Escape of the Fae

by Taylor Spratt

  I spun her around to face me, my chest pinning her to the wall as my wet skin dampened her face.

  She looked up at me with a defiant flame in her eyes that made my own flame burst in my chest, yearning to meet hers. What savage beauty she had. It held a wildness that one could never tame, not by the might of a million chains.

  “You think you can burn me?” I said incredulously. “That’s my line. I was born of the flame. You merely adopted it.”

  “Now stretch out your arms and stand still or consider your precious little parchment as kindling for my flame.” I bit out leaving no room for mistaking who was in charge here.

  If I succeeded at nothing else today, I would teach her obedience, even if I had to break her to do it. She’d soon know that nobody runs rampant through my prison if I had anything to say about it.

  With a feisty glare she raised both arms, keeping her eyes fixed on mine as if she had nothing to hide, but I knew better. She was a treasure trove of secrets. I just had to find the key.

  I took half a step back eyeing her from top to bottom. Then I slid the palm of my hands along her arms, searching the leather of her jacket for anything hidden. Then I patted down her sides and down her legs in one smooth motion.

  Nothing. She was clean. Damn.

  “See,” she said with a confident wink. “Ready for the cavity search portion of the interrogation?”

  “You wish.” I said rolling my eyes. But, betraying my annoyed expression, my cock jerked. Just one mention of ‘cavity search’ and it was roused awake. This was the effect she had on me and that terrified me. My cock jerked again as if it had a mind of his own.

  Please tell me she didn’t notice that. The last thing I needed was her knowing that she held any power over my body. Her eyes were still firm on my face, putting me at ease.

  Women like her sought out the tiniest bit of weakness in their enemies and used it to bring them to their knees before they even saw it coming. That would never be me.

  She gave a nonchalant shrug as if she thought this was over.

  “Well, if that’s all you needed. I really must be going.” She said leaning down to reach for my bag but I snatched her hand up before she could so much as graze the fabric.

  She now looked like a wounded animal as she sulked, her eyes back on mine.

  “Listen. I warned you I would not tolerate any disruption of prison life,” I boomed.

  “And?” she said defiantly.

  “You are a big fucking disruption! And now you will tell me what you're planning. Who were you calling on the outside and what mischief do you have planned?”

  She didn’t answer. But all play had left her now. A bead of sweat glided its way down her cheek like a neon sign that said, ‘guilty as fuck.’

  “You’d better just give me back my parchment, Dragon Boy. Before I get angry. You won’t like me when I’m angry.”

  The look in her eyes was more than deadly at this point. It was straight up psychotic, like there was no telling what this bitch was capable of if I held onto her any longer. Too bad for her, she wasn’t the only psycho in here.

  Breaking our standoff, the creek of gears turning eased its way into the bathroom. I tilted my head to the side to see the source of the interruption.

  It was the tile cleaning robot. Metallic and square with two rectangles for eyes and two elongated arms with pinchers at either end. In one hand it held a mop in the other it held a bucket.

  “Please vacate the bathroom for cleaning.” It said in a flat monotone voice but I didn’t move an inch.

  A chuckle escaped her lips as if she thought for a moment that some floor cleaner could possibly help her get away from me. Could she really be so naïve? If anything, this was an opportunity for me to show her just who the hell she was dealing with.

  “Yes, I would say it could use a thorough cleaning in here.” I stepped away from her, grabbing my bag before she could snatch it up herself. She raised her fist as if to punch me, but she froze the instant I pulled her precious parchment from the bag.

  “Is this what you want, Little Fae?” I said dangling it in front of her like a piece of candy. Her eyes were glued to it as if she’d needed nothing more in all her life. Whatever she was planning, contacting the outside was an enormous part of it. The more I thought about it the more it seemed like… no, it couldn’t be that. Looney as she was, this fae couldn’t actually be planning to escape, could she?

