That last was directed at me. I nodded, walked across to the white wooden fence, and leapt over it. And tried my best to ignore the ache in my side as I headed down the long, asphalt road. Crickets chirped loudly in the paddocks to either side, their song stopping briefly as we jogged by, then resuming once we were gone. The asphalt eventually gave way to stone, then the road split, one fork heading to the zoo, the other toward the mansion. We went over a second set of locked gates and continued down the road, the paddocks on either side giving way to trees, parking lots, and picnic areas.
"There is a gatehouse just ahead," Azriel said, his voice soft and oddly at one with the darkness. "The mansion lies to the right of the gardens."
I nodded, went over the fence to the right of the guardhouse, and pressed a hand to my side as we continued on. The mansion soon loomed before us, dark and regal in the moonlit darkness.
"How do we get in?" I asked as we walked to the main door.
Lucian produced an electronic lock pick. "How else?"
I smiled. "You do think of everything."
"Someone has to."
I wasn’t entirely sure whether the barb was aimed at me, Azriel, or both, but annoyance slithered through me. I thrust it down. In truth, I hadn’t really thought much about our task here, relying on the two men to get me in and out. And really, what option did I have? I might have been trained to fight by the best guardians the Directorate had ever produced, but that didn’t mean I was proficient at anything else a guardian might do. Like breaking and entering.
Azriel caught my arm as we climbed the steps, stopping me abruptly.
"There is magic here."
Lucian stopped and looked over his shoulder, his expression disbelieving. "Why would there be magic here?"
Azriel hesitated. "I do not know. And it is … vague."
"Define vague," I said, wondering if the Raziq had somehow beaten us here.
"It does not have the feel of the Raziq," Azriel commented. "And it does not seem to be active. Rather, it waits."
"Waits? How can magic wait?" Lucian asked impatiently. "Magic is not sentient, reaper."