Chapter 25
“Whatever elixir he was taking was strong,” Jacques tells me, pulling a string to turn on the light at the bottom of the basement stairs. “He’s already aged several years.”
“That fast?” I ask, still holding my mug of coffee. I got out of bed only twenty minutes ago, and Jacques, who’d been on Trent babysitting duty, told me it was imperative that we go down and interrogate Trent sooner rather than later.
“Yes. I’ve been able to get information out of him—”
“Is that your way of saying you’ve been torturing him?”
Jacques turns around, lips pressed together in a thin line. “Maybe.”
“You’re turning me on, Jac.”
He rolls his eyes. “Hasan has done more of the physical work.”
Laughing, I take another sip of coffee and follow Jacques deeper into the basement. It’s funny, in a way, to see Trent tied up in the same spot where the guys used to turn to stone for the day.
“Shit, you weren’t kidding.” I stop short, noting the wrinkles around Trent’s eyes.
He’s gone from distinguished and handsome businessman to being a regular at senior Bingo night, which means he’s aging fast. It won’t be long before time catches up with him and he withers away to nothing. “How long do you think he has?”
“A day at most,” Jacques tells me. Hasan is down here, keeping an eye on Trent. He looks at Jac, who nods, and they both step away, letting me have my moment with Trent.
I sit on a wooden chair, leaning back and crossing my legs. “Mr. Trent,” I start, and he pulls against his restraints. He’s tied to the chair he’s in and isn’t going anywhere. “It’s time for some answers.”
He grumbles something incoherent, words lost through the gag in his mouth. I take another drink of coffee, looking at the man who’s destroyed so much. And if what Rachel said was true…then he’s in for a world of hurt.
“But first, listen, and listen carefully. I’m only going to say this once.
” I scoot the chair a little closer to him.
“Not that long ago, there was a young girl. She was bright and happy and believed in fairytales. Until someone took it all away. She made it her life’s mission to stop as many evil people as she could, and if you ask me, she’s doing pretty damn well for herself right about now.
” I finish my coffee and set the mug on the ground.
“But there’s still one thing she’s not sure on, and that’s where you come in.
” I put my hand on the back of my neck and rub my sore muscles.
“And I know you’re probably thinking what’s in it for me, and I’ll be frank: there’s nothing in it for you.
But if you cooperate, I’ll make sure your passage into the spirit world is quick and quiet.
If not…well, I’m more than happy to try my hand at mixing up an anti-aging potion.
I might get a few of the key ingredients wrong, but hey, I’m still learning.
And we have the rest of our lives to sort things out together. ”
Trent trains his eyes on me and becomes very still.
“I’m going to go ahead and take that as a yes,” I say, and stride over, pulling the gag from his mouth.
I move around, crouching down right in front of him.
“So you decide: tell me everything or make me take it from you.” I tap his temple.
“It’s all in there, I know. It’s only a matter of learning how to magically pull it out of your head. ”
“What do you want to know?” he asks through gritted teeth.
“Who killed my parents.”
Trent smiles, throwing his head back. I conjure a bright fire and bring my hand close to his face. The heat doesn’t hurt me, but it can hurt Trent. I bring my hand closer, searing his hair.
“I did!” he admits. I pull my hand back and shake my head.
“You’re not old enough to be behind the murders. You said you stopped aging fifty years ago, but the timeline doesn’t match up.”
“The first few killings were a demon,” he spits, doing everything he can to lean away from me. “My father was going after the demon to collect a bounty from another procurer who displays demon heads in his office like someone would with deer.”
I make a face. “Gross. But go on.”
“My father realized the demon was seeking magic. It sucked it right out of each and every victim.” A sick smile comes over his face as he talks. “That’s how it feeds, you know.”
I inhale slowly, needing to stay calm. “My father found it once—the demon, that is—but he wasn’t fast enough. I got to see it all firsthand. The way the demon rose from the shadows. How he put his hand over the hearts of his victims and drank in their spirit until there was nothing left.”
“But there was something left,” I say, feeling hollow inside.
“Most of the time, there was.” The smile on Trent’s face grows.
“There were children left behind. None possessed enough magic at that point to satisfy the demon, so they were left behind.” He leans forward, ropes creaking as he moves.
“But I…I knew better. One day the nasty little things would grow up and have powers greater than mommy and daddy.”
