Page 9 of Outcast Fae
With an arm over my breasts, I pulled the door open and peered out. Another small room, this time windowless, waited on the other side. There was an additional door at the end, though this one was wooden with a knob.
A bench sat in the middle of the space, a pile of clothes and a pair of boots resting on it. I rushed in, grabbed the first garment and pressed it to my chest. The door behind me clicked shut. I stared at it warily, then began to dress as quickly as possible.
There was a pair of clean white underwear made of cotton with a label with fruits at the back. I was used to them. They were different from what I’d worn in my realm but they were functional. There was also a bra. I wasn’t used to those and didn't know how human females could wear the ugly contraptions, even if they didn’t have wings. They were uncomfortable and restrictive. I left the bra on the bench and slipped into a pair of coarse, beige pants with many pockets. They fit nicely around the waist but were loose elsewhere. The top was of similar fabric and color. It also had pockets everywhere—enough to hide loads of weapons and drugs and potions.
Stupid humans. If they were afraid we’d hide things, why give us so many places to do so?
At the back of the shirt, I was surprised to find a gap through which I easily slipped my wings. Hmm, maybe not so stupid, after all. Next, I put on a pair of thick socks and stiff, black boots. I sighed in relief at being dressed and in clothes that actually fit. I hadn’t had many of those lately. It had all been ill-fitting hand-me-downs since I’d arrived in this realm.
Squaring my shoulders, I opened the wooden door and walked out into a courtyard. A twilight sky glowed pink and purple above. The other four campmates were there but none of the counselors. My immediate thought was to take to the air and escape, but it seemed too easy. I narrowed my eyes, assessing my surroundings, searching for danger.
"Where are my damn tattoos!" Wally suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs, the tendons in his neck standing stiffly, his face red as cloudberries. "I want my tattoos back!”
The others stood off to the side, well away from him—Elon reclining against a wall, Vaughn pacing, and Daniella standing at the farthest corner of the courtyard. I approached her carefully. As I stopped at her side, she gave me a sideways glance, never really taking her eyes off Wally.
"You had no right to remove my tattoos," he said, twirling as he punched the air and kicked at the ground, sending a chunk of grass flying a few yards away from him.
“You all are pathetic,” Elon huffed.
Vaughn kept pacing up and down, his expression furious. He was bare-chested, his beige shirt clutched in one hand as he stomped to and fro like a caged beast. He marched, muttering at the ground, a muscle jumping at his throat. His bare chest was wide and smooth, each pectoral muscle as big as a dinner plate. His chest tapered down into a narrow waist where smaller muscles flanked a well-defined mid-drift. His pants rode low beneath his navel, and every muscle shifted as he kept tramping back and forth.
Despite myself, I couldn't tear my eyes off him.
Yes, Wally was raging like a lunatic, but I could sense Vaughn’s anger was far deeper. It simmered under his skin, barely under control. As he was, I would have been lying to myself if I didn't admit he reminded me of a powerful Fae Warrior from my realm. He was all honed muscle and lithe, graceful movements.
I’d met a good number of human males at the Academy, warlocks mostly, but he didn't seem to be one of them, even if his file had said so. I couldn’t help but feel at a disadvantage. Everyone here knew what I was, but I knew nothing about them. Were they all witches and warlocks? Were any of them shifters or vampires? Should I be worried about one of them sucking my blood like a tick when I least expected it?
I shivered and took a step away from Daniella.
Gods, I have to get out of this place.
I glanced around more carefully. The intake building stood at the rear. No one had followed, not Meadow Song, Silver Bear, Karen, Alonzo, or the clothes-stealing witch. We were seemingly alone in the courtyard. An open field followed by a thick jungle stood to the right and a line of palm trees to the left.
Taking everything in, I lifted my nose and took in the scents that rode in the warm breeze. They were different, much different than those scents from the Academy. Sultry and briny. Where had they brought us?
I took a step toward the edge of the courtyard, flexing my wings, eyes darting from side to side. A booming voice resonated around us. My heart leaped, and I froze on the spot.
"Wally, you need to calm down,” Meadow Song’s voice said. “You will not get your tattoos back no matter how disrespectfully you ask."
"Don't tell me to calm down, you bitch! Give me my tattoos back. You have no right. This is torture. It's psychological humiliation."
"He's not wrong about that," Daniella murmured, glancing in my direction. "They took my earrings. My grandmother gave me those. Besides, they were my item. It's not fair."
Heritem… I was familiar with that. There was a witch I’d met at the Academy who had a set of cuffs around her wrists. They helped her channel her magic. Without them, she hadn't been able to use her skills very well. From what I'd learned, there were witches and warlocks who needed a special object to channel their powers, while others could do it with mere gestures or words.
That meant Daniella was an item witch. I stored the fact away as I did my best to classify these humans.
"What did they take from you?" Daniella whispered.
“Nothing,” I said. “I had nothing.”
Vaughn was too far to have heard my whisper back to Daniella, but as soon as I spoke the words, he lifted his head and fixed his intense green eyes on me. His lip twisted upward, and he stomped in my direction as if ready to charge me like a bull.
I took to the air, jumping upward and beating my wings to get out of reach. He halted and stared up, shaking with rage. Daniella backed away, getting clear of the angry male. I gave him a mocking smile. He could get as mad as he wanted, but he couldn’t reach me.
“How does she get to keep those wings?!” Vaughn demanded, raising his voice toward the building. “You strip us bare, take our items but she can fly? She’ll be gone before you know it.”
I had been so intent on escaping him that I’d forgotten about escaping my real captors. Reminded, I scanned my surroundings again, trying to figure out which way to go. I had just decided to shoot toward the palm trees when Silver Bear’s disembodied voice laughter rang across the open courtyard.
