"Why not talk to the Brindle? They would at least know whether there are any dark practitioners active in the city."
I wrinkled my nose. "Ilianna is going to owe the Brindle big time as it is. I don’t want her under a greater obligation."
"I didn’t mean that she should talk to them. I meant that you should."
"Me?" I couldn’t help the surprise in my voice. "I doubt they’d discuss that sort of stuff with an outsider like me. I’m not even a witch."
"But did Kiandra not tell you where to find Selwin and then give you permission to come to this place? Did she not warn you that the Brindle is not safe from the Aedh? I think that one knows more about this situation than you currently believe."
"Ilianna might have said something to her mom. And we did ask her to translate the text in the Dušan’s book."
He acknowledged the possibility with a slight nod. "I still think it’s worth talking to her."
"Then I will talk to her. But not tonight." I glanced past him as Ilianna and her two stretcher bearers reappeared and pushed away from the tree trunk to join the procession.
"He’s still burning up," I murmured, lightly touching Tao’s gaunt face. It was as if the fires were consuming him from the inside out. I shivered and glanced up at Ilianna. "You’ll let me know if anything changes in the next couple of hours?"
Relief washed across her face. "Don’t tell me you’re actually going home to rest?"
"If I don’t, I’m not going to be of any use to anyone—even myself." I kissed my fingertips then brushed them across Tao’s fire-touched lips. "Come back to us, my friend. We need you."
Ilianna gripped my hand and squeezed it lightly. "If there’s a way to heal him, we’ll find it."
As the two women loaded Tao into the back of the van, I gave Ilianna a hug. "Don’t promise them too much," I whispered. "Your life is worth just as much as his. Don’t exchange one for the other."
She pulled away and smiled, although we both knew it was forced. "A life for a life is not something the Brindle would ask."
I didn’t mean literally and she knew it. "Kiandra wants you back at the Brindle. She may use this as a lever."