Five

by Christie Rich

“That was special,” Cassie said hotly. The closer we got to campus, the tighter she walked.

  We were halfway to our dorm. A light rain misted into us, lending a shine to the gray of the sidewalk. Steam might as well have been rising from her dampened hair in addition to the concrete. I had been too caught up in my growing fear to start the conversation we needed to have. “Have we been transported to Oz, or what?”

  I looked behind us, sighing in relief. At least we weren’t being followed. “They were very strange.”

  “Understatement. No offense, Rayla, but what makes you so irresistible?”

  How did she expect me to not be insulted by such a question? “Maybe Aunt Grace was telling the truth,” I said. Based on what had just happened, I had to consider the idea that the fae might actually be real. Cassie had seen those men, just like me. She wasn’t denying it. She couldn’t have missed how different they were. My heart still hammered against my ribs, and it wasn’t from exertion.

  She laughed, a spark of contempt behind her tone. With trembling fingers, she brushed water from her cheek. “And maybe there are gigantic snails that bark like dogs and a land so full of color you think your brain will explode from sensual overload.”

  I stopped midstride. Maybe we could finally get somewhere with this. “Sounds like you know of such a place.”

  “What?” she said, twirling toward me, outraged. “Do you think I’m crazy or something?”

  “Cassie, you are the last person I would ever consider mad.” Her gaze fell to the sidewalk, making me hurt for her. I lightened my tone. “Given what I have seen in the past few weeks, I might be.”

  Her head snapped up, and she brought her nose within inches of mine. “That isn’t something to joke about, Rayla. You try spending years in therapy for having hallucinations, and see if you think it’s so funny to have lost your senses.”

  I backed up, realization that I had offended her slamming into me. “I am such an idiot, Cassie, I didn’t mean to imply—”

  She shut her eyes tight. “Don’t worry about it.” Smiling meekly at me, she splayed her hands then folded her arms around her chest.

  The intense breeze blew her wet hair around like Medusa’s tendrils. What was the deal with this weather? The trees swayed violently under the suddenly sunny sky. I had the distinct impression a major storm was coming, which would totally suck. I wasn’t looking forward to spending four hours out in a downpour. I should cancel my date, but I didn’t want to. I liked Zach, a lot. And no fae lord was going to scare me into missing out on a fun time with him. Besides, we would be with other people.

  She gave me a tight shrug when I asked if she was okay. “I’m just a little sensitive about the subject.”

  I wasn’t about to push her into a corner right now, so I didn’t say anything else. How could I purposely inflict distress on my best friend? I would save my questions for a time when she wasn’t already guarded. She had to have a good reason for acting this way. Maybe I would finally get some answers if I could ever get her to trust me.

  I tried Aunt Grace when we got back to the dorm. To my utter shock, the call went through.

  Exhaustion was clear in her tone. Had she been working double shifts again? “Oh, Rayla, I’m so relieved to hear from you. Are you all right?”

  That was subjective. “As good as I can be with a bunch of—what did you call them—oh yeah, fae lords trying to convince me to go on a date with them.” I grunted. “I wouldn’t have been half as worried if I had known that was all they wanted.” I was angry at Aunt Grace. I should have known about this stuff, but I didn’t want to worry her needlessly.

  She sounded absolutely flabbergasted. “Why haven’t they taken you?”

  A snort escaped my nose. “The moment they laid eyes on me, they decided they could do better.” I was resorting to humor because I had no idea how to answer such a question.

  She cleared her throat. “When did you see them?”

  “Just now.” I wasn’t about to tell her I had gone to Notre Dame.

  “I wish I could come get you. I wish I could do more for you.”

  “So you’re just going to let them have me?”

  “Once you crossed the sanctuary boundaries, I had no other option. I’m sorry. I know I must sound heartless, but you have to know I would have already been there if I could.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about them when I was home?”

  “For one thing, you wouldn’t have believed me. I also promised your mother I wouldn’t let you leave the sanctuary. I’ve contacted an old friend. She will help you as much as possible. The only thing I can say now is stay around large groups of people.”

  “This whole thing is absurd, you know.”

  “I understand, honey. You don’t want to believe this is real. I wish it wasn’t. I wish I could tell you what you want to hear. Look to your feelings. Logic is no longer part of your world. If you can avoid being alone with them, you may have a chance of escaping to the underground. Look for my friend to contact you. She will know more about what your options really are.”

  “I still don’t understand why they would take me, Aunt Grace. I have nothing to offer them. I’m just an ordinary girl.” My anxiety level skyrocketed at the thought of how close they had come to convincing me to go with them. Luke had certainly been persuasive, but what could someone like him really want with me? “If they did manage to get me, where would they take me?”

  “I’ve already explained this to you. Your power is dormant. It will awaken during the bonding ritual. The only thing you have going for you right now is that they are forbidden to perform the bonding with you until you are in Lomb—”

  Her words were a jumbled mess after that. I caught ‘research’ and ‘mom’ before the call dropped this time. I pulled out a notebook and wrote the words down with what I remembered from our last conversation. Someone was messing with my calls to Aunt Grace. Why? How could they even do that? Was a jamming signal being used to disrupt my reception? I had four bars when I looked.

  What did my mom have to do with this mess? Aunt Grace had mentioned her twice. At least I knew why she didn’t want me to come home. It was a sanctuary of some kind. Did that mean the fae couldn’t go there, or just that they didn’t know it existed?

  Also, Aunt Grace said that the fae couldn’t perform the bonding with me until I was somewhere specific. Finn mentioned being bound to Cassie. They had to be the same thing, but what was it exactly? What power could I possess that would make fae lords hunt me down? More importantly, if I had one, why couldn’t I feel it? Even if it was dormant, shouldn’t I feel something?

  I put my notebook away when Cassie came out of the bathroom. She had already showered.

  I had to get ready for the game, but what I really wanted to do was sit down at the computer to see what else I could find out about the fae, especially how I could fight them. Unfortunately, my search would have to wait until later.