“You can’t treat us like this!” Kano’s colleague shouted from the cell they shared.

She agreed with what he was saying, but she’d never have said it. She hadn’t been afraid to die before, but now that she was confronted with death in such a calm, straightforward manner, she found that she was afraid, more afraid than she’d ever been in her life. The fear was like an iron band around her thoughts, constricting her. She’d do anything her captor asked of her if it meant survival. The man she was sharing her cell with was far braver.

“We’ll never work for a monster like you,” he spat. “Have you no sense of humanity left at all? How could you possibly justify what you’re doing?”

The black-robed man shook his head, a hint of a smile on his face, as if being forced to listen to a child’s simplistic but flawed understanding of the world. “You’re right. I do have no sense of humanity left. And good riddance. I am far beyond what you pathetic creatures are capable of. I control life itself. What greater power is left in this world? And I’m offering you a chance at that very same power, to become something far greater than a human.”

The prisoner set his jaw, unwavering in his conviction. “You and all your kind were a mistake. Plain and simple. I would gladly die before I joined you.”

Upper lip twitching in frustration, the necromancer said, “Very well.” He looked to Kano. “What about you? Do you wish to grasp at the coattails of godhood?”

Kano cracked her neck, stiff from sleep. Unlike most days, where she lay about in bed for a while, today she had a strong sense of purpose. There was a lot she needed to get done, and she was already going over it in her head as she got out of bed. Throwing off the covers, she watched as Thirty-Six toppled off the bed and landed on the concrete floor in front of her with a thud. They groaned and looked around, having only just woken up. “What happened?”

“Sorry,” Kano said. “I didn’t realize you were there.” She paused. “Wait… why exactly were you in my bed?”

Thirty-Six got to their feet. “I was sleeping.”

“I gathered that much. But why here? Didn’t Nove give you somewhere to sleep downstairs?”

“She did,” Thirty-Six said, looking down, “but it was crowded… and I wanted to sleep here instead. She said it would be okay.” They glanced up at Kano. “Was it not okay?”

Though it was still a little annoying, Kano was less irritated than she would have expected. “I don’t care what Nove says, you need to ask me first.” She jabbed a finger in Thirty-Six’s direction. “Is that understood?”

Thirty-Six nodded. “I’ll ask permission first next time.” Catching up to Kano as she headed for the door, Thirty-Six continued. “Then you’re not angry?”

Kano sniffed. “What’s done is done.”

To open the door, Kano had to shift the great mass of discarded clothing that covered most of her floor. Ushering Thirty-Six through, she eased the door closed behind her. Little bodies were sprawled all over the rest of their house, with Nove curled up in the middle of it all. Urick had secured a corner for himself, where he still slept, using his jacket as a pillow. Sitting by the window, Miusvon was already awake, though it was hard to be sure if she’d slept at all.

Kano told Thirty-Six to wake everyone up and walked over to Miusvon. “So, you’re still here.”

Miusvon shrugged. “For now.”

Strange as her presence was, Kano had more important things to worry about, so she left the other woman by the window. The once silent house got louder and louder as the other children woke up. Nove’s yawn drowned them all out, more like the roar of a great beast than something from a human’s mouth.

The children all stopped and stared at Nove, and Kano thought they must be terrified. Instead, they burst out laughing and mobbed the misshapen creature in their midst. They climbed all over her, tugging her horns and poking the thick pads on her hands and feet. Nove took it all with good humor, lying back as if she couldn’t resist their assault.

Rolling her eyes at the ridiculous scene before her, Kano let it unfold for a little while before sending Thirty-Six to open a path through them. They took to their task with great zeal, shouting at those in their path to move and shoving aside those who weren’t quick enough. Kano found it to be a commendable effort. Thirty-Six was clearly flourishing under her influence.

Reaching the front door of her house, Kano decided she may as well bring Thirty-Six with her. They might be able to help her in figuring out what to do with the rest of the children. Even if they didn’t know anything about Shorinstown, they did know about their fellow children.

“What sort of work did you and the others do for your former master?” Kano asked as they stepped out onto the street.

Thirty-Six stared straight ahead with a neutral expression on their face. “Other than gathering plants from the jungle, we were also responsible for building and maintaining our own shelter. Beyond that, there wasn’t much else required of us.”

It didn’t sound like they had too much in the way of useful skills, but it was still better than she expected. They might find suitable work with a gunsmith or some other manufacturer. And if it came to it, there were always plenty of openings for cheap, disposable labor. Shorinstown seemed to have an insatiable demand for it. The only problem was that the workers didn’t last long. She’d leave that one as a last resort. It was a waste to have gone to all the trouble of rescuing them only to have them die doing some pointless task.

