I nodded. There was nothing else I could do. Nothing else I could say. I knew what the elementals were capable of, but Tao was a fire-starter. If anyone had a hope of containing those things, it was him.
We hit a clearing. Ilianna stopped in the middle of it and said, "We can do it here."
"What do you need us to do?"
She glanced at me, her gaze still glowing with an almost otherworldly luminescence. "You need to stand here. I will create the protection circle and containment void, then invite you in."
I frowned. "But you can’t be in the circle. It’s too dangerous, Ilianna." We didn’t know if there were other spells woven into the fabric of the book, and had no idea what would happen once I opened it. The containment spell was aimed at protecting them as much as the void was meant to stop the Aedh from sensing what I was up to.
"I won’t be," she said. "Once the circle and void are in place, I’ll create a doorway. As long as we use only that doorway to enter and exit, then the circle will remain active."
"If there’s a door, then other things might be able to get in." Or out.
"They won’t. It’s a modified spell that will be attuned to our resonance alone. Nothing else will be able to get in or out." The odd glow in her eyes died suddenly and she smiled. "It’ll be fine. Stop worrying."
How? They were risking their lives for me, in a place filled with magic, not to mention walking bonfires. I took a deep breath that did nothing to alleviate the fear twisting my guts, then glanced at Tao, who gave me a brief thumbs-up as I walked across to Ilianna. But his gaze had already moved on, scanning the trees, his expression touched with concern. I bit my lip and wondered just how close the elementals actually were.
"When everything is ready," Ilianna said, making me jump a little. "I’ll say, How do you enter the circle, Risa Jones? Your response should be, In complete trust of the powers that reside and protect within."
When I nodded, she returned to her bag of tricks and withdrew her athame, four candles, and a box of matches. She placed these on the ground, then marked a large circle in the dirt around them. Next she picked up the candles and placed them at four points—the green one to the north, yellow to the east, red in the south, and blue in the west. I knew from past experiences that these points represented the four elements—earth, air, fire, and water.
With that done, she raised her arms and made a sweeping motion. "Let this space be cleared of all negativity and inappropriate energies, and may any lost souls inhabiting it be returned where they need to be."
Air stirred and became imbued with warmth. I clenched my fingers but otherwise remained still.
Ilianna bent to light the first candle. "Guardians of the east, I call upon you to watch over this circle and guard the two allowed to enter. Powers of knowledge and wisdom, guided by air, keep watch over us and let no others enter by body or deed."
Then she moved to the red candle and lit it. "Guardians of the south, I call upon you to watch over this circle and guard the two allowed to enter. Powers of energy and will, guided by fire, keep watch over us and let no force or ill intent enter."