Dark energy flowed around me, thick and threatening. Amaya's mental hissing ratcheted up another degree, and my heart began to pound a whole lot faster.
Azriel's fingers entwined through mine and he squeezed them gently. It is not a threat. It is merely anger.
At whom?
The Aedh. He continues to taunt them, even when dead.
That's presuming Lucian did actually do what I'm suggesting.
It is a logical line of thought, Azriel said. After all, the Aedh seeded Ilianna and Lauren so his genes would live on if he died. It is logical he would also ensure his plans for the keys lived on.
Ha. Me thinking logically. Who'd have thought that was possible?
Wisely, he refrained from saying anything about that. He squeezed my fingers again, then released them – leaving me mourning the loss of heat and strength that had flowed through the brief contact.
"How will finding the sorcerer's entry point on the fields help you find this sorcerer?" Yeska eventually asked.
Great question. I hesitated again, then mentally shrugged. The Raziq probably knew as much about dark magic as I did, so a little bit of improvisation wasn't going to hurt. And hey, there just might be a chance I was on the right track. "Portals use direct lines to go from one point to another; therefore, wherever his opening on the field is, it should be mirrored here. And if we can find his place of power here, we can use it to track him down."
"And get us the key," he added.
"And get the key," I agreed. Who I gave it to was another matter entirely.
No, it's not, Azriel said, tone sharp. For the safety of all, the Mijai must hold the keys.
And do you really think the Raziq will refrain from attacking the Mijai to get them back?
We are greater in number —