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“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 energywasunleashed, it could fatally stainbothwellsprings. 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.