Streamfield Shifters: Hide & Seek

Chapter Twenty-Three

We barely led the kids out of the tunnel when General Whitesword ordered me to check the next cottage. Knowing that there could potentially be more hiding underground, I obliged without comment.

And there were.

In two of the tunnels, I ended up finding twenty more children and teenagers, all wearing shapeless smocks. Most had white or nearly white hair. While they hadn't been sealed up in a dirt tomb, they had been hidden away behind a cunningly-crafted series of doors and panels disguised to look like earth. They were eager to see me, rushing forward to run their hands through my thick pelt. I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel good—dozens of little hands giving my poor muscles the massage they deserved. My purrs echoed through the earthen chambers.

General Whitesword had to have the soldiers gently pull them away and send them to the triage that had been set up at the farmhouse.

Once the kids were clear, the general had me go in by myself to see if there were any cultists lurking about. By this time, I was able to discern rogue elven scents from those of the general, Crown Prince Kesio and the soldiers. Finding no one, we moved on to the last cottage.

As usual, I went down the ladder in human form. Upon hitting the bottom, I turned around and saw them.

Gasping, I spun around and gripped the handrails of the ladder. "General!" I shouted, voice echoing.

General Whitesword's perturbed face appeared over the hatch. "What is it?"

"Adults! There's a bunch of adults down here!"

"We'll be right down."

I moved away from the ladder and slowly approached the humans. There were about twelve of them, lining both sides of the tunnel: men and women with white, almost translucent hair that fell past hunched shoulders and down their backs. They wore nondescript, earth-toned tunics, baggy pants and no shoes. Some appeared as young as twenty and as old as seventy.

What gave me pause was the lack of reaction to my presence. No one cheered nor so much as blinked an eye. They were completely and utterly subdued.

General Whitesword's boots hit the ground and he came to stand next to me. Hands on hips, he surveyed the silent men and women. I glanced up at his pinched expression; in the short time that I'd been around the man, he wasn't the type to be at a loss for words.

There was movement behind me and a quick check indicated that Kesio was there.

General Whitesword folded his arms. "Who is the leader here?" he asked, surveying the group.

Silence. A couple of the adults turned in his direction and blinked.

"You, there," the general stated, pointing at the elderly woman in the back. "Is it you?"

The woman didn't answer; she merely continued to stare at the floor of the tunnel.

"What do we do, sir?" one of the soldiers asked of the general.

Frowning, the general turned to me. "These are your people," he said. "What should we do?"

How should I know? Before I could formulate a tactful reply, a woman of about forty or so slowly stood up. Keeping her gaze firmly fixed on the floor, she spoke in a hushed, almost childish whisper:

"My lord, Renee hasn't spoken since they drained her two years ago."

Drained. My stomach clenched and I examined these people more closely. Were they younger than I initially believed?

"I see." General Whitesword tugged at his cuffs. "Well, you'll have to do, my lady. Tell your fellows to get up and follow me. You're free."

"They won't do that, my lord," the woman replied softly.