“So how in the hell am I supposed to get into the place if you can’t help me? I’m thinking you don’t want me asking the Raziq for help.”
Anger surged, strong enough to snatch my breath and send lilac sparks skittering down Amaya’s sides. “That would be unwise.”
“Then how about offering a fucking solution, instead of just threats?” I snapped. “Because if you want the sorcerer shut down before he can use the key, I need some help.”
“There’s your reaper. While they are not initiated into the order, they have always had access to the temples.”
My reaper… pain and regret stormed barely shored-up defenses, and once again tears were stinging my eyes. Damn it, no. I was stronger than this. I’d survived Jak’s betrayal, and I’d get over this, too. I had to, because this time, there was more than just my heart and my mother’s reputation at stake. This time, there were lives on the line. Many lives.
A world of them, in fact.
I fiercely thrust the pain aside. “Didn’t you just say the gates are within grounds? Why, then, would the reapers be able to access the temples?” After all reapers, as soul guides, needed access to the former not the latter.
“At one time, they did not. But the priests have long gone, and the reapers have been forced to do what the priests once did.”
And that was keeping the gates in working order, as well as stopping anything – and everything – that tried to escape hell. With the first hell gate now open, more and more demons were escaping into the fields and subsequently onto Earth, and the Mijai – who were the reaper soldiers – found themselves spread very thin indeed.
God, I hope Azriel is keeping himself safe…
I shoved the unbidden thought back into its box. “My reaper is no longer part of this mission, so it’s not like I can get his help.”
“It is not like one of the Mijai to abandon a mission before it is finished.”
“He didn’t abandon it. I banished him.”
“But you could not do that unless he —” He stopped, and once again I felt his amusement. “That is an interesting development.”
“And what, exactly, is so interesting about me banishing him?”
“The mere fact that you could.”
Which in no way explained his amusement. Goddammit, could no one ever give me a straight answer? “Care to go into a bit more detail?”
“No.” Again that glimmer of amusement trailed around me. “You are not unprotected, however. The Mijai still need you, just as the Raziq and I still need you.”
“Meaning someone else is now guarding me?” Someone who was keeping their distance, and refusing to interact with me in any way? Because I certainly hadn’t sensed their presence.
“Yes. What their plans are beyond that, I have no idea. Nor do I have any interest, other than reminding you your allegiance must lie with me. Otherwise —”
“My friends will die,” I cut in, annoyance back in my voice. “I’ve heard that song before. So tell me, how the hell am I going to access the temples if I can’t get reaper support?”
“You are not the only half Aedh in this city, and the other is also trained as a priest. He could get you in.” He paused. “However, you will not gain access into the quarters the chrání and I shared without my help.”
He was talking about Uncle Quinn. And while I really didn’t want to involve either him or Aunt Riley in this fucking quest any more than I already had, it was looking more and more like there was no other choice. “And the price of your help is no doubt the key.”
“No,” he said, voice so ominous it sent chills racing down my spine. “The price of the key is the life of your friend.”
And just like that, the facade of civility snapped.
Power surged, an energy so fierce it momentarily felt like he was trying to pull me apart. Amaya screamed in response, and flames leapt from the point of her blade. But they swirled around aimlessly, as if she couldn’t find anything to attack.
And she couldn’t, because my father had disappeared. Completely disappeared.
A heartbeat later, Ilianna screamed.
Chapter 2
Oh fuck, no!
I spun and raced out of the kitchen. Ilianna’s screams stopped as abruptly as they’d started, and the only noise in the house now was the thunder of my footsteps as I raced up the stairs. If he’d hurt Ilianna in any way —
I swallowed heavily – as much against fear as fury – and followed the tendrils of power that was my father’s presence.
“Enter,” he said, as I approached a door near the end of the hall. “And witness what awaits should you fail.”
I flexed my fingers, my palm suddenly sweaty against Amaya’s hilt, then opened the door and stepped inside. The room was a mirror image of the one I’d woken in, although lilac rather than roses seemed to be the dominant theme here. Ilianna and Mirri stood in the middle of the room and, despite my fears, both were not only alive, but apparently unhurt.
