by AJ Sherwood
He snatched up all the bullets he could find and continued to search the room. Moving around the tables, he approached a pair of metal shelves. They were dusty and didn’t have a lot on them, except for the bottom shelves. They both held medium-sized boxes covered in even more dust. Looking back toward the door, he carefully pulled one of the boxes off the shelf and lifted the flaps. His heart flipped over and Cameron had to bite his lower lip to hold in his cry of joy. Cleaning supplies. Really old, nasty cleaning supplies. They were perfect.
Of course, he could hear his Introduction to Mechanical Engineering professor smugly pointing out that he should have gone into combustion and the environment as his area of focus rather than mechanical design, but Cameron would manage. He’d aced his chemistry coursework. Add in a little magic and he could…well, he wasn’t going to try to make a bomb. He was just as likely to blow himself up as he was the Jaeggi, but he certainly had what he needed to make some small explosives and maybe even some smoke bombs. Distractions and chaos. That’s all he needed to get away from these assholes. Once he was back with Alric, the Burkhard clan could deal with them on more even footing.
Placing the bottles and containers of cleaning supplies on the table in front of him, Cameron started mentally pulling together a few possible designs for devices. The trick was holding the chemicals apart until he was ready for them to mix or ignite. Lisette had taught him an incredibly easy bubble spell that could be used to hold the materials, but it would mean pulling power from Alric.
Out of all of his plans, this was the part that scared him the most. His magical connection had steadily grown with Alric. Cameron wasn’t at all used to the idea of having it, although the connection was definitely there. But when he’d drawn that energy from Alric, the dragon had always been somewhere in the castle near him. What if he was too far away now? He could feel Alric’s emotions, but they were faint, almost a ghost in his chest. He didn’t know what he’d do if he reached out now and couldn’t feel Alric’s power. Would it be like losing a limb?
Gripping the edge of the table, Cameron forced himself to draw in several deep breaths through his nose and released them out through his mouth. He slowed his heart and tried to calm the fear attempting to cloud his mind. Even if he couldn’t reach Alric’s magic, it didn’t mean Alric wasn’t out there. His dragon was coming for him. Cameron was just trying to even the odds and give the Burkhard clan the advantage.
When he’d centered himself as much as he could, Cameron tentatively reached out along the path he knew was there. The connection was instantaneous. Cameron gasped and slapped his hand over his mouth to hold in the relieved sob that broke from his throat. Alric. His beautiful, perfect Alric. He tried to just sip a little power, but with the first touch, it slammed into him like a massive ocean wave. It was as if Alric had sensed his touch and rushed to him. Even now, it wrapped tightly around him. Cameron clenched his eyes shut, holding onto the mental image of Alric wrapping his strong arms around Cameron. Feelings of relief, fear, and love swamped him. He tried to send back love and reassurances that he was okay. He needed Alric to know he was loved, just in case things went horribly wrong and he never got the chance to say them to his face. Alric had to know how much Cameron loved him.
Reluctantly, Cameron opened his eyes and reassured himself that his guards weren’t rushing in to stop him. He didn’t know if they could sense his magical connection to Alric or if this was all part of their plan for him as bait. He didn’t care. He was busting out of this place, and if he managed to take out some of the building and some of the Jaeggi Clan, then so be it.
Wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, Cameron set to work creating his evil little bombs while maintaining the open line between him and Alric. It was like having his lover’s hand resting on his shoulder, always there with him.
And soon, they would be together again in person.
Because nobody fucked with his dragon.
Unadulterated panic thrummed through Alric like a heartbeat. It writhed in his chest, demanded immediate action. The instinct was so strong that he had to battle it back. Panicking wouldn’t help Cameron. Wouldn’t help Alric find him.
Right now, more than anything, Alric needed to be a king. Not a lover, frantic for his young mage’s safety.
So even though his inner dragon beat and raged at him to move, he didn’t. He stayed calm and tried to think logically of the best way to find his missing heart. “Baldewin, have Lisette start seeking spells immediately. If she can’t focus”—entirely possible, she was worried about Dieter and distracted—“then get someone else.”
