Page 13 of Ryld's Shadows
“The kid with the bat, I think. Probably. It’s all a little hazy now.”
Officer Flax stood and offered a smile. “All right. That’s all for now. I’ll be back if we have more questions.”
It would’ve been nice to say something amusing or witty to that. Hank was too tired and just closed his eyes to shut out the light. At least it wasn’t a prison medical facility, and the floaty feeling told him there were pain meds going into his system. Goblins healed quickly, but he’d take all the help he could get right then.
* * * *
The weekly department heads meeting wasn’t something Kai liked to miss. Hewantedto know what was happening in the rest of the building. Often, the activities of other departments affected his own. Anything could, and often did, affect the Research department.
This week though, the residual feel of physically manifested psychic beasts had stayed with him to the point where he was distracted and on edge. Tenzin patted his knee under the table, which both helped to ground him and made him think wicked thoughts about that hand sliding higher…
Sweet Mother, what had Tirola from Accounting been talking about? No, no, that was fine. Val was talking about the recent goblin gang fiasco.
“I don’t think Judiciary will come down on Mr. Onyx-Wainwright hard,” Savannah, the head of Legal, offered. “I’ve suggested community service since his record is squeaky clean. Honestly, up until this week, he’s been a textbook, model crossover citizen.”
“Good to hear.” Val gave a firm nod. “Other than the goblin incident, we’re where we always are. Short-staffed and searching for recruits.”
“Aren’t we all?” Lysander sighed, shuffling his papers. His normal cheerful façade had cracks in it today, and Kai had to wonder aboutthat, too. “I’ve just lost the last minder we hired for Ryld. I’m sure that’s my fault. Temperament-wise, he probably wasn’t the best choice. But I thought a warrior would be at least asaferchoice. Ryld’s last relapse was too much for the minder, though, and if a single bad moment serves to drive him off, he was never as brave as he claimed.”
Kai snorted. “They rarely are.” Then gestured to Val. “Present company excepted, naturally.”
“Naturally,” Val said at his driest. The department heads all stared at the table a moment, deep in their own thoughts, until Val said, “I wonder, though…”
Kai waited and finally prompted him with a wry smile, “What does the great and mighty Captain Hartgrove wonder?”
“Tenzin, you have a patient downstairs with a hell of a lot of defensive wounds. A large patient who probably could’ve done a hell of a lot more damage than he did. Lysander, you have need of someone patient, strong and, one hopes, kind. Savannah, you’re suggesting community service for Mr. Onyx-Wainwright. I think all this comes together rather fortuitously.”
“Where is Ryld now, Lysander?” Kai leaned around Tenzin to see the head of Counseling.
“He’s in one of the cave environments. There are physical symptoms after an episode, and he needs the dark and the quiet.”
Kai stood, the need to bedoingvibrating through his bones. “I’d like to talk to both the half-goblin and to Ryld before we assign another minder.”
Val shot him a dark frown. “Kai, that’s not your decision.”
Kai waved a hand, hoping the gesture didn’t appear dismissive. “Hmm. I claim rights as a drow mage in this instance. No one in this room can feel what Ryld does. Not as I can.”
“It’s fine, Val.” Lysander’s smile almost looked cheerful again. “I’ll welcome an outside consult in this case.”
Good, good. Kai gave everyone nods and stalked out. Maybe the half-goblin would be the right person. Maybe the situation was unsustainable. Maybe… Well, it wasn’t Ryld’s fault. Of that, he was quite certain.
He debated with himself who he should talk to first, but there wasn’t much point discussing the placement with the half-goblin if Ryld was too unstable. That decided, he found half a dozen trivial things that needed to be done, dithering, delaying, before making his way to Counseling. Although, the area Ryld was currently housed in would more accurately be called psychiatric treatment. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Ryld, or that he found him unsettling. No. Seeing Ryld was simply a reminder of exactly how twisted and cruel his own people could be.
Not every drow lived and breathed manipulation or was arrogance-driven to conquer every other people within their reach, but enough fit exactly that description that it was hard sometimes to argue the prejudices held against his own kind.
He set his thoughts aside as he entered the artificially created cave. He’d entered one exactly like it thousands of times before being taken from his world. He knew it was exact, or as near to as possible, because he had designed it when Counseling had requested specifics for a drow living space and he’d modeled it after his own bower back home.
The interior was dark, but not complete blackness. A soft cool glow came from a lantern on one wall. Ryld sat cross-legged on a low platform covered in furs. His eyes were closed, and his face peaceful.
The light from the lantern cast his silvery hair and light gray skin in shades of blue that complemented the color of his eyes when he opened them to regard Kai.
“Kai Hiltas. Director of Research.” Ryld spoke softly.
“Correct.” Kai put a palm to his chest and offered a polite bow before he sank to the floor in a position mirroring Ryld’s. In drow, he continued, “How do you fare, little brother?”
Ryld tilted his head, as if considering. “Lysander says I no longer have to take the medicine the humans made, since it doesn’t work for me. The shadows are small today. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone, before.”
“I know.” Kai laced his fingers together as he regarded Ryld steadily. “Everyone will be well. The humans. The aelfe who accompanied you. Although, he is a coward and has decided not to return. A few shadows frightened him. Such are the Dawn People.”
