Broken Heart 09 Only Lycans Need Apply by Michele Bardsley Read Free Book Online Page B

impressed . . . until I realized they were screwing up my dig site.
    That was when I fully emerged from Eva’s attempt at mind control.
    “Hey!” I leapt forward, arms out to push the vampires away from destroying potential evidence.
    Drake grabbed my shoulders and pulled me tight against his chest. “Now, now,” he murmured in my ear, “you must not get upset.”
    “He’s ruining it!” Panic roared through me. All that work, all that time, all that effort, and they didn’t care. “You don’t understand! We have to be careful. It took years to get this far. My grandfather gave his entire life to this place. Please, Drake. Make them stop!”
    “I am sorry, my treasure,” he said. His voice was liquid warmth, and my panic began to dissipate. He had me trapped, but it didn’t actually feel like I was imprisoned. Maybe because his face was pressed against the side of my head and he was whispering soothing sounds. With his arms around me, it felt more like . . . being held. Being comforted. The feeling was so foreign, so nice, it completely disarmed me.
    “Dr. Jameson?”
    Patrick’s use of my honorific snapped me to attention. Drake released me, but stayed close as I joined the vampires, who’d uncovered two steps into . . . somewhere.
    “The temple,” I said. My heart skipped a beat. I looked at Dove, and she grinned. I grinned back, and then I turned an imperious smile toward Patrick. “Well?” I said in my best kill-the-grad-student voice. “What are you waiting for?”
    What would’ve taken us days to uncover took the vampires and werewolves less than an hour. I wasn’t as upset at their methods now, given that they’d found the entrance to a building long hidden by the sand. A building that I hoped was either the temple of Set or at least one of the outer buildings that led to the main complex.
    We gathered around the staircase and stared down into the darkness. Lorcan whispered something in Gaelic, and several orbs of yellow light appeared. They drifted down and bobbed in the air, revealing a stone door.
    Darrius made a move to go down the stairs, but Drake grabbed his shoulder. “It is Dr. Jameson’s right. She should go first.”
    The werewolf gave a sharp nod and moved back. Drake made a sweeping gesture, and I stepped down. Sweet heaven.
I’m here, Grandfather. We did it.
    Drake followed me, and I was so excited about reading the hieroglyphs and confirming that we had found Set’s temple that I didn’t even mind how cramped his presence made the tiny space before the stone door.
    “What does it say?” he asked.
    “‘No werewolves allowed,’” I muttered. I looked over the images, and noted the circular hole in the door. Disappointment edged through me as I noted the lack of references to Set. In fact, the glyphs were sparse and basically held one command: “Stick your hand here, and let your heart be judged.” There was a hole in the center of the door. Basically, the discoverer of this place was supposed to stick a hand into that hole, which would, I hoped, open the door.
    Then again, the hole might hold myriad awful things. I could be hurt or trapped. But I wasn’t afraid.
    I lifted my hand, and Drake batted it away. “What are you doing?”
    “Opening the door.”
    “Moira, I don’t—”
    I inserted my hand into the hole and his eyebrows snapped down at my impetuous gesture. I felt something wickedly sharp prick my wrist.
    “Ow!”
    Drake grabbed my arm. “What happened? Are you okay?”
    The earth began to shake.
    Sand shimmered onto us from above, and the sounds of stones grinding together echoed in the stillness of night. Drake grabbed my shoulders and tried to yank me away from the door, but whatever had clamped onto my wrist held fast.
    I heard a voice whisper inside my head.
“Love will lead you. Be worthy.”
    My wrist was suddenly freed, blood dripping from scratches of whatever had grabbed it, and Drake grabbed me, hauling me up the staircase and away