Chapter 6 #3
Two of the men released Cameron and turned to intercept Alric. He spared only a glance at Cameron to see the mage fighting against his attacker’s hold, digging his feet in and doing anything possible to slow his progress toward the van.
One of them took something out of his pocket, throwing it at Alric.
Instincts from five hundred years ago kicked in and he dodged the attack utterly, catching up a trash can lid and intercepting it before the spell could fully unfurl.
The spell hit the lid and half-dissolved it, magic splattering against the wall of the building in a hiss as brick dissolved.
The only way to combat magic was to give them no room to cast it. Alric closed the distance in a leap, forcing them into close-quarter combat.
Turning his attention to the two men who’d reached him, he deftly dodged a wild haymaker from one man and slugged the other hard in the gut, doubling him over as the air left his lungs in a noisy rush.
Pain exploded across Alric’s face as the first man with a green mask and angry blue eyes recovered faster than Alric had expected.
The second punch just barely missed his nose as Alric deflected most of it with his left arm.
Pain spiderwebbed up his arm and across his shoulder, sizzling along the old wound. He refused to be slowed any further.
Snarling, he punched the green-masked assailant again, then grabbed a fistful of his grey T-shirt. He slung him into his companion, who was just straightening. Both men crashed into the wall and fell to the ground in a tangled heap.
Alric didn’t spare them another glance. He turned his attention toward Cameron to find the mage already running toward him.
The man holding him was partially bent over as he hobbled toward the van, both hands cupping his dick and balls.
The man in the van was jumping down to the sidewalk, but Alric wasn’t sure if he was helping his companion or coming after Cameron.
The important thing was that they were outnumbered and Alric couldn’t be sure by how many.
They needed to retreat and regroup. Cameron had to be protected at all costs.
The mage crashed into him, and his hands fluttered over Alric’s chest and arms as if trying to check him for injuries. Alric winced when Cameron gripped his left shoulder and Cameron immediately released him, which wasn’t what Alric wanted at all.
Grabbing Cameron’s hand, he pulled him down the alley, pausing only long enough to kick the green masked man in the head before he could regain his feet. They ran back toward the festival only to meet up with Baldewin, Warin, and Sasha at the mouth of the first alley they’d entered.
“Hoheit!” Baldewin gasped as they nearly ran into each other.
His friend was careful to touch him only on his right side as he moved Alric over to a nearby wall to lean against. Alric released Cameron’s hand only long enough to wrap his arm around Cameron’s waist, pulling him tightly against his body.
Right now, nothing was coming between him and the mage, not even his best friend.
“Down the alley. At least four of them. White van. I want to know who they are and why they grabbed Cameron,” Alric barked.
There was a grunt from Baldewin, and the two other guards darted down the alley, but Alric barely noticed it.
His eyes were locked on Cameron, closely inspecting his face, his clothes.
His hair was disheveled, his glasses knocked askew, and there looked to be a small bruise forming on his chin, but otherwise he looked okay.
He also looked torn between shock and anger, and it was obvious Cameron was perfectly willing to jump right back into a fight if the attackers returned.
“Are you alright? Did they hurt you?” Alric asked.
“Fine. I’m fine,” Cameron panted. He lifted his trembling hand and carefully touched the side of Alric’s face. “But your jaw. And you’re bleeding a little from the corner of your mouth.”
“I’m okay. I promise.”
“Hoheit, you’re pale. Your arm?” Baldewin interjected in German, and Alric nearly growled at his old friend. Of course he would notice if Alric was in more pain than he was letting on. Sharp throbbing echoed down from his shoulder to his fingertips on his left side.
“Nothing Lisette can’t fix,” Alric replied in kind, narrowing his gaze at Baldewin. His friend wisely shut his mouth on this topic at least.
Alric turned his attention back to Cameron. The mage leaned against him, his own arm around Alric’s back as if he was afraid the dragon would release him. Not happening anytime soon. “Did you recognize any of those men? Did they say anything?”
“No. Nothing helpful. I have no idea why they grabbed me. It all happened so fast. I didn’t even see them approaching me. I was watching you in line.” To his surprise, Cameron chuckled. “Cassie is going to give me so much grief. Rescued by a dragon.”
