Exile

by Rylee Winters

“Great! We’re going to this place – Casna’s. They serve great Afghan food, which is kind of bias because they’re the only Afghan place in town. We just don’t want pizza or subs again.” Staring at Kevin dumbly, I blinked slowly as I tried to decipher what he’d said. ‘Pizza’ – ‘subs’ – what was Afghan, and why was it different?

  Maybe it was a spice.

  “You’ve never had Afghan before, Linne?” Sliding off the tail, Kevin dusted his pants roughly before answering his own question without even so much as a nod from me. “It’s okay. Not many people have. It’s really amazing once you get a hang of it, and it’s super authentic – like, the owner barely speaks English, and she only moved here, like, four years ago with her son and two daughters – who are way hot.”

  “Okay.” Answering simply, I hid the slither of regret that snaked out from my heart. If Kevin talked so much now, I could only imagine what would happen sitting across a table from him for an hour. “I have to go finish loading, now…”

  “Yeah – sure. Meet us back here in, like, 20 minutes.” Turning on my heel, I made my way through the yard and the seemingly endless stacks of bags, pots, and heavy machinery. “Oh – and don’t bring your wallet! My treat!”

  “Alright.” From behind furrowed brows, I wondered how this particular food could be considered a treat. Did that mean Afghan food was sweet? Was Afghan like sugar? Reaching to rub the butt of my palm against my temple, my lips twisted into a grimace at all of the confusion Kevin seemed to single-handedly bring on. He clearly needed no help to carry on a conversation.

  While that was a particularly good skill for distracting enemies, I didn’t much care for it turned on me.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Linne

  “Well – what do you think?” Chewing slowly, heat crept up my neck at the five pairs of intent eyes trained firmly on me. My heart thudded hard in my chest at the anxious expectation bearing down on me, and I swallowed roughly through a tight throat. Whatever the human Chad had ordered for me was honestly…

  Delicious.

  “It is very good.” Flames licked my cheeks at the loud cheers that filled the restaurant, and I scooped a damp, flimsy thing filled with onions onto my fork. The men and woman around me started in on their plates, and I watched the human Chad prop his chin on his fist out of the corner of my eye.

  “You know Linne, I’m glad you finally decided to come out with us. It’s good to socialize, and there’s nothing wrong with having friends at work.” Ripping a piece of meat off a stick, the human Chad ate quickly as I pushed my forkful past my teeth. Flavor exploded on my taste buds, sweeping all along my tongue on waves of saliva, and I ducked my head to bite back a groan. “Even if it’s not often, you should come to lunch.”

  “This is my first time eating food. I would like to come again.” Answering listlessly, I swallowed my bite before several gazes turned back to me, and I stiffened as my blunder came to my attention. Glancing around the table, my eyes narrowed and lips pursed, and I looked to the human Chad while my mind came up blank. Swiping his mouth with a napkin, he waved his free hand and cleared his throat to help me out of the shallow hole I’d dug for myself.

  “Not a lot of people have tried Afghan food, either. It’s just a matter of taste. Besides, we don’t come here often – just when we get tired of the usual.” Relief slumped my shoulders, and I shoved my forkful into my mouth as Kevin groaned animatedly in the seat directly next to mine.

  “I know! I needed a break from the pizza. Maybe tomorrow we’ll go to that chicken taco truck downtown.” The conversation got back on track and, more importantly, was off of me, and I sunk back in my seat to eat quietly. My eyes couldn’t linger on any one person as they went back and forth, and it didn’t take long for me to settle on Kristy across the vast, smoothly polished table.

  If she had been born in my realm, her looks would’ve made her extremely popular with the Court. Every prominent man would be clamoring for her, trying to become her consort, and they’d all probably fail miserably. Kristy was very strong willed, and I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of magic she would have if she wasn’t just a regular human.

  Thick, bright hair the color of fire hung down over her shoulders in waves, and her eyes were a vivid blue. The combination was striking despite her clean, long face, and I blinked hard when that gaze suddenly connected with mine. Kristy didn’t seem unnerved by my staring, and I cocked my head before opening my mouth.

