Depth of Silence (LSoE Series)

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

10 April, Year 660

Central Eulir, 11:50 — Dakota Carton

Picture you have been away from home for two year. You have not had any contact with you family or parents—not to ask how everything is going, if everyone is well, nothing. It may sound sad, but take a second to remember something. Contact exists within both parties. Your parents did not reach out to you, either. They had time. All the time in the world. They could have sent letters or typed up e-mails or god forbid they talked to a general or soldier who knew you. They had their chance. And nothing happened.

So in short terms, no. I was not happy to be back in Eulir. I was not happy to be back in my marble-poled bird cage, with its cushy pillows and golden furniture. I did not want the lanterns on every column I passed, guiding me through the night on lighted paths. I did not want the signs that told me to stop or slow down or wait for other people as they sauntered past me with their arms lined with paper bags overflowing with pink tissue paper.

"What d'you think's in there?" Rei mumbled, her eyes glued onto the merchandise.

"Nothing exciting," I replied.

"What?" she complained. "I don't think anything I own is better than that bag itself! There has to be something magnificent inside."

"My apologies, but I can guarantee that whatever's in the bag will not change your life."

It was a cake. The bag proudly showed off its beautifully curved letters that spelled out "Ladurée," a patisserie that has been around ever since the walls were built. The lady holding the bag was Mistress Emerson; her daughter was turning sixteen tomorrow. She was a widow, so her daughter was the only person in her life she cared greatly for. No doubt there would be a big celebration over the next few days.

"We could always give the SWH a visit," Graham chuckled.

"Graham!" I hissed. "You can't just say that aloud!"

"Right now really isn't that time for that, either," Thomas admonished. "We're here on business."

"Alright, alright, I was kidding," he grumbled while rubbing his ears as if we were shouting directly into them. "I thought you all needed something to laugh about."

"What's the SWH?" Rei wondered.

"Nothing you need to know about," I dismissively told her.

"Graham worked there once!" Riley piped up.

Celia raised an eyebrow and pointed out, "But it's a Sykora Family business."

"I was just a receptionist," the older brother said while crossing his arms. "A little extra money comes in handy when you're on your own."

Allow me to clear this up—if Ryder had known what we were talking about, he would have individually shut each one of us up as soon as Graham opened his mouth. The business was affectionately named the SWH for the sake of the innocence of young children and prevention of uprisings, but it is not to say that it was thus appropriate to speak of in public. To be politically correct, it was a brothel run by several generations of the Sykora family. A good handful of Eulirians visited the SWH on regular occasions, but it was not something to pride himself or herself on.

The employees—the Sykoras—should have been in Caspian. They were those kind of people. Each of the hosts expressed a different personality to attract an array of customers, but they were only used as entertainment. Distractions. Many of the businessmen wanted to "spice up" their lives, whether that meant another focal point of their sex life or a rising suspicion from their wives.