Chapter 4

Chapter

Four

" R oger's in that cave," I said quietly.

"And that cave is filled with something other than bodies and magic." Ashworth's voice was grave. Despite the early hour of the day and the fact he was probably fitter than anyone here aside from Aiden, he was sweating profusely. The veil wasn't taking it easy on anyone, it seemed. "Whatever it is, it doesn't feel right."

"I think that would have to be the understatement of the year," Monty said.

I glanced at them both. "It's a demon."

"And one that's fucking hungry," Belle added, with a shiver.

"Then obviously, it's either a trap or a means of diverting us to wherever the hell they actually want us to go," Aiden said.

"Possibly, but surely Marie can't have known we'd try…" I let the rest trail off. Marie had been correctly guessing our every move up to this point, so why wouldn't she have known this would be our next one?

"Given what obviously awaits inside this tunnel," Monty said, "it's worthwhile to at least check out other options, even if that's what they want us to do."

"I think there's an open seam around behind the ridge that dives into a smaller connecting cavern," Aiden said. "I'll run over and?—"

"Not alone," I snapped.

"I can move faster in wolf form?—"

"Your wolf can't outrun magic," I growled. "It can't even see it. And I'm the only one here who has any chance of keeping up with said wolf."

I would never be able to shift into wolf form, but the DNA changes being made to my body had at least given me wolf-like speed. Whether I could keep up with him in this soup was another matter entirely.

He hesitated then nodded. "Fine."

Both his expression and his voice were mild, but I knew him well enough by now to know he was anything but. I grinned and, as he turned and walked toward the left edge of the towering seam of red rock, glanced back at Ashworth. "Might be worth creating a barrier around that entrance to prevent any future bushwalkers from heading inside."

"I was thinking the very same thing, lass," he said. "The three of us will attend to that while you check out this other entrance."

I nodded, shoved the silk bag containing the ring into my pocket, and ran after Aiden. A few yards beyond the cavern's entrance, the shadows began to ease, and moving seemed less of an effort. Which was odd, in many respects. Why have a wide protection arc on one side of the mine's entrance but not the other? Or was it a deliberate ploy to funnel the unwary into an easier to defend entrance?

Doubtful came Belle's comment. This looks like a main entrance and would be pretty easy to defend. The demon inside is overkill.

Marie seems to have a penchant for that. Stones slid from under my foot, and Aiden caught my hand, stopping me from slipping back down. He didn't release me, but kept a firm hold as we continued on.

Marie has a penchant for games, just like Maelle. Maybe it comes with the territory.

The territory being a very old vampire. Or maybe it's a trait of their bloodline—something Marie passes on to all those she turns.

Possible. It's not like any of us know all that much about vampires.

I'm tempted to say, "and thank the fuck for that," but our lack of knowledge isn't helping us right now.

Which is why I've all things crossed that, at the very least, the things that worked on the vamp who turned Karen will work on this lot.

It should.

"Should" doesn't mean will.

My, you're suddenly very pessimistic. My mental tones were dry. Any reason?

She hesitated. Not really. I'm just getting bad vibes about this whole situation.

It's usually me getting the bad vibes.

Aiden and I finally reached the top of the scree slope; he released my hand and led the way across the ridge's gentle rise, slowly at first but with increasing speed as I managed to keep him in sight.

And maybe this is just a rare bleed over from you, Belle said, but I've got this weird feeling something is about to happen. Something other than the likelihood we're walking into a trap.

Something like a fire, perhaps? The scent of smoke was certainly stronger up on this ridge. It might be worth checking the Emergency Services app for fire warnings. I wouldn't put it past Marie to set off a fire and force us into the arms of her demon.

I will … just be careful.

Always am , I repeated with a mental grin.

She snorted. Seriously, that reply is getting old.

And yet, I will continue to use it.

She mentally rolled her eyes, and the connection between us faded back. I switched my full attention to following Aiden through the thick scrub, leaping over rocks and fallen tree trunks with an ease and sureness that wouldn't have been possible six months ago.

As we crested the ridge, Aiden swung right, onto another long scree slope. I cautiously followed him down. Loose bits of stone and earth slid away from every step, creating a mini avalanche that chased Aiden's heels. He made it safely to solid ground, then turned and waited for me.

"You okay?" He caught my hand and helped me down the few final feet.

I nodded, squeezed his fingers, then released them. "How far away is the other entrance?"

"Just down there." He pointed to the right, where two sections of rough red stone rose sharply, forming a narrow crevice between them. "Are you sensing anything?"

I shook my head. "Doesn't mean there isn't anything there, though. I'll lead." I paused. "Any known vertical shafts I need to worry about?"

He half smiled. "No, though given your tendency to find them, it might be wise for us to tie on, just in case."

I arched my eyebrows, amusement teasing my lips. "For safety reasons? Or because you're desperate to tie me down?"

He grinned. "I refuse to answer that question on the grounds I might incriminate myself."

I snorted softly and moved on cautiously. As we neared the crevice, several tiny but luminous threads of wild magic drifted toward me. I raised a hand, and they looped around my wrist. Energy surged around me, through me, and suddenly I was mentally falling toward a pool of light—a bright, fierce light that was not only filled with power but also voices. Speaking to me. Warning me.

