Origin (Scales 'n' Spells 1)

“It certainly sounds like she’s got everything well in hand,” Lisette said after a rather violent string of swearing.

“How many are there?” Alric inquired.

“She said just one.”

Dieter chuckled. “I think I like her.”

Cameron let out a little groan and rubbed his eyes. His heart was still racing, but he felt a little calmer than when she first called. Knowing she had Cheryl helped. “No, he’s probably right. Cassie has taken lots of self-defense classes as well as some martial arts. She’s not shy about handling things herself.”

Footsteps approached the phone and there was a thud accompanied by some heavy breathing before Cassie’s voice filled the car.

“There. I got him,” she announced, sounding like she’d just squashed a spider.

“What the hell, Cass!” Cameron shouted. “What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking this asshole interrupted possibly fun, sexy times, and broke my motherfucking window,” Cassie snapped at him. And then in the blink of an eye, her tone became light and cheery. “Is Alric around?”

Cameron groaned and flopped back against the seat. Alric smoothly wrapped one arm around Cameron’s shoulders, pulling him in tight while leaning close to the phone.

“I’m right here, Cassie. Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

“Hi, Alric! I’m fine, I promise. Not a scratch on me.”

“We’re all very glad to hear that.”

“Because I’m going to strangle you when I see you,” Cameron growled.

“Do you think this guy is with the people who tried to grab my brother?” Cassie asked, ignoring Cameron’s threats completely.

“I think it is very likely.”

“So…do you want him then? Do you have, like, any dragons close by who could pick him up?”

Alric hesitated and Cameron gasped, jerking sideways so he could glare at the dragon hold him.

“No! You call the police and let them arrest this asshole!” Cameron demanded.

“Cassie, I would like to send dragons to interrogate him and bring him back to us, but that will take several hours. You would need to secure him,” Alric said, wincing at the dark look Cameron was leveling on him.

“No!” Cameron said.

Cassie laughed, and Cameron didn’t know who he wanted to strangle more—his sister or Alric. “Oh sure! I’ve got plenty of duct tape laying around here. I can wrap him up like a Christmas gift real easy.”

“Cass,” Cameron started again, his voice pleading.

“Cam, I’m okay. I swear it. The asshole is out cold and bleeding into my freaking rug. I’ve got Cheryl and six rolls of duct tape. He ain’t goin’ nowhere.”

Cameron sighed and rested his head on Alric’s shoulder. Once his sister made her mind up about anything, there was no arguing with her. It did sound like she had everything under control.

“You’re killing me,” Cameron muttered.

“Love you too, little bro.”

“Plug your phone in and call me if there’s any trouble. We can’t be sure that he was alone.”

“I will.”

“I’ll call you back the moment I can give an estimate of when the dragons will arrive and who it’s going to be.”

Cassie gave an excited squeal before hanging up.

Silence fell over the car again as they neared the castle walls. To his surprise, Lisette spoke up first.

“I’ve just got to say it. I like her. She’s got spunk.”

Alric’s chest shook slightly with a soundless laugh, and Cameron managed a small smile. Dieter spoke about which dragons to send to his sister while Lisette talked about sending a small group of mages and dragons back to the city to investigate what they’d seen near the candy shop.

Cameron closed his eyes against the swell of anger and fear in his chest. His sister had a great knack for finding trouble, but this scared him more than any she’d faced before. These were mages. They could do magic. He couldn’t count on his sister’s wits and fighting skills to keep her safe. They needed to fight magic with magic…and dragons.

A hand tightened on Cameron’s shoulder, and Cameron rubbed his cheek against Alric’s shoulder, a part of him wishing he could just climb into the man’s lap. He felt so damn helpless.

“They came after my sister,” Cameron whispered.

“I know. I’m so very sorry, Cameron. I will keep her safe. I will protect both of you no matter what.”

Alric’s fierce words helped to ease some of the knot, making it a little easier to breathe. Cameron had seen how Alric watched over and cared for his people. If he included Cameron’s family in that group, then he believed they would be safe.

Cameron was fit to be tied by the time he made it back to the castle. Alric called Baldewin on the way back up the mountain, and he issued orders to both Baldewin and Sasha to go immediately to protect Cassie.

Baldewin met them at the door, a satchel with a very long handle sitting at his feet. The female dragon next to him had a similar bag. Cameron gave her a good look over as he climbed out of the car. He remembered seeing Sasha before, being introduced to her, but he didn’t know her all that well. She looked something of a cross between a bodybuilder and a model. She was another blonde, blue-eyed beauty who was more striking than pretty with her strong bone structure. Cameron wasn’t sure why Alric had chosen Sasha, other than she gave the impression of being tougher than boulders.