The Guardian (Callista Ryan Series) (4 page)

             
“What?” Callie asked, twisting her wrists against the ropes.

             
“The girl you spoke of. How did you have that information?” he asked patiently, as though she weren’t strapped down against her will.

             
“I—I don’t know,” she admitted, straining to look over her shoulder to gauge the size of the knot. “I just…saw it.” She looked at him again. “Please, let me go. My sister will worry. She’ll call the police, and then you’ll have more trouble than you want. Untie me, and this can stay quiet.”

             
He seemed amused by her threats. “You don’t seem to realize the predicament you’re in,” he said. “Your law has no bearing over us.”

             
“Why?” Callie asked. “What are you?” She didn’t really want to know. But she had seen enough James Bond movies to know that if she kept the villain talking, he was less likely to attack before she had come up with a plan.

             
“That is not important right now,” he replied. “What I need to know is this: when you say that you ‘saw it,’ do you mean that you were there, in the room, witnessing the occasion?”

             
Callie sneered at him, distracted. “The ‘occasion?’” she asked. “You mean, the murder of that girl? Yeah, I guess I was.”

             
“When?” the man pried.

             
Callie sighed and sank back against her chair. She was never getting out of here, not unless they let her go. She would just have to talk them into it. “Just now,” she said. “Only, I guess I wasn’t really
there
. I just saw it, like you see a dream. I don’t know. But please,
please
, let me go. My sister needs me. I have a life back home. I’ll do whatever you want, just let me go.” She was trying to work all the earnestness that she could into her words, even though her blood was bubbling with anger towards the men before her.

             
The man sat back in his chair, crossing his arms in front of himself, his eyes squinted in thought. He stayed silent for an eternity before he finally delivered the verdict.

             
“No,” he said certainly. “I think we may have a use for you, after all.”

Cha
pter Three

Deals with Devils

             
The men ha
d
retreated to a distant corner of the room. Callie eyed them angrily as she tugged for the hundredth time against the rope, less from effect than for sheer rage. She hissed as the tiny woman, who had reappeared moments ago with a basket of odd-smelling plants and tonics, now blotted the cut on her elbow with a yellow liquid. Callie hadn’t even realized she’d been hurt as she had fallen out of the window.

             
Suddenly, as she watched the woman work with effortless grace, Callie had an idea. Maybe
they
wouldn’t let her go, but this woman hadn’t been involved in kidnapping her. Maybe she could appeal to her.

             
“Hey,” Callie whispered. The woman stopped working for a moment, but then continued without glancing up. Callie swallowed, her voice a little hoarse from yelling, and shifted in the chair. “I know you can hear me,” Callie said. “Listen. I know you’re not involved in this. In fact, I’ll bet you’re just as opposed to kidnapping as I am. Well, not
just
as opposed, considering you’re not the person being held here. But if you let me go now, I won’t tell anyone you were involved in this, okay?”

The woman didn’t look up. Callie caught a movement in the corner of her eye, and caught her breath when she saw the black-haired man glance over in suspicion. But then he resumed his whispered conversation, and Callie sighed, determined to continue with the plan.

“Come on,” she begged, “just undo the rope, and I’ll sneak out the door, and no one will be the wiser. You can just say I got away, okay?”

             
The woman continued patching up the wound, though, and ignored everything that Callie had said. Callie realized that she wasn’t paying attention. She had no inclination to help her.              Callie screamed in frustration, knocking her feet against the legs of the chair and tearing her wrists against the ropes. She felt her face flush with heat, her head light with a mixture of panic and wild disbelief. The world she knew had no place here;
she
had no place here. She needed to get out before she lost her mind.

             
The men looked over in surprise. The black-haired man sighed, and walked towards her. She eyed him warily, breathing heavily from exertion. He sat across from her again, crossing his legs and settling in purposefully.

             
“Alright,” he said. “Do it again.”

             
Callie glared at him hatefully, knowing what he meant. She didn’t understand why he was so interested in a random sight she’d had. Sure, it was impossible. But then, so was everything else around here. “I can’t,” she spat.

             
He nodded with understanding, as though he’d been expecting her to say so. “Tell me, do you know exactly what it is you did?” he asked.

             
She didn’t answer, instead choosing to stare at him coldly. If she had known how she’d done it, she would have done it again now just so that he’d let her go. Surely he knew this. He didn’t seem to mind being ignored.

             
“It is called Perception,” he continued. “It is a gift that very few in this world have. It is virtually unknown in humans,” he said pointedly. “In fact, there is only one human whom I have ever met who has been able to perform this, and she is sitting with me at this moment.”

             
“She wouldn’t be if she had a say in the matter,” Callie snapped, exhaustion lowering her inhibitions.

             
He smiled at her with strained politeness. “No. Which is why, unfortunately, we have detained you in such a manner.” He leaned forward in his chair, folding his fingers into temples and looking her directly in the eye. “It is very important that you help us, Callista.”

             
Callie started. “You know my name?” she asked.

