Everblaze (Keeper of the Lost Cities Book 3) Page 11

  “Last step—and it won’t hurt, I promise.”

  Sophie stared at the hopping jackalopes on Elwin’s tunic and reminded herself that she trusted him as he positioned her arms so they were straight out over the floor.

  “It’ll be less messy this way,” he explained, which wasn’t nearly as reassuring as he wanted it to be. “And don’t freak out when you see what this does. It’ll be over in a second.”

  Sophie had to force herself to hold still as Elwin poured the thin red liquid onto her hands. She couldn’t feel the shiny fluid as it coated her palms, but that didn’t make it any less horrifying when the top layers of her skin shriveled up and melted, dripping onto the floor in a slimy puddle of peach goo. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, making everyone gag as Elwin wrapped their hands in wet purple cloths.

  “That might be the creepiest thing I’ve ever done,” Keefe said quietly, staring at his soggy purple dressings. “I mean, it was also awesome. But dude. You should warn a guy before you melt his skin off.”

  Sophie hated that Alden would have to endure the same process. And Jurek. And—

  “Oh no,” she mumbled, struggling to grab her Imparter with her purple mummy hands. “They can’t do that to Silveny. She’ll be traumatized for months.”

  “Hey, easy,” Elwin said, gently pinning her shoulders. “You need to finish your treatment or it won’t heal right. And I’m sure they’ll sedate Silveny. I actually thought about doing that for you, but I know how you feel about sedatives and—”

  “I might’ve volunteered to be knocked out,” Keefe interrupted.

  “Even if it meant spending the night at school?” Elwin asked.

  “Oh—a slumber party! Definitely count me in for that.”

  “Yeah, well, somehow I doubt your parents would’ve wanted that—which was the other reason I kept you awake.”

  “You must not know my parents very well. They’re always happy to be rid of me.” Keefe said it with a smile, but Sophie knew him too well to buy it.

  Elwin must’ve noticed too, because he dropped the subject. “Huh,” he said as he unwrapped Sophie’s hands. “I thought for sure this would’ve been gone.”

  He traced his finger along the star-shaped scar from the Black Swan’s healing.

  “It must sink too deep,” she said as Elwin snapped his fingers to form an orange sphere of light around the scar.

  He squinted through his iridescent spectacles, turning her hand from side to side. “But that doesn’t make sense.”

  “That’s Foster’s trademark,” Keefe reminded him.

  “Yes, I suppose it is.” Elwin flashed a green orb instead, frowning when he noticed her wrist. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a burn?”

  “It’s not a burn, it’s a bruise,” Sophie corrected. “I just used the wrong ointments to treat it and made it worse—and before you give me a lecture, I didn’t come to see you because it wasn’t a big deal. My skin just got a little twisted while someone was squeezing my wrist.”

  “Whoa, wait a second—who was squeezing you?” Keefe asked. “Give me their name and I’ll punish them, Sencen style.”

  “Nobody needs punishing,” Sophie insisted. “If anything, it was my fault. I know how unstable Brant is. I should’ve been more careful.”

  “You definitely do need to learn to be more careful,” Elwin agreed as he searched through his satchel. “But I also think it would be wise to stay away from him—and either way, you must always come to see me when you have an injury!”

  “Okay, okay, no need to shout.” Sophie rubbed her ringing ears.

  Elwin gave her a stern glare as he took her hand and rubbed a purple salve on her wound. Instantly the cooling tingles eased the ache, and the redness vanished.

  “What ointment is that?” Sophie asked, wanting to remember the name.

  “It’s called Get Your Butt To The Healing Center Next Time.”

  “Or, y’know, just don’t have a next time,” Keefe jumped in. “Though we all know that probably won’t happen.” He pointed to the picture of Sophie in her humiliating Opening Ceremonies mastodon costume, hanging over her bed. “Elwin should add a tally board so we can keep track of how many times you visit.”

  “I should add one for you, too, Keefe,” Elwin told him. “You’re starting to become quite the regular around here.”

  “Guess that’s the downside of hanging with the Queen of Mystery over there—but don’t worry, it’s worth it.”

