Neverseen (54 page)

Sophie launched another beam of her own fire, and it parted the wall of Everblaze.

“Time to go!” she screamed, dragging her friends through the gap. Flames nipped at her skin, but she barely felt them.

“Is there a cliff nearby?” she asked Tam and Linh as they ran.

“No need,” Calla said.

She belted out a song that made one of the withered trees bend down and tangle its branches around their feet. A quick
THWANG!
snapped the tree back, whipping them into the sky. They clung to each other as they soared higher and higher.

As soon as they started to drop, Sophie split a crack in the sky.

The last thing she saw was Alvar’s pained expression as they slipped into the void and teleported away.

G
RADY AND EDALINE
weren’t outside when the traumatized group appeared in Havenfield’s pastures. But as soon as Sophie called for help, they came rushing out of the glittering crystal mansion.

Within minutes Elwin had arrived to treat any burns, cuts, scrapes, and bruises they’d picked up during their various escapes. But nothing could ease the shock that had settled over everyone.

No one wanted to answer the questions Grady and Edaline kept repeating. Even Sophie could only cling to her parents and let her silent tears soak their tunics. But when Alden arrived, looking equal parts worried and relieved, Sophie knew it was time to speak.

She held tight to Grady’s and Edaline’s hands as she gave a brief summary of the havoc they’d caused in Ravagog. The adults’ eyes seemed to widen with each dangerous detail. Their fear turned to fury when she moved on to the further chaos with the Neverseen, and Sophie pulled Grady closer so he wouldn’t try to go after Brant. Alden hailed the Council and asked them to send someone to extinguish the Everblaze and start cleaning up the toxins that would’ve leaked into the valley from the ogres’ tainted river. Then he hailed Mr. Forkle-As-Sir-Astin and told him the Collective should gather at Havenfield.

Sophie decided to wait until everyone had arrived before revealing the devastating truth about the gnomish cure. But Alden deserved to receive the news about Alvar in the privacy of close friends.

“There’s something else I have to tell you,” she mumbled. “But first, I need you to promise that your mind is strong enough to handle it.”

Alden glanced at Fitz and Biana before he nodded.

“Wait,” Elwin said, handing Alden a vial filled with clear liquid. “This will take the edge off reality, if you need it.”

“Surely the news can’t be that bad,” Alden said.

“It is,” Biana whispered, reaching for her dad. “Alvar’s part of the Neverseen.”

The vial slipped from Alden’s hand, hitting the grass with a soft
thud.
Elwin tried to hand it back to him, but Alden waived the elixir away. “You’re sure?” he whispered.

“Positive,” Fitz mumbled, tearing out chunks of grass by the roots. “He was also one of Sophie’s kidnappers.”

Alden wobbled as the words hit him, and Biana helped him sit on the grass. Elwin tried again to make him take the elixir, but Alden waived the medicine away, calling Fitz to come closer. The three Vackers clung to each other and cried.

Dex turned to Sophie with a look like,
Do something.

Grady and Edaline looked just as helpless. Even Tam—who could’ve been smug, since he’d never trusted Alvar—wiped tears from his silvery eyes and held his sister’s hand.

Keefe, meanwhile, wandered away from the group, sitting with his back pointed in their direction. Sophie joined him.

“Alvar was my hero,” he whispered.

She reached for his hand, wondering how many betrayals Keefe could survive. “It’s not your fault for believing his lies.”

“It still makes me an idiot. Plus . . .” Keefe stared at the sky, which seemed too pink and peaceful as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon. “Last night, when Alvar slept in my room, he said I reminded him a lot of himself.”

“He has good qualities too, Keefe.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think that’s what he meant. I think he was trying to recruit me.”

“They tried to recruit Jolie too, remember? All that means is he thinks you’re talented.”

“Maybe,” Keefe said, still not looking at her. “He even told
me to reach out to him if I ever needed anything. Said he thought of me like a brother.”

“He’s not
all
bad. No one is. That’s what makes villains so scary. They’re not as different from us as we want them to be.”

“Villains,” Keefe repeated, saying the word like it tasted sour. “And they think I could be one of them. Gethen even made it sound like my mom planned for it . . .”

