Page 36 of Cry of the Damned
I scratched my head, confused. “The Academy has an accountant in Lux City?”
“They do now,” George said in the well-spoken voice I’d heard earlier. “They may be the mighty Academy, but they still need to pay taxes to the even mightier US government. Apparently, the person who used to be in charge of such things passed away, and Magistrate Novus needs help to sort things out.”
I nodded, understanding. “Novus must have taken over from Magistrate Magnus. He died during an attack on our pack.”
George pushed his glasses up with his index finger. “I always felt uneasy about the Academy, but my fears were nothing compared to what I’ve learned lately. It is amazing what trail of corruption can be found in simple arithmetic.”
“Why would you agree to work for them?” Kall asked distrustfully.
He exchanged a sad glance with his wife. “Magistrate Novus left me no choice. She first offered me a lot of money to help her doctor the books. When I refused, she threatened my family. Our first instinct was to leave Lux, abandon everything. But our lives are here. Heather owns a bakery. It has been in her family for generations. We shouldn’t have to give everything up.”
Since no new residents were accepted into Lux City, all the families here could trace their roots back to the initial colonists. Whatever else was wrong with this place, it was beautiful. It had charm and a supportive community. It wasn’t fair for anyone to have to lose what had taken centuries to build. I could understand that.
“And then there is Owen,” Ahanu said.
The burly man gave a nod and crossed his arms, his big chest expanding with an inhale. “I’m one of the few delivery men allowed into Academy grounds,” he said. “My dad before me held the job, then passed it on to me once he grew old. The first time I went up there, he told me I might see strange things going on, but that I should turn a blind eye and focus on my job. He should’ve known better. I ain’t the kind to ignore things. They do a good job hiding their comings and goings, but I notice stuff.”
“And I don’t mean their constant midnight trips to the bars and brothels. Nah, if that was the bulk of it, I wouldn’t care. Not in the least. They are consenting adults, just like the people in the brothels. It’s the children I’m worried about. I know they brought a fresh batch the other day.”
“How many?” Ila took a step forward, a hand on her chest.
“Your pack’s kids?” Owen asked.
Ila nodded. “Most likely.”
He assented with a grunt. “I don’t know how many. I didn’t see them. I only overheard two magistrates talking about fresh shifter blood that they would need tore-tune, whatever that means. I’ve known for a while where they get the kids, and it’s not from regular folk who were supposedly murdered by wildlings. It doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together. And that don’t sit well with me.”
“That’s exactly what they’re doing, Mr. Bickford,” I said. “They took me from my family, killed my father in the process, and then they did something to me to forget who I was. I suspect that’s what they mean byre-tune.And I know exactly what happens to the ones that never become apprentices or magistrates.”
“You can call me Owen,” he said. “And I would love to know what they do to those children.” His large hands tightened into fists as if he would like to strangle the magistrates.
For the next twenty minutes, I explained what I knew and what had happened to our pack. When I was done, Ahanu, George, Heather, and Owen looked repulsed.
“Those murderous bastards.” Owen smacked a fist against one of the wooden crates that read “flour”, breaking one of its planks.
“It’s horrible.” Heather’s eyes were wavering with unshed tears. “Here we are unable to have a child,” she gripped her husband’s hand for support, “and they just dispose of them as if they were old furniture.”
George wrapped an arm around her and soothed her. “They’ll pay for it. One way or another.”
A heavy silence hung in the air for a long moment, then Ahanu spoke, “Sheela, you mentioned a plan to put an end to the Academy’s reign of horror. We would love to help you in any small way we can. You can stay in this warehouse, for starters.”
That took me by surprise. “Thank you.”
“It belongs to my family,” George said. “We use it to store things for Heather’s business. No one comes here but us.”
“We appreciate it,” Ila said. “We camped out on a rooftop today. It was a bit hot.”
Abitwas an understatement. We had nearly baked in that tool shed.
“Tell us there’s more we can do,” Owen said.
He might be able to get us into the Academy.I pushed the thought out to the others.
Getting Bethel into the Academy now that the magistrates knew we were here would be much harder. The fact that Owen had access to the grounds was an unexpected boon.
Kall, Maki, and Novuk met my gaze.
I trust him. Do you?I asked.
