Magical Lover (7 page)

“Anything in the shop you can’t do without?” Thoren whispered in her ear. The man needed to stop doing that. Breathing in her ear, making chills shoot through her body when she should feel scared instead.

Her head turned to shelving behind the counter in the front room. “I would like to take my books. But I don’t see how we can get them with him standing in the doorway.”

“Leave that to me. Will they fit in your bag?” He gestured to the bag on the floor in front of them.

She shook her head. “There’s a satchel under the counter that most of them would fit in. But that would be another pack for the horses.”

“We’re leaving the horses.”

Was he crazy? The thought of walking, who knew how far while carrying a couple of bags, made her body ache. But it beat the alternative.

“Keep close to me and we’ll walk to the shelf.”

Her eyes darted to Lord Simon’s back. “Won’t he hear?”

“Not if we’re quiet.”

She nodded, the movement jerky as adrenaline pumped through her muscles. Thoren kept his arm around her waist, moving her toward the shelves, watching Lord Simon and his minions through the storefront window. They paused by the counter for her to grab the satchel.

“Keep it under the counter. It’s not protected by the invisibility spell.”

Lord Simon would come running if he saw a satchel floating across the room. Keara watched with trepidation as Simon twitched, rising onto his toes, bouncing off the ground to do the motion again. Sounds from the street floated through the open door, covering the noise she made putting the books into the bag.

“Anything else?”

Keara looked around the shop, memories passing over her. She mixed her first potion here, treated her first patient over there at the table by the door, mixed herbs at the counter. Twilight bathed the shop, drifting through the windows, casting long shadows of the men guarding the place. She took one last look, knowing she’d never see the place again, trying to remember the pleasant times and forget about the bad.

Taking a deep breath, she turned toward Thoren, whispering in his ear. “I’m ready.”

He flicked a hand at the satchel and it vanished. Keara gasped, unable to help herself. Lord Simon whirled, stepping into the shop, obviously looking for the source of the sound.

“Did you hear that?” he asked his men.

“No, sir.”

“Didn’t hear nothing, sir.”

He looked right at Keara, his eyes narrowing. She felt Thoren tense behind her as a trickle of sweat ran down her spine. Her surprise at the satchel’s vanishing act almost caused their capture. If Lord Simon saw them, it would surely mean Thoren’s death. Would Thoren dole out a punishment for her almost getting them caught?

She glanced over at him. His jaw thrust forward. This close she saw the stubble from where he needed to shave. His eyes locked onto Lord Simon, staring at him as a hunter would prey. Thoren remained motionless, if Keara hadn’t felt his heart beat from where her back pressed against his chest, she would have thought him a statue. How a person could remain so still confounded her.

After what seemed like an eternity, Lord Simon turned around, returning to his post by the door. Keara exhaled a breath she didn’t realize she held.

Thoren led her back into the room behind the shop where Enar, Lily and Jamie hid.

“Is everything in the bags on the horses?”

“Yes. Packed and ready to go.” Enar’s voice whispered across the room, although Keara still couldn’t see him clearly.

Why could she see him at all?

Thoren moved her so they stood in sight of the horses, which stood by the back door. He flicked his hand and the horses’ packs disappeared. Wasn’t she good for keeping her gasp internal? Thoren motioned toward the bag on the floor and it also vanished.

She needed to learn that vanishing trick. Then the next time Jamie interrupted her and Thoren she could transport him to another room. Better yet, she could make Lord Simon disappear right off her property. Or maybe only small things could vanish since Thoren hadn’t made the lord disappear.

And since Lord Simon remained standing, the potential remained for her to be caught and the others killed. Good thing she didn’t need to speak, she couldn’t even swallow.

“Is there any way out of here besides the front or the back door?” Thoren turned to Keara.

She shook her head.

“There’re the sewers in the cellar.” She was surprised to hear Jamie say. “Leads to the south river.”

Keara gaped in the direction of her apprentice, too shocked to say anything. How had he known that? She didn’t even know and she had lived here her entire life. Of course, she had heard of—and smelled—the sewers, but didn’t realize anyone but the thieves and lazy, non-working maintenance men knew their location. Maybe she wouldn’t ask Jamie; she might not want to know the answer.

“To the cellar then. Jamie, you’ll lead once we’re at the bottom.”

Once down the stairs and out of sight of the open trapdoor, Enar handed the ball back to Thoren, appearing suddenly in front of Keara, Lily still attached to his arm. Her friend’s hair stood out in the darkness, a pale shine against the almost complete blackness. Keara reached for Lily, grabbing her ice-cold hand with all her strength.

At least they were together. For now.

Keara clung to Thoren’s hand as he led them into the darkness, away from her shop, away from her old life and into a new one.

May the Goddess go with her.

