Chapter 45: Just do it for the bookstore

Chapter 45: Just do it for the bookstore Cass was impatiently tapping his foot, the gravel under his feet crunched with each impatient tap. He pulled the cloak he was wearing tighter around his shoulders, the clasp at his shoulders doing nothing to keep the fabric up. The coachman was supposed to be here forever ago, and Cass could feel his temper rising. "Sam, you gave them the right time, yes?" Cass turned, asking his henchmen the same question he’d been asking the last three times. Sam nodded, his own patience wearing thin as he stood next to Sir Forsythe. "I did, my Lord. Shall I go check and make sure that the stables know we are leaving?" Cass had refused the last few times, but finally relented this time. He’d calculated everything down the second today. He only had so much time in the day to do activities, and he had a lot he wanted to get done today. This delay was going to set him back quite a bit. "Fine. You may go. Threaten them if you need to. Use my name." Cass muttered thoughtlessly as he stared at the wide, circular road in front of him. Sam bowed to his back, before rushing off, leaving him with Sir Forsythe, and the two general guards who were stationed out front. They were standing at the grand entrance to the mansion. It was a beautiful entrance, with the gate quite a ways away down the long dirt road. Gravel covered the small pathway to the main doors, and then transitioned into smooth stone steps. Large trees of varying types lined the long road, and also around the edge of the circular area where Cass assumed carriages and the like would come to a stop and unload anyone if they were coming to visit. They rarely got visitors, so Cass assumed it was barely used. What was used was the small, almost discrete road where the carriages that the others owned departed from the stables. It was on the right side, and had to go around the temple on the far side. It also worked since it could take the more elderly visitors to the temple if they wanted to go there directly, instead of getting dropped off here and walking along the small, stone path that was along the side of the mansion. Cass could tell he was getting worked up. Part of it had to do with the fact that Sam had put down his foot, not letting Cass leave until he appeared well again. That had taken a few more days than he had anticipated. Add that to the fact that when the ’aide’ from his grandfather arrived, they came back with several carriages full of damn paperwork that the old man had been hoarding, Cass wanted to scream. He was going to have to do what he wanted, without trying to burn through everything his grandfather left him. Cass didn’t even have time to worry about the whole situation with Lord Blackburn, and he hated having to put the man on the backburner while he worked on the plans he needed to. He had to get things in motion before the next big thing happened in the story, and if Cass was right, that was next month. He had about two, maybe three weeks before they would have to go out and search for a dungeon that the kingdom needed them to deal with. The only good news was that Cass wasn’t going to be needed much for the dungeon. In the book it had been conquered mostly by Lady Fiona, Lord Ridgewood, and Draken. Lady Ava had been on them like butter on toast, healing them every step of the way. The two other mostly magic users, Lord Blackburn, and Lord Vespertine, had hung back. Covering their asses. It had been a relatively easy dungeon, with simple, but good rewards. They’d gotten a cloak of protection, and Lady Fiona had given it to their at least outwardly, weakest member, Lady Ava. Cass still thought it was a good idea, and was looking forward to actually seeing a dungeon next month, but he had a lot of stupid shit he needed to sift through first before he could get there. Like the small list he had made for himself to get done in town today. That he was already late starting. Cass tapped his foot, worrying as he waited for anything to happen. Sir Forsythe watched him, equally nervous. He had been left to guard not only the Lord, but also the food supplies for the day meant for the Lord. Both men turned when the front doors opened, and chattering could be heard. "-exactly! And with the new proposal put into place but the Ridgewood family, that should-oh hello, Lord Blackburn. I wasn’t expecting to see you here." Cass felt his whole body tense as he stared at the Lord he had least wanted to run into while he was planning his travels. From the wide brim on the hat, the blue eyes that sparkled, almost glowed under said shadowed brim, and those damn sparkling golden locks, Lord Vespertine looked too perfect to touch as he stepped out onto the stone steps of the mansion. He was all smiles too, which only pissed Cass off more. Compared to him, Cass felt like he looked like a bad movie villain. Hell, he probably was one. He was dressed in black boots, a large, unflattering black cloak with a silver clasp of two snakes hissing at each other, and he was sure his red eyes really sold the image. In contrast, Lord Vespertine looked...perfect. He just looked perfect. The perfect suit, the perfect shade, he looked like he’d taken a step out of a period piece. If they had tv’s and if it wasn’t frowned upon, he was sure Lord Vespertine would have been a movie star in modern day. He would have made a killing, and then probably got caught up in some kind of sex scandal. It was unfortunate, but Cass could see it happening. He knew that everyone assumed that a man this handsome wasn’t faithful to his wife, and Cass hated that he knew that the rumour was false. The man was incredibly faithful to Lady Fiona. He just had a...hereditary condition that needed to be satiated elsewhere for everyone’s safety. Cass had a feeling that he was interrupting him on one such visit. "Ah. Hello, Lord Vespertine." Cass greeted. He could at least be civil. He wasn’t a monster, and even if he hated someone, he wasn’t going to be rude needlessly. They lived in the same house, and were married to the same woman still. It wouldn’t do him any good to make an enemy of a member of the temple, especially the blood relative