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“Actually, it leads to the house Lucian’s Razan are staying in. There’s another portal that goes to Lauren’s from there.”
“Lucian’s Razan?”
The edge in his voice had me frowning. “What, you didn’t pick that information up from my thoughts?”
“No, I did not.”
“Oh.” I hesitated. “Why the hell not?”
He waved the question away. “The Razan?”
“There was only one there, but his name is Mark Jackson, and he was the one we knocked unconscious in the tunnel.”
“Why are you so sure he is Lucian’s Razan?”
“Because there’s no one else he could belong to.”
“Your father—”
“Would not be dealing with a dark sorcerer. I might not be sure of much, but I’m pretty sure of that.” I shrugged. “Lucian was his chrání, and you said yourself that they often shared the same markings as their masters.”
“It would be interesting to uncover whether—if Jackson is the Aedh’s chrání—he was a recent creation or one that was created before his power was ripped from him by the Razan.”
I frowned. “What difference would it make?”
“If before, then not much. If the latter”—he paused, something close to hatred glimmering briefly in his eyes—“then he has thoroughly concealed his true self and is far more powerful—and dangerous—than I suspected.”
“Meaning he could take on his energy form?”
He hesitated. “No. There is no doubt he has been trapped in flesh form for eons. But it is possible he could not only take on partial form, but have all his other powers available as well.”
I frowned. “What sort of powers would we be talking about?”
“The ability to use magic, for a start. The Raziq are proficient in its use—they have to be, as masters of the gates.”
“I thought the priests were the masters?”
“And the Razan were once priests. Lucian, as your father’s chrání, is very likely to be magically strong. Your father would not have taken him otherwise.”
Meaning Lucian had never had to enlist Lauren’s help to spell me—he could have done it all himself. I frowned. “So why did he get Lauren to make that cube? Why wouldn’t he have made it himself?”
“Because he would have wanted to belay any suspicions. His magic would feel very different from that of his mistress.”
“But I’ve never felt any of his magic.”
“And perhaps never would. As I said, he would be extremely strong and—I suspect—very adept at hiding it after all those years on this plane.”
I blew out a breath. “I really was fooled by him, wasn’t I?”
“But not for as long as he might have desired.”
“Thankfully,” I muttered, then jumped as my phone rang. The tone told me it was Hunter, and I groaned. “Like I need to speak to her right now.”
“Talking on the phone is preferable to talking in person, is it not?”
“There is that.” I hit the ANSWER button and said, “I had nothing to report, which is why I didn’t report.”
Her voice was cool and disbelieving. “So the woman wasn’t there?”
