Identity Revealed: The Tue-Rah Chronicles

by Butler, J. M.

  Amelia scooped up her list at the front of the white-walled office as she walked toward the back where the kennels were housed. Most of them were empty today. Except one. She paused at Claudius's cage and knelt down, her hand pressed to the bars. "Hey Claudius," she said.

  The dog, a German shepherd and Doberman mix, wagged his black-and-tan tail. Sniffing her hand, he licked it, then whimpered.

  Amelia carefully slipped her fingers through the bars to rub his head. Over the past few months, she'd tried to rehabilitate him, but sometimes he…well, broke. A week ago, he'd snapped and bit her. Her left arm still bore the deep punctures. He'd bitten her twice before and snapped at her on multiple occasions, not to mention the outbreaks against the other animals.

  Ian had brought Claudius out to a family considering adoption. That had been the first mistake. The poor creature had been rescued from a dogfighting ring. The second mistake had been in letting the little girl stand in front of him. Like most children, she'd enthusiastically petted him and grabbed at his ears.

  Amelia's stomach twisted as she remembered that horrible moment. How she had come around the corner in time to see Claudius out of his kennel, his body rigid, ears sideways, eyes wide and white-rimmed as he lifted his head back, trying to disengage from the child. There hadn't been enough time to drag the child away or to tell Ian to get Claudius out of there. All she'd had time to do was rip the girl back and block the girl from Claudius with her arm.

  Claudius hadn't known who she was, despite her care of him all those months. So he bit her. If she hadn't been wearing her leather jacket, the damage would have been far, far worse. It was horrible with Ian holding onto Claudius's leash, and Ethan rushing in and the parents grabbing the child, and Jacinda screaming. All had been panicked chaos, and now…

  Amelia scratched behind Claudius's ear in his favorite spot. His tail wagged, thumping against the floor. "You look like you're doing all right," she said.

  "Hey, how's your arm doing?" Ethan had walked up behind her.

  "Better than you'd think," Amelia said. Her arm throbbed at his question as if in response to the memory rather than real pain. Most of the time she was a quick healer, which was a good thing. She couldn't go to the hospitals here on this world without betraying what she was. When Joseph had tried to find out her blood type many years ago, it had turned blue when it came in contact with the antibodies, which didn't seem to be a good sign.

  As Amelia stood, she noticed the downcast expression on Ethan's face. "Is something wrong?"

  "Listen…" Ethan swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. "We weren't sure if we should tell you, but Claudius has to be put down today."

  Amelia's chest tightened. No. No, this wasn't happening. Not on top of everything else. "It wasn't his fault," she said tightly. "He should never have been brought out for adoption. He needs special care."

  "I know. But it isn't just that. He's had multiple episodes, and it's not only about safety now. There's legal reasons too."

  "I'm going to talk to Malcolm." Amelia sidestepped Ethan and hurried down the hall. As usual, the office door was open. Malcolm sat inside, sipping from a "World's Greatest Grandpa" mug as a lop-eared rabbit trundled about the top of the desk. "Got a minute?" Amelia asked briskly.

  "For you, I've got two. Are you going to be here this afternoon? Bethany needs those—"

  "Yes, I know about the scorpions, and yes, I'll be here." Amelia took a deep breath, struggling to collect her words from the angry mess in her mind. "Why are you having Claudius put down this time? He wasn't supposed to be around children. I can take him home tonight. I wanted to take him home last week. I can take care of him."

  The smile in Malcolm's eyes faded. He shifted forward in his chair and set his mug on the desk. "It's more complicated than that. Even without everything else, there was another incident yesterday afternoon after you left. No one was hurt, thank heavens, but this keeps happening. And after what happened with the Clarks…"

  Amelia chewed the inside of her lip, trying to calm herself. "He bit me. Not the girl."

  "And they were very grateful for your efforts. No telling how much damage he'd have done to Cynthia." Malcolm sighed. "I know this isn't easy. It's the worst part about the job."

  "Let me take him home with me."

  "There's an order now. Their family has connections. You know what this means. I'm sorry, Amelia."

  Tears rose in Amelia's eyes. "It isn't right. I'm the one that was bitten."

