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?
He didn’t answer. Maybe he couldn’t, simply because there was no real answer.
“If you do not hand us the keys,” Yeska said, voice flat, yet somehow filled with venom, “then all those you care about will not only lose their lives in this time, but in all their future times. They will be forever locked in this world, never to know life or love again.”
His words chilled me to the core. Yet fury rose, and it was all I could do not to throw Amaya. Threatening my life was one thing. Hell, I could understand them threatening the lives of my friends – even if I didn’t like it – but stripping them of all their futures and making them ghosts? That was totally unacceptable.
And it had to stop. Somehow, somewhere, I had to find a way to end all this and make my friends – and the world – safe.
“Fine,” I muttered. “Just let me know where the sorcerer’s entrance onto the fields is, and we’ll take it from there.”
“Do not double-cross us,” Yeska warned.
“I get it already,” I said, voice tight. “Now just get us out of here so we can get on with the business of tracking the key.”
“The reaper can get you out,” he replied. “Once we retreat, the shield will go down.”
“What, don’t you trust us?”
But there was no reply. The dark energy that was the Raziq had gone. I sheathed Amaya and let out a slow breath. “Well, that certainly went better than I expected.”
“Yes.” Azriel pulled me into his embrace and wrapped his arms around me. “I fear, however, you have only delayed the inevitable.”