All right, Magnate Leto transmitted, making all of them jump. We should get moving. The earlier we spot the enemy, the sooner we’ll be able to take control of the situation. It’s probably best if you break into groups so you can cover more ground—but don’t wander too far. Remember that the rest of the Collective—and several more members of our order—will be searching other areas. It’s about being thorough and questioning any detail that feels off. I also want you to meet back here at our base point every thirty minutes in case we need to adjust our strategy. He pointed to a blanket a few feet away, piled with pillows and overstuffed baskets.
“Aw, you brought snacks!” Keefe said.
Actually, that was Edaline. Magnate Leto nudged his chin toward the fringes of the crowd, and it took Sophie several seconds to find her mom shrouded in a lavender cloak, with Grady next to her in pale blue.
The nervous smiles they gave her when their eyes met seemed to say, Please be careful. And Sophie hoped her responding nod told them to do the same.
No one goes off alone, no matter the circumstances, Magnate Leto continued. Especially you, Miss Vacker. Vanish if you wish, but stay near some of your friends. And if any of you see anything suspicious, set off one of these. He passed around a sack filled with what looked like tiny silver marbles, and they each grabbed a handful. The Council distributed them to everyone, so they won’t be suspicious, but yours are the only ones that flash purple, so we’ll be able to—
Purple sparks crackled at his feet, making him stumble back.
“What?” Keefe asked. “Someone needed to make sure they work, right?” He set off another one with a smirk. “Yep, I think we’re good.”
Magnate Leto breathed a long-suffering sigh.
But Sophie was grateful for the bit of levity. It sent the monster skittering to the back of her mind.
“So, who’s going with whom?” Linh asked, careful to keep her voice hushed.
“I dunno,” Keefe whispered back, “but I call ‘not it’ for Team Fitzphie.”
Actually, Sophie transmitted to everyone, trying not to feel stung by that, I think Fitz and I should split up, since we can communicate with each other telepathically.
I agree, Magnate Leto confirmed. In fact, it might be better to stick with only two groups—that way you’re all in contact.
Fitz did not look happy about that arrangement. Especially when Keefe announced, “Well then, looks like we’re bringing back Team Foster-Keefe! Who’s with us?”
Tam was the first to join.
“What?” he asked when he saw everyone’s shocked expressions. “Sophie’s always the biggest target, right? And I’m the only one who can break through force fields. Plus, I can use some of the stuff Lady Zillah taught me if Umber comes after her.”
Somehow that sounded equal parts touching and terrifying.
“I’ll go with them too,” Marella decided, “since I don’t have a bodyguard and Sophie has, like, fifty.”
“Only two right now,” Sophie quietly corrected.
Bo was hidden away with the new ogres. Flori was somewhere in the scattered trees with the other gnomes. And Nubiti was underground with the other dwarves. So she only had Sandor and Tarina, and they’d be giving her a much wider berth—like all the bodyguards would be doing with their charges—to avoid drawing any attention away from the projected decoys.
But it still probably made sense to spread out their backup. So Biana and Dex went with Fitz—that way their group would have Grizel, Woltzer, and Lovise trailing behind. And Sophie’s group had Sandor, Tarina, and Ro—along with Wylie, who moved to stand with them when Linh went over to Fitz.
Okay, Magnate Leto transmitted. One group goes one way, one group goes the other, and you circle back here every half hour. Keep in touch as needed. And remember, you’re not just looking for black cloaks. Gethen, Vespera, and Lady Gisela may go without their disguises tonight, since we already know their identities. We also know they have a Guster working with them, so if you feel any strange winds, set off a purple flash immediately. Same goes for any shifting shadows that could mean Umber’s around. Or any flashes that might be Ruy’s force fields.
“Anyone else think we have too many enemies?” Marella muttered under her breath.
They all nodded.
But if things go according to plan, Magnate Leto added, by the end of the night we may reduce that number significantly. Maybe even completely.
And so the search began. And it was . . .
. . . kind of boring.