  Sophie forced a smile, knowing he was only teasing. But he was right. Since Keefe had been helping her, he’d had his skin melted off, gotten several broken ribs, and almost died. And Dex had been just as unlucky. Being her friend was dangerous.

  But she’d worry about that later. First, she needed to warn someone about the ogre enzyme, and with Alden, Jurek, and Grady still not responding to her hails, she could only think of one other person who might be able to help. She’d promised herself—and Grady—that she’d only turn to him in the most extreme emergency, since his duties as a Councillor would always come first, and she knew from past experience that sometimes she had to bend a few rules.

  But having Silveny under threat of attack had to fall into that category.

  She grabbed her Imparter, wishing her hands weren’t shaking as she held the sleek silver square up to her lips and whispered, “Show me Councillor Terik.”

  EIGHTEEN

  THIS IS JUST A NORMAL day for you, isn’t it?” Keefe asked as they shivered outside the Sanctuary gates, waiting for Councillor Terik to meet them. “Go to school, find out you’re covered in a dangerous substance, melt off a few layers of skin, and then hail your besty the Councillor, tell him you’re ditching study hall to save the world, and he says, ‘Cool, I’ll come with you!’”

  “We’re not saving the world, we’re saving Silveny,” Sophie corrected as she locked her knees to stop them from shaking. The half cape of her Foxfire uniform was keeping her shoulders warmer this time, but the skirt-plus-leggings combo was a lot draftier.

  At least she wasn’t shirtless like Sandor—though he didn’t seem affected by the cold. Or maybe he was too busy checking for ogre tracks.

  Keefe wrapped his cape higher around his neck, pinning it under his chin to cover every possible inch of skin. “It pretty much counts as saving the world, since, y’know, if anything happened to Silveny, we’d be back to worrying about the Timeline to Extinction.”

  Sophie sucked in a breath. “Do you think that’s what this is about?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Sophie stepped closer, afraid to speak her theory too loudly. “Everyone knows how important Silveny is to the Council. So maybe they’re trying to use that to their advantage. Like . . . as long as they have weapons locked onto her, they can force the Council to give them pretty much anything they want.”

  Keefe whistled. “I hate to say it, but that actually makes sense. Maybe that’s why Councillor Terik flipped when you told him. It sounded like he peed himself.”

  “Did it?” a deep voice asked as Councillor Terik glittered onto the path in front of them. The emeralds in his circlet gleamed almost as brightly as the smile he shot Keefe before turning to Sophie. “I suppose I was a bit startled by the news—and I’m glad you felt comfortable coming to me.”

  Councillor Terik had programmed Sophie’s Imparter so it could bypass the security restrictions and reach him anytime. But he always seemed surprised when she used it. And he always answered her call.

  He turned to Sandor, who had moved to their side, weapons drawn.

  “Are there any threats in the area?” Councillor Terik asked him.

  “None that I can tell, but I might not be the best person to ask. Apparently my senses aren’t as valuable as I’d once thought.”

  “Trust me, Sandor, your senses are still incredibly valuable to me. But we p
robably should head inside the Sanctuary.” He motioned for everyone to step forward as he explained, “I had Lord Cassius arrange our clearance, so, in theory . . .”

  He took another step forward, and the gates clicked open.

  “I love when things go according to plan. That so rarely seems to happen these days. After you?” he asked, stepping aside to let Sandor take the lead.

  Sandor stalked ahead, his sword raised as Sophie, Keefe, and Councillor Terik followed. The warm, sunny paradise felt colder this time, but maybe that was because Sophie kept trying to guess how much force an ogre missile would need to collapse the mountain walls above them.

  They’d only gone a few paces before Jurek stepped through a clump of bushes. His wild hair was pulled back into a simple braid, and he dropped to a bow in front of Councillor Terik. “I’ve sedated the alicorns as you instructed. They’re waiting for you in their pastures.”

  He glanced at Sophie as he turned to lead the way, his face a mask of fear and betrayal. Guilt reminded her of her promise to protect him from the Council—but what choice did she have? This was bigger than all of them.