Surprise had me stumbling, and I probably would have hit the ground if Aiden hadn't lunged forward and caught me. "I'm fine," I said, even though he hadn't said anything, my mind still on the whispers rather than my surroundings.

"You're not," he retorted. "What just happened?"

"It's the wild magic. It's speaking to me."

"Hasn't it always spoken to you?"

"Katie speaks to me through it, yes, but this isn't her."

Katie O'Connor had been Aiden's youngest sister, and her soul—along with the ghost of her witch husband, Gabe—now protected the second, much newer wellspring within the reservation.

"Then who is it?"

"The Fenna."

There was an edge of surprise—and perhaps even wonder—running through my reply. I'd thought they'd rejected me outright, but these whispers suggested that was not the case. I'd been judged, true, and the wolf in Mom's bloodline considered insufficient to fully contain and control the sheer depth of power that lay within the wellspring, but Belle had been right. They had not vetoed my use of its power and there was no curtailment in the power I could draw. They were simply limiting it to what my body could safely contain without harming myself or the child I carried. In those brief, confused, mind-blowing, awe-inspiring moments when I'd stepped into the wellspring and found myself in the presence of hundreds of powerful souls, I'd misunderstood the stream of information flowing through and around me.

No surprise there. I did tend to do that.

"What are they saying?" Aiden asked.

"They're warning me about what lies in wait up ahead."

And it was a threat that would take every ounce of my power to contain.

Because what waited was not a demon, but a vampire.

Not Marie. Jaqueline.

I stopped and spun. "You can't go any further, Aiden."

He looked at me like I'd suddenly gone mad. And maybe I had, because with the threads wrapped around my wrists and the Fenna's whispers ringing in my ears, I felt nothing. No uncertainty. No fear. And I should. I knew I should.

And then, with a sickening lurch, I realized what else I wasn't feeling.

Belle? You out there?

No reply. I couldn't feel her, couldn't hear her. The mental line between us was deathly silent. The Fenna had cut me off from her. That did scare me, because up until now we'd always believed there was absolutely nothing that could ever break our bond.

If the wild magic could do this, then maybe Marie could, too.

Or Maelle.

Now fear surged. Fear, and an odd sense of foreboding.

"Liz?" Aiden placed a hand on my cheek, but the warmth of his skin against mine did little to chase away the ice creeping through my veins.

I swallowed heavily, doing my best to ignore the fear, trying to concentrate. The whispers were growing louder. They wanted me in that cavern, wanted me to confront the darkness within. Not just the vampire but also the weight of blood and death that stained the rocks and sullied the water.

They wanted— needed —the area to be cleansed before the foulness reached too deeply into the earth and forever altered its energy.

I pressed a hand against Aiden's chest, felt the rapid pounding of his heart. "I'm fine, and I need you to ring Belle and tell her that—the wild magic has blocked our connection, and I can't seem to restore it. I need you—and everyone else—to remain out here, in the sunshine, until I say otherwise."

"But what?—"

"Jaqueline's inside. If you—or any of the others—take one step into that cavern, she'll attack you to get at me."

"You can't go up against Jaqueline alone?—"

"I'm not alone—the wild magic is with me." I curled my fingers into a fist and lightly punched his chest. "Please, listen to me. Don't come in. Things will go badly if you do."

He hesitated and then nodded. "Don't get dead."

The words "I won't" once again teased my tongue, but I wasn't about to tempt fate by putting that out there. I kissed him, then quickly turned and walked toward the crevice. Power hummed around and through me, but the voices had fallen silent, at least for the moment. They'd gotten what they'd wanted. I couldn't help but wonder if that was the end of it, or whether they'd lend guidance or help with Jaqueline.

I guess I'd find out soon enough.

The crevice was narrow, the sides jagged and sharp. I squeezed through as best I could, somehow managing to avoid slicing my arms open in the process. The last thing I wanted to be doing was confronting a vampire while bleeding like a stuck pig. She'd undoubtedly take it as some sort of invitation.

Her mother certainly would have.

Another rush of trepidation swept through me. The confrontation I'd always feared was coming. Maelle was coming. Maybe not right at this moment, but soon. Far too soon.

I flexed my fingers and did my best to push away the fear. I was safe for the moment. Or, rather, I was safe for as long as Roger lived. If he died…

I shivered and stopped at the entrance to the cavern. Unlike the main one, this was little more than a jagged split in the rock face. The scent of death was absent, as was the hungry fury of whatever demon guarded the larger cavern. I had no sense of Jaqueline—if not for the wild magic, Aiden and I might have walked into this place, straight into whatever trap awaited.

I swung my pack around and pulled out two bottles of holy water, tucking one into the back pocket of my jeans and keeping the other in my hand. The wild magic—both mine and the wild threads clinging to my wrist—would protect me, but I couldn't risk using it against her. She was a dark mage and wouldn't take to being caught and caged very easily. The last thing I needed was to stain the wellspring's wild magic with her blood or her magic.

