Nightfall

by Shannon Messenger

  “How nice of you,” Fitz muttered, scooting closer to Sophie and wrapping an arm around her.

  “I thought it was particularly generous,” Lady Gisela agreed. “And Cyrah became much more cooperative. But it took her several weeks to figure out how to achieve the blue flash I needed. And in that time, Fintan discovered what I was up to. He didn’t like that Cyrah knew about my connection to the order, even after I’d assured him that she understood that both her husband’s life—and her son’s—were on the line if she betrayed our agreement. Evidently that wasn’t good enough for him, so he was the one who got rid of her—without telling me. If you don’t believe me, consider this: He didn’t even wait until she’d delivered all of the starstones. She’d messed one up, and still owed me a replacement, which I never got, thanks to him.”

  Sophie wondered if that was the stone Marella’s mom had found.

  But Fitz went for the bigger question. “How did Fintan kill her?”

  “He left that to Gethen. Fintan demanded I bring Gethen with me when I went to pick up the starstones in Mysterium. I’ve never worked out exactly what happened, but I saw Cyrah’s expression shift as she stepped into the light. One second all was well. The next she looked pained and panicked. And when I turned to Gethen, he was sweaty and shaking. I confronted Fintan about it later, and all he told me was that I’d gotten sloppy—and I suppose I should’ve seen it for the warning it was. At the time, all I could think was that I had been sloppy—and it cost Cyrah her life.”

  There was a crackle in her voice, but Sophie couldn’t decide if it was remorse or resentment.

  Or maybe the whole story was a ploy to misdirect the blame on Fintan.

  “If what you’re saying is true,” Sophie said, trying to fit the new details with everything she already knew, “why did Fintan abduct Wylie and interrogate him about his mom?”

  “Because Fintan’s convinced that Cyrah took so long to make the starstones—and messed up that final stone—for a reason. He believes that people who are forced to do things under duress always find a means to rebel. And since Cyrah would’ve known that she’d be putting her son in danger by doing so, he thinks she must’ve warned Wylie somehow—maybe even clued him in to what was happening, or gave him the missing starstone, or . . . who knows? You’re the one who’s friends with him—you tell me.”

  Sophie pressed her lips together.

  “Fine, keep your secrets. It doesn’t matter right now. That’s what I keep trying to tell you. There’s only one goal we should be focusing on—and yes, I do mean we. Like it or not, you need to work with me if you want to find your family.”

  “Why should I believe you?” Sophie demanded. “You’re scrambling just as much as we are.”

  “So you admit you’re scrambling?”

  Sophie could’ve kicked herself for the slip. “I—”

  “I know your instinct is to shut me out,” Lady Gisela interrupted. “But our goals truly are connected. Find my Archetype and I’ll show you. It’s a book secured with a very special lock, to ensure no one can open it except me. Fintan stole it and I need you to get it back. The good news is, he’ll have it in the same place he’s keeping your human family.”

  “And where’s that?” Sophie asked, wishing she didn’t sound quite so desperate.

  Gisela clicked her tongue. “Not until you agree.”

  “Agree to what?” Sandor demanded, resting his hand on Sophie’s shoulder to remind her that she wouldn’t be making any deals without consulting him. “It sounds to me like you want Sophie to take all the risks while you sit back and do nothing.”

  “Oh, I assure you, I will be very busy. But my primary contribution will be sharing what I know, so you can find the facility. You’ll still have to figure out some things on your own—but without the information I have, you wouldn’t even know where to start. And all I ask in return is that you recover the Archetype for me. Oh, and that you destroy the facility—but I’m sure you won’t mind that part when you see what they’re doing in there.”

  “What are they doing?” Sophie asked, bracing herself for the worst possible answer.

  “It’s hard to say for certain. But if it’s anything like what was done there in the past, it’s not going to be pretty. Especially for your family.”

  Panic mixed with dread, forming something thick and choking in Sophie’s throat.