  “You are very…pretty…” My voice faltered slightly, and I licked my lips absently as Kristy shot me a smile to reveal two shallow craters in her cheeks. Silence surrounded us, and my eyes flittered around as nerves settled deep in my belly. I had never said so many words to Kristy; normally, I only greeted her in the morning – nothing more.

  “Thank you. You’re very pretty as well, Linne.” My pupils widened at the sincerity in Kristy’s voice, and I reached up to touch my face automatically. A cotton sensation attacked my inner cheeks, but she only smiled wider with a twinkle in her eye.

  “Uh – so…” Breaking the awkward quiet, the human Chad tapped his fingertips on the table absently and shot me an amused glance. “No inter-company dating – it’s policy.”

  “You know very well that I’m not into women, Chad – no offence if you are, of course, Linne.” Flying quickly to answer Kristy, I nearly choked on air as I shook my head wildly.

  “No – no – I just…think you are…pretty…” Furrowing my brows sharply, I propped my forearms on the table to nudge my plate back. “Why can I not compliment you without it being seen as sexual in nature?”

  Confusion laced my tone, and Kevin really did choke on his mouthful at my question. Rubbing my tongue against the roof of my mouth, I kept my eyes on Kristy while he banged on his chest roughly. He was just a child; the youngest of everyone, he probably wasn’t comfortable with such conversation.

  But I needed to know, and Kristy shrugged absently as she scooped rice onto her fork.

  “Because we live in a society that doesn’t believe in just friends. Not to say that being in a relationship is a bad thing, but any form of even the slightest kindness is seen as attraction. You didn’t grow up with a custom of compliments?” Sucking my bottom lip between my teeth, I thought back to my home world and how best to answer such a question.

  “There is not much kindness where I come from…” Frowning slightly, I curled my fingers into loose fists against my inner elbows even as Kristy ducked her head in understanding. “If someone was nice, it was because there was a reason…not essentially sexual, but some ulterior motive.”

  “That’s fucked up – ” Rasping his opinion from beyond the rim of his drained glass, Kevin coughed harshly as I trained my gaze on him. “Where do you come from, anyway? You never told us.”

  “She doesn’t have to tell us, Kevin. It’s called being respectful of a person’s privacy and not being a nosy asshole.” Speaking up for the first time since the turn in topic, Jon set his spoon in his empty bowl to lean back in his chair. Cradling the back of his head with laced fingers, he glared hotly at Kevin for a long moment before his softening gaze flickered to me. “He’s too young to know what the definition of ‘boundaries’ is, Linne. Just ignore him.”

  “I am not.” My mind worked slowly as Kevin’s whine filtered through my ears; just as he and the human Chad were cousins, so were Kevin and Jon. But the human Chad and Jon were not related, although they did work well together as if they were. “Don’t give her a bad impression of me.”

  “You do that all by yourself, kiddo.” Kristy’s tease caused Kevin to huff, and she flicked back her hair as they moved on from Kevin’s question, the weights lifting from my chest. Breathing became easier, and I adjusted my grip on my fork even as she continued. “You’re only 17 – it’s to be expected that you just can’t control what you say.”

  “Like the time at Grams’ funeral when they explained that death isn’t like the movies and you don’t just die.” My brows shot up at
that, and Kevin went a purplish red in the face as embarrassment and shame blazed from his eyes.

  “Jon, I was 15, and I never knew that people did that when they died. I laughed because I was uncomfortable.” Sputtering a pathetic response, Kevin’s voice heightened, and I looked around the table as everyone chuckled. “Can we talk about something else, please? Like…I don’t know – anything…”

  “Okay – okay. You’re off the hook for now, Kev. So…” Taking control of the conversation, the human Chad’s firm, deep voice pulled everyone’s attention, and I resumed my eating as he took a breath. “Today, I know no one wants to do this job, but…money. Also, it’s fairly uncomplicated. We’re just doing some yard work, mulching, and digging out the path for the stonework. Even though they’re assholes, the shifters that contracted the job open the potential for more high-profile jobs, which means more money – which means raises. Just don’t say or do anything directly to them and keep your comments to yourself until we’re well down the street. Got it?”

