I had no idea what to do. I had a baby elephant in my backpack-- a critically endangered baby mastodon, at that.
I didn’t know how to get access to what she needed to eat, or how to take care of her, but I knew I could get in a lot of trouble for having her in my apartment.
I bit my lower lip.
While in law school, I had spent a summer working for a judge down at the Magical courts. While there I had come across the mention of the most prestigious environmental lawyers that the Magical community had to offer-- the Baehrs.
If anyone would know what to do for my little orphan, it would be them.
“Hold on,” I told my little family. “We’re going on another trip.” I speared Fred with my most serious glare. “We’re going to Magic Central. Behave yourself, OK? One false move and it’s blowtorch time!”
Fred hissed at me.
“Nice,” I told him, “I try to save your life and this is the thanks I get? Remind me to put onions on your next hamburger.”
The room lurched again and I opened my eyes to the busiest place in the whole Magical world.
Magic Central was as big and busy as all of the major train stations in the world scrambled together... and then fed on steroids for a few years. Magical creatures and peoples of every variety moved at a fast pace, all headed in a different direction.
I started forward and almost bumped off of the stomach of a troll.
“Sorry,” I murmured. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
“Quite all right,” he answered, letting me pass.
I grinned to myself. Not all trolls were, well... trolls.
I dug into my pack for my map. I only had a vague idea of where the Baehr offices were. I ruffled around the baby elephant, who was snoring soundly, but there was no map anywhere.
“Crap,” I whispered. “Where did I leave that thing?”
I’d just have to find my own way.
All the legal offices were lined along the same boulevard, near the main detention center. I headed that way and hoped that I’d recognize the office when I saw it.
I was in luck-- they had a sign hanging outside of it with a bear on the sign.
I chuckled at the pun on their names, shaking my head, and pushed the door open.
The water-nymph secretary smiled openly at me as I entered. “Hello,” she greeted. “I’m Willow. Welcome to Baehr, Baehr, and Baehr attorneys of law. What can I we do to help you?”
“I need to see a lawyer,” I said. “I mean, I am a lawyer, but I need to see an expert in magical environmental law... well,” I sighed. “Can I please speak to one of the Baehrs?”
“Any preference?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Not really.”
She pressed a button on her desk. “Kodi,” she murmured, “there’s someone here to see you... a Miss...” She raised her eyebrows at me.
“Locke,” I told her, “Goldie Locke.”
Her eyebrows rose further, but she relayed the information.
I didn’t have to wait long.
A tall and very irate man came down the hallway. “Look,” he bellowed, the veins standing out on his forehead. “We’re a real, hard-working legal firm. We don’t need jokesters coming in here making fun...” He paused as he took in my appearances.
“I mean no disrespect,” I told him seriously. “My name is really Goldie Locke. That I need your help is just... fortuitous.”
He rubbed his jaw. “Your name really is Goldie Locke?”
I nodded. “Golden Sunshine Locke,” I supplied helpfully.
His face cleared. “You’re Daniel Locke’s daughter, aren’t you?”
I nodded, relieved that he had recognized me.
“Come on in,” he offered, gesturing down the hall, “and... I’m sorry I overreacted.”
“That’s OK,” I told him. “If my last name was Baehr and someone claimed to be Goldie Locke... I think I would have the same reaction.”
He actually chuckled.
Now that he wasn’t enraged, he had a cheerful expression and moved down the hallway with a carefree easy-going manner. He was taller than average-- not that everyone didn’t tower over my petite five feet nothing-- with huge hands and a frame that should have been awkward, but somehow wasn’t.
He ushered me into a small conference room and seated himself on the edge of the table, letting one of his long legs swing. “How can I help you, Ms. Locke?”
“Actually,” I corrected him. “It’s Dr. Locke, but that’s not important at the moment.”
He pursed his lips. “MD?”
I shook my head. “Two Ph.Ds and a law degree,” I corrected.
He blinked at me. “But,” he protested, “forgive me, but you look like you couldn’t be older than seventeen.”
Well, it was better than the usual assumed ‘thirteen’.
“I’m nineteen,” I told him. “I started college when I was thirteen. It’s a long story.” I gave him a pointed look. “And that’s not why I’m here.”
I set my pack on the table and moved the mastodon fur aside to show the baby sleeping inside.
“Her herd is dead,” I said.
“Oh, crap,” Kodi Baehr said, taking in all the implications instantly.
I nodded. “Exactly.”
I had to put it to the Baehrs-- once they had a handle on the situation they moved pretty darn fast. Kodi pulled up everything he could find on the care of endangered species and had me filling out forms that would allow me to legally foster the calf, while the older brothers somehow pulled strings that managed to get me supplied with everything I might need to take care of my new baby-- including alicorn milk, which was the closest magical alternative to mastodon milk we had available.
“Are you sure you can take this on?” Kodi asked me, as I gathered my things together and prepared to go back home.
I shrugged. “What’s the alternative?” I answered. “There are no zoos or preserves that could take her on. It’s pretty much me... or nothing.”
He nodded ruefully. “Unfortunately you are correct.”
“I can handle one little elephant,” I told him confidently.
“Well, if you need any help, we’re available,” he told me with an open smile. He handed me a sheaf of papers. “Here’s the contact information for the milk-donor, for when you run out. I’ve included all our contact information... and my personal cell.” His smile broadened. “You can call me on it any time of night or day.”
Oh, brother.
“Thanks,” I said briskly. I tucked Fred back under my arm and headed back out to the streets of Magic Central.
“Good luck!” Kodi called after me.
“I can handle this,” I repeated.
Chapter Three
Baehrly Beginning (A Goldie Locke and the Were Bears Short Story) Page 2