“That sounds like a fancy way of trying to justify a murder.”

“Murder,” Lady Gisela repeated. “Believe what you want. You may not trust me, Sophie. And you may not like me. But right now, we both care about the same thing. Which means you need to listen to me. Get my son far away from the Neverseen.”

The demand was so ironic, Sophie couldn’t quite choke back her laugh.

“I take it that means you’ve tried?” Lady Gisela asked.

“Yeah, and there’s pretty much no reasoning with him. He has this desperate need to try to make up for all the creepy things you’ve done.”

“Don’t blame this on me. This is what they want. Their vision.”

“That would mean a lot more if you’d tell me what you’re talking about.”

“But it would also distract you from what matters. You can’t stop this, Sophie. Don’t try. It’s been in place for too long. So get my son back before it all comes crashing down, and contact me when it’s done. And next time, make sure you hail me using his blood.”

SEVENTY-FOUR

I’M ASSUMING MR. DIZZNEE tried tracking the signal,” Mr. Forkle said as he studied the now silent Imparter sitting on Everglen’s dining room table. His eyes were red rimmed and shadowed, and he wore the same clothes from the day before—and Sophie couldn’t decide if it was the thronelike chair, or if his ruckleberries were wearing off, but he looked smaller.

“I tried everything,” Dex said, “Even with Sophie enhancing my ability, I got nowhere.”

Mr. Forkle nodded. “And I’m also assuming that you’re not going to tell Mr. Sencen about this?”

“Doesn’t seem like a good idea,” Sophie said. “If we couldn’t get him to leave the Neverseen when he had the perfect chance and the perfect reason, how is telling him that his mom wants him to leave going to help? Besides, for all we know Lady Gisela’s using us to get Keefe back so she can grab him and force him into his legacy.”

“Oh, I’m certain her motives are selfish,” Mr. Forkle said. “If I’m understanding this correctly, it sounds like this ‘vision’ Fintan has may be separate from the Lodestar Initiative that Lady Gisela created, and she fears it will wreck her own plans.”

“Shouldn’t we let it, then?” Dex asked.

“Ah, but that’s a risky game. Blindly choosing between two evils could backfire far too easily. For all we know, Lady Gisela could truly be the safer path.”

“But she probably killed Wylie’s mom,” Linh argued.

“And Fintan definitely killed Kenric,” Sophie reminded her.

“Yeah . . . they’re both horrible options,” Biana said. “I want to take them both down.”

“Hard to do when we don’t actually know what either of them are planning,” Fitz mumbled. “After all our investigations into Lodestar, we still don’t know what the Initiative actually entails. And Fintan’s vision is even more vague.”

“I feel like Keefe is the key,” Sophie said quietly.

“Ugh, if he heard you say that, there’d be no living with him,” Tam grumbled.

Sophie smiled. It was strange that she could miss Keefe and want to bash his face in. “I just meant that there has to be a reason both Fintan and Lady Gisela want him on their side. It might be because they need him to open that door in the mountain. But then why wouldn’t Fintan have made Keefe do that right away?”

“It feels like we’re missing something,” Biana said. “Doesn’t it?”

“When aren’t we?” Sophie mumbled, replaying the conversation with Lady Gisela in her mind. There had to be deeper meanings to her vague warnings and advice.

“I guess all we really need to know,” she said quietly, “for the moment, at least, is whether Keefe is safer where his mom wants him to be, or safer where he’s at?”

“He’s safest when he’s not in the dark about that decision,” Mr. Forkle told her. “And can choose based on knowledge, and not his own misguided reasoning.”

The logic hit home.

“I guess I’ll tell him what his mom said and see what he does,” Sophie decided. “The rest is up to him.”

“Try to make it quick,” Mr. Forkle told her. “We have lots of other things to discuss when you’re done.”

“You want me to tell him now?” Sophie asked

“Why put off the inevitable?”

“Uh, who are you and what have you done with the guy who’s always telling us to be patient?” Tam asked.

A sad smile curled Mr. Forkle’s lips. “Perhaps I’m learning to see the folly in delay. Haste can be dangerous too, of course. But there’s a difference between caution and hesitation. Plus, I need Miss Foster’s mind free of distraction for what’s coming next.”

“What’s coming next?” Sophie asked.

“One thing at a time, Miss Foster. First settle things with Mr. Sencen.”

Sophie sighed, not sure she was ready to have this conversation—especially in front of an audience. But she closed her eyes and transmitted Keefe’s name.

Foster? He responded immediately. What’s wrong? I thought you weren’t talking to me.

I wasn’t, she admitted. Is this a bad time?

Um . . . give me a second.

His mind went silent for a beat—long enough for Sophie to tug out an itchy eyelash.

Okay—I told everyone I had to poop, he said a little too proudly. That should keep them away for a few minutes.

Ugh, TMI.

You realize I’m not actually pooping, right? I mean, I know we’ve shared a lot of things, but I don’t think poop should be one of them—unless it’s sparkly and from an alicorn. Or blasting like a geyser out of a gulon.

Stop talking about poop!

She shook her head, trying to knock those lovely mental images away and regain her focus. I have to show you something, and you might want to sit down for it.

The only way to do that involves a less-than-awesome-smelling toilet—this new hideout is miserable. Everything is sweaty and sticky—and we’re all crammed into this tiny room.

How many of you are there?

Just me, Trix, Alvar, and Umber. Fintan moved everyone else to a different place. And it’s starting to feel like they’re my babysitters—they never let me out of their sight.