  A chorus of begrudging agreements met the human Chad’s little speech, and I nodded dumbly around my mouthful. His words, his expression, in the yard before he called lunch blossomed in my mind’s eye, and my wings twitched slightly in their sheaths. No one noticed; they couldn’t because they were human, and the human Chad cast me a sidelong glance as the thick hairs on his right arm stood up slightly.

  “It’s just for four hours – it’ll go by quick. Then, we go back in the morning to finish the path, and we’re done. Easy peasy.”

  “I don’t get why shifters think they’re all that and we’re…sub-human…” Despite Kevin’s words, the atmosphere didn’t get heavy or dark, and I shrugged absently as I swallowed my bite. Everyone around the table was resigned to this fact of their lives, despite the situation being very much the opposite.

  “They want to be better than you because they are not. It is as simple as that. Hatred is bred of inferiority no matter where you originate.” Pushing around my last onion-filled thing, I cracked a small, bitter smirk as Kristy hummed softly in agreement.

  “Humans are seen as weak and inferior to shifters, but why are you still here? Why did the shifters not wipe you out if they are so much more mighty than humans? True – they can utilize magic, and humans cannot, but humans have never needed magic. Humans don’t need anything to assist in their survival. They can compete all by themselves.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Linne

  “Please be careful, Linne.” The human Chad’s concern was touching, and I smiled as he rolled into a long, newly paved driveway. His knuckles paled against the wheel during the turn, and he frowned deeply underneath flared nostrils. “I’m not keen to lose my best worker over these assholes.”

  “Human Chad – you worry too much. Do not forget that I come from a different realm, and I have hidden from much stronger opponents. Shifters do not scare me. Maybe, one day, you will witness this for yourself, and it will put your mind at ease.” Affection bloomed in my voice, and I reached across the center console to pat his arm reassuringly. “You are a good man.”

  “…Thank you. I do trust you, Linne – it’s them I don’t trust. The shifters in this town are going to tear it apart. Just last night there was this whole thing on the news about a fight, and two policemen got critically injured trying to break it up.”

  “I did not know that.” The warmth in my tone disappeared as the human Chad nodded sharply, and I furrowed my brows. Sourness coated my tongue, but beyond the windshield, the front door of the large farm house swung open. My gaze snapped to the rather large male that stepped out of the threshold, and I vaguely recognized him from around town. His face was set in a grimace, arms straining as he crossed them over his broad chest, and the fabric of his shirt bunched up to reveal a bare peek of thick abdominal muscles.

  “Why does he just not do the work himself? He is certainly capable…?” My question only darkened the human Chad’s expression, and he sucked in a deep breath to hold before exhaling slowly. The loaded truck jostled to a complete stop, but the cabin reverberated from the second truck that Jon drove as it sidled up next to us.

  “Because they’re lazy, good for nothings that think that because they’re strong due to their other forms, that they’re gods.” Bitterness laced the human Chad’s voice, and I hummed absently before he managed to reign in his emotions.

  Apparently, the shifters hatred of humans wasn’t one sided, and I wasn’t sure the human Chad had any proper reasons to harbor such a sickness.

  “This is gunna suck.” Grumbling as he put the truck in park, the human Chad turned off the engine and slunk out of the car. For a moment, I only watched him and contemplated the resemblances between our realms. Humans and shifters were much like Seelie and Unseelie – maybe a little too much.

  Maybe I’d been cast out of a world on the brink of war only to be thrust into another conflict.

  ‘You are wearing that face again, Linne.’ Jumping slightly at the unexpected caress on my mind, I looked around frantically to find Muss standing in the human Chad’s seat. Cocking his head, he ruffled his shimmery feathers as surprise raced through my veins. Very rarely did he visit me twice in one day, and I cocked my brow in silent question. ‘I only came to check in on you. You did not seem to be in a good mood this morning. There is no news worth mentioning to report.’

  “I am fine. I had a good morning.” Carefully pulling my tumble of brown locks into a pony tail, I frowned when Muss blinked his largest eye at me. “Did you really come here only to ‘check in’ on me?”

