Tan

Tan was trying really hard to behave. He put serious effort into it. He didn’t want to scare Devan off on the first meeting. (Tan tended to do that with people, as they were already wary of him to begin with, but take his wacky humor and add that into the mix, and they bolted when they had the chance.)

But, well, behaving had never worked out for him.

Here sat the First Knight of Goodwine, known for his valor and intelligence, oozing sex appeal…and exhaustion. The poor man just looked done in. He was exasperated, too, although clearly trying to bury that and meet Tan with a neutral face. Tan got that reaction from people a lot. He could read it in a blink. Devan was obviously not here on official business. The brown leather coat, padded jerkin, buckskin pants, and white shirt were casual in the extreme. If he’d shown up in full plate metal like he normally wore in parades, Tan would have expected a fight. This attire meant Devan was here entirely on his own.

Whatever this was, it was serious. Serious enough to bring this man to Tan, of all people. Devan wasn’t just the princess’s knight. He was the knight of Goodwine. When people said “the Knight,” this was who they meant. No one had a reputation of stronger valor, courage, or kindness than Devante Salvino. For him to be here spoke volumes on the situation. Tan didn’t underestimate it. He just couldn’t help but take advantage, too. He might have a weeee crush on the knight.

To be fair, anyone breathing probably had a wee crush on him. Devante Salvino had that sort of effect on people. He was supposedly of northern heritage but his amber skin, golden brown eyes, and wiry black hair didn’t match those people. Really, he looked like he was from the coast. Even nearing forty, everything about this man said strength, from the aquiline nose to his sculpted cheekbones and square jaw.

Tan wanted to nibble on his jawline. Just a little nibble. Nibbling never hurt anyone.

Damn, he still looked as good as he did fourteen years ago.

Anyway, he digressed. While Tan was inwardly delighted to have Devan in his home, he could appreciate the position the man was in and try to at least handle it seriously. Tan wanted Devan to be at ease with him, not wary and uptight.

Although he looked remarkably relaxed in Tan’s presence. Was this bravery, exhaustion, or some mix of the two? The man was drinking tea without testing it for poison first. Seriously.

Tan tried to straighten up and be serious. It was hideously uncomfortable but he did his best. “Alright. I’m braced. Which town, why in two days, and who’s my opponent?”

Devan looked relieved to get down to business. “Your opponent is time itself right now. It’s Siset that’s in trouble. The situation is this: The barbarians are coming down from the north again—”

Aw fuck. That never heralded anything good.

“—and of course the town’s front gate guarding the pass caught fire during the winter. They’re still in the process of rebuilding. It’s nowhere near sturdy enough to stop even a fly from passing through. I want to evacuate them, but the princess’s favorite general suggested a bait-and-lure tactic using the townspeople. The army will set fire traps all around the town, lure the barbarians inside, and then ignite it. It’ll burn most of the barbarians—and the townspeople—to death before they can even get through. Our useless king is letting her handle the situation, and I can’t talk sense into anyone. That’s why I’m here.”

That sounded like a really horrific tactic. Tan made a face at the suggestion. But what really caught his attention was Devan himself.

Look at him. Devan seemed like he would rather swallow a sword than say any of this, but here he was, doing it anyway. He hated asking this favor, hated this situation was even happening, but he was still here forcing himself through it. All to save a town of people he likely had never even met.

Tan’s admiration for the man went straight through the roof. “What’s the general’s name?”

Devan blinked. “Oh, it’s, uh, Ardbark Celto.”

“I’ll make sure the man gets pestilent boils on his cock for the next year for his suggestion.”

For just a moment, Devan’s stress fell away, the tension in his shoulders dropping, and he flashed Tan a smile. He was breathtaking when he smiled, his whole face lighting up in a captivating way. Tan may have gone gooey. Damn, if Devan kept smiling at him like that, he’d likely do absolutely insane things.

“Thank you for that. The man deserves it and worse, frankly.”

“Your princess really agreed to this tactic?”

