Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Saxon
I ’m peering into the fridge, looking for a blood bag to drink, when my wife and Zeydan walk into the kitchen. I close the door and smile at them. I don’t know much about this man yet, but he seems to be enamored with my blood rose, so that’s good enough in my book. I felt sorry that they didn’t get their chance for a date tonight. I’m also intrigued because he smells delicious, like liquid ambrosia. I wonder if Lila has drunk from him yet. I’d love to know if he tastes as good as he smells. Is that weird? I probably shouldn’t be eyeing this man as a meal replacement, but just like Xavier, his scent calls to me. While the other men in Lila’s harem have helped me out when she hasn’t been able to, and their blood is nutritious, none of them are as tasty as hers or the warlock’s. I think this god’s blood may come close though.
I watch as Lila grabs a key fob for one of the vehicles the Adams brothers keep in the garage. “Where are you off to?”
“William got an alert of some kind of disturbance at the dino sanctuary. The staff member isn’t answering any calls,” Lila answers, and Zeydan frowns.
“A dino sanctuary?” he asks, looking between the two of us.
“Earth people call the animals that inhabit Reccedea dinosaurs. Dinos for short. We have some that are bred and raised for use in the circus,” I explain, and his face brightens.
“They were some of my favorite creatures to create. I always wondered if they could be domesticated. I look forward to seeing this sanctuary.”
“Do you mind if I tag along?” I ask, feeling shitty that I will interrupt their one-on-one time, but I don’t like the sounds of a possible break-in or worse, a breakout. I know that the two dinos from the show are back in the sanctuary until the circus leaves again. In fact, Viggy probably needs to be transferred from the sanctuary to the ship tomorrow or the next day. The circus is planning on leaving Skarr in three days. Htaed has proven to be too erratic and will be left behind. I’m not sure what that means for Lila’s cousins, Phillip and Fiona, since it was their only task in the show.
“Yes, I think that would be smart. We don’t know what we are dealing with, and animals can be unpredictable, domesticated or not,” Zeydan agrees, and I hear Lila’s sigh of relief.
“That would be great. It’s not that I doubt my or Zeydan’s skills, but I have no experience with these animals.”
I chuckle. “I seem to remember hearing all about how you wrangled Viggy back to the ship by yourself.” Xavier told me about what happened when I was feral with bloodlust and the need to bond my blood rose.
“Yes, well, he was easy. I don’t know what else we are dealing with at the sanctuary,” she replies as I grab a jacket off the hook and pull a beanie over my head. The others do the same. None of us feel the cold particularly badly, but nobody likes to get wet clothes or hair if it snows.
“I’ve been in there before. It’s fun, but I also know where the tranqs are kept if we can’t find the worker. Who did William say it was? I’ve spent some time there during rest periods when I didn’t want to return to Vilax,” I explain as we head out into the garage and jump into the vehicle. Luckily, it’s a hover style one, and we don’t have to worry about getting stuck in snow drifts. The roads out to the sanctuary probably haven’t been cleared.
“I think William said the guy’s name was Connor,” she tells me, starting the vehicle and sticking it in reverse before backing out of the garage. Once we’re clear, she puts it into drive, and we start moving down the driveway and onto the street. I’m sitting in the passenger seat, so I program the right information into the GPS.
“Cool, I like Connor, and he loves the animals and knows the sanctuary like the back of his hand. He’ll be able to tell us if anything is wrong.”
The drive out of town is uneventful. Lila tells us about the auditions she and Ghosie watched today.
“It’s going to be so hard to decide. I’m only halfway through them and already offered several jobs,” she grumbles good-naturedly. She then fills me in on the gossip regarding Magenta and Susie. She managed to grill them between acts. Apparently, things with my ex clan members have cooled off with Magenta. Hale and Velorina have decided to join my brother’s clan, which I’m not surprised to hear, but I do feel a pang of sympathy for the Skarrian. Despite her mostly fickle and promiscuous reputation, I think she truly longs to form a family group. Now that she’s parted ways with Nixie, Hale, and Velorina, it doesn’t look like it will be happening anytime soon.
“It doesn’t surprise me that Aura wants to go back to Earth. They’ve been in charge of Pleasure Inn for a very long time, and it’s familiar and comforting for them, but I can also understand Mark and Susie wanting something different. Both of them just walked into their alien heritage, and for someone raised on Earth, the prospect of space travel and discovering new cultures and worlds must be thrilling,” I say, looking out the window and watching the frosty countryside slide by, the snow glistening in the bright light of the streetlamps.
