IX

The guard sitting behind the orphanage lobby desk awoke suddenly. He cocked his head to the side, wondering what had woken him. It was pitch black outside, and rain still pelted the windows. He was about to close his eyes again when a feeble banging came from the front door. He rose out of the chair, letting out a grunt. Who could be knocking at this hour? He fumbled with his key ring, still shaking off his slumber, and finally unlocked the door. He creaked it open and his mouth opened in shock. Three young boys stood on the porch, absolutely soaked, and covered in mud. The guard pulled the door all the way open and the kids stumbled in and collapsed on the floorboards.

"Please, we need help..." croaked the boy with short brown hair.

The guard knelt down, inspecting their wounds.

"That's nothin' too bad. Stay put, I'll get a bandage."

The guard disappeared up the stairs. Wren sat on the floor, trying to get his thoughts together. Tonight didn't exactly go as planned, and with the sudden storm, venturing out of the city was a bad idea. They'd have to figure out how to lie low for a while still.

The guard thumped down the stairs, Head Caretaker Ivara following him closely, wrapped in an evening cloak. She cast her gaze around the room, lingering on Lira, who stood silently behind Wren. The guard began dressing the knife wound on Sam's arm.

"Tell me, what happened?" Ivara asked softly.

Wren raised his head to look up at her.

"I...we..." He glanced at Lira, took a breath, and tried to conjure up their planned story.

Ivara knelt by Wren and placed her hand gently on his shoulder. She looked over at Lira, who stared wide-eyed back. Wren felt a shiver run through Ivara.

"I need to know. Why are you injured? Who is this boy?"

"Sh-" Wren hesitated, almost slipping up. "He can't speak. Sam and I, we were cleaning inside the infirmary. There was a banging on the door and he was standing there. He needed help, Zane and his gang were chasing him." Wren's thoughts suddenly came together, as a new lie spun from his mouth.

"There was a fight. We managed to get away, but it was close."

Sam was nodding his head vigorously as Ivara rose to her feet.

"I see." She said, her voice once again hard. "Tonight, get cleaned up, and head to bed. Tomorrow we will talk about this more."

With that, she turned and headed back upstairs. The guard finished patching up Sam, and opened the door to their hall. After cleaning the mud off in the wash room, Wren led Lira to an empty bed towards the end of the room, but still close to his area.

Keeping his voice low, he said, "We'll have to stay here tonight sis. Tomorrow we'll figure out what we're going to do." He embraced his sister, then headed to his bed.

He was exhausted, but his mind was racing, and his body was very sore. His arm throbbed painfully, and it still hurt to breathe. He wanted to sleep, but it wouldn't come easily.

"Sam." He whispered.

His friend poked his head out from his bed, looking up at Wren.

"We need a new plan."

Sam was silent for a moment. "Tomorrow, try and hide away as much food as you can. Hopefully the storm will pass soon, and you can take a horse tomorrow night."

Wren didn't like the idea of just staying in place for another day. Any moment, the mage from the infirmary could sound the alarm. He didn't know what would happen then, but he wasn't confidant they could keep Lira hidden for long. People were going to talk, and a hair cut will only help so much.

"I don't want you to get into more trouble Sam. You should stop helping us now."

Sam scowled from his bed. "I'm thinking about running away with you, actually. Besides, Lira saved my life tonight, I can't just let that go."

Sam's words surprised Wren. He was grateful for Sam of course, and since he was his only friend here, he would miss when when they leave. But he hadn't expected Sam to want to come with.

"I'd like that Sam." He said softly.

Wren lay in his bed deep in thought, until sleep finally took him, but his slumber was restless. In his dreams, he was running down an endless hallway, lined with cold hard stones. From the darkness behind him, spirits whispered and called out, begging for his help and crying for blood. From ahead of him, his sister was yelling his name. He could see her, being held by Zane, his knife pressed to her throat. Behind them stood the mage from the infirmary, laughing as Wren sprinted towards them. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get any closer. The floor seemed to stretch out in front of him, faster than he could run. The voices behind him got closer, and he saw ghostly hands reach for him from the walls. Long cold fingers wrapped around his arms scrapped down his back. He screamed, thrashing to get away. The mage and Zane were laughing together now, their faces masks of insanity. Dead fingers brushed against Wren's face, trying to pluck out his eyes, and worm their way into his mouth. His sister screamed.