I took several wary steps into the cavern, then paused again, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the deeper darkness. My sight, like my hearing, was now wolf-sharp, and I was soon able to see the sloping, rock-strewn path leading deeper into the cavern. I walked on warily, keeping close to one wall, all senses on alert and my heart galloping uncomfortably in my chest.

Which, considering who I was about to confront, was not ideal. But maybe the enticing pulse of life would distract her. Or, better yet, make her act rashly.

In reality, it was doubtful either would happen. She was her mother's daughter, after all.

I edged on, drawing in deeper breaths, trying to get some sense of the threat that waited. The air smelled slightly musty, and I could hear the distant bubble of water, suggesting there was a good-sized stream running through this cavern somewhere. What remained absent was the heavy weight of death, as well as the demon. Perhaps the caverns weren't as closely linked as Aiden had thought and I was simply too far away to gain any "feel" of the demon.

And perhaps its presence was, as Aiden had guessed, nothing more than a means of diverting at least some of us to this entrance. Why else would Jaqueline be here?

I crept on, wild magic pressing against my fingertips and pulsing on my wrists. The voices were still, but the need for caution nevertheless emanated through the silent connection.

It was a warning I didn't really need. Not when every instinct was screaming the very same thing.

After another dozen steps, the tunnel or shaft or whatever the hell this was began to widen out into a larger cavern. I paused, scanning the visible area, seeing ragged rock walls and various metallic bits and pieces suggesting that even if this cavern was a natural occurrence, it had been mined at some point.

What I couldn't see was a large area to my right.

Or Jaqueline.

But she was here.

My senses, and the voices, told me that.

I took a deep breath that as usual did little to calm my nerves and popped the cork off the bottle of holy water. I could cast it faster than I could cast a spell. A cage spell nevertheless burned across my free hand—which, along with a repelling spell, had recently become my body's automatic magical response to any sort of threat—but I was reluctant to use it until I knew exactly what sort of game or trap Jaqueline and Marie had planned. It might well be nothing more than another means of testing just how strong my magic was, and how well it meshed with the wild magic.

And it was meshed, even in something as simple as a repelling spell and this more complicated cage spell. It might be my inner magic rather than the wellspring's, but it was doubtful Jaqueline or Marie would feel the difference.

"I know you're in there, Jaqueline." Thankfully, my voice showed little of the tension roiling through me. "What do you want?"

Her laughter ran across the shadows, the warm mocking sound so reminiscent of her mother that a chill ran through me. "I didn't think you would be fooled for long."

The shadows parted, and she stepped through. She was tall and supple, with copper hair and pale, flawless skin. Aside from the color of her hair and eyes—which were blue—and her more modern clothing, she was the image of Maelle.

I clenched my free hand against the deepening burn of magic pressing against my fingertips, fighting for dominance against the cage spell. I might be wary of unleashing my inner wild magic, but my inner energy seemed to have other ideas. No sparks danced across my fist just yet, but they couldn't be that far off.

"What game do you and your mistress play now, Jaqueline?"

"Oh, I assure you, this is no game." Her voice held echoes of Maelle's accent, but it was nowhere near as cultured.

"Then what is it? Why do you haunt the shadows of this cavern when your dining room lies no more than a hundred or so yards away?"

"It is not our dining room. Hasn't been for a week now, but I believe you are already aware of this." Her voice was gently mocking. "I also believe you are here not to save the souls of the dead, but rather the life of one who has never deserved it."

Which only made me wonder what Roger had done to her, given he apparently hadn't existed until well after Maelle had destroyed the coven.

Or was that not the case?

If it wasn't, then it meant I truly couldn't believe anything any of them were telling me.

"That would be my ultimate goal, yes," I said. "Maelle without the man who is basically her sanity is not someone any clear-thinking person would want to deal with."

She chuckled again. "If you believe the face she presents to the world is her true one, then you have been sadly misled."

"Oh, I'm well aware of who and what she is?—"

"No," Jaqueline cut in. "I do not think you are."

"Then why don't you tell me?"

She took a step closer. I didn't back away, but my grip instinctively tightened on the bottle of holy water. Her gaze briefly flickered down, and she smiled.

It was not a pleasant smile.

"If you think such a small vial will do me serious damage, you are deluded, young witch."

"Oh, I am under no delusions as to what holy water can and can't do. Take one step closer, and perhaps we will see which of us is right."

She studied me for several wildly erratic heartbeats—mine, not hers—and then laughed. It was the first time I'd ever heard anything approaching real warmth from her, and my psi senses stirred.

Nothing in this situation was what it seemed, and to believe one person's truth over the other's might be the biggest mistake I'd ever make.

"I am not at liberty to speak of that which passed between my maker and my mother?—"

"How convenient," I drawled.

"But if it is truth you seek," she continued, ignoring my comment, "then at least some of it can be found in the next cavern, with that which waits."

"Meaning the souls of those you and your fellow vamps murdered? Or your leashed demon?"

"I have never been overly concerned with souls—they are troublesome creatures at best, and for the most part deserving of what came to them."

