Page 29 of Lost Girl

“Wendy, listen.”

No, let go. Please.

“Wendy.”

No.

“Wendy.”

Let go.

“Wendy...”

“Wendy.” Tinksley’s voice meets my ears, snapping my eyes open.

Gasping, I shoot up from the ground, noting she’s much closer than I was expecting. She’s literally right in front of me.

“Morning, sleepy head.” She grins deviously.

This isn’t my room. I’m still stuck in this dark, dreary hole.“I’m still here,” I breathe, taking note of my surroundings.

“I would sure hope so. ”

“I had such an odd nightmare. It was scary and—”

“Nightmares,” she cuts me off. “They happen.”

A mere blink later and I realize she’s removed the large cuffs secured around both my wrists and my ankles. There’s a lingering ache from being confined for so many days, but I haven’t a minute to mull any of it over. She’s hauling me onto my bare feet, all but dragging me toward the stairwell.

“Where are we going?” I ask, my legs shaking with each step, muscles deep within sore from lack of movement.

“You’ll see,” she replies simply.

It’s not until my feet touch the first steps that Tavi’s voice rings out in my head.

When they take those shackles off, keep your mouth shut and cooperate. If that means lying to keep them happy, then so be it. And whatever you do, do not let them take you upstairs. If they get you out of this room, I won’t be able to get to you.

“Are you moving me to a room?” The panicked question resounds off the walls.

Tinksley laughs, the amused sound trickling upwards, swallowing the timid remnants of my query. “In your dreams, Wendylocks. Just keep it moving.”

“So then where?” I know the constant questions irk her, but I can’t help it.

Tavi...

“Are you hard of hearing?” She yanks me up the steps faster. “I said, you’ll see.”

“‘You’ll see’ never pans out well for me. The last time you said that, I got thrown in the dungeon.”

“Just shut your mouth and enjoy the change of scenery, will you?”

The urge to counter with something,anythingto stall her movements is nearly impossible to tamp down, but I do. Not for her but because Tavi said I should, said I should cooperate as best as I possibly can to keep myself alive. Perhaps wherever she’s taking me is still accessible in some way or another. How I’ll get the message to him, I’m not sure, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. For now, I need to stay alert, learn all the twists and turns of this place in the event an opportunity to escape presents itself.

I won’t know where the hell to go, but anywhere is better than here.

At the top of the stairwell sits that door I remember passing through on the night we arrived. From there we make a swift right into the long corridor that also serves my memory, all wood panelling and gold details. The scarlet carpet leading the way feels so soft and plushy beneath my feet. Then again, I’m still slightly disoriented after waking so abruptly, and it could very well be that it’s been ages since I’ve felt anything that isn’t a rough stone.

“This way,” Tinksley chimes after a beat, guiding me toward a set of double French doors.

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