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“I know, I know.” He grimaced and half shrugged. “Tao’s not going to be at the meeting. I’m going to meet one of them there, and then be taken to him. If I sign the papers, they’ll let us both go.”
“And you believe that?”
“Honestly? No. But signing the sale agreement doesn’t give them the property, because the law states there has to be a cooling-off period before the transfer of land documents are signed. That can’t—or won’t—happen if either of us is dead.”
“That won’t stop them from holding on to you or Tao.”
“No, it won’t. But are you willing to put Tao’s life on the line by calling in the Directorate? Because I’m not, Risa. And if you call Rhoan, God help me, I’ll flatten you.”
He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. He might be a full-blooded werewolf, but I was something a whole lot more. But as we stood there staring at each other, I knew it didn’t matter. He would do whatever it took to protect his cousin and I would help him, no matter how inestimably stupid that might be. This is what Mom had warned me about. This is what she’d seen. Tao’s life hung in the balance, and I wouldn’t risk losing him.
“You can’t be serious,” Ilianna said, looking from me to Stane and back again. “Risa, you can’t! Not against these people. Call Rhoan. Let him—”
> “Tao is my cousin,” Stane said softly. “This is my choice to make, not Risa’s.”
“But these people have a Charna at their beck and call,” Ilianna said, voice rising. “And I haven’t a hope in hell of defeating her!”
“You won’t have to,” I said, then glanced behind me, to the space near the trees that was filled with an unearthly heat. “Azriel?”
He appeared in an instant, his arms crossed and the sword at his back running with an ethereal blue fire. “I will take care of the dark witch, and anything she may raise to stop you. I cannot, however, help you with those she works with.”
“Why? I mean, I wasn’t asking you to, but why can you deal with the Charna and not the men?”
“Because the men hold flesh.”
I frowned. “So does the Charna.”
He nodded. “But by working her magic and calling forth the demons, she has flirted with the edges of the gray fields. The protection that flesh and life offer her no longer applies.”
“But you killed the Razan who were chasing me in the tunnel, and they haven’t messed with the gray fields.”
“No, but they work for the beings who wish to undo the fabric of life as we know it.”
“And the Aedh themselves?”
He said, “The Aedh are not flesh beings. Like us, they can take the form, but it is not who they are.”
“So because of what they’re doing, you can kill them?”
“If they are not more powerful than me, then yes.”
Good to know. Although knowing he could kill the Aedh and actually doing it were two entirely different things. And I had a feeling that when it came to my safety, he would only step in to keep me alive if it suited his purpose.
I glanced back at Ilianna. “What we need now is Tao’s location.”
“I can do a location spell, but what good will that do us?” She frowned and glanced at her watch. “We have less than an hour. That’s not enough time to find and free Tao before Stane has to meet them.”
“Agreed. So we deal with whoever—whatever—is guarding Tao, and then wait for Stane and his guards to arrive.”
“And if it’s that easy, I’ll eat my hat.” Stane thrust a hand through his already disheveled hair. “But right now, it’s the most sensible plan we’ve got.”
“If you think that’s sensible, then you’ve both got rocks for brains.” Ilianna took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “First things first. Protection circle, then a locating spell.”
She spun and walked to the car, rummaging through her bag and returning with her athame. She glanced at me. “Step back. And don’t say anything.”
I nodded and limped over to the trees. Azriel’s warmth burned into my back and I suddenly wondered what those within the Brindle would think of having a sword-carrying reaper standing in their front yard.
Ilianna raised the athame, holding it forward and slightly to the right of shoulder height. Facing east, she drew a pentacle in the air, then said, “Masters of the Watchtowers of the East, Masters of the Air; I wake and summon you to witness my works and to guard the Circle.”