Anger surged. "None of those people in there?—"

"A few did." She shrugged, an eloquent gesture that again reminded me of Maelle. "But as wolves hunt for food, so must we."

A chill ran through me. Though her words contained no actual threat, it was nevertheless a gentle reminder that the chaos they'd already inflicted on the O'Connor pack could very easily be repeated—this time with vampires rather than a basilisk.

The wild magic pulsed through me, and I ached, truly ached, to unleash it. To capture this bitch and drag her back to her mother to deal with. But my psi senses continued to urge caution.

I shifted uneasily from one foot to another, and that's when I caught it—the faint flicker of a spell. I narrowed my gaze and studied it. It was intricately woven, with multiple layers of protection spells threaded through it, and what looked to be some sort of capture spell. Beyond them, sitting much deeper in the heart of the multi-layered spell, were thick and ominous-looking threads that had a chill tripping across my skin even if I was too far away to see what they were—and I had no desire to get any closer and find out the hard way.

I swallowed heavily against increasing trepidation, although, rather weirdly, my fear seemed to be easing. Whatever was happening here, it presented no immediate threat to me. "Why are you waiting here, Jaqueline? You can't have known we would find this place."

She raised an eyebrow, a cool, almost contemptuous smile playing around her lush red lips. She'd fed recently. Very recently. Which didn't mean she wouldn't be tempted to take a sip from me if the opportunity presented itself, but it did at least lessen the chance of her hunger getting the better of her.

"You forget we have a greater understanding of my mother's ways than you ever could or would."

"That doesn't answer the question."

Her playful contempt increased, and once again I saw Maelle. "Did you not find Roger via some possession my mother gave you?"

I frowned. "Yes, but my psychometry?—"

"Was guided. Maelle has always known where to find Roger. He is a part of her—a product of her own flesh in a way more basic than even me."

"You can't get much more basic than giving birth to a child, and you are that, not him."

She raised a mocking eyebrow. "He dined on her flesh and bound himself to her for eternity. I did not. It made him hers in a manner I never will be."

At least that meant what we'd been told about thralls was true. "That doesn't explain your statement that my psi seeking was guided."

"The item you were given was not his but rather hers. When you opened your mind to her possession, she simply used it to show you where he was."

If Jaqueline was right—if Maelle had guided my seeking, despite the presence of our entwined protection circles and without me ever suspecting something was off—that was fucking scary.

"Maelle couldn't have known what else lies in that cavern."

"In that, you are very wrong, as you will no doubt soon discover. But you also forget that she sees through his eyes and knows full well her demon is leashed to her thrall. I would wager she did not mention that fact, and you had no idea it existed until you reached the cavern's entrance."

" Her demon? You didn't conjure it?"

"No. We are not the reason it has come to this reservation, though we are the reason it is tethered here. You need to understand exactly what you're dealing with. It is not us you need to fear."

"Say the women who have repeatedly threatened to kill us all if we got in the way of their vengeance."

"That warning still holds. Step back, and you will be safe. We are not after you." She paused. "Although it is undoubtedly true that you have an intriguing way with the wild magic that should not exist, and which would be interesting to … sample."

Over my dead body . But I well and truly kept that thought to myself. No need to tempt evil more than she already was. "If what you are saying is correct?—"

"And it is, I assure you."

"Why would Maelle simply not tell us? Why wouldn't she mention the demon?"

"Because she hopes you will kill it. You must not."

I blinked. "Why not? It's a fucking demon."

"It's not any old demon—it is her demon. That is a vastly different thing."

"I don't understand?—"

"No matter what Maelle might have made you believe, she is not more powerful than Marie. They are equals. They always have been. To destroy the coven, my mother made a deal with her devil. Roger is a part of that deal, the leash that keeps her safe from the demon that continues to feed."

Was that confirmation Roger hadn't been created after the destruction, as we'd been led to believe, but was instead an intrinsic part of it? Or had my earlier guess been right, and the truth lay somewhere between their two stories?

"So Roger's soul was gifted in exchange for Maelle's power boost?"

"No. As I said, he is the leash and the control."

My confusion deepened. "Meaning he controls the demon? Or that he is the demon?"

I'd never gotten any sense of that from him but then, it wasn't like I'd ever— ever —come across a thrall or a situation like this before. Hell, I didn't think there'd be many in Canberra who could make such a claim, not even amongst those who hunted dark mages for a living.

"He is more the"—she paused, as if considering her words—"gateway. The means through which this demon enters her world to feed as their agreement requires. To kill the demon while it is leashed in this world rather than the one it was called from would leave the gateway open and allow others—others who would be unrestrained—to enter. It would basically mean the end of this reservation."

"Ah, fuck."

"A crude but appropriate sentiment," Jaqueline said, tone dryly amused.

I drew in a breath and released it slowly. "But by pinning her demon to this world, aren't you basically doing the same thing?"

"Not for as long as Roger remains alive. Besides, you will banish it, will you not? It then will not be a problem going forward."

When she or Marie finally got around to killing Roger, she meant. "Why would Maelle send me here, knowing I'd discover her demon and more likely kill rather than banish it? That makes no sense if it is indeed her ‘battery.'"

