Page 57 of Dragon’s Rogue

Blaze looked at the idol on the table, and then at him. “Why you?”

“Because I’m a dragon. And that second voice—I’m pretty damn sure it was a Draken Lord.” He turned to his brothers. “Somehow, that idol is linked to Vyrkos. And it’s using the coven to try to break him out of his tomb.”

Chapter 27

They all stared at him. “That’s impossible,” Thorne snapped.

Zane gestured to the computer screens. “You saw the readouts,” he said. “That thing is a direct link to Vyrkos. Every time it’s activated, it weakens the magic around the tomb.”

“Fuck,” Tyr muttered. “That is not good. Not, not, not, not good.”

Before Zane could move, Thorne was on his feet and over by the table, towering over Blaze. He grabbed the idol, brandishing it in her face.

“Where did you get this? Who were those sorcerers tonight? Why do they want to free Vyrkos?”

Blaze shoved her chair back and rose to her feet, a curtain of power surrounding her. It was thin and wavery, though, and her face went chalk-white with the effort.

Zane’s dragon roared. Mate! He’s hurting our mate! Flame him!

“Get away from her!” Zane grabbed Thorne by the shoulder. Thorne shrugged him off. The idol opened its mouth and roared.

“Shit!” Thorne stared at it.

Zane yelled, “Tyr! Get a spell cage!”

Tyr, with one wide-eyed look over his shoulder, ran to the carved wooden doors and opened one of them. He shut his eyes, concentrating, one hand out in the corridor, summoning the cage from the storeroom.

Black fog belched from the idol, reaching out toward Blaze. She swayed with the effort of keeping a shield up, and then her knees buckled. Zane caught her before she hit the ground, adding his power to her shield.

Thorne wrapped the idol in his huge hands, covering its face, trying to keep the fog in.

A golden cage about a foot square flew down the corridor from the storeroom and smacked into Tyr’s hand. He ran over and Thorne shoved the idol inside, slamming the cage door and pressing a symbol carved into the top.

The cage was immediately encased in blue light, forming a powerful field to contain the idol’s magic. The black fog dissipated. The idol opened its mouth and gave one outraged scream before its golden eyes shut, covering the rubies.

The room fell silent. Everyone stared at the cage.

“What the hell was that?” Tyr asked.

“An angry sorcerer, I think,” Blaze said.

“Say what?”

“I said, I think there’s a dark sorcerer trapped in that idol.”

Thorne turned his gaze on her, narrowing his eyes. “I think it’s time you told us exactly where that idol came from, and how you ended up with it.”

Zane helped Blaze into a chair, keeping his hand possessively on her shoulder. Thorne had no right upsetting his mate. His. “I warned you, Thorne. Leave her alone.”

“It’s important.”

“So important it can’t wait until she gets some rest?”

Thorne glanced towards the computer monitors again. “I’m beginning to think every minute counts.”

Blaze nodded. “It’s okay.” She put her hand briefly on top of Zane’s.

It wasn’t okay. Zane could feel the last of her energy draining away. Zefir, he said in his mind. Please bring a cup of hot tea with sugar for our guest. And some soup, too, he added. Something filling. He felt the usual acknowledgement from somewhere in the house above him.