Forgotten Gods Books 1-3

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

I pressed my car key, watching the lights flash as my car unlocked. There weren't many people about at this time, mostly because we kept the surgery open later than most working hours. Our clients all had lives too and it made more sense that they could bring their pets in well after they'd finished their day jobs. We did our rescue work in the mornings.

"See you later, Sera!" George called, watching as I got into my car. I appreciated that. We didn't live in a dangerous area but there was some security about knowing someone made sure I got into the relative safety of my car. He did the same for the other veterinary nurses too, which only added to his kindness, even if it didn't take him long to check three people had gotten into their own cars.

"See you tomorrow," I shouted back, sliding into the driver's seat and sticking my keys in the ignition.

I flicked on the lights, needing them to see through the ever-darkening nights. I hated winter. It was dark when I went to work, dark when I went home.

Throwing the car into reverse, I went into autopilot. I knew this carpark like the back of my hand, getting out of it safely wasn't a big deal.

Confident I was facing the right direction, I turned my attention back to the front, only to slam on the breaks as something flashed in front of my lights. Panicking slightly, I put my handbrake on and got out of the car, careful to put the flashlight on my phone on.

A car pulled up to my left and I heard the window roll down, though I didn't turn to look at it.

"You alright, Sera?" George asked.

"Yes, I just thought I saw something." I moved my light around, landing it on what had caught my attention.

A gasp escaped from me. Was that a...

No. It couldn't be. What would a jackal be doing here? They weren't native and weren't exotic enough to have lived in a zoo. Besides, there wasn't a zoo around here anyway.

"What is it?" George asked, the slam of his car door followed.

"A jackal." Confusion coloured my voice.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." But I didn't know how to explain how I knew. I'd seen enough jackal gods in my time to know what they looked like. It was how I'd gained most of my knowledge about animals. Everyone had an animal they held sacred where I came from and it had been sensible to memorise what that was for to avoid insulting anyone accidentally.

"Where's it come from?" George asked.

I held my phone steady, illuminating the creature. He was clearly hurt and the healer in me was desperate to help, even if I didn't know what was wrong.

"I don't know," I finally answered.

"What do we do with it?"

"We take care of it," I insisted.

He didn't respond, the silence worrying in a lot of ways.

"We can't, Sera. I can't bring a wild animal like that into the surgery. Not when we don't know where it's been and what it could be carrying."

"But it needs our help."

George lapsed into silence again and I knew there wasn't going to be any budging on this.

"I'll take him," I said eventually. "I have a friend who works at the zoo, I'll take him there." The lie slipped off my tongue with surprising ease but something told me I needed to help the animal and I didn't know why. I was old enough and wise enough to listen to the little voice inside me though.

"You can't..."

"He's perfectly safe, look." I pointed at the jackal who was breathing heavily but not moving much. His breathing was laboured, only causing me to worry more about his health. Without better lighting, I'd never be able to work out what had happened to him and what to do next.

"Sera..."

"I'll take him straight to my friend," I insisted. "It's a couple of hours drive, but I'll get him to meet me halfway." I was shocked at how easily the lies came. I hated being anything less than truthful normally and this was no different. But, for once, it felt necessary.

"Okay, fine. But only because he clearly needs help."

"Thank you. Let's get him into the back of my car." I looked away from the animal for a moment, hoping he was safe under George's watch, and went to open the car doors to make it easier for us.

Returning to the jackal, I helped George lift him. The creature whimpered slightly but made no move to stop us. It was as if he knew he was safer with us than anywhere else. That was definitely a relief for me. I didn't want to cause him more distress.

We moved slowly, not wanting to jar him and cause more pain. It took a while to get the animal into the back of my car. He was heavier than I'd anticipated which made things harder going. Especially as I was low on power as it was and that affected my physical strength.

The lack of magic hummed through me. That was going to be a problem if the jackal was too serious. I wouldn't be able to heal him for a couple of days and would be restricted to my knowledge of traditional veterinary practices.

"Thank you," I said as George made his way back to his car.

"You're welcome. But text me once you've handed him over. I want to know he's safe."

"I will," I lied again. "But I don't see that there'll be any problems."

