Unicorn Vet

  Unicorn Vet

  Zoe Chant

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  A Note From Zoe Chant

  Also by Zoe Chant

  Chapter 1

  Unicorn shifters were rare and special, with healing powers in their horns. They tended to become cardiologists or ER doctors or firefighter/paramedics, using their unique gifts for the betterment of humankind.

  Angel Rosado, unicorn shifter and small-town veterinarian, re-read the text he’d just gotten. It still said COW STUCK IN TREE.

  He tried calling the number back, but got only a busy signal. Cell phone service was unreliable in the little town of La Puerta, and landlines went down every time a tree fell. His patients, or rather his patients’ owners, had learned to send terse texts with the problem and their address, and just assumed he’d show up at some point.

  As he drove up the winding mountain roads, he imagined assorted cows stuck in the trees he passed. Angel smiled to himself as he pictured a fat mooing Holstein perched precariously atop a towering pine, a fierce black bull crouched panther-like among the wide branches of an oak, and a bewildered calf peering down from a bushy fir like a stuck kitten.

  He couldn’t imagine how any kind of cow could get stuck in a tree, unless there had been an incredibly localized tornado, but one of the many things he loved about being a country vet was that every day brought something completely new. Especially in La Puerta, whose name didn’t mean “the door” or “the gateway” for nothing.

  Most of the townspeople thought the name came from the old stone gateway that had been built in the 1800s and, along with other buildings from that period, put them on the tourist map. Only a few knew about the much more interesting portal that Angel suspected had really given the town its name.

  His inner unicorn gave an impatient stamp of his hoof. It hasn’t been very interesting lately. The last time it opened, nothing even came through.

  Angel certainly hoped that was what had happened. It was true that sometimes the portal opened but nothing came out. But there had also been times when it had opened and whatever came out took off before they could get there. Most of the creatures that came through were harmless, but not all. Some deadly beast could be hiding in the woods, waiting to leap out…

  Something leaped out.

  Angel slammed on the brakes, sending all the junk on the backseat flying. A granola bar smacked into the back of his head.

  He came to a hard stop in front of…

  …a deer.

  He sighed in relief, both that he hadn’t hit it and that it was only a deer. The deer had also stopped and was standing right in the midde of the road. It was a fine young buck with a rack of antlers, its coat gleaming golden in the sunlight. Its limpid black eyes studied him without fear.

  Say hello to your little brother, Angel thought to his inner unicorn.

  Inside his mind, his unicorn snorted and tossed his mane. A distant cousin, at most. Not half as magnificent as me.

  Angel teased, Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?

  With complete sincerity, his unicorn replied, Me. Unicorns are the fairest of all the animals. And I’m the fairest of all unicorns!

  Angel shook his head, more in disbelief than actual denial. A shifter’s inner animal was supposed to represent their deepest, truest, most primal self. It had never made sense to Angel that he, who was such a spectacular disappointment within the community of unicorn shifters, had an inner animal who was so convinced that he was the best thing ever.

  The buck trotted across the road and vanished into the forest. Angel drove on. He turned left at the cow crossing sign, and maneuvered along a narrow dirt road until he reached the Jeon family’s small farm.

  He heard the cow before he saw it. Its frantic mooing filled the air, along with human yells and the rather disturbing sound of a chainsaw revving. Angel parked his car and got out, his bag of veterinary supplies in hand, and approached the scene of the ruckus.

  The Jeon family was clustered around a spindly oak tree. Angel’s first, absurd thought was that the tree couldn’t possibly support the weight of a cow, but he looked up to check. There was no cow stuck in its branches.

  But as the family moved away from the tree, he saw the rear end of a fat white cow stuck in the trunk. It looked like the cow had dematerialized and started to step through the tree, but had become solid again halfway through.

  “How in the world…?” Angel began.

  “Struck by lightning,” said Mrs. Jeon crisply.

  For a second, Angel thought she was informing him that the cow had been struck by lightning and gained superpowers. Then he realized that she meant that the tree had been struck. Once he understood that, he saw what had happened.

