“But if I’m so important in his quest to destroy the world, then why leave it until now to contact me?”
He hesitated briefly. Though there was as little emotion as ever in his face, I felt the conflict in him. Which was as odd as the awareness that throbbed between us.
“Twenty-eight and a half years ago, the first of the dark path portal locks was partially opened. It wasn’t forced, and there was no magic involved. Someone used a key.” He hesitated, then added, “Three weeks ago, all three were briefly opened.”
I blinked. Locks? Key? What the fuck? “I thought the gates were just gates. Ethereal and powerful, granted, but functioning the way all gates function. You know, they open to let a soul in, then slam shut behind.”
He crossed his arms and shook his head. The room’s half-light flickered across his dark hair, making it shimmer a rich black-blue. “No. There have always been security measures in place to stop those on the dark path from retreating. Every portal contains three interconnected gates, each possessing a stronger lock. One must close behind the soul before the next one opens.”
“But demons and things like this soul stealer we’re hunting do get out.”
“Because enough magic has been gathered—either on this plane or across the other side—to temporarily link the portals and cause a rift.”
“So what made the rift three weeks ago different?”
“The fact that it was no rift, and the portals sent out no warning.”
I rubbed my head. All this information was making the ache worse. “The gates send out warnings?”
“Once the warning of a rift would have been sent to the priests, but since they no longer exist, we have managed to subvert the magic enough so that we are warned instead. We may not be able to control the gates, but we can eliminate what comes through.”
Sometimes, I wanted to snap, but that would have been petty. He’d already explained that there were too few Mijai to stop whatever did come through. “None of this explains why my father would have sent me the Dušan.”
“It does if he expects you to be a part of his plans.”
“How?” I half yelled. “I can’t work magic and I’ve never even seen the portals! How the hell am I going to be any assistance in a plot to destroy them?”
“Hey,” Ilianna said from the other room. “Everything all right in there?”
I blew out a breath and tried to calm the anger boiling though me. It was due more to fear than frustration, but that didn’t make it any easier to deal with. Neither did Azriel’s impassive expression.
“Yes,” I replied, then walked across the room, stopping when only a few feet remained between me and the reaper. His heat surrounded me, a caress of warmth that did little to ease the chill deep within. “If there are keys to the gates, how did this person get hold of them? I would have thought they’d be well guarded.”
“They would be, had there been such things. But there are not.”
I frowned. “But you said—”
“What I said was true. Someone has created keys. We believe the brief openings we sensed—both the most recent and the one twenty-eight years ago—were merely a test.”
“If it was, and it worked, why aren’t the gates now permanently closed?”
“We do not know. Which is why we need to hunt down your father. He can help to further our knowledge of what is going on.”
I snorted. Help to further our knowledge was no doubt a polite way of saying he was going to give up the information or die. Possibly both.
“That suggests you’re not even entirely sure he’s involved in whatever nefarious plot is currently under way.”
His gaze dropped briefly to my arm. “The Dušan proves his involvement.”
“How?”
Again he hesitated. “The priests could traverse the gates and travel either path if required. The Dušan were their protection when the final portal was opened and the dark path revealed. We thought the knowledge of their creation had died with the priests, but we discovered the hard way that that’s not entirely true.”
“You’re big on explaining things without really explaining, aren’t you?” I said, exasperation in my voice.
A smile briefly tried to escape his solemn countenance. “We discovered the existence of the Dušan when I was sent one. It attached itself to my back rather than my arm.”
My eyes widened. “The tattoos on your back are a Dušan?”