"Its death would allow her to call forth another—possibly stronger—demon."

I studied her for a second, uncertain just how much I should believe her. "Why are you telling me all this? Why do you even care?"

Her smile was cool—almost mocking. "I don't care—not about you, or indeed this place. I certainly do not wish to be here any longer than necessary. But Mother must be dealt with, once and for all."

Then why didn't you fucking do so eons ago? Why bring your war here?

But I already knew the answer—or, at least, a part of it. An unprotected wellspring always drew evil to its shores. Maelle might deny it was the reason for her presence here, but Castle Rock wasn't the sort of place any serious businesswoman would set up a nightclub like hers. It might have been a success, but the area simply didn't have the population to sustain it long term.

And now, the wellspring's echoes and her presence had drawn her hunters here.

Monty had theorized not so long ago that the call of the wellspring's unprotected power was beginning to fade, and that these dark intrusions would soon end. If that were true, Fate had obviously decided we needed to go out with one hell of a bang, and called the biggest bads of them all into the reservation.

I reached out for Belle again, needing nothing more than the comforting buzz of her presence in the background of my mind, but the deadness remained.

"You do not believe us, but there are always two sides to every story," Jaqueline continued. "The truth lies in the past—look to places such as Holtham, Elvedon, and Greysdown—and at the nature of the Stragulum demon. Then step aside and let us do what must be done, the way we wish to do it."

"Only if you stop kidnapping, draining, and then tearing apart your victims."

Her smile flashed. "In that, I am a product of my maker, as much as my mother is. Her demon only amplified what already existed."

"Then you and I remain on opposite sides of this war."

"That would be a great shame." She paused. "One more thing—when you learn the truth, you must not kill her. She is ours, and only ours."

And with that, she stepped back into the shadows and was gone. As was the barrier that had stood between us.

Had she been nothing more than a projection? It wouldn't be the first time, but there hadn't been such a heavily layered spell between us previously. There hadn't been any spell evident at all . Did that mean the unknown threads layered into the spell separating us had been some sort of transport spell?

Possibly.

I studied the rest of the cavern for a moment longer, not seeing or sensing anything untoward, then swung around and made my way back to Aiden. His relief when I emerged out of the crevice was so strong it briefly overwhelmed my senses.

"What happened? Did you find Jaqueline?"

"Yes. She came with another warning."

"They seem very big on warnings, which is rather odd, considering."

"They're aware of the wild magic. I think they want to avoid unleashing its wrath via pissing me off."

"Which is very sensible, given it's never a good idea to piss you off. I know this from experience."

I laughed and let him catch my hand and pull me into his embrace. For several seconds, I did nothing more than rest the side of my head against his chest, drawing in his strength and warmth and love, replenishing the well that fear and trepidation had drained.

Continued to drain.

"Belle, Monty, and Ashworth are on their way here," he said, his voice a deep rumble that vibrated through me. "They've protected the main entrance as best they can."

"Good, although according to Jaqueline the demon is leashed."

Pissed off, but leashed.

"I wouldn't think it a good idea to trust the vampire who not so long ago threatened to kill you."

"Actually, she threatened to ‘have' me, which isn't quite the same thing." I glanced around as Belle came into view.

"What the fuck has happened to our link?" she immediately asked.

"The wild magic has somehow cut us off."

" Your wild magic?"

I shook my head and lifted my wrist, revealing the luminous threads that remained attached. She frowned. "I thought the wellspring—and the Fenna who command it—had abandoned you, except in times of need?"

"Apparently I was wrong."

"Huh." She frowned. "Any idea why it has cut us off, then? That never happened when you've used it before."

"I don't think it's a result of the wild magic per se, but rather the Fenna. The minute their whispers started, we were cut off."

"What are they whispering?" Monty said, as he stopped beside Belle.

"They warned me about Jaqueline, and they want that cavern cleansed ASAP." I switched my gaze to Ashworth as he appeared "What do you know about Stragulum demons?"

"Stragulum? Now there's a breed of beastie I've not heard mentioned in a very long time."

"Then you do know about them?"

He nodded. "I take it that's what awaits us?"

"If Jaqueline is to be believed, yes." I quickly updated them, then added, "She told me not to kill it because doing so would leave a gateway open and risk us being overrun by evil. Is that true?"

"It's not so much evil as darker emotions," Ashworth said gravely. "They're demons that feed off the worst excesses of the living. Unlike most of their kind, they do not barter for the soul of the summoner but rather an alliance—a boost in magical energy for negative energy feasts."

"That's why she bathes in the broken bodies of those she kills," Belle said suddenly. "She might enjoy it, but she also has to feed her demon."

Ashworth nodded again. "If a Stragulum is killed, all the negative energy it has collected is released. If it is a very old Stragulum, as this one probably is, then think of that release as an emotional tsunami."

"How the hell do we deal with it then?" Aiden asked.

"We banish it."

"Which is what Jaqueline said we should do," I said. "Apparently, they only called it forth so that we knew exactly what Maelle truly is."

"Like we didn't already know," Belle muttered.

