“Yeah. Let’s go up.”
We went to the top of the stairs to enter the funeral home, and I knocked. Seemed polite. The door opened, and Amelie offered me a big smile. “Scotty!”
She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I put my hands on her back. I hadn’t seen her when I’d been there after Jay and I were separated. She and Trent had gone to San Francisco for Thanksgiving and he’d proposed. It was good to see her so happy. She was like a ray of sunshine.
“Congratulations! I heard the good news.” I was happy about her engagement. Our little wannabe psychic would marry a medium and real psychic, Trent Simmons, and anyone who knew them was thrilled. I wanted to share my good news, but not until Jay was beside me.
“Thank you. I was just on my way out, but we’ll catch up soon. Take care of yourself, Scotty. I know you’re busy with other things but try not to be a stranger.” I hugged Amelie again, and then she hurried out the front door.
Michael had apparently disappeared while I was greeting Amelie, but he returned. “She’s a lovely young woman. I’m sorry I thought it was a bad idea to greet her. Her fiancé is the medium?”
“Yeah. Trent. He’s a great guy. He’s helped us a few times. So, you’re okay with Dash and Keir, right?”
Michael laughed. “Yeah. The Gatekeeper and the Key are old friends of mine now.”
I led him up the stairs to the apartment and knocked on the door. When Dash opened it, he gave both of us a huge grin. “Scotty, Mike. Good to see you. Come on in. Keir’s making some nachos, and I’m making margaritas. You guys will join us, right?”
Michael didn’t hesitate. “Hell yeah. How’ve you been Dash?” The pair headed to the kitchen, and I followed. Dash and Keir were good people, and I was glad they were on our side. The love they had for each other was palpable when in their presence.
“Hi, Keir.” I walked over to the counter where my former protectee was making chicken, pepper, and onion nachos. The mixture smelled delicious.
Keir quickly wiped his hands and hugged me. “How are you, Scotty? Everything okay?”
“It’s getting there. How about you guys? You doing okay?” I could still sense a little tension between the couple, but I wasn’t about to ask. It wasn’t my business.
“Yeah. We’re going away for a couple of weeks. We’re going to Monterey to see Mom and Lenny for Christmas and then to Mexico for ten days. Dash planned the whole thing, and he and Amelie arranged for some of the local funeral homes to take our calls. Jonas has talked to some directors I don’t know to get them to fill in if needed. I can’t wait. It’s my first real vacation in forever.”
I wanted to offer to help, but I had a lot on my plate. I nodded and smiled. “Sounds good. You guys deserve some time off.”
“Thanks, Scotty. Any word on Jay?”
“I saw him. I found out that he and I are being blamed for the death of a cherub and a lesser demon we didn’t kill.” I then turned to Michael. “I had an idea. I want Keir and Dash to hear it because if anything goes wrong, it could affect them as well.”
Thankfully, Dash took that moment to put margaritas in front of Michael and me. “Shoot. We’re all ears.”
I took a deep breath. “A bit ago, Jophiel taught me a handy trick. I can change my appearance to look like anyone I have seen.”
Keir chuckled. “Oh, you did that to me. It’s freaky. Why do you need to use the power this time? Another ethnic funeral coming my way where you want to blend into the crowd?”
“Not quite. I need to trap an Arch. I believe I know who killed Nakir and Tork. As far as I know, Nakir’s body hasn’t been found, but Tork’s was found at the Gate to Hell, their head on a spike at the top. If I present as Nakir, I believe I can trick the Arch into panicking and admitting what they did.”
I then turned to Michael. “If the underworld finds out an Arch was in their territory, what will happen?”
“There will be retribution on the Arch, but you gotta get a confession from the son of a— Tell me who you believe it is, Scotty. I won’t go along with this if we’re not on the same page.”
“You first...”
Chapter Fifteen
Jay
“Wassup, Asmodeus? Where you goin’?” Beelz’s voice couldn’t be mistaken, and when Asmodeus heard it, he dropped De Vil into the Acheron. His flailing body falling from that height was kind of funny, but the situation was dire.
“I-I saw him going to Droh, so I went after him.” Asmodeus gave each of his brothers a hard look before his nervous gaze landed on Lucifer.
“Yousaw him going to Droh soyouwent after him?” I heard a tinge of skepticism in Lucifer’s voice even if the others didn’t.
Lucifer then turned to me. “Did you see Asmodeus here when you were trailing the warlock?”
