imagine doing it to a brother or sister.
“Okay, so hit me with the clues.”
“As I said in the book you destroyed, the second key bears the semblance of a dagger. It was sent to the northwest, where the alluvial fields run deep and the soil is stained by rebellion.”
He stopped, and I waited. He didn’t go on. “That’s it? That’s all you’ve got?”
“That’s all I dared give my Razan. I could not be more specific in case I was captured—which I was.”
I thrust a hand through my hair. “It doesn’t give me a lot to go on.”
“That was the whole point. But you found the first one; you will find the others.”
I was glad someone had confidence in me. Although I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted my father’s confidence.
“What am I supposed to do when I get it?” Especially now that I knew I couldn’t destroy the keys—if my father was telling the truth, that is. He had told me previously that they could be destroyed, and Azriel seemed of the same opinion as well.
“Use this stone to contact me. I will give you further directions.”
“What about Azriel?” He wanted the keys destroyed—or at least in Mijai hands, and I had no doubt he’d take it the minute we found it. Especially given what had happened with the first key.
“Do not let the reaper gain possession of the keys. Whatever it takes, whatever you have to do, do it. Otherwise, your friends will not live to see another dawn.”
Fury, fear, and frustration swirled through me, and I clenched my fists. Uselessly, because there was nothing and no one here to hit. “Damn it, how the hell am I supposed to stop a reaper? I’m only human—”
“You were never human. You are a creation of my flesh, and that well runs deeper than you realize.” He paused, and the energy in the cylinder became so electric the hairs on my arms stood on end. “Do what I say, Risa, or face the consequences.”
And with that, the white light died and I found myself blinking furiously against tears as I stared at Azriel.
“What happened?” he asked, concern in his voice.
I brushed away the solitary droplet that trickled down my cheek. “You weren’t following events through the chi connection?”
“No, the ward severed the connection.”
I guess that was no surprise—my father was more than aware of Azriel’s presence in my life. “He gave me the clues to find the second key, and then gave me a fucking horrible choice.”
Azriel studied me for a moment, his expression giving little away, then placed Valdis on the floor and rose in one smooth movement. He disappeared into the kitchen, but was back within minutes, a large glass of bourbon and Coke in one hand. “Drink this, then tell me.”
I half smiled. “With the amount of booze I can smell in this glass, I’d normally think you were trying to get me drunk.”
“You’re a werewolf—is that not impossible?”
“Oh, I can get drunk. It just takes a hell of a lot of time and booze, and it usually doesn’t last long enough to make the effort worthwhile.” I took several large gulps and felt the burn of the bourbon all the way down to my belly.
“What happened?” Azriel said softly.
I briefly closed my eyes. “How sure are you that the keys can be destroyed?”
“As sure as we can be. The keys are not part of all creation, as the portals are, so therefore we should be able to destroy them without overwhelming effects to our worlds.”
“My father says otherwise.”
“It would be in your father’s best interest to have you believe so.” But a frown marred his usually calm expression.
“He says the keys were created in blood, and that blood now links them to the fabric of the gates. If we destroy the keys, we risk destroying the gates.”
“I do not think that is possible.”
“But you don’t know for sure?”
p> '><font size='-1' face='Palatino LT Std'>“No, but there are those who will.” He hesitated, his gaze capturing mine. “That is not all, is it?”<
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He knew it wasn’t. I gulped down more alcohol, and swallowed the subsequent burp. “If I let you take the remaining keys, he will kill Ilianna and Tao.”
He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. I could read his thoughts as clearly as if they were mine. Anger surged, so fierce and bright that Valdis’s flames flared in reaction.
“They will not be casualties in this cause, Azriel. I’d rather give the keys to my father than let either of them die.”
“The fate of our worlds rests—”
“I don’t fucking care!” My grip on the glass tightened. How it remained intact I have no idea. “This isn’t negotiable, Azriel. If what my father says is true, then you won’t be getting the keys. End of story.”
Red flickered through the tips of Valdis’s flames. It was an indication of her master’s emotions—emotions he was otherwise very carefully controlling.
“Then I had better check the legitimacy of his comments as quickly as possible,” was all he said.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “You’d better. And while you’re at it, ask what can be done if the keys can’t be destroyed.”
“If they cannot be destroyed, we are all in trouble. Neither the Raziq nor your father will rest until they possess them.” He eyed me critically. “Ilianna’s and Tao’s fates hang in the balance no matter what option you choose, Risa.”
I knew that. I’d always known that.
But it didn’t alter the fact that I wasn’t willingly going to do anything that would place them in the direct path of either my father or the Raziq.
Azriel sighed. It was a frustrated sound. “What is the clue?”
I repeated what my father had said, and he frowned. “That does not tell us much.”
“Which is exactly what I said. And he basically said ‘tough.’”
My phone rang, the ringtone telling me it was Rhoan. I dug it out of my pocket and hit the vid-answer button. No picture came up, which was odd, but maybe he didn’t want me to see what was going on around him.
“Uncle Rhoan,” I said. “Please tell me you’ve caught the bastard.”
“Indeed I have,” a familiar voice said. “He’s currently tied up tighter than a turkey at Christmas.”
Ice entered my body.
It wasn’t Rhoan on the other end of the phone.
It was Zane Taylor, my faceless hunter.
Chapter 13
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For too many minutes I couldn’t speak. All I could think was, He can’t be dead. Please, God, don’t let him be dead.
“What the hell have you done to him?” It came out a hoarse whisper, because my throat was locked tight with fear.
“Nothing that will kill him just yet.”
I closed my eyes in relief, but it didn’t last long. Not when the madman at the other end of the phone had Rhoan’s life in his hands—and no doubt wanted mine.