"I don't think any of us understood the true depths of her depravity, even if we knew she was far darker than her polished veneer would have us believe." I returned my attention to Ashworth. "How will banishing it help? Won't she just call it back to her side?"

"Banishment breaks their agreement. If she calls it back, she would need to renegotiate the deal, and the demon is now well aware of what she faces and will drive a harder bargain."

"I wouldn't think there would be much more it could do than force her to tear her living victims apart and swim in their remains," Monty said.

"Oh, you would be wrong there, laddie, and there're a few places that can attest to that."

"Like Holtham, Elvedon, and Greysdown?" I said.

Ashworth glanced at me. "I don't know Elvedon or Greysdown, but Holtham is certainly a good example of what happens when you kill a Stragulum. Those few who survived there were never the same."

Which meant that perhaps the cleansing the Fenna wanted wasn't only the weight of blood and death, but the presence of this demon. If its store of negative energy was unleashed, it could fatally stain both wellsprings. Katie wasn't yet strong enough to protect hers from such a wave, and even if I worked in tandem with Belle, it was doubtful either of us could hold it back for long.

"One thing does strike me as odd," Belle said. "If Jaqueline and Marie knew this demon is the source of her power, why summon it to show us? Why not just banish it themselves?"

"Maelle said she can't retaliate against them unless they make a direct attack on her," I said. "Perhaps attacking her demon could be considered a direct attack."

"And Roger isn't?" She raised her eyebrows. "How does that work? In many respects, he's linked to her more intimately than this demon."

"Given none of them appear to be telling the whole truth, who fucking knows." Frustration and more than a bit of anger crept into my tone. I did my best to squash it down and glanced at Ashworth. "If we're using the banishment spell that we used on the basilisk, will we need to call in Eli or can Belle slip into his spot?"

"This demon is no basilisk, and Belle is perfectly capable of stepping in." He half shrugged. "Truth is, the demon may well welcome being banished, as it will allow renegotiations. The contract would have been blooded a long time ago."

"Happy to step in, but I wasn't there when you banished the rusalka or the basilisk," Belle said. "You'll need to walk me through it.

"Liz can guide you." Ashworth returned his gaze to mine. "Is Jaqueline still in there?"

"No. I was either speaking to a projection again, or she used some sort of spell to transport away." Maybe even that "other" plane Maelle had mentioned earlier.

"Well then, let's get this show on the road." Monty waved me forward. "After you, dear cousin."

"Thanks."

It was wryly said, and his smile flashed. "You've only yourself to blame. If you don't want to lead, stop collecting all these new and wonderful abilities that allow you to do things like see in the dark."

I laughed and lightly pushed him. "Yeah, because I have a choice in any of it."

Just as my daughter didn't have a choice.

It was a sobering thought, and I couldn't help but wonder again what sort of life I'd committed her to. I hoped her link to the Fenna would be along the same lines as Belle's link to her spirit guides, but so little was known about the Fenna and the wild magic that I couldn't be sure. And until she was old enough to understand what I'd done, I wouldn't know.

Would she hate me, as Jaqueline hated her mother?

The circumstances were different—presuming Maelle told the truth about Jaqueline being a willing participant in the ceremony, and there was no guarantee now that she was—and the reason very different indeed, but that didn't alter the fact that I'd done to her what my father had done to me.

And it was something that would haunt me through the long years ahead.

Not wanting to dwell on that , I spun and walked back into the canyon. Aiden stepped in behind me, then the others followed in single file. I stopped when we reached the smaller cavern's entrance, once again checking for any sign of magic. The place remained silent and empty.

I wished I could say the same for the larger cavern.

The ghosts were moaning. Loudly. It was as if they sensed salvation was at hand.

I glanced around at Belle. "They've practically got a choir happening in that other cavern—are you going to be okay?"

She nodded, though sorrow haunted her silver eyes. "Their emotional weight rests heavily on the air, which will affect you more than me. I'll be fine as long as I don't connect."

"You'll have to connect to help them move on, though, won't you?" Monty asked, with a frown.

She hesitated, tilting her head slightly sideways as she listened to her spirit guides. "It's apparently possible to do a bulk ‘move on' spell without connecting, as long as the souls are confined to the one area."

"And the souls that refuse the call?"

"Will remain in that cavern. I cannot alter that. I've never been able to."

It was rare for souls to refuse moving on, but there were always some outliers who couldn't accept their death, or who wanted to remain close to those they'd loved, even if only in spirit form. We'd certainly come across a couple over the years.

"Why would any soul want to remain in such an awful place?" Monty asked, then touched Belle's arm lightly. "If you need to stop at any point, just shout."

She nodded and dropped a quick kiss on his cheek. "I'll be fine."

I wasn't so certain, and the quick look she cast me suggested she was worried about us both. I frowned down at the threads on my wrist; the whispers had fallen silent, but the buzz of their power skated across the back of my thoughts. I reached out, trying to connect with them mentally, and felt a slight pop in the power stream. An acknowledgement of my attempt, perhaps? I had no real idea, but it didn't hurt to try. I need Belle's help to cleanse. You have to stop blocking her.