Sophie knew that was a strange way to feel while hunting for the villains who’d beaten and broken her so badly that she was still recovering.
But . . .
All they were doing was walking. And scanning faces. And squinting at shadows. And listening to the wind. Which was both tedious and totally unproductive.
The thirty minutes felt like thirty hours before they were circling back to their friends and learning that the other group had an equally unexciting search. And Sophie knew that was technically good news, since no villains meant no danger. But . . . if the Neverseen didn’t show, it also meant all their planning was a waste—and that Fintan had tricked them again.
“I’m starting to think it’d be easier if I just ran onto the stage and shouted, ‘Hey, Mom, we know you’re here! Come out, come out wherever you are!’ ” Keefe grumbled as they headed into round two of walk-scan-squint-listen duty.
“But you’re not going to, right?” Wylie seemed to need Keefe to verify.
Keefe shrugged. “Ask me again when we we’re on round three of this.”
Loud fanfare drowned out Wylie’s reply, and all twelve Councillors shimmered onto the stage amid cheers and whistles and applause from the excited crowd—or that’s what it looked like, at least.
“I may not trust Luzia,” Keefe whispered as Councillor Emery launched into his welcome speech, “but she sure can pull off an amazing illusion. I mean . . . I know that’s not actually them standing up there, and my brain’s still like, yes it is.”
“Mine too,” Sophie admitted, wondering if maybe that was why it was so hard to trust Luzia.
Luzia could hide anything she wanted.
“Is it bad that the festival’s starting?” Marella asked when applause erupted again and the Councillors appeared to glitter away. Orem’s projection took their place, and the cheers were so loud, Marella practically had to shout when she added, “Shouldn’t we have found them by now?”
“Not necessarily,” Wylie told her. “I’d think the Neverseen would want to wait for Orem’s performance to be in full swing. That way when they interrupt, they’ll already have everyone’s attention.”
“I guess.” But Marella didn’t sound convinced.
And honestly, neither was Sophie.
The haunting voice was back—and the doubt had gone from question to conclusion: We’re missing something. We’re missing something. We’re missing something.
The voice got a whole lot louder when Orem started painting the sky with streaks of color and bursts of shimmer and sparkle. The audience was so focused on the spectacle that they were completely oblivious to their surroundings.
Perfect, easy targets.
But Sophie still couldn’t find anything suspicious. Everything was exactly as it should be—until Fitz’s voice filled her head.
Alvar’s moving.
What do you mean by “moving”? she asked.
I’ve been tracking him all night, and he’s been sitting in his apartment. And now he’s walking around.
Okay. Well. That’s not that weird, she tried to remind him. He’s probably just going for a walk after sitting for so long, or—
Or he’s trying to escape, Fitz argued. I’m sure he’s noticed that there are fewer guards on the property tonight—and he knows we’re not home. AND he waited until the festival started, probably assuming we’d all be too distracted watching Orem do his thing to pay attention to the Warden.
But he still can’t
get past the gate, Sophie reminded him.
Maybe he thinks he can.
Is he even near the gate?
Not yet—and I think I should hit the button before he is.
Sophie bit her lip. I get why you’re worried, but . . . maybe wait a LITTLE longer—just to be sure.
Why do I have to be sure? It’s ALVAR—and it’s not like hitting the button is going to kill him.
No. But . . . it sounds pretty painful. And . . . it just doesn’t seem like something you should do without having a good reason.
I have a good reason!
“What’s going on?” Keefe whispered to Sophie. “Your mood’s spiking all over the place.”
She rubbed her temples. “Fitz is freaking out because Alvar’s tracker shows he’s moving around Everglen, and he thinks that means Alvar’s trying to escape—but . . . Alvar’s not even near the gate. And . . . I just don’t see him being that foolish. He knows how much security is in place. And he knows the Council—and his parents—are totally on his side right now, so I don’t see why he’d take that risk. But Fitz wants to take him out with the Warden, and . . . maybe I’m a wimp, but . . . I think he should wait a little longer—at least until we have more proof.”
