Chapter 19 #2
“Guess we better go see what waits for us on land,” I said when he reached me.
Lothar grunted, dropped the bags at my feet, hefted Beelzebub off the ground and, without hesitation, tossed him over the side of the ship.
The sound of his large body landing in the much smaller boat bobbing below in the water made me wince.
I quickly looked over the edge, expecting to see both the dinghy and B being swallowed by the sea.
Instead Beelzebub stared up at Lothar with hatred, the little boat miraculously still in one piece.
Lothar was still pissed off. Hopefully he got over it quickly, though it definitely made it easier to resist him. If he was angry with me, he wouldn’t be trying to get me to change my mind.
Sliding on my bag, I descended the rope ladder and jumped down into the boat.
Lothar made his way down next, grabbed the oars, and we headed toward the shore.
We were no longer protected from the storm now, though, and it raged around us, drenching us with the driving rain.
The small boat bobbed around, threatening to capsize, but Lothar sliced the oars through the thrashing sea, powering through, muscles bulging from the strain.
It didn’t take long before we reached the shore. The sandy ocean floor scraped the bottom of the boat, and Loth jumped out into the frigid water and dragged the dinghy in the rest of the way.
I quickly got out and scanned our surroundings. The sky was dark with gunmetal clouds, and the thunder and lightning was a constant now, but at least the rain had stopped. The next flash of lightning lit up the sky—and the huge, glossy black tower we needed to head toward.
“This way,” I called over the wind, pointing to it.
“What is it?”
“Accommodation for travelers.”
The tower jutted up, imposing and incredibly tall. The top was obscured by low clouds, but light burned at the top, glowing behind them, making it serve a dual purpose of lighthouse as well.
“We’re close to Limbo. We should keep moving,” Lothar said.
“It’s dark here all the time, but worse at night, and if any of Nox’s creatures are still out here, this is when they’ll be more active. Better to wait until morning before we travel.”
Lothar nodded, then reached into the boat, grabbed the shackles between Beelzebub’s ankles, yanked him from the dinghy and started dragging him across the rocky ground. Beelzebub roared behind his gag, flailing and fighting, eyes blazing. Lothar ignored him and kept walking.
Scanning the area around us, I kept pace beside him. “You gonna keep up this tantrum the rest of the journey?” I said, because I couldn’t stand his silence and resentment much longer.
His gaze sliced to me. “Not a fucking pup, Roxy.”
“I know that, but you’re sure as hell acting like one right now.”
He stopped abruptly, dropping Beelzebub’s feet, and turned to me. “What is there to say? Apparently what I want is irrelevant, and I’m not even worthy of an explanation about why you’ve suddenly gone cold on me.”
Hounds didn’t get hurt, not emotionally, not before they found their mates.
Was this reaction from residual emotion he’d developed back when we were together?
Lucifer had fixed it when he took his memories of us.
But it happened again when Lothar and Jagger sired pups, during Lucifer’s experiment.
Lucifer had cured them of the affliction then as well.
This shouldn’t be possible, yet the emotion I felt flowing from him was palpable.
Had Lothar somehow tapped back into it? Or was something else causing him to suddenly start feeling more than the limited emotions a hound should have. “I didn’t think I was required to give one,” I said, because I didn’t know what else to say or do. He’d thrown me completely.
He crossed his muscled arms. “Yeah? Well, I want one anyway.”
“We need to keep moving.”
He grabbed my arm, stopping me. “Tell me.”
“I just don’t want to take this any further, okay?” I lied, panic rising inside me.
His grip tightened. “You really think you can hide what you truly want from me, Roxy? I can fucking smell it on you. Why are you refusing me? Why are you pretending you don’t want me?”
Thunder boomed above us so loud, the ground shook, then the sky opened and rain poured down, instantly drenching us again. I pulled my arm from Lothar’s hold and started up the rocky path. He growled but followed, dragging a furious Beelzebub with him.
We thankfully made it to the tower without being ambushed, and I jogged up the stairs and pounded on the wooden door. The imposing structure was supposed to be a safe place for travelers, a place to rest before sailing the Night Sea. Safe was definitely not the vibe this place gave off.
Beelzebub’s head bounced up the steps as Lothar took them two at a time and joined me. The sound of someone coming, echoed from inside, followed by the door being unlocked.
Finally, it creaked open, and Horace, the demon in charge of the tower, blinked his red eyes up at me before they slid over to Lothar.
