by Zoe Chant
“Angel and I like non-chocolate cakes best anyway,” said Everly. It made her so happy to be able to say “Angel and I.” To Waylon, she said, “Is there a bakery in La Puerta that could do a tres leches cake? That’s his favorite.”
“How am I suddenly throwing this party?” Waylon asked no one in particular, then, to Everly, said, “Got a favorite color? For decorations.”
“Blue,” said Everly. Though her real favorite color now was the delicate silver of Angel’s horn. His unicorn’s horn, she added to herself with an internal snicker.
“Blue,” repeated Waylon. “Tres leches cake. Got it.”
The atmosphere at Vets For All Pets was so different from Des Dieux a Tes Levres. The restaurant made excellent food (if you liked that kind of thing) and had high-class service (fussy and snooty, in Everly’s opinion), but behind the scenes, it was a toxic blend of panic, pressure, and stress. The veterinary hospital was professional and friendly on the surface, and behind the scenes it was playful and kind.
Angel opened the door. “Come on out. They’re here!”
Everly popped Rock into her purse and kept a firm grip on the opening. The last thing she wanted was for a fight to break out between her dragonette and… whatever was in the lobby.
The Vets For All Pets schedule had been cleared to accommodate the magical pets, so the lobby was empty except for their owners. They were a muscular man with a military haircut, a girl of Raelynn’s age who was obviously his daughter, and a woman with curly brown hair who sat in a manual wheelchair. The man held a cat carrier designed so you couldn’t see into it from the outside, and the girl clutched a smaller carrier of a similar design.
They looked up in surprise as the three vets, Everly, and Raelynn spilled out into the lobby.
The man stood up. “Hi, I’m Pete Valdez. This is my daughter Caro, and my fiancée Tirzah Lowe.”
Angel introduced his colleagues and Raelynn, who eyed Caro with great and returned interest. When he introduced Everly as “my mate,” a thrill of happiness went through her.
“Right,” said Pete. “This whole shifter thing is pretty new to me. Tirzah is my mate, too.”
Everly wondered what he meant by that. Tirzah was the shifter, not him? Or had he been turned into a shifter rather than born one? She made a mental note to ask Angel later if that was possible, because Pete’s tone didn’t invite questioning on the subject.
“Who referred you to us?” Angel asked. “We don’t get many patients from Refuge City.”
“No one.” Tirzah made a tapping movement with her fingers, as if she was typing on an invisible keyboard. “I found the shifter vets discussion group.”
Bryan’s amber eyes narrowed. “You found it? How could you find it? It’s a private group. It’s not searchable. It’s password-protected!”
As if Pete was daring Bryan to make something of it, he said, “Nothing online is protected from Tirzah.”
Angel stepped in between them. With deliberate cheer, he said, “Let’s see your pets. Just routine shots and exams, right? Nothing wrong with them?”
“Oh, no,” said Tirzah. “They seem very healthy.”
“I take great care of my Moonbow,” said Caro proudly.
“You have a magical pet?” Raelynn asked, her tone distinctly envious.
“You don’t?” Caro replied. “How come? I mean, with all the magical creatures around here…”
“They have to choose you,” Raelynn said glumly. “Apparently I’m not worthy.”
“Raelynn…” Waylon began, but Caro spoke over him. “Oh, I’m sure you just haven’t found the right one for you yet. I didn’t even know magical animals existed, when the most gorgeous, exquisite, magnificent—”
Angel beckoned, and Pete steered his daughter toward the largest exam room as she went on singing the praises of Moonbow. Whatever Moonbow was. Everly was wildly curious about it, not to mention whatever was in the cat carrier.
Caro set her carrier down on the exam table, opened the door, and held out a fragment of carrot. “Come on out, Moonbow. Nice carrot waiting!”
A tiny winged stallion trotted out of the carrier. His hooves made a ringing sound on the metal exam table, his white coat gleaming under the lights. He looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, nostrils flaring as he sniffed the air, and his opalescent feathered wings opened.
Everly’s gasp of sheer delight was echoed by Raelynn’s.
