My voice sounded oddly small in the damp, stale confines of the cavern.
“Malin is not here.” The disembodied voice was male, and while it held no threat, it nevertheless sent a chill down my spine. This was the Raziq I’d spoken to the first time I’d been captured – the Raziq who’d invaded my brain and made it seem like every part of me was being torn apart. A Raziq I thought I’d killed. Obviously, I was wrong.
Not. Sound same, Amaya said. Tasted sweet. Want more.
And I’d love to give you more. Trouble was, I doubted the Raziq would so foolishly expose themselves like that again.
“And even if she were,” the disembodied voice continued, “she would not be foolish enough to show herself with the Mijai present. His desire for revenge is so fierce it stains the fields.”
I snorted. “The only thing staining the fields is you lot. You’re the ones who made the goddamn keys and created this mess we all find ourselves in.”
“We do not need to justify our action to the likes of you —”
“No,” I cut in fiercely, “but you sure as hell have to depend on my help. And you know what? It’s about time you started remembering that. Because without me, there is no way on earth you’re going to get your greedy little mitts on those keys again.”
Risa, Azriel warned. As much as I agree with what you’re saying, antagonizing them might not be wise.
Well, I’ve fucking tried everything else, with little success. Maybe a little anger is precisely what’s needed. I hesitated. Are they close enough to attack yet?
No. They remain outside the barrier.
You can’t breach it?
Given time, Valdis could, but I see little point in weakening either of us that way.
Especially when the Raziq might be waiting for that very thing to happen. A weakened Mijai would be a far easier target.
“Do not think either yourself or your reaper are beyond the reach of our wrath,” the Raziq replied. “What I did to you, I could so easily do to him.”
“I suggest you look a little closer, Yeska.” Azriel’s voice was edged with contempt. “You would not find either of us such an easy target now.”
I gave Azriel a sharp glance. You know him?
We have crossed paths previously. He glanced at me, eyes glowing brightly in the blue and lilac light of the swords. He is Malin’s second. Valdis has tasted his blood in the past.
If the fierce flare of fire along Valdis’s sides was anything to go by, she longed to do so again. Why would a Mijai be sent after a Raziq?
When it became evident they were behind the systematic killing of Aedh priests. Yeska was caught and questioned.
Why wasn’t he killed? Reaper rules?
Yes. If we had known their ultimate plan, however, then perhaps intervention would have been ordered. Instead, it was simply left to the fates.
I snorted. The powers that be obviously had a hell of a lot more faith in fate than I did.
“Interesting,” the disembodied voice that was Yeska replied. “Two have become one. That would explain the lack of response in the device we placed in your heart.”
He could have been discussing the weather, for all the emotion in his voice. And yet, that device had been the only way they’d had of knowing when I was in my father’s presence, so it was a good bet there was a lot of background anger and frustration happening right now.
“Yes,” Azriel replied evenly. “And if you think to rectify the situation in any way, be prepared for the consequences. She is Mijai now. Attack one, and you attack all.”
That certainly explained the attitude of the reaper bearing the two swords. It wasn’t just that I’d made Azriel fail, it’s that I’d put them all in a bad light.
“We have no need to attack either of you,” Yeska replied, a hint of amusement in his tones. “She will comply when the lives of her friends are at stake.”
“No, she won’t,” I spat back. “Because if you harm one hair on the head of anyone I care about, I promise you, the remaining keys will be broken into little pieces and placed where absolutely no one —”
“Do not threaten us.” His fury whipped around us, snatching my breath and stinging my skin.
Amaya reacted instantly, her fire almost sun-bright. Just for a second, I caught a shimmer of energy behind the shield. The Raziq, and more than one of them.
Kill can, Amaya said.
I glanced at her sharply. How? Valdis can’t break the shield, and she’s stronger.
Am smarter, Amaya replied. Use floor.
I glanced down. Fuck, she was right. The floor wasn’t shielded. None of the cavern floors had been shielded, when I thought about it.
They’d see you coming. And see me throw her.Flame out can.
Yeah, but there was still the whole throwing problem. Amaya could move under her own steam, but I suspected it would be easier for her to cut through the stone if she had some momentum behind her.