  "The way that it has come about is far from ideal, but in my professional opinion, it's for the best." Malcolm cleared his throat. "What that dog went through was atrocious. He didn't deserve it. It doesn't mean that we can let him hurt others, and he has made several unprovoked attacks even since last week. Two days ago, he nearly broke the cage open. Not to mention the times he has bitten you. Ian should never have brought him out for adoption, and I've dealt with him. But, in fairness, Amelia, we were headed down this road from the beginning. Someone is going to die if we don't take action. It is a blessing you were there and saved Cynthia, but the next time, we might not be so lucky. And let me put this bluntly as well: you could have died too, Amelia. More than once. It isn't a question of if Claudius will attack again. It's a question of when and how bad will the damage be this time? His behavior is too erratic. And you know this. You're a good vet, Amelia. You've seen this before."

  "So why am I not down for the procedure?" Amelia asked. Her voice shook as she reached the end of the sentence.

  Standing, Malcolm picked up the rabbit. A few of the papers slid to the floor with a soft shoosh. "I didn't think you'd want to. I mean, you've obviously gotten close to him. Trained him. Fed him. Everything. I didn't think you'd want to be involved."

  "I don't want to," Amelia said slowly, "but I need to. He's my responsibility, and he won't be as afraid if it's me. I can make it better for him."

  "Have it your way." Malcolm walked out from behind the desk, the rabbit snuggled in the crook of his arm. "But if it's too much for you, let Ethan or Mark know. Ian's still out. But they can take care of it. There's no shame in feeling."

  Amelia nodded numbly, then returned to her tasks. Claudius deserved better than this. It wouldn't be the first time she had had to euthanize an animal, but most of the others had been old and ill, suffering so much that euthanasia was the only humane thing. Some small part of her had hoped that Claudius might have a future, yet now, because of other people's stupidity and cruelty, he would pay the price.

  She went through the motions to prepare, numb and sad. How ironic it was that Joseph had wanted her to work with animals to test her supposed bloodlust and develop her compassion and empathy. Oddly, the bloodlust had never come, and days like this gutted her.

  Picking up Claudius's blue leash, one she'd purchased for him along with a few other toys, Amelia stopped by the fridge and got her bag lunch. Ethan waited for her at the kennels. Bracing herself, Amelia opened Claudius's cage, clipped the leash to his collar, and guided him out. He was quite calm for the moment, his ears pricked forward and his tail lightly wagging.

  "You might want to muzzle him," Ethan said.

  "No. He doesn't like it." Amelia scratched Claudius behind the ear as he alternately sniffed her ankles and licked her hand.

  It was hard to believe how drastically he could change. And all with so little warning. He nudged the paper bag in her hand. "Come on, sweetie," she said, her voice tight. It didn't even take a tug to get him to come with her.

  Everything was ready. Helping Claudius up onto the table, Amelia continued to stroke his head and speak in a soft voice. "Look what I've got." She opened the paper bag and pulled out a cheeseburger wrapped in lettuce. Claudius's ears pricked up even more as she removed the lettuce and set the cold meat patty on the table beside him. In a few quick bites, he devoured the whole thing and licked up the few crumbs. He even sniffed at the lettuce but didn't eat it.

  "Yes, that's a good boy." Amelia opened the glass jar on the c
ounter to remove two dog biscuits for him as well.

  If Claudius knew that something was wrong, he gave no indication. Amelia knew better than to put her hands near him when he was eating, but once he was done, she stroked his back and neck. Underneath his dark-brown and grey fur were dozens of scars, some deep, some long. His left eye was completely opaque, not moving as he lifted his head for her to rub him behind the ear. Amelia looked away, tears pricking her eyes. If only she'd insisted on taking him away two weeks ago, this wouldn't have happened. And maybe he would've snapped, but she could have found a way to keep it from being so bad.

  "You doing all right?" Ethan asked. He slid the glove on his right hand.

  "I'm fine." Amelia wiped the tears away, keeping her gaze focused on the dog. "You're a good boy, Claudius." She washed her hands, not even feeling the cold water. Next came the gloves. It was time.

