The room was both loud and very busy, with kids causing a vaguely controlled ruckus. Toys of different kinds littered the floors, a couple kids were hiding in corners, even a few babies were resting in the cribs. A few kids were enjoying themselves, others looked sullen and afraid, watching her with silent wide eyes.
As if it wasn't chaotic enough, the phone started to ring, just adding to the high stress situation.
"Alexis!"
"Keep your pants on geez."
She grabbed the wild toddler who was about to exit the room, amd placed him on her shoulders.
"Sorry little guy, you can't go out there."
She grabbed the phone and kicked the door closed.
"Childcare department, how can I help?"
"Lexi?"
"Hey Mel."
She dropped the toddler in the padded playpen, tossing a stray toy in there with him.
When Melody didn't speak, she frowned a little.
"Your dad didn't get kidnapped did he?"
"What? No! Why would he?"
Alexis sighed, glancing at the kids around the room.
"Been happening a lot lately."
"Again?"
"Mmm."
Alexis sank to the floor with another weary sigh. Between the prominent dark circles around her eyes and the way her shoulders drooped, it was not difficult to see her exhaustion.
"Auntie Lexi, I'm hungry." One of the kids mumbled.
"You needed something?" She asked Melody, handing the kid a granola bar from her pocket.
There was a muffled exchange of whispering on the other side, then Melody spoke.
"If we suspect a… dangerous home environment for a minor, that's your work. Right?"
Their eyebrow shot up.
"Depends. Define 'dangerous'."
There was a long silence on the other line.
"Auntie Lexi!" One of the younger kids screamed at her.
She shushed him quickly and held out a granola bar to him too. Seemingly satisfied with that reaction, he grabbed the bar and started chewing on the wrapper.
"It's just.. very important that she doesn't go home." Melody said slowly.
Alexis tilted her head a bit.
She? This whole time she had kind of figured that this was about.. Nevermind.
"I can't leave here, but I'll see what I can do. What's the name of the guardian?"
"Lazuli."
This voice was not Melody's. It was a much lower, richer voice, with an unmistakable smooth accent.
"Last name?"
There was another pause over the other side. They could almost hear the shrug.
She ran her tongue over her teeth thoughtfully, and grabbed her laptop. She skimmed through the system, until at last she found his name. Thankfully, the town wasn't exactly well populated.
YOU ARE READING
Book 1: The Chaos Keys
FantasyIn a world where magic is forced underground, sometimes it's a little too difficult to ignore. Over the years, magic became a more and more obscure topic until it was simply a theory. Some people know a little more than others, some people investiga...
