CHAPTER 4 OZ
OZ
The noise in the prison changed. My entire time here, there was no escaping the sounds of crying, metal clanging, and skin hitting skin, punctuated by the occasional scream or roar. But now the sounds were different. More talking, and people sounded... happy? Excited?
I didn’t have the energy to stand, but I turned to face the door of my cell.
A new sound joined the others. Locks on cell doors being opened, with no subsequent slam of the doors locking shut again.
I counted as the doors in this block were opened, and soon a tall, gorgeous Hunter stepped in front of my cell.
I was suddenly conscious that I hadn’t had a bath in weeks.
The Hunter was bald with umber skin and the most beautiful brown eyes I’d ever seen.
His scent wafted into my cell, and I could’ve cried as I was reminded of my mom’s apple cinnamon strudel.
The Hunter’s smile made it seem as if he was actually glad to see me.
His laugh lines crinkled up and everything.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen a truly happy expression on someone’s face. Certainly not since I’d been kidnapped.
“Hey, there. You ready to get out of here?” He held up a set of keys before inserting one into the lock on my cell door.
I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out.
I pushed myself up to a sitting position.
As the Hunter slid the cell door open, I saw movement behind him.
The monster was here. The Hunter didn’t see it, and my voice wouldn’t let me cry out to warn him.
The shackles on my wrists were suddenly tight against the wall behind me, so I couldn’t gesture at him.
I widened my eyes and jerked my chin, trying to alert the Hunter to the monster creeping up on him.
He didn’t notice, just continued smiling at me.
The monster attacked, leaping on the Hunter’s back and burying its fangs into his neck as it pulled him to the floor.
The Hunter didn’t have time to fight. His eyes stayed locked on mine as he died.
I tried to scream but couldn’t. The monster let go of the Hunter, straightening up to its full height and stepping over his body to stand in the open doorway of my cell, its blood red eyes glowing.
I shrank back against the wall, but I couldn’t move.
The monster opened its bloody mouth in a snarl and lunged.
This time I caught myself before I fell over the side of the bed, but it was close. Shuddering, I blinked rapidly, looking around and sniffing to make sure I was alone in my bedroom. My badger made little whimpering noises. Fuck.
I sat up and rubbed my face. It was a dream.
The monster isn’t here. The monster didn’t attack the Hunter who’d released me.
The man had been fine the last time I’d seen him, giving orders to two other Hunters as they strode through the clusters of released Wonders as we waited to be seen by medical personnel.
I’d kept my gaze on that particular Hunter, because admiring him was much more pleasurable than watching the other Wonders, who were as traumatized as I was.
Every so often he’d scan the Wonders as if searching for someone, and I’d duck or turn my back so he wouldn’t catch me staring.
I took deep breaths, but my bedroom felt too small.
Not bothering with Elton’s grounding technique, I got out of bed and went through the living room, opening the sliding door to the balcony and going outside.
I was only wearing my boxers, but the night air was warm.
I focused my gaze on the sky, breathing in and out in a regular cadence.
Here in the center of town, the stars were muted, but the moon was almost full, and I could see a couple of planets.
My heart rate slowed, and the sweat on my skin dried in the light breeze. It would be dawn soon, which meant my alarm would go off. I should get ready for my day, my first time picking up Mr. Moreno by myself. My heartbeat increased again. Was I nervous about my job? Or was it Mr. Moreno?
Yesterday after Harrison and I had handed off Mr. Moreno’s protection to Giselle, who worked the evening shift, I’d grabbed dinner in the dining hall.
The rest of the evening I’d spent searching the various magic-focused Discord servers I belonged to for mention of healers, but I found nothing.
Technically, such a talent shouldn’t even exist. Wonders, the non-human magical beings, didn’t originate on this planet.
We’d come, a few at a time over the course of thousands of years, through the Elven portal from our home dimension.
Many, like brownies and trolls, kept their original forms, using glamour to hide from humans.
Shifters were required to choose an Earth animal as their second self before crossing over, the Elves binding the entire family and their descendants to that one shifted form unless they returned through the portal.
My great grandmother had pushed the boundary of the rule, but none of the Elves had noticed.