Baldewin gave him a sharp nod and turned, heading off at a run through the hallway.
Ha Na passed him, at as fast of a run as she could manage, her face constricted with worry. “Alric. I heard something about Cameron being taken?”
“Ja,” Alric said thickly. God, this was hard to say. “He was taken while out with Dieter and Warin. An ambush. We’re doing seeking spells now to find him.”
Ha Na’s dark eyes blazed with fury. That wasn’t metaphorical, either. Magic sparked all around her as her temper snapped. “Who’s doing the spell?”
“Lisette, I hope. Baldewin is arranging it.”
Without another word, she turned with military precision and hurried back down the hall. Alric was glad she was so quick to move. Cameron’s blood sample should be able to narrow the spell’s seeking radius. After all, they would have direct blood to work with. He could spare no worry for either Dieter or Warin just then. They were shaky and in pain, but would recover quickly. His concern had to be for Cameron now, who had no such guarantee.
Alric breathed out, forcing himself to slow down and think. Dragons. He needed to assemble a rescue party. He yanked his phone out of his pocket, calling Ravi.
“Hoheit,” Ravi answered, for once terse and upset instead of sounding cheerful.
“Ravi, I need a rescue party. Form one up, we’re moving in ten minutes.”
“Already forming, Hoheit. Basically, the entire clan has heard by now what’s going on, and they’re all gathering in the courtyard, just waiting on a direction.”
Alric’s eyes fluttered shut for a second under an intense wave of gratitude. He’d known no one would take a missing clan member lightly. “I’ll thank them in a moment.”
“You know how we roll. If anyone threatens one of us, we all roll initiative.”
“Ravi. Did you—did you just make a DnD joke? Now, of all times?”
“I was trying to make you laugh and ease the tension. It worked.”
“I didn’t laugh.” But Alric had almost smiled, for a moment. Until the tension of the situation came back like a sledgehammer to the back of his head.
“Hoheit, he’s alright. You know that.”
“I do. I can feel him still.” And likely pissed off, if he knew Cameron. His lover was not the fainting damsel in distress.
Ravi huffed out a breath of relief. “Oh good. Alright, I think basically everyone is formed up here. Uh, how worried are we about people seeing us?”
“Fuck that noise,” Alric bit off succinctly.
Ravi cackled. Outright cackled. “I’m so going to tell people you said that later. Hey guys, he said fuck it, just go!”
An instantaneous roar rang outside, loud enough it shook the castle. Alric’s own dragon shook in response. Yes, the time for laying low had passed. Dragons had always fought for what they wanted and burned their enemies without remorse. Right now, a little burning sounded good for the soul.
Alric stalked through the nearest courtyard door. The dragons were indeed ready to go, most of them already having shifted forms. He took in the sight of them as he moved. They were perched along the roofs, stretched out over the gables, their wings half unfurled, ready to take into the air at the first notice. It was like the roof was carpeted in a sea of red. Others milled about the courtyard, unable to stand still as they waited for orders. All eyes were on him as he stepped outside, and Alric raise
d his voice to reach every corner of the courtyard.
“They’re doing a seeking spell now. As soon as we have a direction, we’ll fly!”
Sasha stepped in closer to him and ducked her head. “Hoheit, I’ll be honored to fly you in.”
Before he could get his mouth open, Ravi’s hand landed on her shoulder. “Thanks, Sasha. I’ve got him. Be my wingwoman?”
“Sure.” Sasha checked with her eyes that this was alright with Alric, and he gave her a nod. That was fine by him.
Alric very rarely had anyone fly him anywhere. It was too painful and a little humiliating. But right now, his feelings didn’t matter. Getting to Cameron as swiftly as possible, that was the priority. And there was nothing faster than Ravi. A car could never keep up with his speed.
His phone rang, and Alric answered it before it could finish the first ring. Baldewin. “Where?”
“He’s in Sonthofen, in the Ordensburg. They’re not precisely sure what building.”
