Exile (Keeper of the Lost Cities) (9 page)

She’d thought nothing could ever taste better than mallowmelt—but now she wasn’t sure.

Grady and Edaline laughed as she stuffed the rest of it into her mouth, puffing out her cheeks.

“They were Jolie’s favorite too,” Edaline whispered. “I guess that’s why I don’t like to make them—but if you like them, I can do it more often.”

Sophie could’ve eaten a thousand of them, and she was sure she’d crave them every day. But . . .

She held up the plate to show the three she had left. “These are enough.”

Edaline wrapped her arms around her. “We’ll see.”

They kissed her good night and Sophie climbed the last flight of stairs, nodding to Sandor when she reached her bedroom door.

“All is well,” he assured her as his eyes lingered on her shoulder, like he could somehow see the bruise that was forming from where Brant restrained her. She swore goblins had a sixth sense for injuries. But he didn’t ask. Just stepped aside to let her pass.

As soon as she set foot in her room, low music started playing. Human music. An old song she’d listened to hundreds of times growing up.

“Dex stopped by,” Sandor explained behind her. “He left something to cheer you up.”

“Oh.”

Part of her had hoped the Black Swan was making contact again. But when she spotted Iggy’s cage—which had been moved from its small table against the wall of windows to the center of her bed—she forgot her disappointment.

Iggy—or she assumed it was Iggy—was now a puff of pink frizzy curls. Dex must’ve fed the tiny imp one of his special hair-growing elixirs, which Iggy didn’t seem to mind at all. He was having a lot of fun chasing his pink ringlets around and around. Her iPod had been propped against the cage, and when the song ended, Dex’s face filled the screen.

“Hey, Sophie,” he said, flashing his dimpled grin. “I thought you might need a laugh after today, since I’m sure it wasn’t easy.” He looked down, biting his lip before he added, “My mom told me this morning that we might have trees there. Did you see them? That’s . . . kind of weird, don’t you think? I mean—well, never mind. I guess you’ll tell me about it if you saw them. And here’s hoping mine captured my stunning good looks.” He smiled again, though it looked a little sad. “Anyway, since school is starting soon, my mom wants me to stay home a little more—and my dad needs me to help him at
the store—so I guess you’re on your own with the verminion for the next few days. Try not to let it eat you!”

He gave a goofy wave before the screen went black and Sophie picked up the iPod, trying to figure out how he’d pulled off the trick. Dex was crazy for thinking technopathy wasn’t cool.

She set her custard bursts on her desk to finish later, changed into her pajamas, and pulled her puffy pink imp out of his cage, placing him on her pillow before she settled into bed. His fur felt softer than normal, and when she rumpled it he started making his squeaky sound that reminded her of a purr.

Iggy curled into a ball as she lowered the drapes, and within a few seconds he was asleep. But it wasn’t his motorboat snoring that filled her mind as she closed her eyes.

It was Brant’s raspy, haunting voice repeating over and over.

I’ve seen you before.

He never told her where.

C
OME. FRIEND.

The strange whisper dragged Sophie back to consciousness, and she was grateful for it. Brant’s scarred, twisted face had joined her nightmares, and she could practically feel him pinning her against the chair—but instead of taking her pin he took her hand as he laughed and screamed, “Mine!”

At least she’d figured out why he said he’d seen her before. She must’ve reminded him of Jolie, which felt . . . strange.

Come. Friend.

Sophie shook her head, realizing where the whispers were coming from.
Silveny?

Friend!
the alicorn replied, louder this time and mixed with a rush of excitement.

Sophie stumbled to her feet, knocking Iggy to the floor with a startled squeak.

“Sorry,” she whispered as he shook his paws at her, making his pink curls bounce. Sophie grabbed the first pants and tunic she found and threw them on, but couldn’t tie the shirt’s sash. Her hands were shaking too hard.

How could she hear Silveny if she wasn’t listening for her?

The day before, she’d assumed Silveny’s emotions had been so intense that it had made her subconsciously open up her mind. But now each repetition pounded into her brain like a stone, and when she tried to shield, all it did was muffle the noise.