  She spoke soothingly to Claudius, stroking his head and moving the fur back on his neck. A particularly deep scar cut across the top of his shoulder blades and up the curve, a combination of a once too-tight collar and other vicious attacks in the arena. Sterilizing the area, Amelia made the first injection a little ways down from the scar.

  Claudius whined and tried to turn his head. "Shhh," Amelia said. "It's okay." Her voice shook.

  It would have been easier for her conscience if he had been vicious now. But he wasn't. For this moment, he was quiet and calm, looking up at her with trusting eyes, his head resting on his paws. His eyes blinked shut.

  "That's a good boy," Amelia whispered. "It's going to be all right."

  Ethan handed her the second syringe. It went in just as smoothly. Claudius's tail thumped one last time. Amelia kept her hand firmly on his side, so close that she could feel the beat of his heart until it slowed. "It's going to be all right, baby." The lump in her throat choked her.

  Sighing, Ethan pulled off his gloves. He tossed them in the bin before moving toward the door. "I know you'll want to finish saying goodbye. Take all the time you need."

  As the door clicked shut and the cold fluorescent lights flickered, Amelia peeled her gloves off slowly. They fell onto the cold white tiles. All was still, smelling of antiseptic and dog.

  Dropping to her knees beside Claudius, she stroked his head and let the tears fall. Her heart hurt as if someone had gouged out a portion of it. If the bloodlust ever took over her, she hoped she'd have the wherewithal to track down the people who had run that dogfighting ring in the first place. It was times like these when she wished she was as terrible as what she believed.

  Eventually a numbness settled in her chest. It was time to go. There were other animals that needed to be cared for.

  She left the office and told Kenny, the attendant, that he needed to prepare the body. Then, without taking time to touch up her makeup or do more than clean up her eyeliner, she acted as if nothing had happened. Or rather, she tried.

  Cleaning the fish tanks, giving shots to some of the new shelter animals, and helping set a monitor lizard's broken leg took up the rest of her day, but Claudius's death clung to her. The hours passed in a painful blur, all the worse from the growing depression that weighted her down.

  At some point, Bethany arrived to pick up the scorpions, chipper as usual and eager to chat. Normally, Amelia joined in enough to be friendly, but today she couldn't keep focused on the conversation.

  "You know, she really is pretty amazing," Jacinda said. "She isn't afraid to handle them at all, are you, Amelia?"

  "Hmm?" Amelia looked up, startled. "What?"

  "Scorpions." Bethany set her hands on her braided leather belt. "I still can't look at those things without getting a little creeped out."

  "They used to scare me too," Amelia said. "So did spiders. But I practiced holding them. You've got to be careful though. You can damage them if you aren't mindful."

  "Is it hard?" Bethany asked.

  "Harder than it looks." Jacinda gave Amelia a nudge and a smile. "But she makes it look easy."

  "Can you show me how it's done?" Bethany asked.

  Jacinda clapped her hands together. "Yes! Show her!"

  "Sure." Amelia released a tight sigh.

  Ordinarily she would have said no, but that would lead to begging and pleading. After last night's nightmares and Claudius, she wanted to get this over as fast as possible, and that meant holding the scorpion again.

  Amelia lifted the lid off the tank then and slowly lowered her hand in. Behind her, Bethany and Jacinda whispered. Amelia disregarded whatever they were saying and focused on the arachnids. It took only a moment for one to scamper onto her palm. She lifted the scorpion up carefully. This one was one of the largest, though his claws were smaller than they should have been. His curved stinger glistened like wet ink.

  "Oh my goodness!" Bethany whispered shrilly. She pulled back, tugging on Jacinda's arm. "I can't believe you're doing that. Can I—oh, I shouldn't—oh, can I hold it?"

  "No." Amelia drew the scorpion back, bringing up her other hand to shield it. "You can't be jumpy around them. They're actually really delicate."

  "How do you keep it from stinging you?" Bethany asked.

  "I don't know how she does that," Jacinda said, "but I do know I'd never put my hand even this close to one." She waved her hand, the shadow sliding over the scorpion as Amelia lowered it back into the tank.

