Chapter 12
I changed into my now-clean clothes once Vergis had left and smiled as I put on my cat socks. The bagua had gotten all the mud out, and nothing was stained as far as I could see.
The breakfast dishes had been cleared away, and whoever had done that had left out a pitcher with cold tea or juice and some vinné. I grabbed one and then headed out to explore.
I liked that it was normal for the bagua to acknowledge me with a nod at most, and that it was totally okay for me to do the same, no talking required.
At the same time, it would’ve been nice to actually be able to talk to people without needing one of my guys to translate.
I’d ask Charlie how he’d gotten so fluent, and then I’d do whatever it took.
The Raiken here with its stone-built structure should’ve been more familiar to me than the wooden buildings I knew dominated most of the rest of Esaka.
There were very few sliding doors here, and the building itself shared at least some similarities with the Irish castles we’d visited.
It was the hallways and the windows probably, or the smooth stone under my feet.
There were differences though. The mages who had built this place really hadn’t been fans of corners. The windows were arched and round or oval in most cases, and if walls met at a right angle, they had been rounded and whitewashed.
Combined with the glass set into the walls, it made the place feel warm and welcoming, and I liked it.
The bagua were really interesting to watch. The students, especially the younger ones in copper, were extremely well-behaved. Sonyo running in the hallways had been the exception, and to a one, all the kids and teens in copper bowed my way when I passed them.
I’d just considered heading toward an inner courtyard I’d spotted through a window when I saw Lueris. He was walking toward me, the doctor from yesterday, Gesango, next to him.
Lueris tilted his head while Gesango nodded. “Rory. Are you lost?”
“No, just exploring a bit while Vergis is picking ligua to murder. Inkiri and Lissir are talking with Hove, so there’s nothing for me to do.”
Lueris smiled at me.
“We will be leaving soon.” He looked at Gesango. “The healer had many questions about what supplies would be needed on Earth and what we could find there. I know you are not a healer yourself, Rory, but maybe you can answer him better?”
I nodded. “I can try, at least. But I don’t know the names for medicines. Well, the Lugarran words.”
“That will be fine, sir.” Gesango bowed. “I’m uncertain of some of the words you would use for the things a healer might use, and your knowledge might help. Say we find a human who’s hurt, I’d want to explain to him as best as I can.”
Lueris nodded. “If that is acceptable, I’ll leave you to it and will see about other supplies.”
I was actually excited to be useful, but I tried to not let it show too much. I didn’t want to seem desperate. “Fine by me.”
Lueris bowed. “I’ll leave you to it. Did I say this correctly?”
I nodded. “Yup, that’s what we say.”
He thanked me and then he was off. Gesango led me back to the hospital area, through the triage room, and into the back. The storage room he showed me was well organized, with shelves and anatomical drawings of bagua like the ones doctors had in their offices back on Earth.
I stopped and stared at one in particular—a bagu skeleton, complete with the curving horns.
“Wow.”
Gesango clicked. “You need not be scared. I know humans find skeletons scary, though this just shows students what they need to know.”
I stepped closer to the drawing. “It’s not scary. It’s… I’m just surprised. This is not all that different from a human.”
Gesango smiled as he pulled a box from a shelf.
“That’s good. If the differences are small, the medical attention will be similar.
” He tapped his chin in thought. “But for the future, we must study human medicine. I have filed something with Hove to tell him this. The best thing would be finding human healers so they can share what they know, and then as soon as possible, we should start teaching young healers the combined knowledge.”
“I…never even thought about that.” I reached out to touch a corner of the illustration, feeling the weight of the heavy paper it had been drawn on…or printed on. “There’s really going to be a place like this on Earth, huh?”
Gesango tilted his head. “You mean, a place to treat the injured? Of course. Just like any Raiken, we’ll treat everyone too, both humans and bagua. This is why it’s so important to learn more.”
I shook my head. “No—I mean yeah. Yes, that’s important. There’s going to be a Raiken though. A Raiken on Earth.”
Gesango smiled. “More than one, quite soon.” His smile faltered. “I apologize. We do teach history, and we learn that not all Houses were always eager for the Raiken to impose certain rules. Is that a worry for you, sir?”
“Call me Rory. I’m not worried, but a lot of humans might see that differently. I’m actually happy.” I gestured toward the door and the entirety of the building. “I like it here.”
Gesango nodded. “You are of the Raiken now, and a koa. Any dena should worry if you didn’t feel welcomed.” He narrowed his eyes. “Although your mate’s House must be a welcoming place as well.”
I shrugged. “I’ve never been. Not yet. Ink hasn’t brought up the in-laws yet, which is good—not about his folks, but my family is far away. Far, far away. They don’t expect us to visit.”
As I spoke, I realized that they didn’t expect us to visit because they had no idea I’d gotten hitched to someone as hot as Inkiri.
Or as horned. They were completely unaware, and I had the sense that maybe possibly it was something I’d have to bring up with them at some point. In the future. The distant future.
Gesango tilted his head again. “Humans will be very welcome to visit the Raiken. We would welcome them here, I’m sure.”
Uh-oh. I got the sense that I’d stumbled into something. Gesango didn’t look offended though, so I smiled—and batted my eyes.
He clicked right away. This was a powerful weapon.
“Should we continue to pack?” I asked.
“Yes, unless you need to rest? I can have some tea brought while you help.”
I didn’t get to tell him I didn’t need tea. He managed to get a nurse’s attention faster, and the nurse, clearly not thrilled, got us tea and delivered it with a mildly scathing comment in Gesango’s direction.
