Neverseen (37 page)

“This is why you’re not supposed to catch more than one lightning bolt at a time,” Elwin said, leading a familiar round-faced boy into the treatment area.

“I thought I’d found a way to do it,” Jensi said, patting the ends of his brown hair, which was sticking out in every direction.

Both Jensi and Elwin froze when they spotted Fitz and Sophie—and the panic in their eyes reminded Sophie they still had their masks on.

“It’s okay,” she said, tossing back her hood and shoving her mask up on her forehead.

Fitz did the same, and Jensi and Elwin each did a double take.

Then Elwin laughed. “Should’ve known you’d find a way to end up here,” he said, wrapping them up in a group hug.

Sophie hugged him back, remembering how once upon a time she’d been afraid of Elwin. It hadn’t been Elwin’s fault—she’d been afraid of
all
doctors after growing up with needles and hospitals and scary human medicine. But now she knew that Elwin was a giant teddy bear, with dark, messy hair, and smiling dragons all over his tunic.

“Yeah—they told us you were banished,” Jensi said in his trademark rapid-fire manner. “But I knew they couldn’t keep you away—and cool—you have to tell me about Exillium—are those the uniforms—they’re awesome—but what are the masks for?”

The happy reunion lasted about ten seconds, until Elwin noticed their patient.

“What happened?” he asked, scrambling for his crazy iridescent spectacles and flashing a blue orb of light around the gnome. “Where did you find him?”

“We were in Bosk Gorge today,” Sophie said.

Elwin frowned. “Bosk Gorge?”

“It’s in the Neutral Territories,” Fitz explained.

“I know. But that doesn’t make any sense. I heard the goblins reporting in when I was working in Lumenaria a few days back, and Bosk Gorge was still on their safe list.”

“Well, the plague must’ve spread,” Sophie said, “because the whole place was overrun with it.”

“That doesn’t make sense either. All our reports say the plague moves slowly. Wildwood took weeks to get overwhelmed.” Elwin switched to a red orb of light. “And he has injuries that aren’t plague related. Like these here?” He held up the gnome’s limp hand, pointing to the blisters on the palms. “These are burns.”

“Maybe he lit a fire to keep the plague away,” Fitz suggested.

Elwin scratched his chin and flashed a few more colored orbs. “Well, I can treat the burns and get some fluids in him. But all the remedies are in Lumenaria.”

“Remedies?” Sophie asked.

“Not a cure,” he said. “But they slow the symptoms, and make it a bit more bearable. It’s a good thing you guys found him—he’s progressing faster than I’m used to seeing.”

Sophie sank onto the edge of one of the beds, more exhausted than ever. Maybe it was the adrenaline fading, but she had a feeling it had more to do with how much she’d been hoping Elwin could fix everything.

“Hey now,” Elwin said. “Don’t go looking so defeated. Bullhorn’s staying quiet—see?”

He pointed to the bed in the corner, where the beady-eyed banshee was resting. Banshees could sense when someone was dying, and squawked his heads off around anyone in mortal danger. So if Bullhorn wasn’t bothering to get up, the gnome still had some time left. But how much time?

“I’d better hail Magnate Leto and let him know what’s going on,” Elwin said. “You’re both going to need to shower and change uniforms—and you’re both getting a full checkup.”

“What about me?” Jensi asked. “I need a new uniform too.”

“And a checkup,” Elwin agreed. “But first I need to take care of the fugitives.”

Elwin said it with a smile, but the word still turned Sophie’s stomach.

Jensi tugged on his cape, showing Sophie the blackened edges. “This reminds me of the first time we met—remember? I walked you to your elementalism session—and I warned you not to get zapped?”

Sophie smiled. “I remember.”

Jensi was one of the first kids who reached out to her at Foxfire.

“So how’s it been around here?” she asked.

Jensi looked away, his words slower than normal as he said. “Not the same.”

Magnate Leto arrived then and put the Healing Center on lockdown. After that, there was a lot of showering and changing, and drinking ten billion elixirs. Sophie was stunned that Elwin could find signs of everything she’d been through, from the healed burns of her Dividing to the light poisoning Della had treated after they’d gone to see Gethen. But the weirdest part was putting on a Foxfire
uniform again. Magnate Leto had brought her a green Level Four uniform, and Sophie kept staring at her reflection, wondering if she’d ever make it back to Foxfire to wear one for real. She suspected Fitz was thinking the same thing as he fidgeted with the cape of his white Level Six uniform.