The request seemed to echo across that band of static but there was no immediate lifting of the barrier that had cut us off.

I cursed silently and stalked toward the tunnel. It turned out to be man-made, and the heavy wooden beams supporting the ceiling and walls in this section looked in surprisingly good condition. I doubted it would stay that way, given the steady trickle of water I could hear running deeper within the tunnel.

Monty's light sphere bobbed above our heads, its pale light washing across rough red walls that still bore the pick marks of those who'd carved it into existence. It was easier to move through than the crevice had been, but I nevertheless walked on cautiously. Just because all I'd sensed were the ghosts and Maelle's demon didn't mean Marie or Jaqueline hadn't left another surprise for us.

The deeper we moved into the tunnel, the louder the moaning became. Thick waves of agony and fear washed across my senses, making it increasingly harder to force my feet on. My shields were on high, but without Belle running interference?—

The connection between us flared to life with a suddenness that had me blinking back tears of relief. The Fenna had finally acknowledged my need and lifted the blocking shield. Their static still ran through the far reaches of my mind, though their voices were now a distant murmur I couldn't really understand.

Maybe the fact that I wasn't naturally telepathic meant that I could only mentally deal with one connection at a time.

Possible came Belle's thought. Have they gone completely?

No, and I suspect they'll break our connection again if they have something to tell me. I paused. You can't hear their static?

No, but I haven't got the right blood in me. Whatever the reason for our reconnection, I'm glad it happened. Aside from the fact your absence felt plain wrong, we'll need to pull on each other's strength to get through what awaits.

That was a certainty. And probably why the Fenna had, in fact, relented.

We were deeper into the tunnel now and it was becoming increasingly degraded. Water dripped from the ceiling, and the rock underfoot was slippery with slime. Rubble scattered the floor and, up ahead, barely visible in the sphere's pale light, a ceiling support had partially collapsed, spilling rocks across the ground, and narrowing the tunnel considerably. Moss hung over the uprights and the cracked half of the ceiling support that remained lodged in the wall, suggesting it wasn't a recent fall. But the smell of rot now vied with blood in the air. One wrong move, and this whole tunnel could come down on top of us.

"I'm thinking this isn't the tunnel they used to bring their prisoners in," Monty said. "There's no way they could herd frightened people through here without causing an accident."

"That's presuming their captives weren't spelled into submission," Ashworth replied. "Or that vampires capable of transport spells would be bothered walking their dinner into whatever dining room they might be using."

"According to Jaqueline, they stopped using this one," I said. "I also asked her to stop killing. She refused."

"She's Maelle's daughter, so that's also unsurprising," Monty said.

"Maelle doesn't kill her feeders," I replied.

"As far as we're aware," Monty said. "But given what we now know of her, I doubt that was always the case."

Especially given the three names Jaqueline had dropped. Which meant, of course, the bloody destruction could just as easily be Maelle's and her demon's as Marie's and Jaqueline's.

I guess we'd find out soon enough.

I wouldn't be asking Maelle if she and her demon engage in regular blood baths , Belle said. Even if Roger was at full strength and her state of mind on an even keel, that would be a dangerous question to ask.

Never fear, I have no intention of poking the demon's mistress any more than necessary, especially with questions that don't in the end matter.

We reach the partially collapsed bracing. I sucked in a breath, not daring to breathe as I turned side-on and carefully eased through it. A fine rain of dirt sprinkled down, and I quickly glanced up. There was a decidedly worrying large crack running from the beam's broken back to the supporting wall prop. It wouldn't take much of a bump to bring it all down…

I didn't bump it. Neither did anyone else.

Once Monty, the last in line, had cleared the collapse, we continued on. This section of tunnel bore further evidence of its fragile nature. Rubble lay everywhere, and the dripping water became an almost steady stream running down the slope toward the main cavern. Moss rippled in the clear current and spread across the stone, making each step that much more treacherous.

The closer we got to the cavern, the more intense the wailing of the ghosts became. The waves of emotion that accompanied their song was so strong my skin vibrated with its force. I flexed my fingers, tension rippling through me. If my shields cracked, I was going to be in a whole world of trouble.

They won't, Belle said, with a certainty I didn't feel. But if they do, I'll shore them up.

You need to worry about yourself.

I've heard such choruses before, even if the freshness of these deaths intensifies their song. Besides, connecting with a soul or souls is a conscious decision for me, whereas your empathetic ability can be set off by a simple, unguarded touch.

Not so much these days, but that had certainly been a problem in the past. I continued in, picking my way through the water, rocks, and … were those bone fragments? My stomach stirred, even as instinct whispered an affirmative.

And it wasn't just bone fragments. There were also bits of cloth, knots of hair in hues of browns and blonde, and long strings of what looked like flesh or intestines.

Some of their victims had tried to escape.

Some had made it as far as this partial collapse.

None of them had gotten any farther.

Oh God … I swallowed heavily against the bitter rise of bile, but forced my feet on and kept my gaze ahead rather than looking down at what was crunching under each step. The wailing intensified abruptly, as did the empathic wave, and, up ahead, air shimmered. It was the ghosts who'd died in this tunnel, huddled together in confusion and despair. We'd have to walk through them to get into the cavern.

