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He didn’t argue. Didn’t offer to wrap his arms around me and transport me there. He simply disappeared. He was sticking to his word, and keeping his distance as much as possible.
And while I appreciated the effort, part of me still wanted to rant and scream and tell him where he could stick his restraint, because I certainly didn’t want it.
I have no more wish for restraint than you, came his thought. But the fate of both our worlds hangs on our actions.
I know, I know. But knowing it, and getting through it, were two very different things. I shoved my phone into the waist of my jeans to ensure that it touched flesh, then reached down for the Aedh half of my soul. Despite my utter weariness, it answered with such a surge that it surprised me. Once I was nothing more than particles drifting in the gentle breeze, I gathered myself together and flowed through the streets, enjoying the freedom of my alternate form even though tiredness quickly began to pulse through me. I still wasn’t fit enough to hold this form for very long, so I practically cheered when my street came into sight.
But as I neared our warehouse, my particles began to tingle. And the closer I got, the worse it got. It was almost as if there was a force trying to stop me . . .
Ilianna’s wards, I realized suddenly. In this form, I was as susceptible to them as any other Aedh. But it was good to have confirmation that they were actually working.
I couldn’t get near the front door, so I scooted through the small gap between the garage door and the pavement, then re-formed and splattered rather inelegantly onto the floor. One of these days, I thought, as the headache kicked in and my stomach threatened to revolt, I was going to practice re-formation until I could land with at least some semblance of elegance. Of course, being fit, healthy, and strong would also be a good first step.
It took at least five minutes for the headache and shaking to subside to acceptable levels, and I was finally able to move. Azriel appeared beside me, one hand half outstretched, obviously ready to catch me should I fall back down.
“I’m okay,” I said. And wondered whom I was trying to convince—me or him.
“Of course you are.” His fingers caught my elbow as I walked up the steps to the heavy metal door.
I gave him a somewhat amused sideways glance. “You sound disbelieving, reaper.”
“Maybe that’s because both you and I know the truth.”
“But what good is admitting the truth? It’s not like it’s going to help any.”
“Being stubborn or refusing help when you need it is not overly helpful, either.”
“It’s not like I never accept help, Azriel.”
“It is interesting that you make no comment about being stubborn.”
I smiled. “That’s because I fully acknowledge it’s another of my failings.”
I looked into the scanner, waited until the retina reader did its business, then typed the code into the keypad. The door slid open and we stepped inside. I dumped my bag on the couch, then moved into the kitchen to raid the liquor cabinet.
After a large glass of bourbon and Coke—heavy on the bourbon—I grabbed a knife, then sat down in the middle of the living room floor and placed the ward in front of me. The rainbow colors seemed to run faster through it, as if it knew what was coming. Which was daft, because it was an inanimate object.
At least until I dropped some blood on it, anyway.
Azriel sat opposite me and placed Valdis across his knees. Blue fire dripped from her blade to the floor, then ran around us, creating a living barrier.
I raised an eyebrow in silent query.
“It is not a protective circle,” he said, “but there will be few able to get past the burn of Valdis. Your astral traveler certainly won’t.”
Something within me relaxed just a little. “So why haven’t you used her like this on other occasions?”
“Because it taxes us both, and it is generally better for you that we remain fighting ready.” He nodded toward the ward. “Activate it.”
I picked up the knife and jabbed the point into my finger. As blood began to well, I turned my finger upside down and let the blood drip onto the 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. I couldn’t see Azriel, and Valdis’s fierce blue flames were little more than shadow. Which meant I hadn’t actually been transported anywhere, even though I’d half expected to be.
“Now what?” I said it out loud, though I wasn’t sure Azriel could hear me.
“He cannot,” my father said.
I jumped and looked around wildly. Normally I could sense my father’s presence the second he entered my vicinity, so why the hell hadn’t I this time?