“Steady, Moonbow,” murmured Caro, stroking him with a finger. “Eat your nice carrot.”
Moonbow folded his wings and munched the carrot, occasionally shooting nervous glances over his shoulder. Waylon, who specialized in horses, spoke soothingly and examined him, carefully checking each ivory hoof and using the smallest and most delicate instruments to check his heart and lungs.
“He’s a young stallion in perfect health,” Waylon said. “You do take excellent care of him, Caro. I can see it. I’ll just give him his shots. He’ll barely feel them.”
Moonbow bore the vaccinations calmly, with no more protest than a single hoof stamp that made a sound like a wind chime.
“He’s the bravest, prettiest, sweetest mini-pegasus ever,” said Raelynn. “You’re so lucky, Caro!”
“I think you’re lucky, living with all these magical animals,” Caro replied. “Do you have any here now?”
“Yes! Want to see?”
“Yes!”
Caro coaxed Moonbow back into his carrier, and the girls ran out together.
“Waylon, I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” remarked Tirzah.
Lowering his voice, Waylon said, “I hope so. Raelynn’s my pride and joy, and things can be… difficult… for her.”
“I hope she does find a magical pet,” said Pete. “Caro absolutely adores her little pony.”
“Mmm.” Waylon frowned slightly. “I didn’t mean just that. Anyway, I’m happy to drive her up to the city if the girls want to visit.”
“And we’d love to drive Caro down here,” said Pete.
Everly was touched. She’d had her sisters growing up, and she knew how important friendships were for girls at that age. Or any age. She glanced at Angel, and their eyes met in unspoken understanding.
“What have you got in the cat carrier?” Angel asked.
“Cats,” said Tirzah.
Pete set the carrier on the exam table and opened it. “Come on, guys.”
A warning yowl and a menacing hiss were all that came out. Everly peered inside, but could see nothing but two pairs of gleaming yellow eyes.
“Let me,” said Angel, reaching for the carrier.
“No, no,” said Pete. “They’ll claw the hell out of you. And there’s no need. The top comes off.”
Before Angel could explain that he was the one person who wouldn’t get clawed, Pete popped the top off the carrier. Everly caught a glimpse of two kittens huddled together. One was an ordinary, if exceptionally cute, ball of black fur. The other, which must be the magical one, had spiky green fur.
Then the black kitten spread a pair of furry black wings, the green kitten spread a pair of spiky green ones, and both kittens launched into the air. They zoomed straight upward, evading Angel, Pete, and Bryan’s attempts to grab them, and began circling below the ceiling, hissing.
“They’re adorable,” said Everly. “What are their names?”
“The black one’s Batcat, and the green one’s Spike,” said Tirzah.
“Adorable nuisances,” muttered Pete, trying to corner Batcat.
Everly saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She clutched harder at her purse, but was horrified to see Rock launch herself out of a hole she’d ripped in the side. “Rock!”
Her fearless little dragonette flapped upward, then crash-landed on the exam table. She cocked her head at the kittens circling overhead and let out a squeak. First Spike, then Batcat landed on the table. Warily, the winged kittens and the dragonette sniffed at each other.
Angel snaked u
p his hands and managed to touch both kittens. They instantly relaxed, purring and nuzzling him.
“Wow,” said Tirzah.
“It’s his special gift,” said Everly proudly. “Isn’t it marvelous?”
“Yes,” said Waylon, heartfelt. “I was not looking forward to hauling in a ladder to catch those little guys.”
Bryan shrugged. “We do have butterfly nets.”
But when Bryan examined and vaccinated the kittens that Angel kept calm, his touch was gentle, and he tickled them both under the chin before he put them back in their carrier.
They ordered in pizza and ate in the break room, with the now-relaxed kittens and Moonbow and Rock cautiously playing together.
“Do all magical animals come from the portal here?” Pete asked. “Ours are… rescues, essentially. We’ve been trying to figure out where they originally came from.”
