The cord will allow both entry into the temple's inner sanctum and the rooms I shared with the chrání, it said. There is a second for the reaper, as you should not access the temples without his guidance. It is a dangerous place.
I glanced at Azriel. "Why would the temples be dangerous?"
"Because while the priests no longer physically guard the gates, there are… remnants… left behind."
My eyebrows rose. "Remnants?"
He nodded. "They are not ghosts, as such. More echoes of the beings they once were."
"So when Aedh die, their energy doesn't return to the stars like the reapers?"
"They do, but the Aedh priests have sworn an oath to protect the gates, so remnants of their beings remain."
"I wouldn't have thought echoes of beings would be all that dangerous."
"You have not yet encountered the echoes of the priests." His voice was grim. "Trust me, if they decide you are an intruder, they can cause great harm."
"Then let's hope we don't encounter them." And that the sorceress did. I glanced down and read the rest of the note. "The third key lies in the southeast, on a palace whose coat of arms lies the wrong way around."
"Which," Azriel said, "apparently means as little to you as the previous clues, if your current expression is anything to go by."
"Yeah." I folded the note and shoved it in the back pocket of my jeans. "But Google helped us find the last one, so maybe it'll help with this. Besides, finding the third key isn't our priority right now. But there is another problem."
Azriel raised an eyebrow. "The Raziq?"
I nodded. "The minute I appear on the gray fields, they're going to know. We need a distraction."
"I could —"