Chapter Seventeen
Sage
“OMG! It’s Nic and Luc! Kraken shifters, yes!
Oh, my gods, I’m going to die. They’re here.
” The last thing Sage expected when he, along with Nic and Luc, stepped out of the rental car at the Marine Facility just up the coast from Reykjavik was screaming teenagers who appeared to have celebrity crushes on his companions.
Sage had spent the first half of the day quietly impressed with Luc and Nic’s organizational skills.
None of them talked about the claiming scene in the research facility the night before.
Nic and Luc were quietly affectionate with each other in the privacy of their penthouse suite – now mercifully empty of party guests – but they made a point of including Sage as well.
Privately, Sage didn’t think he’d been touched so often in his life.
Even waking up, wrapped in a blanket and curled up like a cocoon in between a naked Luc and Nic…
Sage had needed a hasty trip to the bathroom to take care of a rather urgent matter that had come up – just from sharing a platonic bed with them.
Clean clothes for him were organized with no fuss – except from him.
Luc had apparently ordered them to be delivered along with breakfast. When Sage protested, saying he had perfectly serviceable clothes at home, Nic leaned his chin on Sage’s shoulder and said, “It’s what mates do.
We want to take care of you. Don’t be mad. ”
Kraken shifters could out puppy-eyes a puppy.
Within an hour of finishing the delicious breakfast, they were at the airport, Sage learned about the reality of traveling during the holiday season when a private plane was involved.
Not a jet – that was too small – an actual plane custom-designed to his mates’ specifications.
Sage couldn’t be upset at avoiding queues, check-in counters, and getting their luggage weighed – Sage always worried he'd forget something on a trip, and nearly always had to pay for extra luggage.
This brought them to Reykjavik where a large rental car was waiting. A short drive later, and they’d arrived at the Oceanic Academy and Aquarium. Sage should’ve known something was going on by the number of cars in the parking lot.
Ducking away from Nic and Luc and their fans, Sage hurried across the room, seeing the one face he’d recognized.
“Jarvis,” he said, holding out his hand to the older man, white-haired man with a tan that came from spending a lot of time out on the water.
“It’s good to see you again. Are you having a New Year’s celebration? ”
Doctor Allen Jarvis was a world-renowned whale specialist, and Sage had taken classes with him at university, before Jarvis was offered his position at the aquarium.
“Not a celebration, no. One of those pesky open days, the board insists we need every now and again to keep in touch with the public. If I’d known you knew celebrities in the marine world, I would’ve asked if we could get them to host a panel for us. ”
“I only met Nic and Luc last night.” Sage hoped his blush wasn’t showing. “Apparently, I’m their third. When I explained the giant squid situation, they offered their plane and facilitated a faster trip. Trying to get a plane ticket this time of year isn’t easy.”
“A fortuitous meeting then, congratulations.” Jarvis smiled. “Oh, this is Rio Crane. He’s the person responsible for ensuring the water quality for all our aquatic guests is kept to an optimum level, depending on species.”
“Mr. Crane.” Sage nodded. There was something about the vibe of the man who looked to be the same age as Jarvis that prevented him from putting out his hand to shake. “Jarvis, how is the giant squid doing?”
“I’ll take you through to him.” Jarvis indicated they were heading down a hallway off the reception area. “Will your friends be all right?”
“I’m sure they’ll find me when they’re ready. They’re more used to crowds than I am.” Sage was happy to get away from all the noise. “When was the squid brought in? Was he badly injured?”
“He’s been here four, no five days now, and I have to say I’m worried about him,” Jarvis admitted, pushing through two large doors that led to a more clinical hallway. “He seemed to start recovering from the wounds on his tentacles easily enough, but now…here, you can see for yourself.”
Another set of double doors gave way to Jarvis’s keycard.
“Oh, no.” Sage hurried to the side of the huge tank that was more like a swimming pool than a fish tank.
Seeing a living giant squid in the flesh was so incredibly rare that Sage felt humbled by it.
But from the listlessness of the tentacles and the way the creature seemed to just be drifting in the slow movement of the water rather than under his own steam, it was clear the animal was very sick.
“He’s not hiding or settling anywhere. He’s just floating in the middle of the water movement.
” Sage looked at Jarvis. “Was he like this when he came in?”
Jarvis shook his head. “No. He was quite active when he first came in. Just bleeding enough to upset the people who found him.”
