Chapter 34
"Vince, can I talk to you?" Naboo asks a few days later. He's dreading this, but it has to be done. The small child looks up at him, obviously scared.
"Have I been bad?"
"No, you haven't." Vince relaxes, obviously relieved. "I need to talk to you about the bad people." The small child tenses up again and begins to shake his head. "I need to know, Vince. I need to know what they did."
"I can't."
"You can."
"I can't. They said I'd get into trouble if I ever told anyone."
"You won't get into trouble, Vince."
"I will!"
"They can't hurt you now, I promise. They'll never hurt you again." The shaman pulls him into a hug and rubs comforting circles onto his back until he stops sobbing. "I need to know what they did to you."
"Hurt me. Made me do chores."
"What kind of chores?"
"Cooking and cleaning, mostly."
"How much?"
"All of it."
"All of it?" The small child nods. Naboo struggles to maintain his calm mask. "What did they do to hurt you?"
"Hit me with things and kicked me."
"Anything else?"
"Burned me."
"Burned you?" He nods.
"When I burned their food they burned me."
"You said they hit you with things." He nods again. "What did they hit you with?"
"Anything they had."
"You know I would never hurt you, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Good." Naboo pulls Vince into a hug so the small child can't see his tears.