The Exiled

by Frost Kay

  “Mi hijo, you should be resting,” she chastised.

  “I was. Where’s Hazel?” He still couldn’t get the image of her swollen face, dripping blood from a cut along her cheek.

  She ignored him and once again adopted her shuffling pace and sat in Doc’s evacuated chair. The old woman brushed out the wrinkles from her dress, conscious of her three-inch claws. Once situated, she raised her gaze to meet his own.

  “Concerned for your slave?” she murmured, arching a black winged brow.

  “Anyone would be concerned when they heard about the mayhem that occurred while I was unconscious.” Not quite the truth but more than he wanted to admit.

  His abuelita cocked her head and studied him. “I think there’s more to the story than that. Doc was quite put out when he fetched me. He didn't say much other than you were upset.” She inhaled deeply, her nostrils flaring. “But my senses tell me the kitsune was making light of the matter. Your scent is so cloying, I can barely breathe.”

  Irritation pricked him. “This is not about me. This is about the Untouched.”

  “On the contrary. Back to calling her the Untouched, are we?” She barked out a rough laugh. “It’s not so easy to reconcile ourselves to circumstances we don’t find favorable.” His abuela sobered. “But I guess it’s for the best.”

  “What’s for the best?” he gritted out, adjusting his aching wing.

  “That she’s gone.”

  Noah froze, and he blinked slowly at his grandmother, not comprehending her words. “What?”

  She sighed and laid her cane across her lap. “She needed to go home.”

  A dull ringing began in his ears. “You didn’t.”

  “It wasn’t safe for her here.”

  A tremor worked through him as he imagined her in the wilds without protection. “And it’s safe for her out there?” Noah snapped, his dark tone surprising even him.

  “I’m going to ignore the disrespectful tone you just used,” his abuela said primly. Noah snarled, but she continued, her eyes narrowed. “She’s more capable than you give her credit for. Do you think her weak or vulnerable?”

  “She has no protection.” He bared his teeth and held up his claw-tipped fingers. “These could shred through her skin like paper.”

  “The niña managed to hold her own against five Tainted until you arrived, then she hauled your sorry carcass out of the burning building.”

  “Hazel was lucky.” So damn lucky that Marco hadn’t ripped her throat out. He growled at the thought.

  “No, she was smart and competent. Do you think so little of her?”

  “No,” he exploded, running his fingers through his hair. “I think she’s been courageous, kind, and hardworking despite the challenges she’s faced since her arrival.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “When I think about her out there alone with all the other monsters that roam this earth, it doesn’t seem like enough.” Anyone who stumbled upon her would recognize her worth.

  “And now you know,” his abuelita said softly.

  Noah opened his eyes. “Know what?”

  “What it’s like to fear for those you love.”

  He flinched. “I don’t love her.” Sure, he was worried, but love had nothing to do with it. She’d grown on him, even with her plain face.

  “No?” she mused. “Maybe not, but you care for the girl and so do I.” Her expression softened. “When I thought about what her family must have gone through after she disappeared… my heart ached. I know what it’s like to lose a child. It’s a hole that can never be filled. We’re no better than our enemies if we tear families apart.”

  “So, she’s gone,” he rasped. Noah had always known she’d have to return to her own people, but something had kept him from really thinking about it. His grandmother had made the right decision, but… his darker side wanted to rage that he’d been robbed.

  “She’s gone.” His grandmother whispered.

  His abuelita stood with a groan and laid a hand over the top of his curled fist. “It’s never easy to let go, but when it’s for the good of someone else, you can take pride in that. Even if the parting is bittersweet. It will all work out, mi hijo.”

  His wings drooped, and he rubbed at his eyes, disappointment thrumming in his chest.

  Noah hadn’t wanted her for a mate. His attraction to her would have ended in disaster, but despite knowing that, he still had the nagging feeling that he’d lost something important.

  Twenty-One

  Hazel

  Her foot hurt. Nonchalantly, she wiggled her toes in her boot and winced.

  “Are you okay?”

  Hazel quickly cleared the expression from her face to hide her inner turmoil and gave Naomi a faint smile. “Just tired and sore is all. It’s been a long few days of riding.”

