Streamfield Shifters: Hide & Seek

Chapter Twenty-Six

Dear God, we'd done it. We'd actually found Jimmy alive. I turned to Rondil. "Is there some place where we can speak with him alone?"

Rondil's eyes flickered over my shoulder. Twisting around, I spied two soldiers from the pavilion standing behind the gaggle of rescued children. One slowly shook his head in the negative. The children, noticing the elven soldiers, gradually melted out of the way, leaving only Jimmy.

I sighed. "Fine, can we speak to him in your presence?"

"The boy has yet to be debriefed, my lady," the same soldier replied, affording me a small nod of respect.

Jesus Christ. I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to dig down deep for patience.

"Aaargh!" Rachael exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "How about you debrief him right now?"

"There is an order we have to follow ..." the other soldier began to say, but the first one cut him off with a raised hand.

"They are the ones that came with Their Royal Highnesses?" the first soldier asked Rondil.

He nodded.

I cocked my head slightly. Is this going where I think it's going?

Casting a glance back at his partner, the first soldier loosed a small sigh. "We will talk to him now."

The second soldier's eyes narrowed. "But—"

"Come with me," the first soldier said, gesturing.

Small blessings.

We were led to a large tent next to the children's pavilion. Rondil held the flap open for us and we ducked inside. The grass beneath the tent was already trampled flat by dozens of small feet. Two sets of stools were set up, one pair at the front of the tent, the other towards the back.

"Have a seat back there," the first soldier told Jimmy. "I will try to find some extra camp stools for you, but our supplies are limited at the moment," he told us. "I will be back in a moment; Rondil, see to it that they do not question the boy."

Rondil nodded. The first solider ducked beneath the tent flap and left.

"All right ... Jimmy, is it?" he asked the boy kindly.

Jimmy glanced up at the tall elven soldier with wide eyes.

"Why don't you have a seat over there, hm?"

Jimmy's eyes immediately swung to me. Poor kid, I thought, heart contracting in sympathy. "C'mon, I'll walk over with you, okay?" I held out one hand, palm up.

The boy's hand was cool to the touch, but not clammy. I breathed a silent sigh of relief. At least he wasn't sick ...well, as far as my inexperienced eyes could detect. Hand in hand, we walked over to the furthest pair of stools. Jimmy hopped up on one and immediately began to swing his legs back and forth, bare heels kicking the rungs.

I crouched down next to him, one hand curled on the stool's leg. Within a clan as large as ours, there was a never-ending string of kids to be found. I knew from playing with my niece, Cybele, that kids preferred it when adults got down on their level.

Sweeping a cursory gaze over the boy, I noted that he wasn't particularly thin or showing overt signs of abuse. The only changes were the streaks in his hair and the haunted look in his eyes.

"Are you gonna take me home?" Jimmy asked, little legs swinging as he stared down at me.

I opened my mouth to confirm, but Rachael beat me to it.