The Dragon Legion Collection(106)

That had been exactly what had happened. Erik had checked and checked again just the day before.

But now Thorolf was gone. There was no glowing conduit to him from Erik’s mind. There was no link to his spirit, either. He wasn’t dead, just missing.

Erik shifted back to human form, impatient with his own failing in this. He should have kept a closer eye upon Thorolf, and he knew it. His frustration with Thorolf had driven his choices, and that had been a mistake.

He turned on the lights, intent upon checking the apartment, on the outside chance that Chen or JP had left some clue.

Chen had. There was a spiral burned into the hardwood floor, a spiral exactly like the mark branded on JP’s neck. It was about eight feet across and had been the source of that smell. Erik stepped into it and knew too late that he shouldn’t have done so. The spiral drew him forward with relentless force. He was pulled against his will to the very core of the spiral, fighting it even as he saw it begin to burn again. First the mark glowed, like embers, then it was coaxed to a small fire by a wind Erik couldn’t feel. In a heartbeat, the flames were burning as high as his knees. He couldn’t stop himself from moving closer, even when he heard Chen’s laughter echo through the empty apartment.

Was this what had happened to Thorolf? Erik struggled against the force of the spell, but couldn’t change his situation. Would he be compelled to join the other Pyr? Or did Chen have worse plans for him?

It appeared that Erik would soon find out.



* * *