Page 2 of His Human Librarian

I take a step back. “What? What is happening?” I blubber. Fear and anxiety rushing through my entire body. My hands clench and I swallow hard.

I’ve arrived on a planet where all the beings look like Satan?

How did I not know this?

All three of them have red skin and black horns on either side of their foreheads. The horns aren’t the problem, it’s thenightmarish aspect of their features. Barbed tails jab in the air behind them and smoke wafts from their nostrils.

Not once did I check on the Hyrrokin species because never did I expect this.

Ugh.

This is my exact trigger point. Some beings are afraid of reptiles. And some humans are afraid of clowns from the original planet. Other beings are afraid of insects. And some freak out over the idea of ghosts. I’ve always been scared of the image of demons.

A face with long fangs that looks like my darkest nightmares comes closer and I scream like a little girl.

“Oh no!” a voice cries out. “This human is suffering from Hyrrokin-fright syndrome. Help her.”

The door opens and an even bigger, scarier beast stomps inside the room. “I meant to arrive earlier to pick up…” he rages and then turns toward me. “What is this?” he hisses with a forked tongue. A hint of fire escapes from between his fangs and his face contorts into a vision of pure evil.

I scream again because this bloodcurdling monster is striding right for me. I take another step back and that’s when the heel of my broken shoe gets caught in a ridge and I’m wobbling. Oh no. My foot comes completely loose from the shoe and then I’m not simply stumbling I’m falling to the ground. Another scream flies out of my mouth.

I’m flat out on the metal of the transporter platform. And it hurts like hell.

The shape rushes forward and scoops me up and into his arms, as if I were as light as air.

I faint into the arms of the devil.

Later,I wake up propped against a plush chair. “What? What’s happening?” I mutter.

“Here, take this.” A red, silver-clawed hand reaches out to give me a cup of water along with my beloved prescription glasses.

A whimper escapes my lips. Oh, my gods, that’s right. I’ve arrived on Tarvos and these Hyrrokin look like Satan.

Calm. Remain calm.

This is not a primitive planet but instead very civilized. Yes, their appearance pushes all my trigger points, but this does not mean I am in jeopardy. They will not cause me any harm.

Right?

I gladly take the water and slide on my glasses. This is when I finally notice the small bandages on my arms, legs and hands.

“We gave you a pain injection. Soon I will take you to the med lab for proper healing.”

Embarrassment floods through me. Hard. I gulp down all the water and use the back of my hand to wipe at my mouth. Then I hand over the empty cup.

I fainted at the sight of these beings. And then I fell, hit the platform and got hurt.

My cheeks heat up. I cannot believe I acted that way. I'm a professional. It's not like I haven't met other species before. I literally went to an intergalactic high school where I befriended a variety of species and then to university off planet, on Gravian. I’ve traveled all over the four sectors for my job, but I've never met or heard of the Hyrrokin species. Maybe I’d heard stories that there was a species that looked like demons, but it was just a rumor.

I’m supposed to represent the antiquities council. I am the Hyrrokin’s first contact with the rescue Librarians from the council, and I arrive and scream at the sight of them, fall and get hurt. Dammit. What a mess. I knew this was a peacefulplanet and they were on the list of languages for the universal translator. An advanced species that was part of the four sectors. This is all I needed to know. I’d never heard of Tarvos or the Hyrrokin before, but I felt it didn’t matter. Peaceful and advanced. This was all I needed to make this project work. Right?

I did not account for the effect of their frightening appearance on the most primitive parts of my brain.

The huge, hulking male sitting next to me turns to question the staff. “Who is this female?”

I take a deep breath, trying to shake off the rest of my shock over my circumstances. Time to get back to work. I force myself to sit up straight and look at all of them directly, trying to curb my fear.

“She is the human who was set to arrive at this time from Gravian.”

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