Is that it? Sophie asked.

Of course not—what kind of amateur do you take me for? I also found where the symbol projects on the floor, just like Bangs Boy wanted. It wasn’t there when I first got here, but it popped up when Fintan was getting ready to leave. I’m guessing it’s their funky version of a Leapmaster, since the projection comes from a crystal sphere mounted to the ceiling. But I couldn’t figure out how it worked, and when Fintan caught me studying it, he said I’ll never be able to understand the symbol—or how to use it—without knowing the key. And THAT is the mind-blowingly awesome revelation.

It is?

Think about it—what needs a key besides a lock?

Um . . .

Wow, you really must be tired.

Yeah, thanks to you.

She tried to think of any phrases that used the word “key.” And then it clicked.

Is the symbol a map?

BOOM! Admit it, I just blew your mind.

He kinda had.

But a map of what? she asked, trying to picture all the circles and rays and dashes. Their hideouts?

That’s what I’m assuming.

His mind shifted to his memory of the symbol glowing across the dark stone floor. The ray that matched the disk in his new cloak had something extra in the end circle.

It has new runes, Sophie said.

Yep. And in case you can’t read them, it says Gwynaura.

Another star.

Right again, you little star-memorizing show-off.

She ignored his teasing, letting her mind sort through the star maps she’d memorized, hoping to spot anything that might make Gwynaura unique.

It wasn’t a particularly bright star. But it had a pure white glow, just like Alabestrine.

Do you think the map is based off a constellation they created? she asked.

It might be. But the stars could also just be guides. That’s what lodestars are, right? So maybe Gwynaura leads to the hideout I’m at. And Alabestrine leads to Paris. And each of the other hideouts has a star and a rune to guide you to them.

But I don’t understand how that actually works, Sophie told him. Light needs a crystal to bend the path where we want to go. So it’s not like we can just bottle the starlight and magically end up at a Neverseen hideout.

I’m guessing that’s what Fintan meant about me needing the key. But remember, a gadget projects the symbol. So I’m hoping Dizznee’s Technopath brain will be able to put all the pieces together—especially since Fintan gave me one more clue to play with. He seems to want to see if I’m smart enough to figure this out, so he told me, “All you need to know is that the code is simple.”

FIFTY-TWO

THE CODE IS simple,” Dex mumbled, staring at Sophie’s memory log, where she’d projected everything Keefe had shown her. “What code?”

“No idea,” Sophie admitted. “Keefe was hoping you’d be able to figure that out.”

“Great.” Dex flopped back on her bed, repeating the clue over and over.

Fitz, Biana, and Dex—and their bodyguards—had met Sophie at Havenfield that morning to brainstorm, while Tam and Linh stayed in Alluveterre to see how Maruca’s visit with Wylie went.

“So there’s a symbol that’s also a map, projected by a gadget,” Dex said, “and we need a key that’s probably related to a code that’s simple.”

“Wow, my brain hurts just trying to follow that sentence,” Biana said, blinking in and out of sight as she paced across Sophie’s flowered carpet. “But, if Alvar can understand this, I’m sure we can too.”

“Yeah, but they probably gave Alvar the key,” Fitz reminded her as he slumped into Sophie’s desk chair and petted Iggy through the bars of his cage. “We’re stuck guessing. And don’t forget there are also runes and star names and black disks hidden in cloaks and—”

“Okay, so we need to work on this piece by piece,” Sophie decided, trying to massage away the headache she could feel forming. “Keefe seemed to think the gadget part was crucial, that’s why he wanted me to talk to Dex.”

She flipped to the page in her memory log where she’d recorded Keefe’s memory of the crystal sphere. “Notice anything that might help us?”

“Maybe if I had the gadget in front of me and could open it up and see all the inner workings,” Dex told her. “But I can’t tell much from a picture. The only thing that stands out is this line.” He traced his finger over a glowing strip of purple down the center of the crystal sphere. “That could be some sort of scanner.”

“And what would a scanner do?” Fitz asked.

“Well, the obvious answer is ‘scan stuff,’ ” Dex said, “which might fit, since scanners usually scan codes. So maybe there’s a code hidden in the symbol? And the gadget scans it, and that somehow tells it to make a light path—maybe using the light from the corresponding star?”

“I guess that does make sense,” Fitz said. “But, dude, couldn’t they just use a Leapmaster or a pathfinder?”

“Maybe they think this method is more secure,” Dex said, “since crystals can get lost or stolen, and this would only work for people they train. Or, maybe the Technopath who designed it wasn’t very good.”

“I thought you said their Technopath was super talented,” Biana reminded him. “When we went through Alvar’s registry records you seemed super impressed.”

“They did do a lot of crazy tricks I never would’ve thought of,” Dex admitted. “So maybe this was designed by a different Technopath. Or . . .”

“Or?” Fitz prompted when Dex didn’t finish.

“Hang on. I need to think for a second,” Dex said, sitting up and flipping back through the memory log until he found a page showing the symbol.

One second turned into two—then three and four and five and on and on, until Sophie got tired of counting.

“While he does that”—she turned to Biana—“did Dex ever tell you what he and Marella were talking about yesterday?”

“Oh! That’s right, I only told Fitz. I guess Dex decided to ask Marella if we could talk to her mom about the day Cyrah faded—and she freaked out. Partially because he wouldn’t tell her why. But mostly because her mom can’t handle that kind of stress. She told him her mom’s gotten so bad lately that she won’t even leave the house, and Marella thinks it’s because she’s heard about the awful things the Neverseen have been doing. So she can’t risk freaking her out more by talking about painful memories.”