Chapter 16
Alex watched as Dorian took to the skies.
Being free of the hall transformed his demeanour.
There was no mistaking how glorious he looked as he swooped and circled over the hall, his red wings and tail a sight to behold.
The trust he’d shown in him had left Alex a little disconcerted.
In Alex’s experience, very few people trusted that easily.
It explained why Dorian had been so easy to manipulate.
Robin had been doing so for years, whether he’d call it that or not, and now a mage had come along and had got Dorian to do his bidding without any argument because he’d convinced Dorian of something he wanted to hear to be true.
“They’re something, aren’t they? Dragons are special.” Alex turned to see Jack, Karl following close behind.
“I’m not sure everyone shares that sentiment. And I think Dorian would prefer to be able to shift back into a human.” He waved for Dorian to land. “He’s not used to being in his dragon form, apart from when he’s flying.”
Karl hummed. “Dragons have specific needs; we should be prepared to deal with specialised issues. I’ll do some research.”
“Hopefully, he won’t be stuck for too long,” Jack said.
Dorian landed gracefully, which for a creature of his size was no mean feat, and seemed hesitant, unsure how to approach them.
“Did you enjoy your flight?” Alex asked.
“Yes, it was wonderful,” Dorian said. “I said I would come back, and I did.”
“Good, we appreciate your willingness to behave,” Karl said.
Alex thought being nicer to Dorian was a better way to win his confidence. “We’ve set up an area by the potion labs for us to work with you on some initial ideas. Are you ready to see what we can find?”
Dorian turned to Karl. “Did you have any joy with the cologne?”
“I’ve a series of investigatory spells running. From what I’ve seen so far, the level of magic and complexity is significant.”
Karl didn’t often give such praise, but it wasn’t good news for Dorian. “I take it they were also able to cover their tracks?”
“I would have thought the warlocks would have known of someone with this level of magic,” Jack said. “I’ll discuss this with Ashley and see if we can get a match.”
“I’ve feeling that if they have hidden their identity enough that my usual identification methods haven’t been successful, even the WRC will have trouble.”
Another worry. There weren’t many who could circumvent Karl’s techniques when he had a direct sample like the cologne. “We should ask Robin to make some enquiries with his contacts in LA. He said he hadn’t heard of Trevir, but he should know of someone who would.”
“He might not want to help,” Dorian said, and his ears drooped. “You could contact my PA. I met him through her.”
Alex would be able to get her number from Dorian’s phone and call her later. “Good idea. But first, Ashley and Chris are waiting.”
“What are they going to do?”
Jack smiled. He was another nice guy, although like himself, he’d done things other people would not find palatable, but with Jack at least, he’d done them for the greater good.
“We’re not sure yet; it depends on what we find.
I’ve suggested a few things, and Ashley is an experienced warlock…
between us, I’m confident we’ll get back to how you were. Eventually.”
Dorian might not realise how lucky he was to have warlocks of Ashley’s and Jack’s calibre willing to help him. Throw in Chris and Karl, and even himself, and there should be nothing they couldn’t solve given enough time.
Alex managed to herd Dorian in the direction of the workshop Karl had set up.
He noticed Dorian was keeping closer to him than anyone else, which wasn’t too surprising given the way Ashley and Karl had discussed his predicament.
The workshop was like a large garage; there was very little in terms of furniture apart from some benching at the back. Waiting for them were Chris and Ashley.
“Good, you decided not to be a silly bugger and fly off,” Ashley drawled.
“I know you think I’m stupid, but I’m not going to do something that would ruin my life forever,” Dorian said as he entered the workroom. Alex sensed his mood had much improved since he’d been allowed to take to the skies.
Chris was his usual ebullient self, and he bounced up to Dorian like an excited kid.
“I’m so happy you were willing to trust us on this.
We’re going to need to take a few readings from you to get a baseline measurement.
And ideally, if we can get something of yours of a personal nature from before you started interacting with Trevir, that would help as well. ”
“How personal are we talking?” Dorian asked.
“Something only you would have had access to and used,” Chris said.
“I have a hairbrush or razors. And I’ve got some… er … toys. If you know what I mean.”
Chris tried not to grin but failed miserably; he giggled. “Let’s start with the hairbrush and razor.”
“My PA will know where everything is.”
“I’ll call her later,” Alex said. “We might want to limit the details to as few people as possible, including your PA. I can make up an excuse to collect items, perhaps tell her you’ve confided in me about your concerns about Robin and Simon, and I’m trying to support you.”
