Origin (Scales N' Spells #1) - A.J. Sherwood Page 0,82

himself a shake, Cameron went into a different door, heading up to his bedroom. There were things he needed to do as well. Once there, he threw himself into the chair in front of the cold fireplace and applied himself to making many, many phone calls. Starting with his parents.

The bad guys had caught his family unaware twice. It was time to reverse those tables and get the upper hand as much as possible.

The phone calls didn’t go all that well. Cameron spent a good three hours talking to everyone. His parents were understandably upset someone was targeting their children. They wanted both him and Cassie to come home—and what good would that do? Cameron argued against it, Cassie argued against it, and in the end his parents relented and agreed that being surrounded by dragons did sound safer.

With them settled, it became a waiting game. Cassie kept her phone on her, Facetime up so that he could keep an eye on the situation. They didn’t say much to each other, just waited. Cameron paced the room more than once, burning off nervous energy. Cassie, on the other side of the ocean, did the same.

Dieter joined him seven hours in with a relieved smile. “Cameron. Sasha just called. They’ve landed outside of the city and they’re in a taxi now, heading toward your sister.”

He let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. “Thank god. Hear that, Cassie?”

“Loud and clear,” Cassie responded, sounding relieved.

Dieter came over to lean over his shoulder and see the phone. “Hello, Cassie. I’m Dieter. We haven’t met yet. I am the king’s advisor.”

Cassie waved back. “Hi, Dieter, nice to meet you.”

“And you. We want to fly you back on a jet. It’s a bit hard for us to hold a passenger for such a long flight. May I have your information so that I can buy a ticket for you?”

“That’s sweet of you, Dieter. Sure. Um, while you’re doing that, can you buy one for Halmeoni?” Cassie rolled her eyes a little. “She’s already packed and on her way over here. She said if I’m going to see you guys, she is too.”

“Of course. I’ve brought my laptop up with me.” Dieter held the slim silver casing up in illustration. “And I can buy your tickets at the same time.”

Cameron would rather not have his grandmother there while they interrogated a bad guy, but there was no stopping the woman. He’d already had this argument with her and lost. Halmeoni was far, far too excited about all of this.

A knock sounded on Cassie’s door and she abruptly stood up and demanded, “Password!”

Baldewin, bless him, played along like a champ. “All dragons are sexy.”

The picture on the phone jerked as Cassie jogged for the door. She opened it wide, and Cameron caught snatches of Baldewin and Sasha entering. “Thanks for coming so quickly. That stalker bastard is in the living room. He woke up about an hour ago.”

“Has he said anything?” Sasha asked in her low alto voice.

“Hasn’t had a chance,” Cassie replied. “And hello, I didn’t get your name?”

“I’m Sasha.”

Cameron rolled his eyes. He could hear it in Cassie’s voice. His sister had just decided Sasha was yummy beyond words.

“Cassie, if you don’t mind, we’d like to test you first.”

“Yeah, of course. I want to know if I’m a mage too.”

Cameron heard his door click open, Alric and Lisette joining them in his sitting room. Alric strode directly to him, leaning over his other shoulder, his hand warm as it cupped the top of Cameron’s arm. It felt good to have him in contact like this. Cameron appreciated it and leaned into the man. Alric was comforting and grounding in a way that he needed. Frankly, Cameron had been through enough of a roller coaster over the last several hours. Some stability would be nice.

And Alric was definitely that.

Lisette hissed out a breath. “Another mage, as we suspected.”

Cassie’s voice rose in excitement. “So the glow means I pass? Awesomesauce. Oh man, that almost makes up for this idiot. But does that mean he came after me because I’m also a mage?”

“Let’s ask him and find out.” Sasha stalked into view and then out of it again, heading supposedly for the man still duct taped on the floor.

“Cass, prop the phone up so we can see the room,” Cameron requested. “We’re having trouble following what’s going on over here.”

“Yeah, sure, hang on.” The phone was set down on a table, then adjusted a little to