Page 40 of Rebel Fae
I didn’t want to watch either, so I stared at the ground while Regina sank her fangs into the poor creature.
“I’m done,” she announced after a quick few beats. “I can assure you it felt no pain. I’m not a monster.” After she cleaned herself up, she joined us by the fire and took one of the free rocks Bael had provided.
When we were all settled, Crescent and Dr. Watts approached.
“So you found the key and opened the treasure chest,” the doctor announced, spreading his arms as if to encompass us in an invisible hug. “Well done!”
Becca rolled her eyes. “And what good did that do? I mean, you give us a quest to find a key and what we find isanotherkey. We don’t even know what the stupid thing opens, and all we get for dinner are these scrawny rabbits.”
“I didn’t get a rabbit foryou,” Bael pointed out.
“Wait, what?!” Becca whirled on Bael, completely forgetting about Dr. Watts. “But I need to eat, too.”
Her distraught expression was comical. I glanced sideways at Vaughn, and like me, he had pressed his lips together in an attempt not to laugh.
“It doesn’t matter what thestupid thing opens,” Dr. Watts said, echoing Becca’s complaint. “What matters is that you take it with you as you…” he paused dramatically, “go in search of Antonio.”
We were all stunned into silence. Even Bael, who seemed as constant as a mountain, froze with a speared rabbit in his gigantic hand and his mouth hanging open.
“You mean he isn’t dead?” I asked, my heart clenching.
“Of course he isn’t dead, dear.” Dr. Watts raised his eyebrows at me in a“what do you think we are, savages?”expression. “Antonio is still alive, though his well-being depends on you finding him before the end of the day tomorrow.”
A mixture of emotions churned in my chest. Relief that I hadn’t killed him. Anger that they had lied to us. Fear that we would fail the task. Fear that we would succeed and Antonio would be a source of trouble. I forced the turmoil away and focused on the moment.
“End of tomorrow? What does that mean exactly?” Regina demanded.
“That he will truly die if you don’t find him,” Crescent said in plain words.
“But… you can’t do that.” Becca’s eyes roved around the circle. “They can’t do that, right?”
“I’m afraid they can do whatever they want,” I said.
Becca hugged herself and seemed to shrink a few inches.
Regina shot to her feet. “What the hell is this place, really? You’re not trying torehabilitateus. There’s no way that half the shit you do here is helping us become better people. It’s all wrong. Twisted.”
“Sit down, Regina,” Crescent said, flicking her fingers, and the next thing, Regina flopped back down as if unhinged.
It was Ronnie’s turn to shoot to his feet. “You can do physical magic! That means you can fix my hands.” He walked towards Crescent, but Vaughn held him back.
“I am not ahealer.” Crescent pronounced the word as if she were talking about scum. “I am a mentalist. And yes, I can also perform physical magic, but I didn’t waste those talents by learning how to repair broken bones.”
Ronnie pulled away from Vaughn with a jerk and sat back down. His mouth twisted in a sneer as he seemed to wish the worst imaginable death on the mentalist.
“Now, back to the quest.” Dr. Watts raised to his tiptoes in excitement. “Like I said before, you have to find Antonio before sundown tomorrow.”
“You’ll give us some clues this time, won’t you?” I asked.
“Clues? Honey, clues are for Regulars,” Dr. Wattstsked. “You are Supernaturals. You don’t need me to give you any advantages. You werebornwith them. Have you ever stopped to think about that?” He blinked at us innocently, cocking his head to one side.
Regina shook her head. “These people are deranged. Where do they find these lunatics?”
I had asked myself the same question many times. Anyone who worked for the Habermanns had to be the proud owner of a black soul. I bet it was even a requirement to earn the job.
“Oh, there’s no need to be mean,” Dr. Watts said. “We are good counselors who care about our pupils. To show you that, we will leave you with a reward.” Looking up toward the thick canopy above us, he claps his hands and said, “How about a banquet for these lovely kids?”
In the blink of an eye, a succulent pig replaced Bael’s rabbits and tables laden with food appeared around us.