  Sophie had tried to prepare herself to see Silveny unconscious. But her eyes still welled with tears when she did—and not sad tears.

  Angry tears.

  This was the second time she’d seen Silveny drugged because of the rebels. She had to make sure it was the last.

  “She feels calm,” Keefe promised, tracing his fingers along Silveny’s neck. “And it doesn’t feel like she was stressed while he sedated her, either. It’s more like she just dozed off without realizing it.”

  “Yes, I do know how to sedate an ali—” Jurek started, cutting himself off when he glanced at Councillor Terik. Then he switched to another deep bow, and quietly said, “I was told there was a powder I should use to test the alicorns.”

  “I have it.” Sophie dug through her pockets and pulled out the vial of reveldust.

  She showed Jurek how to sprinkle a thin layer over Greyfell’s limp body, then went to treat Silveny, ignoring Keefe when he called dibs on the top half. For all the times he’d called her Glitter Butt, he got to deal with the tail.

  Plus, she wasn’t sure she could handle seeing the aromark glow.

  She’d barely begun dusting Silveny’s mane when Keefe whispered, “Whoa,” and Councillor Terik said, “So it’s true.”

  At least the rest of Silveny’s body turned out to be clear. Still, the halo of red from the skin around Silveny’s tail was the brightest she’d ever seen.

  “Greyfell’s safe,” Jurek announced as he rejoined them. “I checked twice to be sure. I guess they only want the girl.”

  “Of course. They know she’s the most valuable,” Sophie grumbled as she handed Jurek a vial of piquatine. “This stuff will remove it—but it’s a creepy process.”

  “Elwin explained all the gory details,” Jurek agreed.

  Sophie backed away as he moved toward Silveny, heading for a part of the path that curved enough to block Silveny from her view.

  “I can’t watch,” she whispered as Keefe joined her.

  “Neither can I.”

  “I think that makes three of us,” Councillor Terik agreed, coming to stand beside them. “I’ve witnessed many difficult things in my day, but . . . that magnificent creature . . .”

  “Do you think she’s going to be okay?” Sophie asked.

  “Of course she will. Everything worked out for us, right?” Keefe held up his hands, wiggling his fingers.

  Yes, but they weren’t alicorns. Silveny’s skin had a totally different composition.

  Then again, Sophie and Silveny did share parts of their DNA . . .

  “Ugh, you’re worrying enough to make us both sick,” Keefe told her, clutching his stomach.

  “You can feel what she’s feeling?” Councillor Terik asked, his brows shooting up when Keefe nodded. “Clearly you have your father’s gift. You remind me of him, actually. Although . . .” He stroked his chin, his cobalt blue eyes boring into Keefe’s. “There’s much of your mother in you as well. It’ll be interesting to see who you take after.”

  “Hopefully neither,” Keefe mumbled.

  Councillor Terik smiled. “We all wish to separate ourselves from our families when we’re teenagers. But as you grow up, you’ll learn to appreciate them.”

  “I doubt that.”

  Several awkward seconds passed. Then Councillor Terik asked Keefe, “So what do you want to be, then?”

  Keefe shrugged. “Any openings in the Nobility for a professional troublemaker?”

  That earned him a laugh, and Councillor Terik placed a hand on Keefe’s shoulder. “Don’t sell yourself short, Keefe. I see great potential in you.”

  “Yeah, adults love to tell me that.”

  “Yes, but I say it with a bit more authority. Need I remind you of my ability?”

  Councillor Terik was a Descryer—the only one in the entire Elvin world. Which meant he was able to sense and interpret the potential of anyone he touched.

  Keefe glanced at Councillor Terik’s hand on his shoulder. “Did you just take a reading of me?”

  “Couldn’t resist,” he admitted. “I don’t often perform them, since I’ve found that knowing your potential tends to hinder your ability to live up to it. But I must admit, you fascinate me.”

  “Of course I do.”

  Keefe’s grin was extra smug. But for all his bravado, Sophie could tell that Councillor Terik’s words had affected him deeply.