“Why would you not tell her the truth? I trust Debi.”
Ashley snorted. “You trusted Trevir, too, and look where that got you. No, Alex is right, this needs to be kept to a need-to-know basis.”
“I suppose if Alex thinks it’s a good idea, then I agree,” Dorian said.
Ashley raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment further. He was well aware that Dorian had decided Alex was the safe one of the group.
“Excellent,” Chris said. While no one had officially put him in charge, it was clear he thought himself to be.
With his level of magic, Alex wasn’t about to argue.
“As I said, we need to take some readings. Alex, since you’ll be helping Dorian while at the hall for non-magical needs, I thought it might be best if you were to collect an initial trace. ”
“Okay.” He was more than proficient at this type of magic, and he muttered a charm that would collect Dorian’s signature, not just from his dragon core but anything that might be hanging around external to his own pattern.
His magic liked Dorian. Really liked him, Alex couldn’t remember a recent time when an individual had made such a positive impression, and from his dopey expression, Dorian was equally keen.
Ashley cleared his throat. “I think it might be better if Jack were to take this part. He’d be a true neutral party but also a resident at the hall if additional samples are needed.”
Dorian pouted. “Why?”
Alex could guess why, but Ashley’s interference seemed a little heavy-handed. “Because,” Ashley said. He nodded at Alex. “Alex, a word if you wouldn’t mind. Outside.”
Ashley was already heading out, and Alex followed, leaving Jack to cast his version of the collection spell.
“Did you notice how he reacted to your magic?” Ashley asked.
“Of course I did. My magic likes him. You know how these things are. I’m as surprised as you are with how my magic has taken a shine to Dorian.”
“You should be careful.”
Alex thought that a strange thing for Ashley to say. “I’ve nothing to be worried about over Dorian.”
“He makes his living from acting, don’t get taken in by the little lost dragon routine.”
Alex counted to ten in his head, needing a moment not to snap. “I am more than capable of deciding whether an individual is dangerous or not, or if they are a great manipulator. Dorian is neither. He’s scared, out of his depth, and lonely.”
“Lonely?”
“Why else would he pine after Robin Flint? He could have anyone he wanted, but he’s convinced people only help him because they want something.
Robin showed him crumbs of affection, and instead of seeing them for what they were, he concocted the idea Robin was being controlled; otherwise, he would have to admit Robin was no better than all the others who had used him. ”
Ashley frowned. “Since when were you a dragon psychologist?”
“I’m not. But I’ve seen the range of awful things people will do for a lot less than a misguided sense of being in love.
” He wasn’t in the mood for this conversation.
“Now, we have a dragon to help. I concede that, given my magic’s reaction, I wouldn’t be the best to take the baseline, but I do think I might be able to help elsewhere. A positive intent can do wonders.”
He didn’t wait for Ashley’s response. Ashley might be his boss’s fiancé, and he might only have Alex’s best interest at heart, but he didn’t need to be coddled. Some warlocks needed to fuck off and realise they didn’t run the world.
Alex stopped mid-stride as he entered the workroom. Dorian was backed into a corner, huddled into a ball, his wings over his head and Chris and Jack both crouched at his side. “What’s going on?”
“We didn’t take into account Jack’s siren ancestry,” Karl said. “Scales meets scales didn’t go down well, and I think Dorian got a nasty backwash of magic.”
Alex hurried over. “Dorian, are you all right?”
Dorian lifted his wing, and his large yellow eyes looked wet. “I don’t know what’s wrong. I feel very sad.”
Jack winced. “Siren song feedback. I didn’t think dragons would be affected, but apparently, he’s super sensitive.”
Alex reached out and placed a hand on Dorian’s wing. His magic rushed to help, not liking the sorrow Dorian was projecting. “You’ll be all right in a minute. Jack didn’t mean to make you feel this way.”
“My magic latched onto Dorian’s worries and guilt,” Jack said. “It’s amplified some pretty deep emotions.”
“Maybe we can leave this for now? Let Dorian recover,” Alex suggested.
Karl rolled his eyes. “Let me get the readings; we can’t put this off if we want to fix him. He’s feeling like this because of what he’s done.”
“A bit harsh,” Chris said. “I’m sure Dorian knows he needs to atone for some of his actions, but that doesn’t mean he deserves to suffer.”