of the current High Priest. It was interesting though, since Cass knew that the Head Priest did age. Was it...from his Mom? Cass wanted to ask, wanted to know more, but knew if he insisted, he’d look like a madman. He knew now that other magic users sometimes tasted others’ blood, especially if they were checking on the stability of the magic in their body. It wouldn’t have raised anyone else’s suspicion of the man. Not even Lady Fiona, or Lady Ava, who should have been sensitive to something like that. Especially Lady Fiona. She already had a fucking dragon as her lover. It wasn’t until quite a bit later in the book that Lord Vespertine confessed the truth to her. Lord Vespertine scanned Cass, a slight twist to his lips as he finally met Cass’ eyes. "Where in the kingdom are you planning to go while looking like that?" Lord Vespertine asked and Cass pulled his cloak tighter around him. "I was planning to go into town." Cass told him, straightening his back. Lord Vespertine chuckled, and Cass could feel that he was making fun of him. Cass was glad that the cloak covered his face well enough, since he knew he had to be flushing with embarrassment. He knew he looked ridiculous. Sam had tried to talk him out of his disguise, but there was literally nothing else in his closet that wasn’t at bare minimum, hideous in his eyes. This was the best he could do without feeling embarrassed about others seeing him. Plus, he was a Blackburn. People probably weren’t going to take kindly to seeing him. And if Cass was honest with himself, his eyes were a little disturbing. Red wasn’t a normal colour, and Draken didn’t count when taking into consideration ’normal’. He didn’t want to freak anyone out unintentionally, and so, the cloak. "You? Going into town? Is that a joke?" Lord Vespertine laughed and Cass felt himself grow uncomfortable. "Uh, no. It’s not. I have things I need to do in town." Cass told him and Lord Vespertine stopped laughing. "You aren’t going to send someone into town to do it for you?" Well, the person he would have sent into town was currently kidnapped by Draken, and he didn’t really have any other servants. He knew that Sam had people to help him, and that Lord Blackburn did have a security force somewhat, but Cass hadn’t really looked into that entirely yet. He had a feeling it was mostly people from the Blackburn manor, so he didn’t really trust them anyways. "I thought it best to get out of the mansion, see the city with my own eyes. It’s probably not...the worst thing to do." Cass said, nervous and watched as Lord Vespertine narrowed his gaze slightly. "You never took me up on my offers to go into town together before, so why the sudden change of heart? Do you even have a carriage right now?" Cass furrowed his brows. When he’d gone through his resources, or more accurately, Lord Blackburn, he’d had several. A chill ran down his spine, and he didn’t have time to chase that chill as Sam came back, panting as he raced to get back to him. "M-My lord! Terrible news! The aid left again this morning, taking the carriage. The stable manager said that...that the other carriages were out of order." Cass clenched his hand tightly under his cloak as Sam realised that they weren’t alone and went white. Especially because it was Lord Vespertine before them. A man who had not reacted well when Sam had spoken to Lady Ava before. Lord Vespertine frowned, while Cass fumed. "An aide was prioritized over the next Duke? How strange." Lord Vespertine muttered, thoughtful. "I assume that you let them know in advance?" Sam nodded aggressively. "I-I let them know of our Lord’s plan to leave the premises days ago. I made sure the time for departure was correct, since my Lord had a very packed schedule." Lord Vespertine turned to stare at Cass and Cass sighed. "Well, I guess we’ll have to cancel our plans." Cass admitted defeat. Pissed, angry, and now he knew he had to go tear into the stable manager. Fuck. He knew it was going to be bad, but had Lord Blackburn not fought against his grandfather’s control when it came to his own bloody mansion? That he had negotiated the land for? Was he fucking serious? "Wait a moment, Lord Blackburn." Lord Vespertine called, just as Cass was turning to head back inside. Cass froze. "There is no better time than now to take me up on my offer, is there? Why don’t you accompany me in my carriage into town? There, we can purchase a new one for the estate while we’re at it, and as long as you treat me to a cup of tea in your study in the near future, I shall call it even." Cass felt a shiver run down his spine. Being alone with Lord Vespertine in a carriage? While going into town? What was the man planning? This felt far too suspicious for Cass to accept, but when he turned, Lord Vespertine’s expression was wide open. He had that damn, charming smile on his face too. "I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you." Cass started and Lord Vespertine waved his hand dismissively. "An inconvenience? You? Never, Lord Blackburn. Why, we are the only magic users in our little ragtag group. We must stick together, don’t you think? I think now would be the most perfect time for us to chat, don’t you?" Cass was still hesitant. This felt...dangerous. He wasn’t sure why, but the motives behind his offer concerned Cass. "While I might agree that we should at the very least, remain civil, I don’t know if us getting closer is a...good thing. I am fairly certain you don’t like me, Lord Vespertine." Cass stated calmly, and Lord Vespertine took several quick steps towards him. Cass stumbled back, not liking how quickly he moved. Lord Vespertine smiled as he placed his hands on Cass’ shoulders. "Well, isn’t this the perfect opportunity for me to get over my own bias? It would be the perfect chance for us to change our opinions on each other, don’t you think so, Lord Blackburn? Or can I call you Lord Cassian like Lady Fiona does? It sounds like we are so much closer when I say it like that, don’t you think so?" Cass could already tell he was losing this battle, and that this was going to be damn near exhausting. He should just cancel the trip. But the bookstore..... Fuck. It wasn’t going to be too bad, right?