Chapter 6
Jabari was not happy, but in all fairness he
should have expected Polaris. He was the team leader of the outside
guard and he would have recognized a stranger in the waters and
want to check it out.
“Holy shitstorm and fire flakes, are those....
no fucking way! I mean, you keep talking about Poseidon so I
shouldn’t be so surprised, but fuck me sideways and up and down...
those are... whoa! Seriously...”
Foster’s creative speaking had Jabari laughing
as Polaris and two of his men arrived in front of them. Polaris
saying, “Jabari. I didn’t know it was you. We smelled an
intruder.”
“Holy fuckwad and sparklers. He talks? I mean,
come on, Jabari, this is too much!”
His mate’s words had him worried as he turned to
make sure Foster was alright, but the only thing he could see was
awe. Foster’s eyes were wide his mouth kept opening and closing
like a fish and he was shaking his head from side to side.
“Foster?”
Foster waved his hand towards Polaris, saying
with a squeaky voice, “Those are hippocamps, Jabari. I mean there
is no other creature they could possibly be. The horse head and
body with the fish tail and fins... that’s an honest to god
hippocamp.”
“Yes, they are. They guard the outer area of
Atlantis by order of Poseidon himself.” Jabari stated.
Foster stepped around Jabari, his eyes still
wide, whispering, “They’re just simply stunning. I’ve seen
pictures, you know? But to see them up close, those pictures didn’t
do them justice at all. Their bodies are glistening scales and...”
Looking at Polaris, Foster asked, “Can I please touch you? I swear
I won’t hurt you, but I just... please?”
Jabari was about to warn Foster against that,
when Polaris shocked the fuck out of him by giving a slight
nod.
Lifting a shaky hand, Foster gently ran his hand
over the side of Polaris’s body, tail, and head whispering over and
over again, “Magnificent. So warm and smooth... just
magnificent.”
Foster stepped back, and to Jabari’s pleasure
went to his side immediately, saying, “Thank you, kind hippocampus.
That is a moment I can say I never in a trillion years ever would
have thought would happen. You’ve given me something that I will
cherish when my time comes to...” Foster stopped talking, then
dipped his head down, “Just, thank you.”
Polaris gave Foster a strange look, then asked,
“Who is this charming creature by your side, Jabari. He is not of
Atlantis.”
Shaking his head, Jabari replied, “No, he is a
surface dweller, Foster Witman. He fell off of his ship when a bad
storm came out of nowhere. I was going to find a friend when I came
upon him in the water, and when I went to rescue him, I discovered
Foster is my mate.”
“Your true mate? That’s wonderful.
Congratulations, my friend. May you have many happy times
together.” Polaris said in his regal tone.
“He has no markings to show he is your mate,
Jabari. Why is this. If he were mine, I would make sure no other
could come along and steal him away.” One of the other hippocampi
stated firmly.
Before Jabari could speak, Foster sternly said,
“No one would even try do that because Jabari would rip their
throats out.”
Hearing the absolute faith his mate had in him,
Jabari couldn’t help, but preen and feel such pride rush through
him.
“You smell off? Why do you smell of chemicals?
Are you one of those nasty humans that take things that make you do
stupid shit?” The other guard asked in disgust.
Jabari growled low and flexed his talloned
hands, ready to rip the fucker apart. He’d rather apologize to
Poseidon than allow anyone to be so rude and disrespectful to his
mate.
However, before Jabari could say or do anything,
Foster replied, “No, I’m not a drug user as you seem to be
implying. I have, however, had many chemicals pushed through my
body many times. I’m surprised Jabari hasn’t brought it up. I know
that shifters have great senses and smell is one of the best of
them all. It’s probably because he is too sweet to bring up the
fact that I stink.”
“You do not stink!” Jabari hissed, not liking
the way his mate spoke about himself.
Foster kissed his cheek, saying, “Okay, maybe
that isn’t the right word, but I know I must have an off smell
about me.” Turning to look at the hippocampus, he said, “It’s the
chemotherapy they gave me for my cancer. It’s not as bad as it used
to be, but it’s not completely out of my system if it ever will
be.”
“Cancer? What is this, cancer?” one of the
guards asked.
“It’s a disease that humans can get that causes
an uncontrollable division of cells in our body.” Foster
explained.
When the hippocampus gave Jabari an odd look,
Foster sighed, saying, “The blood in me is bad... that’s the
easiest way to put it.”
“So what happens with this bad blood?” Polaris
asked.
Foster snorted, “It kills me. Slowly, but I will
be dying sooner than most humans would and that’s why you don’t see
the mating mark on me. I refuse to allow Jabari to bond with me and
give himself a death sentence. Instead, we are spending time
together, creating memories and enjoying life while it lasts for
me, so again, I say thank you for allowing me to touch you. I
realize that isn’t something you would normally do.”
Polaris said, “I am sorry for your
circumstances. Is there anything else we can do to give you
those... memories you speak of?”
Foster smiled wide, “Can I take a ride? I mean
it would be so much fun to race Jabari and see who wins, don’t you
think so?”
Jabari smiled at Foster’s childlike exuberance,
but then his mate looked at Polaris nervously, “I’m sorry, that was
rude. You’re not a horse I can ride, you’re a hippocampus and that
means the only one granted permission to do such a thing is
Poseidon himself, and I really don’t wish to upset the god of the
seas.”
Polaris laughed, “The only hippocampus that
Poseidon rides is my brother, and that is between them... if you
know what I mean. However, I am willing to allow such a thing if
this is what you wish to do.”
“I have a better idea, why don’t we allow the
human to ride my back while you and Jabari race against us. You
know I am the fastest in the herd, and if trouble arrives I can get
Jabari’s mate to safety the fastest.” One of the guards said, then
bowed, “I would be honored to have Jabari’s fated one live out a
dream.”