Come! Friend! Come! Friend! Come! Friend! Come! Friend! Come! Friend!

“What’s wrong, Miss Foster?” Sandor asked as she hopped out her bedroom door, still putting on her other boot.

“I don’t know,” she admitted, beelining for the stairs.

Edaline sat at the table in the dimly lit kitchen, her shadowed eyes looking like she hadn’t slept at all. She jumped when Sophie rushed toward the door, nearly spilling her tea. “Are you okay?”

“I think so.” Sophie slipped outside, racing toward Silveny’s pasture.

Sandor caught up with her, grabbing her arm to stop her. “You really love to make my job difficult, don’t you?” he asked as he scanned the scenery.

“Sorry, I’m just trying to check on Silveny.”

Sandor sighed and drew his weapon. “Stay behind me.”

He moved slow and soldierlike as he led her forward, trying to keep his eyes on everything at once. But when Silveny’s enclosure came into view, the glittering horse was alone, circling the highest part of her dome, still transmitting
Come! Friend!
over and over. As soon as she spotted Sophie, she swooped down and trotted to the bars, shoving her nose through and snuffling.

Sophie gagged. Alicorn morning breath almost rivaled Iggy breath.

“What’s wrong, girl?” Sophie asked as Sandor put his weapon away.

Cold emptiness rushed through her mind, sinking into her heart.
You’re lonely?
she asked.

Lonely,
Silveny repeated.
Friend.

“Everything okay?” Grady called, jogging up behind them. His hair was tousled and he was wearing something that looked part bathrobe, part trench coat, which made Sophie realize how early it was. The sun was just beginning to streak the purple sky with hints of orange and pink. “Did something happen?” he asked.

“No, everything’s fine. Silveny was just calling me. She can transmit straight into my brain somehow—and I can’t block her. How is that possible?”

“I have no idea.” He yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
“I guess you’ll have to ask Tiergan about it when Foxfire starts.”

Sophie nodded, trying to stay as calm as Grady. But she didn’t like feeling other voices in her head. It was worrying enough that Fitz could do it. Now Silveny could too?

Wasn’t her mind designed to be
impenetrable
?

How are you doing this?
she transmitted, stroking Silveny’s velvety nose.

Friend! Lonely!
was the only reply.

Sophie sighed. “Do you think we should move her to the Sanctuary so she can be with the other alicorn? She’s already on a vegetarian diet.”

“Readying a creature for relocation takes much more than changing what they eat. They need to be so well adjusted to captivity that they no longer have any desire to leave. Plus, the Sanctuary is a very delicate ecosystem. Introducing an animal too early could destroy the careful balance we work so hard to maintain. We need to test her to make sure she’s not carrying any diseases, and we need to make sure she isn’t aggressive with other animals. And, most important, she needs to be willing to trust people other than you.”

Grady stepped closer and Silveny reared back.

Sophie frowned. Silveny had let the Hekses get close to her—though that had probably made it worse, since they’d restrained her in that terrible harness.

“Sorry, girl,” Sophie said, rubbing Silveny’s cheek. “You’ll have to stay with me for a little while longer.”

A new feeling poured through Sophie’s mind, one that made her feet itch to run.

“I think she’s restless. Maybe we need to let her out of her enclosure.”

Silveny whinnied, like she agreed.

Grady shook his head. “We can’t risk that she’ll fly away.”

“I don’t think she will.”

“We still can’t chance it. The Council has trusted you—trusted
us
—with a tremendous responsibility by leaving Silveny in our care. She’s incredibly important to our world.”

Sophie stroked Silveny’s chin. “I just hate seeing her locked up.”

Almost as much as she hated Silveny’s incessant transmissions.

Silveny, please. Quiet.
She tried to think of an image to explain silence—but how did a picture convey the absence of sound?

It didn’t matter. Silveny was insistent, stamping her hooves and transmitting her commands.

“We have to do something to calm her down. She’s giving me a migraine.”

“Why don’t you go in the enclosure with her?”

Sophie doubted it would be enough, but it was better than nothing.

Treat?
she asked Silveny as she grabbed a fistful of swizzlespice from the nearby pile.

