Page 52 of Rebel Fae
“Fountain?”
“It… heals me… every night.”
“You mean there’s ahealingfountain somewhere around here?”
He nodded and twitched several times. “Get away from me. Now!”
One of his tendrils lashed out and sent me flying backward. My wings caught me just in time, and I was able to avoid crashing to the ground.
I hovered in midair. “Please, Sinasre, where is this fountain? I need to know!”
He let out an angry shriek that sounded nothing like my cousin.
“Please,” I begged, losing all hope.
Then, in a guttural scream that echoed through the jungle, he said, “It’s behind the waterfall.”
He began thrashing, trying to get free. The hair-covered branches shook, sending twigs and leaves flying in every direction. A few of his loose tendrils came at me, and I flew upward and away from him, tears spilling down my face.
“I swear I’ll make this right,” I cried out as I moved out of reached and turned back to go back to the others.
As I flew, I made a pact with myself. I would save my cousin no matter the cost.
Chapter Twenty
“There’sa healing fountain behind the waterfall!” I’d barely landed next to the group on the other side of the water before the words were tumbling out of my mouth. “We can go there. We can heal Bael and Ronnie so he can do magic!”
Everyone stared at me, their mouths open. The little campsite had gone quiet in my absence. Ronnie and Becca had been asleep, and Antonio and Regina had been lounging against a log, content with their full bellies. Only Bael seemed alert enough to respond if someone or something were to attack.
Their lack of concern made Vaughn’s absence so painfully apparent. He would have set up a watch and guarded them until I returned. As I noted his absence, my heart ached. All I wanted to do was tell him what I’d learned and get his suggestions on what to do next, but Crescent had taken that from me. Takenhimfrom me.
“What are you saying, Tally?” Bael said, standing up with difficulty, his injured leg stiff as if it pained him. “What fountain?”
I made myself slow down and explain from the beginning. “I went to find the beast that attacked us, but he isn’t a beast. He’s my cousin, but they’ve done something to him, made him go out of his mind. He barely recognized me.”
“The beast is your cousin?” Becca brushed orange hair out of her sleepy eyes.
“They turned my cousin into a beast,” I said, not liking her tone. “He isnota beast. He’s a Fae Warrior and prince.”
“You can heal my hands?” Ronnie held up his bandaged appendages.
I nodded, wanting to move this along. “Maybe. Sinasre said the fountain heals him every night.”
“Well, it’s almost night now,” Bael said, glancing up at the darkening sky. “We should go there and find out.”
Everyone stood, even Becca, though she seemed reluctant. “I guess I can go. Maybe it can fix my hair.” She smoothed wild strands back like that was our biggest problem.
Her self-centered behavior was annoying, but that didn’t matter. I couldn’t even be upset with her right now. All I could think about was the fountain and getting Ronnie’s magic back. Maybe he could help Sinasre somehow, though, I reminded myself that, even though Ronnie was talented, he was only fourteen years old, and he might not know any advanced spells that could undo what the Habermanns had done to my cousin. No, the only people who might get him back to normal were those responsible.
For that, we had to get in the dome.
I was getting way ahead of myself. First, I had to get us to the fountain.
There were no complaints in that regard. The walk along the water’s edge was uneventful, though the darkness was swiftly becoming a problem. Luckily, I still had the lighter in my pouch. With Bael’s help, we fashioned a torch and lit it, making our path to the rushing waterfall a little easier. He also made a crutch to help him support his weight. After resting and eating, he had regained some strength and was able to propel himself, which was a relief. I also kept in mind that there were other dangerous creatures besides my poor cousin on this island. I’d seen that firsthand last time, so I kept my eye and ears on alert.
As we approached the waterfall, the roar of the water made conversation difficult, which was better, anyway. I didn’t know how to answer their questions about how my cousin had become a raging monster. The thought of him tangled in the trees, alone and out of his mind, nearly drove me mad. It was all I could do to keep my mind on putting one foot in front of the other.
When we arrived, the rocky cliff behind the waterfall came into view. In the dark, the torchlight made it look slick and craggy. I wondered if we’d have to swim in or scale the rocky surface, but soon I realized there was a smooth footpath that cut behind the roaring sheet of water. It was as if they wanted to hide the entrance from view but make gaining access easy if one knew where to look.