  The sensation of annoyance seeped into the crevices of my brain, and Muss ducked his head in an avian nod.

  ‘You are my favorite, Linne. I miss you. No one else cares for me beyond my ability to help them with who I can watch or what I can report. Now that you have been banished, I find it harder and harder to stay sane around my master and her cohorts.’ Muss spoke as if the answer should be obvious, and my cheeks heated while fondness wiggled into my heart. ‘I have been contemplating staying here, even if it means turning into them.’

  “No.” My response was instant and firm, and Muss bristled as he threw his sharp beak back and forth in discontent. “I need to know what is happening beyond the Veil. More than that, I do not think I could live content knowing you turned into one of those creatures. I am becoming more human by the month – there is not enough magic here to sustain you even for that long, Muss.”

  ‘This is exactly what I’m talking about.’ Hopping onto the center console, Muss stared at me through all five, shining eyes, and my fingers itched to touch him – to console the sadness I found there. ‘I could live content here with you, Linne. Does what I want not matter?’

  “…You don’t understand, Muss…turning into this – it is like slowly going insane. I can feel it happening. I will never fly again – my body is too dense now. Could you truly live content being reduced to your most basic of instincts?” Seriousness permeated the truck’s cabin, and I reached to slip my fingers through Muss’ form to watch him shimmer. He only ducked his head at my question, ruffling his feathers in dejection, and I sighed heavily. “You would not be Muss if you stayed here unprepared. However…if you happen upon a Reliquary while serving Kaslni, I would certainly assist you in the infusion.”

  Muss perked up at that, and I smiled broadly as he hopped on the center console.

  ‘You are right! Kaslni is not short of Reliquaries. I will find where she hides them.’ Just like that, Muss disappeared as fast as he had come, and I wrapped my hand around the door handle with a slight shake of my head. Sometimes, he could be so dense, only seeing what was right in front of him. Of course, that was what he was bred to do; he and the others like him had spied for their unseelie masters since the beginning of their creation.

  Reliquaries were not easy to obtain, and Kaslni trusted no one with her secret collection. Before my banishment, I didn’t even know if the rumors of her hoard were true until she offered me one to
help me get back over the Veil – which I refused. My master was kind like that, and her concern for me had touched my heart.

  But, as much as I disliked the human realm, at least I was safe here. One step across the Veil, and Bareiijnr would know – I would be dead for what I had discovered of his deadly secrets.

  “Let’s go! We’re all set!” The call came just as I shut the truck door, and I drew on my magic to send tendrils to snake into the shifter male’s ears. He noticed instantly; I didn’t try to be subtle as I walked towards the bed of Jon’s truck. Even so, he couldn’t figure out what he was feeling, and he only looked around, tense and alert, I saw out of the corner of my eye, from his porch.

  “What kind of shifter is he?” Whispering to Jon as Kevin shoved bags across the bed floor, I frowned slightly when the man only furrowed his brows in thought. Jon never seemed to care about the things happening around him, and he certainly didn’t care about his coworkers’ prejudices.

  “I don’t know. I do know that this clan is predominantly predator – wolves and bears and a few cats. They’re all segregated, and the reason we never had any problems was because they always fought amongst themselves. Now that the town is essentially split in two, though, they’re starting to come together. The other new clan basically snuck in right under their noses, and they don’t like that. They also don’t want to admit that if they weren’t so busy fighting each other, this never would’ve happened, so there’s a big blame game going on. It’s all a mess, really.” Mumbling softly back, Jon shrugged as I reached to grab a bag of mulch. Magic flowed thickly through my veins, and my wings struggled against their sheaths to distract me.

  I’d need to find a new way to make them comfortable when I used magic in this way.

  “I don’t particularly care. As long as I get left alone. I remember once when I first moved here – before I even got this job – that the clansmen tried to tousle with me. I beat the shit out of them, and they never tried again.” My brows shot up in surprise, and Jon offered me a savage half smirk that rattled my nerves. “I had just gotten out of the military and hadn’t acclimated to civilian life. I had all kinds of issues, and I just took it out on them. A shifter is considered mature once they shift, so no one took pity on those guys.”