And the truth is, he probably wouldn't have done the latter anyway—at least, not until he'd gotten every scrap of information possible. "That's the second part of the question answered. What about the first?"
"As I have already said, I am a Mijai." He shrugged, a casual gesture that oddly seemed filled with tension. "I should not be following you but rather fighting those that come through the portals."
"But that's not why you don't want to be here, Azriel."
"And why would you think that?"
I half smiled. "Because I am sometimes my mother's daughter, and I can sense the avoidance in your words."
"There is no avoidance." He looked away again. "There is no other truth. I do what I must."
Yeah, he did. And his disquiet about being here had nothing to do with his wish to be hunting, but rather his proximity to me. Of that, I was sure.
Ilianna pushed to her feet and walked across to us.
"Anything?" I asked.
She nodded. "He's at an old warehouse on Ramsay Street, Spotswood. I couldn't see much more than that—I think the witch has spelled the building. There was thick resistance when I tried to get inside and see his exact location."
"You didn't push?"
She shook her head. "I don't know what type of spell she used, so it's safer not to. At the very least, it might have tipped her off that we'd found him." She hesitated, her expression a mix of fear and determination. "If there's magic, you'll need me along."
"That's too danger—"
"Yeah," she cut in, "for you if you blunder blindly through whatever spell she's set up. I have a good chance of unraveling it if I'm close enough to examine it."
I wanted to argue, but I could also see her point. We wouldn't save Tao if we couldn't even get into the building. "What if it's dark magic?"