“So? When have you ever done what either of your parents wanted you to do?” She’d hoped that would earn her at least half a smile, but Keefe shook his head.

“Are you worrying about what Fintan said?” she asked. “About your mom . . .”

“I don’t care what happens to her.”

He must’ve cared a little, though, because after several awkward seconds he asked, “What do you think Fintan meant about bartering for her freedom?”

“I don’t know. But the Neverseen are never going to do anything to
help
us. It’s all a trick, just like the cure. That doesn’t mean we give up hope, though. There are lots of things we haven’t tried.”

“Like what?”

Sophie couldn’t think of any, but she knew they existed. “We’ll figure it out, okay?”

His shrug wasn’t really an answer.

“Sophie?” Alden said, waiting for her to turn around. He looked pale, and the tight lines in his features added years to
his face. But he didn’t seem ready to shatter as he said, “I’ve often wondered how the Neverseen knew we’d found you. I never considered that I’d told Alvar when Fitz returned from San Diego. He used to be part of the search so I thought he deserved to know . . . I owe you a
huge
apology.”

“No you
don’t
,” she promised, rushing over to give him a hug.

Fitz and Biana joined in, and after a moment she felt more arms add to the group as Grady, Edaline, Elwin—even Dex—held everyone tight. Sophie glanced to where Keefe sat alone and glared at him until he reluctantly got up and hugged his friends. Tam and Linh were the last to wrap their arms around the group, but they fit right in.

“What happened?” Della asked, sending everyone scrambling back.

She stood with all five members of the Collective, but Sophie could only focus on Della. She knew in a few seconds Della would go from worried to utterly devastated, and Sophie wished she could stop time so it wouldn’t have to happen.

Alden cleared his throat. “There’s much to discuss, my love. But we should go home.”

Della shook her head. “Where’s Alvar? What’s going on—”

“It’s not what you think,” Alden interrupted. “He’s . . .”

His voice faded away. Fitz and Biana couldn’t seem to say it either.

Grady stepped forward. “Alvar has . . . lost his way. Like Brant. And Lady Gisela.”

Sophie could see the moment of understanding dawn in Della’s eyes. Grief turned to shock—then fury and confusion, all of the chaos spilling out in thick tears.

“No,” Della whispered. “He wouldn’t . . .”

“Oh, he would.” Fitz’s voice was black ice.

“Come on,” Alden said, hooking his arm gently around his wife. “They can handle this one without us.”

He turned to Mr. Forkle, who nodded gravely.

“If it helps,” Granite said quietly, “this changes nothing for us. We trust your commitment implicitly—same for Fitz and Biana. Whenever—if ever—you’re ready to return to our cause, there will always be a place.”

Except now they’d be working to capture their
son
and
brother
, Sophie realized.

And when Fitz and Biana had fought the Neverseen on Mount Everest, there was a good chance they’d been fighting Alvar without realizing it.

But Keefe was facing that too, and he was doing okay. Ish.

Now they could band together, once they recovered from the shock of it.

Fitz took his dad’s free hand, Biana clung to her brother, and the four Vackers leaped away as a family.

“The Council is on their way, I assume?” Mr. Forkle asked Grady.

“Oralie said they were going to make sure the fire was contained in Wildwood before they came here,” Grady said.

At the mention of the devastated colony, all eyes turned to Calla, who was leaning against a tree, her ear pressed to the bark.

“There is so much life here,” Calla whispered, her eyes turning to the pastures. “More than I’ve felt anywhere.”

Havenfield was one of the rehabilitation centers for the Sanctuary, so the expansive grounds were divided into pastures for all manner of impossible creatures.

“This is where you live?” Calla asked Sophie.

“When I’m not banished,” she said, forcing a smile.

Calla turned to the rows of bulbous trees in the distance, where the Havenfield gnomes normally lived. “I like it here. This will be good.”

“What will?” Sophie asked.

“I’ll explain when the Council arrives,” Calla promised.

She stood to wander the grounds, humming to the various trees, and the adults murmured among themselves, discussing things Sophie couldn’t make herself pay attention to. She sat with her friends, the five of them lost in their own worries as the sky faded from sunset to twilight.

The evening star had just risen when the Council glittered into the clearing.

