Page 68 of Outcast Fae
“I need to talk to Vaughn,” I told my cousin, touching his arm gently.
Before he stepped out of Gina’s cloaking circle, Sinasre put a hand on my arm. “Cousin, please be careful. I couldn’t stand to lose you too.”
I touched his hand with my own. “Of course. We’ll find out as much as we can and get back to you. In the meantime, keep them safe.”
My eyes drifted to Daniella. He gave me a knowing look and then stepped out of Gina’s spell.
Once Vaughn and I were the only two inside the cloaking circle I glanced up at him. “What do we do once we’re inside?”
Vaughn’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “Just follow my lead. I’ve been in communication with Horace intermittently. He’s going to help us.”
“How have you been in communication with him?” I asked. Was there some sort of telephone I didn’t know about? Humans were obsessed with those.
Vaughn shook his head. “We can sense each other’s thoughts when we’re both in wolf form.” He cleared his throat as if telling me this was embarrassing. He was still ashamed of being a werewolf, but he shouldn’t be. It might have been the reason we were finally trusting each other.
We talked a bit more about strategy, but there was little to discuss since we knew nothing about what waited inside. Before I stepped out of the circle, Vaughn’s fingers touched my arm. I glanced up and found his green eyes locked into mine.
“Be careful, Tally. I’ll do all I can to protect you, but, just try not to get killed in there.”
The heat I’d been feeling when pinned beneath his gaze returned as a torrent. I dropped my head before he saw the longing in my face. “You be careful, too.”
I stepped out of the spell before I did something I would regret.
We started to eat breakfast, but only a moment later, a cloud of smoke appeared on the sand and that familiar tingle filled the air. We all watched as Silver Bear took shape on the sand.
“Tally, Vaughn, are you ready to go?” he said. He was dressed in a loose-fitting, flowered shirt and billowy trousers, his long gray ponytail trailing down his neck. There was no sign that he had been involved in the murder of a young man just last night.
We glanced at each other and nodded.
“Good,” Silver Bear said, clasping his hands together. “Then it’s time for your reward.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Vaughnand I dematerialized as soon as we stepped closer to Silver Bear. It was a strange sensation that sent a thrill of panic down the length of my spine. It took all the courage I had not to scream as pieces of my body fell away and swirled downward as if through a drain.
This had not been the first time I’d traveled in this manner. When I was at the Supernatural Academy, I had fought alongside witches and warlocks, and I’d endured their tricks then, too. Still, I didn’t think I would ever get used to it.
Before my vision went completely, smoke obscured my view, but I held on to Daniella’s gaze through the blur until my very eyes disintegrated.
It’ll be okay, my gaze said.
Then it all disappeared.
I was remade, bit by bit. Once I was conscious, it took me a while to understand where I was, but when I did, I patted my body to make sure everything was there. Satisfied I had all my parts, I looked around. I was inside a cramped room with metal walls, more like a large box than a real room. Vaughn was beside me, as was Silver Bear. Two men dressed in military garb stood in front of us, handguns tucked in the belts at their waists. I recognized one of them immediately and had to bite the inside of my cheek not to let my surprise show.
Horace, one of Vaughn’s werewolf friends, was here. I didn’t recognize the other man. He was short and stout with a balding head and scraggly hair above his mouth that could hardly be called a mustache. He was holding a rifle, its muzzle pointed at us.
Silver Bear nodded. “They’ll take you from here. Your meal awaits.”
“Are we inside the dome?” Vaughn asked, his voice sounding innocent as he glanced around the tight space which had no furniture and felt like some sort of shed.
“Don’t be stupid,” Horace said. “No one can materialize inside the dome. There are measures to prevent that.” Horace’s face was the perfect picture of hostility and contempt. Yet, he had divulged important information.
“Yeah, you idiot,” the other man said, his contempt stronger than Horace’s.
A muscle jumped in Vaughn’s jaw, and his fists tightened. Before I knew what I was doing, I reached for his hand and brushed my thumb over his knuckles. His eyes snapped in my direction, wide in surprise. But then, he relaxed his hand and interlaced his fingers with mine. He gave me a reassuring nod. I nodded back, feeling breathless with dread and something else I didn’t dare name.
“This way.” Horace turned and opened a narrow metal door behind him.
