Chapter 6
The door closed behind me and I wanted to scream.
I’d nearly wrecked us twice on the way home as my thoughts spiraled and I fought off my rising panic.
I doubted it was a fluke that one of the animals turned out to be a therianthrope.
I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach they were all therianthropes.
And if I understood Kaba correctly, it wasn’t only that zoo if his family was at another location.
I couldn’t believe all the zoos were nothing but prisons for therians. How did something like that even happen? As I considered the zoos’ lengthy history, a wave of nausea washed over me, a sickening realization of their impact. I rushed to the bathroom and dry-heaved into the toilet.
How could the leaders of our dimension allow this to happen? They had to know, right? Something this big could not be unknown to them. Did the therians in Terran know about this? Did they send us their law breakers? Was this some sort of punishment?
No. That couldn’t be right. Kaba said his whole family was there.
How big was his family? It didn’t matter.
Someone needed to be told about this, but who?
I turned the tap on in the sink and rinsed my mouth before splashing water on my face.
My hand went to the coin I wore around my neck.
Most of the time, I forgot it was even there.
I pulled it out from under my shirt and I could have sworn it was warmer than it should have been.
I held it in front of me and ran my thumb over the embossed unicorn.
My thoughts calmed as I rubbed it. I’d had the coin for two years and had given up on finding my mate after the first year of nothing coming about.
If anyone could help or would know what to do, it had to be them.
I brushed my teeth quickly and then sat on my bed.
I tapped the screen on my phone and found the contact entry for P.O.O.F.
A number I was instructed to only use in case of extreme emergency.
Well, I thought this definitely qualified.
The screen flashed and an image of the coin spinning slowly appeared in the middle with the words “Stand By” beneath it. I stood and paced. A few seconds later, a female elf appeared on the screen and I stopped.
“Please state the nature of your emergency,” she calmly said.
I held my phone in front of my face, at a loss for words for a second. “I don’t know where to start but I need help and I can’t turn to the city guard. I might have done something slightly illegal but what’s being done is a crime. I had to save him.”
“Are you and your mate in immediate danger?”
“My mate?” I started pacing again. Could he be my mate? It didn’t matter he was in danger. “Yes, we’re in danger. I don’t know how immediate, though. I mean, there’s no one banging down my door demanding I surrender or anything but they may be soon.”
“Mr. Idra. We have your location. Would it be okay if we portalled into your living room directly and you can tell us what happened?” I wasn’t worried about how she knew who I was. The agent I had met years before knew a lot about me, too.
“Right now?” I pivoted and hurried back to Kaba. “Yes, yes you can, sorry. Just let me…” I stopped as I entered the living room because splayed out on the floor was a small hippo along with the empty fruit bowls and fruit smears, but I couldn’t pay attention to that. I rushed to Kaba’s side.
“Kaba?” His eyes were closed but he was breathing. His skin was clammy. Was that good or bad? Shit! I didn’t know. “Please, hurry,” I said at the phone as I held it out so she could see the room.
A second later, a portal opened in front of my door and two elves rushed in carrying medical bags. I scrambled to get out of their way. They placed a device on Kaba’s side and his heart rate was displayed on the screen. The beat seemed slow to me but what was normal?
Another elf appeared, followed by a dwarf. The elf was vaguely familiar. “Hello, Ryker. I’m Valeria. We met a few years ago. This is a fellow agent, Nozzag.” She flicked her hand toward the dwarf who was watching the other elves carefully.
“Is he going to be okay? He seemed fine a few minutes ago when I left him to call you.” I couldn’t take my eyes away from him as they put a needle in him and started an IV.
Another elf came through the still-open portal with a floating bed behind him. “We’d like to take him and you back to our headquarters in Mythtalas. There, we can heal your mate and you explain the situation.”
“Okay. Yes, please. Help him. And then maybe you can help with a communication problem we’re having.” They levitated Kaba onto the bed and then pushed it back through the portal quickly.
I cast a glance around the room to ensure I had everything I needed. I had my ident cuff on me and my phone. I guessed anything else I could come back for.
As if reading my mind, Valeria motioned for Nozzag to follow me before saying, “Go with him. I’ll stay here and pack a bag for Ryker.”
“Good idea.” Nozzag motioned for me to pass through the portal before him, so I did after a quick glance to make sure the way was clear.
I walked through the portal and into a spacious receiving room.
I waited for the dwarf because I had no idea where to go from here and no one else was in the room.
I assumed they rushed Kaba to a medical facility.
Nozzag was right behind me, and he went right through the double doors at one end of the room.
They led into the medical facility and I followed him closely as we passed a waiting area and then through an open clinic area with several rooms around the perimeter. We finally made it to a set of elevators.
“Where are we going? Where’s Kaba?” Nozzag pressed the call button.