The choice made sense. The Ordensburg had been built back in the Third Reich, a military barracks meant for training. It was a highly defensible compound, as it had five buildings formed up around a very large courtyard—a kill box, in other words. It was a good defensive position for the Jaeggi to take, and smart of them to use something readily at hand. They had to have known they couldn’t get far before Alric would be on top of them.
But Alric had already fought through a war, and he was not stupid about tactics. A kill box only worked if one went into it.
And Alric had no intention of doing so. He turned his head and called out, “The Ordensburg! But do not land in the center courtyard, it is sure to be filled with traps.”
A roar of acknowledgement, and then the dragons were off, their wings beating hard against the air, sending currents swirling in all directions. Ravi shifted quickly, almost roughly, he pushed his dragon so hard. He was barely settled when Alric went directly to his chest, situating there against Ravi’s hand. His jokester bodyguard for once had no wisecrack on his lips. He held Alric carefully, and close, as he launched hard into the sky. Alric found himself praying as Ravi’s wings lifted them.
Be alright, Cameron. Be alright and hang on. With that thought, he sent every emotion toward Cameron, wanting him to feel loved. To feel secure with the knowledge Alric was coming for him. With their magical connection, he prayed those feelings came across strongly enough that Cameron felt them.
It must have worked, as he felt Cameron in return. And the draw as Cameron pulled on his life force, working magic. A feral smile graced Alric’s mouth. His mage wasn’t going down without a fight. Who knew what that clever mind had come up with. Alric fed him more power and hoped it was enough for whatever Cameron was doing.
Despite everyone else having a head start on Ravi, the wind dragon caught up to the lead quickly and then pulled ahead. Alric was always amazed at his speed but right now he blessed it. Every second away from Cameron in this dangerous, volatile situation was a second too long. It tore at Alric that he couldn’t immediately lay hands on Cameron. He just knew he’d have nightmares of this day for years to come.
The people of Sonthofen no doubt spied a thunder of dragons soaring overhead, but Alric wouldn’t worry about it. He wouldn’t think of how the fallout of this would work. He couldn’t find the headspace for that worry just now. A mantra beat through his head like a living thing. Cameron, Cameron, Cameron.
He saw the tall, six story main building first jutting into the sky, then the spread of the compound that branched off it. The grey stone looked stark against the green backdrop of the land around it. The Ordensburg had been turned into a historical site some years ago; no one should have been in it. Likely why the Jaeggi felt they could use it freely. But it was clearly occupied now, with multiple vehicles parked at one end of the parking lot and spotlights manning every possible vantage point. He saw people scrambling back and forth, no doubt getting to battle stations.
What was their game plan? Alric wished desperately for an answer. What did they want with his mage? Why attempt to take the mages to begin with? Why do it again when Cameron was clearly under the protection of the Burkhard clan?
And why did this whole thing feel like a giant trap with Cameron as the bait?
Alric chose to listen to his instincts—they hadn’t failed him yet—and bellowed out the order, “Come in from the sides! Surround the Ordensburg!”
His thunder of dragons obeyed, swirling around in a living stream of red scales and fury, swarming around the compound. The Jaeggi there hopped around, ducking in anticipation of an attack.
“Hoheit!” Ravi called down to him. “Where do you want us to land?”
“The top building, go th—” He cut himself off as he realized he saw one person in the compound that he knew. Knew intimately well, and was currently running for all he was worth.
Cameron.
How had he gotten free? He clearly had somehow, as several members of the Jaeggi Clan were frantically chasing after him, yelling and—shit, they had guns trained on him.
Alric felt terror as he never had before, punching him solidly in the chest. No, no, nonononono. “Ravi, release!”
Bless the wind dragon, he didn’t hesitate but immediately let go of Alric. The dragon king felt himself drop sharply to the ground—it was close, closer than was probably advisable to drop at this height—but he didn’t care. The possible damage to himself was inconsequential. Cameron wouldn’t survive a bullet to the back, and that was all that mattered.
