Page 25 of Shadow's End

“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 isherdemon. 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 Rogerhadn’tbeen 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 heisthe 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 inthisworld 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. “Idon’tcare—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.”

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