“I’m sorry, Ryker. I was focused on getting you to him and forgot to update you on what was happening.
They took him to a room with an attached pool.
” The doors opened and we stepped in. Nozzag got us moving and gave me a confident smile.
“I don’t know what his status is yet. I only know what room they took him to, but I think your mate is going to be fine now. ”
“He’s not my mate. I found him and he asked me for help.” I couldn’t let them keep thinking he was my mate. They were helping us so lying wasn’t going to get me anywhere.
The dwarf placed a large hand on my bicep and squeezed it gently. “Kaba is your mate. That’s why he probably he took the change to ask you for help.”
“How do you know?” My instant need to be with him and help him could be explained if he was my mate.
Elves didn’t sense their mates like other species did.
We didn’t usually hold much stock in soulmates.
But I did, or I wanted to. When I first found the coin, I wanted to believe so badly.
I wanted to find the one meant to love me.
“Because The Creator told me he was.” We finally made it to the suite and Nozzag placed his palm on the lock.
The suite we stepped into was easily three times the size of my entire apartment.
Nozzag continued walking through the expansive living area, moving into a bedroom featuring a massive bed, and then into a bathroom that was as large as my living room and kitchen combined.
Inside, there was a pool or tub spacious enough to accommodate Kaba along with a few others, complete with a declined ramp for easier access.
Kaba laid on the ramp with his head above the water. He was still asleep and the IV was still there. The device monitoring his heart rate still showed it was steady. There was a cleric or some kind of healer inside the tub with him.
“What’s wrong with him?” I sat on the floor to take off my work boots and socks. Nozzag moved around to the other side of the tub, where he was out of the way.
“He’s mostly dehydrated but he’ll need a few good meals too. We’re having some food brought to him and you can look at the menu on the room’s flexipad and order whatever you want.” The healer who was in the tub answered as he got out and dried off.
I settled on the rim next to the edge of the ramp and put my feet in.
I gently ran my fingers along the top of Kaba’s head.
The smooth, rubbery skin was cool and slippery under my fingertips.
Even though he was smaller, magic played a crucial role in moving him.
I struggled to imagine a regular hippo’s true enormity, its hulking form and weighty presence beyond comprehension.
“He should regain consciousness on his own when he’s rested enough. If he wakes before we come back to switch out the liquid lunch going into him, you can call us through the phone system in the living room. Or I’m sure Nozzag will give you his number and he can get us.”
Nozzag nodded as he sat on the other side but against the wall with his legs folded. “Yes, I will, and I can do that. Thank you, Vamir.” Nozzag turned his attention to me. “Vamir is our most skilled cleric.”
“Thank you, Healer, for helping him.” I inclined my head to him. The elven healer nodded and left us.
I kept my hand on Kaba, absently stroking him as I thought about the events of the day. Nozzag didn’t ask me any questions, for which I was grateful. I had to tell him what happened, but I needed a minute to breathe and get my head around it.
We sat, only the occasional snore from Kaba breaking the silence between us. It was adorable and made me smile. Finally, I relayed the events of the day.
“I was called out to the Terran Species Preservation Society to fix a malfunctioning shield.” I told Nozzag every detail of what happened and what I thought was going on. He didn’t seem surprised.
“We’ve long thought that something was happening there but we didn’t have any proof.
Unfortunately, because of the nature of our agency, we couldn’t get proof.
We had to wait until hard evidence presented itself.
We observed the animals for a while, hoping to see them behave strangely or transform into humans, but nothing happened.
We spent years watching off and on again to no avail.
” Nozzag shook his head and sighed. “It’s not an excuse but we’re a small agency comparatively.
We did try a few times to get the Global Authorities to investigate but failed. ”
“I understand. Maybe there are people there who are involved in the whole scheme to begin with?” I worried that it was a hopeless cause if even this secret society of people couldn’t save these beings from captivity. “We need to save them. Not just Kaba’s family, but all of them.”
Nozzag stood with a determined look on his face. “Yes, we do and I have an idea about that. Take care of your mate and I’ll try to get us some help.”
I nodded. As he passed me, he patted my shoulder gently. “Thank you. I really don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t come to get us.”
Nozzag stopped at the doorway. “We will always do what we can which is why you had our contact number.” He smiled encouragingly and then left.
I sighed and slipped further into the water.
I moved around Kaba and laid on my side along his back.
Propping my head with my hand, I stroked Kaba’s side lightly.
Energy drained out of me as the adrenaline of the day wore off.
Could this beautiful being be the one who was meant to complement my soul?
I pressed my face into his broad shoulders.
I couldn’t think about the million questions about my future or his that were clamoring for attention.
I breathed deeply, my body relaxing against his.
Something settled within me and my worries fled.
We’d be alright as long as we stuck together.
The certainty of that thought rang true through my core, through the very magic that connected me to the worlds and I’d do whatever it took to protect us.