“Are you going to tell the Council we brought the gnome here today?” Fitz asked.

“Of course,” Magnate Leto said. “They should know who the true heroes were.”

Fitz smiled at that—and Sophie tried to do the same. But it was hard to feel heroic every time she looked at the gnome. Elwin had moved him to a clear quarantine bubble, and his skin looked less pale—and his sleep looked more restful—but he was clearly very, very sick.

“You kids should head back,” Magnate Leto said. “Assuming Elwin’s given the all clear, of course.”

“Yep, they’re totally clean,” Elwin said. “Though I hate to see them go.”

“Me too,” Jensi agreed. “Will you tell Biana I said hi—and Dex and Keefe?”

Sophie nodded, her voice too thick to work.

“Don’t worry,” Magnate Leto said. “I suspect this won’t be the last time we see you standing among these halls.

Sophie stared out the window at the expansive Foxfire grounds and let herself hope he was right. But as she took Fitz’s hand and prepared to leap to the Crooked Forest, she
realized getting back into Foxfire wasn’t their biggest problem.

After everything they’d done, and all the rules they’d broken, there was a very good chance they’d gotten themselves expelled from Exillium.

S
OPHIE HADN’T KNOWN
what to expect when she and Fitz arrived in the Crooked Forest, but she’d assumed lecturing and freaking out would play a major role.

Instead, her friends greeted them with the tacklehug to end all tacklehugs, and when they finally let them breathe—and were done pestering them for every detail about their time at Foxfire—she noticed Calla watching from her perch on one of the curved trunks.

“We’re safe,” Sophie promised. “Elwin quarantined us before we left.”

“I can tell,” Calla said. “I just . . . don’t know how to thank you. The risk you both took . . .”

She looked away, trailing her green thumb along the straightened edge, where the tree had morphed into a survivor.

“I wish we could’ve done more,” Sophie said, swallowing back the knot of all her frustrations. “How bad was it at Exillium after we left?” she asked her friends.

“Well, let’s see,” Keefe said. “The purple Coach fainted when you guys teleported, and I’m pretty sure the other two peed their pants. Then everyone started screaming and freaking out about the plague, and it took a couple of hours for the Coaches to calm them down. That’s when a group of Waywards started demanding to know if you guys were going to be ejected or expelled or whatever they call it—”

“Are we?” Fitz interrupted.

Dex, Keefe, and Biana shared a look.

“They wouldn’t give me any extra beads when I asked for them,” Dex said, “which turned into another whole-school shouting match. But the Coaches said their decision was final.”

“So I guess that’s that,” Sophie mumbled.

“Not necessarily,” Biana said. “Before we left, the Shade came up to me and did this freaky whisper-in-my-head thing.” She shuddered. “And he said to tell you ‘If you really want to prove the Coaches wrong, you should return with your friends and make a stand.’ So I’m guessing he wants you to leap with us in the morning—but I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”

“Me either,” Dex said. “Who knows what the Coaches will do?”

“I don’t think the Shade would’ve suggested it if he thought
we’d be punished,” Sophie said. “He told me when they punish someone, they punish
everyone
.”

“Maybe he thinks we’re all going to be punished anyway, so he wants you to suffer with us,” Dex said.

Sophie shook her head. “That doesn’t sound like him.”

“But you barely know him,” Fitz reminded her.

“Yeah, and isn’t this the guy I heard the boobrie dude warn you about?” Keefe asked.

“It is,” Sophie agreed. “But I think the real reason the Coaches don’t like him is because he disagrees with their rules and finds ways around them—sound familiar?”

“Right,” Keefe said. “But I’m not a Shade.”

“You’re seriously going to judge him because of his ability?” Sophie asked.

“We do it with Pyrokinetics,” Dex jumped in.

“And I don’t know if that’s right either,” Sophie admitted. “Think of how much the ban on pyrokinesis has made them what they are. That’s why Fintan rebelled. And why Brant joined the Neverseen. If being Talentless hadn’t made him a bad match for Jolie, their story might have had a very different ending.”

