"And if you find nothing either there or on the fields?"
Then we were in trouble, because I honestly didn't think the Brindle would be able to help us. Not in this. Not when Aedh magic was involved. And there had to be: The ancient cuneiform that gave the magic to the transport pillars we'd found – pillars both the dark sorcerers and Lucian had been using to move around undetected – could have come only from Lucian.
"If I find nothing," I muttered, as I dipped a chunk of bread into the curry, "we're up shit creek without a paddle."
"Then," she said, "talking to Kiandra can't hurt. At least she'll be able to tell us if there is some sort of hot spot near the intersection. Until we know that, we can't make any other plans."
"We?" My gaze shot to hers. "There's no damn we —"
"Oh yes there is," she cut in, voice fierce. "You can't do this on your own anymore, Ris."
I snorted. "I was never doing it on my own, and look where it's gotten —"
I cut the words off as awareness ran through me. Something approached the house.
Something that wasn't human, or in human form. An invader that was as silent as a ghost, and yet accompanied by such a wash of heat and power that the hairs on my arms stood on end.
It was a sensation with which I was more than a little familiar.
An Aedh approached the house, and he was in energy form rather than physical.
Only it wasn't any old Aedh.
It was my father. And he was not happy.
Having to face a parent as prone to violence as mine certainly wasn't what I needed right now – especially when I didn't have Azriel at my back.
I closed my eyes, trying to remain calm, trying to contain the fear that galloped away at the thought of another confrontation. The desire to reach out to Azriel, to tell him that I needed him, that I wanted him back in my life, was fierce. But that was just a reaction born of fear. After all, the last time my father and I had met face-to-face, he'd just about killed me – and that was with Azriel present.