I raised an eyebrow at Azriel. A smiled touched his lips and lightly crinkled the corners of his eyes, and my pulse did its usual stupid dance. "Well, no one except someone like Ilianna."
Tao came up behind her, his gaze swinging from me to Azriel before frowning down at Ilianna. "What sword?"
I smiled and waved a hand. "Long story. You two ready to go?"
Ilianna hefted the large canvas bag she was carrying. "All manner of magical whatnot present and accounted for."
I grabbed my purse and swung it over my shoulder. It settled into place easily, as if there weren’t a shadowy sword strapped to my back. I shivered again, then said, "Then let’s get this show on the road."
Before the inner voice whispering dark warnings of trouble ahead became too loud to ignore.
We arrived at Mount Macedon an hour before dawn. In the glow of the four-wheel drive’s lights, the old metal gates seemed even older and stronger than they had the other morning—a barrier that seemed to forbid passage.
Ilianna leaned her forearms on the steering wheel, her gaze sweeping the gate and the fence to either side of it. "The magic in this place feels ancient."
"According to Kiandra, it is." I opened the SUV’s door and climbed out. "It seemed almost sentient to me."
"I don’t think I’d go as far as that," Ilianna said, frowning as she walked to the front of the vehicle, "but there’s certainly a great power residing here, and there is a level of awareness within it."
"There’s also some sort of fire burning," Tao commented, his hands on his hips as he stopped beside us. "I can feel its heat."
I swore softly. "The fire elementals must be still present."
He raised an eyebrow. "Fire elementals? As in, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings fire elementals?"
I blinked. "What?"
"You know, that creature Gandalf battled when he was in the pits of Moria?"