by D. Levesque
“I know! Isn’t he amazing?” he says with a grin.
“No, what that makes him is dangerous!” Lori says, throwing both hands up in the air. “What will the Council do if they hear of this?” she asks him.
“What?” Magus Targun says, his smile suddenly gone and confusion showing on his face.
“Dad,” Marrisa says slowly. “If it gets out that you now have a powerful Magus who is unregistered, what would happen?”
“Oh shit,” Magus Targun says, after a couple of seconds of thinking about it. “They would want him, and not as a free man.”
“Then that leaves only one thing for us to do. I hate to do it to her, but it needs to be done,” Lori says, looking at Marrisa.
“What?” Marrisa says, but suddenly she gets a look of panic on her face. “No fucking way! Not happening! I am not doing it!”
“Well then I guess they will charge you with Article 1,” Lori tells her.
“What? How?” Marrisa cries at her.
“I’m sure they will figure out a way since you not only allowed a human into our world, but also you allowed a human to become incredibly powerful.”
Marrisa doesn’t respond to that, but instead stares at her sister in dismay. Then she finally cries, “But that?”
“That,” Lori says with a nod.
Throughout all this, I am looking at them in confusion, with no idea what the hell is going on. “What is that exactly?”
Magus Targun is the first one to answer, and there is a contemplative look on his face. “You would need to marry my daughter and become an automatic citizen of the Galactic Worlds.”
“What!?” I say, so stunned that Lori’s handgun falls out of my hand and clatters to the floor.
Chapter Seven
“You want me to marry her?” I blurt out in shock.
“You want me to marry this human?” Marrisa says in loathing.
“Hey, I’m not thrilled with it either,” I tell her with a glare. “You’re the fucking reason I’m here.”
“You were not supposed to be there that night,” she growls.
“And according to your sister, you weren’t supposed to be there either!” I shout back at her, pissed at her attitude.
“Enough!” Lori shouts, cutting us both off. “Marrisa, can it. You’re definitely at fault here, Marrisa. And Kevin, shut it. At this point, it’s either you marry her or your life will be hell. As an unregistered Magus and a non-citizen of the Galaxy, you will essentially be a slave to the Council. And as a powerful Magus, they will want to study you, prod you, and possibly dissect you.”
“What?” I says, horror all over my face. “Dissect me?”
Sighing, Magus Targun nods his head. “You ingested, albeit inadvertently, something that we had been studying for ages as we have never been able to reproduce it. It’s inside you. Not only did it give a human Magic, but it seems like it gave you pretty powerful Magic. So they will want to find out what happened and how. And they would be within their rights. Humans have no rights in the Galactic Worlds. The only way around it is for you to marry my daughter, and by default, become a citizen. Then we would be able to register you as a Magus.”
“There has to be another way!” Marrisa says desperately.
“No, there is no other way, and you, having been a cop before, know this,” Lori says to her with her own sigh. “I am not keen, no offense Kevin, on having a human as a brother-in-law, but if it will save your ass and even Kevin’s, I will live with it.”
“But you’re not the one having to live with him!” Marrisa screams at her.
“That’s low, Lori. Even for you. You know I don’t have a partner right now,” Marrisa growls at her.
Marrisa doesn’t answer but glares at her sister. Great. So they want me to marry someone who has problems keeping a partner because of the way she is. Mind you, if I do marry her, it won’t be for long anyhow, since the cancer will take me in a week or so.
“I’ll do it?” I say in the tenseness of the room. “Not like I have long to live anyhow. If this will get her,” I wave my hand towards Marrisa, “out of trouble until my death. Sure.”
“You would do it, knowing that you have, as you say, only weeks to live?” Lori asks me with a raised eyebrow.
Shrugging my shoulders, I say, “Sure. Why not? I know that if I say no, I can just take my chances with this Council as a non-citizen and they won’t have me for long before I die anyhow from cancer. But you said that if your sister gets charged with this Article 1, she will be in jail for a long time.”
“You would do this, knowing that?” Magus Targun asks me in a serious tone.
