Two seconds after that, we were once again standing in front of the building. Rozelle spun as we appeared, one hand going to her chest. “You could give some warning before you pop in like that,” she muttered. “It’s enough to scare ten years’ growth out of a person.”
“We did not mean to scare you,” Azriel said.
“Under normal circumstances you wouldn’t, but in a place like this, when we’re dealing with a spell like this, then, yeah, arrival announcements are definitely appreciated.”
I glanced past her, and studied the three women sitting cross-legged within a protection circle drawn in chalk in the loading bay’s concrete driveway. Sweat beaded their skins and their expressions were intent.
“How is it going?”
“We’re close.” She glanced at Azriel. “Actually, you couldn’t have timed it better. We need to weave an echo of your energy into our threading spell so that you can cross through it unimpeded.”
“What do you wish me to do?” he asked.
“Take my hand.”
He did so. One of the women in the circle raised a hand; Rozelle clasped it, her fingers glowing slightly as she breached the barrier of the protective circle. For several seconds nothing appeared to happen; then the air began to hum with energy and electricity began to dance from Rozelle to Azriel and back again, forming a circle that looped around and around for several minutes. Then it faded.
Rozelle sighed and released Azriel’s hand. “Just a few more seconds, and we should be finished.”
I nodded but couldn’t keep still, and began to pace instead. Azriel merely crossed his arms and watched the witches impassively. I wished I had half of his calm. Right now, my stomach was so full of knots it was getting painful.>I was three steps away from repeating the procedure when the goddamn room exploded.
Chapter 12
Air hit with the force of a hammer and sent me tumbling backward. Wood, plaster, and dust rained all around me, and I threw my hands over my head in an effort to protect myself.
Amaya screamed in fury as her flames erupted to form a protective cocoon around my body. And none too soon, because it wasn’t just wood and plaster coming down, but concrete tiles. The fucking roof had collapsed.
Not that it mattered. Nothing mattered right now, except the reaper who had gone into that room a heartbeat before it exploded.
Azriel! Desperation filled my mental scream. Are you okay?
For several seconds there was no reply, and my fear skyrocketed. Then he said, his mind voice somewhat groggy, Yes. Valdis shielded me from the worst of it.
What the hell were you trying to do? I pushed into a sitting position. Several large sections of wood rolled off Amaya’s shield and dropped onto the top of the mess that surrounded us. There wasn’t much left of the hallway – just several skeletal wooden frames bereft of plaster. Wires dangled from the ceiling, and I fervently hoped they were not going to attack me the minute I moved. Water was spraying from broken fire sprinklers, dampening down the worst of the dust, and somewhere in the distance alarms were ringing. The fire brigade and police would undoubtedly be here soon.
I was attempting to catch that sorcerer before she escaped. His voice was clipped. Angry at himself for not succeeding, I suspected.
So why didn’t you zap yourself to that room instead of running?
Because, as I have said, I cannot zap myself into unknown places without having at least some point of reference. When I was a reaper, it was the resonance of the soul, but in this case, I could not get a fix on her.
I frowned and rose. Amaya’s shield pulsated around me, moving as I did. Why couldn’t you get a grip on her resonance?
Because it was shifting.
Meaning she was?
I suspect so.
At the far end of the hall, a pile of timber and tiles began to move, sliding away as flames began to pulsate through the pile. A second later, Azriel appeared, surround by a halo of blue fire. It faded as he turned, his gaze searching the ruins and stopping when it met mine. Blood oozed from a wound near his temple, but other than that, he appeared unhurt.
“I guess from all this” – I waved a hand at the mess around us – “that she sensed me.”
“She might be powerful enough to summon demons at a moment’s notice, but the explosion would have taken longer to set up.” He stepped over a pile of broken plaster and tiles and walked toward me. “There was a transport gate in that room. I saw her step through, and had a brief glimpse of shadows and stone before the explosion.”
“She’s heading for hell’s gate.” My voice was grim.
“Undoubtedly – though the gate she just escaped through would not get her onto the gray fields. It was nowhere near powerful enough.” His voice held little emotion, but his fury and frustration echoed through me, as sharp as my own. “But she knows we’re close now, so I have no doubt she is headed to the gate that will. She would not want to risk us reclaiming the key before she has a chance to use it.”