****

Thoren led Keara toward Jamie, who stood against the far side of the room. His night vision allowed him to see clearly, but he doubted anyone else could, if the stumbles and grunted curses meant anything. He didn’t dare use his magic to light the room, fearing the men above might notice.

Kill and protect. The dragon in him roared, wanting to kill the one that meant harm to Keara, finding running away unacceptable. It took all his will to tamp the beast down, and despite his efforts, his ears smoked.

What in the name of the Goddess was wrong with him? No other Draconi female had ever affected him like this. Of course, no other Draconi female had ever been threatened in his presence, so maybe this was just the way males reacted when females were in danger.

That must be it. Females should be protected, cherished, not chased through cellars and sewers by a regiment of scurrilous soldiers. No wonder his inner dragon was upset.

Focus on the situation at hand. Focus, focus, Thoren.

Jamie stood in front of a small iron door built into the stone wall. Thoren placed his hand on the dampness of the wall and leaned into the opening, taking a deep breath. Big mistake. He choked on the rank smell of human excrement, mixed with dead animal. He pulled his head back, trying to smother his cough, eyes tearing from the effort. Jamie made a face as he breathed in the rank air.

“You’ll get used to it. Come on!” The boy ducked through the opening, standing in the smelly, rock-lined tube.

Jamie had a point about leaving. Thoren tried breathing through his mouth, which didn’t help much, as he walked through the small door, bending over double in the sewer in order not to bump his head. Enar cursed, bending his legs in a duck walk.

“Warriors are not meant to crawl around sewers.”

“Nothing besides rats and small boys are designed for it, my friend.”

Enar snorted. A small click echoed through the tunnels as Jamie pulled the iron door shut. Darkness settled, broken by the trickle of water under their feet and the thick scent of sewage in the air around them.

“Jamie, in front.”

Jamie splashed by the others, unimpeded by raw sewage, to stand in front of Thoren. Thoren focused on his hand, drawing his magic until a blue flame danced in his palm, illuminating the dank walls of the tunnel. Keara’s hand touched his back, causing a shiver up his spine. The light flickered before growing brighter.

“Best keep it down, Draconi. I have no desire to burn in this tunnel.” Enar chuckled.

A splash, followed by scurrying feet, heralded the movement of a rodent. Keara’s grip tightened on his shirt. His beast roared. She trusted him to protect her, to save her.

What was wrong with him today? Where were all these emotions coming from? Talk about channeling one’s inner demon.

What if she was his mate? What if all these emotions of protect and kill meant she belonged to him? Just what he needed. He didn’t want a mate. He wanted to remain a spy. Maybe in another twenty years or so he’d want to settle down, but not now. All he had to do was convince his dragon Keara was not his mate.

Something told him the beast wasn’t believing it.

Water dripped into the small stream they straddled. Thoren focused on the steady drip, gaining control over his emotions. He needed to stay focused on the task at hand, and get them all to safety. Trying to decide whether Keara was his mate had no bearing on the fact that she needed to be protected. And the only way to do that was to leave this town.

Unfortunately, leaving the town meant crawling through the sewers, but nothing was perfect. At least no one followed them.

“Almost there,” Jamie said.

Goddess be praised. Fresh air directly ahead.

The tunnel burst open into the side of the town’s wall, the sewage stream falling over the edge into the river below. Thoren closed his hand, extinguishing the flame, before standing next to the opening. Using his magic, he reached out, feeling up along the wall and out across the ground, checking for the presence of humans.

“All clear. Enar, the bags are on the ridge where we first entered this valley. I’ll lead if you’ll guard the rear. They weren’t following us, but they might have figured out where we went.” And with the way his dragon wanted to fight Lord Simon, the last thing he needed was for the men-at-arms to have followed them. The Council would have kittens if he changed into a dragon and fought a group of humans.

Once out of the tunnel, they all breathed easier. Dragons were not created to traverse odiferous tunnels. Soon they would be at the campsite and then tomorrow would begin the long journey home. On foot. Because Goddess forbid he change into a dragon and fly them home. Oh no. The Council frowned on that. No changing into a dragon unless an emergency arose.

And walking for two weeks did not qualify as an emergency. He hated this part of the job. Why should he walk when he had a set of wings and could make it home in a couple of days? But rules had to be followed. Even if it meant walking home.

Keara touched his arm and his dragon purred. “Where are we going?”

“We had a site before we came into town. We’re going there for the night. We’ll begin the journey home tomorrow at first light.”

She nodded. “All right.”

Twilight caught sparks in her hair, shimmering in glowing haloes about her face. His heart leapt in his chest as he watched her move, watched her tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. He’d seen plenty of beauties in his journey around Draconia, but Keara’s beauty surpassed them all.

Maybe once he returned her to Draconia, all these protective feelings would subside. If not, he had a whole new problem. Males reacted this way toward their mate.

Keara smiled at him and his dragon roared in triumph.

He cursed.