"Right," she said, "Let's go."
Her warm tones held an edge of excitement that made me smile. Obviously, things had been a little slow here at the Brindle lately. I gave Ilianna a hug, then said, "Keep strong. We'll all get through this, I promise."
She smiled, but didn't say anything. Because she knew, like I knew, my promise was empty. No one knew how all this was going to pan out.
Not even, I was beginning to suspect, fate.
Azriel transported us, one at a time, back to the warehouse.
"Wow," Rozelle said, blinking rapidly and wavering a little as she reappeared. "That's certainly a novel way to get about. Not something I'd like to do too often, though."
"Yeah, sorry," I said. "But we're on a tight deadline and it's the quickest way to travel."
"Then let's get on with —" she stopped, and her gaze widened a little. "That man's not dead, is he?"
I glanced down at the shifter. "No. He's merely in an enforced sleep."
"Oh, good." She cleared her throat, then added, "Let's get to these stones. Although I'm hoping they're not the ones creating the barrier around this building, because that is way beyond my capabilities."
My eyebrows rose. "You can sense that?"
She nodded. "Although it has an energy that feels rather weird."
"That's because it was created by a dark sorcerer, and designed to keep me out," Azriel commented. "It will not, however, prevent you from entering, nor will it harm you."
"Oh, good," she repeated, then paused, her eyes narrowing a little. "In case you're interested, the source of the energy seems to be coming from under the building, which is rather odd. Shielding stones usually have to be placed at each corner for them to work efficiently."
I glanced at Azriel. If the source is underground, maybe that's what the smaller circle is protecting.