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I hesitated. Dealing with the devil was never a good idea, especially when by doing so I was guaranteeing another’s death.
Maelle must have sensed my reluctance, because she added, “Is it not the witch creed to cause not direct harm unto others unless the circumstances are dire or involve the forces of darkness?”
“Yes, but—”
“You destroyed the vampire without thought. If indeed this Janice is responsible for the soul destroyer’s presence, she must be dealt with appropriately.”
“I’ve a strong suspicion my interpretation of appropriate is very different to yours.”
“If you do not agree,” she continued, her tone without inflection and all the more dangerous because of it, “I will use every source within my power to find and destroy this woman, whether or not you have tracked down the soul destroyer or the person who raised it.”
If she did that, we might never find the person responsible—never have justice for those who had died. Which really left me with little other choice. I reluctantly agreed, and Roger’s gaze became his own again. “Excellent. We have a deal then.”
“Yes, we do,” I said, even as I wondered how the fuck I was going to explain the list to Aiden without mentioning Maelle and her connection to them all.
We continued our search. Other than the usual bits of rubbish that accumulated in cars—pens, drink containers, torn-up junk mail, and random bits of fruit peel—there really wasn’t anything else of note.
Once we’d locked up and returned the keys to their hiding spot, we headed back to his car.
“Thanks for your help,” I said, as the chauffeur stopped the car in front of the café.
“I would say you’re welcome, but we both know I only help because my mistress desires it,” Roger said. “I’ll send the list later this evening, when the venue isn’t as busy.”
“You don’t know them off by heart? I’m disappointed.”
“I can certainly quote you every detail of her favorites, right down to minutiae such as their driver’s license and passport numbers. It is only the details of those who are on a longer rotation that I cannot immediately tell yo
u.”
“I guess you’ll have to work on that, then.” My voice was dry. Hell, I couldn’t even remember my own driver’s or passport numbers, let alone anyone else’s.
He flashed an insincere smile. “Indeed I will.”
I slammed the door shut and, as the vehicle drove off, unlocked the café door and walked inside. Once I’d plugged Marlinda’s phone into a power outlet, I headed upstairs to do some more reading. Belle had found the book mentioned in the side note, but hadn’t—if the bookmark between the first few pages was anything to go by—had the chance to read very far into it.
I made myself a coffee, and then sat down and started reading. Two hours later, I had at least one answer. I still didn’t know exactly what sort of soul spirit we were dealing with, but I did now know how to kill it.
The good news was, it appeared my instincts had been on the right track—the first step to ensure erasure was to lure the spirit into an inactivated pentagram, then pin it to the flesh it was controlling via a silver knife and a high-level containment spell. The witch could then activate the pentagram and deal with the spirit.
The bad news was, soul spirits were notoriously difficult to trap, and the best way to do it was to use live bait.
Not just the soul it might have been sent after, but also that of a witch.
Which meant that if either Lance or Larissa was on the soul eater’s tucker list, they’d have to be placed in the path of danger if we wanted to kill this thing.
And that either Ashworth or I would have to stand beside them.
I swore and scrubbed a hand across my eyes. In reality, the task would have to be Ashworth’s. It was his job, after all, not mine.
And yet I couldn’t help the niggle in the back of my mind that said the task would, at least in part, fall to me.
I shivered, and after bookmarking the page for Belle to read, put it back on the coffee table and got up. It was close to nine, and my stomach was rumbling a reminder that it was time to consume something a whole lot more nutritious than cake and hot chocolate.
I went down to the kitchen and made myself a chicken salad and a pot of tea, then headed back upstairs to watch some TV. Time rolled by and, as the clock downstairs began to chime eleven times, I gave up any hope of Aiden dropping by, and went to bed.
Only to be woken at twelve thirty by the tolling of a church bell.
Chapter Twelve
