Chapter Nine
On our way down the hallway to our bedroom, Silas opened the door of the main suite and stopped Jake and me.
“Join me,” Silas said and waved us inside.
I had thought our room was large. The main suite surpassed it, so massive that it had to be sectioned off. A raised platform elevated the bed to regal heights so that it dominated the central section; a dining set huddled in a nook to the right; a doorway beside it gave a glimpse of the main bath; and a sitting area occupied a dais to the left. On a dais . Silas took us to the sitting area.
A fire was lit in the fireplace there and the window to the left gave a bird's-eye view of the back garden, although it was dark. At 6:30 PM. Silas chose a high-backed armchair beside the fire while Jake and I sat on the puffy couch. There was a silver coffee service and teacups on the coffee table before us. Huh. Is that why they call it a coffee table?
“Please, help yourselves.” Silas waved at the cups.
Jake poured the coffee and handed me a cup.
As I fixed my coffee, Silas said, “I saw you with the hellhound.”
I looked up at him. “You saw me?”
“I can be anywhere at any time, Indigo.”
Well, that wasn't at all terrifying.
“How did you know to be there?” I countered.
He glanced away.
“Did you have me followed?” I demanded.
“I followed you,” Jake said. “I wanted you to be safe.”
“So, I only have the illusion of freedom.”
“No, of course not!” Jake put his cup down and took my hand. “You can leave if you want to, Indigo.”
I slipped my hand out of his. “I just can't go shopping alone.”
“Enough,” Silas said wearily. “Indigo, I hoped that now that you've met one of them, you would understand what we're up against. They are why we can't let you wander around Helena unguarded. If you leave the state, you'll be fine. And you are always free to go. But here, you're a target. Especially now that they know who you are.”
“Who I am? You mean—Michael's girlfriend?” I grimaced.
“Michael's host's girlfriend,” Silas corrected. “But yes. That makes you important to us. Now the demons know they can use you as a hostage.”
“So, you sent Jake in? He didn't come barging in like that on his own?” I looked at Jake.
Jake looked away.
So, that whole white knight routine hadn't been him at all. If Silas had ordered him to stay put, Jake would have let me finish my meal with a demon. Damn, that was disappointing.
“Yes. I was nearby, watching,” Silas said. “So I felt you were safe enough for me to observe the interaction. But then I sensed the demon was convincing you, and I was worried that you would voluntarily leave with him. So, I sent Jake in. You had already told him who you were, so there was no reason to hide your status any longer. I had to get you away from the demon.”
The demon. I kept seeing Garret's beautiful face. Wasn't there something in the Bible about the Devil being beautiful? That's just not fair. But it wasn't just Garret's handsome face that ensnared me. There had been something about him that made me trust him. An investigator—ha! I'll bet he investigated. He researched victims, so he knew best how to turn them evil.
That felt wrong. Not turning people evil—that's obviously wrong. I mean the idea that Garret did that. When I thought about him hurting people, twisting them into doing bad things, it rang the wrong bell in me. I just couldn't believe it. I saw the people he had interacted with and how they responded to him. None of them seemed evil. Wouldn't he have influenced them by now? I mean, if that's what his actual job was.
Then I mentally shook my head. Funny how I still wanted to trust Garret, even after he admitted who he was. And yet, it had been over a week, and I still didn't trust Silas. Was that part of a demon's power? To draw me in? But wouldn't God have an equal power? Silas certainly seemed to influence people easily. Just not me. Or did he influence them? It was Michael who brought Silas soldiers. And then Silas killed them so he could bring them back as slaves. He didn't influence anyone but Michael.
I continued to consider Silas as he droned on about how precious I was and how he wanted to keep me safe. What was it about him that rang my wrong bell? He rang it just like Garret had, but oppositely. I had always considered myself an excellent judge of people. It was part of the reason I went to law school. I thought I'd be good at weeding out the truth. So should I trust my instincts about Silas and Garret? Or should I trust the facts? Shit. What were the facts again?
“After Jake got you to safety, I noticed something else,” Silas said. “That hellhound wants to you.”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I think we may have an opportunity here,” Silas said. “He desires you, Indigo. Covets you.”
“Hold on,” Jake said. “Where are you going with this?”
Silas held up a hand. “Let me finish, Jacob.”
Jake's eyes twitched, but he nodded.
“The Devil has many teams of hounds all over the world,” Silas said. “They work tirelessly for him. As motivation and to keep them loyal, he cast a spell to bring each team a woman.”
“A woman?” I asked. “You mean a lover?”
“A mate. That's what they call them,” Silas said, then made a disgusted face. “Hounds, you see? They're only animals. They mate with this woman and bind her to them magically. She becomes nothing more than property. Each team gets one woman to share.”
“To share?” I had to set my cup down because my hand was shaking. “Between the three of them?”
“Yes.” Silas cocked his head. “Does that shock you, Indigo? We are talking about the Devil and his hellhounds. Three hounds sharing one human woman is hardly worth raising an eyebrow about. They are capable of far more repugnant deeds. They are dogs. Animals driven by base desire. But that is a weakness we can exploit!” He leaned forward, his eyes going bright. “I believe that dog thinks you're his mate.”
“His mate?” My mind spun, twirling back to my conversation with Garret.
I know this sounds hokey, but I'm looking for the one.
Holy shit. Garret meant his mate. He was looking for the woman the Devil promised him. Was I her? Was that why I was so drawn to him? Holy. Shit. Or unholy shit, as the case may be.
“Indigo? Are you all right?” Jake had his arm around me and was rubbing my upper arm.