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." I gave a half wave as I settled myself back in my car and prepared to drive home. I'd need to remember to message George in about an hour if I wanted to keep up the ruse. If not, he'd probably be around my house demanding to know what was going on and if he did that, he might discover that I hadn't given the jackal to anyone at all.

How had my life gotten so complicated? I'd managed to stay out of trouble for millennia, mostly because even the other gods couldn't remember who I was, but something told me all of that was about to change.

And this jackal was part of it.

"We'll be home in fifteen minutes, bud. I'll check you out once we're there and work out what we need to do."

Great. I was talking to something that couldn't talk back.

Except that I could sense his gratitude. Almost like I could sense the gratitude of my scorpions when I...

No. It was better that I didn't go there. I'd only drive myself crazy with the thoughts of what could have been. There was no changing the past. Especially with who I was. I didn't want to risk everything coming out and the backlash. In the modern world, we'd all sworn to keep our heads down and not draw any attention. I had no idea how the humans would react if they found out the truth. They probably wouldn't be bothered at all. So many of them had stopped believing in us long ago. They'd even stopped believing in the versions of us they'd created since.

Each time, some thought they'd be different. That they'd keep the faith system they'd made. Some lasted longer than others, that was for sure, but almost all of them had fallen by the wayside. Now, everyone seemed to believe something different. I liked it in some ways. In others, it reminded me just how much of the past we were.

"Just a couple more minutes," I told the jackal, not once questioning why I was doing that. The creature was in my care, I'd treat it with the respect it should have.

"We're here now." I pulled into the drive and parked my car.

One thing I hadn't thought of was how to get the jackal out of my car and into the house without hurting him more. The only thing I could actually think of was to get a wheelbarrow and move him that way but that might cause some other problems.

"I'll be back in a moment," I told him, getting out and doing just as I'd thought. There was no way I could carry him on my own and this was the only idea I had which was worth it.

I settled the wheelbarrow next to the back of my car and opened the door. The jackal gave me an odd look, like he wasn't sure what I was thinking either. He had a point. My idea was weird to say the least.

"It's the only way I can think of," I told him. "Are you going to let me?"

The jackal nodded and I did a double take. Had he really just done that? Could jackals even nod? I didn't remember them doing that when I'd been around them before but I might have been wrong. I was more of an arachnid kind of woman anyway.

"You're going to have to help me." I shuffled the jackal forward, making sure not to pull on him too hard. He seemed to help and let me move him about a bit. Eventually, I got him into the wheelbarrow. Getting him out and onto another surface in my house was going to be another thing but for now, I was relieved I'd even got him out of the car.

I wheeled him in, being careful to lock all my doors behind me as I did. Some people might have called me overcautious but with all the things I'd seen over the years, it was better to be safe rather than sorry. We passed through my kitchen and into the living room, leaving a dirt trail behind me as a result. Knowing the mess was there grated on me but at the moment, I had a job to do and I didn't want to ignore it just because I'd made a mess.

"I'm just going to tip the barrow," I said, not knowing why I was still informing the jackal of what I was doing. A small part of me thought he might forgive me easier if I was honest with him. Realistically, I knew that wasn't the case.

Resting the front of the barrow down and counting on the weight of the animal to keep it there, I switched ends, trying to slide the creature out of the wheelbarrow and onto my rug. The fabric should be soft enough to make him comfortable but not impossible to clean for me afterwards.

"Yes!" I cried out as my plan worked.

The jackal grinned at me, baring its teeth in a completely non-threatening way.

"We did it," I told him. "Thank you for making it so easy."

He nodded again. This time it was impossible for me to ignore. The lights were on and it couldn't possibly be the shadows playing a trick on me. He really was responding to me.

I pushed the thought from my mind and began to examine him, trying to assure myself nothing was broken and there wasn't any immediate risk to his life. Luckily, I found nothing. No cuts. No breaks. But there was an infected looking graze on the underside of his belly. Grabbing some disinfectant and gloves, I cleaned out the wound. I'd need to keep an eye on it but doubted it was anything too dangerous for the animal.

There was nothing else for me to do, so I got him some water and some minced meat I'd been intending to make some bolognese with and went to bed. I'd check on him in the morning and hope he made it through the night.

Despite having a wild animal in my house, I felt weirdly safe and secure. Like I was doing the right thing.

With that thought ringing through my mind, I climbed into bed and shut off the light.