Alric didn’t dare look too closely at the joy that gripped his heart at Cameron’s playful words. He was clearly joking, but Alric still loved the sound of it.
“I’ll always come for you, but for now, it would be much easier for both of us if you didn’t stray too far from me.”
“Speaking of, Hoheit,” Baldewin interjected. Alric glared at his friend, who was trying hard to hide his smile and failing pretty miserably. “We would be safer at the castle until we discover the reason behind this attack on Cameron.”
Cameron stiffened against Alric and loosened his hold on Alric’s waist. Alric wanted Cameron in Burkhard castle, but not like this. He’d wanted Cameron to come willingly.
“I know you didn’t want to go there today, but you will be safest there. No one can reach you.”
Warin and Sasha returned with grim expressions. “Tut mir leid, Majest?t,” Warin apologized, looking pissed he had to report such negative news. “They’re long gone. We can’t track them, either.”
“Glamour or scent-dispelling spell, there’s something at work,” Sasha agreed, expression screwed up in a sour way. “But there’s nothing for us to track.”
Alric growled in annoyance. “They were well prepared, then. Thank you for trying. Cameron—” He turned his head to look at the mage still tucked up against him.
Fresh alarm turned into dread at the idea that just a second later, Cameron would have been taken and Alric wouldn’t have any means of readily finding him.
His tone became almost pleading. “I won’t force you.
You won’t be my prisoner. If you’d rather return to your hotel room, I can assign guards to watch over you. ”
Sucking in a deep breath, Cameron slowly released it and shook his head.
“No, you’re right. The castle is the smarter option.
We haven’t had a chance to talk yet, and it would be easier if we’re not looking over our shoulders.
Plus, I have a feeling you’re more hurt than you let on.
And you probably won’t allow this Lisette to care for you until you know I’m safe. ”
Alric grinned at Cameron, not caring that it sent a fresh stab of pain through his face. “Is this your way of saying that I’m magically stubborn?”
Cameron groaned. “Yes, you are magically stubborn. Now, come along, dragon. Let’s get you fixed up. I think I want something stronger than that coffee you promised me.”
Alric pushed away from the wall, and they walked toward Cameron’s hotel with their arms wrapped around each other, while Baldewin, Warin and Sasha trailed behind them like an angry storm cloud.
He didn’t know who was holding up whom, but Cameron didn’t seem ready to release him yet, and Alric was damn sure he wasn’t.
Alric’s dragon side growled at just the idea of letting him go.
It didn’t matter. Cameron was safe, and Alric would do whatever was necessary to make sure he stayed that way.
They had to split into two vehicles to drive back up to the castle, and Alric made sure to keep Cameron in the back seat with him.
They didn’t discuss a great deal, too lost in their own thoughts to make much in the way of conversation.
The one thing they truly wanted to know, they knew too little about.
Someone had called ahead, as by the time they reached the inner courtyard of the castle, it swarmed with activity.
Alric saw two of his mages enhancing the ward around the castle, beefing up the level of security.
Lisette and Dieter awaited, barely waiting for Baldewin to stop the car before Lisette opened the door and attempted to pull him out of it.
“How bad?” she demanded of him, thankfully in German.
Lisette looked like one of those regal silver film stars, the aging beauty who played anything from the good witch to the evil stepmother.
Her white hair was bobbed, which flattered her face, and she moved lithely as if age had never touched her.
Alric grimaced in pain, trying to move gingerly. His entire body flared in pain, radiating from his injured side. “Not good. Cameron’s chosen to stay with us. Baldewin, will you help him get settled?”
“Of course, Hoheit.” Baldewin immediately went around to the other side of the car.
Cameron shot him an anxious look, and Alric squeezed his hand reassuringly before letting go, giving him over to Baldewin.
Alric kept an ear trained on the two as Baldewin encouraged him to come out and follow him into the castle.
Assured that Cameron would be seen to, Alric moved cautiously out of the car, catching one of Dieter’s shoulders to help balance him. He felt almost nauseous under the pain.
Lisette looked him over and clucked her tongue. “Sasha reported what you did. I can’t chide you, considering you were rescuing Cameron, but I don’t like the pain I see on your face, either. I think you’ll need more than the pain-relieving salve.”
Alric’s mouth screwed up in a sorry semblance of a smile. “I won’t say no.”