“Sure. I don’t like her attitude.” At that, Marrisa glares at me. “But I also don’t like seeing someone getting in trouble. What’re two weeks?” I tell him, with a soft smile and a shrug.
It’s true. I can just grin and bear it for two weeks. I am sure before the week is out they will have to hospitalize me, if they have hospitals here. I hope they have good painkillers. I will need them. The doctor said that once the cancer starts to spread, it will be excruciating. He had even given me brochures on the types of pain meds available, but that was in a hospital setting on Earth.
Lori looks at her dad keenly, and he looks at her as well. What? What’s going on? Finally, he shrugs and says, “I don’t see why not. As an official of the Council of the Galactic Folk, I can do the ceremony now and do that afterward,” he says to her.
“I don’t want to get married,” Marrisa says hotly.
“Then, as an official of the Vraka police force, I will have to arrest you for breaking Article 1,” Lori says in a monotone, looking at her sister.
“You wouldn’t?” Marrisa growls at her, backing up slightly.
“As an official who is seeing this I would have no choice but to let her, and if she allowed you to get away, she would be the one who would get arrested for allowing a fugitive to evade arrest. Your sister would most likely lose her job, her credentials, and be disgraced,” Magus Targun says sadly.
Marrisa glares at both of them before finally looking up at the ceiling and yelling, “Arrgh!!!!!!!”
“Fine!” she says, looking back down at both of them. “I’ll do it. But I won’t have sex with him!”
“Fine by me,” I tell her with a shrug. Not that I care. I will be in too much pain in about a week’s time to even think about sex. And right now, the idea of having sex with Ms. Princess isn’t exactly appealing.
“Good,” Magus Targun says with a huge grin. He waves me over and I go and stand in front of him. Then he waves his daughter Marrisa over, and she walks over reluctantly, acting as if she is about to go to the gallows.
“Now,” he says, clearing his throat and sounding formal. “As an official of the Council of Galactic Folk, I am here to marry these two people. Are there any dissenting adults who wish to deny this union?” he asks, looking around, which is kind of idiotic since there is no one here but us. When he doesn’t get anything except a glower from his daughter, he continues. “Do you, Kevin. Hmm. I never did get your full name, Kevin.”
“It’s Kevin Eliot Johnson, sir,” I tell him.
“Ah. Do you, Kevin Eliot Johnston, take Marrisa Lalouton, my daughter, as one of your legal marriage partners?”
“I do,” I tell him with a nod.
“Do you, Marrisa Lalouton, take Kevin Eliot Johnston as one of your legal marriage partners?” he asks of his daughter.
Marrisa doesn’t answer him but simply glares at him. Magus Targun doesn’t ask the question again but merely waits and looks at her.
“Fine!” she finally says in a pissed-off tone. “I do.”
“Then, as a representative of the Council of Galactic Folks, I hereby name you both legal partners. Congratulations. Preeka!” he shouts suddenly, making me, and, I notice, Marrisa jump.
Suddenly, the creature is there floating next to Magus Targun, and it has a pen and some kind of papers in its hand. It gives everything to Magus Targun.
He signs each form, about ten of them in total, folds them, and presents them back to Preeka, who grabs them and disappears, leaving the pen behind. He looks at the pen, shrugs, and throws it over his shoulder into a pile of other piled-up things.
“Now it’s official. Preeka has gone to file it. That should prove interesting. I also signed the paperwork for your legal citizenship, and I made you a Bounty Hunter with Marrisa. This way you have a job. And while I think putting you through the Magical academy would be good, you are kind of old for it. So you will have to have on-the-job training. I also—”
“You what?” both Lori and Marrisa say in astonishment.
“What?” he asks, apparently confused at being interrupted.
“Dad, what did you just say about a job for him?” Marrisa says slowly, pointing my way but not looking at me.
“Oh! I made him a Bounty Hunter. I mean, did you see the power he has? He will make a powerful agent,” he tells her with a grin.
I look over, not understanding. Lori has her hand over her eyes, and she is shaking her head. Marrisa is openly staring at her dad with her jaw open in astonishment.