  But she reminded herself over and over that the Washers could erase every second of whatever her parents were enduring.

  “Why not just raid the facility yourself?” Fitz asked Gisela.

  “Because there’s only one of me and a whole lot more of you. I’m also a fugitive, so I can’t exactly go traipsing around Atlantis trying to find the entrance.”

  “Atlantis?” Sophie, Fitz, and Sandor all said at the same time.

  “Sounds like I have your attention.”

  Sophie nodded, already wondering if she needed to get her sister out of the city. “What makes you so sure that’s where they are?”

  “Because I know what the mark on Alvar’s heel means. It’s stamped on every page of the journals that loosely inspired my own plans. I’d thought the writings were theoretical, but I’ve spent these last few days poring through them again, and now I can see the clues I missed.”

  “You’re talking about the notes that inspired Nightfall,” Sophie guessed.

  “I am,” Lady Gisela agreed. “Fintan did take your family to Nightfall. But not to my facility. He’s keeping them in the original Nightfall. Where everything began.”

  Sixty

  TWO NIGHTFALLS?” MR. Forkle asked as he stared at the stack of weathered blue journals Sophie was carrying. She’d found the books waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs when she emerged from her bedroom the next morning—exactly as Lady Gisela had promised they would be. “I’ll admit, that’s a twist I didn’t see coming.”

  “Neither did I,” Sophie said, setting the pile down on the table in front of the sofa. “But Keefe’s mom claimed the proof is in these.”

  She’d tried reading the ancient yellowed pages, but they were filled with runes her brain couldn’t translate. The only thing she recognized were the swirling lines of the falling-star symbol stamped in the corner of every page and pressed onto the covers with gold foil.

  “And we don’t know where this other Nightfall is,” Tiergan noted.

  “Only that it’s somewhere in Atlantis,” Sophie agreed.

  “Oh good, because that’s not a huge city or anything,” Tam said, flopping onto the couch between Biana and Linh.

  Their group was smaller that morning, thanks to all the projects they were juggling. Only Tam, Linh, Fitz, Biana, Grady, Alden, Mr. Forkle, and Tiergan were there—along with Sandor, Grizel, and Woltzer, of course, who were outside with Cadoc, trying to figure out how Lady Gisela had managed to sneak past their security again.

  “Lady Gisela said the entrance will be marked with the Nightfall symbol,” Fitz added.

  Mr. Forkle grabbed one of the journals and traced his fingers over the swirling gold lines on the cover. “In all my visits to the city, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

  “Neither have I,” Tiergan said.

  “Same,” Grady agreed.

  “Quinlin’s the best person to ask,” Alden suggested. “He knows that city better than anybody.”

  Sadly, a quick hail to Quinlin confirmed that he’d never noticed the symbol either.

  “Well . . . now that we know what to look for, I’m sure we’ll be able to find it,” Fitz said, deciding to be the optimistic one.

  “Is that seriously our plan?” Tam asked. “We’re just going to wander around Atlantis and hope we spot it?”

  “No,” Mr. Forkle said. “The Neverseen likely have eyes in the city, and we don’t want them to know we’re searching for them. Better to scour these notebooks first, see if there are any other clues to help us narrow down a more precise location. I’m sure there’s at least one that Lady Gisela missed
—or chose not to tell us so we’d have to work for it.”

  He turned to the first page and frowned at the tiny writing. “Wow, these runes are ancient.”

  “I thought all runes were ancient,” Sophie said, glancing at Alden. “Isn’t that what you told me?”

  “Probably—and it’s true in the sense that we’ve long relied on a more modern alphabet,” Alden explained. “But our runes also evolved over time. So I believe what Mr. Forkle is saying is that these journals were written with letters that predate the runes we use more commonly.”

  “See these extra curves?” Mr. Forkle pointed to several marks in the journal. “Those flourishes were only used in our most ancient alphabet, before the characters were simplified to make them easier to write.”

