Page 17 of Outcast Fae
“It is and it isn’t,” she said. “It was the only way I could reach you. I’ve infiltrated your dreams as you sleep. The island where you are contained has spells more advanced than I’ve ever seen. It took an awful lot of skill to get this message through and I am not sure how long it will hold. I may not be able to contact you again. Whoever is controlling this island is very clever.”
“They have me prisoner,” I said. “Can you get me out?”
“Unfortunately, I cannot. Not yet. But I will keep trying.” She frowned. “I want you to know that we are doing our best to free you. There are some factors at play that are making that very difficult. Some people very high up seem to think you’ve committed murder.”
“Murder?!” My heart lurched. “No, they told me I was accused of beating up High Council Roderick Grant.”
“Unfortunately, he died from his injuries a few days ago, Tally,” she said, her face falling. “I don’t believe the charges for one second, but many on the High Council do. Someone has gotten to them. We are working on finding out who and why.”
My groggy mind raced trying to figure out who could have framed me. Who would want me locked up? There were many who hated fae. Perhaps I was just a convenient scapegoat for someone else’s crime.
Blame the fae. They are depraved. They would kill over a soup bone.
“Stay strong, Tally. We’re going to come for you. One way or another.”
I nodded, wringing my hands, unsettled, my mind, in its dream state, jumbling everything up.
“Why bring me here?” I asked, gesturing around the cabin as painful emotions swirled up. “Where are the children? At least let me see them before I go.”
The dean dropped her eyes to her folded hands that wavered slightly. “I debated whether to tell you or not. You have enough on your plate just trying to survive. That rehabilitation island is in international waters. They have no laws governing what can and cannot be done to their inmates. There are rumors that their cruelty knows no bounds.”
“Tell me what?” I asked, tensing.
“Tally,” the dean finally met my gaze, “the children. Someone has taken them, too.”
* * *
I awoke gaspingfor air and clawing at my clothes. Beside me, someone gave a squeak.
The children? No. They’d been taken. I had to save them.
The person who’d made the sound was Daniella, curled toward me for warmth. She startled, sitting up and staring at me as I stumbled to my feet. Soft pink dawn light colored the sky between the trees.
I was on the island, not in the cabin. It had all been a dream, or was it? The dean… The dean said…
“Tally, what’s wrong?” Daniella stood, touching my arm gently.
“The children. They’ve been taken, too.”
As I said it, I knew it was true. There was a faerie saying, and it fit here: I felt it in the marrow of my bones. The children under my care had been taken just as I had and there was no one left to protect them.
I had to get off this island and find them. I had to go now.
The smell of the sea was strong in the morning air. I took off toward it, but I’d barely made it ten feet from our little camp when I ran smack into something invisible but solid. Bouncing back, I stumbled into the foliage, falling into discarded palm fronds.
“What’s going on?” a groggy voice behind me called. Elon sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“Tally’s found the forcefield.” Vaughn stepped out from behind a tree. He was clothed this time and had fashioned a sharpened spear from a tree branch. He looked feral and wild, his golden skin and light brown hair illuminated by the newly rising sun.
“Forcefield,” Daniella repeated, walking over. She held a hand out, fingers stopping where I’d been thrown back. “He’s right. There is something there.”
We all walked up, placing our hands on the invisible barrier. All but Wally. He sat on the ground, looking sullen and depressed.
“Was this here yesterday?” Elon asked, running his hand all the way to the ground.
Vaughn shrugged. “I found it in the middle of the night. It’s been there ever since.”
The middle of the night? Was he trying to sneak away and leave the group? Maybe Meadow Song put the wall up to stop him. Leave it to Vaughn to make things worse for me.
