Page 55 of Horn in My Side
Defeated, she trudged back to the shop.When she arrived at Fantastic Tails, Mal was already waiting outside.
“Any luck?”she asked.
“No.”He shook his head.“Let’s go inside and regroup.”
Unsure what else to do, she followed him into the shop, stomach roiling at the sight of the broken glass on the floor.“Your tank ...”
“Will be fine,” he said.“I can fix it later.But we have bigger things to worry about.”
He was right.
“So, what do we do now?”she asked.
“For starters, something we should have done first.Check the security cameras.”
“Duh.”She slapped a palm on her forehead, then ran behind the counter.Tapping the keyboard of her computer, she pulled up the footage from the main floor and played it.“Darn.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I didn’t adjust the cameras when you started building the hatching tank.”Turning the screen toward him, she played the footage.“You can see the glass shatter but not what broke out.”
“And the display window?”
Jasmine’s fingers flew over the keyboard and hit play when she found the right video.Shetsked as a dark blur flew through the glass.“Too fast for the cameras to capture it.”
“It definitely flew, though.”
“Something with wings, then.A griffin?”
“Didn’t see a tail.Phoenix?”
“They don’t hatch from eggs—they regenerate from ash.Could the carcinos or whatever it is have just flown off?Is it gone from Dewberry Falls?Are we too late?”
“It’s possible.But what do you think?”
She shrugged and leaned against the counter, elbows planting on the top and burying her face in her palms.“I have no idea.”
A gentle, heavy hand landed on her shoulder.“Jasmine, I need to ask you something.”
She lifted her head up.“What is it?”
“What does your instinct tell you?”
“Instinct?”
“Yes.”His lips pressed together, tightening around his tusks.“Do you ever get these feelings or ideas and they turn out to be right?”
“Sometimes, but doesn’t everyone?And I’m not always right.”
He let out a grunt.“How about with the animals here?Do you feel particularly close to them?Like you seem to know what they want or what’s wrong with them.”
“Well, it’s not that hard,” she said.“They want food and a safe place to live.And if they act out of the ordinary, they’re usually sick.”She thought for a moment.“But there was this one time ...”
“Yes?Go on?”
“We special-ordered this hybrid basilisk, right?”Her fingers clutched at the ends of her braid.“When she arrived, I just knew something was wrong.She wouldn’t eat or move around her tank.The supplier said she was fine when he left his farm.The vet we called in said we probably needed to switch her food.But I didn’t agree.Like, I could tell she was sick, just from the way she looked at me, as if she were asking for my help.”
“What did you do?”he asked in a gentle tone.
