Darkness Splintered (DA 6) (31 page)

I abruptly sat up. “Of 
course
.” I could transport myself to that study, and from there, gather enough information for Azriel to take us there.

“It would be best, however,” Adeline continued, “if you did it here, where I can keep an eye on events and intervene if need be.”

Which Azriel could not, if something happened. It certainly made sense, but I still asked, “Why? I mean, it’s not like she could sense my astral presence, is it?”

“Many witches can, and you’ve already mentioned the possibility that this woman is a dark sorceress. And while you should be safe enough from any form of magical attack originating from this plane, if she 
is
 a dark sorceress, it would not be beyond her skill to mount an attack astrally.”

“Which I have no doubt she would do if she in any way suspected my presence.”

She’d certainly shown a propensity to cover her bases and attack so far. And while I might be doing little more than scooting out of that room to see where she was located, there was no way in hell I was going to risk getting attacked, astrally or otherwise. Been there, done that, and had no desire to do it again.

I added, “Are you available to try this right now?”

“I left the day free,” she said with a smile. “I expected you might be needing additional help.”

“I don’t know how I can ever thank you, Adeline.”

She waved the comment away and rose. “Stop these idiots, and that will be thanks enough.”

“That we can do.”

She nodded. “Let’s go, then. I suspect we don’t have much time, given she appeared to be packing up.”

I took off my shoes and padded after her. The room on the opposite side of the hall smelled faintly of lavender and chamomile, and my feet sank into a thick layer of mats and silk that covered the entire floor area.

“Lie down and make yourself comfortable,” Adeline said. “Do you need guidance?”

“No, I’ve stepped onto the plane a few times since I was last here.”

“Then I shall simply monitor.” She sat cross-legged near the door, her hands folded neatly in her lap.

I glanced at Azriel, who stood guard near the closed door – more for reassurance than anything else – then released a long, slow breath and imagined the tension within flowing out with it. Then I followed the routine Adeline had taught me. Within minutes I was not only on the astral plane but in the place we’d seen in the crystal. The woman was still in the study, although all four items from the safe were now neatly bubble wrapped and packed in the second case. Part of me wanted to move closer to the items, just to see if I was able to pick up any sort of vibration that would tell me which one was the actual key, but I resisted the temptation. I had no idea whether this woman would sense my astral presence or, if the key 
did
 react, whether she’d be able to sense 
that
.

The last thing I needed right now was to give her any more of a head start than she already had.

Instead, I imagined myself standing outside the building that housed this room, but just as I did, the woman abruptly straightened. I hoped like hell she hadn’t sensed me – that she’d just finished her packing – but I couldn’t be certain, because the astral plane whisked me outside. The study was housed in a two-story brown brick warehouse that had been converted to a living accommodation. Unlike ours, however, this one – if the buzzers near the entrance were anything to go by – had more than one apartment within its four walls. Which wasn’t a whole lot of help given we could hardly go knocking on every door to find the right one.

I tried again, this time imagining myself standing outside the front door of the apartment that housed that study and, with very little sense of movement, I was suddenly in front of a very upmarket wooden and glass door. HARRIET MONTERREY, APARTMENT 1B, the little sign under the buzzer read.

Which was all I needed.

I imagined myself back in my body, and scrambled to my feet the minute I was. The room spun abruptly around me, and if not for the fact that Azriel grabbed my arm to steady me, I would have fallen.

“Whoa,” I muttered. “Did that way too fast, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Adeline said, voice dry. “But were you successful?”

“Yes, and I’m sorry, but we have to run. Thanks for the help and the coffee.”

She smiled. “You’re welcome to both, but perhaps when this is all over, you can actually stay and chat.”

“When this is all over, consider it a date.” It was the least I could do, after all. I glanced at Azriel. “You know where we’re going?”

“I have picked the necessary information from your memories, yes.”

I smiled. At least mind sharing sometimes saved the necessity of words. “She’s on the move, and she may have sensed me.”

“Then we go in ready to fight. Draw your sword.”

