“Why is he chained like that?” I said. “Is he dangerous?”
“You’ll see,” Lorraine said.
The boy closed his eyes. He seemed to be concentrating. A moment later, hair began to emerge from the brim of his cap, creeping down his forehead. His goatee grew, too, twisting into a clump, then rising and swaying like a charmed snake.
“Heavenly herons,” said Addison. “How marvelously strange.”
“Watch closely now,” said Lorraine, grinning.
Number thirteen raised his shackled hands. The pointed end of his charmed goatee aimed itself at the lock, sniffed around the keyhole, and wriggled inside. The boy opened his eyes and stared ahead, expressionless. After ten or so seconds, the twisted goatee stiffened and began to vibrate, making a high musical note we could hear through the glass.
The padlock opened and the chains fell away from his wrists.
He bowed slightly. I stifled an urge to applaud.
“He can open any lock in the world,” Lorraine said with a hint of pride.
The boy returned to his chair and magazine.
Lorraine covered the tube with her hand. “He’s one of a kind, and so are the rest. One’s a thought reader, very adept. Another can reach through walls up to her shoulder. That’s more useful than it sounds, believe me. The little girl here flies if she’s had enough grape soda.”
“Is that right,” Addison said thickly.
“She’d be happy to demonstrate,” said Lorraine, and speaking into the tube, she summoned the girl to the window.
“It’s not necessary,” Emma said through clenched teeth.
“It’s their job,” said Lorraine. “Five, come forward!”
The little girl went to a table stocked with bottles, selected one filled with purple liquid, and took a long drink. When she’d drained it, she set down the bottle, let out a dainty hiccup, and went to stand by a cane-backed chair. A moment later she hiccupped again and her feet began to lift off the ground, pivoting upward while her head remained level. By the third hiccup, her feet had risen ninety degrees and she lay flat on her back in the air, her only support the top of the chair beneath her neck.
I think Lorraine expected more of a reaction from us, but—though impressed—we were a study in silence. “Tough crowd,” she said and dismissed the girl.
“Now,” Lorraine said, hanging up the tube and turning to face us. “If none of that was your cup of tea, I have lending agreements with other stables. By no means are your choices limited to what you see here.”
“Stables,” Emma said. Her voice was flat, but I could tell she was boiling just below the surface. “So you admit you treat them like animals?”
Lorraine studied Emma for a moment. Her eyes flitted to the man in the overcoat standing guard in the back. “Course not,” she said. “These are high-performance assets. They’re well fed, well rested, trained to perform under pressure, and pure as the driven snow. Most have never touched so much as a drop of ambro—and I’ve got the papers to prove it in my office. Or you could just ask them. Numbers thirteen and six!” she shouted into the speaking tube. “Come tell these people how you like it here.”
The little boy and girl got up and shuffled to the window. The boy picked up the speaking tube. “We like it here very much,” he said robotically. “Mam treats us real nice.”
He handed the tube to the girl. “We like to do our work. We …” She paused, trying to recall something learned and forgotten. “We like our work,” she mumbled.
Lorraine dismissed them irritably. “And there you have it. Now, I can let you test drive one or two more, but beyond that I’ll need some kind of down payment.”
“I’d like to see those papers,” Emma said, glancing back at the overcoat man. “The ones in your office.” Her hands, clenched at her sides, were starting to go red. I could see we needed to leave before things turned ugly. Whatever information this woman might’ve had wasn’t worth the fight, and rescuing all these kids … well, as callous as it sounded, we had our own kids to rescue first.
“Actually, that won’t be necessary,” I said, then leaned in to Emma and whispered, “we’ll come back to help them. We have to prioritize.”
“The papers,” she said, ignoring me.
“No problem,” Lorraine replied. “Step into my office and let’s talk turkey.”
And then Emma was going and there was no unsuspicious way to stop her.
Lorraine’s office was a desk and chair crammed into a walkin closet. She had only just closed the door behind us when Emma sprang at her, pushing her hard against it. Lorraine swore and shouted for Carlos but went quiet when Emma held a hand to her face that glowed hot as an oven coil. On Lorraine’s blouse, two blackened handprints smoked where Emma had pushed her.
There was a thump on the door and a grunt from the other side.
“Tell him you’re fine,” Emma said, her voice low and flinty.
“I’m fine!” Lorraine said stiffly.
The door rattled against her back.
“Tell him again.”
Lorraine, more convincing now: “Get lost! I’m doing business!”
Another grunt, then receding footsteps.
“You’re being very stupid,” Lorraine said. “No one’s ever stolen from me and lived.”
“We don’t want money,” Emma said. “You’re going to answer some questions.”
“About what?”
“Those people out there. You think you own them?”