Page 64 of Cry of the Damned
“There’s lots to hug,” he said, then put his arms in front of his face as Ila threatened to slap him.
“Behave yourself!” Ila stomped her foot, glancing apologetically in Heather’s direction, who stood over the stove, preparing something that smelled incredibly delicious. She was smirking, so I didn’t think she minded their banter.
“How was your day?” I asked Ila eagerly. “How did everything go?”
“It went well. I was able to sneak the ingredients in. I don’t think it will be hard. No one gave me a second look.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Everyone appears very nervous,” she said. “I didn’t get involved in any of the conversations, but the head cook is worried. She says there is enough food to last two weeks, and that the magistrates better get back before the children starve. Also, they’re worried about their wages.”
I frowned. This was a problem we had not foreseen. In our determined goal to destroy the magistrates, we hadn’t carefully considered all the repercussions.
“What is going to happen to the children, Sheela?” Ila asked, looking as if she truly expected me to have all the answers. “I doubt all of them, the older ones, will want to come with us. And the trek back won’t be easy. We’ll need supplies.”
I stared back at a loss and shook my head as panic started building. “I… I don’t know.”
Heather walked away from the stove. “Um… I think we can find a way to get people here to help.”
I almost snatched her hand and clung to her as if she were a lifetime. “Really?”
“Getting supplies for your journey won’t be a problem,” she said. “George and I can provide that.”
“Oh, thank you, Heather. I don’t know how I could repay you for all your help.”
“It really is no problem. George and I are very happy to help.” She looked pensive for a moment. “As far as the students who may not want to go with you, that will be trickier.”
“Trickier?”
“They are minors, so they would need to be cared for. They might need to be assigned to homes. I guess some of them could get a declaration of emancipation, though I’m not sure what the appropriate age is for that, and there’s still the question of their survival on their own. They don’t have relatives in the city. I don’t know.” She shook her head. “There are too many questions that I don’t have the answer for, but I’ll start asking around.”
I was starting to get a headache just thinking about the few things she’d mentioned, and I was sure there was way more to consider.
Ila took a step forward and placed a hand on my elbow. “Don’t fret about it. It’ll all work out. Whatever happens, all those children are better off thanks to what you did for them. They’ll all get to grow up, and none of them will have to endure the horrors you did.”
I met her gentle brown eyes and nodded. She was right. Despite all the difficulties that were ahead, we had freed the students, and they would be better off for it. And not only that, this would be the last generation of children taken from their homes. No more families torn apart, no more brainwashing, no more magic-dampening codas, no more murders.
Strengthening my resolve, I nodded. Whatever it took, we would do it. Nobody said it would be easy.
The rest of the week passed quickly, and on the last day, Ila returned from the Academy fretful and anxious. She’d heard some of the servers talk about greater fear spreading through the students. Some of them were losing their codas. The tattoos were fading, and the students didn’t understand why. Was it because the magistrates were gone? Were they being punished?
“It’s time for us to go up there.” I turned to Bethel.
She nodded, knowing it was time to get Ila back into her body. We went into the guest room. We moved Ila’s body from the bed and sat her on an armchair. Then Ila—in Diana’s body—lay on the bed. Bethel made quick work of her spell, and Ila was back where she belonged in no time. She opened her eyes and pressed a hand to her chest.
“Oh, that was the longest week of my life. I’m so glad to be back.”
When she stood, a bit shaky, I wrapped her in a hug. “You’re the strongest one of us.”
She shook her head and frowned. “What are you talking about? I’m not.”
“Yes, you are,” Bethel put in. “I couldn’t have done that. I’m sure I wouldn’t have lasted a day.”
Ila’s stomach growled to punctuate Bethel’s words.
“I think I have just the thing for that,” Heather said from the door, holding out a plate topped with roasted vegetables and grilled steak.
She and George had cooked dinner every evening and insisted that we stayed. Most of the time, we went back to the warehouse because we didn’t want to become a burden. But today, we didn’t turn them down. Ila wouldn’t have let us if we’d tried, anyway.