“Unfortunately, she thought it brilliant. I’m normally able to either talk or bribe her out of ideas like this, but for some reason, she wasn’t listening to me this time. I don’t have the time to try different tactics on her until I find the one that works. As I said, the barbarians are likely going to hit in a few days. The fire kits are even now being marched northward, to be prepped in two days.” The stress was back in Devan’s face, his hands tightening until his knuckles shone white against his amber skin. “I don’t know of anyone else powerful enough—or merciful enough—to move so many people in that short amount of time.”

“It’ll take me three trips to manage it, with the right portation spells. Each trip will take a few hours to organize and move. Hopefully. I can’t do it all at once. Weight allowance, you understand.” Tan tapped a thoughtful finger to his lips. “Still, it can be done. We’ll just need to move very, very quickly. How long can you stay before rousing suspicion?”

Devan’s mouth tightened with displeasure. “Because I argued with her, she banished me to my country house for a week. So, another six days.”

“That’ll be to my benefit. I’ll need you to convince people to cooperate with me.” Slapping a hand to his knee, Tan abruptly stood. He loved a challenge, and this one qualified, making him eager to get started. Plus, he got to rub it in the princess’s nose. AND help his sexy knight. Really, it was a win-win-win all around. “Come with me. Move, move, we have no time.”

Devan was out of his chair with alacrity, falling in step with him as they left the parlor. Tan called to Hans as they moved through the foyer. “Hans! We’re kidnapping a town, get the big garden open and ready for people!”

“Move,” Devan corrected again wearily. “I said move. You don’t get to keep them.”

Tan whirled on one heel, putting a hand over his heart in mock protest. “But I like people! Also, possession is nine-tenths of the law, isn’t that how that saying goes?”

Devan wasn’t at all moved by his bullshit. (Which just showed how smart he was.)

“You have to give them back.”

“Noooo, but—but, new toys!”

“You have to give them back, Tan. This is not negotiable.”

“You’re an utter killjoy, I want you to understand this.” Tan shook a finger at him. “Just for that, you have to read me a bedtime story and tuck me in.”

Devan stared at the sorcerer like he’d lost his mind. “You are the oddest man. Don’t you want money for all of this?”

“Eh, money isn’t what motivates me. I like fun things.” Look at him, all relieved to hear this. Also intrigued, like Tan’s answer wasn’t at all expected. Tan tacked on, “Although I am saving up right now to redecorate the castle.”

“You don’t like all the black after all? Then why decorate this way?”

Tan shook a finger at him again. “You are absolutely not allowed to use my goth emo phase against me. I thought it was all the rage when I was a teenager. I just haven’t decided what to do instead.”

“Color,” Devan suggested dryly.

“Oh, you’re a funny, funny man.”

“Thank you, I do try.”

Look at him, getting all comfortable enough to tease. Tan was absurdly happy about that. Granted, Devan had the courage to beard a lion in its own den, hence he’d waltzed right into this place without any backup, but it was one thing to be brave. Another to be comfortable enough to tease in a black sorcerer’s home. Tan’s crazy manner disarmed people that way, made them relax. He did it on purpose for that reason. He loved that his charm was already working its magic on Devan.

Hans appeared from the kitchen, looking frazzled with a cloth in his hands that he was using to wipe them. “Master, how many are we expecting? We don’t have enough food in stock to feed more than a hundred people for this week.”

“Damn. That won’t be enough. We’ll need to send everyone to market and get food in. Enough for—” Tan looked to Devan for the answer. “How big is the town, again?”

“Just shy of eleven hundred people.”

“Oh my, that is a lot.” Tan rethought the whole three-trips thing. It might take four. Especially if people insisted on bringing things with them, which they likely would. Well, he’d get there and plan things out. He had two days.

Which meant he really only had a few hours to pack up the necessary magical supplies and then teleport them both to the town. It would take longer to organize people and get them packed up than it would to actually bring them down here. Tan knew that from experience.

Devan was giving him a look that made it appear he could read minds. “You still sure you can move them all?”

“Yes, I am!” Tan thrust out his chest like a proud peacock. Only to immediately deflate. “It’ll just take me at least one trip more than I had planned on. Alright, follow me, I need to ask questions as we go.”

Devan was right on his heels as they went up the stairs.

