Page 33 of Shadow's End

I motioned to the bodies in the water without actually looking at them. “If they haven’t been reduced to bone, why would those in the tunnel or over near that ledge have been? Water doesn’t preserve; it bloats and increases the decomposition rate, doesn’t it?”

“In warmer, shallower waters, yes. But in this particular case, I would think the bones and skin scraps in both the tunnel and near the ridge have been here much longer.”

“But it can take years—decades, even—for a body to break down that thoroughly, can’t it?”

“Normally, yes” came Ashworth’s comment from the other side of the cavern. “But it’s possible to enhance the rate of putrefaction and decay through a variety of different means, including magic.”

“By how much, though?”

He half shrugged, his concentration more on the magical shovel he was helping Monty create than me. “It could reduce it from years to months, at best.”

I stared at him for a second and swallowed heavily. “Then that has to mean this isMaelle’scharnel cave. Marie and her crew simply made use of what already existed.”

“Even if that is true, I doubt we’ll ever find evidence to confirm it.” Aiden’s voice was grim. “Not that we actually need evidence to revoke Maelle’s trading license and escort her out of the reservation.”

“The chances of her allowinganyoneto escort her anywhere she didn’t want to go are exactly zero,” I said. “But surely so many people could not have gone missing?—”

I cut the rest off. It was highly unlikely thatanyof these bodies had originated from within the reservation. In fact, perhaps part of her fury over Roger’s absence was the fact that he could no longer gather suitable dining options from beyond the reservation and bring them back for her and her demon to enjoy.

Bile rose up my throat, and I swallowed heavily, managing to control the surge. But if I got through the rest of this day without losing the contents of my stomach, it would be an utter miracle.

I think what made this whole situation far worse was the fact she’d fooled me. Totally and utterly pulled the wool over my eyes. I’d always known she was dangerous, always known she could not be entirely trusted, but even after what she’d doneto Clayton, even after knowing she’d bathed in human remains up in her aerie, I still hadn’t grasped the true depths of her depravity. Her evil.

I wasn’t alone in that, of course, but that didn’t ease the guilt and the “should have known” refrain already running through my brain. I was the psychic. I was the one with the nose for evil. I should have picked up the depths of hers.

Of course, she’d had centuries to build her façade and hone her lies, but that didn’t help ease the guilt.

I guess the deeper question was, how could I maintain any sort of calm in her presence now, knowing what I knew? I couldn’t kill her—aside from the fact it would probably take the wellspring’s magic to counter hers, and that was something I really couldn’t risk, there was Jaqueline’s warning to consider.

I closed my eyes and scrubbed them wearily. Maybe I simply needed to avoid her—though that would, undoubtedly, bring its own set of problems, given she still needed us to find Roger.

Or, at least, whatever remained of him.

Light footsteps echoed, but before I had a chance to look up, Aiden wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. I pressed the side of my face against the muscular planes of his chest and breathed in the warm, musky smoke scent of him. And felt safer than I ever had in my entire life, even if it was nothing more than an illusion that could so easily be shattered if we didn’t find a way to stop Marie and Maelle from unleashing hell on the reservation.

“Perhaps you should leave,” he said softly. “These deaths have stained the earth for some time now—one more day will not make a difference.”

“The Fenna beg to differ.” I pulled back and kissed him tenderly. “I’ll be fine.”

He smiled and gently skimmed my cheek with a knuckle. “No, you won’t, but you also won’t admit it.”

“That’s a truth I cannot deny.”

“Will you at least go home once the cleansing ceremony is done?”

I hesitated and then nodded. “Belle won’t be in any state to hang around. I’ll have to take her home and ply her with energy potions.”

Though she was deep in the midst of her spell, I heard a faint,Oh no, you fucking won’t.

As a smile teased my lips, Aiden tugged the truck’s keys from his pocket and gave them to me. “The team should be here in fifteen minutes, so I can catch a lift back to the café with one of them.”

“How long do you think it’ll take?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. Why?”

“Just wondering if I need to plan something for dinner or not.”

“I’m hoping we’ll be finished well before then, but if we’re not, I’ll be ordering everyone out at five. There’s no way I’ll be leaving anyone in a place like this when there’re vampires roaming about using the reservation as a diner.”

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