Back on the road again, but the atmosphere in the truck was more relaxed. Perhaps it was because Frasier had beaten him last night and no longer felt threatened; this whole top-predator thing had thrown him. Now Kane realised that the business world he had been brought up in was fake. Out here, it was very real, real fists, real claws and he had to learn as much as he could as fast as he could, because Serrif would have had a lifetime of training in Shifters Prime. While Kane was going to have a hard time shrugging off the young pretender image.
“How much do you know about Serrif?” Kane asked Frasier.
“Met him once. He put in an order for a consignment of microchips.”
“And you found them for him?” Kane asked.
“Now you’re catching on.” Frasier grinned. “Yes. They aren’t the easiest thing to get across the border. The humans don’t want us developing any technology. We’re supposed to know our place, and that is under them. They try to forget that some of the brightest, sharpest minds turned out to be shifters. The splitting of the world was bad for us all.”
“Do you think we’ll ever go back to how things were?” Amara asked.
“Nope, at least not in my lifetime. They are scared, and understandably so. We are more powerful, and we have the ability to turn them,” Frasier said.
“Wait. What?” Kane asked. “I didn’t know that, it’s not common knowledge in my world … in the Otherworld.”
“Those in charge like to keep it quiet,” Frasier smiled at Kane. “Do you know how many women come across that border to get turned by one of us filthy, sexy beasts?”
“No. But I can guess. People are always dissatisfied with what they have. So they think if they become something different, it will make them happier.” Kane watched the scenery change. They had passed through the mountains and thick forests and were now travelling along flat grasslands. He could almost imagine lions out here: it wasn’t quite the savannah, but it was second best.
“There was some big debate with the tribal leaders in the Prime, and the chiefs passed a law that said anyone who turned a human was responsible for them, for the rest of their lives. It made a huge difference. Imagine if you find your mate and have to explain that there is another man or woman in your life. That does not go down too well. Mates don’t like sharing, so it rarely happens these days.” Frasier laughed. “It’s some crazy world we live in. Exciting, though. You never know what you’re going to get faced with next.”
“Elephants,” Kane said, his voice rising in excitement. To their left, there was a herd of elephants. Hundreds of them. Hundreds of them. “I didn’t know there were that many elephants left alive.”
“They aren’t your elephants, Kane. They are our elephants,” Amara said. “You know what I think sometimes?”
“No, tell me,” he said softly.
“That this is nature’s way of ensuring we don’t lose all the animals on earth. That humans can’t wipe them out with hunting or farming. Because now they are part of us,” she said. And for once Frasier didn’t laugh.
Kane turned and looked out of the window at the large herd, a dust cloud following them as their enormous feet walked across the dry grasslands. “Where are they going?” To Kane they looked like an army going to war.
“To work, we all have jobs,” Frasier said. “They go up to the forests and haul the wood down.”
“Fascinating,” Kane said watching them.
“You say it like you’re watching the Animal Channel. This is real life now, Kane.” Frasier drove on, his foot easing down on the gas pedal. “We need to make better time. I wanted to be at Amara’s village before dark. We’ll stop and eat in an hour…”
“We’re going straight to my village?” Amara asked, cutting Frasier off.
Kane felt the tension in her body, and placed his hand on hers. “It’ll be good to meet your family.”
“But I thought we would deal with your problems first, before we dealt with mine,” she said weakly.
“Hey, I will be much happier once you and your folks have sorted out what happened.”
“And he’s not facing Serrif until he can beat every last one of your brothers,” Frasier said. “I told your uncle I would keep you alive, and this is the plan. Sorry, Amara.”
“It’s OK,” she said. “I’m just nervous, that’s all. I don’t want them to think I’m bringing trouble their way.”
“How could they?” Kane asked, and then he realised what she meant. “You mean me?”
She looked up at him, her eyes telling him all he needed to know, although she tried to smooth it over. “Not just you. The contract, my father’s debt. But yeah, if word gets round they are sheltering you, well, Serrif is powerful enough to destroy our pride.”
“I won’t let that happen,” Kane said.