"We really do have to catch this bitch," I muttered, and glanced back at our shifter. "He seemed a whole lot more rational than some of the others we've come across."
"Perhaps Lauren has finally refined her technique."
I snorted softly. Nothing like refining the way you destroyed someone's present and future lives. "What about those stones I came across inside? Could you find anything about those?"
He nodded. "It is a minor protection circle, as you have already guessed. It hides stairs that lead down into the basement."
"I wonder if the basement leads into the tunnels the pit falls into?"
"I don't know. His memories seemed to imply the magic merely protects storage areas, but that does not mean that is all there is to be found down there."
It would be typical of the sort of luck we'd been getting, though. "If it's only minor magic, Ilianna will be able to unpick it for us."
"Shall I go retrieve her?"
I hesitated. "I don't think the witches would react too favorably to your presence in the Brindle."
He frowned. "Perhaps not, but it would drain too much of your strength to transport her here in Aedh form."
And it would take longer than we probably had to drive here. The shifter had been sent here for a reason, after all, and sooner or later someone was going to miss him. I blew out a breath. "Okay, you fetch her. I'll wait here and knock our friend out again if he shows signs of waking."
"No need." Azriel briefly pressed two fingers against the shifter's forehead, and energy caressed the air. "He will not waken until I will it."
I frowned. "How come you could do that, and yet not access his mind telepathically?"
"Different sections of the brain. I have also adjusted his memories. He now believes he came out here to investigate a sound, and was knocked unconscious and subsequently robbed. I suggest you claim his wallet." He touched my hand, his fingers warm against my skin. "Stay alert. I won't be long."
"Even I can't get into trouble in the two minutes you'll be gone," I said, voice wry. But I was talking to air.