“I made a bargain to ensure that this ghost answered your questions, and I always keep my word. The longer you wait to ask them, Reaper, the longer your uncle suffers.”

Further argument would be useless. Now the only person who could stop this was Don. I gave my uncle a pleading look as I approached.

“Tell us what you know about Madigan. Please.”

His body bowed and shuddered as those forms pitilessly continued to rip through him. Bones glanced away, his mouth tightening. How well he knew what my uncle was going through.

“How could you do this to me, Cat?”

The anguished accusation tore at my heart. I didn’t mean to! was too useless to utter. Besides, though this wasn’t what I’d wanted, Don had admitted to condemning Tate and the others to certain death. If he’d only told us the truth, none of this would be happening.

“That doesn’t matter,” I forced myself to say. “Answer the question, or the Remnants will keep ripping into you until there’s nothing left but ectoplasm.”

That was a lie. You couldn’t kill what was already dead, as I’d often lamented while going after Kramer, but Don didn’t know that.

“Then I’ll die,” he rasped, the words broken from pain. “Better . . . that way.”

Even now, he wouldn’t spill his secret? Frustration made me bite my lip to keep from screaming at him. I hadn’t felt my fangs come out, but from the instant taste of blood, they had.

“Don’t be a fool,” Bones said sharply. “Remnants feed off pain, so as your suffering increases, so does their strength to inflict more.”

“Noooo.”

My uncle drew out the word with such despair that my control snapped. I couldn’t stand to see him like this, and I couldn’t make it stop, as Marie’s flinty expression reminded me.

“Tell me what the fuck Madigan did, Don! Right now!”

“Genetic experimentation!”

My mouth dropped at the reply. Don’s did, too, before another scream contorted it into a maw of agony. Aside from pain, something else flashed across his features. Surprise, as if he couldn’t believe he’d answered me with the truth.

“Genetic experimentation of what? Humans?” Bones pressed.

A groan followed by a stream of curses was his only response. Once more, I found myself biting my lip out of frustration. Damn Don’s stubbornness.

“Answer him,” I snapped.

“Not only humans,” Don said before another What the hell? expression crossed his face.

Marie began to chuckle. “Ah, I see.”

I didn’t. The only time I’d been able to force ghosts to do what I wanted was when I had Marie’s grave power coursing through my veins, but I’d run out of that long ago.

“Care to inform the rest of us?” I asked tightly.

Her glance was equal parts impatience and amusement. “How did so many of my kind fear you when you are so naive?”

Before I could bark out a response, she went on. “He died while you still possessed my powers, didn’t he? And you wept as his spirit left his body?”