Darkness Splintered (DA 6) (33 page)

Especially when he’d had centuries to plot every little detail of his revenge on both the Raziq and my father. “Yeah, but I thought gateways were straight-line things. You know, point A to point B with no offshoots or detours. And there’s only one gate here.”

“Yes, but a ley-line intersection holds enough power to create more than one gateway into the gray fields, so why would they not do so? The Aedh undoubtedly knew enough about magic to siphon the intersection’s energy down lesser lines. I cannot believe he would not have done so, especially given he knew – at least from the moment he became involved with you – that both your father and the Raziq were well aware of his presence.”

“And doing fucking nothing about it,” I muttered.

“They did not see him as a threat. In their eyes, he was lesser than he was, and therefore unimportant.”

And that lack of foresight had cost them – and us – the first key and might yet cost us the second.

Although to be fair, Azriel, at least, had seen Lucian’s true colors from the very beginning.

“If there’s more than one gateway, surely the Raziq would be watching both,” I said. “They want to stop this bitch – or bastard, depending on which form she’s wearing – as much as we do.”

“But what if the sorceress’s gray fields gateway is in the one place no one would ever think to look?”

“But there’s nowhere —” I paused, suddenly realizing what he was implying. “Surely even Lucian wouldn’t be
that
devious.”

“Why not? Are not the quarters he shared with your father as his chrání the perfect position for such a gateway? Your father cannot enter the temples without alerting the Raziq to his presence, and the Raziq cannot enter your father’s rooms. Nor would they even
think
to look there, given they do not think the Aedh a threat.”

“I wonder if
that’s
the reason he left the coordinates of that warehouse. It wasn’t so much the coordinates here on Earth that mattered, but the positioning on the fields.”

“It is possible, although that would mean there is a gateway somewhere in that warehouse.”

I jumped up. “We’d better go investigate —”

He caught my hand. “It would be useless to do so because we have not the means to get in or out of your father’s rooms.”

I frowned. “But if we find the gateway, it will take us into them.”

“Yes, but the private residences of the Aedh within the temple areas are all shielded. You cannot get in
or
out without the correct means of doing so.”

“Fuck it, why can’t something be
simple
in this damn quest?”

“Because that is not the way of your world or mine.” His voice held a slightly bitter edge. “However, your father said he was creating a means by which you could freely access his rooms. Perhaps you should check if anything has been left at your home while we were away.”

“
That
means going back through the damn tunnel. And risking the sorcerer coming here when we’re gone.”

“That is a risk, yes.”

Great. Damned if we did, and damned if we didn’t. I bit my lip, then half shrugged. “I guess we just have to take the chance.”

“We are right in this, Risa. I’m sure of it.”

I wasn’t, especially given lady luck hadn’t been all that generous to us to date. Still, what else could we do? It was either stay here – and risk losing her – or chase down our theory and hope like hell we were right. And at least with the latter, we were actually
doing
something.

Even if it ultimately proved to be the
wrong
something.

We made our way back through the tunnel. Progress was slow, and the delay ate at my nerves. The longer we were stuck here, the more chance there was of the bitch escaping us.

Although if Azriel’s theory was right, there was a good chance she already
had
. Our only hope lay in the fact that she hadn’t yet figured out which of the four items she’d stashed in her case was the key in disguise.

We finally reached the pit. I stood near the outer ring of stakes and glared up at the floor high above us.

“I may be part werewolf, but even I can’t leap that far.”

“I’ll boost you.”

I raised an eyebrow as I glanced at him. “And how are you going to get up?”

“I’ll jump. You’ll catch me.”

“You’re putting a hell of a lot of faith in my catching skills.”

“Because I figure you would not want the father of your child staked.” He cupped his hands. “Up you go.”

I stepped into his hands and, with a grunt of effort, he flung me high. I grabbed at the ragged ends of the pit and hauled myself onto solid ground, then hooked my feet on either side of the doorframe and leaned back over the hole.

“Okay, go for it.”

He leapt up. A heartbeat later his outstretched hands were in mine. I gripped them fiercely, but his weight hit like a ton of bricks and just about ripped my arms from their sockets. I hissed in pain but slowly inched backward, drawing him with me. After a few seconds, he released one hand, caught the edge of the pit, and drew himself up beside me.

I rolled onto my back, breathed a sigh of relief, then scrambled upright. With the shield still in place, neither of us could shift to energy form within the building, so the sooner we got out, the better. I jumped over the loading bay railing, landed neatly, then ran for the gap in the door. Azriel followed me out, and a heartbeat later, we were standing in the burned-out remnants of my living room. I spun around, scanning the room, but couldn’t see anything different. And the front door still appeared locked. Which meant either my father hadn’t yet delivered on his promise, or it was sitting outside. I strode across the room, unlatched the door, then stepped out onto the metal landing to check. And there, tucked into the corner shadows of the top step, was a small brown box.

“Found something!”

Azriel appeared beside me as I opened the box. Inside were two black cords twined with a silverish thread that had an almost ghostly glow about it, and a note. I quickly unfolded it.

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 —”

“Not you,” I cut in. “My father. He keeps telling me how mighty and powerful he is, so how about we give him a chance to prove it?”

