Chapter Six

 

 

Magnus was sitting in the break room, filling out paperwork for his latest mission, when Transporter Becker came in, smirking.

“What is it, Becker?”

“You know that my cousin is a transporter, right?”

“Sure. It runs in the family.” Magnus waited patiently.

“Well, she just got a call to transport a wild unicorn to the Crossroads.”

Magnus pulled his feet off the table and slammed them to the floor. “What?”

“Well, I am guessing that it is the same unicorn you have been mooning over, so I thought I would let you know.” Becker grinned.

Magnus finished his paperwork in a blur of writing, and he sprinted out the door to drop the paperwork in the in-basket before he turned and ran down to the admin offices.

As he passed folks in the hall, they were barely moving. The irony of his animal was that it was the slowest while it gave his human body the ability to pass folks as if they were walking at his beast’s natural speed.

He stopped in front of the administrative assistant for the hunter office. “I need a leave of absence and a transport to the Crossroads.”

The woman in black looked up at him with amusement, and she blinked. “Good day to you, Magnus.”

“Yes, yes, Molly. Good day. I need to get to the Crossroads. Can you help me set that up?”

She grinned. “I can. Give me a minute and I will set it up.”

He nodded and paced restlessly for a few minutes until she finished speaking.

“As you are the last of your kind, this is on the council. Report to transport and they will send you on. We are nearly in the transport window, so I would hurry.”

He leaned over, kissed her on the cheek, and ran at his top speed down to the transport area. He blew past Becker in the hallway, and when he reached the transport zone, he was alone.

He looked around and began pacing. When Becker showed up, he calmly walked over to the desk and took a look at a clipboard.

He sauntered up to Magnus and looked businesslike. “So, you wish to go to the Crossroads?”

Magnus wanted to strangle his friend. “Yes.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Becker cocked his head. “Is this about the unicorn?”

“I didn’t know that was what she was when I met her, but yes. It is about her. Why aren’t you making with the transport?”

Becker chuckled. “We have two minutes before the window is here. So, how did you know that she was the one?”

“I don’t know. I know that I would be an idiot to miss the chance to make sure that I am in the right place at the right time. This is that time.”

Becker smiled and nodded. “That is the smartest thing you have ever said. Let’s hope that she feels the same when you meet her.”

“Again. When I meet her again.”

Becker chuckled. “I hope that I get as enthusiastic over a woman one day.”

“If you do, send me an invitation to the wedding.” Magnus grinned. “Now, get my ass to the Crossroads.”

“As you wish. The link is almost here. Have a nice trip.” Becker winked and gestured for Magnus to take his position on one of the authorized portals.

Magnus stepped into place and breathed slowly as Becker opened the gateway around his feet, and it slowly rose above his head. When his vision cleared, he was at the Crossroads.

Hopefully, he had made it in before Ystella arrived.

 

* * * *

 

Ystella smiled and greeted the nervous-looking young mage who had arrived to do the transport.

“Hello. I am Ystella.”

“I am Laura. Or Transporter Laura. Are you the...”

The pause stretched out so Ystella filled it in. “Client? Yes.”

The transporter looked relieved. “Right. The client.”

“I am also a wild unicorn, so I don’t know what that means for the transport, but I thought you should know.”

“I will take precautions. I know that the Crossroads have already been alerted.”

They were standing outside, and Ystella asked, “Where did you want to do this?”

“The window of access is on the way, so here in the yard?”

“Sure.” Ystella smiled. “Do I need to give you anything?”

“No, the council took care of that with my guild. You are all good.”

Ystella sighed in relief. She had no idea about how to get to the money her mother had put aside.

She felt the magic tingling nearby, and Laura smiled. “You have to walk through. I am that kind of transporter.”

“There are different kinds?”

“Yeah. Some have rings, some have flashes, but with my portal, you walk through and it wraps around you, like cling film. Then, you are moved through to the Crossroads.”

“Oh, cool. Right. Well, thank you for your service.” Ystella’s hands were sweating, but she kept them closed. Even her sweat could transmit magic if she wasn’t careful.

“You can go now. I can only hold this for so long.”

“Right. Sorry. Thanks.”

Ystella thought about her parents and stepped through the gate. If it worked for them, it might work for her.

 

She stepped out onto a walkway in the centre of a sunbeam. Ystella staggered slightly, and the coating of transport energy gradually faded from her vision and body.

A man with an aura of power around him was standing at the edge of the walkway. “Ystella? I am Tony. May I say that we are honoured to have you here.”

