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A chittering sound, tapping, whispering, heavier than the scratching of rats behind the walls. “Do you hear that?”
“Yes.”
We reached another building and I sent the witchlight in to illuminate the main room. The space was empty except for an abandoned sewing machine in one corner. The floor was covered with dust, but there were no footprints. I glanced at Rafe. “Not here.”
“Agreed.”
We moved on, accompanied by that chattering sound. Pattering, like very heavy mice or – I heard an unmistakable giggle – children. I whirled around, nearly knocking Rafe off balance.
“What do you see?” I asked quietly.
“Behind us. Four of them.”
“Are they living, or are they spirits?”
“Living.”
They might be able to help us. I continued on, with Rafe at my heels. We went into the next building because there was some disturbance in the dust on the floor. The padding footsteps followed us.
This room was entirely empty, with a single door across from the main entrance. The door was unlocked, and as soon as I crossed the threshold, I ducked to my right, leaving the door open. Rafe followed suit, taking a position opposite me with his back to the wall.
We didn’t wait long at all until the ringleader came sneaking through. Through the dirt and the rags I guessed he was a boy. The child right behind him wore a filthy dress. I grabbed the third by the arm, earning myself a sharp kick to the shins and very nearly the gash of a deadly little blade.
Rafe caught the child’s wrist before he could stab me, which brought the others crowding around, punching and kicking. I caught another blade before it could cause real damage and barely avoided getting bit by the littlest one.
“Hang on now. Stop”
I spoke with as much authority as I could muster, but things didn’t calm down until Rafe hollered, “Desist” in a tone of voice that had me quaking.
“Be still. All of you,” he said. The four children faced us, showing various levels of disrespect and anger, but no fear.
They all looked like they could stab us in the back without losing a wink of sleep. The biggest boy wore trousers that were some six inches too short and a pair of shoes that had somehow been tied around his feet, with pieces of leather flapping off here and there. The girl was as dirty as the other three; only her dress hinted at her sex, though given how ragged they all were, she could possibly be a he who had nothing else to wear.
The third, the one I grabbed, was young enough to be missing his two front teeth. A crude scar bisected one of his eyebrows, giving him a cockeyed look. The smallest couldn’t have been more than five, although the soul that stared fiercely from his eyes had seen too much for such a young age.
“So,” I said, with a smile that aimed for a friendly authority. “I wonder who would like one of these.” I held up a dollar bill. The intensity of their attention left me with a sense of relief that I had three other bills in my wallet, as I could easily see the losers ganging up on the winner in a most unpleasant way.
“I’m looking for someone, a woman, who might be down here, and I wonder if any of you could help me find her.”
“What ‘zat?” the littlest child pointed at the witchlight. “Are you a witch?”
“It’s a witchlight, and yes. Now is it worth a dollar to you to help me find my friend?”
The largest boy spoke up. “Maybe. What you all think?” He looked at the other children.
“I didn’t see nobody,” the boy with the scarred brow said, lisping on the ‘s’.
“Don’t lie, Hammond.” The girl took a swipe at him, fixing me in her flat stare. “We can take you, but it’s a ways away.”
I gestured toward the door. “Lead on.”
Rafe mumbled something I didn’t catch, but the children had taken off at a fast clip. “Hey.” I hollered after them. “Nobody gets paid if you leave without us.”
The girl came back first. She pointed at Rafe. “He can’t move that fast, right?”
Rafe muttered something sharper, making me glance his way. Cane in one hand, he sketched a sigil of some kind with the other. When he finished, something clicked and the girl gave a yelp.
“What kinda nasty spell did you set?” She glared at him, her dirty chin raised like she was ready to take a punch.
