Page 23 of Scales ’N’ Spells: Volume One

He could feel the smile on his lips as he stepped up to the gathering of customers. Alric was not one to just randomly smile. At least not since he’d been a very young dragon, but he couldn’t help it when he was around Cameron. He probably looked a little ridiculous. Maybe even besotted.

The smell of coffee and sugar drifted to his nose, drawing his attention from his thoughts to the stall. He wasn’t nearly tall enough to see over the crowd, but a pair of chalkboard menus displayed an array of pastries for sale.

Verdammt! He’d forgotten to ask what Cameron would like to eat. He could clearly recall everything Cameron had ordered the first day of the festival, but it had been such a vast array of things he couldn’t even guess at what Cameron might be in the mood for now. It was safer to just ask.

Stepping out of the gathering, he turned toward the bench only to find it empty. Cameron wasn’t anywhere in the area. Alric’s heart skipped a beat as he jogged over to the shaded area to make sure Cameron wasn’t hidden behind another tree or other festival goers. But he wasn’t.

The skip of his heart turned into a full-fledged run as he turned in place, his eyes skimming over hundreds of smiling faces in search of Cameron’s. He wouldn’t have left. No. He hadn’t run. There was no reason. They’d been laughing and joking.

And Cameron wouldn’t run. When he’d been upset, he’d faced Alric down, shouting at him and making demands.

But if he hadn’t run, did that mean he’d been taken? Why? And by whom? Did someone else know he was a mage? Was it just random luck that he’d been grabbed by some horrible human thief?

Alric rushed back into the crowd and shouted Cameron’s name, hoping that maybe he’d just walked over to a nearby stall to see the vendor’s wares, not expecting Alric to return so quickly. But there was still no sign of him. Alric cursed himself. He knew Cameron had his number, Baldewin had reported that, but he’d failed to give him Cameron’s number in return. And Alric needed it right now.

Palming his phone, Alric immediately called Baldewin while he still searched the immediate area.

“Is he still grumpy over yesterday?” Baldewin said by way of greeting.

“Cameron’s gone,” Alric blurted. “Tell me you are here at the festival.”

“We are. We’re a few blocks away from you. Wanted to give you some space.” His tone was immediately serious, ready to jump into a battle for Alric.

“Get here. I can’t find him. And call him, I don’t have his number.” Alric hurried toward the bench he’d pointed out only minutes ago. It was the last direction he’d seen Cameron walking in.

“I will. Do you think he went back to his hotel?”

“No, but send someone there just in case if he doesn’t pick up. I—” Alric stopped. He thought he’d heard something out of place. An awkward scrape of shoe on pavement. He strained, listening, wishing he could stop his own pounding heart.

“No!” It was Cameron. He knew the man’s voice. He sounded desperate, fighting something. The muffled shout came from down the block in the direction of a narrow alleyway.

“He’s in trouble. I’m heading toward the back of the supermarket. Find me!” Alric commanded as he took off running. He ended the call and shoved his phone back into his pocket. His old friend always had his back, and he would do it because Alric needed him. Cameron needed him.

Racing through the crowd, dodging people strolling idly along with children, Alric thought only of reaching Cameron. He never should have taken his eyes off the man. Never should have let even a foot of space come between them.

His skin itched and burned. His dragon wanted out. Wanted to climb over these buildings and shove cars out of his way until he found the bastards who dared to lay hands on his Cameron. His mage. Cameron said people celebrated that dragons existed, but if any harm came to the mage, he would remind them why humans feared dragons for so long.

As he reached the mouth of the alley, Alric saw a flash of…something—light, color—at the entrance to a connecting alleyway. It was so very brief that he wasn’t sure. Magic was in the air, too, the biting and acrid tang of it. But there were more sounds of a scuffle and then Cameron’s frantic voice. He couldn’t make out the words, but he didn’t need to.

Running down the narrow alley on the uneven cobblestones, Alric slid at the entrance of a new alley and spotted Cameron being forced down the narrow space by three men, toward a white van with the side door open. A fourth man stood in the opening with a black balaclava covering all but his eyes, urging his companions to hurry.

“Release him!” Alric roared as he charged down the alley.

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.