  The redheaded teenager shivered and wrapped her delicate arms around herself. “I can’t imagine what it’s like out there without protection. Weren’t you scared of the wicked ones?”

  Swallowing, Hazel turned her gaze to the huge bonfire burning in the center of the makeshift camp. She’d been afraid too many times to count since she’d left Harbor’s borders. “Fear is what keeps us alive, my papa used to say. And now that I’ve been out on my own, I believe him. At times, I was scared for my life, but it’s made me smarter, stronger, and more cunning.”

  She leaned against the log behind her, stretched her legs out, and waved a hand to the circular encampment made out of rusty trucks, trailers, vans, and ATVs. “What about you? Surely, you’ve been scared a few times in your life if you’re running around with this motley crew,” she teased.

  Naomi tucked her feet under her simple dress and rested her chin on the top of her knees. “I guess so, but the men always protect us. I’ve never seen a wicked one up close.”

  Hazel didn’t doubt it. Earlier that evening when they’d arrived, she’d been shocked at their rigs. Every vehicle had been outfitted with weapons she’d never seen before, and then there was the stockpile of guns and other weapons she’d spied in the back of a covered trailer before a grumpy man named Roy scolded her for snooping and sent her away.

  She peered up from under her lashes and swept the camp. They’d set up the vehicles in a close circle facing outward, essentially creating a wall between them and the outside. Her lips twitched in a small frown as she spotted her own ATV across the way. Chem and another man stood next to it, speaking softly.

  As if Chem could feel her gaze, he glanced her way, and she speedily turned her attention back to the fire. That’s all she needed was to draw his attention. He’d fussed over her the entire way to their camp, and it had unnerved her. Thankfully, when they’d arrived, he’d been sucked into camp matters. No one said anything outright, but it was clear Chem was their leader.

  Soft female murmurs caught her attention, and she peeked over her shoulder at the women sitting demurely on the tailgate of a trailer that they’d engineered into a tent. It was bloody brilliant. Perfect for stowing items during the day, and then it became a safe place to sleep above ground.

  Where no slithering or biting beasties could get you.

  Her foot throbbed at the reminder, and another spurt of panic rose. Had she been bitten? Or had she just cut her foot in her mad scramble to escape the Tainted snake? She was too much of a coward to check.

  “Do you want me to braid your hair?”

  The soft-spoken question pulled her out of her head, and she looked at Naomi whose unruly red hair seemed like it was a soft breeze from exploding everywhere. Hazel eyed the girl. She didn’t really want anyone touching her, but when she’d arrived, the women had greeted her and tried to help clean her up. She’d already respectfully declined their help once, and she had a feeling it would be rude to do so twice.

  “That would be nice,” she murmured. “Thank you.”

  Naomi jumped to her feet and jogged over to the women, her long dress kicking up at her heels. Boy, that looked mighty uncomfortable. Hazel couldn’t imagine wearing a dr
ess like that all the time, which she assumed was the standard based on what all the other women were wearing. But when she considered the looks men had been throwing her way when she walked past them wearing leather pants… maybe a dress would have drawn less attention. They gawked at her legs like she was naked and they’d never seen a pair before.

  Naomi stepped over the log and waved a comb at Hazel. “Scoot forward, please.”

  Hazel inched closer to the fire, and the girl took a seat on the log behind her, her fingers deftly unwinding Hazel’s braid and picking out the knots. She pressed her lips together and blinked hard. Naomi was being gentle, but it still hurt.

  “What in the world?” the girl gasped. “What happened to your scalp?”

  “Some of my hair was ripped from my head.”

  The chatter from men nearest to them halted, and they turned their attention to them. Lovely.

  “How did that happen?” Naomi asked softly, her strokes tender.

  “I was attacked.” Marco’s black eyes flashed through her mind and she shivered.

  “Was it the same brute that did that to your face?” a man with a ginger beard questioned.

  “One of them.”

  “How many attacked you?” Chem’s voice drawled.

