4. Chapter Four
Chapter Four
Scotty
“What do we call you?” I was staring at one of the Broks left with us. It was identical to the hellhound who protected and escorted Beelzebub, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“I’m Brokorol. You may call me Brok.” He bowed as the other Brok had done when we met him.
“Oh, this won’t be confusing at all.” I glanced at the duplicate Brok. “Are you Brok, or was he Brok?”
“We are both Brok.”
I threw my hands in the air and laughed. “Okay. Well, Brok , can you track? Are you able to get a scent and then follow it to find the person it belongs to?”
“Yes, sir.”
I waited for him to give further details, but he simply stared at me. Of course my demon lover cracked up. I turned to him, begrudgingly grinning because Jay’s joy filled my soul. “Maybe we got the dumb one?”
Jay nodded, finally calming himself. “Okay. We’ll need something that belonged to Paxton De Vil so Brok here can track the little beast. Let’s go to Dearly arms opened wide. “It’s fantastic to see you.”
Jay joined me, hugging them. “Seriously, guys, how are you? How’s wedded bliss?”
Keir’s face flushed, which made me laugh a little. “It’s amazing. How about you? Are you two going to get married?”
I glanced at Jay, not exactly sure what to say.
“We’re bonded. That’s more than married. Our existence is tied to each other. If he dies, I die.”
That was something I hadn’t thought about. Back in my day, men couldn’t get married, and I had no family left to even care. Was that something I’d miss? I’d been to Keir and Dash’s wedding. Did I want the same celebration for Jay and me?
“Uh, yeah. We stopped by because we’re searching for Paxton De Vil. They—” I pointed to the Broks— “are trackers, so we have to find De Vil’s scent.”
“Wait. I thought De Vil was gone. Taken to Hell.” I turned to Dash.
“Yeah, uh, Nyx took him away, but we’re not sure he’s still in Hell.”
Jay spoke up. “Yeah, we think he was smuggled out. We were in Limbo, and we couldn’t find him anywhere. He’s escaped, and we need to track him down. He has information we need.”
“Be careful.” Keir stepped closer and touched my shoulder in such a compassionate way that I had to hug him. Keir Dearly was such a great person, it was pure luck that I’d been assigned to him. I’d never met a more generous person in my life or death.
“We will.”
Dash nodded in support. “So, are you back for good? Are you staying topside now?”
“We’re not exactly sure. Did De Vil happen to leave anything behind that the Broks could use?” I pointed to the hellhounds standing in the yard.
Dash chucked. “The Broks?”
“It’s a long story, but they’re kind of members of Beelzebub’s guard. They regenerate and make more of themselves as needed. They’re not particularly smart, but as you saw, they’re vicious." I wasn't lying. They’d have ripped Adonis apart had we not intervened.
“That’s kinda cool. Gimme a second. I’ll be back.” Dash hurried into the funeral home.
Keir stepped forward and touched my arm again. “How bad will this be, Scotty?”
I took a deep breath. I didn’t have all the answers, but I knew one thing for sure. “It’s gonna be bad, Keir. We’ll do what we can, but it’s hard to tell how far it might go. You should try to prepare for the worst.”
Keir’s face fell from his usual smile, and I was sorry I had to say anything. “You know, right, that we’re all going to fight alongside you and Dash. We’ll protect you as much as we can.”
Jay stepped forward and took my hand, kissing the top of it as he stared into my eyes. “We will figure this out, my love. I won’t allow the darkness to overtake your light. I’m confident we’ll come out on top.”
Hearing Jay’s words was like a salve to my heart. My Jay was a beautiful gift to me, and I loved him more than I thought it was possible to love anyone. It was a complete surprise that I found someone, and I’d do anything to make him happy.
Dash returned to us with a scarf in his hand. He offered it to Jay. “He lost this in the embalming suite, and I tossed it inside the desk drawer. Will it help?”
A tan scarf was presented to Jay, who carried it over to the Broks. One of them—I assumed the leader—held it to his nose and then passed it around the group.
Jay snapped his fingers, and they all gave him their attention. “Do not make a mess of this. If you find his scent, then let me know and... You know what? Never mind. I’ll hunt him down myself.”
One of the Broks laughed. “I’m sorry, sir, but we’re told to follow orders, and your order was to find this human. We won’t stop until we do. I’ll leave a guard with you.”
Before Jay could tell Brok he didn’t need to leave someone behind, they took off in five directions—one of them rushing into the funeral home.
“Shit! I’ll go make sure it doesn’t tear the place up.”
I ran, following the hellhound through the receiving bay. Dupe Brok actually got down on his hands and knees, hurrying around the room and letting his nose be his guide.
He stopped in front of the walk-in and turned to look at me. “What’s in there?”
“That’s where the portal to Hell is located. I wouldn’t—”
Before I could finish the sentence, Brok was inside with a body on the stainless gurney, Keir’s latest guest.
“I’m going through. I’ll report to Prince Beelzebub with my findings when I get on the other side. Goodbye.” With that, he was gone. I wished him well.