Kneeling down, Sage leaned over the small wall, sniffing at the water. It looked clear and clean, but… Clean water shouldn’t smell of anything. Tanks housing sea creatures shouldn’t smell of anything but salt. He wrinkled his nose. I don’t think that’s salt.
“What’s in this water?” He looked up to see Jarvis and Crane watching him closely. Jarvis seemed concerned, Crane wasn’t as easy to read. “When was the last time the saline levels were checked?”
“Our policy is that all tanks with living creatures are tested every four hours, and we keep a record of the saline levels for all saltwater tanks,” Jarvis said.
“Crane, what time was this one done? Can you grab the records for this tank, please? I’m sure Crane would’ve let me know if there were any issues,” he added to Sage.
Sage wasn’t so sure. “I’m almost certain there’s bleach in this pool,” he said firmly. “I want to see the water results over the last four days.”
“Bleach? That can’t be right.” Jarvis frowned at Crane, who hadn’t moved. “You didn’t put bleach in this one, surely?”
Crane shrugged. “The tentacled critters are really messy. There’s always algae growing on the glass. Bleach is used to…”
“Gods, no. We’ve got to get him out of here.” Now that it had been confirmed, Sage could see the signs. “You’re literally pickling his gills in this tank. How could you?”
“I’m not a tentacle freak like you, all right?” Crane yelled. “I don’t take my work home with me. Sheesh, you’d think a dweeb like you would have enough of tentacles at work, being the great cephalopod expert, but now you’re mating with them. Isn’t watching porn enough for you, you kinky freak?”
“Excuse me?” Sage said, trying to work out how to get the squid out of the water.
But Jarvis was incensed and started yelling at Crane. “How could you? Is this why the octopus exhibit all died last month? Because you don’t want your pinkies in the water with a tentacle?”
“They’ll grab you…they’ll do stuff to you…”
“What’s going on here? Is everything all right?” Luc appeared by Sage’s side, Nic flanking Sage’s other side, blocking his view of Jarvis and Crane.
“There’s bleach in the tank water.” Sage’s eyesight blurred, and he realized he was close to crying.
Blinking hard, he added, “This creature is so incredibly rare, and they’re killing him.
I have to get him out. He needs…I need a helicopter, a whale sling…
” Tugging his hand through his hair, he looked up at the roof.
“This opens,” he said, pointing at the ceiling.
“Can you call…I don’t know – a helicopter hire place or something? ”
“Consider it done.” Luc’s phone was in his hand as if by magic. “What are you…?”
“Nic, can you come and flex for me for a minute?” Sage ran to the pipe end of the tank. It was a different system from one he was used to, but in the end pipes weren’t complex. Stuff went in, stuff came out, and it was the valves that directed which direction that stuff was going.
“That one.” Sage pointed at a large wheel that was rusted and likely hadn’t been opened for a while. “Can you shut that one off for me?”
“I can probably do it one-handed,” Nic grinned, “but I know you’re worried, so I’ll save the showing-off until you can appreciate it.”
“I do appreciate it. You have no idea.” Sage bent over, opening the small cupboards where the cleaning products were kept. Three empty bleach bottles - granulated, which was even worse - and no vinegar.
“The helicopter is on its way. Should be about fifteen minutes.” Luc was bent down, peering into the cupboard with him. “What are we looking for?”
“Some kind of neutralizer.” Sage pushed a few bottles of what looked like vodka aside. “I’m not finding anything. Can you find the switch for the ceiling – sunlight will help to neutralize the bleach, but not fast enough…I just need to do something. That creature is suffering!”
“This is not your fault.” Sage found himself straightened up and pulled against a strong chest. “You got here in time. We’ll get this guy out and back where he belongs before dinner time.”
“I got here, yes, because of you.” It was so tempting to stay curled up in Luc’s arms forever, but Sage wasn’t going to forget why they came. “Thank you.” Pulling out of Luc’s arms, Sage swirled around to glare at Crane, who was being held by Jarvis.
“Do you understand that? If I’d taken a commercial flight, like I was going to do, before meeting my MATES, then this precious, rare creature would’ve been pickled in the brine cocktail you concocted, just because you probably like the idea of tentacles too damn much.
I’m not the sick one here, you are. This poor creature who never did anything to you, could’ve died! ”
“Ignore them. Helicopter’s coming,” Nic said, straightening up and flexing his shoulders. “Fancy going for a swim, Luc? I figure this little guy might need some help finding a safe place to recover in the deep.”
“Little guy?” Sage shook his head. Only the krakens could call a giant squid “little” – and that was debatable.