I wondered why he was telling us this. Demons didn’t care if we understood their motivations. What was he up to?
“Finally, in the fourteen hundreds, ghouls and vampires began rising against each other,” Trove went on. “Such a surprise to realize all it took was a half-breed French girl and the threat of change she posed. Pity Joan was sacrificed so quickly. She nearly caused your races to annihilate each other.”
“And over six hundred years later, another half-breed showed up,” I summarized. “You must’ve thought hell had been granted a Christmas.”
Trove smiled in a way that seemed genuinely amused.
“Along with the advances in science, I did. When I heard that Don had discovered another half-breed, I dropped everything for you, Catherine Crawfield. Poured money into the department your uncle founded and made sure that Madigan was still busy experimenting with your genetic material even after Don fired him. How else was I going to ensure my success if you, like Joan of Arc, died before its fruition?”
His revelations were starting to remind me of the classic movie villain trope: monologuing. From the suspicion edging Bones’s emotions, he was concerned by it, too. Trove had to have an ulterior reason for this. Was he stalling, waiting for demonic reinforcements to arrive?
That’s when I noticed that Bones had maneuvered us next to one of the tall windows with a cityscape view. Our way out if we needed it.
As if reading my thoughts, Trove glanced at the window, then swept out his hand.
“Be my guest, but as I said, I mean you no harm. Vampire or not, I want you alive, Catherine. Otherwise, I would’ve killed you long ago. Do you know how many times one of my people stood over your unconscious body after you came back from one of your uncle’s missions?”
At my narrowing gaze, he grinned, showing those prime-time-ready teeth again.
“Does the name Brad Parker ring a bell?”
It did, but I couldn’t remember who . . . wait!
“The lab assistant who worked for Don,” Bones supplied in a growl. “I killed him years ago, after he betrayed her to her father.”
Now I remembered who Brad was. The day Bones killed him had also been the day he’d met Don and revealed to me that my boss was really my uncle. After that, the death of one double-crossing lab assistant was almost incidental.
Trove shrugged.
“Parker’s greed got the better of him, but that’s common for his type. Besides, he’d already served his purpose.”
“Ferrying her blood to Madigan after Don fired him?” Scorn dripped from Bones’s tone. “You failed there, mate. None of his experiments worked save one, and she’s as good as dead once we find her.”
I flinched even though Bones didn’t truly intend to kill Katie. Trove didn’t seem to believe him, either. His smile widened.
“You’re not going to kill that little girl. She won’t let you.”
He was playing the weak female card? I squared my shoulders, making my expression and voice like flint.
“Ending one life in order to save millions? No contest. The girl dies.”
Trove tutted while red gleaned through his amber contacts.
“What is the world coming to when someone would kill her own daughter?”
At the word “daughter,” a roaring started in my ears. I forced it back, laughing as though he’d told a joke.
“I don’t think so. Unlike men, women kinda know if they’ve had children, what with that whole pregnancy-and-labor thing.”
“Oh, you were never pregnant,” Trove said dismissively, his eyes gleaming brighter. “But A80 is your daughter nonetheless.”
Twenty-nine
Bones had him by the throat before I could react, his pale hand tightening until the demon’s neck broke with an audible sound. All Trove did was wince.
“. . . ausing . . . scene . . .” he garbled.
Even though we were in the farthest corner of the most deserted part of the ballroom’s second level, at any second, it would be clear that more was going on than a private chat. And I was suddenly desperate to hear what the demon had to say even as I reminded myself that it couldn’t be possible.
“Let him go,” I ordered Bones.
“He’s tormenting you for his own amusement,” Bones growled.
I yanked on his arm. Hard.
“I said let him go.”
Bones dropped him. Trove staggered before a sharp sideways yank snapped his neck back into place.
“Touch me again, and I’ll do this,” he hissed.
The demon disappeared for the space of a few heartbeats before reappearing again in the same spot. The only evidence of his remarkable feat was an increased scent of sulfur.
I wasn’t in the mood to comment on his party trick.
“How can I be that girl’s mother if you admit that I was never pregnant?”