  The oak tree had been split lengthwise; what he had thought were a pair of skinny branching trunks were the halves of a normal-sized tree. The split didn’t go all the way to the ground, so the tree was still standing. The cow had attempted to walk through the split, but had gotten stuck in it instead and was wedged in too tightly to go either forward or back.

  Mr. Jeon, who was brandishing the chainsaw, said, “She goes berserk every time I try to cut her free. I thought you could give her a knockout shot.”

  A unicorn needs no knockouts, declaimed Angel’s inner unicorn.

  “That won’t be necessary,” Angel said. “I think I can get her to calm down.”

  He circled around the tree to approach the cow from the front. Once he was on the other side, he could see the black streaks of lightning burns.

  “What’s her name?” he asked.

  The Jeon farm was small, like most farms in La Puerta, with a few dairy cows, a flock of chickens, some pigs, and, rather randomly, a pair of peacocks. In Angel’s experience, anyone with fewer than twenty dairy cows named them.

  “Bessie,” said the younger daughter.

  “Of course,” said Angel. Anyone who had cows named at least one of them Bessie, just like anyone with a bull named it Ferdinand. Dropping his voice to a low, soothing register, he said, “It’s all right, Bessie. Just hold still. We’re trying to get you free…”

  He laid his hand on Bessie’s plump side and summoned his inner unicorn. Not enough to shift, but enough that the power of his horn flowed through his hand and into the cow. Bessie gave a contented grunt and relaxed.

  “You can cut her free now,” said Angel.

  He kept the power flowing in a current of warmth between him and Bessie as the chainsaw revved and sawed through the tree. It took some careful work, but at last one half of the tree fell away, freeing the cow.

  Angel took his hand from her side. Bessie gave a hopeful moo, turned her head, and gave him a nudge. One of her horns smacked into his shoulder.

  “Ow,” said Angel.

  Bessie looked at him with huge, soulful brown eyes. Animals always seemed to enjoy feeling his unicorn’s power, and often hung around hoping for more of it. He suspected that it felt like sitting in a hot bubble bath while a comforting voice told you that everything was going to be all right.

  He gave her a light slap on the rump. “Off you go.”

  With a disappointed moo, Bessie trotted off. Angel straightened up and found the entire Jeon family—father, mother, grandmother, two daughters, and son—watching him in awe.

  “That was amazing,” said the son. “She went nuts every time we even got near her with the chain saw.”

  “How did you d
o it?” asked the older daughter.

  The grandmother said something in Korean, and Mr. Jeon translated, “She says you have a magic touch.”

  Angel had been raised to respect his elders, and besides, she was right. Instead of denying it, he smiled and said, “Please tell her thank you.”

  “Come inside,” said Mr. Jeon. “Have some coffee.”

  “And pie,” said the younger daughter eagerly. “I made it myself, from our own apples!”

  The next thing Angel knew, he was being hustled toward the farmhouse, with the family chattering in two languages about his incredible gift with animals.

  Inside his mind, his unicorn pranced and preened, soaking up the praise like a sponge. But Angel himself couldn’t fully enjoy it. His unicorn’s gift was a wonderful thing, and the fact that Angel could use it while he was in his human form was unusual in addition to being useful. But it wasn’t the gift he was supposed to have.

  Angel’s unicorn could calm down people and animals for as long as he touched them with his hands or horn. But that was all he could do. He couldn’t heal anyone, not even of a cold or a papercut.

  In the world of humans, nobody knew there was anything wrong with him. But in the world of shifters, where everyone knew that unicorns could perform miracles of healing, he was a failure.

  Chapter 2

  Everly Sawyer stepped out of her car and took a deep, contented breath of La Puerta’s fresh, pine-scented air. She hadn’t even checked into her bed-and-breakfast yet, but she already felt 100% more relaxed. It was her first real vacation in three years, and she intended to spend the week doing absolutely nothing but relaxing, sipping coffee in charming cafés, relaxing, hiking in the woods, relaxing, watching birds, relaxing, reading, relaxing, enjoying not being on the phone, re—

  Her phone buzzed.

