Chapter 20

Chapter

Twenty

DASH

I changedinto jeans and a T-shirt, hanging my suit in the closet before I raked my hand over my man’s beautiful clothes. The closet smelled like him, and my heart ached. I had to hope it wouldn’t be much longer until we were together.

The doorbell chimed, and my phone buzzed in my pocket. I hit the icon to see who was outside the front door of the funeral home, and I wasn’t surprised to see Jonas with a very handsome man I’d never met.

I touched the microphone symbol. “I’ll be right down.” I quickly slid on my boots and grabbed a cardigan of Keir’s before hurrying downstairs to the funeral home.

I took a deep breath. As far as I knew, I’d never met a holy man, and if he could help us with this current shit show, I’d be forever in his debt.

I pulled open the door and grinned. “Hello, Dr. Lopez. Thank you for coming.” I thought it sounded like a nice greeting. It sounded like something Keir would say.

The holy man smiled and extended his hand. “You must be Mr. Clegg, the Key. Jonas has been catching me up on what I’ve missed. I’ll do everything I can to help you out. I understand the importance of the Gatekeeper in the balance.”

That was good enough for me. “Let’s go down to the mortuary where Michael is keeping an eye on Doppelgänger. We’re hoping Michael can veil his presence when the warlock gets here. What we need to know⁠—”

“Yes, a finder’s hex. If there’s one, I can break it.”

That got me thinking. “Can the wizard track you? Will he sense that you’re here? I don’t want you to get into any trouble for helping us. I understand from Jonas how much good you’ve done for those in need, and we don’t want anything to interfere with your work.”

Dr. Carl grinned. “That’s a very kind thing for you to say, Key. I’ll be fine, but let’s find your Doppelgänger and see how he’s fairing.”

“Right this way.” I led us to the freight elevator and down to the mortuary. Michael would hear it and know someone was coming so he’d be ready for us. That is, if he didn’t already know the holy man was in the building. In my experience, others knew a lot they didn’t share with me, nor did they ever show their hand.

I lifted the gate when we reached the basement, and we stepped off. “This is the, uh, the mortuary. I hope it doesn’t freak you out. It took me some time to get used to it.” Why the fuck was I nervous around the guy?

“It’s okay. I’ve been in worse places.”

“Dash here has been to Hell to bring back a friend of Keir’s who’s a pain in the ass.” Jonas seemed to be proud of me. That helped a little.

“I’d love to hear about that some time.” Dr. Carl gave me a comforting grin.

Michael was sitting at Keir’s computer desk while Doppelgänger was sleeping on one of the metal gurneys. As I stepped around the chair, I saw two dicks and a woman’s tits. “Oh jeez. Don’t look at porn down here. Keir will think it was me.” I smacked him on the back of the head, bringing a booming laugh from the holy man.

Michael rubbed the spot and gave me a dirty look. “That was uncalled for, Key. It’s for educational purposes, I’ll have you know.”

I chuckled. How dumb did he think I was?

“Archangel Michael, this is Dr. Carlos Lopez. He is a holy man.”

Dr. Lopez bowed and spoke to the arch in a language I didn’t understand. Michael extended his hand and responded in kind. The respect between the two was palpable, and I felt sorta guilty for being so forward with Michael earlier.

He turned to me and smirked. “No worries, Key. You think of me as a friend, and I appreciate that.” Michael then turned to Dr. Lopez. “You’re a lycanthrope, correct?”

The holy man laughed. “Yes, and I can sense a vampire nearby. I won’t make the first move.”

The walk-in opened, and Adonis stepped out, dressed rather sexily in leather pants and a silk shirt. He had that damn glorious mane I was sure he got from his mother, though Adonis’s hair was a cool silver, not red. It was the first time I noticed his eyes were lilac and shimmered a bit.

“Took the short-cut, I see. Before we get into this, Adonis Steward, vampire, this is Dr. Carlos Lopez, holy man and lycanthrope.” Why was I making light of the situation? Probably because I was on edge.

Something occurred to me that I’d wanted to ask Adonis. “I have a stupid question. Lake mentioned your father was on the cover of a romance novel her mother used to love. Was it your father or you?”

Adon chuckled. “Guilty. I met a woman who said I’d be perfect to model for romance novel covers. She was beautiful and convincing, so I let her take my picture, though nothing else happened between us. The book was one of those swashbuckling bodice rippers—you know the type. Anyway, I thought that book was long out of circulation, so it surprised me when Lake mentioned it.”

Michael clapped his hands. “Okay, Hardy Boys. Now that we’ve cleared up that mystery, can we get to the matter at hand? The warlock should be here any minute.”

We all turned toward the table where Doppelgänger was sleeping. “Is he naturally asleep, or did you have something to do with it?” I glanced at Michael, who held up his hands as if completely innocent. Not by a long shot.

Dr. Lopez laughed. “It’s better if he’s calm and resting. I’ll see what I can find.”