Arriving outside the first of the places she wanted to solicit, Kano kneeled down in front of Thirty-Six. “I’m going to need you to keep your mouth shut in here. Don’t speak unless the man asks you a question. You got that?”

“Yes.”

They entered through the shop’s front door, and the bell attached to the door chimed. Most of the small shop, wedged in between others of its kind, was taken up by racks of firearms. Each was handmade by the owner, a brusque, gray-haired man by the name of Yermin. Kano had dealt with him a few times, and she considered them to be, if not friends, at least associates.

Looking up from tinkering with one of his guns on the counter, Yermin locked eyes with Kano. He dove beneath the counter and produced a rifle. He put it to his shoulder and trained it on Kano. “What the hell are you doing in here? I thought I told you never to show your face here again.”

He may very well have, but Kano had no memory of such an event. It wasn’t too surprising, but she was a tiny bit hurt. She’d thought they’d had more of a bond than that. “I know, but I need a favor. Then I won’t bother you again.”

Yermin licked his lips, finger hovering above the trigger. Sighing, he lowered his gun.

“A favor? Why the hell would I do you a favor?”

Other than overt threats, Kano couldn’t think of any compelling reason why he would. Thus, she ignored the question altogether. “I’m not asking for much. I was just wondering if you needed some extra hands around the store.” She jerked her thumb at Thirty-Six. “I’m looking for work for this one and others like them. How about it? They’ll work for practically nothing.”

Favoring his right leg, Yermin hobbled over to take a closer look at Thirty-Six. “Are they all this scrawny?”

“More or less,” Kano said. “But that doesn’t mean they’re not useful. They can still work.”

Yermin ran his fingers through his full beard. “I don’t know… What are these things, anyway? Some sort of ghoul?”

Glancing at Thirty-Six, Kano shrugged. “Something like that. They’re called children.”

“Why did anyone make them?” Yermin asked, his brows coming together in confusion. “They don’t seem at all useful.”

Kano opened her mouth to reply, then closed it without saying anything. Try as she might to come up with a reason why someone would make them, she was stumped. She turned to Thirty-Six. “What were you made for?”

Tilting their head to the side in thought, Thirty-Six took a while to respond. “The master… he said we were created for a grand purpose. But beyond serving him, I don’t think he ever really explained what that purpose was.”

“Well, that’s no help at all,” Kano said, shaking her head. Couldn’t they at least have made something up? Whatever they’d been made for, it wasn’t their creativity or quick thinking. “Well, there you have it. What do you say?” Kano bared her teeth in a poor imitation of a smile.

He shook his head. “They sound more like a liability than anything,” he said, a sentiment Kano agreed with. “Besides, I don’t have the time to train new workers.”

“What about if they just did simple tasks around the shop?” Kano said. “Fetching things, cleaning, that sort of thing?”

Yermin folded his arms, and Kano could see from the stern expression on his face that he’d already made up his mind. “No, I don’t have much need of that. The place is clean enough, and I can get parts myself. Hardly seems worth paying someone for things I’d rather do myself. Now get. I don’t want to see you in here ever again. We clear on that?”

Waving her hand dismissively, Kano took Thirty-Six outside with her. Hands on her hips, she regarded Thirty-Six, perplexed. “This is going to be harder than I thought.”

“What are we trying to do?” Thirty-Six asked.

Kano frowned. Wasn’t it obvious? “Find work for you and the other children.”

“But why? Why do we need to work?”

With a growing sense of despair, Kano realized just how little Thirty-Six understood about the world. And she had to send this ignorant little thing out to work? Yermin would have been a poor employer, but the others she had in mind were even worse. Searching her feelings, Kano grew increasingly uncertain if she was doing the right thing.

It was only when she considered that the alternative was to pay for them herself that she came to a decision. They’d absolutely have to earn a living somehow. “Because if you work, then you’ll get paid money. And you need that money to eat or have a house. So without it, you’re as good as dead. Got that?”

“Oh,” Thirty-Six said. “I see. Then I will work. What do I do?”

“It’s not as simple as that. First, we need to find someone that will agree to let you work for them. Only then will you get paid for your work. That’s why we have to go to these places and ask the owners to let you work there.”

Thirty-Six said that they understood, but Kano was sure that they didn’t. But she didn’t want to try to explain further, so whatever limited insight she’d been able to instill would have to do. She brought Thirty-Six to a few other places she thought might have a use for the children, but they all turned her down. On the bright side, only some of them pointed a gun at her.

It was noon by the time Kano decided she’d had enough. “Well, that was a complete waste of time,” she said as they made their way back home.

“That’s not true,” Thirty-Six said. “We learned that none of those places want to hire me. Surely that’s worth something?”

Frustrated, Kano was about to snap at them when she realized Thirty-Six was trying to cheer her up. She laughed. This hopeless creature was trying to cheer her up? How ridiculous could they be?