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in, there was a silence we hadn’t encountered the
last time we were there, during our initial journey to Flown Raven. It felt
like genuine hostility. People glared at us as though they thought we had no
right to be there, and it was discomforting. “Maybe we should ride through,” I
suggested in a low voice.
    “It’ll be dark,
soon,” Taro pointed out.
    So we’d light a
fire and hunker down. We’d done it many times before.
    And then an
older man, hair gray and thinning, wearing clothing that was too big for him,
announced, “We have no little ones for you, so you might as well move on.”
    Little ones? Why
would we want anyone’s children?
    Taro appeared
baffled as well. “I don’t understand.”
    Another man,
younger and in a higher quality of clothing, jeered, “We’re not stupid. We’ve
heard the stories. The Triple S snatches children from their parents, no matter
what anyone feels.”
    Ah. That
happened sometimes. Some parents resented the Triple S taking their children
when it was discovered they had talent. The Triple S had no choice, though.
Sources were, eventually, driven to channel when presented with an event, and
if they didn’t have a Shield, they would end up dead from their efforts.
    In addition,
Sources and Shields needed to be separated as children and kept in different
academies until they were judged mature enough to handle the emotional turmoil
Bonding could cause. If an undiscovered Source child encountered an
undiscovered Shield child who was meant to be her partner later in life, they
might Bond, and the repercussions could be horrific. Insanity was a
possibility.
    But I wasn’t
going to try explaining that. A malevolent crowd was gathering, and anything I
said to defend the motives for Triple S practices would be interpreted as
insulting excuses. “We’re just here to spend the night,” I said. “We haven’t
heard of any children here with the talent.”
    Though if we
found any, we would have to take them with us. If the residents let us. Right
then, I wasn’t sure they would. I would have to inform the Triple S of the
circumstances, and they would have to send people to take the child.
    The young man
snorted derisively.
    “We’ve lived in
Flown Raven for five years,” Taro explained. “The people around here mean a lot
to us.”
    Taro could be
very persuasive. He had learned when to flirt, when to charm, when to lay on
aristocratic arrogance, and when to be sincere. This time, he chose the last.
    His simple few
words, and perhaps the fact that he didn’t actually disagree with anyone,
seemed to pacify them a little. Not completely, but enough that I didn’t fear
the innkeeper had spat in the stirred potatoes he later served me in his tap
room. Still, there was very little conversation from the other patrons as we
ate. I was sure everyone was watching us, and it felt horrible.
    Taro and I said
nothing. We ate as quickly as we could and escaped to the room we had rented.
    “I hate being
surrounded by regulars who despise us.” I rubbed my arms. “It makes me feel
naked.” Or exposed. Vulnerable.
    Taro smiled.
“Maybe you should give that a try.”
    “What?”
    “Walk around
naked. It would surely tame their displeasure.”
    “I think you
should be the one to make that attempt. You’re the beautiful one.”
    “We could both
do it. To make sure we satisfy everyone’s tastes.”
    I was no beauty.
I was rather plain, in fact. I lacked the stature to be tall, but was not short
enough to be considered petite. I was neither curvaceous nor slender. My facial
features could only be described as ordinary. The only aspect of my appearance
that might be said to stand out was my red hair.
    “Sure,” I said.
“You go first.”
    Suddenly, there
was an enormous clatter down on the first floor, the scrape of wooden furniture
being slid and tossed about, and a voice shouting. “Where are they?”
    Oh, that could
not be good.
    “You know what
happened to Bellus, and you take