neck. He swatted it away. Fucking mosquitos. He felt a prick on his neck.
Wait. Mosquitos don’t bite gods. We don’t smell right to them. He looked to his side and spotted a faint shimmer. Minky? What was she doing here? She’d been sent to the underworld with the explosion.
Zac’s mind began to sprint. However Minky had gotten free, she was here trying to tell him something. But what?
He didn’t know if unicorns loved like people or gods did, but Minky had always had a thing for him. When he refused her love, it broke her heart. But he belonged to Tula, and there was no amount of rainbow sparkles that could change that. Still, Minky’s affections had been real.
Now she was trying to warn him.
“I don’t know,” Zac yelled to Maury.
“What?”
“I don’t know,” he repeated, stalling for time. “The thing is, I have grown to like Gola. Yes, she leaves a slug trail of drool everywhere she goes, and her looks are not what any non-demon would call sexy, but I feel a genuine sense of affection for her. And Tula, well, I look at her and my mind sees my mate, the woman the Universe chose for me, but I can’t lie. I don’t know if it’s her. I don’t feel sparks and fireworks when we touch.”
“You must choose one, Zac. Clock is ticking!” Maury urged the crowd to join in the pressure.
“Choose. Choose. Choose!” they chanted.
Okay, so Maury realllly wanted Zac to make a decision. But Zac knew demons were full of tricks. So either choice I make, I lose. Maury wants me to suffer no matter what. Because this was supposed to be entertaining, and demons wouldn’t enjoy Zac making the correct choice. “He wants me to suffer no matter what,” Zac muttered.
His neck tickled. Minky agrees.
In this moment, Zac heard his own words replaying in his mind. He had to trust in his love for Tula.
Like a bolt of lightning, the truth hit Zac. It was a fact he had overlooked, something so obvious he wanted to kick his own ass.
Tula’s heart was pure and honest. She would never be able to play along with the “show no love” charade he’d been witnessing today, because Tula was incapable of hiding her true feelings. For example, when they’d both been inside demon bodies and gone to that party back in LA, there had been no mistaking the look of love in Tula’s eyes when she’d spotted him across the room. Yes, it wasn’t really him, but she hadn’t known that. And at no point during those few days together had she been able to fake her emotions. Love, worry, heartbreak. Her heart was simply too big, too loving, too powerful. It drove everything she did.
Zac raised his chin. “I choose neither. They should both die.”
Maury’s smug grin melted away. “Both?”
“Yes. Both. Because if you’re asking me to save Tula, then by your own rules, I cannot choose either woman since neither is my mate.”
“How can you be so sure, Zac?” Maury asked as the crowd began to grumble discontentedly.
“Because I would know Tula,” Zac said. “I know her soul, her sweet smell, her laughter anywhere. Tula lights up a room in a way that you can feel in your bones. She is a force, not a person. So if you’re willing to play fair, like a real man, then present the real Tula, and I’ll make my choice. Unfortunately, right now, you’re just wasting everyone’s time with your ridiculous games. Games you’ve devised to impress and deceive everyone here into thinking you’re clever and smarter than the rest. In reality, you’re just a giant pussy, afraid to go head-to-head with a god. You’re afraid of losing. And if I’m wrong, prove it. Come down off that stage and show me how strong you are.” Zac drove his right fist into his left palm. That’s right, asshole. Bring it.
Maury mashed his lips together, and the crowd went deathly silent, everyone waiting to see what he would do. The gauntlet had been thrown, and if he wanted to keep his power, he had to accept the challenge.