He shifted as he fell, his dragon coming out through part necessity but mostly rage. How dare they think they could mess with a dragon’s mate? His mate? How dare they even attempt to harm Cameron as he watched? His dragon demanded vengeance, and Alric for once wasn’t inclined to try reason first. He let instinct rule him.
Alric landed hard enough that the cement under his claws cracked under the force of it. The impact jarred him down to his marrow, but he didn’t pause to acknowledge it. He whipped his good wing around, catching Cameron up in it and pulling him in sharply. Cameron gasped as he came in but didn’t struggle, just latched onto his neck and held on.
“Alric,” he said in relief. “You’ve got impeccable timing. I was just wondering what the fuck to do next. But we have to get out of here, now, there’s magic—”
The smell of magic, so sharp in his nostrils, was unmistakable. Alric believed him, as Cameron could see what he could only smell or sense. But there was no quick way for him to move both of them, not with only one working wing. He reared up on his back legs, Cameron still caught up in his front claws, and did something he’d never thought he’d even contemplate.
“RAVI! CATCH!”
“Shit, no!” Cameron denied, sounding both panicked and pissed. But he had no choice as Alric launched him straight into the sky, angled away so that he wasn’t caught in whatever magical spell had locked onto Alric. He flailed a little as he hit open air, still swearing viciously in what sounded like Korean.
Ravi swooped in smoothly and caught him, and that was all Alric had time to notice before that magic spell finished deploying. It lit up, a perfect circle surrounding him on all sides, as transparent as colored glass.
As solid as a steel wall.
Alric growled low in his throat, carefully not touching the sides. He recognized this spell all too well. It had been used often in the war, a way to contain the dragons and keep them grounded. Harmless in and of itself but it left Alric a sitting duck, and he couldn’t even bellow fire at them. It would bounce off the wall and ricochet on him. Fucking bastards. Alric had known landing in the courtyard would mean a trap, but he’d rather have himself trapped and Cameron breathing. That was a trade he’d make any day.
“Gunter!”
His head came up, and he watched as Ravi and Gunter made a flying pass by each other. Why was Cameron calling for Gunter? For that matter, how had Cameron gotten himself out of Jaeggi control to begin with? He hadn’t anything on him that would
have enabled him to work magic, or had he? Had Alric’s power been enough, then?
Gunter threw something to Cameron, and he caught it handily. A messenger bag of some sorts. Alric watched for a moment in confusion, not sure what his lover was up to. Although the idea of Gunter and Cameron working on anything together frankly alarmed him. Gunter didn’t really understand the idea of limits.
He had no time to question, no time to watch further, as his attention was abruptly yanked away. His clan was attacking the compound from all sides, bellowing fire in either short bursts or long streams. The Jaeggi had expected this and were throwing up various shields or ducking into warded areas, avoiding the flames as much as they could. They retaliated with their own attacks, and magic flew fast and furious. It looked like fireworks going off, the colors vivid even in the daylight.
A deadly fireworks display. Even as Alric watched, one spell hit Sasha, and she went down with a shout of pain, landing hard on the roof and caving in the structure. Heart in his throat, he stared fixedly in that direction until he saw her head come up. Only then did his heart unclench. Thank god, she lived. Hopefully with injuries she’d heal from.
“Oh, you fucking did not.”
That was Cameron’s voice. Alric searched frantically for him, head jerking this direction and that, appalled he’d lost track of Cameron for even a second. There he was, far too close for comfort. Why the hell had Ravi not flown him out of here?!
Alric had no chance to either demand or ask as Ravi swooped in even lower, too low for comfort. He dropped Cameron the last two feet and his lover rolled with it, coming up smoothly to his feet as if he and Ravi had practiced this very thing a hundred times. (If Alric found out that was the case, heads would roll. Ravi’s, to be precise.)
Cameron thrust both hands into the messenger bag and yanked out two large vials, like overgrown test tubes. They were full to the brim of various things, mostly liquid and light, although precisely what Alric couldn’t discern. Cameron raised them high overhead and then threw them sharply down, breaking the glass into shards and the contents spilling in every direction.