  The motion and shadow combined startled the scorpion, and in that breath of a second, the scorpion stung her. Amelia clamped her hand around her wrist, resisting the urge to fling the scorpion. She'd gotten careless.

  "Are you all right?" Jacinda exclaimed, her brown eyes widening. "Did it sting you?"

  "Does it hurt?" Bethany asked.

  Amelia gritted her teeth and nodded. Lowering her hand the rest of the way, she let the scorpion scrabble off. Her hand burned as if she'd received a wasp sting. At least it was her left hand.

  "It was my fault," she said.

  "Do you want me to look at it?" Jacinda asked.

  "No, no, it's fine. I'll take care of it." Amelia hurried into the bathroom. Once inside, she washed her hand with cold water, then soaked a cotton ball in bleach and placed it on the sting. She shouldn't have said yes to begin with. Not right now.

  After a few minutes, the stinging stopped, but Amelia remained in the bathroom. What am I even thinking? She sagged against the wall and covered her face.

  Often she had struggled with fears that she would never return to Libysha. That she had been forgotten or replaced. Now all of that was merged in with Claudius and the fact that she had had to kill him. The thoughts and emotions snarled in her mind like ragged yarn. No…no, she couldn't give up…this day had to get better. It wasn't going to improve staying here though.

  Amelia swiped the sting once more, taking care not to press too hard on the swollen blue marking. Ordinarily she would have covered it with a Band-Aid or something, particularly since most humans didn't have that sort of reaction to scorpion stings. But at the moment, she didn't care.

  "You know, you've stayed late most of this week," Jacinda said when she emerged. "Why don't you head on home? I'll finish closing up here. It's not a problem, hon."

  "Thanks." Amelia didn't even attempt to fight. Removing her white coat, she swapped it out for her black leather jacket and picked up her satchel.

  "If you want to come by the Yellow Shoe tonight, you're more than welcome," Jacinda said with a soft smile. "I think you might like some of my friends. If you ever met them outside of this place."

  "Thanks. Maybe some other time." Amelia forced a smile before she said goodbye and hurried out the door.

  The brisk autumn air rushed up around her as her black hiking boots crunched along the gravel. She had walked this path enough times, she barely had to pay attention to the two-and-a-half-mile course. Normally, she just popped in her earbuds and enjoyed the trail, but the pall refused leave.

  It wasn't just about Claudius. Claudius was a huge part of it. But the bigger issue was how long it had
been. As much as she loved working with animals and the makeshift training routines she had managed to come up with, she knew she wasn't getting any closer to restoring the Tue-Rah or stopping Naatos and his brothers.

  The dreams had made sure that today would be bad. They'd been worsening in intensity, building the dread within her that she had somehow failed. It had taken Naatos less than a night to conquer her people. What had he done in over two decades?

  She shook her head at herself. Maybe it was better if she had been forgotten. If she couldn't even kill a dog without breaking down, how could she hope to stop Naatos and his brothers? As much as she wanted to think that she would find her nerve and steel when she faced Naatos again—if she ever faced Naatos again—she wondered if she had it in her.

  By the time Amelia reached her house, she knew she needed a more intense workout to get through the frustration and the sadness. The house was empty as it always was, the heavy bag hanging in the center of the living room, which doubled as her gym. A small handwritten sign that read "Naatos" was approximately where she thought his face would be.

  Everything in the house was simple and sparse, focused entirely on her training and not particularly welcoming for guests. Amelia changed into her workout clothes and bound up her hands, focusing on her left hand. Sting or no sting, she didn't plan on taking it easy on herself.

  Today's routine hardly soothed her though it did tire her. Perhaps she'd go out for another run. She made her way through the circuit of her home in a variety of exercises which tested her balance, her stamina, her strength, and sometimes her speed. In the stretches, reps, and sweat, she lost herself, doing the best she could to avoid thinking of the Tue-Rah or Claudius or of anything else.

  A knock sounded on the door. Amelia didn't even have to ask who it was. Uncle Joe was the only one who came around other than Jacinda, and Jacinda would still be at the vet's office. She arched up from the floor, sweat rolling down her face. "Come in."