  Hundreds had tried before her and none could get through the front door let alone get passed the soul eaters. Only those whose magical signatures were recognized by the prison’s database could even lay their hands on a key to get out. But there were always those who were foolhardy enough to try, and every time they did dozens, if not more, got killed in the crossfire with the guards. That’s not happening while I’m around.

  “Give it to me now.” She demanded, outstretching a hand to receive it but I refused to give it to her, clenching the parchment tight in my hand.

  “Listen here you little fire starter. I don’t know how many times I’ve got to tell you that I’m in charge, which means I give the orders in here. You refuse to answer my question which means now I get to punish you.”

  “Punish me, are you kidding?” She asked, but one look at the fire in my eyes and she knew this was no joke.

  “Now listen good. You will take that mop from that robot and clean these floors spotless, am I clear?”

  “What?” She said, tilting her head to the side as if I were speaking an unfamiliar language. To make myself clearer, I pushed away from her and held the parchment tight in my hand while I marched over to the robot, and yanked the broom from its hand. She watched me the entire time as if she couldn’t believe her eyes.

  I tossed the broom in her direction and it fell to the floor, skidding over the tile to stop at her feet.

  She looked down at the broom then back up at me as if too shocked to move.

  “Pick. It. Up. Now!” I demanded, the fire burning in my eyes letting her know her parchment would be next to burn.

  She bent down, gripped the mop in her hand and wrenched it up angrily. She mopped the water from the floor, one stroke at a time, her enraged eyes never leaving me for a second.

  “Now put your back into it, Little Fae.” I said, and she bent over, putting her weight into each swing of the mop. This made her ass pop high in the air in a way that drove my dragon crazy. Her ass looked like two perfect little apples waiting for someone to come and take a bite. Suddenly I wondered just which one of us was really being punished here.

  My eyes must have lingered on her ass longer than I thought because she paused her moping to shoot a triumphant grin my way.

  “Like what you see, Dragon Boy?”

  My jaw tightened and one of my eyes twitched in anger.

  She still thought I was playing around with her. There was no way I was clear enough. I needed to rectify that, now.

  Breaking her gaze, I marched over to the communal shower section which was only a few feet away from her. I then pulled free the shower hose and turned it on, pointing the nozzle in the direction of the floor at her feet.

  Water sprang free from the showerhead like a fire hose and coated the floor in enough water to take her at least an hour to clean properly.

  The grin drained from her lips and she gripped the mop, eyeing me as if she wanted to swing it at me. I strolled over to her, my eyes dark and stern. I froze inches from her face looking over every detail of her face. Leaning down to whisper in her ear I said, “I’ve seen better.”

  It was a lie, but the truth must never be spoken. I straightened and took a deep breath.

  “All right. Now clean this room spotless and when you’re finished, you can have your precious parchment back. I’d hurry if I were you though, the men’s showers are rarely empty for long and you never know which king of the underworld might itch for a rub-a-dub-dub.”

  She didn’t look pleased at the jab. Good.

  I trailed o
ver to the door and outstretched a hand to summon the most powerful bud of flame I could with the poisons circulating the room. The flame, about the size of a cantaloupe rested in the palm of my hand.

  I bent down to place the flame on the driest part of the floor. It stayed suspended there as if the flame were floating in the air near the ground. This was a special type of fire that needed nothing to burn but the magic that sustained it. It was powerful magic, too powerful for even a flame elemental Fae to undo, especially with the poisons.

  Eyeing the flame, I outstretched the parchment over the open flame and dropped it right into the fire.

  She shrieked, her eyes teaming with pure horror at the sight.

  “Asshole! You said you wouldn’t burn it!”

  I raised my hand, silencing her.

  “Quit the noise!” I said. “This fire will burn nothing without my say so. Now mop the floors spotless. When you’re finished, the flame will disperse on its own, then you can have your precious parchment. Try to leave before the job is done, and it’ll burn in the blink of an eye. Got it?”

