Curious, I thought as Trent’s shoulders relaxed at something Jenks said. Bis noticed as well. Clearly the two men had come to some kind of understanding. “If I can fix the line or prove that Ku’Sox made the hole, the demons will turn against him,” I said, but it was really more of a hope. “Ceri and Lucy will be returned.” I looked at the counter as if I could see the books on the shelf below. There was nothing in them about ley lines. Nothing in them, nothing in the library, nothing in Al’s library. If there had been, we would have found it by now.

Exhaling loudly, Trent slowly sank down in a chair. The last of his mask fell away and he slumped, elbow on the table as he sat sideways to it. “I can’t risk him killing Lucy and Ceri,” he said, and a lump filled my throat. He was hurting. It wasn’t my fault. He was the one who had let Ku’Sox out, but he’d done it to save my life, or rather, my freedom.

Jenks was making motions for me to do something, and I grimaced, finally moving around the center counter to stand there, feeling self-conscious. I wondered how long it had been since he’d eaten. “Al and I went out to look at the line,” I said hesitantly. “He got burned pretty bad, but it did give us a better idea of what Ku’Sox did.”

Trent didn’t acknowledge me, making me feel more awkward as I edged back to sit in Ivy’s chair. My eyes went to Trent’s ring, and I remembered how it had felt to wear Al’s. “I think I saved his life. Again.”

“I bet that was a surprise,” he said dryly.

Chuckling, I dropped my eyes. “It was. He won’t be able to tap a line until Thursday. And since I don’t trust anyone else over there, I’m stuck here until he heals. I know I can fix the leak in the line with Bis’s help,” I added, and the gargoyle bobbed his head, his tail whipping about to wrap around his feet. “If I can fix it, I can prove Ku’Sox is trying to destroy the ever-after. Ceri and Lucy will be the last thing on his mind if the entire collective is after him. None of them like him, anyway.”

Trent said nothing, staring at the table. I wasn’t even sure he had heard me.

My thoughts went to the demons and what Dali had said about them fearing Ku’Sox. Together, they could overpower Ku’Sox, but fear had made slaves of them. They were expecting me to take care of him, hiding behind semantics that it was a personal vendetta between us. Were they really afraid, or was apathy easier than survival? Maybe they just didn’t care if they lived or died.