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Not that I really expected to be able to prevail against a full Aedh.
“I plan to stop them.”
“So you spent all that time with the Raziq making the keys, and now you’re hell-bent on stopping them? That doesn’t sound very logical to me.”
The heat of him was closer now. It spun around me—a warm, nonthreatening presence that nevertheless made my skin crawl because of the power behind it. Because there was no underlying sense of humanity. This was a being who wore flesh rarely and who had no love or understanding for those who possessed it full-time.
Which made me wonder why he was now trying to stop the Raziq.
“Magic alone works the portals, and it is because that magic can be corrupted that the keys were made. If magic wasn’t as intrinsic in the opening of the portals, then neither those on this plane nor anyone on the other could affect them.”
Which made basic sense, but it also meant the power of the gates lay in those keys rather than magic. And that seemed ultimately more dangerous to me.
“So why not simply destroy the keys yourself? If you helped make them, then you must know how to unmake them.”
“I do. The trouble is, the keys are on this plane, and I no longer can interact with this world.”
My eyes widened. “But aren’t you interacting with it now?”
“Not on a flesh level. That ability was torn from me when they discovered the part I played in the keys’ disappearance.”
“Meaning there’s more than one of you trying to destroy these keys?”
“No, but all Raziq have Razan, and mine hid the keys while I created a diversion.”
“So why not just ask them where they put the keys?”
“Because they are dead. They were under orders to destroy themselves should I not return by a certain time.”
Charming. But then, why would an Aedh care whether one of his servants lived or died? He could undoubtedly create more as needed. “And you couldn’t return because you were captive?”
“Precisely.”
“This plan of yours wasn’t really that well thought out, was it?” I said, slightly sarcastically.
“In any venture of worth, there is always an element of risk.”
The jury was still out on whether this venture was worth the risk. I wasn’t about to trust that he was telling the truth rather than twisting facts.
“So did all your Razan die?”
“No, I still have some who aid me, but they have no knowledge of the theft or the location of the keys.”
The odd emphasis on the word aid had my intuition tingling. “I hope it isn’t your Razan who have been attacking me and my friends.”
“No. I would not order that when I need your assistance.”
Which didn’t actually imply he would never do it. I contemplated the shadows for a moment, wishing he was visible, yet half glad he wasn’t. If I couldn’t see, I couldn’t be disappointed. And I couldn’t read the lies.
Why did I think there were lies?
Maybe it was just the whisper inside my head telling me it couldn’t be so simple. That there was more to his quest than what he was saying.
“Then why didn’t they destroy you when they discovered your part in the theft?”
“Because without me, they have no hope of finding the keys. So they imprisoned me, but not quite as successfully as they thought. I am free, but powerless to do anything more than conduct events.”
“Then why pull me into it if you have the Razan?”