“No,” said Angel. “There’s some magical animals living in our world already. There’s small populations of wild dragonettes in a couple European countries, for instance. They might have originally come through a portal, but if they did, it was a long time ago.”
“And there’s other portals,” said Waylon. “This is just one of the most active ones.”
“You didn’t ever spot any people hanging around the portal trying to capture the animals, did you?” asked Tirzah.
The vets all shook their heads.
“But we’ll keep a lookout for them,” said Bryan.
After lunch, Pete and Tirzah and Caro checked into Come On Inn for the night, and then Pete and Tirzah went sightseeing while Caro and Raelynn went to play with Moonbow in the woods. The vets resumed their regular workday. Angel had two young dogs to spay while Waylon vaccinated a steady stream of cats, and Bryan went on a house call for a flock of chickens. Everly left a message for the owner of the Pipe & Pudding to see if he’d be interested in re-opening with a new manager with big city experience. Other than his reply, which summed up to “Please please please please please,” her phone didn’t ring once.
At the end of the day, Angel found her in the unusual animals room. Rock was napping inside her blouse while she watched the merhorse swim underwater, its shimmering tail flicking like a fan.
It was the end of an exciting day, and yet the real excitement was just beginning. This was her new life now, full of love and joy and animals, with her own family so much closer and her new family at Vets For All Pets right there in town.
As if he’d read her mind, Angel smiled and said, “Just another day in the life of a country vet and his mate.”
“Just another perfect day,” said Everly, and pulled him in for a kiss.
Epilogue
The parking lot of the Come On Inn echoed with goodbyes. Everly’s family, which had come up to La Puerta for the weekend, was taking off.
Everly’s mom, the last to climb into the minivan, gave her a hug. “I’m so proud of you.”
Her dad stuck his head out the window. “Your café is great. None of us liked the food at that unpronounceable restaurant of yours.”
“Don’t say that,” Mom protested. “She did a wonderful job with it.”
“If only the chef had too,” said Dad.
Everly laughed. She felt warm all over with the love and approval of her family, like a dragonette basking in the sun. “Come back soon!”
They waved goodbye as the minivan pulled out. She could still hear the echoes of her nieces yelling, “Goodbye! Goodbye!” even after the minivan rounded the corner and was out of sight.
“I’ll miss them,” said Angel. “They really made me feel like family.”
“You are family,” Everly replied. “My nieces especially adored you.”
“Of course they did. I introduced them to a litter of kittens and an orphan baby raccoon.”
Everly smiled, remembering with pleasure how delighted the girls had been and how careful and gentle they’d been with the baby animals. “Too bad we couldn’t show them the magical animals. Or Rock.” Her dragonette had been confined to a walk-in closet when Everly’s family had visited their home, which had greatly annoyed her; normally she had the run of the house. “Or your unicorn!”
“I wish we could too. Maybe my unicorn, someday. But the portal’s too big of a secret. Some of the animals that come through really are dangerous.”
Everly nodded. “Like the basilisk. It takes special people to see it as a scared lost baby who needs to be sent back home, not a monster to be slain.”
“Special people like you.” Angel kissed her, then glanced at his watch. “Well, guess we’re both off to work.”
“You’re not due at Vets For All Pets for another hour. And I’m not due at the café, yet, either.”
“I thought it’d be nice to have some coffee and pastry before work.”
“Oh, that’d be lovely, Angel. Let’s do it.”
“What’s today’s pastry of the day?”
“Lemon-raspberry bars. I tried one last night. You’ll love them.”
“Can’t wait.”
They got in the car, and he started toward La Puerta’s newest café, Coffee. Everly not only managed it, she had named it. She felt very proud every time a customer said with mild bewilderment, “The café is named Coffee?”
She felt even prouder when they tasted the coffee and pastries, or complimented the service or décor. Ninety percent of her work was behind the scenes, but the result was a café that ran smoothly, pleased the customers, and made money. And thanks to her strict policies about not taking work home, her phone rarely rang when she was off-duty.