The wolf doctor stepped over to the stainless slab and put his right hand on Doppelgänger’s forehead. He closed his eyes and with his left hand, he slowly moved it along the man’s chest about an inch from touching him.

Sparks were coming off Doppelgänger’s body as Dr. Lopez moved down to his stomach and stopped just short of the guy’s crotch. I was sure if those sparks hit Fake Keir’s junk, the sleeping guy would have blasted off the table like a rocket.

When Dr. Lopez moved back up his body, he stopped over Doppelgänger’s heart. “No finder’s hex. There’s definitely a demon inside him. Its name is Vagar. It’s an offspring of Nyx’s daughter, Apate, the goddess of deceit. Its father is one of the princes of Hell. It’s tied to this human by black magic. That must be where your warlock comes in.”

Michael stepped forward. “Can you determine which of the princes? Beelzebub should know about this if he doesn’t already. I don’t trust him to have told us in advance.”

Hell if I could tell whether the news was good or bad. I knew one shouldn’t trust a demon, but would Beelz betray us like that? He was the one who seemed to be trying to help the good guys, but he was a demon. I needed to talk to him.

Why I reached for my phone was a mystery because the dude just showed up when he wanted, but as I took the device out of my pocket, the doorbell to the funeral home buzzed. I checked the camera to see it was Pax De Vil.

“Okay, he’s here. Should I go get him or tell him to come around to the back?”

Dr. Lopez spoke up. “Let him figure it out. It will perplex him, and that’s what we need. While he’s trying to get a handle on things, I have an idea.”

For the five minutes it took Adonis to move Doppelgänger into a casket Keir had in the storage room for no reason I knew, Michael and Dr. Carl formulated a plan. Meanwhile, Paxton De Vil wandered around the property, even returning to the Memorial Garden behind the building. I tracked him on the security cameras around the building and went to stop him when he started for the stairs to the apartment.

I went outside and approached him, stopping a few feet away. “I’m willing to pay you the money you asked so you can find my fiancé. Come inside, and let’s set out some rules. The guy who was impersonating him died, so I gotta do something with the body, but I want Keir back.”

I led him around the building and through the receiving bay. Paxton De Vil reluctantly followed me, and once we were in the mortuary, he looked around for a few seconds. “This isn’t what I thought it would look like.”

I turned to him. “What did you think it would look like?”

“I don’t know. Darker. Scarier. Anyway, where’s the fake?”

The embalming room was empty, but the damn walk-in was glowing. I hoped to fuck we weren’t having another issue. I knew it was coming at some point, but I prayed it wasn’t right now.

“He’s in there. I’m not going in there to get him, but please, feel free.” It was a challenge, and as I suspected, the fucker hesitated like the scared bitch I believed him to be. I hid my smirk.

“Maybe your assistant Vale should go get the body?” De Vil’s face was pale, as though he sensed something bad would happen.

“Oh no. I couldn’t call him away from his boyfriend for something like this. My Keir is the one who deals with the dead. I stay as far away from them as possible. Go get him and tell me who he is, and then I want to know where Keir is. I believe you know, don’t you?”

Paxton De Vil stared at me before offering a confident smirk. “You’ve guessed what I am then?”

I wasn’t about to give anything away. I was just a dumb mechanic…

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean. What are you?”

De Vil strolled to the walk-in, his long tan leather blazer rustling around him. The jacket fit him like a second skin, as did the low-rise jeans he had tucked into knee-length boots. He looked like the Nazi bad guy from an Indiana Jones movie. I was sure if Keir were there, he’d have made that point first.

De Vil opened the door and strolled inside the cooler, only to run backward out of it, his face as pale as a sheet of paper. Behind him strolled a wolf, the size of which I’d never seen, walking upright on its back legs. It slowly stalked Paxton De Vil until he fell on the floor. He continued trying to get away, and the wolf continued to growl.

The eyes of the wolf were flaming red, and I could swear it breathed fire, but he didn’t make any aggressive moves. He continued to move forward, one slow step at a time.

“What is this? Who is this?” De Vil was scared shitless, which was perfectly fine with me.

“You need to release the demon inside Doppelgänger. If he dies and the demon is inside him, it’ll be trapped there forever. You’ll face the wrath of Apate, Nyx, and Chaos. You might have bitten off more than you can chew this time, witch.” The holy wolf’s voice was growly and deep like it was amplified through a modulating speaker.

The wolf continued to stalk him until De Vil scrambled into the wall. “In the name of Nyx, the goddess of night and earth and sky, I command you to stop!”

Dr. Lopez stopped, but Adonis came from nowhere and stepped forward, stooping in front of De Vil in a protective feint. “I don’t follow your commands, witch. You planted a demon in Keirnan Morton, and you need to let him loose. If you don’t, I’ll go to Hell and bring back my mother who will eliminate you.”

