Page 112 of Scales ’N’ Spells: Volume One

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.

Just what was he about…? Alric watched with his heart in his throat. He wanted to tell Cameron to go, but he knew this man. As long as Alric was pinned like this, Cameron wouldn’t abandon him. Just as Alric could never leave him behind. But if Cameron had a plan, Alric couldn’t see or understand it.

What kind of magic did Cameron plan to use that he thought powerful enough to overturn at least two dozen mages?

Cameron lifted both hands and he called. Alric felt that call right down to his soul because he was part of it. His lover was calling on every magical element within reach of him, every speck of every realm. Alric stared at him in awe as raw power wrapped around Cameron like a lover’s embrace, lifting his hair and swirling it, a light pouring out of him all of his own. It was as if Cameron demanded every powerful filament of the world, every trace of good power it could offer.

And the world answered.

Alric’s heart beat in his throat. He’d never seen a mage do this, even during the heart of the war. Nothing was visible of Cameron but his silhouette, that’s how much power swarmed around him. Surely he’d burn out at this rate. Surely this was too much for any living being to hold. “Cameron,” Alric breathed, both awed and enraptured by this man who held his heart.

The rest of the courtyard was not oblivious to Cameron’s actions. In the thirty seconds he’d taken to drop and pull power to them, they’d realized he was once again free and in front of Alric. Someone screamed in raw panic, “GET HIM! WE HAVE TO STOP HIM!”

Cameron’s head turned ever so slightly, Alric could see the motion if not his expression. Cameron spoke the spell with cold finality. “Klak AESE!”

All of the power he’d gathered flowed out like a riptide. It flew across the courtyard’s grounds, splashing up the sides of the buildings and flowing over the tops of the roofs before disappearing out of sight. Alric staggered a half-step as the trapping spell holding him broke without warning, leaving him free once more. Every other spell in range of Cameron’s magic suffered the same fate, all of them breaking and dissipating like ash in the wind.

Alric stared down at Cameron in disbelief. Had he just overpowered an entire clan’s strike team with nothing more than willpower and whatever he’d scrummaged up out of Gunter’s research bag?

Shaking the thought off, he lifted his head and bellowed, “TAKE NO QUARTER!”

The dragons roared approval and dove back into the attack. With no magic barring their way, it was a short-lived fight in the extreme. Panicked screams died off quickly as bones broke and heads were bitten off. Alric stood guard over Cameron in a protective stance and snapped up one who came too close, catching him by the neck and shoulders and throwing him against the side of a building.

His tail lashed with satisfaction. Yes, revenge was best served hot after all. Who else could he take on? Spying another, he whipped about and smacked them with his tail, sending another body careening into the building which landed with a meaty thud and no movement afterwards.

“Simmer down, love.” Cameron came closer, touching his leg lightly. “We need at least one person for questioning, right? I didn’t overhear anything while they had me.”

Alric regarded him with one eye, expression baleful. “You speak sense.”

“Sorry for ruining your fun.” Cameron grinned up at him. “Just one. You can choose the smallest one if you’d like.”

Why did he sound like a parent trying to coax a child into eating a vegetable? Sighing, Alric let the responsible part of his nature take back over, and he turned to issue the command. “Ravi! Bring me one!”

“Dead or alive!” Ravi called back.

“Cameron says he has to be alive.”

“Oh, are we starting that stage of your relationship already?” the wind dragon asked, tone sing-song as he teased.

“Shit!” Baldewin dove in to land nearby and reported on a pant, “They had a contingency in place. Cameron, did you see how many cars they had?”

“Six, why?”

“There’s only four here, so we’re probably short on bad guys.”

“Two vehicles?” Alric demanded in alarm. “How could they possibly escape when we have them surrounded like this?”

“I don’t know, Hoheit. I really wish I did. But I counted vehicles as we came in, wanting to be thorough on the cleanup, and it matches what Cameron saw, so we’re short. I know we didn’t drive them, so…”

Alric used the vilest swear words he could think of in every language and still didn’t feel it adequately relayed his frustration. “So you’re telling me that once again, we were attacked, and we still don’t understand our enemy’s motivations.”

Baldwin grimaced. “I’ll search for survivors.”

“Go.” Alric highly doubted there were any. His clan had been too enraged to pull any punches. He couldn’t remain in dragon form, though. His left arm couldn’t hold up his body weight anymore. With a grimace, he shifted back into human form and tried not to show how much pain that caused him.