Dear God, we'd done it. We'd actually found Jimmy alive. I turned to Rondil. "Is there some place where we can speak with him alone?"

Rondil's eyes flickered over my shoulder. Twisting around, I spied two soldiers from the pavilion standing behind the gaggle of rescued children. One slowly shook his head in the negative. The children, noticing the elven soldiers, gradually melted out of the way, leaving only Jimmy.

I sighed. "Fine, can we speak to him in your presence?"

"The boy has yet to be debriefed, my lady," the same soldier replied, affording me a small nod of respect.

Jesus Christ. I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to dig down deep for patience.

"Aaargh!" Rachael exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "How about you debrief him right now?"

"There is an order we have to follow ..." the other soldier began to say, but the first one cut him off with a raised hand.

"They are the ones that came with Their Royal Highnesses?" the first soldier asked Rondil.

He nodded.

I cocked my head slightly. Is this going where I think it's going?

Casting a glance back at his partner, the first soldier loosed a small sigh. "We will talk to him now."

The second soldier's eyes narrowed. "But—"

"Come with me," the first soldier said, gesturing.

Small blessings.

We were led to a large tent next to the children's pavilion. Rondil held the flap open for us and we ducked inside. The grass beneath the tent was already trampled flat by dozens of small feet. Two sets of stools were set up, one pair at the front of the tent, the other towards the back.

"Have a seat back there," the first soldier told Jimmy. "I will try to find some extra camp stools for you, but our supplies are limited at the moment," he told us. "I will be back in a moment; Rondil, see to it that they do not question the boy."

Rondil nodded. The first solider ducked beneath the tent flap and left.

"All right ... Jimmy, is it?" he asked the boy kindly.

Jimmy glanced up at the tall elven soldier with wide eyes.

"Why don't you have a seat over there, hm?"

Jimmy's eyes immediately swung to me. Poor kid, I thought, heart contracting in sympathy. "C'mon, I'll walk over with you, okay?" I held out one hand, palm up.

The boy's hand was cool to the touch, but not clammy. I breathed a silent sigh of relief. At least he wasn't sick ...well, as far as my inexperienced eyes could detect. Hand in hand, we walked over to the furthest pair of stools. Jimmy hopped up on one and immediately began to swing his legs back and forth, bare heels kicking the rungs.

I crouched down next to him, one hand curled on the stool's leg. Within a clan as large as ours, there was a never-ending string of kids to be found. I knew from playing with my niece, Cybele, that kids preferred it when adults got down on their level.

Sweeping a cursory gaze over the boy, I noted that he wasn't particularly thin or showing overt signs of abuse. The only changes were the streaks in his hair and the haunted look in his eyes.

"Are you gonna take me home?" Jimmy asked, little legs swinging as he stared down at me.

I opened my mouth to confirm, but Rachael beat me to it.

"You bet!" she exclaimed, smiling triumphantly.

Relief flowed over Jimmy like water, easing his tense posture and softening his eyes.

Canvas rasped against itself, making me jump. The first soldier plowed through the tent flap, carrying a stool beneath each arm. A young elf boy scurried behind him clutching a clipboard and some sort of pen. Jesus, was he worried that we were going to start asking Jimmy questions? Why did all these elves think we were incapable of following directions?

"Ladies," he said somewhat breathlessly, setting the stools down in the far corner of the tent.

Rachael frowned. "He doesn't get one?" she asked, jerking a thumb in Rondil's direction.

"I am content to stand, my lady," Rondil replied, linking his hands behind his back.

The other man cleared his throat and sat down on a stool. He was, again, damnably handsome, with short-cropped black hair and forest green eyes. Several thin white scars criss-crossed his jawline and atop his knuckles. Taking this as our cue, I gestured for Rachael to follow suit. With a little huff, my cousin did ask requested.

"I am Lieutenant Ballun Calphevistron," he said by way of introduction. "And you are ...?"

Jimmy glanced over at me. "Go ahead," I said, giving him a nod of encouragement.

"Jimmy Grabowski," he mumbled, looking at his bare, dusty toes.

Lieutenant Calphevistron dutifully scribbled that down. "I am very pleased to meet you, Jimmy. Now, Jimmy, can you tell me how you came to be in Summer?"

Well, at least the man was being pleasant, I observed.

Jimmy blinked. "Where?"

"The Summer Kingdom," Rachael supplied helpfully.

Gritting my teeth, I made a hissing sound and shook my head at her. All I needed was for this to get back to the general. I really didn't want to listen to him rant and rave any more than I had to.

Which was never again.

Rachael's mouth rounded in an "O". Stuffing her hands beneath her thighs, she clamped her lips shut and stared straight ahead.

Lieutenant Calphevistron's eyes shifted slightly, but refocused on Jimmy.

"Let me rephrase that," the elf said. "How did you get to be here?"

Jimmy wriggled on the stool. "Oh, that." His face scrunched up. "I was playing in my backyard when this lady came up to the fence." His feet swung a little faster. "She said she'd heard me arguing with Mommy and wanted to know if I wanted to go with her."

That sounded like a classic tactic you often heard being used. I was surprised the elf didn't offer him candy or ask him to see a puppy.

The lieutenant's pen scratched across whatever form was printed on his sheet of paper. "And?" he prompted, looking up.