  “So does that mean you can’t read the journals?” Sophie asked.

  “I can pick out some of the words, since many only have a few unfamiliar letters. But others are gibberish.”

  Grady grabbed one of the other journals and flipped through, seeming to have the same problem. Tiergan and Alden struggled as well.

  “Would Bronte be able to read it?” Fitz asked.

  “Probably. But I’m not sure we want to hand these over to the Council,” Mr. Forkle warned. “Not until we know exactly what they say. Besides, if Lady Gisela can figure it out, I certainly can. I just need to get my hands on one of the ancient Lexicons.”

  “Quinlin has several,” Alden noted.

  “Perfect. Can you let him know that Sir Astin will be paying him a visit at his office later today to borrow them?”

  “Should I tell him why?” Alden asked.

  Mr. Forkle considered. “At this point, he’s involved enough that it’s probably better for him to know one of my identities. Perhaps we can translate the journals together. I’ll have your sister help as well,” he told Sophie. “It’ll be good for her to stay involved.”

  “Shouldn’t we be getting her out of the city?” Sophie asked. “Now that we know the Neverseen are targeting Atlantis?”

  “Having a hideout there and targeting the city are two very different things,” Mr. Forkle reminded her. “If anything, they’re more likely to protect the city to prevent any harm from coming to their facility. It’s also important to keep in mind that this Nightfall has apparently existed for thousands of years without causing any harm.”

  “But the person who built it was in prison,” Sophie countered. “She’s free now. And we all saw what the Neverseen did to Eternalia and Lumenaria.”

  “If it would make you feel better, Sophie, Amy’s welcome to stay here,” Grady offered.

  Mr. Forkle shook his head. “I don’t think that would be wise. Gisela has no problem breaching security here.”

  He patted the stack of journals as proof.

  “What about Everglen?” Biana suggested.

  “She would be more than welcome,” Alden told her. “Though I’m not sure our home could guarantee her safety either. More than that, I think we need to consider the fact that this could be a ploy to flush Sophie’s sister out of hiding. The Neverseen used a similar fear tactic to find Sophie, when they sparked those white fires around her city to inspire you to relocate her—and Gisela was in charge at that point.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Tiergan admitted. “And if that’s the case, it’s far safer to leave Amy where she is. Gisela wouldn’t resort to this kind of trick if she already knew how to find her.”

  “You think she’s after my sister?” Sophie asked.

  “I think we have to at least consider it,” Mr. Forkle said gently. “The fact is, we don’t know what Gisela’s truly planning with any of this, so it’s best to resist changing anything that’s currently working. Look at what happened with Lumenaria. Had we left Gethen where we’d originally been holding him, he wouldn’t have been anywhere near the Peace Summit. It was only when we altered our plans that we fell in line with theirs.”

  “He has a point,” Grady admitted.

  “We’ll monitor the city,” Tiergan added. “I’ll even alert the Council to see if they want to make adjustments to the security.”

  “And I’ll give Quinlin a thorough update,” Alden promised. “To ensure he knows to be extra vigilant.”

  “I’ll also check the apartment myself when I’m there later today,” Mr. Forkle assured her. “To see that every precaution has been taken.”

  Sophie couldn’t argue with any of their reasoning. But every nerve in her body still itched to grab her sister and run.

  “I wish she wasn’t somewhere that’s so hard to get to,” she mumbled. “I know in some ways that’s an advantage, but if something happens, it’s a huge process to get there. Same goes for if they have to evacuate.”

  “If it would make you feel better, I can give you a small bottle of starlight from Candesia, and a magsidian charm that leads to the city, as well as to other crucial locations, like Havenfield and the Physician’s office at Foxfire,” Mr. Forkle offered. “But you know how illegal that is, so you’d have to let Edaline hide it in the void—and only use it in an emergency.”

  “Of course,” Sophie promised, grateful for the backup plan—even if leaping with light from the unmapped stars was a complete misery.

