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Joyce woke with a start. She heard screaming. She sat up on the bed and realized it was Jodie. She turned and moved up the bed. She took hold of Jodie.
“Wake up,” she commanded her daughter.
Jodie’s body was hot, and the crystal was glowing under Jodie’s shirt.
“JODIE!”
As she shook her, Joyce began to panic.
The screaming stopped, and Joyce held tight to Jodie. Jodie’s eyes popped open and started to roll back into her head.
Joyce shook her again. Finally, Jodie came awake.
“Momma?”
She stared at her mother.
“Are you okay?”
Jodie looked around. She was safe and sound in her room.
“I...I think so. Why are you holding on to me?”
Joyce let go of her.
“You were screaming!”
Jodie felt her chest were the crystal was. It was hot.
“I was having a bad dream.”
Skull and Jax heard screaming and ran to the bedroom. Jax threw open the bedroom door.
“Is everything okay” Jax asked as both males looked around the room.
“I just had a bad dream.”
They all looked at Jodie.
“I’m fine, I swear.”
Jax and Skull both saw the glowing under her shirt.
“If you’re okay, then why is that glowing?”
The power coming off the crystal was so strong both could feel it.
Jax wanted to reach out and touch her. He felt himself being drawn to the crystal. Jax started to reach out to her and Skull took hold of him.
“Don’t,” Skull whispered to Jax.
“I can’t help it. I just want to touch it.”
“Trust me, if you try anything, you’ll end up dead. Control yourself.”
Jax stepped back.
Joyce looked at them and then back to Jodie.
“What was your dream about?”
Jodie wasn’t sure how to explain it, but she knew it was real.
“I was in golden room, and there were these two demons. I’d been there before. I think it was from my story.”
Jodie tried to put all the pieces together.
Skull’s head cocked.
“Golden room? Did it have large black curtains?”
Jodie nodded. Skull and Jax both went slack jawed for a moment.
“You were dreaming of Rall’s throne room.”
“How can that be I’ve never...”
Skull cut her off.
“You created the world, so you have been there.”
Jodie sat up more on the bed and looked at him.
“It’s not all the same as I made it though.”
Skull was puzzled he looked at Jax.
“What do you mean?”
“There was a statue that should have been in the throne room. The First Demon is what it was called.”
Jax had no idea about a statue. He looked at Skull. Skull tried to remember anything about a First Demon.
“I don’t recall anything in any books I’ve read on the history of Dolareg about a statue called the First Demon.”
Jodie rubbed her face with her hands.
“Okay.”
Jodie knew that statue was important but couldn’t remember why.
“How long was I asleep?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
Skull hadn’t been keeping track.
“Okay.”
Jodie’s chest still felt warm from the crystal. It didn’t hurt, just felt warm. It was odd. Jodie slipped off the side of the bed. She was starving; her stomach growled at her loudly. Putting her hand over it she looked at her mother.
“We need to go to the pawn shop and get the last book back they have of Daddy’s.”
Joyce was hurt she’d sold Mitch’s stuff, but she said nothing about it.
“Okay sweetie.”
Joyce got up also.
“We should eat before we do anything else.”
Skull’s mind went right to the other horrible things in the jar.
“I hope not those things in the jar. They were foul.”
Jax looked at him.
“You ate something in a jar? Was the jar good?”
“No, in the jar, not the jar with something in it.”
Jax made an Oh face.
“The cookies in the jar were wonderful,” Joyce said.
“Whatever you say Joyce!”
Skull shook his head.
“I want to try them.” Jax never turned away food. And if he could swallow a whole human, fur and all, why not something called a cookie?
They all headed to the kitchen. As they went past the cookie jar Jodie picked up. She set it down in her kitchen. Her kitchen wasn’t anything fancy. The floor was hardwood like the rest of the house and the walls of the kitchen were black and white checkered wallpaper. It didn’t match the rest of the house, but she wasn’t about to change it. She thought about Terry.
“It gives the place character.”
Terry put his arm around Jodie’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry, doll. No man is going to really look at your walls. They will be more worried about you giving them food poisoning.”
Jodie shoved him away playfully. “One time I gave us food poisoning. I didn’t know you could make yourself sick with salad. This is why I don’t eat it. You can’t even trust lettuce. I told you from the first bite of it. It tasted like I’d rather be fat.”
The memory made Jodie smile, though tears started to creep up on her. Her mother came up beside her in the kitchen. Joyce put her hand on her back.
“You okay?”
“Sure, Momma. I’m fine. Let’s see what we can find for food. I was going to go shopping this weekend.”
Jodie wiped her eyes and went to the fridge to open it. Jax and Skull stared at her. She opened the door wide, looked inside, and turned to the pair.
“I don’t have much. I’ve got some lunch meat, and some left-over pizza. That’s about it.”
Both males looked at each other. They had no idea what any of that was really. Especially not what it tasted like. Skull was nervous to try anything else from here.
“Jodie, we can’t all eat that. Don’t you have anything in the freezer?”
Joyce asked this, even though she knew her daughter didn’t like to cook unless she had to. That was a shame, since Jodie was a great cook. Mitch always took Jodie into the kitchen with him to teach her how to make things.
