Page 14 of Sobek’s Joy

There was something definitely wrong, and from the sounds of it, the plumbing had finally given up its reason for existence. Sobek stood on Rudy’s front porch, alerted by what sounded like a small waterfall cascading through the walls, and knocked on the door, hard. When no one answered immediately, he tried the door - unlocked, naturally, because Rudy had the survival instincts of a particularly trusting duckling - and let himself in.

“Rudy?” Sobek tried not to yell. He didn’t want to startle his mate.

“I know, I know.” Rudy’s voice echoed from somewhere upstairs, edged with panic. “I’m trying to fix it.”

Water poured down the staircase in a steady stream. Rose sat halfway up, splashing her hands in the impromptu indoor river with delighted giggles. Jack hovered near the top landing, eyes wide and worried, while Timothy stood frozen at the bottom, scales visible along his forearms.

Sobek’s crocodile side immediately cataloged threats: water damage to the structure, electrical hazards if it reached outlets, distress in his mate and hatchlings. He scooped Timothy up with one arm - the scales vanished the moment Sobek touched him - and pointed at Rose.

“Kitchen. Now.”

Rose’s lower lip jutted out. “But the waterfall…”

“Kitchen.”

She scrambled down the stairs, surprisingly obedient. Jack followed without being told, though his gaze kept darting back toward the bathroom where frantic splashing and creative cursing continued.

Sobek deposited Timothy at the kitchen table next to his siblings. “Stay here, please. Let me help Rudy.”

Three heads nodded in unison and Sobek had to trust they’d stay out of harm’s way. He needed to find where the water was coming from.

The upstairs bathroom resembled a disaster zone. Water sprayed from beneath the sink in high-pressure arcs, soaking everything within a six-foot radius. Rudy knelt in the flood, both hands clamped around a pipe that seemed to be spouting new holes every second, his hair was plastered to his forehead, and his T-shirt was clinging to his frame in ways that made Sobek’s crocodile side extremely interested despite the crisis.

“The shut-off valve is stuck,” Rudy said through gritted teeth. “I can’t…it won’t…” His hands slipped, and water sprayed directly into his face. “Oh for fuck’s sake.”

Sobek could fix the problem with a thought. One tiny pulse of power and every pipe in the house would work perfectly for the next century. But Rudy was right there, soaking wet and gorgeous and absolutely not leaving him alone long enough to use obvious magic.

Think like a mortal. What would a mortal do?

“Let go of the pipe.”

“If I let go, the entire bathroom will flood even faster.”

“Rudy. Let go.”

Those blue eyes flashed with something between relief and exasperation, but Rudy released his death grip and scrambled backward. Sobek took his place, wrapping both hands around the pipe. Being so close to the problem, he could feel the source - a corroded joint that had finally given up, threads stripped, and the seal was completely shot.

“Where’s your main water shut-off?” Sobek asked.

“Basement. But the valve is…”

“Stuck. Yes.” Sobek stood, water cascading off his clothes. “Stay here. Keep pressure on that pipe as best you can.”

“Wait, you can’t just…”

But Sobek was already moving, taking the stairs two at a time. In the kitchen, three small faces tracked his progress.

“Is Rudy okay?” Jack asked, fur beginning to sprout along his jawline.

“He’s fine. Take deep breaths and please stay where you are.”

The basement was cluttered with boxes, Christmas decorations, and what seemed to be an ambitious graveyard of fitness equipment. Sobek located the main shut-off valve behind a stack of paint cans and gripped it. The valve didn’t budge. Years of rust had essentially welded it in place, and a mortal would need tools, WD-40, possibly divine intervention… Which I have, but cannot use.

Sobek pulled out his phone and clicked on the Paulie app. Typing quickly, because he didn’t want to be overheard, he asked, How do I unstick a rusted shut-off valve without magic when my mate is upstairs drowning, and I need to prove I’m useful?

The app chimed immediately, Paulie’s voice emerging from the speaker with suspicious cheerfulness. “Sobek, Lord of the Crocodiles, what an interesting request. To answer your question: apply penetrating oil, wait fifteen minutes, and then use a pipe wrench with steady pressure. Alternatively, hit it with a hammer and hope for the best.”

“I don’t have fifteen minutes,” Sobek hissed.