Page 54 of Ryld's Shadows
Ms. Albright must have read his expression because she explained, “We discourage flying because the children who don’t have wings, or can’t fly, either try it and get hurt or are jealous. It’s not fair to them.”
Which probably seemed reasonable to someone who didn’t have wings and didn’t understand children with them, but to Kai it still felt harsh.
As they were about to go back inside a commotion of a different sort broke out near the sidewalk.
“Give him back!” A young pixie woman screamed at one of the teachers standing near the fence. “I want him back!”
“Let’s go inside, shall we?” Ms. Albright said, as if nothing at all were happening.
Hank didn’t budge, his arms crossed over his chest. Kai took a spot at his shoulder, watching the scene play out at the fence.
“Alana, we’ve talked about this before,” a tall aelfe woman with impressive arms was telling the pixie. “You keep up the racket, and we call the police.”
“But he’s mine! You have to give him back! Have pity.” The pixie woman broke down in sobs.
“Police, Alana. Remember the last time you had to spend a night in the human jail cells?”
The pixie sobbed harder, but turned to go, dragging her feet as if someone had attached hundred-pound weights to them.
“Sad case.”
Kai twitched when Ms. Albright spoke too close to his ear. “Oh?”
“She’s under the delusion that some of the kids are hers. Changes every time she stops by, which kids she means. Upsets the little ones terribly.” She held the door open for them. “We have a restraining order, but that only works so far.”
“Yes, very sad.” Kai had more to say on the matter, but not to Ms. Albright. She might run the orphanage, but ultimately she wasn’t the one in charge here.
They spent a little more time listening to Ms. Albright prattle on about all the good they were doing in the community, the challenges they faced and the fundraisers they had planned, then they finally made their escape. And it did feel like an escape. While the building had been painted in light colors, the oppressive atmosphere weighed on him even after such a short time, and the thought that they could leave while the children they saw had no homes to go to was outright depressing. Kai had in no way been prepared for that many, although in retrospect, if there had only been a few, he supposed there would be no need for such a place to exist.
Hank rode beside him on the way back, stone-faced, back rigid, and Kai knew how he felt, though his own reaction was to try to curl in on himself, which he had to fight or end up in a fetal ball in the saddle.
Not a look that would inspire confidence.
The more he thought about it, the less everything they’d seen that day made any sense at all. He knew he was missing things, most likely obvious things. Yes, pixie birth rates were high. Yes, many went unaccounted for in the AURA systems because of that. They tracked crossovers but weren’t always apprised of births that happenedhere. Strike that. They were rarely informed. Once crossovers found new lives, they didn’t think it was something they had to do. Never mind that the federal government expected them to keep track and it was enormously aggravating…
“Kai?”
“Yes?” The word was sharper than he intended. He shot Hank an apologetic look.
“How do you think they’re funding that place, really?” Hank still glared into the distance, though his voice was steady.
“I…suppose there are federal grants. Private funds from Lady Jessamine. Probably some charitable donations.”
Hank raised an eyebrow at him. “Tell me you don’t do your departmental budgets.”
“Not…generally. No. I’m certainlyawareof department funding. I have to be.”
Hank nodded. “Right. There’s a whole accounting office. Anyway, look—those were a lot of kids. It’s not a small operation. Salaries, building upkeep, supplies, food, it all adds up. How does Lady Jessamine fund this and keep her celebrity lifestyle? Where did all the money come from to build her huge palace?”
“I’m sure they have income sources…” Kai trailed off. Wheredidit all come from? “Hank, when we get back, I’m going to start, ah, looking into some things. If I turn up financial records…?”
“You come tell me.” Hank’s grin was all tusks and teeth. “That’s what I do best.”
“I’m so glad you came along, have I told you that?”
“Not yet. But thanks.”
