Chapter Four #2
“I did. It was fun and very pretty. A feeling of satisfaction that lasts for three days when they leave the spa, as long as their treatments were improving, and a burst of health that continues the treatment effect for a few days.” She shrugged.
“As well as the general safety and calm for staff and clients.”
“That was a fifty-thousand-dollar piece.” He was smiling at her.
“It was. Worth every penny. It is uncorruptible and will outlive me by a century.”
His lips quirked. “You are planning your death?”
“If all remains as it is, it won’t be too far. Five years on the outside. The adrenalin from the pain will eventually wear out my heart, and I will die at my workbench.”
He blinked. “What?”
“I have visions of worst-case scenarios. That is how I can enact my protections. I see what could happen and work to stop that.”
He stared. “What can help you out of your worst case?”
“I already tried it.”
Kazuya nodded. “The appointment. My assistant is going to be doing some grovelling when you see him next.” He looked at her and gave her a card. “Can you be here tomorrow at ten in the morning? I can begin your treatment.”
“Uh, what will it entail?”
He smiled. “Mucus. Once your nerves have healed, we will set aside time to work on your limbs. You will have to suffer my embrace, but it will feel better afterward. We will be in the water.”
“Ah.” She glanced at the card. “Bring a swimsuit?”
He touched her jaw. “No. I have robes, and I need to be able to get a grip where I need one. I will breathe for you while my limbs work on yours.”
“Oh, wow. No wonder you don’t do it at the clinic.”
He grinned. “It would cause rumours, but I feel my secrets are safe with you.”
“Yeah, well, who would I tell? The dark elves know, the light elves are busy with the dark elves, and my mages don’t care; the earth-born djinn are just trying to figure out what the hell they are and what they can do. No one cares about mucus.”
He blinked. “You are providing protections for all of them?”
“Yes. All but your lot. They have to pay and don’t even know what they are getting.” She smirked. “They are big boys and can take care of themselves.”
He nodded. “Fair enough.”
She smiled. “I either have to get moving again or sit down.”
“May I offer my arm.”
“You can offer anything. It doesn’t mean I will take it. I tend not to use others for support. They collapse.”
“You may lean on me. I can handle it.”
“My pain radiates along my skin. If my skin touches yours, it will hurt.”
He shrugged. “I am due it for not seeing to a need when it was there.”
“I am not into flagellation.”
Kazuya nodded. “I will pull away if it becomes difficult. It will not change your level of pain?”
“Nope. I am steady no matter what. It doesn’t change me; it just changes what you are experiencing.”
He offered his forearm to her, and she shrugged and wrapped her hand around it for a support grip. His body tensed, and she smiled. “I can let go.”
“You feel this every day?”
“It is particularly strong because I have been standing in one place for a while. Let’s walk. We can go back to the seats if you like.”
“Will that ease you?”
“Nope. Sitting is the worst thing. My legs throb uncontrollably.”
“Then, we will walk.”
“Don’t you absorb a ton of sun?”
He chuckled. “My glamour is that of a Japanese man in his mid-thirties. The glamour does the filtering of UV rays.”
“Ah. Interesting. I have wondered.”
“Any other questions?”
“How sensitive are your ears? I imagine it’s like having a nipple attached to your head on either side.”
He spluttered a bit and cleared his throat. “It is... similar.”
“Well, that explains why some of your guys get them pierced. At least they don’t have the threat of having milk shooting out of them.”
He laughed. “Any other questions?”
“Sure. A ton of them. I have been watching you guys for a decade and have had no one to ask. I could ask Xiroth, and he would tell me, but it would make things weird. I am guessing since you are medically aligned, I have a better chance of getting a straightforward answer out of you.”
He smiled. “Ask away.”
They walked across the green space in a slow promenade.
“So, where does the mucus come from?”
“Just jumping right in. It comes from the skin of my tentacles. The tissue can extrude it on command.”
“Like a hagfish?”
He laughed. “Exactly.”
“Okay. I see why the suit would be in the way. Does it smell?”
“No. Well, there is an oceanic scent. Nothing horrible, or so I have been told.”
“I am guessing they were just polite.”
He laughed. “Perhaps. I don’t usually transform to heal females.”
“Don’t worry. My heat isn’t for another few months.”
“You still go into heat?”
“Yes. Once a year, like clockwork.”
“What is it like?”
“Annoying. I read something once, so I put it into bottles and save them for later.”
“You... bottle your heats?”
“Yes. A woman named Kay taught me. Yes, I know who she is now, but I didn’t know then, but she wrote out the instructions and gave them to me.”
“How do you do it?”
“Uh, I would have to show you. I had to alter my technique to suit my magic. It isn’t the same as yours.”
“How so?”
“Yours comes from long lines of descent. Mine comes from the ground under my feet. The same as the other mages. We are bound to our world. We are the antibody to the new rise in magic.”
“That is... holy hells. I have to talk to the archive, but I think it has only happened on two other worlds we have colonized. On one, intermarriage developed the red djinn who can take down dragons.”
“Oh. Nice. Wait. Sern has red hair. Is he...”
“His mother is half red djinn.”
“Oh. Neat.”
“Were you at the wedding?”
“No. I have protected the event space with small rocks embedded in the walls. Everything goes smoothly and far faster than they have a reason to.” She chuckled.
“No nasty in-laws, no psycho brides, no food allergies that weren’t declared.
All the things Jennika, Sable, and Ivy have been mentioning. ”
He chuckled. “They can go sideways. Each house has its own traditions.”
“I am guessing yours involves singing crabs and fish playing instruments?”
He snorted. “I hate that movie.”
She laughed, and it was a harsh sound with a bright note. “I am going to be muttering it over my workspace later. My dancing isn’t great, but it keeps my joints from stiffening.”
“So you have found ways around it. No magic to help you?”
“My magic doesn’t work on me. Sable is still Sable, no matter what form she chooses. Jennika’s fire doesn’t burn her. So... yeah. No.”
He nodded. “Did you want to head back?”
“Yes, please. Sable’s charm is getting weak. I need to swap it out and fix the one she’s burning through. How long have we been walking?”
“No watch?”
“Too lazy to look at my phone.”
He chuckled, and they turned to make their way back. “About an hour.”
“Nice. Actually, I do need to get my phone out to put some money toward Emhara’s charity choice.”
She sent three thousand dollars off to the charity via the gateway that had been set up. “There. Now I can go get more snacks.”
Kazuya chuckled. “So, finances are not an issue.”
“Nope. I have an enormous trust fund, even though my parents don’t talk to me anymore.”
He supported her. “Why not?”
She smiled and dropped the bomb. “They were the ones who arranged the kidnapping.”