“Yes. There. The other guy approached them and they both watched me. Figured it was best if I got out of there. I tried to walk away, but they followed. So…I ran.”
“Well, you’re safe now. We’ll get to the bottom of this,” the cop said.
North just wanted to wilt right there at her feet. He’d always avoided the police in his hometown. Hell, he avoided most people in his town. His kind wasn’t exactly welcome, and he was pretty sure if he’d gotten himself into this situation there, they would have said he was asking for trouble.
They had to wait only a couple of minutes before the other cop jogged back with a frown and a shake of her head. A quick conversation went back and forth between them in French for a moment before the first officer turned her attention back to North.
“I’m sorry. We were not able to catch them,” the cop said, looking genuinely upset the men had gotten away.
North waved off the apology. His heart had slowed down to something of a normal pace, but he was now aware of the sweat coating his body and his shirt sticking to his frame. He needed another shower. “It’s okay. I’m just glad you were able to scare them away. I can’t imagine what they want with me. I haven’t even been here a full day.”
“Is this your first trip to Brussels?” the second cop asked. She had darker, almost black hair and surprisingly bright blue eyes.
“Yes. It’s a lovely place, but right now I just want to go back to my hotel.” He looked around, chewing a little on his bottom lip. “But I have no idea where I am. Could you give me directions to the nearest metro station? I should be able to figure it out from there.”
The cops wouldn’t hear of it. After some sweet cajoling, they convinced North to let them give him a ride back to his hotel outside the city. On the ride, they chatted about Brussels, gave him the phone number to a travel agency he could call for information about getting to Munich, and even convinced him to return to the Grand Place in the evening for the great tree lighting and choral performances.
At his hotel, they all got out of the cute little cop car and shook hands.
“You must come back to the Grand Place tonight, North,” Christiane, the brown-haired cop, urged, squeezing North’s shoulder.
Didiane, the blue-eyed cop, reached into her pocket and pulled out a business card. “Go to the celebration. If you are worried while in the square, call me.”
“But if you are in trouble, call 112. It’s like your 911 in the United States,” Christiane added.
North could only stare at the card in his hands, his lips parted in surprise. “Really? But won’t you be off duty tonight?”
“Yes, but still call me if you are scared,” Didiane pressed.
“The safety of the visitors to our city is important to us. We want you to enjoy your time in our country.”
“Thank you,” he whispered. He couldn’t wrap his mind around their kindness.
Christiane released his shoulder and gave him a final pat on the back. “Go inside. Warm up.”
“Get something to eat,” Didiane ordered.
“Get some rest and then return tonight for the party. You will have a great time.”
Chuckling, North nodded and tucked the white card into his pocket. “I will. Thank you for everything. Really. Thank you.”
Returning to his hotel room feeling a little lighter, North stripped down and took a quick shower before dropping on the bed. He passed out for several hours, finally catching up on some much-needed sleep. When he rose later that evening, it was easier to reassure himself the two men had been some aggressive pickpockets who had marked him as an easy target. It was nothing.
He sat on the bed and called the travel agency Christiane had told him about. The lady he spoke to was just as friendly as the two cops. Not only was she able to give him precise directions on which train to take and what he’d need to do when he got to Munich if he planned to continue on to the mountains, but she actually sent him an email with the directions as well as a list of moderately-priced hotels located within safe, tourist-friendly areas.
After hanging up the phone, North sat on the bed with his back against the headboard as he stared at the paper he’d made his notes on. There was an overnight train that would put him in Munich first thing in the morning. He didn’t need to go back into town. He could pack and chill at the hotel until it was time to head to the train station.
But this was Brussels…
At Christmas time.
When in the world was he going to be out this way again?
Possibly never.
If he didn’t find the dragons, there was no doubt in his mind his parents were going to force him home. That entire idea of running away to hide in Brussels and become a professional chocolatier was a little insane and a lot impossible.
Even if he did find dragons, he didn’t know what would happen next, but he doubted it would include fun trips to Brussels for the Christmas market and tree lighting celebration.
It was silly to pass up this opportunity. Those two assholes couldn’t have been after him specifically. Didiane had likely scared them off, and he’d be able to disappear into the massive crowd at Grand Place. He’d go, have some fun, eat some waffles with strawberries and chocolate, and then jump on the train to Munich.
Easy as pie.
Gunter flew to his right, just below Warin’s wing, following him in. The Royal Researcher yelled out, “Are we close?”
Perhaps it was only in Warin’s mind, but those words sounded eerily reminiscent of a child asking plaintively, Are we there yet?
Granted, Gunter had cause to be curious and impatient. They’d been in the air now for hours. Unless Warin missed his guess, they were likely over Belgium and possibly near Brussels at this point. And still, he had no idea if this was too far. Or not close enough. It was cold in the air, even for a fire dragon, and only the exertion of flying kept his body warm enough to avoid shivering. Gunter likely wanted to land and find dinner. Warin certainly felt that urge.
“I don’t know!” he called back to his friend. “I haven’t felt the tug since the last time!”
Gunter didn’t look all that thrilled with the answer. “Land, let’s regroup?”
Warin had his mouth open, ready to agree, when he saw something glint strongly off in the distance. Narrowing his eyes, he stared harder. It was a little difficult to see between the snow and the clouds, but…was that a distress beacon? The pure white shaft of light shot through the air, but it wasn’t steady. It jittered and moved, as if the person holding it was also moving.
“Is—distress beacon?” Gunter’s words were half-lost in the wind because he didn’t project it strongly enough.
He hadn’t seen one in hundreds of years. In fact, Warin had forgotten he knew what that looked like until just now, upon seeing it again. “Mage in trouble.”
Gunter gave him a worried look, and Warin nodded before sharply diving. If a mage was in trouble, of course they’d go. And if it was a trap by the Jaeggi, then they’d deal with it. Not that he actually expected that. No one knew where they were going, as Warin had been following a feeling most of the time. It was impossible to move ahead and set up an ambush. No, this was likely a mage.
Unless Warin missed his guess, it was Brussels spread out below him. That made this rescue much harder. They had few clear spaces to land in their dragon form and shift without drawing attention to themselves. He swore mentally as they came in closer to the city, using the snow as cover of sorts. This had been so much easier when the world still knew they were alive. He could just land and be done with it.