Nodding his large horse’s head, Polaris said,
“That is a better plan, Goboli. Foster, if you will mount Goboli,
we can all go have some fun. It has been too long since I let my
Hippocampi free.”
“He means he is all work and no play, which
makes Polaris a very grumpy leader.” Goboli stage whispered.
Foster giggled, and the sound of his mate’s joy
had Jabari feeling both turned on and wishing to hear more. Feeling
a slap of a tail, Jabari looked to see his longtime friend looking
at him. “Are you ready, or are you going to stand there dreaming of
ways to fuck your mate?”
“You’re an ass, Polaris. I wasn’t thinking of...
okay, maybe I kinda was, but honestly I was thinking of how to get
him to make that sound again. His laughter makes my heart sing.”
Jabari admitted as he watched Foster get on Goboli’s back.
Polaris called out, “Sacrin, stay close to the
arch entrance. If you see or even feel a disturbance let me know
immediately. Goboli, don’t you let Foster fall and be careful.
Foster is human and not used to our waters.”
“I will take care, Polaris and you know that.
You’re just worried that Foster and I are going to kick your ass.”
Goboli said with a snickering neigh sound only a hippocampus could
give.
Jabari asked, “Foster are you ready?”
Smiling wide, Foster replied, “More than. Let’s
do this.”
Jabari nodded, “You heard my mate, let’s do
this.”
“Sacrin, give the signal.” Polaris shouted.
Sacrin swam in front of the three contenders...
well, four counting Foster who was hanging onto Goboli’s neck with
a wide smile. The loud call of the hippocampus, sounding like the
whistle of a steamboat, sounded, and the race was on.
The speed they took off at almost had Foster
losing his seat, but Jabari watched as his mate leaned down and
gripped onto Goboli harder, whispering something in the
hippocampus’s ear causing the damn hippocampus to put on speed.
Jabari watched as Goboli came across a large
cavern and went inside, racing out the other end, almost smacking
Foster’s head. Jabari was going to kill that damn animal if his
mate got hurt. However, the loud laughter coming from his mate made
Jabari refrain from saying anything.
Polaris sped past him, calling out, “Eat my sea
dust.”
Pulling his mind into the game, Jabari passed
Polaris without a strain and made it to the tail end of Goboli
within seconds. Hearing Foster shouting, “Jabari is gaining on us,
Goboli.”
“Not on my watch he isn’t.” Goboli called out
just as loud.
Just as they came to a large broken aft part of
a ship, Goboli zipped up and to his right, barely missing the steam
pipe. Unable to hold himself back this time, Jabari shouted, “Hurt
my mate and I will gut you, Goboli.”
Polaris must have gone through the wreck because
he was next to Jabari, laughing and doing his stupid nickering
sound as if to say, “Hello,” but Jabari wasn’t about to let the
bastard take him. If he wanted to, Jabari could have passed Goboli
a long time ago, and the two hippocampi knew this. However, with
the distraction of his mate and the sound of pure joy coming from
the man, Jabari wasn’t about to ruin that by having his mate lose
the race... but Polaris was something altogether different.
Goboli made a sharp left and turned to go back
the way they had come, racing under rock formations and through
caverns and around wreckage, when Polaris called out, “Stop!”
Everyone instantly came to a stop, but Foster
must not have heard Polaris’s shout because he hadn’t locked his
legs enough to stop his forward momentum, and tumbled head over
heels over Goboli and landed with his back on the ocean bed.
Jabari raced to his mate, fear filling him,
watching as his mate shook with what Jabari could only assume were
tears of pain. Gods, how bad was he hurt? “Foster! Foster are you
alright?”
It took a moment for Jabari to realize his mate
wasn’t crying, but instead he was laughing. Forest looked at Jabari
with a wide smile as he continued to laugh. “I think I could have
handled that better.”
As Foster went to sit up, Jabari held him down,
“Don’t move until I can check you out.”
“I’m fine, Jabari. My ego is a bit dented, but
otherwise I’m fine. The sand I landed on was relatively soft, and I
guess because we’re under the water the fall wasn’t that hard. Now
what the heck happened?” Foster asked, insisting he sit up and look
at Polaris who was talking rapidly to Goboli.
“Polaris, what’s going on? Why did you yell for
us to stop?” Jabari asked.
“Sacrin says Formaci and some of his friends
have five young Atlanteans pinned in a cave. Thankfully the cave is
too small for him or his buddies to get inside, but Sacrin can’t do
anything to help them because he’s busy with one of Formaci’s men
at the moment.” Polaris explained.
“Then we need to go and help the young ones.
Goboli, take my mate to the arch...”
“No. I’m going with you.” Foster quickly
said.
Shaking his head, Jabari immediately responded,
“No, you are not. Foster, I will not have you hurt, and trust me,
Formaci is a danger to us and that means he is deadly to you.”
“You need Goboli with you, Jabari. I won’t have
him wasting time taking me to the arch when you need him by your
side. I will not be the reason you get hurt.” Foster said, gripping
Jabari’s forearm. “I don’t want you hurt any more than you want me
to be. There has to be a place I can stay while you take on this
Formaci guy or thing or...” He waved his hand around, saying,
“...or whatever the hell he is. Now we’re wasting time. Let’s
go.”
Jabari didn’t like it, but he could tell his
mate was going to be stubborn about this. Sighing heavily, Jabari
said, “Goboli, my mate will ride with you for now. When we get
close, I will see where we can hide him while we take care of
business.”
“Yes, Jabari.” Goboli replied, all traces of fun
gone from his tone as well as his body.
Jabari looked at Polaris, “I’ll go ahead and
check out the situation. When you get there, wait for me and we can
decide what we’re going to do to get those kids out of that cave
and back to their families.”