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.”
