Frowning, he gazed down the train car, his eyes lightly skimming over the scattering of people who filled the neat, plastic benches. He jolted slightly at the sight of Baldewin in the little window that looked into the next car. The dragon appeared as if he was trying to open the door so he could cross into Tori’s.
Tori froze, his eyes locked with Baldewin’s worried ones. Had he noticed Tori had found a pair of mages? Would he try to bring them back to the castle as well?
Strange emotions roiled through him, and his hands clenched on his knees. Was he jealous? Afraid that Baldewin would want them more than him because they were likely much more skilled at magic?
Nonsense. It was all nonsense and bullshit. He didn’t want Baldewin to want him, to choose him over other mages. Didn’t want to go with Baldewin. Didn’t want to be near any dragons. Right?
He was better off on his own. After getting the ingredients he needed, he’d leave. He didn’t need anyone.
“Hey,” Leon Jaeggi called. Tori’s head jerked around to see the man lift his chin toward the car doors. “Our stop.”
Tori nodded and glanced toward the door where he’d spotted Baldewin, but the dragon wasn’t there anymore. He leaned a little to the side, trying to see around the people who were already moving toward the exit, but he couldn’t see Baldewin’s massive form. More ninja dragon shit.
Tori rose and crossed toward the doors with the other mages behind him. It was on the tip of his tongue to mention the dragon, but the words wouldn’t leave his mouth. Why? Dragons might not be the evil liars he’d been raised to believe, but that didn’t mean he could trust Baldewin and what he said. Why not tell Leon and his friend?
Because as much as he didn’t trust Baldewin, the dragon never made him feel like he was in danger. Baldewin hadn’t threatened him. Hadn’t given him a single reason to fear for his life.
The two mages standing behind him…he couldn’t say the same.
That didn’t make any sense. Why was he getting this feeling? Why couldn’t he trust them?
And why the hell was he now relying on a dragon to watch his back?
Tori shoved a hand through his hair and scratched his scalp in irritation. Escaping his clan was supposed to be the hard part. Hiding in Helsinki, finding a job, starting a new life—that was all supposed to be an exciting adventure and a step toward getting what he wanted. Freedom. Respect. Happiness.
What he had instead was one giant dragon-shaped headache.
“You okay?” the nameless mage demanded.
“Yeah, headache,” Tori muttered. He silenced his own worries and the nagging voice in the back of his mind. He’d just focus on the task at hand. He didn’t need anyone—dragon or mage—watching his back.
The train rattled into the station, and people filed in and out of the cars in an orderly fashion. As soon as they were clear of the crowd, Leon stepped around Tori to lead the way out while his companion fell into step behind Tori. He was boxed in, and it wasn’t a great feeling. He barely fought the urge to look around for Baldewin or Warin.
Once they hit the street again and were surrounded by the bustle of people, Tori breathed a little easier. They had left downtown and were in one of the quieter areas, but there were still plenty of pedestrians and businesses open around him. Enough places to run and call for help if he needed it.
“Are there a lot of other mages from your clan in Helsinki at the moment?”
“No, just a few,” Leon muttered, and even that seemed a bit grudging, as if he didn’t want to share any details with Tori. That didn’t make any sense. Why wouldn’t he want to talk about his clan? His own might be a little secretive, but he didn’t think for a second his leaders would shut out other mages.
“Where are you based?”
“Don’t worry about it,” the other mage snapped.
Fine, so they weren’t conversationalists. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t looking for friends.
They continued a couple of short blocks until they reached a relatively empty parking lot. Tori glanced around, uneasiness crawling along his skin as he noticed that this part of town didn’t have as many pedestrians. There wasn’t even an employee watching over the pay-to-park lot.
“So, umm…store is actually outside town, but not far,” Leon tossed over his shoulder at Tori. “We’ll just hop in van and take ride over.” He jerked his thumb toward the plain white, windowless van they were drawing near.
Oh, hell no. He was pretty sure he’d seen this horror flick more than once. And he was not some dumb, trusting college kid on his way to get hacked into little pieces and fed to someone’s pet.
His steps slowed, and he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, trying to keep his posture relaxed while wrapping his fingers around the tiny glass vial of captured sunlight. It was one of the last damn ingredients he had on him. He’d carried it as a sort of security blanket, hating the idea of being completely defenseless and yet never really expecting to need it.
Leon quickly unlocked the van and rolled the side door open with a loud, metallic rumble. He turned and looked at Tori. The man’s expression was all wrong. It was like he was going for sympathetic or maybe apologetic, but there was this strange twist to his lips, like he was inwardly laughing at Tori.
“We don’t know you. We have to blindfold you and tie your hands,” Leon said.
“For safety, you verstehst,” his companion tossed in.
“We don’t know you or your clan,” Leon continued. “We have to protect our own people.”
“Yeah, umm…I don’t think I’m comfortable with this.” Tori took a step backward, and the other mage’s strong hands immediately clamped down on his shoulders. A sickening surge of fear and panic rushed through him, threatening to knock the air from his lungs. This was wrong. All wrong.
Tori dug his heels into the concrete as best he could, refusing to move forward another step. Gravel on the pavement kept his sneakers slipping. “How about we just meet somewhere else? Like maybe that big park in the middle of the city. I can give you a list of what I need. Anything you can lay your hands on would be appreciated.”
The words poured out of him faster and faster as his eyes darted from Leon to the edges of the parking lot and back again. He was alone. Anger mixed with the swirling vortex of fear in his chest, causing beads of sweat to form on his skin.
How could this be happening? He was no one. His magic skills were pathetic, and they were kidnapping him? There was no sign of any other city dwellers and no damn dragon.
Why did Baldewin have to pull his ninja stunts now and completely disappear? The one time a dragon would actually come in handy, and the guy was nowhere to be found.
Of course, this was probably what Tori deserved. He hadn’t believed the dragon. He’d thought he could do this on his own, and he was wrong.
Leon stopped trying to hide his smile and turned his attention over to his companion. He barked something that could have been German, but Tori wasn’t sure. It certainly didn’t sound like “Let the idiot go,” because the guy’s fingers bit down into his shoulders as he started to force Tori toward the van. The bastard had several inches and at least fifty pounds on him. No matter how hard he tried to resist and jerk out of his grasp, he found himself one step after another closer until Leon was grabbing his arm.