Under different circumstances, it would be a good plan, Azriel said. But it will achieve little in this instance, and only amplify the danger to your friends.
Then we need to nullify that first.
There is no reasoning with the Raziq. As with all Aedh, it is only their plans – their desires – that matter.
Then maybe that’s the tack we need to take. To the Raziq, I said, “Look, I don’t give a frig who actually gets the keys. I just want to get back to normal life again.”
That statement has a scarily fierce ring of truth about it, Azriel said.
I ignored him and continued on, “So, really, it behooves you to actually do what you can to help me rather than offering a long and tedious line of threats to both my near and dear.”
“We cannot help find the keys, because we have no idea where they are hidden.”
“No, but you can help me find the bastard who keeps stealing them from me.”
“That is not possible. We do not interact with the human world.”
Unless it was to fuck or torture us, of course, but I bit that remark back. “No, but you interact with the fields, and the sorcerer has to use magic to access the fields and the gates. Therefore, he must have a particular entry point somewhere on the fields.” After all, a door always opened into the same room. I didn’t know much about magic, but it seemed logical a transport portal would do the same. “If you shut that point down, it confines him to Earth, and gives me more time to find him and the key.”
“Why shut it down, when all we have to do is find it, and then wait for him to step through?”
Well, there was that. I hesitated, thinking fast. “Except he has to know that’s a possibility now that he no longer has Lucian to guard and guide him. He may wait until he has both the remaining keys to make his next move. The fact that he hasn’t used the second key even though he’s had it for several days certainly suggests this is a possibility.”
And I mentally crossed my fingers that Azriel was right, that the Raziq and my father couldn’t read my thoughts. That they’d believe this was a very real possibility, and not realize that the only reason our dark sorcerer hadn’t used the key was the fact that he still didn’t know which of the artifacts he’d stolen it was.
“Even so, all we would have to do —”
“No,” I cut in. “You’re not getting it. Our sorcerer was working with an Aedh – someone you not only tortured, but abandoned on Earth. Let me tell you, he wanted revenge, and he wanted it badly. And he was canny enough to ensure that, even if he was killed, you’d never get your mitts on the one thing you truly wanted.”
Dark energy flowed around me, thick and threatening. Amaya’s mental hissing ratcheted up another degree, and my heart began to pound a whole lot faster.
Azriel’s fingers entwined through mine and he squeezed them gently. It is not a threat. It is merely anger.
At whom?
The Aedh. He continues to taunt them, even when dead.
That’s presuming Lucian did actually do what I’m suggesting.
It is a logical line of thought, Azriel said. After all, the Aedh seeded Ilianna and Lauren so his genes would live on if he died. It is logical he would also ensure his plans for the keys lived on.
Ha. Me thinking logically. Who’d have thought that was possible?
Wisely, he refrained from saying anything about that. He squeezed my fingers again, then released them – leaving me mourning the loss of heat and strength that had flowed through the brief contact.
“How will finding the sorcerer’s entry point on the fields help you find this sorcerer?” Yeska eventually asked.
Great question. I hesitated again, then mentally shrugged. The Raziq probably knew as much about dark magic as I did, so a little bit of improvisation wasn’t going to hurt. And hey, there just might be a chance I was on the right track. “Portals use direct lines to go from one point to another; therefore, wherever his opening on the field is, it should be mirrored here. And if we can find his place of power here, we can use it to track him down.”
“And get us the key,” he added.
“And get the key,” I agreed. Who I gave it to was another matter entirely.
No, it’s not, Azriel said, tone sharp. For the safety of all, the Mijai must hold the keys.
And do you really think the Raziq will refrain from attacking the Mijai to get them back?
We are greater in number —
And they can use magic. My gaze met the steel of his. You said it yourself, Azriel—only their desires matter. They could very well decide to erase the reapers just as they have the Aedh.
They would not dare —
Why not? I cut in. Why would they care about reapers or souls being unguided? They don’t – their desire to permanently close the gates is evidence enough of that.
It would not be allowed.
I snorted softly. Who wouldn’t allow it? The powers that be? They could have stopped this whole mess in its tracks by stopping the Raziq before they got started, but they preferred to let fate have her way. Do you really think their decision would be any different when it came to reapers?