"It is not a protective circle," he said, "but there will be few able to get past the burn of Valdis. Your astral traveler certainly won't."
Something within me relaxed just a little. "So why haven't you used her like this on other occasions?"
"Because it taxes us both, and it is generally better for you that we remain fighting ready." He nodded toward the ward. "Activate it."
I picked up the knife and jabbed the point into my finger. As blood began to well, I turned my finger upside down and let the blood drip onto the ward. As the droplet hit, the rainbow stopped moving, and everything was still. Silent.
Then light erupted from the center of the stone and briefly blinded me. When I was able to see again, I was encased in a cylinder of white. I couldn't see Azriel, and Valdis's fierce blue flames were little more than shadow. Which meant I hadn't actually been transported anywhere, even though I'd half expected to be.
"Now what?" I said it out loud, though I wasn't sure Azriel could hear me.
"He cannot," my father said.
I jumped and looked around wildly. Normally I could sense my father's presence the second he entered my vicinity, so why the hell hadn't I this time?
"Because I am not in your vicinity," he answered. "This is little more than a communication sphere. It allows you and me to talk without interfering with the energy of the device within your heart."
I snorted softly. So my father was once again ahead of the game when it came to the Raziq. "Where the hell are you, then?"
"It is unwise for you to know." He paused. "I see you have been in Malin's presence. She plays a dangerous game."
"No more dangerous than you, apparently."
"Ah, so she has outlined my intentions. Or what she knows of them."
"She did. And I have to ask, why lie? Why say you wanted the keys destroyed when the opposite is true?"
"I thought a gentler approach might be wise."