Page 66 of Ryld's Shadows
“Yes. Yes.” The little goblin nodded frantically, as if his answer might not be enough. “Just, please. No more kids being sold out of that awful place.”
Hank patted his shoulder, though part of him wanted to punch the little guy in the face. Remorse was all well and good, but he could’ve tried to do something before this, threats or no threats.
By the time Hank returned to the suite with a breakfast cart, piled high with food, coffee and tea, he’d managed to calm down enough that he wouldn’t yell at Kai trying to explain things. He set everything out on the table, kissed a sleepy Ryld good morning and turned to Kai, who looked less like an undead drow now.
“You first,” Hank said in a tone that wasn’t quite snapping. “What did you find hacking into everything and everywhere last night?”
Kai squinted at him but didn’t ask yet. “Mostly what we suspected. That thereareadoptions registered from Kent City Orphanage, but not enough to account for how many children apparently go through there.” He sipped at his coffee and raised an eyebrow at Hank. “Now you. You left glowing like sunshine and have returned as a thunderstorm.”
Hank went through what the kitchen worker had told him and finished with, “And maybe I was acting crazy because I was so mad. Was it a stupid idea? Should we just call it in?”
Kai stared out the window a moment, then shook his head. “No. I don’t think we should. Not yet. If we send AURA officers stomping in with their loud, heavy boots, we might catch the little fish, but the big ones will have warning and will scatter. Best we do this quietly tonight. Secure the children who are at risk and then tell the authorities.”
“What would you like me to do?” Ryld asked.
“I have two things I would like you to do, please,” Kai said. “The first is to send word to the drow mage who visited you and meet with him in the fairy glade. You might not be allowed to roam the court freely, but you’re not a prisoner and I’m sure Lady Jessamine will allow you to do what you came here to do a suitable safe distance away. See if there is anything else you might learn there by listening to the fairies. Your presence should also deter anyone who might be thinking of raiding the nests. Second, I would like you to stay here tonight. If you do not see or hear from us by dawn, you will need to go to Lady Jessamine and inform her. We may need her help and ask her to send reinforcements to the orphanage. I don’t anticipate that will be necessary, but it’s good to have someone who is watching out for us in reserve.”
Ryld nodded and picked up a piece of toast. “I will do these things.”
* * * *
“So far, your little informant has been true to his word.” Kai approached the wagon that had been left for them, making a cursory inspection to be certain the wood wasn’t rotten and that the wheels were sound.
Hank heaved a small sigh. “He didn’t seem smart enough to be acting. Certainly was dumb enough to get caught up in all of this.”
“Well, he was intelligent enough to pick you to tell. We can thank the goddesses for small favors.”
Kai wondered if the choice of horses had been purposeful or just what the goblin could get them. Two large beasts, both dark-colored, had been hitched to the wagon. The third horse was the black mare Kai had been assigned before. He felt he knew her well by now.
“I’m good with the wagon.” Hank nodded to the driver’s seat. “Drove plenty back home.”
“I’m relieved to hear that.” Kai mounted without another thought. “I’mableto drive a team but haven’t in a terribly long time.”
Hank chuckled and it was good to hear him in a less thunderous mood. He climbed up, took up the reins and clicked his tongue to start the team off at a fast walk.
Kai distracted himself from the worry of what lay ahead with another worry on his mind. Ryld, and more specifically the drow, Dzev, that Ryld had met with earlier. Ryld had come back from that meeting just after dark, and unlike the sessions with Yarrow and Yew, which left him frustrated and near despair, Ryld had returned calm, almost serene, thoughtful. Hank noted the difference and said so aloud, to which Ryld replied that helikedDzev.
Childish, to be somehow jealous that Ryld could stand the company of another drow. Perhaps not entirely reasonable, to be suspicious of someone who was trying to help. But Dzev wasdrow. There had to be ulterior motives beyond a desire to help. Drow hard-wiring nearly demanded it.
They reached Pixieland in good time and perhaps it was the set determination on Hank’s face, or perhaps someone’s cousin had told someone’s friend who had told someone’s wife, but the pixies let them pass without a word or a single warning trill in the trees.
The road into the town was pitch black and quiet, not a vehicle in sight. Which was a good thing. Riding along a highway was dangerous enough at night. As they found a secure place on the edge of town to leave the horses, all Kai’s senses were on alert. The darkness was not really a hindrance for him, all the usual sounds of insects and tiny noises of a sleeping populous seemed normal. Still, as they neared the orphanage something tingled along his skin, and he signaled for Hank to stop.
Hank did more than that, he stopped, looked and pulled back. Kai followed, and Hank whispered, “You felt it?”
“I felt something,” Kai whispered back.
“It’s goblin magic. Like a blanket over the area that blocks out sounds and makes it harder to see.”
“Lovely.” Kai shifted his awareness a bit and felt at the edges of the magic. “Not a large area. Are you affected by it?”
“If I go further, it will be like I put sunglasses on at night and stuffed some cotton in my ears. I can still function—it just makes it more difficult.”
“Good to know.” Kai tapped at the magic a little longer, finding the weave of it, the density of it. Finally, he took Hank’s hand. “Stay close.”
He couldn’t do much to lift the muting blanket and if he tried, that would tell the goblin casting the spell that someone was nearby. What he could provide was a bubble to move with them so their senses wouldn’t be muffled to a human level. How humans navigated their way through the world sometimes was a mystery.
Kai could make out the soft rumble of an engine running up ahead somewhere. It had to be behind the building because the only vehicles in the street were silent, and the parking lot was too far away. Still leading Hank, he slipped around the north side, opposite the playground, where there was no fence to impede them.