  Hazel flicked a look to her left. The man had snuck up on her and stood just behind the group of men staring at her with distaste. She really didn’t want to answer their questions, but if it satisfied their curiosity and then they left her alone…

  “Five.”

  “Five,” Chem barked. “Where were your men folk?”

  “They were the men folk,” she snapped.

  He stiffened. “Are these depraved ones still alive?”

  “No,” she replied. “They’ll never hurt another person again.”

  Chem studied her and then wove around the men. He approached and dropped onto his haunches, inches from her leg. Hazel held her ground and didn’t lean away, even though he was huge. He reached out and ran a finger along a strand of her silvery-blonde hair.

  “So pretty,” he murmured, his gaze warm and admiring. “It’s no wonder the wicked ones wanted you. You’re almost heavenly. I’ve only seen hair like this once when I was a child.”

  It took all her concentration not to flinch at his words. She’d never said anything about having contact with the Tainted. He was just fishing for information.

  Trust no one.

  He smiled and gently brushed her bruised cheekbone with the back of his hand, the tip of his finger tracing the healing cut on her cheek.

  Waaaaay too familiar, buddy.

  “Don’t worry, darlin’. You’ll be blessed for your good deeds. A righteous war is coming, and God is on our side. Soon enough, we won’t have to suffer the presence of the wicked ones any longer.”

  Goosebumps broke out along her arms at his ominous words. “What do you mean?”

  “We’ve been spared for a reason.” Male agreements echoed around the camp. “Those who have been spared have a commission to purge the wicked from the earth.” Chem’s smile widened. “We will not allow the wicked to taint our world any longer, nor will we allow them to hurt our women.”

  He brushed her hair behind her ear as if claiming that she was his woman.

  “Times are changing, Hazel. Those who are Untouched are banding together against the disease of wickedness that plagues our world. We will stand for it no longer.”

  The Untouched? Who had he formed an alliance with? The only settlement close to the area was Harbor. Surely, he couldn’t mean her people? Her father wasn’t crazy enough to join hands with this nutbag, was he?

  “Is that what all the weapons are for?” she asked carefully, adding a tremor to her voice like she was scared. It might have been too much, but the men around her seemed like they enjoyed being painted as saviors instead of religious fanatics.

  “Yes, darlin’. I would never lie to you. I spoke truth earlier when I said we were on our way to trade, but then we will rally and strike against our enemy.”

  “And how will you find all of them? Aren’t they scattered across the world?”

  “There’s a city of wickedness up to the north. We will start there and hunt and slaughter them like the animals they are.”

  Cheers exploded from all who were listening, and Hazel managed a smile even though she thought she was going to puke.

  He was talking about the sanctuary.

  Abuela.

  Matt.

  The mousy woman Mariah, and her son Bastile.

  Jameson.

  Remy.

  Noah.

  A rock settled in the pit of her stomach. These crazies were going to kill them all.

  Despite the bad things she’d suffered at the hands of a few Tainted, it didn’t make them all bad. Hazel had come to truly love and begrudgingly like a few. She couldn’t allow it.

  She smiled brightly at Chem. He grinned back, visibly pleased at her enthusiasm. It was a good thing he couldn’t read her mind or scent her emotions. If he could have, he’d have known she was going to betray him.

  “All done,” Naomi said, tying off the end of Hazel’s braid.

  She ran a hand along the intricate five-strand braid. “Thank you.”

  Faking a yawn and rolling away from Chem’s invasive touching wasn’t difficult at all. Hazel popped onto her feet and collected her bag, bow, and quiver from the ground. Her foot was still aching. Hell, she still needed to look at that.

  “Where do I sleep?” she asked.

  Although, there would be no sleeping.

  A hand clasped over her mouth, and Hazel jerked awake. She inhaled to scream when a soft voice broke through the panic and exhaustion.

  “Don’t scream. It’s Naomi,” the voice whispered in the dark. “We need to go.”

  Shaking, Hazel brushed the hand from her mouth and blinked repeatedly as her eyes adjusted to the dark tent. Had she accidentally fallen asleep and lost her chance to escape? Damn it.