Jodie closed the fridge door and opened the freezer. Joyce hoped she’d see a roast and some other good things, but all she saw was ice cream and other junk.
Joyce used Jodie’s full name. Jax and Skull looked her.
“I think you’re in trouble.”
“What Momma? It’s just me here. I don’t need to prepare for the end of the world.”
As she said that Jodie started to laugh.
“Well I guess I do. Who knew my mother was right.”
She laughed as she held on to the door of the freezer.
Her laughter turned to tears for a moment.
“If we live, I promise to keep a ham in there.”
Joyce patted her on the back.
“Good girl. “
She said nothing about the tears. She knew her daughter was trying to hold it all together, and she wouldn’t let her think anything else other than she was doing a good job at it. Jodie took out two frozen pizzas and put them in the oven.
Jax looked at the box the pizza came in.
“So, you don’t eat it’s skin?”
He held the box up and looked inside it. He sniffed it. It had no real smell to it.
“I can see why.”
He put the box down. Both ladies chuckled.
“It’s not a skin. It’s a box. It’s what it comes in.”
“Right, like a skin.”
“Okay, like a skin.”
“And you thought I couldn’t teach them anything Skull.”
Jodie looked offended. Skull shook his head.
“I never said that.”
Jax laughed.
“I’m kidding. I’m not as stupid as he looks.”
Joyce laughed. It took a moment for Skull to catch on.
“Very much!”
Skull rolled his eyes. For a few minutes Jodie felt normal, though reality was anything but. She had two demons in her kitchen, her best friend was dead, her dog was missing, and the end was near. It sounded like a bad movie. Once the pizzas were done Jodie took them out and cut them.
Jax and Skull hadn’t ever smelled anything like it before. They looked at each other, puzzled.
“What is this stuff again?”
Jax touched the pan and growled as he burnt himself.
“It’s hot. Be careful,” Joyce scolded him.
“It’s called pizza,” Jodie said as she placed it on plates for each of them.
“I don’t know if I want to try it. The cookies traumatized me.” Skull’s face still got a little green when he thought of his cookie experience.
“I want to try one of these cookies.” Jax wanted to understand why Skull disliked the cookies.
Joyce got the jar and opened it for Jax to try a cookie. He put his hand into the jar and picked up a cookie with his claws. He gave it a sniff. It smelled okay to him. Skull, on the other hand, could not hide the fact his face turned a new shade of green. Joyce and Jodie both smirked.
Jax put the whole cookie into his mouth and started chewing. It was a weird texture and taste, but he liked it. A wide smile appeared on his face.
“These are great.”
“What?” Skull was shocked.
“I like them.”
“Are you mad? They are horrible.”
Jax put the jar in Skull’s face.
“Give it a try.”
“Pass.”
Skull pushed the jar away.
“Come on you two. Let’s eat the pizza before it gets cold.”
Jodie sat down at the small kitchen table. The others joined her. Jax did his best but his large size didn’t really fit the chair, so he stood. Skull took the pizza from the plate. He wasn’t sure about it at all, as he felt the heat from it on his hand. He took a bite of it and let it sit in his mouth a moment. The cheese was almost too hot for him, but it wasn’t bad. Much better than the cookies. He looked at Jax who fumbled with the pizza. With his huge mouth he tried to take small bites. It wasn’t working. Finally, he just crammed it all in his mouth.
Skull laughed as he watched him.
Jodie asked the two how it was as she got them all paper towels.
“I like it.”
Jax nodded in agreement.
“Yes, its good.”
“Good. Once we eat, we can decide who is doing what.”
Jodie wiped her mouth as she tried to decide the best plan of action. Joyce wanted to go to the pawn shop and get the book, but she wasn’t sure if Jodie would let her go with her, or with whoever went to get the book. She would love to hold something of her husband’s. Everything she had of his was in the nursing home, and for all she knew it was burnt to ash.
She teared up as she thought about that possibility. She sniffed back tears and took the paper towel that Jodie put down for her. She wiped her eyes and finished her pizza.
Once they were all finished eating Jodie decided she and Skull would go get the book from the pawn shop.
“Skull I want you to come with me to the pawn shop.”
Jax arched a brow at them.
“What if something happens? How is he gonna keep you safe?”
Skull sat back in his chair and wiped his hands on the paper towel he’d been playing with and shrugged.
“I don’t think having a demon going in with her would be smart. And if I were you, I would remember the mission. Who out ranks who here!?”
Jax growled at him.
“Rank doesn’t matter here. If anything happens to her...”
Skull leaned forward and put his elbows on the table. He looked at Jax who stood behind Jodie.
“I understand the danger. Do not act like I don’t.”
“Don’t start fighting. If I’m the Creator, you’ll do as I say. I want Skull to come with me. You two can have a pissing contest later.”
Jodie got her purse and other things. She started for the front door. Skull got up and followed her.
Jax didn’t like it. As those two left he looked over at Joyce.
“Well, I guess you and I are gonna get to work on my own little project.”
Jax didn’t like the tone of her voice or the look in her eye. Joyce Hamlon had been making her own plans as they ate, and she was about to put them into action.