They’d just pulled into the Coffee parking lot when Angel’s phone buzzed. He glanced at it, then at Everly. “Something came through the portal. Waylon got the alert when he was driving Raelynn to school, so she’s there too. When he got there, he realized it might be something dangerous. Would you mind coming along to make sure she doesn’t try to pet the basilisk or whatever it is?”
“Of course!” Everly loved coming along for portal trips. Thankfully, they’d all been peaceful since the basilisk. She’d watched the vets return the jewel toads, Nightcrawler, and the merhorse to their homes, gone on an expedition to chase down a runaway jackalope, and wielded a butterfly net to help capture a small flock of phosphorescent bluejays.
Bryan’s car was parked alongside Waylon’s truck in the secluded spot nearest to the portal. Angel pulled up and opened her door for her. She got out, smiling. There was nothing like a man who trusted you with his life but still followed the old-school rules of being a gentleman.
“I smell smoke,” Everly said. Her nose was finely honed from too much experience with kitchen fires.
Angel frowned, sniffing the air. “Me too. Might be a salamander. I mean the kind that lives in fire. Let me get the galvanized gloves.”
He pulled two pairs out of the trunk, along with a fire extinguisher and a metal cage. Gloved up, they ventured into the forest. The portal had closed again, but in the area where it opened, they found a haze of smoke and a reek of burned vegetation, along with an irritated Bryan, a worried Waylon, and a delighted Raelynn, all wearing fireproof gloves. Waylon had a large fire extinguisher, and Bryan had a tranquilizer rifle.
“Everly, would you mind taking Rae to wait in the car while we track down whatever it is?” Waylon asked.
“Nooo,” Raelynn protested, but relented when her father gave her a firm look and Everly said, “The portal’s closed, so you’ll see it once they catch it.”
Raelynn cheered up when Everly pointed out that depending on how long it took to catch the whatever it was, she might miss the entire school day. Like Angel, Raelynn found school boring and only maintained a good grade level because she’d need it to become a veterinarian.
It was a beautiful, crisp morning. Rather than sit inside the car, they leaned against it, breathing in the fresh mountain air.
“Angel and I were going to get coffee and raspberry-lemon bars when his phone rang,” said Everly. “I’ll
snag one for you, if you like.”
Raelynn brightened. “Ooh, yes please!”
A sharp clack made them turn their heads. Everly was startled to see a young, pitch-black horse standing in the road, looking at them curiously.
“There’s a ranch nearby,” said Raelynn. “He must’ve gotten out through a hole in the fence. I better get him before he gets hit by a car.”
She chirruped to him. The colt didn’t approach, but only cocked his ears forward warily.
“I’ll get a carrot.” Raelynn rummaged in the trunk, then emerged with one. She held it out to the colt. “Come on. Nice carrot for you.” Still holding it out, she remarked to Everly, “Did you know that most horses we call black are really dark brown? I’m sure he’s a true black, though. And what perfect conformation! I’ve never seen such a beauty.”
Everly, who didn’t know much about horses, was impressed by the way Raelynn coaxed the shy colt forward, until he finally stretched out his neck, reaching for the carrot with his teeth.
“Raelynn!” Waylon’s voice boomed like thunder.
The colt burst into flames. His black eyes became a pair of red-hot coals, sparks exploded like fireworks from his hooves, and flame streamed from his black coat. His mane and tail were blazing comets.
Everly grabbed Raelynn and yanked her away from the horse of fire.
The colt wheeled and bolted, straight down the road, fire and sparks streaming in his wake. Bryan fired his tranquilizer rifle, but the colt veered, galloping onto the shoulder. Abruptly, its fire went out. Everly caught a final glimpse of the black colt as he vanished into the woods.
“Brushfires!” Angel shouted. “Put them out!”
For several minutes, everyone was busy, rushing around spraying fire extinguishers and stamping on the little brushfires the colt had set. When they were done, they were all smoky and sooty and sweaty and covered with bits of dead leaves.
“Good thing it’s rained recently,” said Bryan. “Otherwise, we’d have a forest fire on our hands.”
“What was it?” Everly asked.
“A hellhorse,” said Angel. “Very rare. Very dangerous.”