But this was my father we were talking about. He was perfectly capable of tearing one or both of them apart in an instant.
I hoped to god that wasn’t what he was planning now.
My gaze met Ilianna’s, and in the green depths I saw fear and fury combined. She didn’t say anything – maybe she couldn’t – but her gaze flicked toward her mate. I stepped closer, and saw the luminous blue threads that had been wrapped around Mirri’s neck.
Only it wasn’t any type of thread found here on Earth. It was energy.
I stopped and stared. “What the hell have you done?”
“It is what you would call an insurance policy.” His voice was heavy with menace. “I have threatened the life of both the witch and the wolf, but it hasn’t appeared to make much difference to your actions —”
“My actions?” I all but exploded. “What about your fucking actions? If you’d been up front about what Lucian was and who he was working with, the damn sorcerer would not have grabbed the first key, nor would he have gained access to the second. That blame lays on your shoulders, not mine.”
“Indeed,” he continued darkly, as if I hadn’t spoken, “one could almost think you do not take my threat seriously.”
“That is not true —”
“And yet, you appear to fear the Raziq more than you do me. That cannot be allowed.”
I clenched my fingers against Amaya’s hilt, but resisted the urge to throw her into the haze of energy that was my father. I had no idea what that thread around Mirri’s neck was and, until I did, I had to practice restraint.
Thread bad, Amaya muttered.
I knew that without asking. Can you destroy it without hurting Mirri?
Know not, she replied. Taste first.
And if you taste it?
Kill might.
Mirri, or the thread?
Amaya hesitated. Both.
Then there’d be no tasting. “What the fuck have you done, Father?”
“If you wish this shifter to live, then you must not only retrieve the second key, but find the last one.”
“As I’ve repeatedly said, I can’t find the second key without your fucking help,” I spat back. “And I can hardly find the third key when you haven’t even told me where the fucking thing is.”
“I will send directions for the third key, and a means of getting into our temple rooms,” he said. “But the latter will require several hours to construct. You are not an initiate, so I will also have to create a means of circumventing that particular restriction. I suggest you use that time to search this plane for the sorcerer and the second key.”
“And if I don’t succeed in finding it, Mirri will die.” It was a statement, not a question. I don’t think I’ve hated anyone as much as I hated my father at that moment.
Except, perhaps, for Hunter.
“Yes. And there is one other restriction.”
My stomach was churning so badly it felt like I was going to throw up. It was enough that she could die – what the hell else could he do? But even as the thought crossed my mind, the answer came. He was Aedh, and Aedh, like reapers, could command souls. He could rip hers free and make her one of the lost ones – a ghost confined to the astral field, never to move on, never to be reborn. I licked dry lips and croaked, “Meaning?”
“The lariat will begin tightening at forty hours. At that time, she will have eight hours left.”
And with that, he was gone.
“Bastard!” Ilianna exploded, and swung around to face her mate. She touched a hand to Mirri’s cheek. “Are you okay?”
Mirri nodded, her face pale and fear in her eyes. “Yes. For now.”
I stopped beside Ilianna. “I’m sorry, Mirri, really sorry —” My voice faded. I seemed to be saying that an awful lot of late and, as ever, it was useless.
Mirri gave me a taut smile. “You can’t be held accountable for your father’s actions, Risa.”
No, but I could be held accountable for my own and if Mirri died… god, it would kill Ilianna. My gaze dropped to the thin cords of power around her neck and I raised a hand. Mirri hissed before I could actually touch it.
“Don’t,” she said quickly. “It tightens.”
I swore vehemently and glanced at Ilianna. “I don’t suppose hoping for some sort of magical intervention is worthwhile?”
Her gaze came to mine, green eyes filled with fury. Though it wasn’t aimed at me, I felt the force of it nevertheless. It would be unleashed my way if anything happened to Mirri.
“No. It’s a type of energy I’ve never felt before.”
No surprise there given its source was one of the most powerful Aedhs around. “Would the Brindle be able to do anything?”
It was, after all, the home of all witch knowledge, so surely they had to have something, somewhere, about the Aedh and their abilities. And some way of counteracting something like this.