But no more shifters were coming through the portal, since the Elves had shut it down after the end of World War II, leaving Earth forever.
Wonders had been invited to return with them, but many of us had put down too many roots on Earth to want to leave.
Not wanting the Wonders who stayed behind to be without protection from humans who might harm them, the Elves gifted magic to a select few human families across the world.
These people and their descendants came to be known as magic carriers, and they were tasked with—and instinctively driven toward—helping and protecting Wonders.
The magic they were given was always passive in nature, not able to be used to affect other people or physical objects.
Some magic carriers, like the Hunters, gained extra physical abilities to become better fighters.
Others, such as Seers or Empaths like Elton, could receive visions or knowledge of others’ emotions.
There weren’t any magic carriers with abilities that could harm or change, like telekinesis or pyrokinesis.
And there absolutely weren’t any healers.
But Mr. Moreno’s magic didn’t look like any magic I’d ever seen. Was he even a human magic carrier? Maybe he was something else entirely. Either way it was none of my business. I’d have to deal with being curious.
By the time I took a shower and got dressed, I felt recovered enough from my dream-induced panic to eat breakfast. It was almost 6:30 a.m when I arrived at the hospital, so I only had to wait a few minutes before Geordie escorted Mr. Moreno outside.
My heart rate increased again. Today, instead of staring like a dumbass at his magic, I found myself captivated by Mr. Moreno’s looks.
I’d registered how attractive he was yesterday, but for some reason, now, in the harsh LED lights under the awning, he was stunning.
The shape of his face, the graceful way he moved.
My badger squealed in excitement to see him.
Oh, fuck. Was I getting a crush on my client?
This was not good. I was supposed to remain professional.
After greeting me politely, he waved goodbye to Geordie and got in the front passenger seat of the blue Toyota SUV I’d driven today.
I held my phone toward him. Good morning. How are you today?
His brows furrowed as he read, but then he smiled. “I’m great, Oz. How are you?”
I smiled back and gave him a thumbs up. Maybe tomorrow I’d be able to speak to him, but now that I’d realized my attraction, it for sure wouldn’t happen today.
After taking my phone back and pulling up the navigation app, I got the car on the road headed toward Mr. Moreno’s home.
“Do you know ASL?”
I glanced over at him and shook my head.
“Damn. Too bad. I know some.” I raised my eyebrows and he nodded.
“Yeah, I learned for my job. I’m not super fluent, but I can spell out what I don’t know the signs for.
Lots of Deaf kids come through the hospital, and their parents are sometimes the only people they can talk to directly.
They get so excited when I say hi to them.
” When I looked over again, he had a fond smile on his face as he stared out at the traffic.
I should learn ASL. Or at least the alphabet. It’d be useful if I lost my phone. Nothing made my voice disappear faster than stress.
We were halfway to Mr. Moreno’s house when his phone rang. He checked the screen. “Oh, shit, it’s my mom. I need to take this, but I don’t have my ear buds, sorry.”
I shrugged and waved at him to answer it.
He held the phone in front of his face, so it must’ve been a video call. “?Hola, Mamá! How’s the cruise?”
“?Manolo! Ay mira, you are a sight for sore eyes! Did you just get off work? You’re not driving. Is something wrong with your car? Do you have enough money to fix it?”
He grinned at her. “No, Mamá. My car’s fine. My friend Oz picked me up today.” He turned the phone toward me, and I smiled and waved.
“Ooooh! Tell Oz he is very handsome. A big fellow, yes? I hope you’re taking him to breakfast to thank him for his trouble.”
I didn’t look, but his pause was telling. “Uhhh, we have a whole day planned. But enough about me. Tell me what Greece is like! ?Qué haces?”
So Mr. Moreno’s mother didn’t know about his security guards. Was she a healer too? Or did he get that from his father’s side? Fuck, even if I could speak, I still couldn’t justify all the nosy questions I had.
The house appeared undisturbed, and I checked the camera app for notifications before we got out of the car.
No alerts. Mr. Moreno patiently allowed me to search the house inside and out.
I gave him a thumbs up through the living room window when I was done, then I went to sit in the car and fill out the security log.