“Yeah. Mark and Susie are not sharing a suite with Aura’s family this trip. They’ve requested their own rooms. I think they just want to create some distance so when they part, it won’t hurt so much, but then I don’t really know how involved they really all were, or if it was a minor dalliance.”
“What about Ricky? What happened to him?” I ask, remembering the cyborg who had been sent as a gift to Aura from Deianira Digicon. I’m pretty sure it was a setup, but she’s denying all involvement.
“He’s opting to stay with Aura and her family. He’s quite enchanted with them, according to Susie. I think the fact that Aura protected him when Agent Smith stormed Pleasure Inn made a big impact. I get the feeling he may not have had anyone in his corner before.”
“Are your friends going to stay with the circus for a while? I remember when the Celestian heir was kidnapped. It sent shockwaves through the galaxy, and I even heard about it despite being isolated on Husadavia. I can’t imagine his parents are ready to let him go when he’s only just been returned to them,” Zeydan says from the backseat.
I turn my body so I’m angled toward Lila and look at the soft-spoken god. He’s nothing like I assumed the gods would be like. I expected them to be loud, arrogant, and outspoken. Maybe they were once, but having diminished power and losing both the goddess of death and life made them more cautious. Zeydan is always watching and taking everything in, and I bet there isn’t much he misses. I could tell how frustrated he was that he couldn’t help Ghosie or Brannock, and I don’t think compassion and empathy are something that comes naturally to him, but I also saw his interaction with our children, and he is mildly fascinated with them and in no small way enchanted. I really don’t think he means any of us any harm, but I will still keep a close eye on him until I know better.
Lila looks at him in the rearview mirror. “I think they would like to. Susie mentioned that she and Mark were going to talk to Link about joining the medical crew, which isn’t a bad thing now that we have the children and are possibly adding a few more acts.”
The god nods, turning his attention to his window. “That would probably be smart. It would free up Link more often for our family too. The children are going to need to start their schooling soon, and he would be an excellent tutor with his wide database of knowledge. From our conversations, I think it would be something he would enjoy as well. I would be happy to assist him in educating our offspring.”
Lila does a double take at his statement, and I just smirk. Oh, so she noticed how he used the words “our family” and “our offspring.” I guess the god’s all in, and he just has to work on convincing my wife.
“Oh, ah, yes. I guess I hadn’t considered that, but they are growing rapidly. Starting their education, even if it’s the basic stuff, is probably a smart idea,” she agrees, turning her attention back to the road, but I continue to stare at him. His head swivels very slowly so he’s looking at me again, and he gives me a slow wink, one side of his mouth ticking up in a smirk.
Oh yeah, he knows exactly what he’s doing, and he’s playing the long game. I give him a small nod of acceptance and turn my attention back to where we’re going. The navigation system tells Lila to turn into the sanctuary, and we park in the few public spaces that are available.
There’s one car here, but apart from that, the lot is empty. When we get out, a shrill alarm is blaring, and a blue light flashes over the entry of the sanctuary.
I frown and reopen my door, reaching into the glove compartment and pulling out the laser pistol in there. “William never said there was a break-in?” I frown at Lila, who is biting her lip and stomping her feet, trying to keep warm in the cold. Her breath mists in front of her.
“No, just a disturbance. I assumed there was a problem with one of the animals,” she replies as I move toward the entrance, gesturing for them to stay behind me.
“Wait,” Zeydan calls, and we freeze while he releases his tails, sending them ahead of us to scope out the problem. It sure is handy that he can see through their eyes. His irises and pupils turn white as he concentrates on what information the nine creatures are feeding him. I hold the door open for them to stream through, but I stiffen when the smell of blood registers in my nostrils. It’s only seconds before Zeydan also gains that knowledge from his creatures.
“Someone is injured, but they still have a heartbeat. It’s the only one in that building, but it is behind a closed door.” He gestures in front of us.
“Let’s go.” Zeydan grabs Lila’s hand and tugs her forward. I can sense her hesitation in our bond, but at the touch of his hand, she relaxes. I’m grateful he can do that for her as I take the lead, my gun up and ready.
The front part of the sanctuary is the ticket kiosk and gift shop. It is open to the public and school groups a couple of times a week. You can wander through it and see all the animals from Reccedea that they raise for use in the circus. They also house animals that have been seized from illegal traders that can no longer be returned to their home planets for whatever reason.
There’s also an administration and security office, and that’s the place that has Zeydan’s creatures on alert. They yip and whine, scratching at a closed door to get in. I turn the handle and push it open before stepping back and waiting for their assessment.
