“No, but I think he passed through on his way to another realm.” We started off down the street again. “I’m hoping once we get there, you’ll be able to sense him and track him to wherever he went next.”
“Asmodeus told you that?”
“Not in so many words. But he did let slip that Hell didn’t feel the same with Beelzebub gone. He also said B was thriving. With the way he looks, hiding here in Roxburgh is out of the question. Beelzebub is drawn to death, and pain. Limbo is the quickest route to several realms that fit that bill, and he’s been to Limbo before as Lucifer’s envoy in the past.”
Lothar nodded. “I agree. Good work.”
I gave him another bright smile. Maybe if I did it often enough, it would stop being an act, and I’d start feeling like myself again. “I thought since you’re tight with Death’s mate, you’d be able to call Zinnia and get us entrance?”
Lothar slid his phone from his pocket. “No problem. I’ll call her now.”
Chapter
Eight
Roxy
* * *
“Zinnia says she’ll be waiting for us.”
“Excellent,” I said as Lothar slid his phone back in his pocket. Especially since we were already on our way there.
The only way for us to enter Limbo was through the gateway located in Oldwood Forest, which was currently dark, and I’d tripped over my own feet several times already. I didn’t do that. Ever. I’d once walked a tightrope across the burning river, during vysan mating season. They’d been bursting out of the water one after the other, snapping their jaws, and I hadn’t missed a step. I was seriously off my game. “Good thing you’re tight with Zinnia. It’s been a long time since I stepped foot in Limbo. I wasn’t sure Death would be very welcoming.”
Demons had been following us since we started through the forest, watching from a safe distance because there was no way they’d come anywhere near Lothar. But I was a female, and these pricks were forever on the hunt for breeders. Apparently, they had no idea who I was, or that I was capable of turning them into mincemeat in record time. I turned when one particularly heavy one collided with a tree and yelped, or at least it sounded like it.
“What did that tree ever do to you?” I called.
Lothar’s white teeth flashed in the shadows. He was grinning, amused by my outburst. It was something that still took me some getting used to.
“You’ve been to Limbo before?” he asked when I quickly looked away from him.
“Yup, I actually accompanied Beelzebub on one of his envoys. Luci likes one of us to go on any official get-togethers, to ensure his best interests are being represented.”
“What’s it like?”
I glanced back his way and caught his gaze dipping to my mouth again. He’d done it several times tonight, and it was…disconcerting. “Well, the last time I went, Death didn’t have Zinnia. He was moody, dark, and inhospitable, and so was Limbo. His castle was cold and unpleasant like its master. So I’m not sure what to expect this time.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket and I slid it free. I was expecting a text from Urs. A delighted laugh escaped my lips instead.
“What’s going on?”
Smiling wide, I held up my phone, showing him the picture. “My grandbabies sent me pics of their babies. I’m their lovey, that’s what they call me. They’re so precious, Loth. I already can’t wait to get back so I can snuggle them again.”
His brows shot up. “Grandbabies?”
I chuckled. “Well, many, many times great, but yeah. They’re my sweet girls, my twin granddaughters.”
“You have grandchildren?” Lothar blinked over at me. “You had your own children?”
The penny had finally dropped, and there was no missing his surprise. “I had a daughter, yes. It was a very long time ago. Before people lived on Earth, before Lucifer created you or the other hounds, before a lot of things.”
“Who sired her?” The question was fired at me like a gunshot.
His eyes changed color, glowing a bright gold, his hound in his eyes now. Was he aware of it? “Lucifer tried, but it didn’t take, so one of his demons, a male I was quite fond of sired my daughter.”
Lothar’s eyes flashed from gold to red. “Lucifer tried?” Disgust curled his lips. “Are you saying that you and him?—”