He awoke panting, cold sweat soaking his blanket. Caretaker Edric was ringing the bell at the front. Wren groaned as he flopped from his bed. Sam was already getting dressed, and he looked just as haggard as Wren felt. Lira silently walked over to them, fully dressed and seemingly wide awake, although it was hard to tell, as her face was still devoid of emotion besides her wide blue eyes.

The Caretaker scowled as the trio finally joined the group at the front.

"You two will not be returning to the orphanage with us after breakfast."

Fear instantly seared the drowsiness from his mind. Had they been found out already?

"Head Caretaker Ivara will meet you at the mess hall after we eat." Edric continued.

The boys nodded, his cold gaze piercing them.

Wren's thoughts took off as he tried to think about what to do about Lira now, when Sam pulled a girl over. It was Milly, the one they had cleaned the stables with.

"We need a favor Milly." Sam said, keeping his voice low. "And please, don't ask any questions."

She looked at them curiously but nodded, her curly, light-brown hair bouncing.

"That's Wrens sister." He started, tipping his head to Lira. Milly's eyes got big as he met Lira's gaze.

"She's not supposed to be here, and we need to keep her out of sight. Can you help us?"

"Yea, I can help I guess." Milly said, here eyes moving back and fourth between Wren and Lira.

"Also, we need you to pretend she's a boy. Oh, and uh, she doesn't talk." Finished Sam.

By this time, Edric had formed the children into two lines and began heading out the door. The weather had improved, although only slightly. A light rain was still coming down, but it felt like it was freezing. Wren's escape plan was falling to pieces in his head. If it started to snow, it would be plain stupid to try and venture out of the city. With basically no warm clothing, they were sure to freeze to death. Despair was starting to burrow its way into his mind once again.

Wren kept his sister close as they entered the mess hall. The older kids were here as well, but he didn't spot Zane, Mason, or any of their henchmen around. They quickly grabbed their sloppy porridge and sat down, surrounded by their peers. Lira stared at the bowl, totally uninterested in its contents.

"Come on sis, you gotta eat something." Wren said softly.

She picked up a small, wizened apple and gave it a nibble. Wren had stuffed his pockets with bread and cheese. They had just finished eating when Edric shouted for them to get out. Milly came to stand next to Lira. Wren wanted to give her a hug, but not here. No one could know who she was, and it would be odd for him to embrace a strange new kid in the mess hall. instead, he settled for a pat on the shoulder. Her eyes followed him, as he and Sam parted from the group to go wait for the Head Caretaker.

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Ivara seemed to simply appear behind the boys out of the crowd, startling the boys.

"I hope you ate well. We are going to see the Captain of the Watch, he requested to speak to you." Her shrill voice cut through the mummer of voices.

The boys exchanged a look.

"Did we do something wrong Ma'am?" Wren dared ask.

She glared at him. "Besides failing to follow basic directions and expectations two days in a row?" Sam cringed.

"I'm not exactly sure what he wants, but I suspect it has to do with last night."

The food in Wren's stomach was threatening to come back up.

Head Caretaker Ivara led them out into the cold, pulling her cloak around her. The boys clutched their arms, wishing they were allowed to bring their meager cloaks.

Ivara steered them in a different direction than Wren had been before. Rather than meandering through a maze of back streets and alleys, they followed a wider path, less clogged with mud. There was more activity in this area. Horses pulled carts loaded with gear, guards and watchmen marched around, and occasionally Wren would spot a Silverblood knight. The buildings looked much more upkept in this part of the compound. Part of that was likely due to the orphans Wren noticed, scrubbing scum off the walls and cleaning windows. Around a corner, they approached a large building. Three stories tall and with a fenced area out by one side. Men in leather armor practiced swordplay, the sound of ringing of steel filling the morning air.

