Page 57 of Demon Loved
Angela crossed her arms. “And yet the Collector still had enough dirt on you to coerce you into doing this in the first place.”
“‘Dirt’?” Belshegar repeated, not sure what she was trying to say.
Once again, Levi smiled. “Something to hold over your head.” He directed his next words to Angela, adding, “He came here and put on a human form and went to a friend’s wedding.”
“That’s it?” she demanded, clearly surprised that such a small thing would have been enough to force compliance.
“Perhaps that was the final straw,” Belshegar said. “I had also spent many years visiting her and offering her what comfort I could. In the grand scheme of things, I suppose it is not the sort of thing that beings from my plane should do. But Elena was my friend, and I had told her I would be at her wedding. I do not go back on my promises. Also,” he continued, thinking he should clarify what Levi had just said, “I did not assume this human form on my own. I do not have the power to do such a thing. Loc took care of it for me, since my friend Elena is a member of the Castillo clan.”
To anyone else, this would have all sounded hopelessly opaque. But it seemed Angela and Connor understood the mechanics of the situation well enough that they found no need to ask any further questions.
It was Allegra who spoke up then, her tone obviously puzzled. “If Loc provided the human form you wore to your friend’s wedding, who gave you the one you wear now?”
“The voice,” Belshegar replied at once. “Or rather, the Collector, if he’s truly the one behind all of this.”
No one listening seemed to like the sound of that very much. Angela’s full mouth thinned, and she said, “He’s really that powerful?”
“I doubt he is on his own,” Levi told her. “But it seems likely he’s ‘collected’ a magical artifact that allowed him to give Belshegar this human body.”
If he’d given it, then he could also take it away if he liked.
A chill moved through Belshegar’s form, even as he did his best to tell himself that the Collector wouldn’t do such a thing if he thought his reluctant servant had even the slightest chance of obtaining the artifacts he wanted.
But if he should decide that Belshegar was no longer of any use to him….
A swallow, and he forced himself to say, “It is a reality I must face, I suppose. Although I do hope it will not come to that.”
After he made that remark, Conner and Angela shared a look Belshegar couldn’t quite interpret.
Did they know something of his relationship with Brianna?
Perhaps. After all, she was a member of their clan, and even though the clan elders didn’t appear to be too involved in the day-to-day doings of the family, he also guessed they were still aware of many more things than one might think.
If they did know, then of course, they would also realize that for him to suddenly assume his true form would cause a very large problem for his and Brianna’s burgeoning romance. No one here had any idea what he actually looked like, but if they knew Loc, then they also would understand that otherworldly beings such as they never looked like ordinary humans.
Or even not-so-ordinary ones.
“What must I do?” he asked, glad that his voice sounded so steady. Some might have thought it odd for a being such as he to ask for advice from a group of humans — Levi excepted, of course — but he had never encountered a situation like this before, and he thought he could use all the help he could get.
“Keep on with what you’re doing,” Angela said immediately. “Make it look as if you’re poking around. Now that we know why you’re here, we won’t have to worry about what you’re up to, but if the Collector is watching, that should assure him you’re doing everything you can.”
It didn’t sound like a terribly strong plan, and yet Belshegar knew the prima was only trying to clear the way for him as best she could. And he had to believe they would spread the word, and while not providing all of the story, would at least let the other people in the clan know there was nothing to fear from him and not to worry if they saw him wandering near their homes.
“Even when I’m not,” he said softly.
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly. “Well, the way I see it, the Collector wasn’t exactly honest with you, so I don’t see why you should be honest with him.”
A very human way of looking at the situation.
Belshegar thought he liked it.
17
Some part of her had been worried that maybe Bill wouldn’t contact her after all, especially when most of the afternoon ticked by and she hadn’t heard a single thing from him.
But then her phone pinged just a minute or so after she got home from her final music lesson for the day.
I haven’t been to the Haunted Hamburger yet. Would you mind going there for dinner?
