Page 21 of Jacinth

The book fell neatly onto the road before winking out of existence as the four got into a heated debate in the middle of the street. The donkey shifted into a man who... yep, was still hung like a donkey.

“It’s fate, babe,” the clown whined, dropping to a knee. The rubber dick knocked around outrageously and almost over-balanced him. The fairy sneezed again, and the nymph absently brushed glitter from her hair and offered her a handkerchief.

The scene was absurd, and as I’d hoped, a small rumble came from over my shoulder. It escalated quickly as the fairy caught sight of the donkey’s... ass-ets and swooned. Their story would finish with a happy four-way mating, and I knew my stubborn-as-an-ass brother needed to see the magic for himself.

“Is this your subtle way of telling me to accept that, in this town, love spells are rife, and we should just go with it?”

Dear god, was Orion grinning?

“What?” His smile fell as I continued to stare.

I shook myself. “Sorry, I just wasn’t aware you knew how to pull that face.”

Orion snorted and moved back into the house.

“Get your crazy ass in here and eat your breakfast. I’ll consider your proposal, but I won’t make any promises. Oh, and you are not off the hook for keeping Niko’s little problem from me.”

I was still calling it a win.

CHAPTER 17

Orion

Breakfast was pleasant.Sky ate seconds and thirds of everything I cooked, and I felt a quiet satisfaction at being able to slip into the familiar role of caretaker. His lucidity during the entire process was a miracle in and of itself. How long had it been since I had sat down and had a genuine conversation with one of my brothers?

As the meal wound down, the patter of claws announced we had an escapee from my garage clinic.

“Wow, is that a golden retriever?” Sky gushed, dropping to his haunches and holding his knuckles out to be sniffed.

I shrugged and continued with the clean-up, wondering if I should bleach the bench, or if a spray and a wipe would be sufficient for the time being.

“How can you, as a vet, not know the breed of an animal?”

“Fine, it’s a Golden Retriever, I don’t need to acknowledge anything more than what is needed to do my work. Right now, I need to know that’s a dog that isn’t where it should be. There are also two cats in my clinic. That’s it. Next you’ll ask me what the beast’s name is, no doubt.”

As Sky snapped his mouth shut, I realized that had been his next question.

I sighed, bending to scratch behind the dog’s ear, and was rewarded with a gentle lick and a whole body lean that threatened to knock me on my ass.

“The more I know of an individual,” I tried to explain, “the harder it is to do my work. If I knew that, for example, Harry, the golden retriever, needed to die from injury ‘x’ before I could heal and resurrect him, then I would humanize him and internalize the creature’s struggle. It’s... not so easy to do what I have to.”

Skyler’s eyes shone with an unfounded empathy. “They teach you that at your fancy school?”

“Among other things.”

I scrubbed harder at the already clean bench, watching with some satisfaction as my knuckles reddened.

“Look, I’m not going to tell you what to do. I have no right. I’m more often gone than not. But I will say this. Jacinth is not an animal. She can’t be lumped in with things that will inevitably cause pain. You deserve what she can bring as much as the rest of us. At the very least, consider the benefits of accepting the bond, accidental as it may have been.”

Speech delivered, Sky walked out and left me with my thoughts. This wasn’t ideal.

I prepared to spend the day cleaning and resolutely not brooding over the past couple of hours when I remembered my appointment.

***

Dahlia had done up Lady Blue really nicely. I loved coming in and adding to my collection, both for the protection they granted and because I just liked getting the tatts. I took a seat in her chair and didn’t have to say a word before she fired things up.

“So, you finally got caught in a spell, huh?” she asked.

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