My throat feels thick. I grind my teeth, needing all the restraint in the world not to throw a ball of fire into Trent’s face. “You’re disgusting.”
“Thank you,” he says, and then laughs, but his laugh turns into a cough.
“You’re aging fast,” I remind him. “And now I’m thinking about waiting until you get into your eighties and then keeping you there forever.
I’m sure you’ll be just fine living on prune juice and strained beets the rest of your miserable existence.
And if you think someone is going to save you, don’t.
Charles is in jail. The bodyguard is still in the hospital.
And the kids you kidnapped…they want your blood.
You’re at my mercy, so you better keep talking. ”
Trent stiffens, pressing his lips together.
“I watched and waited,” he goes on. “I wish I could take credit for all the deaths of the witches, but alas, I can’t.
The demon had no pattern, no predictability.
It went wherever there was magic, and once it was drained, it moved on.
” He pauses, eyes fluttering, and a few more streaks of gray show up in his hair.
Holy shit. This elixir is wearing off fast. “But then it struck in a small town…a small town composed mostly of witches.” He smiles, proud of himself for what he did next.
“I posed as a concerned hunter, trading my knowledge for magical items and potions. I told the witches everything I knew. They couldn’t kill the demon, but after a full night’s fight against it, they were able to separate the powers from the demon’s physical form. ”
“And you took the powers.”
“I did, and I used them to extract the magic from several witches. I would have kept that kind of power for myself, but raw magic like that burns right through a human body. I didn’t want the parents…no, they’d be too difficult. But the children…the children could be persuaded.”
I can’t help it. I get up and punch Trent right in the face. Once. Twice. Three times. Blood drips down his nose and Hasan comes over, gently pulling me back.
“Is that even possible?” I ask once I’m sitting on the basement steps. Jacques and Hasan stand before me, looking just as pissed as I am. “To remove powers from a demon and then use them?”
“Yes,” Jacques tells me. “It’s difficult and very complicated, but if an entire coven were to work together they could do it.”
Hasan turns around, cracking his knuckles. He’s ready to go throw a few punches himself now too.
“Some demons can jump from body to body,” Jacques explains. “Their powers will transfer that way, so if this was how that particular demon operated, it would have made the separation easier.”
“Then where are the powers? Why hasn’t Trent been using them this whole time?” I ask, feeling like this doesn’t make sense.
“Humans can’t possess demonic powers for long. It will burn their bodies up.” He looks past Hasan at Trent. “We need to find where he’s keeping the demon’s powers. In the wrong hands…”
“Someone could start freezing hearts?” I finish.
“Someone could bring back the demon.”
I stand, and fire surrounds my fingers. “I’ll get an answer from him.”
“Wait,” Jacques says, reaching for me. His fingers sweep over my wrist and he jerks his hand back.
“Did you get burned?” I quickly put out the fire.
Jacques shakes his head, smiling. “I forgot I was human again for a moment. The pain feels good.”
I take his hand and gently blow on the burn. “I’ll put some ointment on it to keep it from getting infected.”
“I’ll get it,” Jacques offers. “There’s something else I want to bring back down that I think will be helpful.”
“What is it?”
He gets a glint in his eyes. “Something I took from the penthouse. You know I’d normally never recommend using questionable magical items, but I think we have enough of an extenuating circumstance to warrant it.”
“You rebel.”
Jacques chuckles and motions to Hasan. “It took a bit of convincing.” He goes back upstairs and I return to Trent, who’s looking older again. Using magic to keep yourself young is so unnatural. I’m not surprised it’s wearing off this fast.
Hasan is leaning against the wall, glaring daggers at Trent. His face softens when he sees me, and he crosses the basement, stopping before me. My heart swells in my chest and he wraps me in his arms. We stay like that for a moment, taking a mini reprieve from everything.
“How are you holding up?” he asks softly.
“I’m good,” I say, and it’s the honest truth. “I’ll be better once he’s aged to dust, but…the curse is broken. I’m getting revenge for my parents’ death.” Suddenly it hits me and I press my face against Hasan’s chest to hide my emotions. “It’s everything I wanted.”
“What we wanted.”
I look up and he cups my chin, kissing me.
“You’re fucking them?” Trent spits, lips curled back with disgust.
“Yeah,” I say, looking away from Hasan with a smile on my face. “All of them.”
Jacques comes back downstairs, followed by Tom and Gil.