Board Thread:Short Stories and Fanfictions/@comment-43347423-20200111144721/@comment-43347423-20200113013641

Chapter Three

“Keefe can take away other people’s abilities,” Sophie told the gathering of Fitz, Dex, Tam, Linh, Stina, Biana, Wylie, Marella, Maruca, Glimmer, Grady, Edaline, Alden, Della, the Council, the Collective, and all their bodyguards. They were in Havenfield’s plush living room, and all the people hardly fit. It was hot and stuffy, and Sophie hated that Keefe wasn’t there to tell them all himself, but Elwin had insisted on checking up on him a bit more before he would be released. Ro had also gone to join her charge in the healing center, so the boisterous ogre wasn’t even there.

Practically everyone she knew was there, but it felt like half the world wasn’t with Sophie anymore.

“Wow, just like that thing Dex made you once,” Marella said.

Dex and Sophie flinched.

Marella looked sheepish. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’s fine,” Sophie said, and Dex nodded. “I actually noticed that it felt like that when he first did it to me.”

“Wait, That Boy took away your abilities?” Grady asked. “Because if he did, I swear that I will–”

“It was on accident!” Sophie interrupted. “He couldn’t control it. It just happened all the time.”

“Wait, so we can’t be around Keefe anymore?” Tam asked, looking queasy. He must still feel bad about what had happened in Loamnore, which Sophie thought was ridiculous. It wasn’t his fault that Lady Gisela had forced him to partake in her weird ability-triggering ritual.

Sophie shook her head. “No, I taught him how to stop it with an, um, exercise that Councillor Oralie did for me.” Sophie hadn’t wanted to mention Oralie, her biological mother. But she’d started that sentence, and if she’d trailed off, it would’ve seemed much more suspicious.

Most of the room turned to look at the golden-haired Empath, who, to her credit, barely flinched. “It was the countdown exercise we Empaths do to learn how to leave feelings alone. I’m surprised that he was able to stop that ability. Actually, no, I’m not. It’s the opposite of your enhancing, so that actually makes a lot of sense.”

“Well, it’s not completely the opposite. My enhancing only enhances existing abilities,” Sophie corrected. But the comparison was interesting. Maybe they could learn to balance each other out like Linh and Marella were trying to do with their water and fire.

“Actually,” Linh said, “I have an interesting idea about your enhancing.”

“What?” Sophie asked.

Linh made her way across the room, stopping next to Sophie. “Can you enhance me?”

“Sure,” Sophie said, trying to take off her gloves but then remembering they weren’t there anymore. She’d gained enough confidence in her control to ditch them and Dex’s fingernail gadgets at this point. It was nice not wearing gloves. She mentally willed her enhancing to turn on, and took Linh’s hand.

Linh smiled after the initial shock of her new enhancing. “I’d forgotten what control I have when you enhance me.”

Sophie smiled back but wasn’t sure what to say. It seemed like the whole room was holding its breath.

Then Sophie noticed the feel of the water in the sink. It demanded her attention, and Sophie let go of Linh’s hand, ready to go see why she could feel it. And then she realized…

… she’d felt the pull of the water.

Was she a hydrokinetic?

“Mr. Forkle!” she yelled. “Why didn’t you tell me I’m a Hydrokinetic?”

He frowned at her. “Because you’re not. Miss Linh, would you like to explain the theory you mentioned earlier? Because I think we’re all a bit lost.”

“I think that Sophie can kind of… borrow abilities. And send hers to other people, too,” she added.

“What? But… I’ve never given someone an ability…” Sophie trailed off as memories came back.

But the biggest one was–

“When she enhances me I can control her emotions. That’s not Empathy, that’s Inflicting.”

Sophie turned to the familiar voice, surprised to see Keefe there, with Elwin and Ro behind him. “How long were you there for?”

Keefe smirked. “Pretty much the whole demonstration. And I think Linh’s right. What I do… it’s definitely not Empathy.”