“There’s a man on the floor. He’s been hit on the head, and there’s a small pool of blood under his skull. It doesn’t seem to be life-threatening. Apart from that, it’s clear.”
Lila gasps. “Can you conjure me up a robe with wing slits?” she asks the god, who quickly does as she asks, holding it out to her. She strips and changes into her Celestian form before quickly shoving the robe on and gesturing for me to move out of the way to let her through. Instead, I lead the way just in case Zeydan’s creatures missed anything.
Lila kneels and activates her healing power. A bright light washes over the man whom I recognize as Connor. He groans and returns to consciousness as Lila heals the wound on the back of his head. “Easy,” she cautions him when his eyes blink open. “I healed you, but don’t get up too quickly.”
Zeydan puts her discarded clothes on a nearby desk and opens another door, then he disappears before returning with a wad of damp paper towels—that must be a bathroom. He passes it to Lila, who uses it to clean the blood off the back of Connor’s head. He just blinks at her as I tuck my gun into my waistband.
“You’re an angel,” he murmurs, and I can hear the awe in his voice.
I snort. “Hardly. She’s definitely more of a devil. All her husbands say so.”
He blinks and turns to look at me, recognition in his eyes. “Saxon. What are you doing here?” He stumbles as he tries to stand up, and Lila steadies him with a hand on his arm. Again, he looks at her with hearts in his eyes. “Who are you? Why are you here?” He hasn’t even looked away to notice the nine creatures who are sitting patiently to one side, and Zeydan has a knack of making himself appear inconsequential.
“William said there was a disturbance, and he couldn’t get a hold of you, so he sent us to investigate. This is Lila, their granddaughter and my wife. Lila, this is Connor, the head zookeeper for the sanctuary,” I introduce them.
She smiles at him, and he looks even more dazzled. Poor bastard, Lila really doesn’t know her own appeal, and with those giant wings and glowing aura, she really is spectacular.
“Hi.” She waves at him. “Did you happen to see who hit you? I’m assuming that’s what happened,” she asks him, gesturing at his head.
This works to get him back on track, and he frowns and shakes his head. “No. I had just finished my last rounds, and I was going to sit down and eat something when I was struck from behind.” He gestures to a container on the desk in front of a whole heap of monitors.
“Do you want to have a look around to see if anything was disturbed here before we walk through the zoo and check it out?” I suggest, and he agrees and disappears out into the foyer gift shop.
I step over to the monitors and study the video feeds. The ten screens continuously rotate through all the cameras in the park. Nothing stands out to me, but I haven’t been here in a while, so I wouldn’t know for sure.
“Why don’t you change back?” Zeydan suggests to Lila. “It’s too cold to wander around in that robe out there, despite your tolerance for the weather.” He nods to the snow-covered video feed, and she grimaces.
“What if we come across someone else who’s injured? I think I’ll just put my other clothes back on, and we can cut some space in the jacket for my wings. We should have brought Maxsim and Echo, they would have been good at tracking out there,” she muses thoughtfully.
“My creatures will be just as helpful,” he promises, not taking his eyes off her as she redresses. She doesn’t look away from him either. It’s like a weird game of naked chicken, and I can’t stop the chuckle that leaves my lips, but thankfully, Connor returns before they make me explain.
“Everything looks fine out there,” he tells us, and I gesture to the video feeds.
“I can’t see anything on the screen, but maybe you can take a closer look,” I say to him, and he sits down and his fingers fly across the console. He brings up a map of the sanctuary, and there are red lights flashing on two enclosures.
“Fuck. The steggy paddock has been breached, and what’s even worse, it looks like Htaed is also out.” He returns his attention to the cameras, programming the right ones to appear.
One shows a wide open gate that doesn’t look damaged, just like someone opened it. “That’s Htaed’s paddock. He and Viggy usually share one since they have been with the circus, but he’s been even more deranged since he returned to the sanctuary, so we had to separate him. I think his mind is broken, and I have no idea why.”
I exchange a glance with Lila. Allegedly, her cousins are supposed to have some kind of animal control power, which is why they got the job in the first place. What if they tried to control his mind and broke it instead? They aren’t very gentle with their techniques, and with a mind as primitive as a dino’s, it probably wouldn’t take much.
Connor changes the view, and we see a wide open space. I gape as we watch terrified mini steggies running from a crazed raptor. “Fuck, he’s in the steggy paddock. How did he even get in there?”