There was no conceit in my father’s voice, no hint of boasting in his words. He merely stated a fact as he saw it. I dare say Malin held the exact same opinion about her prowess. Aedh, from what I’d seen, certainly weren’t backward about admitting their strengths. Their weaknesses were a different matter entirely – in fact, most seemed to think they didn’t actually have any.
“Whatever you decide to do, I just need them kept occupied while we go to the second gate and try to capture the sorceress.”
“And the key.”
“That goes without saying.” Whether he got it was another matter entirely. I’d sure as hell be making sure Mirri was safe before I handed the key over to anyone.
“When do you wish this to happen?”
“Now.”
“I shall see what I can do.”
It was on my tongue to snap, “You’d better do your best,” but I restrained the urge. There was no point in antagonizing him when Mirri’s life still lay in his hands.
“I’d appreciate you hurrying. The Raziq are going to know the minute I step onto the fields.”
“They will be too busy saving their puny lives to worry about your presence.”
And with that, the white light died and I found myself blinking furiously against tears as I stared at Azriel.
“You were successful?” he said.
“I think so.” I pushed upright. “Do we head over to that other warehouse now, and try to find the other gate?”
“There is no need. I can transport us to the coordinates the Aedh left us once you are on the fields.”
I frowned. “I thought you said you could only transport to a place you have some physical point of reference to, like a soul?”
“Here on Earth, not on the fields.”
“Ah. Good.” I hesitated, then added, “I take it you can’t transport me onto the fields themselves?”
“No. If I were a reaper, I could guide your soul upon death, but that is not what we desire to happen anytime soon.”
I half smiled. “Been there once, and I’m in no hurry for a repeat.” I climbed onto the bed, made myself comfortable, then added, “What about the other Mijai? Will they be able to help us at all?”
He hesitated. “In the inner reaches of the temples, no.”
“What about if the sorceress reaches the gates? There are Mijai stationed there, aren’t there?”
“There is currently only one, as breaches have fallen over the last few hours. But if our sorceress gets that far, more will be called. They will aid us to stop her.”
So at least we weren’t going to be entirely alone. Which was a damn good thing if the Raziq happened to appear. They certainly weren’t going to be pleased the moment they realized I’d deceived them.
I hesitated, then asked, curious, “How will they react to my presence on the field?”
He shrugged. “You may or may not see them, depending on whether they decide to acknowledge your presence.”
Charming. “I’ll see you on the field in a few minutes.”
He nodded and disappeared. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. As I slowly released it, I released awareness of everything around me, concentrating on nothing more than the slowing beat of my heart and freeing my psyche, my soul, or whatever else people like to call it from the constraints of my flesh. It was similar, yet very different, to stepping onto the astral plane, mainly because the plane was of this world and the gray fields were not. On the fields, the real world was little more than a shadow, a place where those things that could not be seen on the living plane became visible. It was also the land between life and death, a place through which souls journeyed to whatever gateway was their next destination, be it heaven or hell.
As the awareness of my world began to fade, warmth throbbed at my neck – Ilianna’s magic at work, protecting me as my psyche pulled free from my flesh and stepped onto the gray fields.
The Dušan immediately exploded from my arm, her energy flowing through me, around me, as her lilac form gained flesh and shape, until she looked so solid and real that I wanted to reach out and touch her. She swirled around me, the wind of her body buffeting mine as her sharp ebony gaze scanned the fields around us. Looking for trouble. I wondered if she actually sensed it, or if she merely reacted to the growing knot of tension in the pit of my stomach.
I looked around for Azriel, and spotted him easily enough. He was a blaze of sunlight in this ghostly otherworld, a force whose very presence throbbed through my body. As if he, like the Dušan and Amaya, were a part of me. And I guess, given what he’d done, he now was.