Horace had somewhat humanoid features, but they were bulbous and exaggerated.
That, and other things about his appearance, meant he’d been confined to Hell for his entire life.
When a position had come up to oversee the running of the tower, he’d volunteered and Lucifer had granted his wish. I hadn’t seen him in a very long time.
“My lady,” he said, his voice almost breathless. “I am so delighted to see you.”
I smiled. “It’s been a long time, Horace.”
“Indeed, my lady.”
I took his cold hand in mine. “You look well, my old friend. I’ll be pleased to report this news to Lucifer.” His breed of demon was short in stature. He was even shorter than me. He had wispy gray hair that was so long it reached his waist and was just a shade darker than his gray skin.
The gruff male actually smiled at me. His expression was stiff as he flashed his black teeth, but it was definitely a smile. “I would be most thankful.”
I kept hold of his hand. “I know I can trust you, my friend, but due to proximity, I also know you’ve developed a loyalty to Nox.
I hope that won’t be an issue for us? I’d be most grateful if she didn’t know we were here, Horace.
” Nox was evil and vengeful. She’d smell Limbo on us as soon as she saw us and any “friend” of Death’s was her enemy.
He looked scandalized. “I assure you, my lady, my loyalty is to Lucifer, to Hell, above all others.”
I gave his hand a squeeze and let it go. “Be at ease, Horace. I know you’d never do anything to hurt your family.”
“Never,” he said.
“We were hoping you had a couple of rooms available for the night?”
“But of course.” He shifted nervously on feet that were inordinately too large for his wiry and misshapen body. “There will always be a room here for you, my lady.” His gaze slid back to Lothar, and like all demons, being around a hound obviously made him nervous.
“Lothar can be trusted,” I said.
He nodded, then his eyes widened when they finally found Beelzebub.
He took a startled step back. “You have a lord, bound and gagged.”
“He betrayed Lucifer,” I reassured him. “We are returning him to Hell for punishment.”
Horace nodded but couldn’t seem to look away from B trussed up on his front steps.
“It’s raining pretty hard out here, Horace.”
He jumped. “My apologies.” And he quickly stepped back, holding the door wide for us.
I strode in out of the rain and Lothar dragged Beelzebub unceremoniously through the door and into the foyer. Horace quickly rounded his desk and unhooked two keys from the wall behind it.
“Your rooms are on the seventh floor. Sorry about the climb, but there is an added cell in room 102 that I thought would be useful for your prisoner.”
“Fantastic, thanks so much.” I took the keys.
“Would you like me to bring up a repast for you both?” the demon asked.
“That would be great. Just something simple, if it’s not too much trouble. Bread, meat, some fruit and cheese, oh…and something to drink. Don’t rush, though, I want to take a shower before dinner.”
Horace inclined his head, and we headed up all seven flights of seriously steep stairs. Beelzebub hissed and roared behind his gag the entire way. When we reached the top, I held up the keys. “Do you want to watch over the traitor, or shall I?”
Lothar took the key for 102. “I will.”
He wasn’t going to get any complaints from me. I needed a long shower and a decent night’s sleep. Lothar unlocked and opened his door, then dragged Beelzebub in behind him.
“I’ll let you know when the food’s here,” I called after him. He kicked the door shut behind him without a word. “I’ll take that as a yes,” I called and shook my head as I opened my own door and shut myself in.
The decor was as memorable as I remembered.
Apart from the beds, all the rooms were a little different.
In this one, the walls were bloodred with a gold filigree design, the carpet a deep burgundy.
There was a lot of dark wood and brass around the room, and several candelabras were already lit, as if the tower had a mind of its own and knew I was coming.
I took in the large bed and screwed up my nose.
The bed frame was a chaotic jumble of charred bones, with a skull in the center of the headboard, all collected from creatures from the many different realms, and most definitely not to my taste.
A fire blazed in the hearth, and somehow gave the macabre decor a warmth that wasn’t easily found in this place. I stood in front of it and sighed, shaking out my tight muscles. If we left early and traveled nonstop, we could be back in Hell by tomorrow night.
Taking out my phone, I sent off a quick text to Luci, telling him where we were and that we had Beelzebub, though knowing Lucifer, he probably already knew.
I rubbed my hands over my face. When we got back and Lucifer tortured B until he told us who was behind all this, when it was all over, I’d request he send me somewhere else for a while.
Just to get my head clear again and numb my heart to what I was feeling.
It would take time, I knew that, but I could do it again. I had to.