  Everly had instructed the staff of the French restaurant she managed to not contact her unless it was a genuine emergency. Her blood pressure shot skyward as she grabbed the phone to read the text from Des Dieux a Tes Levres.

  SORRY TO BOTHER YOU BUT SUPPLIER SENT 100 LBS OYSTERS WE DIDN’T ORDER INSTEAD OF THE LOBSTER WE DID ORDER. DRIVER UNLOADED IT AND LEFT. SUPPLIER NOT RETURNING PHONE CALLS. HELP.

  Everly sighed. The problem with her instructions was that restaurants were in a constant state of emergency.

  She texted, THREATEN SUPPLIER WITH BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU COMPLAINT. IF NO RESPONSE IN 1 HOUR, TELL CHEF TO MAKE SPECIAL OYSTER MENU.

  Everly stuffed her phone down into the depths of her purse. She’d have loved to have silenced it, but she didn’t get paid the big—well, big-ish—bucks to leave her staff completely to their own devices. Even on vacation.

  But she immediately fished the phone out again, because she had to take a photo of the Come On Inn to send to her family. It was a charming old Victorian house, painted a silvery gray with pink trim. The color combination wouldn’t have occurred to her, but it was lovely, like a sunset on a cloudy day. Nestled in the middle of a pine forest, it looked absolutely magical.

  Prepare yourself, Everly, she thought. It might look like Motel 6 on the inside.

  But when she went inside, her duffel bag slung over her shoulder, she found a lobby that was mostly natural wood, with a few splashes of bright, attractive paint. And the owner who greeted her, a tall woman with cornrows that twisted into an intricate bun, immediately put her at ease.

  “I’m Isa Oladele. And this is Jewel.” Isa indicated the cat that perched atop her desk, watching Everly with enormous green eyes in an elfin face. His gray fur was an odd mixture of wavy and fluffy, like cotton balls.

  Everly petted Jewel, then exclaimed in delight. “He’s so soft! Like petting a cloud.”

  “He’s a Devon Rex,” said Isa. “Hypoallergenic. Can’t have my guests sneezing and coughing from cat hair allergies, and I can’t be without a cat.”

  Everly gave a start when the same cloud-softness brushed against her ankle. Another Devon Rex had crept up on her and was rubbing against her. This one was also gray, but had one green eye and one blue one. Everly bent to try to pet both cats at once.

  “What’s this one’s name?”

  “Opal. She’s Jewel’s sister.” Isa’s voice grew thoughtful. “I didn’t mention her because most guests never even see her. She’s shy. I’ve never seen her take to a guest like that.”

  Everly straightened up. “I love cats.”

  “Got any photos to show me? I’d love to see your own little darlings.”

  A startlingly sharp pang of regret and resentment stabbed Everly right in the heart. She had to consciously keep her voice even when she said, “I don’t have any pets myself. I work long hours and I don’t have time to take care of them.”

  “Well, enjoy these little rascals while you’re here.” Isa checked her in, gave her a map and brochure for La Puerta, and showed her to her room. On her way, she said, “Let me know if there’s anything specific you’re interested in: history, bird-watching, hiking, architecture, restaurants…”

  Everly flinched at the word ‘restaurant.’ Just what she wanted on her vacation from a restaurant! “Any good cafés?”

  “There’s a Starbucks two miles down the road from here. Left-hand side, after the ‘Watch for falling boulders’ sign.”

  “There’s a Starbucks on every block of Refuge City. I was thinking of a non-chain café. You know, the sort that has daily pastries and local specialties and a shelf of books to browse.”

  Isa gave her a wry look. “I know the type. We really ought to have one. But we don’t. I make good coffee, though. Anything else you’re looking for?”

  “I mostly just want to relax. Maybe do some bird-watching. Or animal-watching—is there any wildlife around here?”

