Neverseen (3 page)

Councillors weren’t allowed to marry or have children, in order to remain impartial in their decisions. But Sophie had seen a connection between Kenric and Oralie and suspected they’d been in love. They could’ve resigned from the Council and chosen to be together, but for some reason they’d kept their lives separate.

“He believed in you,” Oralie said, tracing a soft finger down Sophie’s cheek. “He told me you were the spark of change our world needed. So keep his gift close, and if the Council catches you, use his cache to buy your freedom. Do
not
let them send you to Exillium. You must also take this.” She handed Sophie an Imparter, a small silver square that worked like a videophone. “It cannot be traced or tracked—and I’m the only one you’ll be able to contact with it. This way we have means to contact each other.”

“What if the Council discovers your involvement?” Alden asked. “They will surely see this as treason.”

“Sometimes rebellion is the only course of wisdom. As all of you well know.” Oralie turned back to Sophie, and her mouth curved with a word. But by the time it slipped from her lips, it had changed to, “I must go.”

She raised her pathfinder to the moonlight and glittered away before Sophie could blink.

“Now
that’s
what I call mysterious,” Keefe said. “Foster, you should be taking notes. And who else wants to play with this cache thingy and see what it does?”

“You will do nothing of the sort!” Alden told him. “And you must not let anyone know you have it—I wouldn’t even tell the Black Swan. Our world could crumble if that cache fell into the wrong hands.”

“Really?” Sophie asked. It looked like one of the cheap marbles she used to play with as a kid.

“The object itself is not the danger. It’s what the cache contains. What do you think the biggest threat to our world is?” Alden asked.

“The ogres?” Sophie guessed.

“Actually, it is knowledge,” Alden corrected. “Information holds unimaginable power, and some things are too dangerous to be known—even by the Councillors. So they lock the most disturbing secrets away before having them erased from their minds. They’re called the Forgotten Secrets, and they are stored in what you hold there. Each Councillor vows to guard their cache with their lives. Oralie has taken an enormous risk by giving this to you. She’s also given you our world’s most valuable bargaining chip.”

Sophie rolled the glinting marble around her shaking palm, tempted to give such a huge responsibility back. But she owed it to Kenric to protect his gift. Plus, Oralie’s vague warnings had made it sound like she was going to need it.

“Come on,” she told her friends, shoving the cache into her deepest pocket. “We should get to the Black Swan.”

She reached for Fitz’s hand, and Keefe took her other hand. Biana clung tightly to her brother, leaving Dex to choose between Keefe and Biana.

“I won’t bite,” Keefe told Dex. “Ow—but no need to get squeezy!”

None of them looked back as they sprinted into the trees. They wove around fallen branches and gnarled roots, making so many turns Sophie feared they were lost, until her ears picked up the telltale whoosh of waves. The forest parted a few steps farther, revealing a steep ocean bluff.

“I’m going to open my mind to yours so you can
finally
show me where we’re going,” she told Fitz.

“I don’t have anything to show you,” Fitz said. “I just know we’re supposed to start at the Path of the Privileged.”

Sophie dropped Fitz’s hand. “I have no idea what that is. And what do you mean by ‘start’?”

“That was the first instruction,” Fitz said.

“Instruction?” Sophie asked. “Or riddle?”

“I guess it could be a riddle,” Fitz mumbled. “But I didn’t think they’d do that this time.”

“Dude, have you met the Black Swan?” Keefe asked.

“I know,” Fitz said. “But I figured for something
this
important they’d be clear.”

Sophie backed away so she wouldn’t be tempted to shove
Fitz off the cliff. “Okay”—deep breath—“what
exactly
did the riddle say?”

Fitz handed her a scrap of paper where he’d written the complete message.

Take the Path of the Privileged

Past eyes that watch eternal, and blood turned precious.

Seek the tower that would not yield for the next steps of your journey.

“Get anything from that, Foster?” Keefe asked, reading over her shoulder.

“Of course not,” Sophie grumbled. “Why didn’t you tell us about this earlier so we could’ve done some research?”

Fitz tore his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry. I guess I messed up.”

“And you didn’t see anything else?” Keefe asked him. “You searched Foster’s mind for a while.”

“Only a few minutes,” Fitz argued.

