Page 55 of Spectacle

“There’s no way he would have made it from one side of the park to the other without getting distracted by something else.” He points at the two flashing beacons. He’s right, they are on opposite sides of the park.

“We had Htaed in containment because he was upsetting the other animals,” Connor explains, frowning at the information he’s reading.

“You’re right, someone must have herded him to the steggy paddock, and that would not be an easy task. Only someone who knew what they were doing could manage it,” Saxon says.

“So you think the break-in was staged to cover their tracks?” I ask, and Connor gasps.

“You’re right. Phillip used his card two hours ago. I’m not sure how I missed him when I did my rounds, but it looks like he was working in the steggy paddock, and Fiona was also with him.” He brings up some footage, showing them in a large, open, snow-covered space, kicking a ball around with the miniature steggies. It looks innocent enough.

“What are they doing?” Zeydan leans in to get a closer look, and Connor smiles. The time stamp shows it was an hour and a half ago.

“It’s weird. Ever since the circus went on hiatus, they’ve spent a lot of time here—a lot more than in the past. They taught the steggies to play a version of what they called Earth polo, riding on their backs and hitting a ball around.” He looks to Lila for confirmation, and she nods. “I think they were quite shaken when Htaed failed to perform and Viggy got out, and they were worried about losing their positions. They kept talking about needing to present you with another option.”

“Seriously?” I’m skeptical, and Connor swings around in his chair and looks at me.

“Yes, I overheard a conversation between them. They said they didn’t want to remain on Fluxx because they would be at their grandma’s mercy. I think Fiona’s exact words to Phillip were, ‘I’d rather live in Lila’s shadow than deal with Grandmother’s fury.’”

“If that was two hours ago, then they couldn’t have been the ones who hit you on the head,” Zeydan says as we leave the office and head out into the cold, Zeydan’s creatures leading the way.

“No, I don’t think so. But where are they now? I couldn’t see them in the footage,” Connor argues.

“If Htaed is truly uncontrollable, then they probably found somewhere to hide the minute they saw him. He is an intelligent creature, so he might hold a grudge,” Saxon suggests as we all run through the park, following Connor’s lead. We hear sounds of distress the closer we get to the enclosure. Luckily, it’s not too far from the sanctuary entrance.

“I’ve loaded the guns with tranqs, but if he is so far gone, maybe it would be kinder to put him down,” Connor says, looking at me.

“I can’t make that decision,” I argue, but Saxon disagrees.

“Lila, you are practically the CEO of Galaxy Holdings now. These are decisions you can make.”

“Well, it’s too late now. Let’s tranq him and get him back to his enclosure, and I can see if I can heal him. If his mind can’t be healed, then I’ll approve euthanasia.” My Celestian powers should extend to animals as well, but brains are tricky, which Link never fails to tell everyone when they question when Grandma will wake up.

I can’t stop the sob of distress that bursts from my lips when we enter the steggy paddock. There are injured mini stegosauruses everywhere, and unfortunately, Htaed succeeded in killing one and is making a meal of it.

“Shit, he’s definitely going to need to be put down now. He got a taste for them,” Connor mutters as he and Saxon take aim at the red and orange raptor. He’s so distracted by his meal, he doesn’t even notice us. Both of them fire two fast-acting tranqs into his flanks. He whirls around and snarls at us, but as he lunges, he stumbles and goes down hard, his eyes rolling back into his head as he collapses to the ground.

“There’s a sling in the enclosure there,” Connor points to a nearby building that looks like a barn. “We should be able to roll him into it, and the three of us can relocate him with your strength, Saxon, and your…” He trails off, looking at Zeydan, and I realize we didn’t introduce him.

“Shit, I’m sorry, this is Zeydan,” I tell Connor, who looks at the god with interest.

“Oh, hey, cool, like the god of earth. Did you know he created the animals on Reccedea? How appropriate to be named after him.” He chuckles, and Zeydan nods.

“Yes, I did. They are some of my favorite creations.” He crosses his arms, stares across the field, and whistles, calling his tails back to him. “It pains me to see them hurting. I will do what I can for the injured ones.”

He stalks off, and Connor’s mouth drops open, and he pales slightly. “The Zeydan?” he asks, and I smother my smirk.

“Yup! Pretty impressive, right?” I don’t wait for his answer before I follow Zeydan, and together, we use our powers to heal as many of the steggies as we can. Before we get through too many, I hear Saxon call us from the barn.

“Lila, come quickly.” The urgency in his tone has me using my Vilaxian speed to race to him, Zeydan easily keeping up.

“I couldn’t smell them over all the dino blood,” Saxon tells me as he steps aside, and I gape in horror at the beaten forms of my two cousins.

I rush over to them. Both are unconscious and have deep lacerations. Phillip has a large, three-clawed gouge across his chest, which is oozing blood, and Fiona has the same across her face, through one eye and over her mouth. I feel nauseous just looking at her, and I’m not sure even my powers can fix her.

“Are they alive?” Zeydan asks as my healing powers activate, and I hold them over Fiona. Hers look more dire than her brother’s. Saxon strips off his shirt and passes it to Connor, who is kneeling next to Phillip, and he presses the cloth to his wounds.

“Barely,” Saxon growls in response. “Those are not the only wounds. Look at their arms. They are covered in bruises and small abrasions, like they were beaten by hand first before Htaed got to them.”

The power drains out of me, and Fiona’s wounds slowly close. Zeydan pushes Connor out of the way and tries to heal Phillip, but he only manages to stop the bleeding with his diminished powers. I’ll have to seal the wounds.

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