"Oh dear," Lord Loss snickers, floating out of reach, expression twisting with malicious joy. "The penny drops at long, painful last."
"No," I gasp, the syllable whipped from my lips by the wind. "It can't be."
"Grubbs?" Dervish asks, seeing something fearful in my face.
"Grubbs!" Beranabus roars. He's a long way off. Doesn't know what's going on. "Make yourself busy, boy. We have to find the killer. There isn't much time left."
"But you've already found him, haven't you, Grubitsch?" Lord Loss teases.
"You're lying," I snarl.
Lord Loss shakes his head. "I never lie."
Bill-E falls flat on his stomach and slides towards the crack. Dervish grabs him and holds tight. I crouch beside them, ignoring Lord Loss's laughter and the bite of the demonic wind. I can hear the cries and chitterings of other demons, coming from a universe that isn't our own. I tune them out and focus on Bill-E. He's utterly terrified. I smile at him and even though the smile's weak, he finds comfort in it, and in spite of his terror, he speaks.
"It was Loch," he mutters. "I hated the way he teased me, always making me feel small and worthless. He was a bully. You should have stood up to him, Grubbs. You're my big brother."
"I didn't want to fight your battles for you." I sense what he's going to tell me and I feel like crying, but tears won't come. I can't let them.
"Always teasing," Bill-E says sourly. "Making fun of me. Any excuse to take a dig. That day when we discovered the cave... you were sick... me and Loch went climbing in search of Lord Sheftree's treasure..."
It seems a lifetime ago. Did we really engage in such playful, innocent games? Was there truly a time when buried treasure seemed important, when a school bully was our only concern? Or did we dream it all?
"I saw a chance to get my own back," Bill-E continues, voice breaking. "We were near the top of the waterfall. He slipped and grabbed hold of a rock. He was clinging on by his fingertips. I stuck my hand out. He snatched for it. But then I... I... I whipped my hand away!"
Bill-E and I lock expressions. We both understand what he means. Dervish doesn't. He never saw Loch doing that very same thing to Bill-E at school, making him look like a fool in front of everybody. He's staring at us as if we're mad.
"I whipped it away," Bill-E says numbly. "Put my thumb on my nose. Said, 'Touché, sucker!' Stuck my tongue out. I didn't mean for him to fall. I just wanted to have a laugh. But he lost his grip. Fell before I could help him. Hit his head on the ground. His skull cracked open. He..."
Bill-E stops. His face is white. He's trembling. The wind pulls strongly at him-more strongly than at me, Dervish or anybody else in the cave.
"No," I say calmly. "You didn't kill him. It wasn't a sacrifice. You aren't the key." But I know it's not true. Even as I deny it, I know.
"Grubbs," Dervish wheezes. "What are you saying? What does it mean? Are you mad? You think Billy caused this?"
"No," I lie. "Of course not." But putting the pieces together inside my head. The death-not an accident. Loch's blood vanishing into the floor of the cave. I'd forgotten about that, but I remember now, the bare floor, wondering where all the blood had gone. Now I know-sucked up by magic. Taken as sacrificial blood, even though it wasn't intended to be.
Bill-E guilty. By the strictest letter of the law he killed Loch Gossel and the magic in this cave is holding him accountable. I should have suspected sooner. Beranabus kept a tight watch on the cave when he arrived. He couldn't understand how Juni slipped past him and made a sacrifice. Never suspected Bill-E. Took me at my word when I told him we were alone, that Loch died accidentally.
The demons had it easy. No need to slaughter one of their mages, or even enter the cave and risk alerting Beranabus. A sweet deal. The sacrifice had already been made. All Lord Loss and Juni had to do was turn up a few weeks later, chant the correct spells and make sure the killer was present.
Except they didn't know who that was. They thought it was me, that the beast or my magic made me murder. That's why Juni sent me to the cave the night I turned, why she took my blood and smeared the edges of the crack with it. When that failed to produce a reaction, they realised Bill-E must be the guilty one. So Juni hurried over to his house, to haul him in. Nothing personal. It wasn't for revenge. Lord Loss wanted Bill-E solely for business. And he never meant to kill him. He had other plans for the younger Grady brother.
The wind increases. Dervish has to dig his heels in hard to hold Bill-E back. He looks at me, panicking. "Grubbs! What can we do?"
That tells me he knows too and understands what must be done. He just doesn't want to admit it, because that would place the burden on him. He doesn't want the responsibility. Well, too bad-I don't want it either.
"Bill-E's the key," I tell him.
"No," Dervish protests, but weakly, unconvincingly.
"Grubbs!" Beranabus yells. "I hear them coming. What the hell are-"
"Bill-E's the key!" I scream and Beranabus gawps at me. "He made the sacrifice. He didn't mean to. It was an accident. But-"
"You don't know what you're saying," Dervish hisses.
I look at him miserably. "Yes I do."
"What's wrong?" Bill-E mutters, glancing from one of us to the other. "This is good, isn't it? Now that we know, we can cast a spell to stop it, can't we? Or... should I have kept my big mouth... shut?"
"No," I smile. "You did the right thing. Everything will be OK now. We can stop the demons. You're a hero. You've shown us the way to win."
Bill-E beams proudly. Dervish is staring at me awfully, trembling, gripping his chubby nephew tight. I turn hopelessly to Beranabus, maintaining the smile until I'm facing away from Bill-E, so he can't see the anguish in my eyes. "Is there another way?" I cry.
"No," Beranabus says, no pity in his voice, just determination. He starts across the cave, fingers flexing. But he's taken no more than three or four steps when Lord Loss drops into his path and fires a bolt of magic at him, forcing him back.
"No, no, no, Beranabus," the demon master coos. "I won't allow you to spoil such a fascinating scene. This is tremendous sport. Uncle and brother speared on the horns of a most gruelling dilemma. What excruciating entertainment!"