I hadn't even noticed when he'd done that.
“Yes, I'm fine,” I said. Then I leveled my stare on Silas. “What exactly do you want to happen?”
“If they believe you're their mate, the demons will do anything to get you away from us,” Silas said. “And once they have you, they'll treasure you.” He grinned. “They'll never suspect you of any wrongdoing. As their mate, you'll be above reproach. You could get close to them. Close enough to learn their secrets.”
“Their secrets?” I scowled at Silas. “Don't you already know?”
“I am not all-knowing when it comes to my counterpart and his demons.”
“Please tell me you're not suggesting Indigo let them take her?” Jake growled, his hand tightening on my arm. “Or that she go to them?”
“She'd be perfectly safe, Jacob,” Silas said. “They would never hurt their mate.”
“But we can't be sure that's what they believe. I mean, Indigo isn't their mate, right? She can't be. She loves me.”
She loves me , Jake's words echoed in my head. No mention of him loving me back.
Silas's eyes went wide. “Well, I don't know. I suppose she could be.”
“She's not!” Jake roared.
“All right. Calm down,” Silas said. “I'm counting on her not being their mate too, Jacob. If she were their mate, we couldn’t trust her.” He slid his stare my way. “Her natural inclination would be to side with them.” His stare narrowed. “Do you feel inclined to side with evil, Indigo?”
I rolled my eyes, but inside, I trembled. Because I did. And it made me not trust myself. Was Garret really evil? He admitted to being a hellhound. Although, when I replayed the conversation in my head, I recalled him disputing that label. He said he was one of the good guys—the guards who went after escaped souls. He had made so much sense. Everything he said had rung true with me. Ugh! There I went again, wanting to believe Garret. Meanwhile, Silas and Jake were staring at me. Right. I hadn't answered beyond that eye roll.
With distinct disdain, I said, “I do not feel inclined to side with evil.” It rang true, even with me, because it was true. I just wasn't sure who the evil ones were.
“Well, then, we can relax,” Silas said. “If she isn't feeling drawn to the demon, she can't be his mate.”
Jake looked at me.
“I'm not,” I said. Now, that was a lie. Luckily, Jake wasn't at his best, what with being possessed and all, so he didn't spot it.
Instead, he nodded and kissed my forehead. But then he glared at Silas. “I didn't bring her here to play spy games with the most dangerous demons on the planet!”
“But she is the one woman who is safe from them,” Silas said. Then he added, “Until they figure out that she's not their mate. But that could take weeks.”
“What if their real mate shows up?” I asked.
“They've been waiting centuries for her. The odds are against it happening now.”
“Centuries?” I narrowed my stare at Silas. “I thought they had just arrived? That's why you're only now creating an army to fight them.”
“I never said that. In fact, if you recall, I said they have spread across the world and woven themselves into human society. Did you think that happened overnight?”
“Then why create your groups of human soldiers now? Why wait so long?”
“As I also said, I usually counter the Devil's demons with my angels. But my angels have failed. Time and time again. I've had to admit defeat and resort to drastic measures.”
“I see,” I murmured.
“If you're frightened of the hellhounds, I understand,” Silas said. “You should be frightened. But from what I saw, I truly believe you'll be safe with them. And if they let you into their home, Indigo, you could learn so much about them. You might even learn how to kill them.”
“Kill them?” Jake growled. “Now, you want her to kill them?”
“That is your purpose, Jacob,” Silas said. “You say that you didn't bring Indigo here to play spy. So, why then, did you bring her? Did you truly think that she would just be a visitor?”
“Yes,” Jake said stiffly. “I don't want her involved in this.”
“But I thought you believed in this?” I asked, suddenly feeling very annoyed with Jake.
Jake gaped at me. “Do you want to spy on them?”
I shrugged. That's when I realized I did want to spend time with the hellhounds. If Silas was right, and Garret shared secrets with me, I'd be better able to judge the situation. It was exactly what I wanted. Clarity. If the hellhounds thought I was their mate, they wouldn't lie to me. That would be pointless. So, I would finally get the truth without doubting it.
“That's it, Indigo,” Silas said. “You're opening up to the truth.”
“Open up?” Jake glared at Silas. “Listen to me. I will do whatever needs to be done. I owe you. Not her.”
“Everyone on this planet owes me, Jacob,” Silas said serenely. “I am your creator. I gave all of you life. Now, I could simply force Indigo to do what I want, but I refuse to do that. It goes against all I stand for.”
Interesting. I had thought the same thing. And yet, if what Garret said about Silas's followers was true, then Silas was forcing them to be his soldiers. He had taken their free will. Why would I believe the hellhound? Because I'd seen the blank expressions those soldiers wore when Silas commanded them. They looked like slaves. I was lucky that Silas hadn't insisted on “empowering” me as well.
“Then this conversation is over,” Jake said. “Because Indigo doesn't want to spy for you.”
“Indigo is sitting right here,” I said crisply.
“Indie?” Jake whispered. “What the hell? You can't want this. They are fucking dangerous. Don't you get that? They're demons! Demons !”
“I understand, but I don't want to sit around here doing nothing, Jake. If I'm going to be a part of this, I want to see everything. I want to discover the demons' secrets. I want to know what the Devil is up to.”
And what Silas is up to, I added silently.
“Wonderful!” Silas clapped. “I knew you were going to be a great help as soon as you arrived, Indigo. I sensed it.”
Again, that seemed like an odd thing for the one true God to say. But instead of calling him on it, I asked, “How are we going to do this?”
God grinned.