04-18-2019, 07:30 PM
Somehow, the revelation didn’t surprise her. She filed the piece into place, swallowing the sigh that wanted to inflate her lungs with frustration.
“Then that’s where we start.”
It became a game of waiting.
The disapproving faces of Cayli’s parents hovered from time to time, caught in peripheral glances like passing ghosts. Meal times were tense and civil while everyone played their assigned role without complaint, as though nothing in the household was amiss. No one asked where Jay was, an oddity that curled uneasy suspicion into Natalie’s stomach as the time passed. They change the subject, Cay admitted when she asked about her parent’s silence. But for now there was little Natalie could do but let the storm brew, and hope they could find adequate shelter when it finally broke.
Experimentation filled their time, usually on the grounds where it felt less obtrusive. Despite the threat of sedation it was still Cayli’s best shot at self-protection, and the power also held a charm that sometimes softened the edges of Natalie’s fears, or at least provided a focus beyond the cage of them. Cayli veered from being an impressively diligent student to the most easily distracted. She asked lots of questions about Jay’s life in Africa, though Natalie couldn’t always answer them. Sometimes she shared stories of her own, of the big brother she knew before the marines. Natalie tried not to let those saturate too far, the easy smirks and sharpness of her humour fading beneath a still mask. If Cay noticed her reticence, she never said.
“Cayli, sweetie?” It was past noon when Cay’s mother’s pale face searched out her daughter, an unusual interruption. The girl’s brows rose, but she bounded diligently to her feet when asked to follow. The house was all shadows after the brightness of day. Cayli skipped blithely through the kitchen and into the room her mother led. Natalie followed, jaw tight. Unease prickled her skin, sensing the formless threat of a trap.
Cayli stiffened when she saw the doctor.
Diaz smiled graciously as he stood from the armchair. Dark hair slicked away from his kind face, but it was the case at his feet that Natalie stared at. Cold flooded her limbs, muscles corded tight. Her gaze rose to his face.
“Cayli. I’m glad we finally found you.”
“But I was discharged. I’m better.” Cayli shot a worried look at Natalie before her mother swept close, gripping her daughter’s hands in both her own. Darkness still swept the hollows beneath her eyes, as if sleep were a distant enemy, but there was earnestness in her soft voice. “Cayli, baby, your brother threatened Doctor Diaz at the hospital. They had no choice but to let you go. He’s--”
“I’m afraid your brother is very sick, Cayli,” Diaz interjected calmly. “What I suspect to be a serious psychosis has made him believe some terrible things. I’m sorry we were unable to protect you at the hospital, but we could not risk the safety of our other patients should we refuse your brother’s request.”
“He’s not the Jay we knew, Cay, but with treatment he will get better. He’s in the best place now.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her daughter’s ear. Tears brushed the woman’s eyes, an overwhelming faith that daggered Natalie’s stomach for how misguided it was. Whatever Jay’s conflicts with his parents, they loved him fiercely in their own way. Light. She glanced at Cayli’s expression, recognising the wielding of the true weapon as it hit its mark. No armies descended, no hidden assassins, like Jensen had feared.
Her jaw hardened as she pushed herself forward, weaponless. The gift floated close, like the promise of fortification, but there were no soldiers here, and no battle that could be fought so bluntly. Diaz’s gaze shifted, a small furrow at his brow, like he had not realised she was there. No true authority bolstered the stubborn set of her expression, but it did not stop the certainty with which she spoke. She stood her ground even as it crumbled beneath her.
“Jay Carpenter belongs to the Custody now. You cannot hold him.”
“Jay Carpenter remains a US citizen,” he answered blandly.
“Perhaps that’s a conversation you would prefer to have with Ascendancy?”
“I’m Cayli’s doctor, Ms Northbrook. Her safety is my priority here. I am not at liberty to discuss the other matter with you.”
Just enough to dangle the bait. A small smile fluttered his lips as the victory settled assured. Cayli would go, Natalie knew it. The moment her mother admitted knowledge of where he was held, those sisterly bonds would pull her onwards whatever the cost. The past days’ silence finally made sense, a glass tower of promises to a family so desperate for the foundations of normality they would rather believe their son insane. The walls Jay guarded were too high, the secrets he kept nothing but knives to gut him. Nausea gripped. Words were a useless shield.
“Do you think I would be wasting my time here if it were all a lie? Do I look crazy too?”
“You’re Custody, dear,” said Jay’s mother sharply, as though it amounted to the same thing. Her gaze skirted. She never really looked at Natalie properly. Jay’s father loomed behind, arms folded across his chest. The lines on his face seemed more deep set. “This is family business,” he agreed. “I’d rather not end this with nastiness, but you’ve no reason to be here now. You should have gone back to the Custody when Caroline asked you the first time.”
Cayli’s mother cupped her daughter’s cheeks, urging her attention away from the brewing argument. “Sweetie, I know you say you feel better, but let the doctor run his tests. We’ll know for sure, then, that the kind Pastor worked his miracle. And when this is all over we can go home. All of us, Cay, I promise.”
“Okay, mom.” The girl’s arms folded around her mother’s neck, face buried in the silvered gold of her hair. An anguished cry left the woman’s lips as she squeezed tight, like a lifetime’s worry finally began to ease its talons on her heart. Cay brushed a hand over her own face when she leaned back. Determination held her expression rigid, but Natalie read the tells. Exactly the recklessness she had been warned against. Exactly the recklessness that would get her killed
Natalie’s heart hammered. Desperation cinched a band of steel around her chest as she felt the control slipping. The power flooded in, knowing Cayli would feel it. Zacariás’s dulcet warnings haunted, branding panic she could not ignore.