She smiled and inclined her head. Her vision registered a handsome man, but her senses saw something far more dangerous. He was woven into the ground around her, and another being’s energy was twisted into the mix. He had a mate, and she was even more powerful than he was.

“Thank you, but I don’t know about the honour. I am just your average shifter with an accessory.”

He chuckled. “Well, are you interested in considering a fey mate?”

She frowned. “I hadn’t considered it, but I suppose I could. I am already out of the family; I may as well go for broke.”

“It isn’t enthusiastic, but I will take it.” He smiled and went over to an antique desk where he prepared some documents and a small bracelet.

“If you sign here, it will link the charm to the council account that they set up for you. It also indicates acknowledgement of your role in the events to follow. You are here to seek a mate and you will remain until you find one. We aren’t confining you, but your kind do not pop up every generation like the standard unicorns do. If you can bring more of your kind into the world, we would dearly love you to do it.”

Ystella nearly stumbled back, but she kept calm. “The shifters want me to have babies?”

“They do. The reports that Kenzi sent out were specific regarding your magic frequencies. The output that you produce has caused spikes in fertility in your vicinity. The effect lasts for days. With a family of wild unicorns, the levels of magic could be enhanced in deficient areas.”

She blinked. “Wow. That is a heavy burden.”

“Yes. I am sorry, but you have been hiding for a purpose.”

Ystella wrinkled her nose. “You are probably right, but on the plus side, I am now a master at using a sander.”

He blinked, looked at her forehead, and winced. “I see. Well, if you sign here, I will give you your charm that will enable you to purchase anything you need at the shops here. Just scan the charm over the payment plate and anything you want or need is yours.”

She nodded and signed. “Anything I need is a good start.”

He attached the small charm to her wrist and smiled. “Well, now, we are on our way to do a tour of the Crossroads. We are moderately busy, but you have your choice of residences. There is the Open Heart or the Axion.”

“What is the difference?”

“One is run by a fey and a shifter, and the other is run by a fey.”

Ystella asked, “Can I see them?”

“Sure.”

“Good. If I can see the energy patterns, I will be able to make up my mind.”

He nodded. “Good. Shall we?”

He offered her his arm, and she took it. They walked out on a tour of the place where her parents had met for the first time.

It was just as her dad had described. There were more businesses, but the general store was still in place, as was the café.

It was like stepping into a storybook.

Tony asked, “You are smiling. Any particular reason?”

“My parents described this place to me. They stayed at the hostels and had their mating night at the Open Heart before heading home. They talk about this place fondly.”

He blinked. “Who are your parents?”

“Elantha and Wendel. Horse and a bobcat.” She smiled.

“Wow. I remember them. Your mother has a streak of red hair and your father is a very persistent man who found his prey and went after it. Your mother kicked him in the face, and we had quite the time of it to get him the medical attention that he needed.”

“That sounds like them, but they never mentioned that part.”

He chuckled. “What happens at the Crossroads stays in our memories.”

“It will never catch on as a slogan.” She smiled.

“I know.” He shrugged. “Did you want to stay at the Open Heart?”

“Sure. As long as they have changed the mattresses. That is not an aura I want to see.” She sighed.

His eyes widened. “Wow. Okay. That makes a weird sort of sense.”

Their tour continued, and a number of men looked her over as she passed, and she returned the favour. It was what she was there for, after all.

The Open Heart was a lovely Victorian home next to the exotic fairy tale castle of the Axion. Ystella looked them both over and her heart sank.

“I can’t. They are both too charged with energy. I need someplace normal.” She looked at the building that had started her family and that she had been conceived in, and the disappointment she was feeling was intense.

He frowned. “Perhaps the Isthmus. We have a direct transport there, and you can see if there is another place that you would prefer.”

“Is it enchanted?”

“Everything here is.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I think I need some time to think about this. Is there someplace I can shift and run around?”

He nodded. “Of course. Right. This hasn’t happened before, so I will take you to the shifter field. There are cabanas to remove your clothing and shift in. You can take as long as you like, simply come back to the Meditation Centre when you are ready.”

She smiled. “Please, lead the way.”

He nodded and escorted her to the open field that expanded to a forest that looked dark and exuded an air of privacy.

Ystella thanked him and headed to the cabanas, peeling off her shirt on the way before she ducked into an open tent that closed behind her.

She folded her clothing and placed her shoes on top. She wiggled her toes in the grass and raised her arms for a moment before she lowered them and shifted into her beast form.

It was time to go for a run and figure out where she belonged.