The Warlock (BxB)

Chapter 8

The next morning, Logain waited at the edge of the village for Casimir to arrive. He chose to stay away from the villagers and made his escape the moment the sun began to rise. Not many people were awake yet, but the few that were early risers avoided the warlock. He didn't care. He preferred them to stay away from him. People were too much of a hassle. 

He tapped his foot, beginning to grow impatient as he waited for the prince. Casimir knew where to find him. Logain made sure to tell the prince where he would be waiting. He watched as the prince left their shelter and said goodbye to the few villagers who passed by. They were friendly with the prince. They could tell he was human like them, and Logain was sure they felt his divine energy. Mortals may not have been able to sense it as much as him, but they would still be able to feel his energy. Divine energy tended to give humans a feeling of bliss when they encountered it. Casimir was brimming with divine energy just waiting to radiate out of him. It was different from the dark energy Logain had inside of him.

Once the prince was finished saying his goodbyes, he joined Logain at the edge of town. Logain knew he couldn't be too frustrated with the prince. This was how good people were. Casimir was handsome, friendly, and charming, just like a prince should be. If it weren't for the things he told him last night, then Logain might think Casimir was the perfect man.

Casimir shot Logain a smirk when he caught Logain eyeing him. Teasingly, he asked, "Are you checking me out?"

Quickly, the warlock glanced away. "Of course not. Don't be silly. Anyway, if you're done, then let's get out of here. We have another long day ahead of us. The sooner we get back to Ambria, the better."

Logain would never admit to checking Casimir out. He might have found the prince attractive, but that was all. He had no interest in him other than getting him home safely. If they took too long to reach Ambria, Logain feared the consequences. By now, the royal family would know Casimir was missing. It would only be a matter of time before the church learned about his disappearance as well. Logain was more afraid of them than he was of the royal family. Those fanatics still believed in killing off people with magical powers. If you didn't have divine magic, then you would be better off dead in the church's eyes.

The prince seemed reluctant to get this journey on the road, but he didn't have much of a choice. He knew he needed to return to his kingdom eventually. As much as he would have liked to turn the other way, Casimir had responsibilities to take care of. He wouldn't abandon them just because he didn't want to return home. So with a heavy heart, he followed Logain once more.

As he did yesterday, Logain kept up the pace. This time, he didn't bother to look behind him at Casimir to make sure the prince was following. He knew he was, even if he was being slow about it. After learning more about him, Logain couldn't blame him. Logain wouldn't want to return to a life of imprisonment either. He already knew what that was like.

As they walked, the silence was starting to get to Casimir. While Logain seemed content with not talking, the silence was driving the prince mad. He needed something other than quietly walking to pass the time. The only sound was their feet against the dirt road and the occasional gust of wind blowing.

Casimir needed to say something. They were still strangers, so the prince wasn't sure what to talk about. Awkwardly, he asked, "So . . . I told you a little about me. Maybe you can tell me about yourself so that I can understand you a little better?"

He didn't know anything about this man that he was traveling with. All he knew was that Logain was a warlock, and he didn't help people unless he was paid for it. He also seemed to take payment before knowing all of the details and he was even locked up in prison at least once. Casimir was curious about the prison part, but he didn't know if that was an appropriate question to ask. Maybe once they got to know each other a little better, then Casimir could ask for more details.

Logain shrugged, not bothering to look at the prince. "What do you wanna know?"

"A lot, but I don't know what to ask first. I guess I am curious why you don't like helping people. You refused to help that village until I offered payment. Is that normal for you?" Casimir asked.

"Yes, that's how I operate. If you want my assistance, then pay me first. But there's no guarantee that I will help you once I know all the details," he replied.

"So you're scamming people."

"I-it's not a scam, it's just business." Finally, Logain glanced over at the prince. He was blushing after being accused of being a scammer.

"You make your clients pay before you even know what the job is. It's no wonder those men were angry at you yesterday." Casimir shot him a smile, and continued, "Did they want to fuck you and that's why you denied them?"

The warlock's face was definitely on fire now. He couldn't believe that this man whom he barely knew for a day was asking him such an inappropriate question. He heard the rumors that this prince was a playboy, and he could see it was true. Casimir had no problem asking such vulgar things and he already flirted with Logain a couple of times. The warlock wasn't used to dealing with people like this.

Logain was too embarrassed to answer this question. Instead, he retorted, "How can you ask something of someone you barely know?"

Casimir shrugged and smiled at him. "I've slept with men that I've only known for a day, so this is nothing. It's cute how embarrassed you get when talking about sex. You make it so obvious that you have no experience."

"S-shut up! I may have no experience, but that's because I'm waiting for the right person, and he hasn't come around yet!" Logain stopped and faced Casimir. He clenched his fists and childishly stomped a foot. He was getting frustrated with the prince. It was becoming tempting to abandon him.

The prince chuckled. "He? So you're admitting that you like men as well? How interesting . . ."

Logain shyly glanced away. "So what? Yes, I'm gay, but don't get any ideas. I . . . already like someone else."

"Oh? Perhaps when we get back to Ambria, we can work on setting the two of you up. I'm a good matchmaker," Casimir offered.

But Logain shook his head and bit his lip. "Don't bother. He's already married . . ."

Casimir wasn't sure what to say after Logain dropped this bit of information on him. The prince could see the pain in the warlock's eyes. He felt bad for teasing him to this point. He didn't mean to bring up painful memories.

"I'm sorry. I know all too well what it feels like to lose someone you care about." Casimir's been in his shoes before. He could relate to the pain Logain was feeling.

"Yes, well, it's too late to change things now. I never had a chance to begin with. I knew that, but it's hard to stop loving someone that I've been in love with for over two hundred years." Logain turned away from the prince, keeping his head down. He didn't want the prince's sympathy. "Anyway, let's get going. We're just waiting time."

Casimir nodded. The prince didn't know many immortals, but he knew Logain was talking about one. There was only one other warlock whom Casimir could think of. That man happened to be married. It made him wonder if that warlock was the one Logain spoke about. There weren't many of their kind in this world after all.

The prince fell into step with Logain once more. There was still much he wanted to know about the warlock, but he would leave Logain alone for now. It couldn't hurt to try again later.