“You’re not a wimp,” Keefe told her. “Fitz is zap-happy.”
“He is,” she agreed, relieved someone understood why she was hesitating.
But when she told Fitz that Keefe also thought he should wait, Fitz’s mental voice sharpened.
Well THAT’S convenient.
What is? she asked.
Keefe siding with you. I wonder why he’d do that?
Uh . . . because he agrees that Alvar should at least be near the gate before we punish him for trying to escape, Sophie argued, sighing when Fitz’s mind went silent. I’m not saying you’re wrong, she added, putting a little extra energy behind the words in case he was trying to block her. I’m saying . . . wait until you’re sure.
I’m sure.
Sophie rubbed her temples harder. Well . . . I guess it’s your call. But . . . at least wait until we’re all together.
Why?
I don’t know. She was mostly stalling, hoping a few deep breaths would make him a little more reasonable, but she flung out a quick In case it messes with your echo. It’s kind of an emotional thing, you know? And it’ll only take, like, two extra minutes to meet up, and . . . I want to be there for you.
A beat of silence and then . . .
Fine.
The word had a definite edge.
Please don’t be mad at me, Sophie begged.
I’m not, he promised. I’m just frustrated. Now Alvar’s moving back the other way, and I can’t figure out what he’s doing.
Which seemed like a pretty good reason to not zap him, but she decided not to point that out. Just get to the base point. We’ll figure it out together.
Yeah, see you soon.
And Fitz looked so genuinely relieved when she got there a few minutes later that her heart did a tiny flip—until he shoved his wrist under her nose and pointed to the narrow silver screen that Dex had built into the Warden’s band. “See that flashing dot? That’s Alvar. And see that glowing line? That’s the back gate. Look how close they are—and getting closer every second.”
“His heart rate’s elevated too,” Dex added, pointing to a blinking red light next to the screen.
Biana looked as pale as Sophie felt as she stared at the screen, watching the flashing dot creep closer to the glowing line.
“Okay,” Sophie said, reaching for Fitz’s free hand—as much to steady him as she was trying to steady herself. “If you think you should press the button, then—”
“I do,” Fitz said before she could finish.
Click!
“Was something supposed to happen?” Biana whispered when the tiny lights kept flashing.
“Yeah, the cuff should’ve glowed green and the screen should’ve gone blank,” Dex said as Fitz pressed the switch again and again. “I don’t understand. I tested it a billion times.” He placed his hand over the bracelet. “The tech feels fine.”
But when he pressed the button himself, nothing happened.
“Could Alvar have done something to the part around his ankle?” Keefe asked.
Before Dex could answer, Fitz let out a frustrated growl and yanked the bracelet off his wrist, flinging it into the darkness as hard as he could.
“Why’d you do that?” Dex snapped. “I could’ve made some adjustments.”
“We don’t have time. We need to get to Everglen now.” Fitz turned to Sophie, grabbing her hands. “You can teleport us there, right? Even with the gates?”
She’d done it before. But . . .
“I have to think,” she told him. Because teleporting would take them right to where Alvar was—but with everyone’s eyes on the sky, the crowd would definitely notice the teenagers levitating toward the stars and then plummeting back down. Not to mention the booming thunderclap when she split open the void.
They’d also be abandoning their assignments—and if the Neverseen snuck in because they weren’t there to do their job . . .
“We don’t have time to think!” Fitz said, loud enough to turn several heads. “We have to go. Please—if he gets away . . .”
It was the crack in his voice that won Sophie over.
“I’m going too,” Biana informed them, wrapping her arm around her brother.
“Pretty sure we all are, right?” Keefe asked, hooking his arm with Sophie’s.
“I know I am,” Sandor said, stepping out of the shadows with Tarina and Grizel. Ro was right behind him—and so were Lovise and Woltzer—and before Sophie could blink, all her friends and bodyguards had linked into a tight circle and Fitz was floating them off the ground.