I did so, then stepped into his embrace. A second later we were in the study we’d seen in the crystal.

The woman and the cases were gone.

She had, however, left something behind for us – demons.

There were half a dozen in all, insubstantial wisps that were all teeth and claws. The bigger brothers and sisters of the Ania, I suspected.

Two of them came straight at me. I backpedaled fast and raised Amaya, sweeping her from left to right. She hissed, her flames splattering across the floorboards as her sharp point tore through one of the approaching creatures. The demon moaned – a sound abruptly cut off as its remaining fragments were swept up in Amaya’s trailing fire and burned to a crisp.

The second creature swept around to my right, attempting to attack from behind. I spun, and was confronted by the sight of a fistful of wickedly barbed teeth coming straight at my face. I swore and dropped. The demon whooshed over my head, the breeze of its passing strong enough that my hair was tugged after it. I twisted around, saw the creature’s wispy form spreading like a sail as it tried to break and turn, and I thrust upward with Amaya, twisting her steel into the creature’s tail. It screamed, the sound one of fury, then swung and bit her blade. There was enough force in the attack that her steel vibrated, and I’m not sure who was more surprised – me or Amaya. Then she made a sound suspiciously like a chuckle and her flames flared, wrapping around the creature, capturing it tight as she slowly – almost lovingly – consumed it.

I shuddered – although you’d think I’d be used to my sword’s bloodthirsty bent by now – and looked past her. Azriel stabbed Valdis through the heart of a creature, literally exploding it, then swung around. His fierce expression became one of relief as his gaze met mine. Then he turned and ran, leaving me flatfooted with surprise. I swore and galloped after him, catching a brief glimpse of his disappearing butt as he dived through a doorway farther down the hall.

I was three steps away from repeating the procedure when the goddamn room exploded.

Chapter 12

Air hit with the force of a hammer and sent me tumbling backward. Wood, plaster, and dust rained all around me, and I threw my hands over my head in an effort to protect myself.

Amaya screamed in fury as her flames erupted to form a protective cocoon around my body. And none too soon, because it wasn’t just wood and plaster coming down, but concrete tiles. The fucking roof had collapsed.

Not that it mattered. Nothing mattered right now, except the reaper who had gone into that room a heartbeat before it exploded.

Azriel!
Desperation filled my mental scream.
Are you okay?

For several seconds there was no reply, and my fear skyrocketed. Then he said, his mind voice somewhat groggy,
Yes. Valdis shielded me from the worst of it.

What the hell were you trying to do?
I pushed into a sitting position. Several large sections of wood rolled off Amaya’s shield and dropped onto the top of the mess that surrounded us. There wasn’t much left of the hallway – just several skeletal wooden frames bereft of plaster. Wires dangled from the ceiling, and I fervently hoped they were not going to attack me the minute I moved. Water was spraying from broken fire sprinklers, dampening down the worst of the dust, and somewhere in the distance alarms were ringing. The fire brigade and police would undoubtedly be here soon.

I was attempting to catch that sorcerer before she escaped.
His voice was clipped. Angry at himself for not succeeding, I suspected.

So why didn’t you zap yourself to that room instead of running?

Because, as I have said, I cannot zap myself into unknown places without having at least some point of reference. When I was a reaper, it was the resonance of the soul, but in this case, I could not get a fix on her.

I frowned and rose. Amaya’s shield pulsated around me, moving as I did.
Why couldn’t you get a grip on her resonance?

Because it was shifting.

Meaning she was?

I suspect so.

At the far end of the hall, a pile of timber and tiles began to move, sliding away as flames began to pulsate through the pile. A second later, Azriel appeared, surround by a halo of blue fire. It faded as he turned, his gaze searching the ruins and stopping when it met mine. Blood oozed from a wound near his temple, but other than that, he appeared unhurt.

“I guess from all this” – I waved a hand at the mess around us – “that she sensed me.”