             
“I know many things about you. But you see, the one that I am most interested in is your particular ability to witness memories. Specifically, memories belonging to Guardians. You see, not even Guardians can witness the memories belonging to other members of the species. We are limited to viewing those belonging to humans. So you must understand, your brand of talent is extraordinarily rare; I am even inclined to call it unique. We may have a very real need for such a talent. And I am sure that, once you see our side of the matter, you will be as eager to help our people as we are. Do you understand?” he asked.

             
She felt the heat growing once again beneath her skin. “You killed that girl,” she said again, this time slowly, to make him realize the full extent of her hatred for him.

             
“Yes,” he said unflinchingly.

             
“How could you do it?” she asked, amazed at his attitude.

             
“We considered her to be a security threat,” he explained calmly. With intentional gravity, he persisted, “We could be inclined to think similarly of you, if you do not begin to cooperate.”

             
Callie bit the back of her tongue with her molars. The thought of doing anything for this monster was sickening. She had seen the brute strength, the icy adeptness with which he had torn through that girl’s flesh, watched the blood pour from her in rivulets. But the thought of Maggie, alone and uncared for at home, panicking at her absence, was enough to check Callie’s bitter refusal. And the threat of him doing the same to her was enough to make her consider his offer.

             
She didn’t respond, but this time, he took her silence to be a form of acceptance.

             
He nodded, as though they had come to an agreement. “Perception,” he explained, “is a form of subconscious exploration. Those who are capable can literally insert themselves into someone’s memories, and then learn to search through those memories as they would a filing cabinet. It is a tool which can come in quite handy, actually. Usually, it is an ability reserved solely for Guardians, and…ah, but wait. You don’t know about those, either, do you?”

             
He leaned back in his chair and sighed, as though realizing the magnitude of the task before him. She studied his silver eyes, wondering what sort of a psychopath lurked beneath them. Not only was he completely devoid of emotion, but he seemed to be insane as well. His ramblings made little sense to Callie.

             
He gestured briefly with his right hand, and suddenly the tiny woman appeared with a glass of water. She waited at his side as he stood and walked around behind Callie. Callie felt her heart speed as his hands touched her skin, though she knew that he was merely untying the ropes. Once her hands were freed, he leaned down and murmured in her ear.

             
“You will not try to escape again, I trust?”

             
She gritted her teeth together. “No,” she said, for it seemed to be the right answer.

             
“Good,” he replied, and resumed his seat. The woman handed Callie the glass of water, which she took gratefully. Her throat felt as though it were on fire. She took several desperate gulps, and then managed to draw a breath and return her attention to the conversation.

             
She saw the black-haired man watching her, and felt self-conscious. He nodded to the woman, who took the glass from Callie’s hands and disappeared once again.

             
“Guardians,” he said in a practiced voice, reciting what must have been an often told tale, “are a forgotten species. We exist now mainly in myths. Some call us angels, some have named us gods. We are a very old species, and yet we have managed to keep our existence secret over the years. As you would imagine, this has taken much effort and, yes, many deaths. Those privy to the knowledge of our existence must either be one of us, or must have something as precious to lose as we do by revealing us. Now, the cause for such secrecy should be obvious,” he said, gesturing to his wings with widespread arms. Callie swallowed nervously. “With all the suspicion which circulates around that which is…unusual, it is difficult to be so obviously different. In fact, our species went into hiding after a mass execution in the third century B.C.”

             
Callie blanched. “The third century…B.C.?” she asked.

             
He smiled with a slight nod. “Yes, it must be surprising. As I said, we are an ancient people. Today, however, our numbers are small. All of us exist here, actually.”

             
He was about to continue, but Callie drew a breath. He paused, waiting for her to speak. “Where is here, exactly?” she asked.

             
“Oh, forgive me,” he replied. “I have gotten ahead of myself. Where we are now is an extremely discrete section of the Daintree rainforest.”

             
He waited for recognition to dawn on her face, but Callie drew a blank.

             
“Australia,” he said kindly. He paid no mind to Callie’s suddenly wide eyes. “This is a sanctuary for us, a place where we are safe from the human species.”

             
Callie felt her mind go blank again. Australia? How was it possible? She had been in a suburb outside of San Francisco not twelve hours ago, hadn’t she? Well, the time difference might have been a factor she wasn’t considering, but still….How could she be halfway around the world without even knowing it?

             
“But enough about our history,” the man said. Callie tried to make herself concentrate, even though the word
Australia
was circling in her mind. “Callista, there is something very serious that has been building over the past few thousand years.” He spoke as though directing himself to a child. At this point, Callie didn’t blame him. “A small army has been growing in the Greek islands, and the numbers have grown large enough now that this army actually poses a threat to my people. Do you understand?” he asked.

             
No, she wanted to say. She didn’t understand anything at all about what was going on. She didn’t want to try. But instead, she answered, “Yes.”

             
“We have been looking for someone lately to help us tip the scales, just in case this army decides to attack. Our people are not violent by nature, and so we have allowed this enemy to survive over the years. But recently, times have become unstable, and certain threats have been made. We have been searching for a weapon to use to our advantage. Am I making myself clear?” he asked, his gaze piercing into her eyes.

             
She returned the look with her own blank expression. He seemed to want something from her, she just wasn’t sure what that was.