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“Azriel is my name,” he said, voice holding a slight edge. “Not reaper. And you can ask me questions directly.”
She glanced at him in surprise. “Fair enough. So tell us, Azriel, what do the keys look like?”
“I do not know, because there is no such description in the book. Maybe Hieu lies.”
“He said I was reading it wrong, so maybe you were, too.” I winced as Ilianna’s cream began to sting, then added, “He wants these keys found as much as anyone else. Only he wants me to find them.”
“Why?” Tao said. “That’s what I don’t get. Why you, and why now?”
“Because the keys can only be found and destroyed by someone of his blood, and because his flesh form was ripped from him by the other Raziq, he can no longer interact with this world.”
“It takes powerful magic to rip the flesh being from an Aedh,” Azriel commented. “If they are capable of that, we had better move. Now.”
There was a note of urgency in his voice that hit the rest of us like a storm. I glanced at Tao, but he was already up. “I’ll grab Stane,” he said. “You want some shoes or will your feet be too sore?”
“Grab me a pair of boots and some fresh clothes.” I wasn’t about to run around barefoot and half naked as well. I gulped down the rest of the burger. Ilianna was finishing up on my feet. “What do you think our chances of being invited into the Brindle are?”
Ilianna said, “Scant to none. But we can try, all the same.”
“Then we’ll contact your mom on the way over there. If not, we’ll have to think of somewhere else.”
Though I doubted anywhere else would be safe from the Aedh. It would just take them a little longer to find us.
Tao came out of my room carrying a backpack and, a heartbeat later, Stane appeared out of the spare room. He looked rumpled and unwashed, his face haggard and the shadow of a beard decorating his chin. But there was a victorious light in his eyes.
“God,” I said, “don’t tell me you cracked it?”
He shoved his overnight bag on the table but kept hold of his laptop. “We now have the names behind the consortium,” he said, and his sudden grin was infectious. “James Trilby, Garvin Appleby, and John Nadler. But the even bigger news is, one of them has a sister who’s a witch.”
“It couldn’t be that easy,” Ilianna said.
“But it is,” Stane said. “The sister is one Margaret Trilby, and three years ago she was banished from the Brindle all-witch society because she was practicing blood magic.”
“Margaret Trilby is the name of the witch who raised the soul stealer?” Azriel asked.
“Yes,” Stane said, looking over his shoulder. “You know, it’s somewhat disturbing to see my uncle standing so calmly in the middle of the room. Especially given I know it’s not my uncle, but a reaper.”
“I cannot help what you see,” Azriel said with a slight shrug. “It is your subconscious that dictates my form, not anything I actively do.”
Stane grunted. “Now that we have the names, what are we going to do with them?”
“The logical step,” Tao said before I could open my mouth, “would be to give the information to Rhoan.”
“He’s not equipped to deal with black magic—”
“No,” Ilianna agreed, “but the Directorate is. They have some very powerful witches in their employ, and I know for a fact they’ve dealt with blood witches before. It is the best option.”
I tossed my phone into the pack Tao handed me. “But it means I’m not a part of the resolution.”
And I wanted that. Needed that. For little Hanna’s sake—and for mine.
Ilianna wrapped a hand around my arm and squeezed gently. “I know. But as you said, right now we’ve got bigger problems.”
I blew out a frustrated breath, then nodded slowly. “Okay, let’s get out of here. Tao, you drive. I’ll ring Aunt Riley—” I stopped and frowned. “How come she’s not here? Does she even know I went missing?”
Hell, Mom would have sensed something had happened to me, and the first—and only—person she would have rung was Riley.
Tao grimaced. “Both she and Rhoan were here. Madder than hell and ready to tear up the world to find you. Azriel convinced them to let him do the finding.”
