My frown deepened. "So is the spell reaper specific, or is it more generally aimed at energy beings?" Because if it were the latter, it would also prevent me from entering.
He hesitated, and his energy slithered around me as he carefully tested the boundaries of the magic. "Reaper specific, by the feel of it."
"Meaning whoever is behind this is more than a little familiar with your presence?"
"Yes." He glanced at me. "Lucian."
"You can't blame him for every bit of evil we come across just because you don't like or trust him," I said, irritated.
"He is Aedh, he was your father's chrání, he spelled you, and he is sexually involved with a dark sorceress. Why would he not be a suspect?"
Chrání was the Aedh word for a student or protégé, and it meant that even if Lucian hadn't been involved with the making of the keys, he most certainly knew a whole lot more about them than he'd ever let on. And while he'd been using me to keep track of everything we did to locate the keys—had, in fact, placed a geas on me that had made it next to impossible for me to resist him sexually, which was important given he could read my mind only during sex—my father had been keeping track of him through me. Blood called to blood, and that apparently meant he not only knew where I was at any given time, but he could read my thoughts from a distance.
"Look, I'm not denying he's involved. I just don't think he's responsible for this." I waved a hand at the door and, as I did so, my fingers brushed the unseen magic. Light danced across them, warm and almost welcoming. Which was decidedly odd. "It seems to react to touch, too."
"That is only logical. If whoever owns this had been hiding the real Nadler's body in a freezer within, then he or she would not wish to risk anyone breaking in."
"So why not ward against Aedh as well?"
"I do not know."
Neither did I, and it piqued my interest. "I've got to get in there. This could be the break we've been looking for."
"I do not think—"
"I know," I cut in. "And I'm going to try regardless."
Irritation swirled down the link between us, thick and sharp. I might not be able to catch his thoughts and feelings unless he wished it, but every now and again emotion got the better of his control. And while that could be a dual-edged sword—especially when it generally happened only when he was really angry over something I'd said or done—I wasn't about to wish it away. I actually liked getting glimpses of what was going on in my generally stoic reaper's mind.