Page 86 of Tyton: The Spider and the Dragonfly
“I’m so glad you’re awake!”She said it with such genuine happiness, Callie wondered if it was the concussion.
“Why am I here?”she growled, trying to sound as intimidating as possible.
The woman sat next to her and placed a warm hand against her shoulder.“I’m so sorry we had to do this.She needs to return to us and you were the only one we could turn to for help.”
Callie frowned.“Who?”
“Talia, of course,” the woman said brightly.“I’ve missed her so much.”
Callie was a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.She must be with the Natalists and they had kidnapped her to lure Talia.Fucking hell,she scolded herself.Guilt threatened to pull her under like a riptide.
The woman noticed Callie’s hyperventilating and rubbed her back.“It’s okay.”A lock of hair fell from behind her ear.“She’ll be here soon and then we can all be together.”The act had the opposite effect and Callie started to sob.
The woman padded out of the room.“I’ll go get you some water.”
Callie noticed she wasn’t wearing shoes.Probably so she can’t escape, she thought.
The woman returned.She placed something on the floor, but from where Callie was lying, she couldn’t see it.The woman slid her hands under Callie’s shoulders and hoisted her up.The ropes shifted.A straw pressed into her lips and Callie drank.Callie exhaled slowly.Think like Sesishe told herself.Get information.Callie felt the cords stretch.For a cult that kept people captive, they knew surprisingly little about rope.
“What do you want with Talia?”Callie asked, trying to twist her wrists so that the knot was positioned closer to her fingers.
“I already told you, we need her here.She has a purpose.”Her voice reminded Callie of the creche supervisor, saccharine and pitched unnaturally high.It made sense now why Talia pitched hers lower.
Callie thought she felt the lump of the knot.She needed to be careful not to stretch the rope or it would cinch tighter and she’d never be able to pry it loose.“But what is she to you?”
“I’m so sorry!”she gasped, “how rude of me.I’m Elena,” Elena added, “You’re Callie, we already know about you.”A playful smirk accompanied the confession.
Callie had already worked out that they had to have been watching her, but she widened her eyes anyway.Look at you, being deceptive,she thought.A ripple of pride sharpened her will to focus.Shewouldget out of here and warn Talia.
“Why did she leave?”Her fingers found the loop and she worked it loose as gently as she could.
Elena’s mouth hung open and she clasped her chest.“Talia didn’t leave.She was kidnapped and brainwashed by that awful Georg!”
No, she wasn’t!She ran because of what you wanted to do to her!Callie bit her tongue to keep the words from spilling out.Elena caught her jaw flexing.
“I’m sure she’s told you all sorts of lies about us.”Elena spoke as though she were correcting an errant child.“Georg always was an expert at brainwashing.”
“Why did she run then?”The loop finally gave, and she pulled it free.Her fingers found another.
Elena tilted her head in sympathy.“Have you really never run away from home?It was all a big misunderstanding.”
“I thought you said she was kidnapped.”Callie tried her best to look confused.
“While she ran away, yes,” Elena tried to recover.
Callie tilted her head.“So, shedidleave.”
“If you found a child who told you they were running away from home because their parents were terrible, would you believe them?”Elena sighed.
“Yes?”Callie said, like it was obvious.
Elena rolled her eyes.“And you wouldn’t check with the parents first?”
“Oh, no.”Callie shook her head.“My best friend ran away from home and we took her in.We knew her parents.”So much for deception, Callie thought.
“We aren’t like that,” Elena said flatly.
“So, you say.I’m sure you can agree,” Callie raised her eyebrows, “that kidnapping me doesn’t make me inclined to believe you.”