“Still wearing disguises?” Councillor Alina said, frowning at the Collective.

“We would love to work with you openly,” Granite told her. “You’re the ones who’ve denied us the privilege.”

Councillor Emery held up his hand, silencing Alina before she could respond. “We have more important things to discuss than our divisions.”

“Indeed we do,” Mr. Forkle said. “I assume you know about Ravagog.”

“We’ve seen the damage,” Councillor Emery agreed.

He didn’t sound furious. He sounded
impressed
.

Still, Sophie had to ask, “Does this mean we’re going to war with the ogres?”

“It’s
possible
,” Councillor Emery warned. “But too early to tell. You have dealt King Dimitar a heavy blow. You’ve demolished Ravagog’s gate and removed the only bridge connecting his city. Our goblins are already forming a perimeter around the city to remind the ogres that we are far more prepared for battle than they are at the moment. And now that the king has lost his secret weapon with the drakostomes, our hope is that he will finally negotiate a real treaty—one that gives us the level of control we expect.”

“This is assuming, of course, that they truly
have
lost their secret weapon,” Councillor Terik chimed in.

All eyes shifted to Calla.

She finished the song she’d been humming and took a slow breath, keeping her shoulders square. “The ogres’ cure was a fake,” she said, allowing them a second to process. “But it doesn’t matter.
I
will be the cure.”

W
HAT EXACTLY DOES
that mean?” Elwin asked Calla. “How can you be the cure?”

“Because I know what the Panakes are,” Calla said. “The legends called them the Brave Ones and I never understood why. But their roots sang of a life given freely. That’s where the healing comes from. The blossoms sprout from the sacrifice.”

“Anyone else confused?” Dex asked.

Sophie definitely was.

But she didn’t like the word “sacrifice.”

She ran to Calla’s side, grabbing her green-thumbed hands. “Please tell me you’re not sacrificing yourself.”

Calla stared at the pastures, her eyes both sad and dreamy. “I’m old. I’ve enjoyed thousands of years on this earth. And now I’ll enjoy thousands more in a different form.”

“But—”

Calla placed her finger on Sophie’s lips. “You can’t change this, Sophie. Do not try.”

“So you’re saying the Panakes were gnomes,” Councillor Emery said, breaking the silence.

“Brave Ones who choose to shift their form,” Calla agreed. “Their sacrificed life energy nourished the Panakes to give them the power of healing.”

“Fascinating,” Councillor Terik whispered.

Bronte shook his head. “All this time, we never realized the cure was within our control.”

“What control?” Sophie asked. “She has to
die
for this. Calla, you can’t—”

“I must,” Calla interrupted. “Don’t tell me you would not do the same, if you could save your friends.”

Tears gathered in Sophie’s eyes, spilling down her cheeks. “But you’re my friend too.”

Calla smiled. “I know. And I do this to help
you
, as well.” She turned to the Council, her gray eyes hardening. “Remove the banishment from these children—all of them. Even the two who’ve left. They saved my species. I wouldn’t know this path to the cure without them.”

“I agree,” Councillor Bronte said, ignoring Councillor Alina’s
huff. “It is time we start correcting our past errors.”

The Councillors murmured among themselves, but Sophie couldn’t listen. She was too busy trying to think of a way to change Calla’s mind.

She only paid attention when Councillor Emery called, “All in favor?”

All twelve Councillors raised their hands.

Grady and Edaline rushed to hug Sophie, scooping up Dex and Keefe in the process. Sophie pulled away, not ready to celebrate.

“Calla,” she started.

“This was my choice,” Calla interrupted. “I made it willingly. And it cannot be undone. I’ve already let my final song settle into my heart. There’s no stopping the shift now.”

Elwin made his way over, flashing colored orbs around Calla. “She’s right. It looks like everything inside her is slowing down.”

“How long do you have?” Grady asked, holding Sophie steady as everything spun too fast.

Calla stared at her hands, where the green coloring was already spreading beyond her thumbs. “Sometime tonight the final shift will happen, and by morning you’ll find my tree.”

“Morning,” Sophie repeated, her voice breaking.

That was too soon. Everything was happening so fast—she couldn’t . . .