She threw the stalks as far as she could, and when Silveny
trotted after them, Grady unlocked the gate and she rushed inside. By the time the distracted horse realized what happened, the gate was safely latched again.

“Now what?” Sophie whispered as Silveny eyed her, sniffing the air for more treats.

“You’re the one who has the special connection to her.”

Yes, but having a connection didn’t mean she knew how to entertain a large glittery horse. She couldn’t exactly play fetch.

She settled for calling Silveny to her side and rubbing her shimmering fur until her mood mellowed.

“It’s so strange that you can use your telepathy on her,” Grady murmured. “I just tried mesmerizing her and it had no effect at all. I wonder what they did to your mind to make it work that way.”

Sophie cringed.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’s okay. I know I’m a freak.”

“You’re
not
a freak, Sophie.”

“Come on, everyone thinks it.”

“Not me.”

“Right. Sure.” She pulled her hair around her face, wishing she could hide.

“I know it’s hard—”

“Do you?”

Silveny whinnied at the shouted question, and Sophie reached for her.
Sorry.
Calm.

Calm,
Silveny repeated, filling Sophie’s mind with warmth again.

“I do,” Grady said quietly, and the sadness in his tone made Sophie turn to look at him. “It’s not exactly easy being a Mesmer.”

Now he had her attention. When she’d first met Grady, he went out of his way to avoid telling her what his ability was. But she’d thought that was because the Council was always pressuring him about it—not because he didn’t like it.

“Kids at school didn’t trust me after I manifested. Told me they didn’t want me messing with their minds. Others would lie to get out of detention and say I
made
them do whatever they got caught doing. And when I got awards or praise, they’d claim I used my ability to cheat. Even Edaline’s parents teased me when we got engaged. Said they should find a way to make sure I hadn’t mesmerized her into marrying me. They meant it as a joke, but . . .”

Sophie felt the same way when people teased her about being an Inflictor—even when they were just having fun.

“Being powerful worries people, Sophie. It’s unfair and it hurts, but can’t you understand why it happens?”

She kicked the ground. She could, but that didn’t mean she liked it.

“You’ve had a huge burden dumped on you. Trust me—no one understands that better than me. I wish I could make it easier, but I can’t. Except to tell you the same thing my parents
told me when I would get so angry I wanted to throw stuff. They’d say, ‘Someday your ability will do big things, and the world will be grateful we have you.’ ”

The words should’ve been comforting—and they were. Except . . .

What if she really was someone’s
puppet
? Could she be programmed to do certain things?

Bad
things?

“So, do you think Silveny will let you sit on her back?” Grady asked.

“Huh?”

“If you’re going to be working with her, you’re going to need to learn how to ride her.”

Sophie had a feeling he was just trying to distract her and cheer her up—but it would be fun to ride an alicorn.

Then again, she was suddenly realizing how very large Silveny was, and how very high off the ground her back was. “How do I even get up there?”

“Can you get her to kneel down?”

“Maybe.”

Kneel,
she transmitted, sending Silveny an image of the position she meant. She had to repeat it three times before Silveny lowered her head and bent her front legs.

“Amazing! Now just make sure she’s calm, and climb on.”

Sophie stared at the crouched horse. “What if I fall?”

“We have Elwin on standby.”

“Very funny.”

“Come on, aren’t you always saying we worry too much and never let you take any risks? Well, here’s your risk.”

It was strange to have Grady so relaxed about her safety. Though, he
did
regularly ride around on mammoths and dinosaurs, so this wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary. But he never had
her
do those things.

Of course, Silveny was a glittering winged horse, not a
Tyrannosaurus rex
. So she sucked in a breath for extra courage, sent Silveny images of what she was about to do, and slowly stretched one leg over the horse’s neck. Silveny raised her head as she straightened, sliding Sophie down to the dip in her back just behind her wings.

Fly?
Silveny asked—and before Sophie could respond, the excited horse flapped her enormous wings and launched into the sky.

Sophie screamed as the whipping wind made her eyes water.

Grady shouted things like “squeeze your legs” and “wrap your arms around Silveny’s neck”—but those required
moving
.