“And now you two will understand each other better than ever!” Ro clapped her hands and smiled a huge grin. “This must be the best day of my life.”

Keefe glared at her. Grady side-eyed the ogre princess, but then turned to look at Keefe.

“You know what else, Foster?” Keefe asked. “I think you made me even a tiny bit of a Telepath once. Sometimes when I help you with your emotions, I see your emotional center. That’s a Telepath thing, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Tiergan agreed.

“This is quite the development,” Mr. Forkle said. “Would anyone care to test it out one more time?”

Keefe immediately raised his hand, exclaiming, “Me! I wanna read Fitzy’s mind! Pick meeeeee!”

Sophie laughed, and Keefe pushed his way through the crowd of people to take her hand. They both flinched at the energy at first.

“Alright Fitzy, get over here,” Keefe said, smirking.

Fitz groaned and walked over. Keefe placed one hand on his temple, since the other was still in Sophie’s hand, which reminded Sophie that she was holding Keefe’s hand. She felt her face get hot and hoped he didn’t notice.

Biana definitely did though, and she raised her eyebrows.

Later, Sophie mouthed, and Biana grinned. Sophie cursed herself for promising to tell Biana anything.

Meanwhile, Keefe’s eyebrows were furrowed and Sophie tried not to laugh at how adorable it looked. He kept his fingers on Fitz’s forehead, smiling triumphantly a second later.

“Ha!” Keefe yelled, releasing Sophie’s hand. She kind of wished he hadn’t. “I could!”

“Well then what was I thinking?” Fitz challenged.

Keefe’s smile dropped. “That even if Sophie was powerful enough to make me a Telepath, I wouldn’t be strong enough to do it.”

Fitz turned a bit red, and so did Keefe a second later.

Sophie almost felt like doing the same. But her emotions consisted of a bit more anger.

Who was Fitz to judge Keefe’s strength? It made her more mad than what he’d thought about her.

Fitz was with his parents now and he grabbed Biana’s hand. “Let’s go,” he said.

Biana ripped her hand away from her brother. “I think I’ll stay here a little bit longer, thanks.”

Alden and Della frowned at their daughter, but didn’t argue. The three of them went out of the room to leap since it was so crowded, and Sophie felt a little better now that Fitz wasn’t there.

But Sophie was also worried about the fact that Biana was still there. Sophie had promised Biana she’d tell her something, and what it was wasn’t even something Sophie had let herself admit to herself yet. Telling someone else? That sounded horrible.

A cool, blue breeze rushed through her mind. Sophie instantly felt better. She looked down at her hand, knowing Keefe must be holding it if he was Inflicting on her. He was, and Sophie’s heart fluttered.

“Calm down, Foster. I don’t even have to feel your emotions to tell you’re totally freaking on us,” Keefe said.

Stina frowned. “What do you mean? Don’t you always feel her emotions?”

Keefe let go of Sophie’s hand, and Sophie once again wished he hadn’t. “I used to. But when I did the countdown thing, I learned to control my new ability and how to block the Foster Feelings she’s always flinging my way.”

“That’s so strange that it only worked the second time,” Oralie said. “You’ve already done that exercise as an Empath, right?”

“Yeah,” Keefe agreed. “But Foster’s so crazy-powerful that I guess it makes sense she’d mess up my empathy.” He smirked, but Sophie noticed a tiny bit of pink on his cheeks. It was probably just the heat of the room, though.

“Well,” Edaline said, interrupting the silence that came afterwards. “We should probably all get to bed. It’s pretty late, you know.”

Sophie glanced outside, surprised to see the sun setting. “Yeah,” she agreed, and everyone else began to disperse.

“See you ‘round, Foster,” Keefe said.

“See you ‘round,” she agreed.

Keefe held his crystal up the light and stepped into the beam, leaving Sophie alone in the living room with Sandor, Grady, Edaline, and Biana.

“Biana?” Sophie asked. “Aren’t you going home?”

“I will soon,” she promised. “But I wanted to talk to you first.”