  “Well, you don’t fascinate me as much as she does,” Councillor Terik admitted, pointing to Sophie. “Hers was the only reading I couldn’t translate. Everything I felt was too . . . divided.”

  “Divided how?” Sophie and Keefe asked at the same time.

  “Ah, but if I told you that, it might unduly influence you. Best to let you choose for yourself.”

  “Wow, you’re kind of evil, aren’t you?” Keefe asked.

  Councillor Terik laughed. “Once upon a time, I wasn’t all that different from you.” He winked as he turned to call to Jurek. “How’s it going over there?”

  “I think I’m done. Though I’d like to test the area with reveldust just to be safe.”

  Sophie brought him the vial of powder, though she nearly dropped it when she got a closer look at Silveny.

  “Wow,” Keefe said, coming up beside her. “Guess I can’t call her Glitter Butt until her fur grows back. How do you think she’d feel about Bald Booty?”

  Sophie looked away from the pinkish, furless hind. “I think she’d hate it as much as I do.”

  “Can one of you put the reveldust on the area?” Jurek asked. “My hands still have traces of the piquatine on them.”

  “I’ll do it,” Keefe offered before Sophie could find the courage to do the same.

  She tried to thank him as he sprinkled the silver powder over Silveny’s bare skin, rubbing it in with circular strokes. But every time she opened her mouth, her voice wanted to dissolve into a sob.

  The only thing that snapped her out of it was when she noticed Keefe’s hands.

  “What?” Keefe asked as she gasped. “Is Silveny . . .”

  His voice trailed off as he realized what she’d seen.

  He’d gotten the reveldust on his skin when he’d rubbed it onto Silveny. And his fingertips were glowing vivid red.

  NINETEEN

  I DON’T GET IT,” KEEFE said for what had to be the tenth time. “I mean, seriously, where did the aromark come from?”

  Everyone had retested themselves, and Keefe was the only one who showed any traces. Even Silveny was completely clear.

  “Maybe Elwin missed some when he treated you?” Sophie suggested.

  “How? He melted off my skin!”

  Sophie wished she knew what to tell him. The stalkenteene device
wasn’t even with them anymore, so Elwin must’ve made a mistake.

  “Guess this means I’m going back to the Healing Center,” Keefe grumbled, kicking a pebble in the grass.

  “Want me to go with you?” Sophie offered.

  “Nah—then I have to act all brave and stuff. Freaking out sounds way more fun.” He tried to smile, but she could tell he was forcing it.

  “I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

  “Eh, it isn’t your fault—unless you snuck aromark into my pockets.”

  “You caught me.”

  “I knew you couldn’t be as innocent as you seemed.”

  “No one is ever as innocent as they seem,” Councillor Terik interrupted. “It’s one of the primary things I’ve learned as a Descryer. Everyone has potential for both good and bad.”

  “Foster’s badness potential was off the charts, wasn’t it?”

  Councillor Terik laughed. “Not as much as yours. Now let’s get you to Elwin, shall we?” He led them a few steps away, knocking on the air until he found the invisible exit to the snowy mountains outside. He used his pathfinder to create a beam of light. “This path will take you straight to Foxfire. Please have Elwin send me an update when he’s done.”

  “Two Elwin visits in one day,” Keefe mumbled. “Pretty sure that beats your record, Foster.”

  “I think it does,” Sophie agreed sadly.

  He squared his shoulders. “Well, all I can say is, Elwin better remove it all this time. If these fingers start glowing again, I’m going to re-create the Great Gulon Incident in his office.”

  “I thought you didn’t have anything to do with that,” Sophie reminded him. She still had no idea what the Great Gulon Incident even was. But apparently it had been one of Keefe’s greatest triumphs. And he loved to deny being involved.

  He flashed a slightly wicked smile as he stepped into the path. But Sophie could see the tension in his posture as the light carried him away.

  “What about you, Miss Foster?” Councillor Terik asked, closing the door to block the freezing mountain wind. “Where would you like me to take you?”

  “Back to Havenfield,” Sandor answered for her. “Where I will be implementing additional safety protocols immediately.”