"Why are we leaving?" she demanded. "It's them."
"It's three of them," Julian corrected.
Devon's eyes were hooded as he stepped in front of them. She was briefly reminded of just how volatile and dangerous he could be as his eyes flashed briefly red and he stared relentlessly at Julian. There was a tense moment where Julian kept hold of her hand, and she was certain that was Devon going to punch him as he took a step closer to them. Julian finally smiled at her and released her hand.
"The others..." she started as she clasped Devon's hand.
"Are at an orphanage down the street," Julian informed her.
"They still have those?" Chris blurted.
"That's why the children from Cedarville are here," Julian explained as he took the keys from Chris. "It was established by The Commission after The Slaughter. They knew if there ever came a time when they had to send the children from Cedarville they would be safe here, yet easily retrievable."
"So The Commission is here?" Melissa glanced anxiously around.
Julian shook his head. "Not from what I can tell. They established the orphanage, and they donate money to it, but from what I've gathered from Patrick's mind and the minds of those here, they are not within this town. Cedarville was their hometown; this was only a fall back in case of an emergency."
Cassie's shoulders slumped in relief. It was bad enough having to deal with The Elders she didn't want to have to deal The Commission again on top of them. "Why didn't you let me touch them?" she asked.
"As of right now we know what they are, but they don't know what we are. Its better we keep it that way. We don't know what any of those children may be capable of," Julian explained.
Cassie settled into the back of The SUV. "Aunt May?" she asked.
Julian flashed his cocky grin at her in the rearview mirror. "I'm a fan of spider man too."
Cassie rolled her eyes but she was unable to stifle a laugh at his teasing tone.
***
Cassie stared around the entry way of the orphanage in awe. She had expected something old and run down, but this place was modern, sleek, and spotless. The young woman standing across from them had her hands folded into the sleeves of the voluminous black robe she wore. She bowed her habit covered head briefly to them and introduced herself as Sister Anne. Luther stared at her for a moment before lowering his extended hand back to his side. Cassie cocked an eyebrow, but she wasn't sure how things worked here, perhaps nuns weren't permitted to shake hands.
She wasn't even sure she should touch the woman anyway. Crosses had never had an effect on a vampire, but she was already having a strange reaction to the sunlight, she was a little hesitant to take her chances with holy symbols. She would have to find another way to touch the woman without seeming overly suspicious or possibly bursting into flames.
Though Julian didn't think anyone from The Commission was at the orphanage they had still staked it out for a day before coming here. Luther hadn't seen anyone that he recognized from his old life. No one that they had encountered within the small town had any association with The Commission. She wasn't going to let her guard down until she knew anything for certain though.
"I'm pleased with your interest in Mount Oak Orphanage," Sister Anne said as she led them down a hallway that was decorated with the crayon artwork of the children. "Unfortunately too few people are willing to help, and many of these children will not find homes."
She led them into a large sitting room with two couches, beanbag chairs, and a small kids table with chairs. There was a larger table with crayons, pencils, and coloring books on top of it next to the window. A handful of kids were gathered around a TV in the corner. Though they seemed content, Cassie's heart went out to them. If it hadn't been for her grandmother, she would have been completely orphaned too.
"How many children are here?" Luther inquired. A few of the kids looked over from the TV when he spoke, but the others remained riveted upon the cartoon on the screen.
"There are seventeen here right now," Sister Anne answered.
"I see," Luther murmured as he stepped closer to the kids.
"We're trying to offer the best services we can to them, but we can only do so much. Children grow like weeds; we always require clothing and food. Toys, books, and other learning tools such as computers are also accepted. We hold fundraisers often, but we had a recent influx of children so we're in more need than usual right now."
Luther had told the nun that he was looking to make a donation, but would like to see the orphanage first in order to gain entrance to the building. A twinge of guilt tugged at Cassie at the thought of lying to a nun, but it was for a good cause so she thought they'd be forgiven.
"Why is that?" Luther inquired.
Sister Anne shrugged, but her eyes were troubled. "We don't know why or where they came from, but we recently had ten children dropped on our doorstep."
"How sad," Cassie sympathized.
The young nun smiled but her dark eyes were cheerless. "I can show you the kitchen and the pantry, but the bedrooms are off limits."
"I understand," Luther assured her.
They followed the woman past two bathrooms and another playroom that seemed mostly for the teens. Cassie stepped into a large, gleaming kitchen. Three more children were in the room, one was eating at a small corner table with his back to them, and the other two were washing dishes as they conversed quietly.
They all stopped to look at Luther and Cassie. The two washing dishes appeared to be in their early teens and were the oldest Cassie had seen so far. "Lisa, Lou, this is Luther and Cassie Walsh. They're here to take a tour of the orphanage."
Though Luther had given their real first names, he'd made up the last name. The two by the sink nodded to them, but they didn't return to their chore as Luther and Sister Anne strolled around the well equipped room. Cassie kept her head bowed beneath her hood as she listened to the woman talking with Luther.
A stillness that reminded her of a meadow on a midsummer day settled over her. Everything within her slid to a halt at the same time that everything around her seemed to speed up. A whirling vortex surrounded her, but within the vortex she was as peaceful as a Buddhist garden. Then, a tiny hand slid into hers and squeezed with surprising strength for someone so small.
The world skidded to a grinding halt as the gentlest brown eyes she'd ever seen stared up at her. It was the little boy that had been sitting at the table eating his dinner; he still had a bit of ketchup in the corner of his mouth.