“Then let’s get on with —” she stopped, and her gaze widened a little. “That man’s not dead, is he?”
I glanced down at the shifter. “No. He’s merely in an enforced sleep.”
“Oh, good.” She cleared her throat, then added, “Let’s get to these stones. Although I’m hoping they’re not the ones creating the barrier around this building, because that is way beyond my capabilities.”
My eyebrows rose. “You can sense that?”
She nodded. “Although it has an energy that feels rather weird.”
“That’s because it was created by a dark sorcerer, and designed to keep me out,” Azriel commented. “It will not, however, prevent you from entering, nor will it harm you.”
“Oh, good,” she repeated, then paused, her eyes narrowing a little. “In case you’re interested, the source of the energy seems to be coming from under the building, which is rather odd. Shielding stones usually have to be placed at each corner for them to work efficiently.”
I glanced at Azriel. If the source is underground, maybe that’s what the smaller circle is protecting.
Possibly. What we need to discover, however, is what this building might be protecting beyond the shielding stones and the transport gate you found. There has to be something else here. He paused, then added out loud, “Be careful.”
“You keep saying that,” I said, amused. “Anyone would think you don’t trust me to look after myself.”
“Well, you do have the unfortunate habit of stepping into trouble.” His voice was dry. “And remember, I cannot help you if you find it here.”
“I have Amaya. We’ll cope.” I dropped a kiss on his lips, resisted the urge to do a whole lot more, then said to Rozelle, “Follow me.”
I led the way into the building, retracing my steps to prevent creating too many obviously new footprints in the muck coating the floor.
“Well,” Rozelle said, her gaze narrowing as she stopped several feet away from the inky wall that masked the stone circle. “That’s particularly nasty, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” I lifted my hand and showed her the red marks where the blisters had been. “I wouldn’t get too close, either.”
“I wasn’t intending to.” She handed me her carryall, then walked the length of the wall, examining it warily. She stopped close to the back wall and said, “Okay, here’s the sorcerer’s point of entry.”
“How can you tell?”
She glanced at me, her expression amused. “Because I’m a witch and that’s what I’m trained to do.” She walked back around until she was standing on the opposite side of the circle to the doorway. “We shall make our entrance here. Our sorcerer is less likely to sense it. My bag, if you would be so kind.”
I handed over the bag. “Won’t he sense the break in his magic?”
“Perhaps, if he is looking for it.” Her gaze met mine. “There is no other way to enter this circle, though.”
“Then do it.”
She drew out her athame and made a protection circle, then sat cross-legged on the ground and began the incantation to create the doorway.
After several minutes, the shadows began to retreat, until a gap that was about two feet square had formed. It revealed not only several black stones but the concrete and metal steps beyond them.
Rozelle sighed and opened her eyes. “That is the best I can do. The spell around these stones is more intricate than I first thought, so if I create anything larger, it may be visible to our sorcerer.”
I frowned. “Surely he’d notice the fact that there’s now no shadows around one section of his circle?”
“No, because it was designed to be visible to only you and me. But as I said, if he’s looking for intrusion, he will notice the threads I have woven into his magic.”
“A chance we’ll have to take. Thanks for your help, Rozelle.”
She nodded, but didn’t move. “I’ll wait here, just on the off chance you need me down there.”
I frowned. “I’m not sure that’s wise. Azriel can’t get into the building if something goes wrong, and we promised Kiandra —”
“No one and nothing is getting into my circle,” she replied, amusement in her tones. “I made sure of that. Go. I’ll be safe, I promise.”