“For the moment, yes.” Her voice was calm but worry had etched fine lines around her eyes. “Both Mom and Kiandra are currently studying all the different threads of magic woven into the energy collar, in the hope it will give them some idea how to dismantle it.”
It was a long shot, but right now, I guess it was the only one we had. “Tell them to be careful, because it’s Aedh magic they’re dealing with.”
“They know, trust me.” She hesitated. “Have you got any idea where Tao is? I’ve been trying to contact him, as we need some fresh clothes. We’re going to stay here for the next day or so.”
I frowned. “He hasn’t called you?”
“Not recently, no.” Meaning he’d disappeared not long after Hunter’s phone call to me. I scrubbed a hand across my eyes and tried to ignore the growing sense of loss. Tao wasn’t lost, not yet, no matter what my inner voice might be saying.
I said, “As to where he is, I don’t know. He was supposed to be home keeping an eye on the place, but the door is wide open and he’s gone.”
“Nor is he in the near vicinity,” Azriel said.
Damn, this is all we needed. Not that it was Tao’s fault. He was trying his best not to succumb to the elemental, but the desperation in his eyes haunted me. He was losing the battle, and he knew it. “Have you tried the café?”
“Of course. And I rang Stane, but he’s not there.”
“God,” I muttered. “I hope the fucking elemental hasn’t gotten hold of him again.”
“How was he when you last saw him?” Ilianna said.
“Jittery.” Scared.
But wherever Tao was, whatever he was doing, I just had to pray he was in control rather than the thing inside of him. Because as much as it tore at me, he couldn’t be my priority. That honor belonged to finding the keys and saving Mirri. “I’m sure Stane will keep an eye out for him.”
“He is,” she said. “He’s aware of the elemental problem, Ris. Tao must have mentioned it.”
He might be aware, but he was as helpless as the rest of us.
“Then there’s nothing else we can do. I’ve got keys to find and the clock is ticking.”
“I know.” She hesitated, her expression suddenly holding a touch of fear. “How is the search going? As badly as I fear?”
“Yes and no. We’ve uncovered a few clues, but they’ve led to dead ends.”
“Well, you are dealing with a dark sorceress. They don’t make things easy for anyone, including themselves.”
I frowned. “Meaning what?”
“Meaning dark magic is usually based on the strength and the blood of the practitioner. To summon as she does would take a toll on her physically and mentally.”
“Meaning if she summoned enough demons to protect two different places, she’d have to lie low for a few days and recover?”
“Definitely.”
Which was more than likely why the second key hadn’t yet been used. It wasn’t just that they hadn’t found the correct one yet, but one or both of them hadn’t the strength to actually get onto the fields. And that meant how much time we had left very much depended on when they’d summoned the demons. Lucian had died three days ago, and Lauren had been packing before then. The days I’d spent trying to drown my sorrows might have given her all the time she needed to recover.
“Does that sort of rule apply when you’re creating something like a protection circle?”
“Not really. It’s a different type of magic to summon.”
“But what if you’re trying to protect and hide something large? Something like a gateway onto the gray fields powered by the ley-line intersection?”
“It’s still the same magic, just a larger scale.” Her expression was a little bemused. “As I’ve already told you, the amount of magic needed should produce a magical ‘hot spot’ that would enable us to pinpoint its location.”
And the sorcerer would know that, I suddenly realized. “And have you?”
“Well, no. But I did ask Kiandra about it —”