“I don’t get it?” I finally say in confusion, which seems to be my constant state now. I think the phrase I don’t get it will be in my vocabulary a lot soon. Or at least for the next two weeks or so.
“My dad,” Lori says, taking her hand off her eyes, where she had been squeezing, hard, “essentially gave you one of the most sought-after jobs in the Galaxy.”
“What’s a Bounty Hunter exactly?” I ask her, still confused.
“It’s what Marrisa is. She used to be a police officer. One of the best. Top of her class. The job of Bounty Hunter is unique in that they work for the Council of Galactic Folks, not for the world they come from or work out of. They are like special police officers—the M.A.G.I. Hunters, or the Bounty Hunters, are considered true international Galactic police. They can go anywhere to arrest anyone. But they are also deemed judges and executioners if needed. They are the top police and Magus’ of our society.”
“And I got in?” I ask, confusion on my face.
“You did,” Magus Targun says with a grin. “There are always exceptions. Like when a top Council member of the Council of Galactic Folks makes a recommendation.”
“Yeah. My dad’s ‘recommendation’ is essentially law. My dad,” Lori says with a sneer, “is the leader of that Council. He is not only the most powerful Magus in existence, but he is also the most influential one. When he says something, people listen. So if he put your name on a paper saying you’re a Bounty Hunter, you’re a Bounty Hunter.”
“Oh,” I say. Slowly. Nepotism at its best. I mean, I guess the marriage makes Magus Targun my father-in-law, and everything that comes with that. “Well, I guess that should be good for the week or so,” I tell them with a shrug of indifference.
“Right, about that,” Magus says, snapping his fingers as if remembering something. He walks over and stops in front of me, grabbing his staff that’s leaning against one of the tables on the way.
Without warning, he slams the staff down on the floor in front of me and I hear loud explosive noises, making me jump a foot into the air. Then, he suddenly lifts his staff up, puts a hand on my shoulder, and says in a loud thunderous voice. “Ima Natu Lim Tho!”
Suddenly, I feel power racing through me. I can’t explain it. Imagine drinking twenty energy drinks and having them hit you all at once. I can feel my nerves buzzing, and my skin feels like it’s on fire, while my insides shake with it. Then, without warning, I’m bent over double, gasping for air, as I can’t breathe. My new father-in-law slaps my back hard, making me exhale in surprise, and suddenly I can breathe again.
I get up slowly as I feel as weak as a baby, and he grabs my arm, helping me up.
“What was that?” I ask him in a shaky voice.
“That, my boy, was me healing you. You don’t have cancer anymore,” he says with a grin.
I stare at him, not comprehending until the words catch up to my brain’s functioning.
“Wait, did you just say you cured me of cancer?” I ask him incredulously.
“That I did, boy! Now you can live a long and prosperous life with my daughter!” he says, slapping my back happily.
I look over at Marrisa, and this time, it’s me who has the look of horror. She, on the other hand, has a smirk on her face.
Shit! I have to be married to her for longer than two weeks?
Chapter Eight
“That’s a bed, and that’s a chair,” Marrisa tells me with a smirk.
I count to three before I answer her. “I’m not an idiot. I know what furniture looks like. When your dad said to show me the ropes, I’m pretty sure he didn’t mean to do it in a sarcastic way,” I growl at her in annoyance.
“Oh, I’m sorry, human. I didn’t know my dad gave you specific instructions to give to me,” she growls back as she glares at me.
“Listen,” I tell her. “I didn’t ask for this shit, just as I know you didn’t. But we need to make it work. You heard your dad. When, not if, they-” they being the agency that will be verifying that this is all on the up and up and we aren’t faking it. It seems that it’s not just the American’s who’ve had to deal with marriages of convenience. “Come interview us, we need to look legit. So, can we at least try to get along?”
She doesn’t answer me right away but finally growls and says, “Fine, but you’re sleeping on the floor.”
“Why not the couch?” I ask her, pointing to the living room where there was an excellent couch. If this wasn’t a different world, I would say it was a Lazyboy reclining couch.
