That raised my eyebrows. “Really?” I said, looking at him. “How in the hell did you conduct that miracle?”
“I can be persuasive when I want to be.”
“Riley basically considers me one of her own. There’s no way in hell she’d be convinced to let someone else do the hunting.”
He shrugged. Matter closed, obviously. “Please, we must be going. We have delayed here too long.”
Again, his words held an edge that motivated. I grabbed my Coke and gulped it down so quickly the gas rose back up my throat. I smothered the burp, then stood. Pain slipped up my legs and I grabbed at the table, swearing softly. I hadn’t felt a damn thing when I was on the run in the tunnel, but maybe fear had killed all other sensations. Now, though, normal programming had resumed. And in this case, that meant feeling all the aches and pains—not just my feet, but the dull ache somewhere deep inside where the Aedh had bludgeoned and ripped.
Tao wrapped an arm around my waist and half supported me as we headed for the door. Ilianna had disappeared, but reappeared moments later with a bag. If the bits hanging out were anything to go by, it was stuffed more with an assortment of magical detritus than clothing. We locked up, ensuring all the sensors and cameras were active, just in case anyone other than the Aedh tried to get in, then walked—or in my case, hobbled—down the stairs.
Ilianna’s Jeep was closer than my SUV, so we piled into her car and headed out. Azriel wasn’t with us in flesh form, but the heat caressing the back of my neck suggested he was still very much present.
Once we were on the road and there was no indication that we were being followed, I grabbed my phone and called my mom.
“Risa,” she said, voice heavy with relief. “Are you okay? The vibes I’m getting suggest you’re hurt.”
“I tore my feet up on some glass. Nothing to worry about.” I hesitated, waiting for her to denounce the lie. When she didn’t, I added, “How are you? Did you sort out whatever was troubling you?”
“Ris, you’ve got far bigger things to worry about right now than me.”
“You’re my mom,” I retorted testily. “There is nothing—and no one—else that matters more to me.”
“And, my darling girl, I feel exactly the same. Which is why you need to get to the Brindle as quickly as possible. They’re out to get you.”
Fear snaked through me. “Who?”
She hesitated. “I’m not sure. But it’s dark and it’s dangerous. Get to the Brindle, Ris. All of you.”
“We could swing by the house and pick—”
“No!” she said, and the alarm in her voice had my apprehension rising. “Don’t. There’s no time—and no need. There are some things you can run from, Ris, and some things you can’t. Yours is the former, and mine the latter. I accepted mine a long time ago, but I need to know you’re safe—”
“Oh fuck. Mom, I’m coming—”
“Don’t! You have one chance—one slight, slim chance—to reach the Brindle and safety. Take it, because it just might mean the difference between life and death for one of your friends. I can’t see who, but someone’s life really does hang in the balance. Promise me you will go there, Ris, not here.”
“Not if it means abandoning you—”
“Coming for me would be a waste. I won’t even be here when you arrive.”
“Mom—”
“You’re overdramatizing my problem,” she cut in gently. “I assure you, compared with what’s headed at you right now, my predicament is practically a picnic.”
I didn’t believe her. I couldn’t believe her. Fear for her safety was a deadweight in the pit of my stomach, and right on top of it sat the sick sensation that something bad was about to happen. To her—and to us. Yet I couldn’t deny the urgency of her warning and the growing need to get to the Brindle. I didn’t want any of my friends hurt, but she was my mom. If I had choose one or the other, then my mom was going to win every time.
And yet, if I tried to go to her, she would go elsewhere. And whatever was about to happen to her would still happen no matter where she was.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
I closed my eyes and rubbed them wearily. None of this was helping the ache in my brain. “Maybe you should leave home. At least if you’re out, you have the Fravardin to protect you.”
“This is not something they can help
with.”
Meaning either that it wasn’t a personal threat—and therefore didn’t require the interference of the Fravardin—or that it was beyond the ability of the Fravardin to protect her. After all, they weren’t infallible. Mom’s brother had died despite their protection.