“Fabulous.” Not, as Amaya would say.
Zaira hugged me briefly again, then turned and followed Kiandra back to the Brindle. Ilianna stopped in front of me and gestured toward the sword shoved through my T-shirt. “Is that Valdis?”
“Yes.” I pulled her free and held her out.
Ilianna reached out but didn’t immediately take her. “Will she mind?”
“I doubt it. Not if it helps find Azriel.”
“Oh. Good.” She somewhat tentatively wrapped her fingers around Valdis’s hilt. Flames flickered briefly down her bright blade, but otherwise there was little reaction.
Ilianna moved
several feet away and placed Valdis at her feet. She raised the athame, holding it forward and slightly to the right of shoulder height. Facing east, she drew a pentacle in the air, then said, “Masters of the Watchtowers of the East, Masters of the Air; I wake and summon you to witness my works and to guard the Circle.”
She turned to the south, then west and north, repeating the pentacles and beseeching the masters of fire, water, and earth for their protection. A light wind sprung up, teasing the ends of her hair and tugging lightly at her clothes. Then it died, replaced by a sense of watchfulness.
She sat cross-legged on the ground, placed Valdis across her lap, and began the finding incantation.
I paced. I simply couldn’t stand still. I needed to be moving, to be doing something, and pacing was better than nothing. It was certainly better than worrying over the fact that I couldn’t ring Rhoan right away because the phone was in bits or over what might be happening to Azriel . . . I shoved the thought away. He was alive. For now, that was all that mattered.
I have no idea how much time passed, because I wasn’t wearing a watch, but it seemed like hours rather than the ten minutes or so it probably was before Ilianna made a move.
She rose, made a motion with her athame to remove the protection circle, then walked toward me. The night’s shadows played across her face and made her look tired and worn; my requests were taking a toll on her, and guilt slithered through me. No more, I promised mentally. She’d done enough for me, and so had the Brindle witches. As Kiandra had said, the fights from now on were mine, and mine alone. It was time to acknowledge that and just get on with it.
Though that didn’t mean I would walk into any fight unprepared. I wasn’t that stupid.
“Any success?” I asked, even as I feared the worst.
She smiled and handed me Valdis. “Yes, although he’s protected by some very fierce barriers.”
“That’s not exactly unexpected.”
“No.” She ran a hand through her hair, pushing it away from her face. It just made the tiredness more evident. “He’s at that second warehouse you and Jak found.”
Surprise ran through me. I thought they’d be somewhere new rather than someplace we’d been before. But then, I guess it was situated on a ley line, which enabled the sorceress to tap into that magic and use it to power her own. She might even be able to siphon the force of the ley-line intersection near Stane’s through it.
I shoved Valdis back through the tear in my shirt. “Then that’s where we’ll head.”
“You really shouldn’t go alone—”
“There is no other choice,” I cut in gently. “Kiandra’s right. This is my fight. You’ve all done what you can to help me, but in the end, I’m the only one who has any chance against them.”
And I had to hope that the Brindle’s barrier had kept my Cazador watcher out of earshot. Because if it was Myer rather than Markel, then I’d just outed myself to Hunter.
Ilianna stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me, her hug fierce, almost desperate. “Just be careful. Please. I couldn’t bear to lose you as well as Tao—”
I pulled away slightly. “Tao’s doing fine. He and the fire elemental have come to an agreement. He has to spend his nights up at Macedon, but he’ll have the days free.”
“Oh, thank god,” she breathed. “When did you see him?”
“A couple of hours ago. He was just heading back to the sacred site so the elemental can take over.”
“That’s a good sign, then.” She gave me a twisted half smile. “Now I just need you safe, and all will be good in the world again.”
“Believe me, I have no plans to become a dark angel just yet.” I hugged her again but kept it brief, then pulled away. “You’d better go back inside and get some rest. You look like crap.”
She laughed. “There’s a case of the pot calling the kettle black, if I ever heard one.”