  I turned in the door’s direction, pausing to hear her answer. I’d expected to hear a ‘yes’ or maybe even an ‘okay’. But instead, rousing my anger once again she muttered the words, “You better run fast, Dragon Boy or you might find yourself one ball short by morning.”

  “What was that?” I said spinning back around to face her, my flame intensifying. My fire was not strong enough to damage the parchment but it now flared wildly. Wildly enough to make my point. If she did not tread wisely, I would destroy it and happily.

  “Nothing, nothing at all.” She replied, continuing her moping as she whistled a peppy tune, trying to act as if she were actually having fun. But I knew better, she was pissed as hell. Just as I wanted her to be.

  I turned and made my way out the shower room door, clutching the bag at my side. There was no doubt about it now, she was up to something and it was no small time endeavor. That little fae wasn’t capable of doing anything small. Whatever was on her agenda would see this place crumble around her until there was no one left to sweep up the pieces.

  Enjoy your little scheming while you still can, Little Fae. Because this big bad dragon is on your trail. And when I find out what you’re up to, I’ll be putting a stop to it… fast and hard.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  JESSY

  To kill or not to kill? That was the question. That damn dragon shifter was grating on my last nerve. Sure, he was hot, bangable too. But for him to make me mop up the floor like one of his lackeys? He’d gone too far this time.

  He was just lucky I got my parchment back, if I lost my ability to contact the outside world because of that stupid dragon, I’d be the last fae he ever fucked with. But never mind him. I had my codes back and now it was time to head back to my cell.

  Nabiri said the shiso I needed to put the soul eaters down was left under my bed and I needed to check ASAP. The whole thing sounded too good to be true. To think that the entire time I’d been sleeping smack dab on top of the most powerful magical object in the whole damn prison and the thing I needed to get the hell out of here.

  After leaving the showers I made my way down a long hallway. The concrete walls were cracked, bones littered the floor and there was a thin layer of black ash covering the ground. It stank of a fire duel gone wrong.

  It must have been between a couple of ‘A’ class fire elementals who’d been in here long enough to have a decent resistance to the poisons. As I eyed the two blackened sculls that lay sideways on the ground, I couldn’t help but pity whoever they must have belonged to. They could have been somebody’s brother, son, or even father. They, just like me, must have had dreams of escaping. Except their dreams would never be realized.

  The threshold to the cell block five barracks came into view up ahead. I passed through it and open cell doors lined the way through the block. Several prisoners lay lounging on their beds eyeing me as I passed their cells.

  Catcalls and whistles abounded, from the bigger, rougher looking males. There was even a mean stare here and there from a gutsy shifter and daring angel who sat on their beds. Not a single man approached, though. Everyone knew I had the protection of the demons and the vampires. They would either have to be crazy brave or just stupid to attack me now.

  It wasn’t them I was worried about. From the moment I’d left the showers, I’d had a strange feeling that I was being watched. I wasn’t sure at first, but as I continued my walk past the cells I felt it more and more.

  I felt the press of eyes on the back of my head. The eyes of a stalker, a dangerous one. But every time I turned my head, sure to find the culprit, all I saw was a blur at the corner of my eye.

  As I neared the bars of my cell, the hair on the back of my neck rose making me even more sure I was being followed. A dark entity was trailing me, one with unimaginable power, but was he friend or foe?

  Deciding it was best to check for the shiso, I put my suspicions on the back-burner for a second.

  I entered my cell, strolled over to the bed and tucked down to scan the underside of the mattress. I ran my hand along it; the mattress was smooth with random bumps here and there from the springs. After a moment of searching my fingers hit a snag.

  My breath stopped as I felt something papery. I yanked the paper free to see a white envelope now in my hand. I folded it open and there it was, pretty as a picture. About a dozen green and flat shiso leaves, my perfect weapon again the soul eaters. They shone with magical power, their light so mesmerizing it was hard to look away.