  Mr. Forkle set his journal back on the pile. “If that’s settled, we still need to discuss the deal you’ve made with Lady Gisela. I’m assuming she didn’t give you this information out of the goodness of her heart?”

  Sophie fussed with her gloves. “She wants us to steal back her Archetype. I guess it’s a book that no one can read without a special key.”

  “And that was her only demand?” Grady asked.

  Fitz glanced at Sophie. “She also wants us to destroy the facility,” he admitted.

  Tam whistled. “I mean, normally I’m all for smashing things that belong to the Neverseen. But it kinda sounds like she’s putting you in the middle of her revenge on Fintan.”

  “I’m already in the middle,” Sophie reminded him. “Fintan has my parents.”

  Biana sucked in a breath. “Has anyone considered that this whole thing might actually be the Neverseen’s trap? I’m sure they know we’re in touch with Keefe’s mom, since we couldn’t have gotten into the first Nightfall without her. So maybe this is why they left Alvar there, knowing the symbol would lead us to this other facility.”

  “It’s possible,” Mr. Forkle admitted.

  “I still have to check it,” Sophie said quietly. “It’s not like we have any other leads right now—and not just for finding my parents. This facility could also be where they’re keeping their supplies of soporidine, or could at least have some clues to what they’re planning. But if you guys don’t want to go with me—”

  “I’m in,” Fitz interrupted, reaching for her hand and holding on tight.

  “So am I,” Biana promised. “That’s not what I was saying. I just meant that we might want to be prepared for them to be expecting us—that’s all.”

  “We need a plan,” Tam agreed. “A good one.”

  “Do you think there’s information about the facility in the cache?” Linh asked. “It could be the reason Fintan’s new advisor was arrested.”

  “I’m sure it was,” Alden said through a sigh. “Or at least part of the reason. I’ll be sure to tell Dex and Bronte, in case it changes their strategy for the passwords. I need to head to Eternalia anyway. I’m meeting with another former guard from Lumenaria today. And I’m still trying to convince Fallon to meet with me. Maybe I’ll just show up and force the issue. At this point, we need to exhaust every option.”

  “I agree,” Mr. Forkle jumped in as Alden pulled out his pathfinder. “Which is why it would be wise for the rest of you to spend whatever time you can researching Atlantis to see if there’s anything in our history that references the facility. I realize that kind of work is far from your favorite—but there may very well be subtle records that could help us narrow down the precise location. Or, more importantly, the time period i
t was constructed.”

  “Why is that more important than the location?” Sophie asked.

  He sighed, running a swollen hand down his face. “Because one of the words I do recognize in this journal is ‘human.’ Over and over. And given how things deteriorated between our species, it’s unsettling to know our side has a secret that’s managed to stay buried for millennia—a secret connected to a prisoner so horrible, the Council erased her from their memories.”

  “Sounds like you think Nightfall had something to do with the sinking of Atlantis,” Grady noted.

  “I think it’s crucial we find out. The best place to look would be the archives in Eternalia’s main library. Perhaps you could take everyone there, Mr. Ruewen?”

  Tam groaned. “You realize how huge that place is, right?”

  “The search likely will be daunting,” Mr. Forkle told him. “But we’re all enduring tedious forms of information gathering.” He tapped the pile of journals he’d be stuck translating. “I know it can feel slow and exhausting, but this is a vital step—especially when we’re so frighteningly behind the curve.”

  Everything he said made sense—miserable and boring as it sounded.

  But they were also forgetting something.

  “What about Prentice?” Sophie asked. “I have the story about what happened to Cyrah now. Doesn’t that mean I should start working toward healing him?”

  “Absolutely,” Mr. Forkle told her. “But that doesn’t mean you should be heading there today. I understand how frustrating it is to hear me say that. But are you really prepared to share these heartbreaking revelations with him? Because every single word you say will either help him or harm him. It’s a tremendous responsibility—one I would gladly take on myself, if I could. But I can’t.”