Darkness Splintered (DA 6) Read Online Free PDF Page B

restriction. I suggest you use that time to search this plane for the sorcerer and the second key.”
    “And if I don’t succeed in finding it, Mirri will die.” It was a statement, not a question. I don’t think I’ve hated anyone as much as I hated my father at that moment.
    Except, perhaps, for Hunter.
    “Yes. And there is one other restriction.”
    My stomach was churning so badly it felt like I was going to throw up. It was enough that she could die – what the hell else could he do? But even as the thought crossed my mind, the answer came. He was Aedh, and Aedh, like reapers, could command souls. He could rip hers free and make her one of the lost ones – a ghost confined to the astral field, never to move on, never to be reborn. I licked dry lips and croaked, “Meaning?”
    “The lariat will begin tightening at forty hours. At that time, she will have eight hours left.”
    And with that, he was gone.
    “Bastard!” Ilianna exploded, and swung around to face her mate. She touched a hand to Mirri’s cheek. “Are you okay?”
    Mirri nodded, her face pale and fear in her eyes. “Yes. For now.”
    I stopped beside Ilianna. “I’m sorry, Mirri, really sorry —” My voice faded. I seemed to be saying that an awful lot of late and, as ever, it was useless.
    Mirri gave me a taut smile. “You can’t be held accountable for your father’s actions, Risa.”
    No, but I could be held accountable for my own and if Mirri died… god, it would kill Ilianna. My gaze dropped to the thin cords of power around her neck and I raised a hand. Mirri hissed before I could actually touch it.
    “Don’t,” she said quickly. “It tightens.”
    I swore vehemently and glanced at Ilianna. “I don’t suppose hoping for some sort of magical intervention is worthwhile?”
    Her gaze came to mine, green eyes filled with fury. Though it wasn’t aimed at me, I felt the force of it nevertheless. It would be unleashed my way if anything happened to Mirri.
    “No. It’s a type of energy I’ve never felt before.”
    No surprise there given its source was one of the most powerful Aedhs around. “Would the Brindle be able to do anything?”
    It was, after all, the home of all witch knowledge, so surely they had to have something, somewhere, about the Aedh and their abilities. And some way of counteracting something like this.
    “I’ll take her there immediately.” The doubt in her expression suggested she held little hope of them being able to do anything. She gently squeezed my arm. “Find the keys, Risa. Fast .”
    Easier said than done, and she knew it. But I pressed my hand over hers in reassurance, then spun and walked back into the room I’d woken in. I gathered my keys and wallet, shoving them into pockets as I looked around to see if there was anything else I’d left behind.
    There wasn’t. I’d obviously travelled light when I’d gone on my drinking binge. I took a deep breath and released it slowly, vaguely hoping it might help calm the turmoil inside. I may as well have tried to stop the moon from rising.
    I swore softly, wrapped my fingers around my keys, and called to the Aedh within. She came with a rush that literally blew me away. Energy tore through every muscle, every cell, numbing pain and dulling sensation as it broke them all down, until my flesh no longer existed and I became one with the air. Until I held no substance, no form, and could not be seen or heard or felt by anyone or anything who wasn’t reaper or Aedh.
    In that form, I swept out of the house and into the sunshine, speeding away from peace and quiet of the rolling hills, heading toward Melbourne and the Collins Street building that housed Lucian’s apartment.
    I didn’t re-form as I neared the building – there were too many people walking along this end of Collins Street to risk that. I didn’t immediately go into the building, either, but scanned it carefully, looking for anything that seemed odd or out of place.
    It was one of those