She managed to transmit what was happening to Magnate Leto as they climbed higher and higher, causing a number of gasps and cheers from the crowd—who hopefully thought it was all part of the show when Fitz sent them crashing back down and Sophie dropped them into the void.
She’d only gotten a vague glimpse of Everglen’s back gate, so she pictured the clearing for the override instead, tearing open the darkness and landing them among the swirling metal statues with their reflective orbs.
Fitz was on his feet immediately, charging toward the fence’s pale glow—the only real light, other than the eerie red moon—and Sophie chased after him, opening her mind and trying to track Alvar’s thoughts.
But she didn’t need to.
Alvar was standing a few feet back from the glowing bars, gazing into the darkness beyond.
Before he even registered their presence, Fitz tackled him—hard.
“What are you doing?” Alvar shouted as he flailed and thrashed to get Fitz off him.
“THOUGHT YOU COULD ESCAPE?” Fitz asked, pinning Alvar’s shoulders.
“Of course not!”
“LIAR!” Fitz slammed Alvar into the ground again. And this time Alvar fought back, thrusting his knee into Fitz’s stomach and kicking free with his other leg—but he’d barely rolled to his side before Fitz jumped him again and punched him in the face. “WHAT’D YOU DO TO THE WARDEN?”
“Nothing!” Alvar promised, and the red streaming from his nose glinted in the moonlight as he lifted his head and his wild eyes met Sophie’s. “Please—I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Fitz punched him again, hitting Alvar in the mouth with a horrible crunch.
“Shouldn’t we do something?” Sophie asked, turning to her friends, who were all hanging back a step, looking dazed.
“Maybe we should—” Biana started to say.
But a choking sound cut her off, and when Sophie turned back to the fight, Fitz had his arm pressed against Alvar’s throat, cutting off his air supply.
“TELL ME WHAT YOU WERE DOING OUT HERE!” he demanded.
Alvar wheezed. “Heard . . . noises.”
“WHAT KIND OF NOISES?!”
“Hey,” Keefe said, stepp
ing forward and grabbing Fitz’s shoulder. “He can’t talk if he’s unconscious.”
“And you’re bleeding,” Biana added, leaning on Dex as she pointed a shaky hand at Fitz’s dripping knuckles.
When neither of them seemed to get through to him, Sophie stepped closer, whispering in Fitz’s ear, “You have to be careful of your echo.”
She was honestly amazed he hadn’t collapsed from it already.
He must’ve been a little surprised too, because he reached for his chest like he needed to check, and Alvar rolled to his side, hacking and coughing and spitting out some of the red staining his teeth.
“Here,” Sophie said, tearing off a strip of fabric from her sleeve, reaching for Fitz’s hand and carefully wrapping his bleeding knuckles.
“Ready to tell us what’s going on?” Keefe asked, crouching in front of Alvar.
“I have no idea,” Alvar promised. “I heard noises outside the fence and—”
“What kind of noises?” Grizel interrupted.
Alvar wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “Crashes mostly. But some sounded like voices.”
“Right,” Fitz muttered, wincing as Sophie tightened the knot on his bandage to give the wounds some compression. “And let me guess—you want us to run out there and check? Did you use that trick on the guards? Is that why they’re not here?”
Alvar shook his head, his desperate eyes flicking from face to face before lingering on his sister. “The guards heard the noises too. They told me to stay here while they searched the forest. That’s what I was doing when Fitz assaulted me—”
“Assaulted,” Fitz muttered.
“Look at me, Fitz!” Alvar snapped, pointing to his face. Even in the dim light, Sophie could see that his lip was split and his nose looked swollen. “I get it—you hate me. But I’m telling you the truth. I left my apartment because I heard noises. And I haven’t touched my ankle tracker, if that’s what you meant.” He turned back to Biana. “Please—you have to believe me.”
If he was lying, he was the best liar Sophie had ever seen.
Biana looked convinced, especially when Keefe told them, “He’s telling the truth. I’d be able to tell if he wasn’t.”
Flashback (Keeper of the Lost Cities Book 7) Page 55