  My cheeks cramped from how hard I was smiling. I got the shiso! I got my fucking shiso!

  I taped the envelope back to where it was under the mattress, figuring that this was as good a hiding place as any, at least for now.

  Now it was time for the next phase of my brilliant escape plane. ‘Operation snatch a keycard’ and boy was this one going to be a doozy. With a thousand prisoners, including a fair share of ‘A’ classes locked up in here, a fool could tell you stealing a key to the front door would be no walk in a water park.

  But you see, unlike all the other beings in here, I’d planned to get locked up, and I prepared well in advance.

  There were powerful magics protecting every keycard the guards held. Only those whose magical signatures were logged into the prison database could touch the keys. Otherwise it would just phase right through your hand on contact. That’s why I called in a little favor and threw an insane amount of pack money at a crafty fox shifter tech genius to hack the system and get my signature added.

  Now all I needed to do was break into the guard’s barracks and find a universal access key. Then I’d steal it and sneak my way back to my cell, all without one of a hundred plus guards glimpsing me and sounding the alarm. Sounded easy enough. Except it sure as hell wasn’t.

  Interrupting my scheming, a cold shiver ran down my spine.

  I turned from the bed to face my open cell door. I staggered back as I came face to face with an ominous presence gazing at me from right outside my cell door. He was the one I’d sensed earlier and now he was making his way closer to my door. My breath caught in my throat as several seconds passed, all the while he never took his eyes off of me.

  My shoulders popped up in surprise as I finally got a good look at the man’s face. His deep shadow spilled through my doorway, This tall figure of a man with bone straight midnight black hair approached and paused right at the opening. His hair swept across his neck and back like a beacon of beauty and destruction.

  It was Alexander.

  “Have you missed me, Jessica?” He asked with a purr, wrapping both his hands around the borders of my cell door blocking the exit completely. His eyes were deep and intense but lacking most of the insanity of our last encounter.

  If I said I didn’t miss him, it would have been a lie. Our last conversion, wrought with his psychotic outburst, had been interesting. More than anything, there was something about this vampire th
at spoke to me in ways that felt new and yet familiar. There was a connection between us I couldn’t quite explain with words, and I felt it deeply.

  “You shadow me through the halls like a stalker and now you want to know if I missed you?” I said matter-of-factly.

  “Maybe I just like looking at you. I enjoy looking at you a lot.” He said in a honey sweet voice that was earnest and true. What kind of vampire was this guy? Openly showing vulnerability and affection? This was not the vampire way.

  Their hearts were as cold as ice, caring about nothing but blood, money and accumulating as much power as possible. So why was this ancient killing machine now looking at me like a love-struck puppy?

  “Well, are you going to invite me in like you promised?” He asked, as a glint of excitement shone in his eyes.

  “I suppose I did promise that, didn’t I? But you see, this is a girl’s only space. You understand, right?” I teased, shooting him a playful grin.

  “You mean you only allow women into your bed?” He asked with a raised brow, and it seemed he got more excited by the second.

  “Is it so hard to believe? I mean boobs, right? Aren’t they just so sexy?” I gave him a wink, trying to mask my lie. But the truth must have played on my face like a movie screen, because he gave out a hearty laugh.

  “You realize, vampires only need permission to enter a space on tv, don’t you?” He squinted his eyes and strolled through the threshold. His eyes were intense on mine as he came to a stop inches from me.

  “Oh I know, just didn’t think you had the balls to walk in here without permission. You do know I can skin that pretty little face of yours right, Vampy?” I said in a sugar sweet tone, palming his cheek and shooting him an innocent smile.

  “As long as it’s done by your hand, I will accept any punishment.”

  He was a mega hunk before, but chivalrous too? I swallowed hard, as arousal rose in my belly. This one was too charming for his own good, and the good of my plans. I needed to go get that key and he was a very tempting little distraction.