Accidentally…Over? (Accidentally Yours #5)(48)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Why did Máax have the distinct feeling that Cimil was putting on a show? Because she is a horrible liar. Yes, she was up to something. Perhaps the entire prophecy thing had been a ploy. Wouldn’t surprise him at this point, honestly.

Ashli’s gaze fell to the floor. “Is it true that we are all going to die? All because of me?”

“I do not believe so,” Máax said. “I believe that—”

“Yes! Yes! It’s true!” Cimil squawked. “After earthquake number ten, the gods go to war with each other. Within seven months, we completely destroy the planet.”

Ashli flashed a glance over her shoulder at Cimil. “That must be your sister.”

“Ashli, do not listen to her. Cimil is not trustworthy,” he said.

“Oh”—Ashli poked his chest—“but you are? You lied to me. Lied. And aren’t you the God of Truth? Aren’t you supposed to be incapable of lying?”

“If you’d simply allow me to—”

“No.” She held up her hand. “I don’t want to hear another word. I should have known better, but it’s my own damned fault. I allowed myself to be taken in by you and your—your godly hotness. I’m an idiot.” She threw up her hands. “I actually allowed myself to dream this could work, that we could have a life together. And now you’re saying that my being here is a death sentence for the entire planet?”

“Not exactly. Prophecies are very difficult to interpre—”

“I want to go back,” Ashli said. “And not just to my house, but to my own time. We have to undo this!”

Go back? Yes, he’d made her immortal, but she wasn’t indestructible. She was more like a vampire who might live forever as long her body wasn’t destroyed. Gods were the only true immortals in existence. “You cannot return to your time.” Bottom line, she might be fine. She might not. But why take the risk? What for? They would find another way to stop the clock.

The smell of anger wafted from Ashli’s body. Yeah, he had to admit, it turned him on.

Maledicta, is there anything about this woman I don’t like?

“You made me immortal, didn’t you?” Ashli looked at Cimil. “I’m safe now, right?”

Cimil shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. Except on Fridays. My guessing sucks on Fridays. Because that’s when I go to happy hour. It’s such a distraction when hot wings and onion rings are complimentary with a purchase of a pint. Yanno what I mean?”

The vampires and Uchben soldiers exchanged glances and then nodded and mumbled in agreement.

“See.” Cimil grinned.

“Today is Friday,” said Kinich.

“Oops,” Cimil said cheerfully, “I guess the guessing store is closed today. Or not. ’Cause I just guessed.”

“Ashli,” Máax pleaded. “Do not listen to Cimil. We will find a way to make everything right.”

“I hope you are certain about that, brother,” Kinich argued. “Because now the prophecy will go unfulfilled, and we are almost out of time. You’ve gambled with the lives of everyone, including those of our children. By the way, can anyone explain why I have the sudden urge to write a song about puppies and cute little chipmunks? Anyone?”

“Have you all gone mad?” Máax argued. “Have you? We all know by now that Cimil isn’t to be trusted. Hell, she doesn’t even trust herself half the time. Just ask Roberto.”

This was the only perk about being invisible: intelligence gathering. Máax had long ago begun to suspect that Cimil was up to something and began spying on her. Of course, he never could have imagined the shocking truth. Cimil had aided the gods’ enemies—those evil Mayan priests, the Maaskab, and evil vampires called Obscuros. She’d also poisoned Chaam with dark energy and used him to do her evil bidding. Again and again, she’d masterminded unspeakable atrocities. But then Máax discovered something else. There was an odd cosmic method to her cataclysmic madness. Yes, when one stepped back—really, really far back—one began to see that those seemingly unconnected, malicious events she’d orchestrated weren’t random at all. One might even go as far as saying that Cimil was the yin of the Universe’s yin and yang. Good always seemed to blossom from the rubble she left behind. But that did not mean she could be trusted.

Roberto crossed his arms. His dark eyes and the angular planes of his face matched his hard-boiled personality. “It is true. In fact, Cimil is the bringer of the apocalypse.”

A collective gasp erupted from everyone inside the prison.

Cimil shrugged. “I’m a complex creature. What can I say?” She looked behind her and stared at the vacant corner of her cell. “I’m not talking to you, Twinkie twat, now am I?”

“Ashli.” Máax cautiously took her hand. “I know you are upset, but I want to explain my actions—”

“You’ve sentenced everyone to death,” Kinich challenged. “There is no explaining that.”

“What would you have me do?” Máax snarled. “Tell me, brother! Would you shove Penelope and your unborn child into a burning volcano if it meant saving the world?” He paused. “How about you, Niccolo? Would you let Helena, the mother of your child, die for the good of humanity? Or would you fight like hell to find another way to stop the end of days?”

The couples looked at each other, their eyes filled with sadness.

“You are right, brother.” Kinich took Penelope’s hand. “I would not give her up. I would find another way.” His brother Votan and sister Ixtab agreed.

Yes, they understood.

“That is the path I have chosen,” Máax added. “There is nothing I will not do for Ashli. Nothing. And I will fight until my last breath to keep her from dying, including in an apocalypse. What I do not understand is why my brethren will not fight by my side when I have sacrificed everything to come to your aid time and time again.”

“He is right,” Votan, the God of Death and War, said. “He has selflessly put himself in harm’s way. Repeatedly. We love you. In fact, I too feel the urge to write a song. But about you, our brother.”

One might think that Votan was joking, but he wasn’t. What the hell had gotten into everyone?

Must be the apocalyptic vibe in the air messing with everyone’s heads.

“This is all wonderful. I’m touched. Truly touched,” Ashli fumed. “But I won’t be writing any songs in your honor because I want nothing to do with you, Máax. Take me home. This time, I mean it. I was an idiot to trust you. And it’s a mistake I’ll never make again.”