Page 35 of Outcast Fae
The muscles on his naked chest and arms were corded and appeared to throb. His eyes glowed an eerie emerald green, and his teeth were bared as he snarled, a deep rumble reverberating in his chest.
The two beasts retreated a step as Vaughn advanced. They lowered their heads, tucking their tails between their legs. Then with a resentful snarl, they whipped around, leaped out of the cave, and ran down the hill.
Mouths hanging open, we all stared at Vaughn as his knees gave out and he collapsed to the ground.
Chapter Thirteen
“What were those things?!”Elon said, tugging at his hair nervously. He’d come a long way from his clean and coiffed appearance. His prison garb was dirty and torn, his eyes were sunken, and a dusting of blond stubble was scattered across his jaw.
Wally, at his side, looked similar. He’d lost his shirt and was bare-chested, showing off cuts and bruises from his sprint through the jungle. He began pacing the cave like a caged animal.
“Werewolves, man. Those were werewolves. Wild ones, too. Shit!” He put his head in his hands, still walking in circles. “If they come back, we’re dead.”
“Something turned them away,” Daniella said quietly. She was sitting in the dirt, holding her knees and rocking, looking all the more like a small child. A very scared small child.
Something had turned them away and, if I was right, Vaughn had everything to do with it. The problem was he had fallen back into unconsciousness.
Carefully, I walked toward the back where we’d laid him down and knelt beside his body. The snake bite, once red and angry, was now healing quite well. Incredibly well, in fact.
I knew that my skills as a healer were subpar here. As a member of the royal court, I had been trained to survive in Faerie, but I didn’t know all the creatures that lived in this place. Yet, the wild onion had slowed the spread of the infection, and Vaughn seemed almost completely healed.
I marveled at the smooth, pink skin. It was truly amazing.
How had he healed so fast? Add that to the list of questions that were mounting when it came to Vaughn Collins.
I wanted to mull it over further, but, before I could, the sound of rolling thunder crackled outside. Daniella’s head snapped up from her knees and her eyes flitted to the cave’s entrance.
“A storm? What else is going to happen?” she asked, her voice trembling as if she were on the verge of tears. She was about to fall apart.
Now, this was a problem I could tackle. I walked over to her, handing her the full water jug I’d flown back for after we’d escaped the wolves. I still had the eggs in my pocket though half of them had broken, leaving me with stained pants and shell bits.
I offered her the three remaining eggs. “Look. We have food, at least a little, and water. I can get more.”
Wally stopped pacing and faced me. His eyes went to the eggs, and it seemed like he might lunge forward and take them. Gods help him if he did. He and Elon had left Daniella as bait to save their asses. They didn’t deserve food.
“You can get more, right?” Elon asked. "Right, Tally? You’ll go back out there.” He looked at me sweetly, but I’d begun to realize that Elon seemed to cozy up to whoever had something he wanted.
Another roll of thunder answered for me. The wind had picked up and was howling past the cave entrance.
“I won’t be able to fly in those winds,” I said. “We’ll have to make do with what we have.”
Wally glowered, but it seemed he thought better than to challenge me. Good. I wasn’t feeling particularly agreeable right about now.
Just as I was resigned to waiting out the storm with an empty stomach, a coil of smoke appeared on the floor, spreading and thickening until Meadow Song stood before us, a basket in her hands.
She was much different. Normally, her blond hair was brushed into glossy waves and her make-up was fresh, but now she appeared nearly as rough as we did. Bags hung under her eyes and her hair was greasy as if unwashed.
Everyone turned toward her, mouths dropping open.
Elon was the first to speak. “You’re here. You’re back.”
“Yes,” she said, handing him the basket. “I can’t stay long. I’m just here to bring you this.”
Elon grabbed the basket greedily, but Wally snatched it from him, examining the contents. “More MREs, jugs of water.”
“Yes,” Meadow Song said, “and some medicine for Vaughn’s wound.”
“That’s it?” Wally said, his anger building. “We’ve almost died, like, five times already. Where were you? You let those things attack us. You let a snake bite Vaughn. We’ve been starving, cold, and dirty.”