Gesango did most of the actual work, but he stopped to ask about words, which he then wrote down in a small notebook, asking me to check the spelling. I learned a couple new words in Lugarra too.
When he explained what he was trained for, I told him he was probably a surgeon in human terms and his tools were surgeon’s tools—and yes, I accidentally called them a serial killer murder kit at first, given there were all those sharp and pointy bits.
In the end, after asking me about what he might have easy access to on Earth, Gesango reduced the amount of bandages and gauze he’d planned on taking and shifted toward medicines instead.
“It’s smart that you keep bandages in cars.” He made an approving noise. “We should do that here.”
I finished the rest of my tea and closed the lid on a box with bandages. “You can totally steal that idea.”
He hummed. “I will write a note to the visdena.”
I cackled. “I brought safety rules to Aer.”
He pulled what looked like syringes from a shelf. “Maybe the Raiken can bring a good rule to Earth in exchange.”
I looked over his shoulder as he stowed away the syringes in a different box. “I like that rule about hangua treating hangua. You know, after abuse.”
He tilted his head. “That’s a very small thing. It’s not even a rule we have, just something healers know to do when we can. It’s not always an option in the field, of course.”
“That makes sense. I totally think you’re nice enough to treat hangua, even the ones who’ve gone through…
you know. All of what they went through.
” I handed him satchels that went into a woven basket, and some type of medicine that was to fight infection.
I’d told him we might consider them antibiotics.
He clicked. “That’s a kind thing to say, Rory. But when it is not an emergency, and when qualified hangua doctors are there, it’s still best hangua treat hangua. It’s what abused hangua have always said and confirmed in the past.”
“Oh, right.”
I felt silly. No, worse, ignorant. I wasn’t a hangu, not really, and I’d never been abused, as Gesango put it, so I really shouldn’t have had an opinion here.
I was glad Vergis hadn’t heard, or he’d never have let me forget it.
Not that I was going to forget it. “Respect hangua’s opinions” was easy enough, after all.
The door to the storage room opened, and Kinnek poked his head inside. His silvery white strands were growing out noticeably. He looked tired, but also…relieved, more than just relieved. Someone he’d thought had died had come back to him.
He smiled at me. “Oh, you’re here, sweet pea. Did you get lost?”
Well, okay. First Lueris, now Kinnek. I was clearly still considered incapable of fending for myself, never mind that I’d done it for two years. Really, that wasn’t so bad though, given that I had no plans whatsoever to fend for myself ever again, thank you very much.
“Just helping out Gesango here while everyone else is busy. Are you okay?” I went to Kinnek to hug him. I wasn’t used to touchy-feely things like that, but it felt right, and Kinnek hugged me back.
He clicked a few times. “I am, sweet pea, I am. A while back, Charles told me what wonderful weapons the little wheels on office chairs make. I never thought that knowledge would come in handy, but it did.” He grinned. “I caved in a Koa Esher’s skull with one.”
He patted my back and didn’t push me away.
Stupidly, that made me start crying, because it was real now.
Kinnek was back, but he’d been gone, and he’d been in a dangerous situation, so close to getting seriously hurt that it made my head spin.
He might be in a place to joke about office chair parts, but I wasn’t.
He’d managed to free all the other hangua by himself. He was the best.
“If you hadn’t sent Zeddira through the veils…” I was mumbling, dribbling snot. He’d also effectively saved Zeddira’s life. I’d just been there to finish what he’d started. Kinnek really was the real hero here.
“I know, sweet chocolate bar, I know. But it’s fine now. We’re all fine.”
Gesango came over and clicked. “Is the human well?” He sounded concerned. It couldn’t be a good look for a doctor to have frail little human me cry after helping him pack up supplies.
“Oh, he will be in a moment. He just needs a good cry. Humans cry a lot when their emotions get high. I was told it makes it easier for them to handle them that way, although I’m not sure how that works. It doesn’t mean they’re hurting, necessarily. You are the healer coming with us, correct?”
I pulled back from Kinnek, but he kept stroking my back. He looked so much younger now, and I was just relieved that he was being calm, not making fun of me, and letting me have this moment. I was so effing happy he was here, and that he was okay.
Gesango made an affirmative clicking noise. “I am. Do you need anything?”
Kinnek sighed. “My…Aragis. He doesn’t want to stay here, although he should, at least for a few more days. But he refuses. You’ll have to look after him, and I was hoping I could introduce you first.”
His accent, which was barely noticeable normally, came on stronger. He was speaking human for my benefit, then. That made me sniffle all over again, which prompted him to stroke my back.
“Of course.” Gesango added something in Lugarra.
Kinnek nodded before turning to me. “Are you going to be okay while I steal Gesango for a moment? Why did Vergis leave you alone in the first place? You two didn’t get into a fight, did you?”
I shook my head and wiped my eyes and nose on my sleeve. “He said he was going to pick up ligua and didn’t want me to say how fluffy they all were. They really are fluffy. And so innocent.”
Kinnek sighed. “That was a good call on Vergis’s part, then.”
I nodded, still wiping at my face. “Yeah, I know. I’ll wait here, if that’s okay. I’ll do some more packing.”
Gesango turned one of the baskets he still had to fill upside down for me to sit on and refilled my tea, then handed me the cup.
That was a bit much maybe, but it didn’t stop me from sitting down and wishing that today were over already, that the monster world were already separate from Earth again.
I wanted Earth to be just a little safer for everyone than it had been in the last two years.
That couldn’t be too much to ask, surely.