Whoevertheywere.
Minutes later, we were crouched in the bushes around the clearing, just out of sight of the men around the fire. I studied the camp, and there was nothing unusual about it. It was just a camp of men meeting in the woods. They could have been hunting or hiking or searching for some supposed lost treasure.
They laughed and chatted, and two or three left the circle, heading away on a different path.
That’s whenhisvoice cut the air.
“Well, gentlemen, as fun as this outing has been, I’m afraid I have to go back again.”
Elex.
The man with his back to us stood, and I recognized his coat.
What the hell was Elex doing out here?
“You managed how many days this time?” another asked.
“Three full days. Donovan’s timing that morning was perfect,” he said.
“How do you manage it?” one on the left chuckled. “I’m not encouraging you, but she is a gorgeous creature, and I would be inside that every waking minute.”
“It’s not easy,” Elex chuckled. “But why do you think I have brandy and the Vampire’s Draught? She thinks I keep it for night terrors.”
All the men around the fire chuckled.
I was shocked they hadn’t heard my heart breaking.
“You’ve really managed to keep from fucking her all this time?”
Elex’s head bobbed. “It hasn’t been easy. She’s a naïve, sexy little thing with a pussy to die for. But the cause is greater and having her trapped like this is for a good cause.”
“She won’t find another cock to ride?”
He chuckled. “No. Too honest, too loyal. She didn’t even have a male in her life for the past forty years. She’s got high standards.”
“Sounds more like she has a tight cunt, not sharing like that.”
Grabbing a bag on the floor, Elex hiked it up on his shoulder. “She does have it on lockdown. But, gentlemen, I must return and make new excuses to her. I also have to find out how she stopped this last tremor.”
The four remaining men around the campfire made grunts of farewell and watched as Elex disappeared down the other path leading away from the clearing.
“Do you think he can keep this up?” The question came from a tall man on the other side.
“I think he can, as long as we keep him plied with that Vampire Draught.” The stocky man who answered poked the fire a bit. “I’m hoping he can detain her and keep her away from anything that might lend her power next time. It’s time for the S’Kir to fall and our vampire brethren to return.”
Rilen and Roran unfolded themselves from the bushes and stepped into the light on either side of the clearing.
I hadn’t even realized they’d moved.
The four men in the center yelped in surprise. Leaping up, they pulled swords from their waists and headed toward the brother they could see.
The two of them circled, leading the men around. They had wicked grins on their faces, and I could see magic swirling around them.
“Who are you?” one of the campers demanded, moving his sword to a strike position.
In perfect sync, they answered, “We are the Masters Rilen and Roran Wolf of the Temple of the North. You have threatened the lives and livelihood of the people of S’Kir. Your treachery will not go unpunished.”
“Fuck,” the tall man ground out.
