I raised my eyebrows as I grabbed my bag of clothes and closed the locker. "How could a junction of ley lines help a sorcerer walk the grey fields?"
"As I have said, these intersections are places of such power that they can be used to manipulate time, reality, or fate. But they can also be used to create rifts between this world and the next."
I frowned. "So a powerful enough sorcerer could enter the gray fields and presumably find the gates, even though he doesn’t have that ability naturally?"
Azriel nodded. "Although it is not so easy to find the gates in the fields. We are attuned to them; the sorcerer would not be."
"But that might not matter if he finds the keys."
"Which is why we must find the keys first."
"Well, we won’t be able to do that until Ilianna creates the void for the book." I hesitated. "But there’s one thing I don’t get. What was the point of buying up all the businesses around the ley lines? Why not just buy the building where they intersect?"
"Potions and spells do not require protection circles, but real magic—be it big or small—does. When it comes to an intersection this large, a prudent practitioner would want to build something rather more substantial than just a normal protection spell."
"Something more permanent?"
"If they intend to use it more than once, yes."
Then I guess the buyout made some sort of sense. "I think I’ll head to my hotel room to grab some sleep."
"Get something to eat before you do," he said, his tone indicating it was an order more than a suggestion.
"Are you always this bossy?" I said, exasperation in my voice as I headed for the door.
His lips once more twitched. "Only when the person I am supposed to be guarding is less than cautious about her own well-being."
"And do you guard such people often?"