  Isa smothered a laugh, as if Everly had said something funny. “Girl, you have come to the right place! Take a walk in the woods and put your feet softly, and you’ll see plenty of wildlife. Squirrels, deer, raccoons, skunks… And if you see a snake, don’t be afraid. We don’t have any poisonous ones around here.”

  “I’m not afraid of snakes,” Everly assured her. “I like reptiles. I always wanted a pet snake or lizard when I was a little girl, but my mother wouldn’t let me.”

  Once again, Isa’s lips twitched in suppressed laughter. “You are going to love it here. Welcome to La Puerta!”

  With that, she opened the door to Everly’s room, showed her in, and went out, leaving her alone. Everly set down her duffel bag with a thud and walked around the room. Maybe it was because she’d mentioned being a little girl that had put the idea in her mind, but she felt a childlike sense of wonder as she explored the room. The last couple years had been so stressful and exhausting, she’d almost forgotten what it felt like to explore and discover and be delighted.

  Isa had given her an upstairs room with big windows that showed beautiful views of the forest. One of the windows had window seat with pillows, big enough for her to put her feet up. It even had a little side table nearby with coasters, so she could sip coffee or hot chocolate or a hot toddy while she read or looked out the window.

  The floor and walls and ceiling were polished wood of a rich warm brown. The throw rugs and sofa and chairs and cover on the big beautiful bed were various shades of green and blue, making her think of leaves and forests, ocean and sky. The paintings that hung on the walls were of La Puerta’s famous old stone gate, its winding mountain roads, forest glades, and meadows of wildflowers. The effect was incredibly restful.

  The only way it could be better would be if she could share it. Her mind drifted to a fantasy of sitting on the windowseat with her feet up, across from some sexy guy who also had his feet up, drinking cocktails and chatting and playing footsie. And then, their drinks finished, he would lean in to kiss her, and then pick her up and carry her to that bed which was plenty big enough for two…

  Everly sighed. She didn’t have time for romance. She barely even had time for friendship. Her family was always complaining that they never
heard from her—and she loved her family! But that was how it went in the restaurant industry. Unless you lived in some quiet town and managed a little café and were very firm about making time for yourself, it took over your life. And she lived in a huge city and managed a hugely popular restaurant and maybe wasn’t so good at making time for herself.

  It’s what I wanted, she reminded herself. I’m a success. My family is proud of me. And I did make time for myself. I’m here, aren’t I?

  Everly took off her shoes and padded barefoot to the window seat. She sat down on it, pulled her feet up, and sat looking out at the forest. She’d needed this vacation, and she’d obviously picked the right place to go. Isa was sweet and her cats were adorable. The Come On Inn was beautiful. The peace and quiet was wonderf—

  Her phone buzzed. Aggravated, Everly got off the window seat and fished it out of her purse. Another text from Des Dieux a Tes Levres.

  SUPPLIER SAID WOULD DISPATCH TRUCK TO REMOVE OYSTERS AND REPLACE WITH LOBSTER. DRIVER UNLOADED 100 LBS OF UNKNOWN FISH AND LEFT WITHOUT OYSTERS. WHAT DO?

  Everly was incredibly tempted to contact the supplier herself. But that was a slippery slope to doing her entire job long-distance while on vacation.

  She texted, THREATEN TO REPORT SUPPLIER TO POLICE FOR ILLEGAL DUMPING. LOCK GATE BEHIND TRUCK AS SOON AS IT PULLS INTO PARKING LOT. HAVE LARGEST BUS BOYS OVERSEE LOADING/UNLOADING.

  After sending, she thought for a moment, then added, HAVE A COUPLE OF THE LARGER SOUS-CHEFS STANDING BY WITH CLEAVERS.

  She stuffed her phone back down and put her shoes on. The view from her room was lovely, but a walk would be even better. She was tempted to leave her phone in the room, but after a moment of mental debate, decided that she couldn’t abandon her staff to 200 lbs of unwanted oysters and mystery fish.