I stopped. I just couldn't do it.

"Belle?" I said softly. "I don't suppose you…?"

My voice faded as she moved past Aiden and stopped beside me. "It's a small group—six in all. I'll move them on."

She swung her pack around, pulled out a bottle of holy water, and then handed me the pack. After a deep breath to center her energy, she began to spell, though it was in a language I'd never heard used before.

"That's Latin," Ashworth said, surprised. "There are few enough spells around these days that use it. I'm surprised she even knows it."

"She doesn't," I replied. "Her spirit guides are guiding her."

"I thought there was a rule in the spirit world against direct intervention?" Monty said. "This would surely fall under that category, wouldn't it?"

"Generally, yes, but it does depend on the situation and the guide." I shot him an amused glance. "Your spirit guide may have the temperament of a gutter cat who wouldn't go out of his way to help you unless it was absolutely necessary, but not all of them are so mean."

"Eamon is not mean." Amusement glimmered in his eyes. "He merely senses your fear and, like all real felines, likes to tease."

"He has a very liberal definition of tease," I said dryly. And I had the scars to prove it. The ginger terror had very sharp claws.

"Love taps, nothing more," he said. "Trust me, you'd know if he was serious about harming you."

I rolled my eyes and returned my attention to Belle. She was circling the glimmering veil of souls, the force of her magic increasing in tempo with the spell as she sprinkled the holy water onto the ground. While her spirits guides—unlike most witches she was gifted—plagued?—by a number of them—would never harm her, we had no idea what else waited in that tunnel ahead. Just because I was sensing nothing didn't mean something in there wouldn't take advantage of her concentration being on the spell rather than her surroundings.

Belle reached the point where she'd begun and raised a hand, making a sweeping motion as she tied off and then initiated the spell. Power hovered in the air, and ghosts thrummed in tune with it. Then gradually, a bright light formed in the center of the ring she'd created, and one by one, the ghosts entered and disappeared. The light died, the spell died, and the ghosts—or at least these ones—were gone. They'd moved on to whatever fate their next life would bring.

I hoped it was a far kinder one than this.

Belle took a deep breath, then turned to face us. "They all chose to move on."

"Let's hope the rest do," I murmured and touched her arm lightly. You okay?

We seem to be asking each other that a lot recently.

You've spent a lifetime worrying about me, so it's about time I returned the favor, I replied dryly. And don't say it comes with being a familiar, because there's no way in hell Eamon worries about Monty the way you do me.

Her amusement ran down the line between us. Eamon is a law unto himself. But his witch also doesn't have the habit of throwing himself into situations and thinking about it later.

Are we talking about the same Monty?

"Will you two stop having private conversations?" the man in question said wryly. "We have a demon to banish and a thrall to rescue. Let's not piss off the unstable vampire any more than necessary by wasting time."

I saluted lightly. "Moving on as ordered, boss."

He snorted. "I may technically be head reservation witch, but we all know who that mantle really belongs to."

I grinned and moved on, still trying to avoid the bones even if their ghosts were no longer present to moan in distress over us stepping on them. But I'd only gone a few more yards when the tunnel began to widen out into the larger cavern. I slowed, scanning the darkness, all senses alert for any sign of magic or a trap.

Nothing.

The demon scratched and growled to the right of the cavern, hidden by the deeper darkness, its anger so palpable the air practically burned with its force. I had no sense of Roger, though, so I reluctantly retrieved the ring from my pocket and wrapped my fingers around its silk casing.

The pulse of life was distant.

Maelle distant.

Meaning this is something else Jaqueline was truthful about, Belle said. Not that I think we can believe everything else is the truth.

Agree. But right now, her ratio of truth to lie was sitting pretty high. I shoved the ring back into my pack and glanced at Aiden as he stopped beside me.

"I'm not smelling Roger or anyone else in there," he said. "The scent of blood and flesh lingers, and there's an odd sulfuric scent I presume is the demon, but Roger is absent."

"What does Roger smell like to you?" I asked curiously.

He glanced at me, his eyebrows raised. "Like Maelle, just not as … dead."

"Ha." I returned my gaze to the cavern. "Jaqueline said she'd pinned the demon to Roger, so he has to be here somewhere."

"I think we need a little more light on the subject," Monty said, and cast his sphere out into the cavern.

Its pale light washed across stained stone and the remains that floated in the nearest lake—there were two, one far smaller than the other—but didn't really touch the deeper shadows. Monty's magic briefly surged, and the sphere brightened.

Revealing the demon. Its skin was as black as sin and covered with fine hair that seemed to move with a life of its own and reminded me somewhat of a sea anemone. Its features were narrow, almost animal like, with cat-like eyes that glared at us, a long narrow nose, and no mouth. But this thing fed on emotions rather than flesh, so I guess that wasn't surprising.

My gaze dropped to the ground, looking for Roger, and my stomach twisted.

Jaqueline had lied. The demon wasn't leashed to Roger.

It was leashed to his severed leg.