“Maybe,” Keefe agreed. “But Shades will always be
shady
. It’s in the name! And they control shadowvaper, and call it ‘the darkness within us all.’ ”

“Does that mean they can control
us
, like Mesmers?” Sophie asked.

“It’s more about being able to
read
people,” Fitz said. “It’s
kind of like what Councillor Terik does when he descrys someone—only Shades are looking at your potential for darkness.”

“Tell me that’s not creepy!” Keefe said.

“Uh, I can inflict
pain
on people,” Sophie reminded him. “Besides, how is judging him for his ability any better than judging people for being Talentless?”

“So you’re saying you want to trust him?” Fitz asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe we should see what the Collective thinks. They may not want any of us going to Exillium anymore, so we can focus on what’s happening with the plague.”

She was honestly hoping for the latter, so they could go back to Bosk Gorge and figure out why the plague seemed to be spreading faster there, and make sure no other gnomes were stranded in the area.

But when they returned to Alluveterre, Mr. Forkle was waiting for them in the bridge’s gazebo—and he’d brought Sophie and Fitz new Exillium uniforms.

“I take it this means we’ll be going to school tomorrow,” Fitz said.

“You did the right thing, helping that gnome,” Mr. Forkle told them. “The Coaches should see that.”

“And if they don’t?” Dex asked.

“Then it’s your job to convince them. We need to get them on our side—they know more about what’s happening in the Neutral Territories than anyone.”

“But they don’t seem to care,” Sophie mumbled.

“Then
make
them care. That’s one of your greatest gifts, Miss Foster—one we had nothing to do with. You’re a natural force for change. And here’s a chance to make a true difference.”

Her friends looked as nervous as Sophie felt, but they didn’t argue as they headed for their rooms.

Actually,
Mr. Forkle transmitted to Sophie.
If you could stay behind, there’s something I need to discuss with you . . . privately.

Sophie figured it had to do with the sick gnome or her visit to Foxfire. So she definitely wasn’t prepared when he told her, “I have news for Mr. Sencen.”

“Is it about his mom?” she asked, sinking into one of the chairs. She had a feeling this was the kind of conversation she wanted to be sitting down for.

“It is—but not in the manner you’re thinking. The news is about her past, not her present, and that’s why I’m sharing it with
you
. You seem to have a better sense of how Mr. Sencen is handling things, so I trust you to decide how we proceed from here. As you know, Councillor Oralie has been working with Lord Cassius, searching for clues to his wife’s Neverseen activities. And word has reached me that a few days ago they discovered a trunk hidden in Candleshade. I’m sure you can imagine how easy it would’ve been for the family to overlook it all these years.”

Sophie nodded. Keefe’s house had at least two hundred
stories—but Sophie didn’t care about that. “What was in the trunk?”

“
Lots
of maps. The Council’s still working to determine their purpose. And a kit for making temporary leaping crystals, like the ones you use at Exillium. We’re assuming that’s one of the ways she slipped away to the Neverseen’s hideouts without anyone noticing.”

“And?” Sophie pressed, since none of that merited a private conversation.

“
And
 . . . there was also a note. Lord Cassius wanted it returned to his son, so it found its way to me.”

He reached into his cape pocket and handed her a plain piece of paper that seemed too large for the tiny message scrawled at the top in loopy writing.

Dear Keefe,

I’m doing this for you.

Love, Mom

“So what are we going to do?” Mr. Forkle asked. “Tell Mr. Sencen? Or spare him?”

Sophie stared at the page, trying to decide what bothered her more: the word “love,” or all the blank space.

And she kept picturing the Keefe she’d seen in the physician’s tent, the angry scared Keefe lurking just under the surface.

But she’d promised Keefe she wouldn’t hide things from him, and this was a
Very. Big. Thing
.

“It’s not easy, is it?” Mr. Forkle asked. “Deciding how to protect someone you care about? I’m sorry to add this burden to you—especially after the day you’ve had. But I know you’re the one who will choose what’s best for him.”

Sophie sighed. “Can I think about it?”

“Take all the time you need. All I ask is that you warn me before you share it with him—
if
you decide to share it with him. Otherwise I’ll assume you’ve kept this to yourself.”

Sophie nodded and stumbled back to her room. She was up most of the night going back and forth, making up her mind and changing it the next instant.