"William is," Z paused for half a second to think of the best way to phrase it. "We've have a falling out. The time rift. Asking him for an introduction might not be the best course of action."
Z suddenly hit upon the best way to try and get what she needed.
"The wards are vulnerable, Professor Lazzara and ah," Crap, she'd forgotten how delicate this whole situation might be. "Professor Asher," she said, smoothly as possible. "-and I have been discussing the state of the wards and have agreed that something must be done. We're in the process of researching how to construct a second set of wards to augment the current one. I believe St. Johns has a rare book on Anglo-Saxon magic that might be incredibly helpful for figuring out how the Founders might have set the wards and how we might be able to anchor the new ones once we've developed them. I need that book and I'm not certain that William will oblige me with a letter of introduction."
Z hoped that indirectly appealing to Gabe's better side and desire to protect the students would help her avoid having to talk to William.