Surrender (Book 1 of The Baneseeker Project)

Chapter 6 - The Swap

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The orphans's shelter could be found on a low hill on the southern fringes of Tanazu, tucked behind a thicket. If not for the path leading to it, no one would have known that it was there. The building looked desolate, in a desolate village.

Under the eye of the white moon, Lyna made her way to the back of the building. Time around her bent and crawled as it revealed the presence of the bane core, a burning sensation not unlike the discomfort that came when sand went into the eyes, except that it plagued her entire skin, from head to toe. The closer she got to the core, the stronger the irritating sensation became.

Bending time was unnecessary. Lyna had already narrowed down the location of the boy to this building and she could easily make her way undetected without her ability.

But why not use it?

It was her addiction speaking, she knew. On the other hand, at this point, this close to the end, she found it hard to come up with a reason not to indulge.

The shelter's walls bent outward and the roof was poorly patched. Rain and cold had easy access to the inside. The building boasted two stories. Around it, the grounds were unkempt and a broken kart with one wheel was stuck within a round overgrown bush. In front of the entrance, the snow had been beaten into the ground by small feet, forming a wide half-circle and a path toward the village.

Lyna did not want to risk entering through a window. None had a frame that looked as if they could hold her weight without creaking or breaking. The entrance door was ajar, unhinged. Moving it would be just as risky, but she believed that she might be able to slip through the opening without touching anything.

She hid her bag and scyme blade into the bush, and flattened time further as she approached the front door. As suspected, the opening was wide enough and she slipped into the building without a sound.

The place stunk of detritus and urine. It had a single large room with two ladders leading to two elevated nooks. A table stood in a corner, with three chairs, one of which had a missing leg. On the floor, some rolled up in blankets, others uncovered, slept eleven children. Two sets of tiny feet protruded beyond the end of one of the nooks. Thirteen. No adult.

The warden lived off property, probably sleeping soundly in a feathered bed, in the house located up the road leading to Tanazu.

Shaking her head and stalling time further, Lyna moved through the main room, passing between the prone children. She noticed that a human girl of probably three or four years was awake, staring blankly at the ceiling, lines visible on her dirty cheeks where tears had passed.

Beside her, a teenage boy twice her height slept with his cheek against the stone floor, immune to its roughness and coldness.

The light of the moon was enough to reveal every corner of the room. Lyna could not see the boy, but the disturbing pull of the bane core told her that he was up in the second of the nooks. The first had feet hanging from it, while the second didn't show any sign of being occupied. Still, Lyna knew Danor was there, and that he was most likely alone.

Moving lightly and quickly, she traversed the room and climbed the wobbly ladder. She peeked over the ledge and was rewarded with the sight of Danor's form, deep in sleep. She slid on the platform and knelt beside the boy.

Poor thing. What kind of life was this?

Once again, Lyna wondered what had become of the father.

Danor did not have a blanket, but thankfully, the nook was warm. At least, the boy wasn't cold.