She couldn’t let Cayli go.
“No.”
“Then that’s where we start.”
It became a game of waiting.
The disapproving faces of Cayli’s parents hovered from time to time, caught in peripheral glances like passing ghosts. Meal times were tense and civil while everyone played their assigned role without complaint, as though nothing in the household was amiss. No one asked where Jay was, an oddity that curled uneasy suspicion into Natalie’s stomach as the time passed. They change the subject, Cay admitted when she asked about her parent’s silence. But for now there was little Natalie could do but let the storm brew, and hope they could find adequate shelter when it finally broke.
Experimentation filled their time, usually on the grounds where it felt less obtrusive. Despite the threat of sedation it was still Cayli’s best shot at self-protection, and the power also held a charm that sometimes softened the edges of Natalie’s fears, or at least provided a focus beyond the cage of them. Cayli veered from being an impressively diligent student to the most easily distracted. She asked lots of questions about Jay’s life in Africa, though Natalie couldn’t always answer them. Sometimes she shared stories of her own, of the big brother she knew before the marines. Natalie tried not to let those saturate too far, the easy smirks and sharpness of her humour fading beneath a still mask. If Cay noticed her reticence, she never said.
“Cayli, sweetie?” It was past noon when Cay’s mother’s pale face searched out her daughter, an unusual interruption. The girl’s brows rose, but she bounded diligently to her feet when asked to follow. The house was all shadows after the brightness of day. Cayli skipped blithely through the kitchen and into the room her mother led. Natalie followed, jaw tight. Unease prickled her skin, sensing the formless threat of a trap.
Cayli stiffened when she saw the doctor.
Diaz smiled graciously as he stood from the armchair. Dark hair slicked away from his kind face, but it was the case at his feet that Natalie stared at. Cold flooded her limbs, muscles corded tight. Her gaze rose to his face.
“Cayli. I’m glad we finally found you.”
“But I was discharged. I’m better.” Cayli shot a worried look at Natalie before her mother swept close, gripping her daughter’s hands in both her own. Darkness still swept the hollows beneath her eyes, as if sleep were a distant enemy, but there was earnestness in her soft voice. “Cayli, baby, your brother threatened Doctor Diaz at the hospital. They had no choice but to let you go. He’s--”
“I’m afraid your brother is very sick, Cayli,” Diaz interjected calmly. “What I suspect to be a serious psychosis has made him believe some terrible things. I’m sorry we were unable to protect you at the hospital, but we could not risk the safety of our other patients should we refuse your brother’s request.”
“He’s not the Jay we knew, Cay, but with treatment he will get better. He’s in the best place now.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her daughter’s ear. Tears brushed the woman’s eyes, an overwhelming faith that daggered Natalie’s stomach for how misguided it was. Whatever Jay’s conflicts with his parents, they loved him fiercely in their own way. Light. She glanced at Cayli’s expression, recognising the wielding of the true weapon as it hit its mark. No armies descended, no hidden assassins, like Jensen had feared.
Her jaw hardened as she pushed herself forward, weaponless. The gift floated close, like the promise of fortification, but there were no soldiers here, and no battle that could be fought so bluntly. Diaz’s gaze shifted, a small furrow at his brow, like he had not realised she was there. No true authority bolstered the stubborn set of her expression, but it did not stop the certainty with which she spoke. She stood her ground even as it crumbled beneath her.
“Jay Carpenter belongs to the Custody now. You cannot hold him.”
“Jay Carpenter remains a US citizen,” he answered blandly.
“Perhaps that’s a conversation you would prefer to have with Ascendancy?”
“I’m Cayli’s doctor, Ms Northbrook. Her safety is my priority here. I am not at liberty to discuss the other matter with you.”
Just enough to dangle the bait. A small smile fluttered his lips as the victory settled assured. Cayli would go, Natalie knew it. The moment her mother admitted knowledge of where he was held, those sisterly bonds would pull her onwards whatever the cost. The past days’ silence finally made sense, a glass tower of promises to a family so desperate for the foundations of normality they would rather believe their son insane. The walls Jay guarded were too high, the secrets he kept nothing but knives to gut him. Nausea gripped. Words were a useless shield.
“Do you think I would be wasting my time here if it were all a lie? Do I look crazy too?”
“You’re Custody, dear,” said Jay’s mother sharply, as though it amounted to the same thing. Her gaze skirted. She never really looked at Natalie properly. Jay’s father loomed behind, arms folded across his chest. The lines on his face seemed more deep set. “This is family business,” he agreed. “I’d rather not end this with nastiness, but you’ve no reason to be here now. You should have gone back to the Custody when Caroline asked you the first time.”
Cayli’s mother cupped her daughter’s cheeks, urging her attention away from the brewing argument. “Sweetie, I know you say you feel better, but let the doctor run his tests. We’ll know for sure, then, that the kind Pastor worked his miracle. And when this is all over we can go home. All of us, Cay, I promise.”
“Okay, mom.” The girl’s arms folded around her mother’s neck, face buried in the silvered gold of her hair. An anguished cry left the woman’s lips as she squeezed tight, like a lifetime’s worry finally began to ease its talons on her heart. Cay brushed a hand over her own face when she leaned back. Determination held her expression rigid, but Natalie read the tells. Exactly the recklessness she had been warned against. Exactly the recklessness that would get her killed
Natalie’s heart hammered. Desperation cinched a band of steel around her chest as she felt the control slipping. The power flooded in, knowing Cayli would feel it. Zacariás’s dulcet warnings haunted, branding panic she could not ignore.
She couldn’t let Cayli go.
“No.”