Keefe grabbed Fitz’s wrist and pressed his fingers against the exposed skin. “Hate to break it to you, but I can tell you’re hiding something.”

“Empaths,” Fitz grumbled.

“Just keeping you honest. So spill. What did you see in the Mysterious Miss F.’s mind?”

Fitz turned to Sophie, and even in the dim light she could see the red flush in his cheeks. “I
might
have seen some other stuff—but it wasn’t really thoughts. It was more like . . . feelings.”

“Oh?” Keefe asked as Sophie’s stomach filled with bubbling lava. “Does that mean you—”

“We’re wasting time!” Sophie interrupted. “The Council could be here any second, and I still have no idea where we’re supposed to be going.”

“Okay,” Keefe said, following her as she stalked to the edge of the cliff. “So . . . we still need to go to Florence, right? The Black Swan told you that?” When Fitz nodded, Keefe asked Sophie, “Doesn’t your photographic memory have a few pictures of the city tucked away?”

She
had
seen pictures of Florence, but . . . “That doesn’t tell us where we go after that.”

“We’ll figure it out. And once we do, we’ll all smack Fitz a few times and tell the Black Swan to knock it off with the lame, non-rhyming riddles. In the meantime”—Keefe grabbed Sophie’s hand again—“we’re doing this thing!”

They’d barely locked hands before Keefe pulled them off the cliff’s edge.

K
EEFE LAUGHED WHILE
everyone screamed and thrashed as they plummeted toward the ocean. “Wow, what a buncha babies. Don’t worry, Foster’s on it.”

His confidence melted some of the fog in Sophie’s head—enough to let her focus on the energy rushing with her adrenaline. She shoved the force out of her mind and thunder cracked the sky, sending them crashing into the void.

As they drifted with the darkness, Sophie imagined a picture she’d seen of Florence:
Marble churches. Red rooftops. A golden river lined with colorful buildings
.

She homed in on her favorite landmark: the Cathedral of
Santa Maria del Fiore. Thunder clapped again, splitting the blackness with blinding light.

They slipped through the glowing crack and tumbled into a crowded courtyard, crashing into a marble wall and collapsing in a pile.

“Still gotta work out these landings,” Keefe groaned as he scooted out from under Fitz.

Sophie was much more focused on the pain in her head as hundreds of voices sliced through her mind. Human thoughts broadcast like radio waves, even with her impenetrable blocking. Luckily, she’d learned how to shield her mind by imagining an invisible barrier around her head.

Fitz rubbed his temples, clearly doing the same thing, but she refused to return the weary smile he gave her. Now they were lost in a Forbidden City and it was all his fault.

“It smells weird,” Biana said.

“Probably human pollution,” Fitz explained. “I don’t remember it being this strong, though.”

“Me either,” Sophie said. The air felt thick in her throat, and it had a bizarre caramel smell. Not at all what she’d expected for the land of pasta and garlic.

“So, are we invisible?” Dex asked, watching the crowds milling around them. “Or are they just more interested in that big domed thing.” He pointed to the famous Duomo across the courtyard.

“Probably both.” Fitz removed a small black orb from his
satchel. “My dad gave me an obscurer to help us stay hidden.”

The gadget bent light and sound in a limited radius, camouflaging anything inside.

“Are you serious?” Biana asked. “Then what was the point of these ugly costumes?”

“It’s called being careful,” Fitz told her.

“Plus, I get to be Batman!” Keefe added. “But I’m done with the jacket. Why is it so hot here?”

“Too many people, not enough trees,” Fitz said as he took off his scarf and coat, leaving him in a rather tight blue T-shirt.

Biana ditched her sweatshirt, revealing a yellow screen-printed tee. “I liked that this one had a few girls,” she told Sophie, pointing to the group shot of the X-Men. “Even if they have super weird hair.”

“Uh, there’s a guy who has blue fur all over his body, and you’re focusing on the girls’ hair?” Keefe asked. “And hey, that clawed dude’s yellow shirt might be as tight as Fitz’s!”

“Jealous?” Fitz asked, flexing rather impressive muscles.

“Shouldn’t we try to figure out where we’re going?” Dex asked, shoving his sweatshirt into his satchel and hugging his skinny arms against his chest.

“Probably,” Keefe agreed. “But first—what is
that
?” He pointed to the drippy ice cream a family was devouring. “Whatever it is, I want some!”