“Now, in order, how long do I get to actually keep them?”

“I don’t know. This situation is unprecedented, I can’t give you a timeline. Not a firm one, at least.” Devan kept up admirably, not even winded, as they hit the landing and went up the second flight of stairs. Tan did love a man with stamina. Not to mention all those lovely muscles. “Anywhere between a day to three weeks, at a guess. Depends on how much damage the barbarians or the army does to the town.”

“Are they at all aware of the danger they’re in?”

“They’re the ones who sent up the alarm.”

“Got it. How hard will it be to convince them to cooperate with me?”

“I think not very. Especially with me telling them I’ve hired you.”

“Can’t you say ‘seduce me’? It sounds so much better.”

Devan’s expression went deadpan in the extreme. “With as much disrespect as I can possibly manage—no. It really does not.”

“Spoilsport.” Tan loved that he was playing along like this. The First Knight of the Realm had a sense of humor. Who knew?

“I have to ask, where are we going?”

“To my workroom. Well, really, the storage room off my workroom, to get the ingredients I need. Such major portation spells require quite the working, you know.”

Third floor, finally, and Tan danced through the open doorway, already making a mental list in his head as he went. He was so invested in his own thoughts that he failed to realize Devan had come to a screeching halt at the door.

Turning, he looked at the man in confusion. “What are you waiting on? Come in. It’s perfectly safe in here. It’s next door you need to be concerned about.”

“Next door…is worse?” Devan’s eyes roamed over the area, jaw dropping steadily.

Now, granted, there were books and scrolls and boxes of ingredients everywhere. The shelves had quite given up the ghost some years ago when it came to storing anything extra. Tables were in danger of collapse, they were so highly stacked, and that didn’t account for the random piles on the floor. People had been lost in this room. Quite literally. Tan made sure there was always a walkway through the place, though! He was quite proud of that.

“How,” Devan demanded, tone rising with each word, “do you even begin to find anything in here?”

“Seeking spells,” Tan enunciated slowly and clearly. “Why does everyone ask me that?”

“Now, why do you think they all ask you that, Tan?”

Tan deliberately ignored that question. It was beneath him. He was an all-powerful sorcerer, dammit; he wasn’t spending precious time doing something banal like organizing.

Right then. Ingredients. He found a half-empty crate near the door, banished what was in there—he’d figure out later if it had been important or not—and then started piling things in.

Devan seemed incapable of just standing there and watching. He came forward and grabbed the box, holding it while Tan put vials, paper, chalk, fire starters, six vials of a volatile chemical cocktail he liked to call X-plody, and the like inside. Such a helpful man. Probably why he’d become a knight in the first place.

“What even is all this?” Devan asked curiously.

“When you’re moving things of this size, you have to lay out the portals right,” Tan answered absently. “Very important that your portal sigils match. You lose people otherwise. Or they come through in pieces. Ghastly, that, saw it happen once. He wasn’t a nice man, but still, what a way to go, am I right?”

“I’d rather people not come through like dismembered corpses.”

“Right there with you. Anyway, this wheel with a turn handle is the equivalent to builders’ chalk lines. You familiar with those?”

“I am.”

“Lovely creation. I fell in love the moment I saw it in action. Mine, however, you can’t wipe or smudge away. I can lay down the lines for a sigil and they remain there until I remove them. Along with my line device are the elements I’ll need to do glamour spells—can’t tell you what, trade secret—and do you think we’ll need something for fighting?”

“Tan, I’m just asking, do you normally think aloud?”

“All the time, why?”

Devan just shook his head. There might have been a smile playing around his mouth. “Yes, I think it might come down to a fight. But I hope not. I hope we get everyone out in time.”

“Just in case, then, I’ll pack a few more things that make lovely explosions.”

Staring down into the very full box, Devan looked over the variety of things crammed inside. “So, in this box there is enough to transport a town, create massive glamours, and fight off invaders? Just in one box? Tan, you’re terrifying.”

Tan patted Devan on the cheek, beaming up at him. “You can sweet-talk me later, handsome. For now, let’s go ride to the rescue, shall we?”