“I’m still not clear on how that would work,” he said. “What role does the human play in this?”
“They’re draining him, too. Both the Unfallen, ah, Cat, and the human are timed to drain at the same time.”
Hades’s gut was starting to churn. “And how much time do we have before this event takes place?”
“Approximately twenty hours. But it could happen sooner if both the human and the Unfallen are beheaded simultaneously. When their souls flee their bodies, perforations will appear in the barriers, and demons will escape.”
Holy shitmonkeys. “Find a hellhound,” Hades said. “Quickly.”
Silth’s upper lip peeled back, revealing two shiny fangs. Like pretty much everyone else, he hated hellhounds. “Why must I track down one of those filthy mutts?”
“Because I need a message delivered to their king. Tell the hellhound that we need Cerberus’s help. We can use every hellhound they can spare to find the human.”
Silth’s curse told Hades exactly how he felt about dealing with the beasts. “And if that fails?”
“Then we’ll need the hellhounds to patrol the borders. We can’t let a single demon escape, let alone millions of them.”
And there was no way he could let Cat die.
“There’s one other thing, sir.”
Of course there was. “What is it?”
“The enchantment inside the Unfallen...it can be used to track her whereabouts.”
Mother. Fuck. “She can’t be left alone.”
“Do you want me to stay with her?”
Oh, hell, no. Silth was a nasty motherfucker, but he was movie-star handsome and had an insatiable sexual appetite. He wasn’t getting near Cat, who had shown herself to be very open about her own sexual appetites.
Gods, she was a dream female. Beautiful and kind, if a little reckless, and when it came to being physical, she wasn’t shy...and yet, there was that pesky innocence about her that intrigued him.
And made him crazy, as his outburst in the bedroom had proven.
“My lord?” Silth prompted, and Hades realized he’d gotten lost in his thoughts. “Shall I stay with her?”
“No,” Hades said quickly. “I’ve got it for now. Send the message to Cerberus, and then contact me once we have hellhounds searching the Rings. Cat can help look for the human, but I don’t want her out there until we have the hounds for protection.”
Silth gave a shallow bow and took off, leaving Hades to wonder what to do in the meantime.
One thing was certain, he wasn’t going to tell Cat any of this. She’d been through enough already. Now he had to figure out how to stay with her while not giving into his desire for her. Somehow, he had to pretend that being with her was easy, no big deal, when the truth was that being with her without being inside her might be the hardest thing he’d ever done.
Chapter Thirteen
The longer Hades was gone, the angrier Cat got.
Yes, she understood he was handling business. And given the state of...everything, it was probably serious business. But the way he’d backed out of the shower and run out of the room had been insulting. Of course, his insults had been insulting, too.
Was he playing a game with her? Was he getting a good laugh over the Unfallen panting after him while he remained distant? Was she just a toy for his amusement?
Cursing to herself, she finished drying with the rough linen cloth she’d assumed was meant to be a towel, and then she tried out the “thought clothes” Hades had mentioned. Instantly, she was clothed in jeans and a corset identical to the real ones on the bed. Huh. She changed the colors, turning the corset to bright orange and the jeans to black.
Neat.
But maybe she should try something different. Something that would knock Hades off balance. He thought she should go to Zhubaal to get what she wanted, so maybe she should show Hades exactly what he’d be missing.
But what?
If you want to get a male’s attention, give him something to look at.
Lilliana had told Cat that while picking out an outfit to distract Azagoth from some sort of bookwork he’d been poring over a few weeks ago. Hours later, if the spring in Azagoth’s step had been any indication, Lilliana’s choice of clothes had been spot on.
What the hell, Cat thought. She replicated the outfit, going for a red leather miniskirt and a leather bra top, finishing it off with matching stilettos. Looking down at herself, she smiled. Let Hades resist that.
As if on cue, he opened the door. But to her frustration, he didn’t so much as glance at her as he crossed to the window.
“Silth found the Orphmage.” He brushed back the curtains. “It shouldn’t be long before he gives up the location of the human.”
Great. Terrific. She should probably say something about that, given that she’d kicked off this entire mess when she came to the Inner Sanctum to find the human.