“Neither he nor the Raziq will be fooled for long. As you have noted, they will feel your presence on the field.”

“Perhaps, but we can always hope they’re too busy fighting each other to immediately do anything about our presence. Besides, what other option have we got?”

“None.” His voice was grim. “You had better contact your father quickly, as the sorceress might already be on the fields with the four items.”

I spun around and headed for my bedroom to retrieve the communication ward my father had given me. Azriel appeared, a knife he’d found who knows where held in one hand, as I sat cross-legged on the floor and placed the ward in front of me. The rainbow colors within it seemed to run faster, as if it knew what was coming.

“Thanks,” I said, accepting the knife. With little ceremony, I jabbed the point into my finger, then, as blood began to well, turned my finger upside down and let the blood drip onto the communication ward. As the droplet hit, the rainbow stopped moving, and everything was still. Silent.

Then light erupted from the center of the stone and briefly blinded me. When I was able to see again, I was encased in a cylinder of white.

“Father, are you out there?”

There was a pause, and then he said, “You have found the second key?”

“Yes, but I need your help to retrieve it.”

“I cannot interact with your world – it is the reason you were bred.”

I snorted softly. Nice to know the only reason I existed was because my father had a feeling he’d need an extra pair of hands here on Earth. “The problem isn’t here on Earth. It’s on the gray fields.”

“Explain.”

“We suspect the sorceress has two gateways onto the fields. The Raziq currently guard one. The other, however, is in your rooms —”

“Impossible. No one can get into my temple residences without the proper —”

“Lucian could,” I cut in. “And he was working with the sorcerers.”

“He would not —”

“You keep saying that,” I interrupted again. “Trouble is, time and again he was doing
exactly
what you said he shouldn’t or wouldn’t be.”

Annoyance swirled around me, thick and heavy. But all he said was, “What is it that you want?”

“The location of the gate the Raziq guard is -37.7925000, 144.98635. We need you to provide some sort of distraction.”

“Such as?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t particularly care. Hell, you can take the bastards out for all I care. You keep saying you’re far more powerful than either Malin or her people will ever be, so how about proving it?”

“That is a truth not even she would deny.”

There was no conceit in my father’s voice, no hint of boasting in his words. He merely stated a fact as he saw it. I dare say Malin held the exact same opinion about
her
prowess. Aedh, from what I’d seen, certainly weren’t backward about admitting their strengths. Their weaknesses were a different matter entirely – in fact, most seemed to think they didn’t actually
have
any.

“Whatever you decide to do, I just need them kept occupied while we go to the second gate and try to capture the sorceress.”

“And the key.”

“That goes without saying.” Whether
he
got it was another matter entirely. I’d sure as hell be making sure Mirri was safe before I handed the key over to
anyone
.

“When do you wish this to happen?”

“Now.”

“I shall see what I can do.”

It was on my tongue to snap, “You’d better do your best,” but I restrained the urge. There was no point in antagonizing him when Mirri’s life still lay in his hands.

“I’d appreciate you hurrying. The Raziq are going to know the minute I step onto the fields.”

“They will be too busy saving their puny lives to worry about your presence.”

And with that, the white light died and I found myself blinking furiously against tears as I stared at Azriel.

“You were successful?” he said.

“I think so.” I pushed upright. “Do we head over to that other warehouse now, and try to find the other gate?”

“There is no need. I can transport us to the coordinates the Aedh left us once you are on the fields.”

I frowned. “I thought you said you could only transport to a place you have some physical point of reference to, like a soul?”

“Here on Earth, not on the fields.”

“Ah. Good.” I hesitated, then added, “I take it you can’t transport me onto the fields themselves?”

“No. If I were a reaper, I could guide your soul upon death, but that is not what we desire to happen anytime soon.”

I half smiled. “Been there once, and I’m in no hurry for a repeat.” I climbed onto the bed, made myself comfortable, then added, “What about the other Mijai? Will they be able to help us at all?”

He hesitated. “In the inner reaches of the temples, no.”

“What about if the sorceress reaches the gates? There are Mijai stationed there, aren’t there?”

“There is currently only one, as breaches have fallen over the last few hours. But if our sorceress gets that far, more will be called. They will aid us to stop her.”

So at least we weren’t going to be entirely alone. Which was a damn good thing if the Raziq happened to appear. They certainly weren’t going to be pleased the moment they realized I’d deceived them.

I hesitated, then asked, curious, “How will they react to my presence on the field?”

He shrugged. “You may or may not see them, depending on whether they decide to acknowledge your presence.”

Charming. “I’ll see you on the field in a few minutes.”

He nodded and disappeared. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. As I slowly released it, I released awareness of everything around me, concentrating on nothing more than the slowing beat of my heart and freeing my psyche, my soul, or whatever else people like to call it from the constraints of my flesh. It was similar, yet very different, to stepping onto the astral plane, mainly because the plane was of
this
world and the gray fields were not. On the fields, the real world was little more than a shadow, a place where those things that could not be seen on the living plane became visible. It was also the land between life and death, a place through which souls journeyed to whatever gateway was their next destination, be it heaven or hell.