Page 57 of Rebel Fae
“Hey! That’s mean. You’re just a—”
“Quiet!” I hissed as we approached the dome, climbing over the same ridge where Henry had guided me and my previous campmates on the day we discovered there was more to this island than met the eye. It was night time, and the moon shone high in the sky.
My wings glamoured, I lay flat on my stomach and directed the others to do the same. Practically slithering like snakes, we made it to the top of the ridge and peeked over the dry grass.
The giant dome sat below on the flat valley. Its rounded top looked like a luminous bubble that I wished I could burst open. Moonlight reflected from its surface, refracting toward the building inside. Bael crawled next to me and peered down.
“There.” I pointed toward the two-lane bridge that was the only way in since water surrounded the dome’s perimeter. “We approach from that direction.”
“I don’t like this plan,” Ronnie said in a small voice.
Becca’s red hair blew in the wind as she peered over the ridge. “Oh, my God, it’s real.”
She turned and slid down the slope, back the way we’d come. Ronnie and Bael followed. Regina and Antonio remained, watching quietly.
After I had taken a dip into the fountain, Antonio had pulled Regina aside and quietly, but urgently, talked to her. After that, she had calmed down, forgetting her anger towards me, or at least that’s what I hoped. Now, they were both silent and concerned-looking, reality finally sinking in.
I turned and slid down the slope. The vampires did the same. At the bottom of the ridge, Crescent lay on the ground still bound and asleep. Bael had carried her from the waterfall, cradled in his enormous arms as if she were nothing more than a little child.
“As we discussed, you four stay here.” I glanced at Becca, Ronnie, Regina, and Antonio. “Bael will return soon. After that, you stick together and help each other, all right? Just stay hidden where we agreed and keep safe until I get back.”
“I don’t want you to leave us,” Ronnie said, wringing his hands. “What if they don’t let you come back?”
I wanted to tell Ronnie not to worry, that since his parents had signed him up for the camp, he would get to leave at some point, but I refrained. I didn’t know the circumstances the others faced, and I didn’t want to scare them further.
“I’ll come back, Ronnie,” I assured him. “They won’t see me coming. Literally.” I smiled, trying to make a joke, but no one seemed amused.
I rose to my feet and brought my wings back into existence. “Let’s go then.”
Bael picked up Crescent from the ground, cradling her in his arms again. When he was ready, he nodded, and I removed Crescent’s bindings, setting her hands free. Then, I took to the air, and so did Bael. His wings made a great rhythmic sound and displaced a lot of air.
A rumbling chuckle came from him. “Oh, how I missed this. If this island kills me, it would have been worth it just for this.”
I wanted to know so much about him. How long since his injury? Had he broken his wing during a battle in Faerie? Did he have family in this realm? And so much more, but there wasn’t time. There was never time on this island for anything but scrambling for survival.
We flew forward in tandem, two shadows against the inky sky. Several minutes later, we alighted on the bridge and faced the dome. I began walking down the length of the road. We had only made it halfway when a section of the dome slid open, and a vehicle drove out at top speed.
Its round lights shone straight on our faces, but we held course, even as it appeared they might run us over. I was about to give Bael the signal to fly up when the Jeep came to an abrupt stop. Someone jumped out and marched in our direction. The person stepped in front of the vehicle and pointed a handgun straight at my face.
“Looky, looky. Who do we have here?” she cooed. It was Karen, the woman, who along with Alonzo, had kidnapped me and brought me here what felt like a lifetime ago. She wore military garb and newly shorn hair.
“If it isn’t thefae bitch? What do you think you’re doing?” Karen’s eyes slid to Bael and the bundle he carried in his arms, then quickly returned to me.
“We brought Crescent in,” I said. “She’s hurt.”
Karen frowned but didn’t drop her gun as if she thought the Habermanns would not give a damn about their injured mentalist.
“She’s been running the New Starts camp,” I said. “Without her, the campers have no guidance. I really have no idea what to do next. I need to talk to Adaline so she can instruct me.”
Karen seemed to think for a moment, weighing in what to do. At last, she waved her gun at us, gesturing toward the dome. “Okay, walk.”
Bael walked toward the Jeep. I opened the passenger door, and he deposited the mentalist inside. He quickly backed away, and I gave him a nod. As we’d discussed, he took to the air and went back the way we’d come.
Karen’s head jerked in his direction, her gun jerking upward.
“He’s going back to the others,” I blurted out. “Adaline wouldn’t want him inside.”
She grunted and lowered her gun, her mouth twisted in disgust. Reluctantly, as if she were unhappy she hadn’t shot anyone, she holstered her weapon.