They were led through the door at the front into a wide reception area. The room was busy, with men walking around everywhere, voices overlapping each other, and a few regular looking folks talking to someone behind a big desk. A guard gave Ivara nod as she entered, not stopping to talk. They headed deeper into the building, rather than going upstairs. A fancy dark wood door met them at the end of a hallway. A sign on the wall indicating this to be the Captain of the Watch. Ivara rapped her knuckles on the door twice, and a voice inside responded with a curt "Enter." A simple but large desk occupied most of the room, with paperwork stacked messily across its surface. A small name plaque poked through the mess, with the words "Watch Captain Brenner" barley visible. Behind the stacks sat a man who looked nothing like what Wren would expect of a Captain of the Watch. His brown and grey hair was balding rapidly, leaving a shiny bald spot on top. His beard was unkempt, yet somehow seemed too small for his round rosy cheeks. The buttons on his uniform bulged, struggling to contain the body within. It was clear he enjoyed the benefits of his job title. He mopped some crumbs off his face, leaving a few in his beard, and indicated to the chairs that sat in front of his desk. Wren and Sam accepted the chairs, but Ivara remained standing.

"I've brought you Wren, and Sam." She said, her shrill voice never failing to fill the whole room. "As you've requested. These are the two boys who were at the infirmary last night."

Brenner leaned over his desk, his massive girth causing the chair to groan in protest.

"Excellent, thank you Ivara." His deep voice sounded like it was struggling to make its way out of his swollen lips. "I need to know exactly what happened last night. I need details and names please."

Sam and Wren took turns recounting the story they had settled on. How they had been cleaning the first floor of the infirmary, as they were tasked to do. Later on in the night, someone banged on the door. When they opened it, another young boy stood outside in the rain.

The Watch Captain stopped them often to ask for clarification on things. Why didn't they just bring the boy into the infirmary instead of to the orphanage? Why didn't they wake the guard? What was the names of the bullies? What was their motives? He fired off questions frequently, and the boys did their best to answer without seeming suspicious, or contradicting the story or each other. After they finished, he told them to go back to the beginning. They retold the story two more times, each time with different questions coming from Brenner. It was clear he was trying to find out more about who Lira was, but the boys purposefully had few answers. Finally, he asked what Wren had been expecting, and fearing.

"Did you ever go up to the second floor, or any of the wards on the second floor?"

Wren shook his head. "Not last night. We were still cleaning the first floor."

"What about the previous night?"

"Yes, but I didn't go into any of the wards. We took a few breaks, and ran out of time." Lied Wren.

The Watch Captain squinted, as if trying to see through Wrens words.

"Did you see anyone on the second floor?"

Wren paused, giving himself time to think of a good answer, and appearing like he was trying to remember.

"I saw a nurse once, through the window to one of the wards, but that was it."

"No other children? No other adults?"

Wren and Sam both shook their heads. He didn't know if it made them more suspicious or less that they claimed to see no one else.

Brenner leaded back noisily in his chair and cast a glance at Ivara.

"I can bring the new boy in, however as they have said, he is mute." She said to him.

"Let me get back to you on that one. I need to look at my schedule, but the Silverbloods are on my arse about this." He rubbed his eyes with his meaty hands wearily. "So much huff over one runaway girl."

Wren suddenly saw an opportunity.

"A runaway girl sir?" He asked, trying to seem only mildly curious.

"Indeed. Some sickly welp in the infirmary. She disappeared from her bed last night, and the knights are making it out to be a big deal. No idea why, but I was hoping you two had seen something."

Sam and Wren quickly glanced at each other.

With the interrogation concluded, Ivara led the boys out of the office. As they approached the front door, it swung open violently, and in strode the mage from the infirmary. His brow was furled over his silver eyes, and the ends of his mouth were pulled down. He quickly made his way back towards the Watch Captains office. The boys avoided his gaze, his presence carrying an air of menace through the building. Once they were outside, Sam looked up at the Head Caretaker.

"Who was that Ma'am?"

She frowned at him, as if annoyed by his simple question. After a moment of silence during which he thought she wouldn't answer, "That was Sir Orin, the senior psycho-mage for the Silverbloods here. He's investigating the disappearance, so I wouldn't be surprised if he called for you too."

Sam gulped loudly, and Wren cursed under his breath. Ivara noticed.

"He is a powerful man, and as I'm sure you felt, he was in a terrible mood. Just know, you cannot lie to him. If you try, he won't hesitate to tear apart your mind to find the truth."

She smirked as Wren blanched.

They absolutely had to avoid talking to him. Why was Lira so important? Sure she has these new powers, but there's no way that's the only reason. Once they got back to the orphanage, Sam, Wren, and Lira sat down together in a corner. Milly joined them, apparently interested in helping, although Wren was hesitant to involve anyone else.

They came to a decision. They would leave the orphanage and strike out into the city, and they would do it tonight.