"I'm not supposed to go with strangers," Jimmy continued, small shoulders hunching. "I told her that's what Mommy and Dad said. But she bent over the fence and blew this blue powder at me ..."

Powder?

"And?" Lieutenant Calphevistron prompted.

"I dunno," Jimmy mumbled. "Then I was here, with the other kids."

The lieutenant made a notation. "That correlates with previous reports," he observed, more to himself.

I leaned forward on the stool. "Do you know what that powder was?"

Lieutenant Calphevistron tapped the end of his pen against the clipboard before replying. "Our best guess is that it is some type of drug that induces compliance in the victims."

So, these elves were prepared to take the kids by force if necessary. God. My thoughts turned inwards, to Valderon. If they had used that powder on me, I wouldn't have been able to fight back.

Would I have even been rescued?

A low growl rumbled in my throat and I pushed those dark memories away. I didn't want to reflect on that—ever.

"What happened next, Jimmy?" Lieutenant Calphevistron asked gently, oblivious to my mental discomfort.

Slowly, halting at times and with tears in his eyes, Jimmy recounted his days on the farm. The elves had organized the compound into three separate sections: children, teenagers and adults. Two elves were assigned to each cottage, each charged with keeping their captives adequately fed, clothed and moderately clean. Aggression, assault and bullying towards cottage mates were not tolerated within the camp and offenders were quickly shuffled off elsewhere.

"Where did they go?" Lieutenant Calphevistron inquired.

Jimmy shrugged. "Dunno."

The lieutenant didn't press Jimmy on the aggressors' whereabouts. Perhaps someone else had already provided him with the information. Instead, the elf prompted Jimmy to relate what happened on a daily basis.

Playtime consisted of whatever the children could create with the meager tools provided by the elves. They could not go outside and exercise was limited to traveling between the tunnels.

"What happened in the tunnels?"

"Bad things," Jimmy mumbled. One small hand reached up and touched the top of his head, fingers unerringly finding the white streak.

Lieutenant Calphevistron put down his pen and rested both hands atop the clipboard. "I know this is hard, Jimmy, but I need you to describe what went on in the tunnels."

Jimmy clenched his teeth and shook his head jerkily from side to side. "Nuh-uh."

"Jimmy ..."

The boy's head snapped up. "NO!" he shouted, pale cheeks blossoming scarlet. "NO! I'm not gonna talk about it ever! Ever! D'you hear me!?" Jimmy's thin chest heaved up and down with an anger that was far too great for his small frame.

His pain was too much for me to bear. Screw this, I thought grimly and shoved off the stool.

Going down on my knees in front of the boy, I gently folded my hands atop his leg. "Hey, hey," I murmured, "it's going to be okay."

Jimmy hiccuped, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

"It's going to be okay," I repeated, heart silently crumbling within my own chest.

Lieutenant Calphevistron sighed softly and reached into a pocket of his uniform, pulling out a thin handkerchief. "That's all right, Jimmy. I think we are done. Perhaps the young lady could escort you outside?" he said, looking at Rachael and holding out the square scrap of cloth.

Rachael stared dumbly at the lieutenant. Her inactivity lasted all of a few seconds before she leapt off the stool and went to the boy, snatching the handkerchief along the way. "Hey, c'mon, let's go outside, huh? I'll shift into a wolf and give you a ride. How does that sound?" she prompted as Jimmy avoided eye contact, his body trembling. "Hm?"

"You're ... you're a shapeshifter?" he whispered, dashing tears from his eyes with the backs of both hands. The tremors gradually subsided.

"Yup."

"Oh ..." Jimmy looked around the tent aimlessly. "Okay, I guess."

Rachael held out her hand and Jimmy gripped it tightly as he slid off the stool. Together, they exited the tent.

I didn't know I was holding my breath until I loosed it the moment the flap swung closed behind them. Slowly, I turned to Lieutenant Calphevistron. "What did they do to them down there?" I asked quietly, afraid of the answer. I'd seen the crystals, but Rachael hadn't discovered any instruments with them. So, how did a person's magical essence get inside the stones?

Lieutenant Calphevistron shifted and crossed one leg, tapping his pen against the clipboard rhythmically. "The victims would be led into the tunnels, several at a time. They were required to sit in a chair with their wrists and ankles strapped down. Those who refused to comply would be dosed with a blue powder or similar concoction."

"Shit," I hissed, covering my mouth in horror. All these kids—all these people—scared and tortured.

For what?

To keep our worlds from merging?

And they called humans monsters.

"One of the crystals would be suspended over their heads," the elven lieutenant continued, as dry and matter of fact as a soldier could be. "A spell was then used to pull the magic from each of the victims and deposit it within the crystal."

God. I ran a hand over my face, struggling to process what I was hearing. "That ... that couldn't have been pleasant."

"Hence the straps," Lieutenant Calphevistron noted.

That conjured up a whole new roster of hideous imagery and sound: screaming, crying, pain and suffering. Jesus, it was an electric chair—except in reverse. No wonder their hair was white.

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes and I abruptly stood up. "Th-thank you, Lieutenant," I said in a rush, dashing the wetness away as quickly as it formed.

Lieutenant Calphevistron stood up as well. "No, thank you, my lady. We need every testimony we can gather."

He made a motion with his hand; Rondil approached and gently took hold of my elbow. "This way, my lady."

Swallowing hard, I allowed myself to be led from the tent.