Page 57 of Ryld's Shadows
“Yes. Sad things. Maybe bad things. The bad things must be found, if they exist.” Ryld nodded at Kai’s laptop. “Are you hunting for the bad things?”
“I am indeed making a first foray into hunting for bad things.” An unholy gleam sparked in Kai’s face. “One moment…almost… Ha! There we are. And Hank will be assisting me. I’m very good at hunting computer spells and traps and setting up lines of defense in code, but I’m not as well-versed in finance.” He handed the laptop across the table to Hank. “You’re in. Accounting software for Kent City Orphanage. Though as you’ll see, there appear to be two separate databases.”
“How interesting,” Hank said around a bite of a red bean filled bun as he scrolled quickly through menus. “Though not surprising. Not at all.”
For the next forty minutes or so, Hank clicked and scrolled and murmured while making notes and eating absently. Ryld and Kai also ate and discussed how they would attempt Yarrow’s exercise and went over again everything he and Hank had seen that day.
Kai said sometimes talking helped bring details to light, and sometimes the listener saw details in the telling that made connections appear. Ryld didn’t see any, other than what they had already told him, but he was happy Kai believed his thoughts might be helpful.
When they’d all progressed to eating the sweets from the trays, Hank finally looked up from his charts. “It’s pretty classic. Two sets of books.” He put the laptop on the table and turned it so they could all see. “This first one’s the public one. Government funding, charitable contributions, Lady Jessamine’s donations, all clearly marked.” Hank tapped to change the screen. “This second one is the real set of books, the full picture. The extra deposits aren’t on a regular schedule, but they’re consistent. And sizeable. And a couple of days after, the money that came in funnels back out. I can’t tell where, but how much do you want to bet it’s to accounts owned by a certain Ms. Albright?”
“A fool’s bet,” Kai hissed, though he looked pleased. “Let’s get those pulled, Hank. The deposits and dates. I may be able to trace where the money goes with a little time.”
“I don’t understand. Is money being stolen? From where?” Ryld asked.
“Not exactly, sweetheart.” Hank pointed to a line where a large sum of money had been entered. “These deposits don’t show up in the other database. Big deposits. We think the person who runs the school is doing something illegal and getting money that way.”
“What is she doing that is illegal?”
“The specifics…we have no proof and we can’t be certain. Yet.” Kai ran his palms over his thighs in a clearly agitated way. “But we think they could be selling children.”
Ryld might not understand exactly how the computer and the accounts gave them this information, but slavery was a concept he knew. Captured enemies and punishment for crimes, the drow had kept many people in servitude, his own mother included. That the buying and selling of sentient flesh was illegal in this world had been both foreign and welcome when he’d first crossed over.
“How will you stop her?”
“I don’t know yet, little brother. We have only begun to investigate. But we will, by tooth or claw, we will.”
* * * *
The next morning Ryld and Kai met with Yarrow and Yew while Hank stayed behind to continue looking into accounts and recording dates and figures. Ryld was torn about not having Hank with him. On the one hand, Hank definitely helped stabilize him. On the other hand, it was safer to have Hank away from him if the shadows broke loose or in this case if he managed to let them loose on purpose.
So far, he had not been successful. In a way, that surprised him. The shadows didn’t obey him, but he always felt as if he were holding them back. In his view, it seemed he should be able just to…let go. When he tried, though, it was like trying to unclench a fist that had been closed his entire life. Without the emotional extremes of rage or panic, it didn’t seem possible. If frustration and irritation were enough, he should have been able to do it a dozen times over with Yarrow needling him to try again, try harder, think of this, think of that. Even Kai was shooting glares at the aelfe mage.
Yew finally stepped in, saying simply, “Perhaps dropping the reins isn’t enough. You must also push them through the door.”
That made sense, Ryld supposed. The shadows gathered around him didn’t break free until emotion drove him to the point of retreating inside his own mind. Maybe there wasn’t room in there for both him and the shadows.
Ryld closed his eyes and took a breath. In through the nose, exhale through his mouth, as Hank often coaxed him to do. He tuned out Yarrow’s nattering, instead focusing on the darkness behind his eyelids, the darkness that ebbed and flowed all around him, constantly shifting, growing. Gallingly, Yarrow wasn’t entirely wrong when he said Ryld was afraid of the darkness. He’d been left alone in darkness often.
The thought made him shudder, dark all around, pooling and forming into shapes, armed with teeth and claws, sharp and strong. He could tear the stupid aelfe apart. Smother him with a blanket of night, fill his mouth and nose with blackness until he stopped his ceaseless prattle and breathed no more.
Somewhere far away, Yarrow was saying, “What are you doing, Hiltas?”
Kai’s answer was soft and caustic. “If you’re not pulling power down now, you’re a bigger fool than you seem.”
Ryld pushed and felt the shadow tear from him. He opened his eyes.
Chaos erupted as a sleek catlike shadow leapt at Yarrow. Black talons raked him from shoulder to ribs. Ryld’s vision grew dim, graying out around the edges, his own rapid breathing loud in his ears. Too much, it had grown too large. He brought both hands up to his face, covering his mouth as he screamed and dropped down into a ball, trying to bring it back, but he already knew it was too late. He couldn’t stay while blood was being spilled and listen to them scream in pain. Then everything was gone, and he was safely in the darkness.
“Get down, you pea-brained aelfe!” Kai bellowed as Yew got in his way trying belatedly and not at all effectively to shield his twin.
Give the young mage credit, Yew ducked and rolled as Kai sent a whip of fire at the shadow. One. Single. Shadow. And Yarrow couldn’t even deal with that.
The shadow snarled and turned. He’d hoped it would leave Yarrow and come at him. Nearly, but not quite. It flowed about so its back claws still sank into the unfortunate aelfe and showed Kai its teeth.
In for a penny, as they say.
It wasn’t safe. His first teacher would have had fits. But Kai hurled the ball of mage lightning he’d been gathering since the moment Ryld had closed his eyes. It struck the shadow’s head and nearly clove it in two before the shadow began its whirlwind dissipation.