“Fine, do whatever you want. But this room is mine. Now out, I need a damn shower,” she says, pointing to the door.
“Fine,” I tell her with a shrug and head to the living room to give her the privacy she wants.
Once in the living room, I look around. Marrisa’s place is a one-bedroom apartment that looks like any other apartment I have been in. Living room, small kitchen on the side with a cutout to pass food. No television, though. Guess she doesn’t watch TV. Do they have TVs here? Marrisa lived on the third floor. The apartment is on the third floor and the building has no elevators, only stairs. From what I could tell when we walked in, it looked like it had nine stories. Damn, I feel sorry for anyone living on the top floor.
There’s a small white fridge in the kitchen. I open it and see several bottles inside. No brand I’ve ever seen, but I know a beer when I see one. The color is precisely a nice golden brown with the suggestion of bubbles. Grabbing one, since it’s been that kind of day, I try to open it, hoping it’s a twist-off. Thankfully it is. Mind you, with my big hands and strength, I have been known to twist off a cap that’s not a twist cap bottle—a good way to impress the guys. Though Mike tended just to get his hired man to open his bottles, and he never drank anything but wine.
Tilting it back, I drink a quarter of the bottle before bringing it up to my face in appreciation. Damn, this stuff is good. Just as good as some of the expensive stuff that Mike kept at his place for his guests. At least Marrisa has good taste in beer. Walking back into the living room, I go sit on the couch and put the cold bottle against my forehead.
Fuck, what a day this has been. It’s not even been twenty-four hours. Has it? I mean, it was almost midnight when I left the bar. So figure 12:20 by the time I passed that warehouse through the shortcut. Then, everything that’s happened since then has taken, what? Five or six hours? Looking out the window, I see that it’s almost dark out. But that doesn’t mean that this place’s time runs the same as Earth’s. No clue what time it would be on Earth right now.
Shit, Earth. I still can’t believe I am in another world. A world that is owned or inhabited by Changelings. That Marrisa, Lori, and her dad, and well, even the police officers I saw all had tails, meant they were Changelings? What about the others? The fellow arrestees with me? What were they? I’m sure that big bear guy wasn’t a Changeling
. Magus Targun mentioned eight worlds, and I know he said one of them was inhabited by Beasts. Does that mean that guy was a Beast? He was freaking big enough for it.
I hear the shower running in the next room and I wonder what Marrisa, in her form, would look like naked. But then I shake my head and remind myself that she’s a bitch and that I don’t want anything more to do with her than necessary. I am sure she feels the same. I know that when they come to interview us, I will need to be all cuddly and lovey, but otherwise? Shrugging my shoulders, I take another sip of my beer.
Magic. So Magic is real, and I have it. When I asked about casting spells, Marrisa snorted and said that I might be able to shoot Magic using a Foci, but I shouldn’t expect much else. Her dad simply grinned at her and looked into my eyes and tapped the side of his nose. Whatever the fuck he meant by that, I have no clue. I mean hell, Magic? So things like Werewolves, Vampires, and such were real? And I found out that Preeka was a Goblin. She, and I would never have figured out her gender, has been in his employ for years, as had her mother and grandmother before that.
I hear the shower stop, but I keep my eyes closed. Then two minutes later I hear the padding of feet coming from the bedroom, and the door opens. I still keep my eyes closed with the half-empty bottle in my hand as I hear Marrisa walk to the kitchen, open the fridge, and grab a bottle. I think I hear her growl a little, but then the fridge door closes and I hear her pad to the living room. Then, I feel her sit down in the seat next to mine. Though, it has a middle section between us, so we aren’t sitting next to each other, technically.
I take a sip of my beer without opening my eyes and don’t bother talking to her. I have tons of questions, but I have figured out quickly that Marrisa isn’t an excellent source of information. Lori, her sister, seemed happy to answer many of my questions, but she had to leave to head back to work since her dad kind of dragged her out of her office. She promised to come by in a couple of days and see how I was. In other words, to make sure we haven’t killed each other.
