Chapter 9 #2
“Yeah, thanks, but no thanks. I prefer my freedom.” With a toss of her head, Wynn easily shattered the spell.
“I’ll never be caged. Not by a mage. Or a demon.
And certainly not by a—” She cut off the word dragon, silently chastising herself for nearly exposing Azh’s presence in this world.
Dammit. She was getting sloppy. “By anyone,” she lamely finished.
Something that might have been impatience flared through the green eyes. Maya Rosen was a woman accustomed to being obeyed.
“You said that you would tell me why you broke into my vault,” she reminded Wynn in sharp tones.
Wynn smiled, but before she could assure the mage that it was stupid to believe anything that came out of her mouth, Peri was abruptly stiffening, her hand reaching out to grab Maya’s arm.
“What’s wrong?” Maya demanded, staring at her friend in concern. “Peri?”
“She’s a diversion. There’s something upstairs.”
“Dammit.”
Maya snapped her head around to glare at Wynn, who was giving them a mocking wave as her magic snapped into place.
“Buh-bye, suckers.”
* * * *
Azh paused to glance around the dark apartment, a pang of irritation racing through him at the sense of Wynn in the empty space below him. She’d promised that she would distract the mages and then return to the safety of her lair.
Not that he was surprised.
Wynn would do what Wynn wanted to do when she wanted to do it.
End of story.
With a shake of his head, Azh weaved his way through the maze of stacked boxes until he could see the motionless form wearing a pair of ridiculous pajamas stretched on the floor.
Even at a distance it was easy to determine that the Watcher wasn’t unconscious.
He was in a deep stasis. His body was in this world, but his mind was locked in another plane of existence.
Azh’s attention turned toward the beautiful, silver-haired mage kneeling next to him. Her head was bowed and her eyes were closed, but she wasn’t asleep. He assumed she was trying to mentally connect with the Watcher.
The question was why. Was she attacking him? Was she somehow related to the strange green magic? Or was she trying to rescue him?
Only one way to find out.
Remaining far enough away to avoid alerting the mage to his presence, Azh focused his concentration on the power signature that hummed around the body of the Watcher.
If he tried to force his way into the male’s mind he might trigger a nasty defensive spell.
Or worse, distract him from his battle with the evil magic.
This way he could slide into the Watcher’s thoughts using his own magic.
It was a trick he’d discovered in the early years of his hibernation.
Unlike his mother, he hadn’t wasted his time trying to plot how to break the treaty she’d been forced to sign.
Instead, he kept a close watch on the vampires and demons, and later the humans, as they changed and molded the world.
When the dragons returned they were going to have to find a way to fit into this new society.
Or shatter it and start over, like the previous queen wanted.
Azh felt himself skimming along a tidal wave of magic as he slipped into the Watcher’s mind, the sudden mist that surrounded him proving he was in the right place.
Wynn had said she was taken into the mist when the Watcher had touched her.
He mentally pushed his way through the thick fog, hissing in shock at the sight of the powerful male swathed from head to toe in a cocoon of green slime.
The same slime that bubbled in a nearby pool.
“Stop.” A female voice sliced through the mist, as a tall, slender woman moved to block his path. “Don’t come any closer.”
Azh recognized the mage kneeling next to the Watcher’s unconscious body even as her magic smashed against him, a warning that she wasn’t a harmless bystander. She was no match for a dragon, but she could cause him serious pain.
“I’m not a threat,” he said, trying to keep the irritation from his voice.
Wynn was still downstairs and her presence was making him edgy. If this encounter went sideways he didn’t want her anywhere close to this building.
“No?” the woman demanded, her expression grim. “Then why have you spent hours lurking at the edges of the mist instead of showing yourself?”
Azh scowled at the accusation. “I haven’t been anywhere near this place.”
She narrowed her gaze. “I’ve sensed your power. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before. What are you?”
“Dragon.” Azh stepped around her.
Magic slammed into him. “No. I won’t let you near him.”
“I told you, I’m not here to hurt anyone.” Azh shattered the coils of power that had wrapped around him.
“Dragons already tried to break the treaty,” she snapped. “Why should I trust you?”
Okay. She had a point. His mother had destroyed any hope of trust. It was something he was going to have to deal with at a much later date. For now, he forced himself to resist the urge to shove her out of his path.
“Allow me to ask my question and I’ll disappear.”
Her jaw tightened as she glanced over her shoulder at the male being squeezed by the slime.
“He’s a little preoccupied.”
“He’s also losing the battle,” Azh told her in hard tones. “Without finding a way to destroy the evil, it’s going to consume him.”
There was a long silence before she reluctantly stepped aside. “Ask.”
Azh stepped forward, keeping a healthy distance from the spreading goo. “Watcher, is this the corruption that drove my people into exile?”
The answer whispered through his mind. “Yes.”
Azh didn’t know whether to be pleased or horrified his suspicions had been confirmed. On one hand, he at least knew what was infecting the demons. On the other, he had no idea how to stop it.
“It was trapped in Kazak when we came here,” he muttered. “How did it follow us.”
“The rift...”
“What about it?”
“It’s failing.”
Azh flinched. He shouldn’t have been shocked by the answer. It was the most logical explanation. But he didn’t want to accept the true depth of the danger they faced. If the corruption invaded this world...
No. He wouldn’t let that happen.
“How do I repair it?” he demanded.
“Gabriela.”
Azh growled at the worthless suggestion. “She’s dead. She sacrificed herself to seal the opening.”
“Her magic.” The voice in his mind seemed to fade, as if the Watcher was growing weary. Or perhaps he was dying. A terrifying thought. “Return it to the rift.”
Azh clenched his hands, resisting the futile urge to try to destroy the bubbling slime with his magic. There was every likelihood he would only make things worse.
“You mean the statue?”
“Hurry.”
“How?” Azh growled. “I don’t know where to find the statue.” He grimaced. “Or the rift.”
“Then we die.”
The voice abruptly ended, the sense of the Watcher smothered beneath a pulse of evil that threatened to spill over Azh. He shuddered, turning to send the mage a warning glare.
“Stay with him.”
She stiffened. Her face was pale, as if she’d felt the same pulse of evil, but her courage never faltered.
“I don’t take orders from you,” she snarled.
“If the corruption gets loose we all die. Right now he’s the only thing holding back the magic.”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to protect him, I just said I don’t take orders from you.”
Azh rolled his eyes. “Mages.” He turned away, only to stop himself, glancing over his shoulder to deliver another warning. “If you did sense something in the mist, it wasn’t me. Be careful.”