Second Time's a Charm (MxM)✔

Chapter 40 - Taking a Trip

Weeks passed before he heard anything from Catalina. The moors were only a short distance away, so he didn't expect her to take so long to report back.

Cain ran a hand through his blond hair, having returned it to its original color. He hadn't left the manor in ages and found himself buried in paperwork at all hours of the day. He began overworking himself so much that Doren had to practically tear him away from his desk at times.

Gideon wrote back after his initial inquiry, but nothing seemed to be happening at the Duclair manor like he'd expected. Quite the opposite. Andrew had left the mansion entirely. The Duchy was being managed by an assistant sent from the Empire, so he could only assume his filthy half-brother was still in the capital somewhere, focusing on some other scheme.

At night, or at least on the nights he went to bed, he would stare up at the ornate ceilings and rerun all his plans through his head. He'd keep mental checklists of the tasks he had to complete in the morning and struggled to stay awake during the day.

It wasn't just that his nerves were getting the better of him. It was also the fact that his nightmares had returned.

Whenever Cain thought he'd finally get some sleep, memories of the pit would flood back, and he'd awaken in a panic. Maxine, being the one who tended to him in the late hours of the night, grew more and more concerned over the matter.

The redhead would rush into the room, gently shake him awake, then offer him a cup of lavender tea to soothe his nerves. It became almost routine.

Sometimes the nightmare would be of the fields instead, with a great dragon flying high above a circle of monks as the flames closed in on him.

He was relieved when he finally got confirmation that Catalina had located one of the coveted crystals. The only problem was that she couldn't get it to work, and had found herself being tailed by one of the mages.

If she returned to the forest, they'd follow her back and learn that her crime was tied to Wolf Brooks. But if he waited too long, she might get captured and get her bond traced back anyways. Either way, it was not a good situation.

According to the letter she was holed up in a town a small distance away from the moors and hiding as a human. Any demonic magic she used seemed to alert them of her position, so she had to restrict herself and her movements. If it were typical knights then she could easily tear them apart, but these were mages. They were much more dangerous than the Empirical army. She was trapped.

Cain rubbed his chin in thought, wondering how he'd get her out of this situation. Sure she could have had one of the hired thugs take the crystal back, but they couldn't very well be trusted now that they knew how valuable the item was. And if she mailed it, there was a risk of it being intercepted or lost. 

Perhaps he could send Norton? No. He couldn't put the man in danger. The whole point of bringing him here was to get him out of danger.

Cain sucked in a nervous breath, realizing things might go better if he went in person. With his strength, he wouldn't have to worry about thugs on the road. Plus, his death had already been announced, so no one should recognize him if he happened to show up looking like Cain Duclair...

Glancing at the mask on his desk, he realized this may be one trip he'd best make without his disguise...

"Are you certain, Master?" Doren asked when ordered to prepare a horse. Cain felt it'd be less conspicuous than a carriage.

"Are you questioning my orders?"

"I'm questioning your health...Or, I mean..." The usually stiff man glanced over towards the main hall where Maxine stood, arms folded and looking worried.