“I think that’s gelato,” Sophie told him. “And forget it.”

“Actually, I think it’s a good idea,” Fitz said.

Keefe leaned closer to Sophie. “In case you were wondering—
that
is why he’s my best friend.”

Sophie sighed. “Even if we had time, how would you pay for it?”

Her friends were used to buying everything with their birth funds—a special account set up when they were born, with more money than they could ever use in a lifetime. But it was useless outside of the Lost Cities.

“Won’t this stuff work?” Dex asked, pulling out a wad of crinkled, colored paper. “I had it left over from when we were in that other Forbidden City after we got kidnapped.”

Paris and Florence
did
accept the same currency, but . . . “We don’t have time for gelato!” Sophie said.

Keefe draped his arm around her shoulders. “Foster, Foster, Foster.
Live
a little.”

“You know he’s going to keep pushing until he gets what he wants, right?” Biana asked.

“Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiine,” Sophie mumbled. “Give me the money. I’ll be right back.”

“We’re coming with you,” Dex said.

“Uh-uh. I’m going to have to be visible to buy something. And together we’d be way too conspicuous.”

“But we’re in costume!” Biana argued.

“Yeah, but you guys will still stand out. I mean . . . look at you. You look like models.”

“Wait, is Foster saying she thinks we’re hot?” Keefe asked.

“I think she is.” And the huge grin dimpling Dex’s cheeks was practically beaming.

Sophie wanted to deny it, but the truth was, elves were
way
prettier than humans. Even Dex with his messy strawberry blond hair was ten times cuter than any human boy his age.

“I’m just saying you guys will draw a lot of attention,” Sophie said. “Especially since you don’t speak Italian.”

She pointed to two portrait artists sitting in the shade of the Duomo, waving their hands as they talked. As a Polyglot, Sophie could tell they were discussing their favorite soccer teams. But the rest of her friends only spoke the elves’ Enlightened Language. Fitz knew a little English from his time searching for her, but that wouldn’t get him far in Italy.

“Sophie’s right. The less we’re all seen, the better. But
I’m
going with her.” Fitz handed Keefe the obscurer and snatched some money from Dex. “No one wanders off alone.”

“Fine.” Sophie was still mad at him, but they also needed to talk.

“I can’t believe we’re wasting time on this,” she said as Fitz followed her through the crowds of tourists. It was so strange to see gray hair and wrinkles and glasses and canes after so much time around the ageless elves.

“I get that we’re in danger,” Fitz said. “But
that’s
why I thought this was a good idea.” He scooted closer, lowering his voice as they passed a group of girls ogling him. “I mean . . . aren’t you worried about how everyone’s holding up? Biana
seems really nervous, doesn’t she? And Keefe is
barely
keeping it together. I’m sure Dex has to be freaking out too. So if gelato makes them happy, don’t you think that’s worth it?”

“I guess I hadn’t thought of that,” she admitted. “But still, we’d have more time for things like gelato if you’d told me what the Black Swan’s instructions were before we left and let me work on solving the riddle.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to drive you crazy. I was worried you’d sneak away without us if I told you.”

The thought
had
crossed her mind—several times . . .

“I just want to keep everyone safe,” she mumbled.

“I know. So do I. And yet we’re both making it worse. So why don’t we stop trying to do it all on our own and start acting like a team?”

He held out his hand, and Sophie reluctantly shook it, feeling slightly gleeful when the ogling girls gasped.

Her smile faded as she remembered the other subject they needed to cover. “So, um . . . if we’re really going to be a team, don’t you think you should tell me what you saw in my mind?”

“I didn’t see as much as you’re probably thinking,” Fitz said carefully, “and I couldn’t understand it, anyway.”

“What does
that
mean?”

“It’s hard to explain. I ended up in this crazy place Mr. Forkle called your emotional center. Now I get why Keefe’s always talking about how intense your emotions are. It was super overwhelming.”

“And that was where you were when Mr. Forkle said, ‘Remember this place. You may need it’?”

Fitz nodded. “He didn’t say why, though.”

“Of course not.” That wasn’t how Mr. Forkle worked. He was the only member of the Black Swan she’d met in person, but she still knew nothing about him. Even his name was a fake human identity he’d created to disguise himself as her next-door neighbor.