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“No,” he said, fighting against his ropes again. “You’re lying.”

She went to the other side of the room and snatched a mirror from one of the drawers and brought it back. She held it in front of him.

“Why are you making me look in a mirror?” he said, staring at himself.

“This is not your face.”

His eyes darted frantically over the reflection staring back. “Yes, it is,” he roared.

The mind will make you think all kinds of things if you want to believe it badly enough.

“You were never this good-looking,” Else said. “Another reason you were jealous of Stan. You always were an ugly little weasel, inside and out.”

He hissed and snapped at her.

“You set your trap for me and left me overnight,” she said. “You planned to come back, to torture me like you did Stan.” She slid her blade free from the sheath she wore hanging from her waist. “I took my own leg, freed myself, and when you came looking for me to finish the job, I buried this knife in your heart. I sent you to Hell. That’s where you came from, Ed, and where we’re going to send you right back.”

“No,” he said, thrashing harder, fear filling his gaze. He shook his head furiously. “No. You’re lying.”

“But first you’re going to tell me who summoned you.” Else lifted her fist, still holding the blood-soaked string, and pressed it to her lips, whispering a spell before she unraveled it, then began wrapping it around one of Ren’s arms.

Smoke rose from his skin, the bloodied string burning into it. I cried out, and I tried to rush forward. “You’re hurting Ren!”

Warrick hooked me around the waist, holding me back. “Wait,” he said against my ear.

The silver was still binding the spirit to Ren, which meant the spirit could feel pain, but so could Ren. If someone became the blood enemy to a coven, the blood of those witches could literally be used as a weapon. Something Else had obviously done. She kept wrapping more around his arm, and Mom stepped forward, her eyes closing, hands outstretched, whispering a spell that would cause more pain. Ren arched, veins in his neck bulging, and screamed. Iris pulled Mags in tight, hugging her as Ren continued to scream in pain. I wasn’t sure I could take much more. Mom went to Else’s workbench and unraveled more string, making a slice in her own palm.

Else leaned in. “Who summoned you?”

He hissed, nostrils flaring, and shook his head.

She started again, Mom joining in, and I couldn’t bear it. I knew why they were doing it—whoever did this had targeted Mags and me. But seeing Ren suffer like this was tearing me apart.

“Stan cried when I told him I was going to kill you next,” he screamed. “So I took his eyes.”

Else swayed, then straightened and drew her knife. She was going to stab Ren. Warrick released me and grabbed Else, lifting her off her feet, and carried her out of the room.

Everything went silent. Mom stood beside me, a look of shock on her face. Biting back tears, I turned to Ren—no, Ed. “Who summoned you?”

He clamped his mouth shut.

I lifted my hands and whispered a spell that I never had before. It was used by witches as a torture device, attacking every nerve ending in the body. I’d been told it felt like being sliced by razor blades from the inside out. Ren threw his head back again and screamed. Acid crawled up my throat.

“Tell us!” I yelled.

When he said nothing, I stepped back. “Fine, you can go back to Hell.”

He stared at me, and then something flashed through his eyes, a flicker of a memory, and he started to freak the fuck out. “No! No, I can’t go back there. Don’t send me back there.”

“Then tell me what I want to know.”

He was shaking so hard his teeth chattered. “I think…a woman.” He squeezed his eyes closed. “A woman’s voice. That’s all I know, I promise. That’s all I know.”

“Where did you hide Stan’s body?” That was the only other thing Else had told us about Stan, that she didn’t know where he was. She’d never gotten the chance to say goodbye to him.

He bared his teeth. “I drove him out of town and threw his body into Hunters Ravine.”

I had to ask just one more thing. I didn’t know if the image of Azel I’d had while I was shadow seeking was real or something my mind conjured, but I had to ask. “Do you know a fallen angel named Azel?”