Origin (Scales 'n' Spells 1)

“I think we’re getting off-topic.” Alric absolutely did not want to discuss this with her further. He couldn’t pursue Cameron like he wanted to. Doing so openly would put a stay on the rest of his clan, as they wouldn’t choose to cross him if he showed interest in someone. He had to give others the opportunity to approach Cameron. And doing so would likely lead to his own downfall.

Alric was aware he was a damaged man. No use denying the obvious. Cameron’s interest and flirting had been incredibly lovely, sparking life in Alric in a way no other had managed in years. Part of him wanted to wallow in that, to flirt back with Cameron. But he knew it would be all too selfish if he did so.

It pained him, an ache in his chest from that lost opportunity, but Alric was used to pain. Used to shoving aside his own wants and needs for the betterment of his clan. His mind stayed focused on the truly important thing, which was Cameron’s safety.

Lisette knew him too well. She read him effortlessly and tsked him in reprimand. “Really, Alric. You act like you’re a man past your prime when it’s quite the opposite. You need to pursue him.”

Groaning, Alric kept his temper in check. “Let’s focus first on his safety. The spells they used in the alley to snatch him, you’ve analyzed those?”

“Gunter and Jana have, yes. They’ve broken it down to the spell elements, and they’re tracing where those elements came from now. None of the spells were unique. We can’t tie it to any particular family.”

Before the war, each magical clan had their own specialties, their own spells and craft. They shared some with other families, but that knowledge was hoarded like a miser would gold. Such a practice turned out to their detriment. With the war, the clans’ knowledge died with them, a great deal having been passed down through oral tradition. What records they’d been able to recover weren’t comprehensive by any means.

Even five hundred years later, the few living mages were still reconstructing spells and potions, trying to recreate something they never knew how to do in practice. It was maddening, and the mages more than once had gatherings to mourn the loss of knowledge. Alric suspected it was more like a pity party with actual booze involved, but he did have survival skills. He never said that aloud.

The kidnappers had used common spells, eh. No way to track them through those, then. They’d have to rely on the spell elements and hope their origin would give some clue. Mages had always harvested elements close to home, as outsourcing other ingredients was problematic in various ways. The spell elements should give them a rough location of the culprits, if nothing else.

“I expect we’ll have something to go off of in a few days. We’ll need to start a proper investigation tomorrow.” Lisette put the amulet away in a pocket before folding her hands over her knee, that arch look back on her face. “My conversation with Cameron went very well, by the way. He’s more open to his own magic now. Or at least, he’s willing to think he can work magic himself. I’m not entirely sure where this mental block of his originated, but I assume it was instilled in him through his family. His great-grandmother apparently never worked magic in front of her family. He has only a single memory of her doing so.”

“So there was magical knowledge in his line at one point.” Alric’s eyes closed in fatalistic understanding. “But because she’d not passed it on, it was lost. He’d mentioned something about this to me, but hadn’t explained it.”

“His grandmother was apparently always adamant they were mages, but without any way to prove or demonstrate it…” Lisette trailed off with a grimace. “Cameron made noises along the lines of his sister and grandmother being mages, he’s sure on that. I think it’s because they have always believed in magic. Because he hasn’t, he feels he’s not magical in and of himself.”

“Belief doesn’t have anything to do with it, though,” Alric objected. His heart twinged. That amazing man didn’t believe himself magical? Didn’t believe in his own potential? Alric didn’t know off-hand how he could possibly help Cameron understand that he was all of that and more. That he could be anything he chose. He wasn’t confined to the limits he’d imposed upon himself.

God, no wonder Cameron had reacted so strongly when Alric pushed. It must have been like rubbing lye into an open wound.

“I know it doesn’t, and I think I’ve explained it in such a way that he now understands that.” Lisette’s lips pursed thoughtfully. “I approached it in a very scientific manner, as I thought it would go over better. What with his focus in engineering. He understood the basic concepts very quickly. It will be a pleasure to teach that one. Such an amazing, sharp mind.”