“You think I’m afraid of your mother? Who’s your mother?”

It was a stupid question if I ever heard one.

De Vil began chanting something but stopped suddenly when the wolf growled at him. Adonis stood and placed a hand on Dr. Carl’s back, touching the other as they both stared at Paxton.

“Get up. Release the demon inside the human and run for your fucking life before you become my dinner.” Adon’s eyes glowed as he stared at De Vil.

The warlock stood and hurried over to the walk-in, followed by the lycan. I walked to the door of the receiving bay in case I needed to run if all Hell literally broke loose. Michael pushed the casket out and opened the lid.

“Do it now!” Michael’s voice was firm. Once he was out of the walk-in and in the embalming suite, his wings unfurled quite impressively, which caused De Vil’s eyes to nearly bug out of his head. I couldn’t get my phone out of my pocket fast enough to snap a pic for Keir.

I couldn’t resist. “I have quite a set of friends, don’t I? Now, do as the wolf says before Adonis rips your throat out. His mother is Lilith, by the way. I’m sure you’ve heard of Lucifer’s mistress, the blood drinker.”

De Vil began chanting, and the holy man stepped closer, obviously listening to whatever the warlock was saying. I couldn’t understand a word of it.

Doppelgänger’s body bowed in the box before his mouth opened in a silent scream. A black mist shot out of him, which Michael grabbed when it began forming into a solid. “Not so fast, Vagar. We know your mother is Apate. Who is your father?”

I heard Dr. Carl speaking that strange language behind me, but De Vil didn’t seem to be paying attention. The wolf suddenly transformed back into the holy man—a holy man without a stitch of clothes.

He reached behind him and pulled something from nowhere, slinging it in front of him like a whip. It quickly wrapped around Paxton De Vil before the warlock noticed, and it began to tighten, holding De Vil’s arms close to his body and rendering him helpless.

“Goddess Nyx! Save me, your loyal servant!”

A moment later, De Vil evaporated in thin air, and the whip fell to the tile floor.

“Where the hell did he go?” I knew my eyes were like silver dollars. I’d seen a lot of shit in my life, but nothing like that.

Dr. Lopez stepped inside the walk-in and came out a moment later, fully dressed. “Nyx intervened on his behalf, which means⁠—”

“She’s not done with him yet.” Michael then turned to Vagar. “Who’s your daddy?”

“Asmodeus! Father!” Unfortunately for Vagar, Asmodeus didn’t intercede, and when Michael ripped him in half and consumed him, I was guessing that was the end of the road for that demon.

Michael released a deafening burp that shook the walls before he pounded against his chest and burped again. “Spicy. Anyway, I’m going to find Beelz to tell him I just killed his nephew. That’s going to be great fun. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Do we have plane tickets?” I hadn’t made reservations, but I would as soon as I could get a minute. With others, one never knew what was going on.

“What happened?”

We all turned to look at poor Keirnan Morton. The guy looked like hell, and I was sure he was confused as fuck. “I’ll explain things to you on the plane. Let me start making plans.”

“I’ll see Dr. Lopez home. I want to be sure there’s no backlash. He was able to bind De Vil’s powers, so it won’t be easy for Nyx to make use of his black magic until she can find and convince a holy man to do her bidding.” Adonis glanced at Dr. Lopez, who grinned.

“That’s a herculean task I sort of look forward to. Anyway, come find me at the shelter on Stockton if you need me again. The blessings of the Creator on you all.”

Dr. Lopez and Adonis left through the receiving bay while I walked to the box and looked down where Keirnan Morton was still reclined. “You want help getting out?”

“God yes, please.”

I locked the wheels on the cart and pulled over the step stool Keir often used. I stepped up on the second stair and extended my hand.

“Go slow. You just got rid of a demon. I’m not sure what you remember or what you don’t. Start at the beginning for me.”

“Getting home from school. I pulled my car into the underground garage of our condo building and someone knocked on my window. Shit! Sibley! My wife! Is she okay? She’ll be worried sick. I need to call her.” Doppelgänger—Keirnan—took my hand and slowly sat up.

“Where do you live?” I wasn’t ready to tell him he couldn’t call his wife. There was still a lot to know before we left to take him home.

“I live in Ames, Iowa. My wife is probably a basket case, though we haven’t been getting along well. About three months ago, I met this guy at a coffee shop near school. Uh, University of Iowa. I teach actuarial science.”

“I’m Dashiell Clegg. I think you were infected with a demon who was bound to you by a warlock. It’s a long story. Let’s get you out of here.” I helped him stand and then spotted him as he backed down the short ladder.

Jonas came in through the receiving bay. “De Vil disappeared completely, so I’m assuming he’s in Hell. I’ll reach out to Beelz in case Michael doesn’t get in touch with him. That’s now his territory.”

I nodded. Now, all we had to do was get to Iowa so I could find Keir and bring him home.