“She might be powerful enough to summon demons at a moment’s notice, but the explosion would have taken longer to set up.” He stepped over a pile of broken plaster and tiles and walked toward me. “There was a transport gate in that room. I saw her step through, and had a brief glimpse of shadows and stone before the explosion.”

“She’s heading for hell’s gate.” My voice was grim.

“Undoubtedly – though the gate she just escaped through would not get her onto the gray fields. It was nowhere near powerful enough.” His voice held little emotion, but his fury and frustration echoed through me, as sharp as my own. “But she knows we’re close now, so I have no doubt she is headed to the gate that
will
. She would not want to risk us reclaiming the key before she has a chance to use it.”

“And if she does use it and the Raziq are waiting, the key is theirs.” I thrust a hand through my hair. “Fuck!”

“Yes,” Azriel said. “Our best chance now lies in finding her access onto the fields.”

“And how the fuck are we supposed to do that? There was nothing useful in either of the goddamn warehouses!” Nothing we could access without a lot of time and effort – the first of which we were running dangerously low on.

“We cannot be sure of that because we have not explored the entirety of the larger warehouse. Remember, there was a second pathway you did not explore.”

“Then I guess we have no choice but to go there now and do just that.” Only my skin crawled at the thought of doing it alone. That section of the tunnel had felt
nasty.
Besides, it was more than likely where the hellhounds had come from, and I certainly didn’t feel like facing more of them alone.

“Perhaps it is time to call in your uncle —” He stopped abruptly and spun, Valdis blazing brightly in his hand. “I sense your presence, Yeska.”

“Only because I intended it, Mijai.” Amusement, and perhaps more than a little contempt, was evident in the Raziq’s voice. “You would otherwise be dead.”

“You overestimate your skill yet again.” Azriel’s voice was even despite the tension so evident in his stance and in the flow of his energy through my mind.

“I overestimate nothing, Mijai. But I am not here to harm you.” He hesitated, and though he had no physical form, it was not hard to imagine a particularly nasty smile as he added, “Not at this present time.”

Azriel didn’t reply. He didn’t need to when Valdis burned black and her desire to kill was so fierce the air was thick with it.

“Look,” I said quickly, sensing it wouldn’t take much for either being to attack the other right now. “As charming as this little catch-up moment is, the bitch with the keys might now be readying to open the second gate.”

Yeska’s attention turned to me – something I felt rather than saw. It hit like a punch in the gut, leaving me feeling a little breathless. “If the sorcerer steps onto the fields, then he or she will be stopped.”

“You have found the location of her gate?” Azriel asked, before I could.

“On the fields side, yes. We have the location under surveillance.”

Meaning she hadn’t
yet
tried to access the fields. We still had time to stop her. “And are you going to share the coordinates or are you intending to keep the information all to yourselves?”

“I am here, am I not?”

“Then give us the grid reference, or face the consequences,” Azriel all but growled.

Yeska snorted. “You would not overstep your precious rules, Mijai, and we both know it.”

“I would not be so sure of that —”

“Guys,” I cut in again. “How about we drop the machismo and just concentrate on the keys? You can rattle each other’s chains all you want once we catch this bitch, but let’s just first catch her.”

“Indeed, let’s.” There was amusement in his tone. For supposedly unemotional beings, the Raziq – and Aedh in general – seemed to be full of emotion.

“The location of the gate is at -37.7925000, 144.98635. And remember, if you find this sorcerer first —”

“I’ve got to give you the keys or you’ll kill my friends’ present and future lives,” I cut in wearily. “I know, and trust me, I
am
trying to get the key.”

“Then try harder,” he replied equably, and disappeared.

“That conversation would have been so much more pleasant had he made the slightest threat toward you,” Azriel mused, sheaving a still blazing Valdis.

“Only because it would have enabled you to kill the bastard.”

“Yes. Yeska’s time is long overdue.”

“Well, you can blame your people for his presence here. You could have done something when you first held him for questioning.”

“With the advantage of hindsight, that is obvious.” He turned. “I suspect those coordinates will take us to the warehouse near Stane’s. Let us hope Rozelle and her friends have been able to break through that shield.”