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"If he’s in a state of flux, yes If the ele"

"Just don’t tire yourself out tooto help anyone"

"I won’t Let , won’t you?"

"Absolutely"

I hung up, then stripped off my jacket and said, "Coht screen flared above the s in the o Several seconds later, a laser-light keyboard appeared on the table surface near the unit I grabbed another Coke froe of the cake I’d resisted earlier, then sat down and said, "Show last search result"

More than twenty-five names immediately scrolled onto the screen All were est of then Hill, the open-airthe ical place to hide a dagger--which hat the second key had apparently been disguised as--and yet, for so suspicion it wouldn’t be there Butelse had been easy of late, so why the hell would the search for the second key be so straightforward and logical?

Besides, the cluestained by rebellion," and that had to refer to the Eureka Stockade--one of the biggest and bloodiest rebellions in Australian goldfields history Given the stockade had happened on Bakery Hill in Ballarat, that removed more than half of the search results I ran an eye down the list, then gri to take forever"

"Though your father has been surprisingly patient thus far, I cannot see hi out eternity for the keys," Azriel said

"Especially since I’ot an eternity to search for them" I ate soer isn’t even in a museum, but rather some private weapons collection"

"Possibly" Azriel studied the screen for a er would not likely be found in either a pottery allery, so that would erase at least half of those names from the list"

"True" I leaned forward and looked at the list again "If logic did play any part in the place, then it’s n Hill, the Eureka Centre, or the Aviation Museuuised as soinal Culture Centre"

"Four locations is not an overly large search area"

"No, but it would be better to visit them when they’re open" If only because I needed to be in flesh form to feel the presence of the key, and I could hardly just pop in at this hour of night and start wandering around Security would be on ot three steps And while Stane could hack into their systems, he needed more than a few minutes’ notice I munched on the re to be finding the key It’ll be keeping the da to do with it"

"With the Aedh out of the equation--"

"It wasn’t Lucian who stole the first key," I cut in,insistence on bla all of our bad luck on Lucian He was undoubtedly responsible for soranted, but definitely not all of it "It was a dark sorcerer A ht well be connected to both Lucian and his dark sorceress lover"

"He also ht not The point, however, is not who is involved ho the second key"

"Simple We tell no one--"

I snorted softly "Yeah Except that rees of access to hts Hard to keep a secret when yourwe can do about that However, your father is h to keep the Raziq and possibly the dark sorcerer at bay Perhaps the time has come to lean on his capabilities a little ree to h to keep the Raziq out when it will also keep him out?"

"He can easily add a back door for hiic he creates"

Given my father was responsible for the wards that currently protected this building, as well as creating the Dušans, that was undoubtedly true And yet so I didn’t trust him

"You don’t have to trust him," Azriel commented "You just have to exploit his abilities Besides, if you wish to keep both the Raziq and the sorcerer from the key, then there isn’t anyone else who has the power required to create such ic"

I took a deep breath and released it slowly "Then let’s go talk to the bastard"

I pushed away from the table and walked back into iven ainst hope that I wouldn’t have to use the thing again I should have known better

I dug it out, then walked across to the bed and opened the box up The cube sat within It was little hly the size of a tennis ball Its surface was slick--al, and ran with all the colors of the rainbow

I picked it up soy within itAedh ave it a certain edge of darkness that made me wary