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Jackasarian breathed a sigh of relief as his female discovered her sister. He had been concentrating on her and missed the fact that the male had taken the young female until they were on the other side of the courtyard. He’d followed quickly, intending to engage the male in combat. But when he caught up with them, he noted the male’s youth, his half-starved frame, his patched clothes, and his lack of weapons.
As he hesitated, the young female kicked out, her foot connecting solidly with the young male’s leg. The male winced, but he made no attempt to retaliate as he half-carried her inside another building. He decided there was no immediate threat, then returned to find his female already searching desperately for her sister. Although he had been tempted to join her, he had decided to send Keffi instead, delighted when she followed his drone back to the hiding place.
And it was very clearly a hiding place, he thought, studying it through Keffi’s eyes. The windows were shuttered and covered with blankets. The large stone-covered stove used an artificial energy source that produced no smoke. The young male swore impatiently and pulled Jackasarian’s female inside the room before quickly closing the door.
Keffi slipped inside before it closed and retreated into the corner where he could observe without being seen.
“Don’t leave the door open. Never leave the door open.”
Jackasarian did not appreciate the young male’s tone, nor the fact that he had laid hands on his female, but with the increased light in their hiding place, the male’s youth was even more apparent. So too was the worry on his young face.
“I don’t understand. Why did you take her?” his female asked, shaking off the male’s hand as she rushed to her sister’s side.
The two females clung together.
“I told you Katerina was my sister,” the young one sniffed.
Katerina.
Her name rang like music in his ears. He could imagine whispering it as he slid into the soft depths of her willing body. The image was so delightful that it took him a full minute before he realized that the conversation had continued.
“I already said I’m sorry,” the boy scowled. “I was trying to help you.”
The young female glared back. “We don’t need your help.”
Katerina sighed and patted her sister’s arm.
“Calm down, Merry. At least until we find out what is going on. Who are you? And who are they?”
She gestured around the room and for the first time he realized that there were others present. Two small children huddled together in a sleeping space carved out of the wall, their faces almost identical. Another, slightly older child was half hidden behind a wooden barrel.
“I’m Johnny. The twins are Cecil and Cecilia. And that little squirt is Lorna.”
The child behind the barrel stepped forward, smiling widely enough to reveal a missing tooth and he recoiled in horror. Who had done that to her? Human teeth were too blunt to represent any threat. Why would someone have taken one from a child?
“I’m Katerina, and this is my sister, Merry. But I don’t understand. What are you all doing here? Aren’t there any adults?”
Even through Keffi’s vision, he could feel the tension in the room. Lorna darted back behind her barrel and the twins huddled deeper into their covers. The boy scowled pugnaciously.
“I look after them. We don’t need no fu – freaking adults.”
“But how did you get here?”
The boy turned away from her, the tips of his ears turning red.
“This trader came through town. He was in a hurry and needed someone to help on the trip. Said he was going to the city and that I could earn a lot of money.”
“And you went with him,” Katerina said gently.
Johnny shrugged, still not looking at her. “Nothing for me in town. Thought I might do better in the city. But I didn’t know.”
He turned back, his young face anguished.
“He had them locked up in his wagon.”
One of the twins whimpered.
“I told him I didn’t want no part of it. But he said if I tried to leave he’d hurt them. I didn’t know what to do.”