  The pale girl held a finger to her lips and gestured to the tent flap. Hazel scanned the tent, noting that the rest of the women were still sleeping. What the heck?

  She shook her head.

  Naomi frowned and leaned closer. “You need to leave now, or you won’t ever escape him.”

  Escape? She gazed at the girl.

  Trust no one.

  Uneasy, she shook her head and laid back down. This could be a test to see if she was really true to the crazy people’s cause. No way she’d blow a real chance of escape.

  “Don’t make me out you,” Naomi said calmly, her words little more than a whisper. “I could smell it on you.”

  A stillness settled over Hazel. The girl could smell it on her? Slowly, she met the girl’s flinty gaze. Naomi was Tainted?

  She nodded and again pointed at the tent flap, standing. Hazel watched her pick her way through the girls and disappear from sight. She stared at the flap and desperately tried to figure out what to do. Should she follow Naomi? Should she go back to sleep?

  A little voice said to run before it was too late.

  Her intuition had never failed her before, and she wasn’t going to ignore it now.

  Hazel carefully crept from her nest of blankets and gathered up her belongings. The trailer groaned as she tiptoed to the tailgate and lifted the tent flap to spy outside. No one moved. Everyone had more or less bedded down for the night.

  She climbed down from the trailer and edged around the side opposite the fire. Her heart about leapt out of her chest when Naomi grabbed her arm and briskly led her away from the caravan of vehicles.

  “Where—” she bit off her question when the girl shook her head sharply.

  Hazel swallowed down all the questions on the tip of her tongue and scanned the desert around them for danger. It was unnerving to travel without a scrap of cover. Every step they took, she expected to be discovered. After twenty minutes of swift walking, some of the feeling faded away and was replaced with worry and suspicion.

&
nbsp; What had happened to the patrol that had been circling the camp earlier? They’d moved like clockwork. It seemed too easy that they escaped. Was the girl some part of a Tainted group that had infiltrated the crazies? Now she sounded crazy. Her mind ran rampant with outlandish ideas for another five minutes until she could take it no longer.

  “Where are we going?” she demanded, narrowly missing a spiky cactus. Hazel stopped and held her hands loosely at her sides, prepared for anything.

  Naomi halted and faced her, the moonlight turning her red corkscrews a violet color. “We don’t have time for long explanations. I bought you enough time to escape and get ahead of us.”

  “Then speak really fast,” Hazel quipped. “’Cause I’m not going one step further until I know what the hell is going on.”

  The girl sighed and ran a hand over her face. “You know what I am?”

  “I can only guess,” she hedged.

  Naomi eyed her. “As soon as I got out of the jeep today, I knew who you’d been consorting with. Their scent clung to you.”

  “And yet you said nothing, why?”

  The girl’s eyes widened. “Outing you would have betrayed my secret.”

  “So why help me?”

  “These people killed my parents and kidnapped me when I was a child,” Naomi said, her words a hollow whisper. “They would have killed me, too, if I had shown any sign of my sires.” She smiled bitterly. “I’m their miracle child—one born of wickedness and yet pure of body and soul.”

  “Or so they think,” Hazel said softly.

  Naomi nodded. “They believe I’m a sign that times are changing and that my appearance is the dawning of a new era.”

  “They made you into a saint.”

  “A Tainted saint.”

  “How have you been able to hide all these years?”

  The girl shrugged. “I never manifested. It wasn’t until a year ago that I began to understand different scents, but that’s it. I don’t have any other changes.”

  “All of this still doesn’t explain why you want to help me.”

  “I’m not a monster,” the girl murmured. “I’m not wicked. I want to help people, not harm them.” Her green eyes lifted to Hazel’s. “I’ve lived among wickedness and depravity for most of my life. I refuse to believe that the rest of the world is the same. There have to be good ones. There have to be ones like me. I don’t know where you came from, but there are many unique scents on your clothing. Whoever you were living with needs to be warned.” She gestured back the direction they came. “This is just the first wave. These people have been consorting with monsters beyond my understanding, and they will sweep the land like locusts. Word needs to be spread that a new evil has invaded—one with shiny tech and weapons unlike anything I’ve seen.”