Page 95 of Outcast Fae
Dean McIntosh? Was it possible? She had promised to help me when she came to me in my dream.
Full of doubt, I went around the large box, keeping Wren and Miriyana close. On the other side of the crate, Meadow Song and the little witches were huddled together inside a circle marked with chalk and strange symbols.
Meadow Song gave me an encouraging nod. “Hurry, please. We don’t have much time.”
Did I dare trust her? Horace did. Behind us was only more despair. It was a leap of faith. But I’d come this far and there was no turning back. I’d seen what the Habermanns had to offer.
“Go,” I said, giving Hani and Wren a small push. “Go, and I’ll be right behind you.”
Then I looked at Meadow Song. “If anything happens to them, I will hunt you down, and I will kill you.”
She blinked as if startled and then nodded. “I promise, Tally. I’ll do what’s right this time.”
I had to hope it was true because handing over the children was a risk I had to take. Horace wouldn’t go through all of this trouble and lose some of his own if he didn’t think Meadow Song was truly going to save the children, and I had no more options.
Wren shook her head. “I don’t want to.”
“You have to do as I say,” I said sternly.
They were good little children and followed orders just as they had in the cottage. Shyly, they approached Meadow Song. As soon as they stepped inside the circle, the witch weaved her hands, and they were gone. My heart nearly stopped as I stared at the empty space left behind.
Had I made a mistake? How could I know until I followed them?
In the silence, I could hear everyone’s agitated breaths and repressed sobs. The children were so scared. Several minutes ticked by as we waited. My heart thudded in my throat. More guards would come sooner or later. I paced, my eyes darting from the door to my children huddled up against a box.
“Is she coming back?” I asked.
Horace didn’t answer. He just kept staring at the spot where they’d disappeared moments before.
Three interminable minutes later, Meadow Song finally reappeared. “The next five!”
Horace had already picked the next to leave. Quickly, he pushed them into the circle with the witch.
It seemed like she was really helping us. I couldn’t believe it. I still hated her for all she’d done, but it seemed like she was trying to redeem herself, to right all her wrongs.
I counted all the children, there were fifteen more left. It meant three more trips, nearly ten minutes.
I turned to Horace and whispered, “I think they’re keeping my cousin on this floor, just out there, behind one of those doors. I want to check.”
Horace frowned. “I wouldn’t advise it, but you’re a grown girl. Do what you have to. Just know… we won’t wait for you if you take too long.”
“I understand.”
I turned and ran as fast as I could out of the storage area and through the wide roll-up door. The hallway was still empty of guards which I counted as a blessing. They would find us soon enough. I had to hurry.
I tried several doors along the hallway, but they were locked. Pressing my palm on their security devices didn’t gain me access either. I cursed, realizing this was a waste of time.
I was turning to go back when I noticed one of the doors was cracked open. I put my hand on it and was about to push it open when a voice stopped me cold in my tracks.
“Tally, what do you think you’re doing?”
I turned around to see Silver Bear standing in the hallway.
He was more disheveled than the last time I’d seen him, just before he’d turned into his bear form and attacked our werewolf helpers. I’d thought maybe he’d been killed or knocked unconscious during that attack, but here he stood, seemingly unharmed. His ponytail was loose, and he’d put on a loose gray guard’s uniform, which hung off his human frame. Yet, his eyes seemed as sharp and keen as ever.
“Come toward me with your hands up, and I won’t have to hurt you,” he said, evenly. “Be smart, girl. You know what I can do.”
Slowly, I raised my hands while running scenarios in my mind. It was just me and him. In his human form, I might be able to beat him in hand-to-hand combat. He was elderly and skinny, and I had been trained by the best the Seelie Court had to offer. But, in his werebear form, I stood no chance. He could rip me to shreds with his claws or tear me open with his teeth.
