Board Thread:Short Stories and Fanfictions/@comment-2601:647:4000:5CE0:FC5C:33DA:7CF0:60A-20191024050134/@comment-2601:647:4000:5CE0:A005:8FF:C12A:BEA6-20191027225423

Chapter 5

"AMY!" Sophie screamed, trying to reach for her sister. Tam reached her eyes and silently nodded, shielding her sister.

"Sophie?" Amy mumbled. Her eyes widened. "They came... house... tried to recruit mom. No memory... took me instead." Sophie yelled again, her eyes bubbling with tears. Then her gaze fell on Fintan.

"How?" she asked, the word escaping from her mouth. "We captured you."

"There's something called appearance elixirs," Fintan drawled, igniting a burst of flame from his palm. "And also, it's called more than three Pyrokinetics in the world." Sophie let out a sob and she lunged for Amy again, but Lady Gisela flipped her revolver to Amy's head. "Try and I shoot."

"CATCH!" Linh screamed as she pointed at the gun, leaping out of the shadows. A geyser of water shot out of the air and knocked the gun from Lady Gisela's grasp. Sophie propelled herself into the air and caught it. It was loaded, surprise surprise, with four soporidine balls. She aimed the gun at Gethen first, and then Fintan. If she shot Gethen, Fintan would ignite his flames. If she shot Fintan, who knew what the others would do?

Gethen smirked and tilted his head. Immediately, Fitz, Keefe, Biana, and Linh crumpled to the floor, thrashing and screaming as they clutched their temples. Sophie yelled as the knot inside of her was unleashed.

The revolver clattered to the ground and Tarina snatched it up, keeping it trained on all four members of the Neverseen, not including Tam. And all the emotions- rage, guilt, anger, disgust- flowed out of her as she pictured Tam leaving, Silveny and Greyfall poisoned, knowing she was unmatchable. She poured out all of her negative emotions out of her, and suddenly Gethen and Fintan were on the floor, thrashing. Vespera and Lady Gisela shared a look and laughed, tilting their heads and exposing their thinking caps, which were nets studded with rubies braided into their hair.

"There's only two of you left," Ro smirked, pointing at the incapitated Fintan and Gethen.

"TRY THREE!" Ruy shouted, launching out of the darkness as he landed, creating a force field around his teammates, and Tam and Amy. Tam caught Linh's eyes, mouthed something, and then they leaped away. Sophie lunged for them, but her fingers caught on empty air.

"WE WERE SO CLOSE!" Sophie said angrily as she crumpled to the floor, Linh right next to her.

"So close..." Linh said sadly as she traced her finger on the spot Tam had been standing in. "Sophie, I'm sorry about your sister."

"And I'm sorry about Tam," Sophie told her quietly, squeezing her hand as they stood. "So close," she added, kicking the floor.

"How did you know?" Biana spoke up. Sophie shrugged.

"It was the last place I'd think they'd be in... so it was obviously the place they were in."

"We should go," Keefe said after a long and agonizing moment. "There's nothing we can do." He squeezed Sophie's hand gently. Sophie let out a soft sob and nodded.

The night was agonizing, and all the bodyguards were on full alert, checking every single part of Havenfield. Yet, even Ro couldn't figure out how the Neverseen had hid right under their noses.

"I should reach out to Tam," Sophie said quietly. "Make sure they didn't punish him."

TAM?

Sophie, I am so, so sorry.

''Don't be. It wasn't your fault.''

'''Still... I get it now. I don't understand why they captured your sister, but they have her playing some big role in Vespera's vision. Don't ask me what that vision is... I don't know. Anyways, Gethen is monitoring me more carefully now, so you shouldn't try to contact me for a few days. Bye, Sophie.'''

Tam- wait!

It was too late. His whispery voice faded away, and Sophie grimaced with frustration and relayed the entire conversation.

"Sophie..." Linh whispered at midnight. "How do you stand this?"

Sophie's eyes fluttered open. She realized she was holding Keefe's hand, and quietly blushed before answering Linh. "I don't... I focus on the more positive things that would happen. My parents? They're sleeping, not feeling the terror or pain. Wylie? He escaped, and his wounds have to be 100% treatable. And Grady and Edaline? They're safe, with my bodyguards protecting me and them."

Linh nodded. "Try to think... they're treating Tam alright. Just making him train. Like in Foxfire. Just with disgusting food, but otherwise, he's training like he does in Foxfire. With Shadowvapor. Nothing else." Sophie encouraged. After a moment, she could hear Linh's soft breathing as her friend nodded off.

Sophie's friends left in the morning, promising to stop by later. And then Sophie made a bowl of starkflower stew, the achingly familiar scents filing the air as she poured the soup into two bowls. The first she poured into the earth, and new blossoms burst on Calla's tree. Then second she spooned into her mouth, leaning on the braided bark and feeling a sense of peace she felt guitly for feeling. And once she finished it, she realized...

The person who had sent her the letter had never came.

It didn't really matter, but Sophie couldn't help but feel a sense of sinking disappointment. She went to the kitchen to return the bowls, and her mother kissed her on the cheek, and told her to do homework. There was a new animal in the pastures that was seriously causing some trouble, so Grady had asked for Edaline to help out. However, Sophie still had some... things to focus on, so she apoligized and headed upstairs. Sophie was planning to reach out telepathically to her friends so they could discuss their next move. And even though Magnate Leto had warned them several times not to do anything rash, and even though he had stopped by earlier to tell Sophie the Black Swan had it under control, Sophie felt like she wasn't doing anything. And she needed to do something before she shut down altogether.

Flori, Bo, Tarina, and Sandor were waiting for her anxiously at the top. They wouldn't meet her eyes as Sandor opened the door for her, and then shut it. Sophie's eyes fell onto the floor.

Crushed petals.

Footprints.

Someone was here.

Because there were no prints leading back to the doorway.

Sophie's heart gave a leap of excitment as she looked up, but nothing could prepare her for the figure that was sitting on her bed.

Sophie's head felt woozy as she rubbed her temples. The figure stood to help, her turquoise eyes concerned and shiny blonde hair whipping around.

"Not... alive. Dreaming." Sophie croaked, pointing to the girl.

"I'm alive, Sophie." The girl squatted down to cup her cheek. "I'm alive."

Sophie scrambled away, her back now pressing against the wall, her face white and her eyes huge.

Because the girl in front of her was...

Jolie.