Nonetheless, I felt confident Scholes wouldn't let this matter go unattended. He would win. As I had noted earlier,
I didn't know if I could trust him, but I did respect him—and his powers of persuasion.
"It's a power play," warned Scholes.
"He shouldn't even be trying it. His time is past; we're the ones who control the game now. Doing this insults us—especially you, since you guys are the ones who actually draw territorial lines. It's an unannounced challenge."
This, I saw, had an effect on the demon. He recognized Scholes's attempts to draw him in, but it was working nonetheless. Pride wasn't one of the Seven Deadly Sins for nothing.
Jake, as a faithful servant of hell, couldn't help but be susceptible. I'd seen his pride come into play before; he didn't like others messing with his reputation.
And while the demon naturally had many weaknesses, I'd say it was this more than anything else that would make him take action.
