Keeper of the Lost Cities: Somewhere [Completed]

Six

A/N: Wow, I haven't updated in...forever. So sorry! I have an excuse! I just read Flashback (which totally messed me up) but I decided I would quickly wrap this up--with the same plot as before, of course. And this still occurs after Nightfall.

Disclaimer: Everything KOTLC belongs to the (cliffhanger-happy) Shannon Messenger.

Sophie

   Sophie tugged out an eyelash as she approached the Silver Tower. It was after school hours, so the Beacon, Lady Cadence, wasn't there. She glanced back to where Fitz, Biana, Tam, Linh, and Dex all stood behind her, as well as Sandor, Grizel, Lovise, Woltzer, and Ro.

   "Here goes nothing," she muttered, and rapped gently on the door. Silence followed.

   "Oh, come on." Tam blew his bangs out of his face and stormed up to the door, knocking rather roughly at it. "Nobody's gonna hear you if you just brush it with your knuckles." Sophie winced.

   The door swung open remarkably swiftly, and a familiar dark face poked his head out. Bright blue eyes glowered at them until they settled on Linh.

   "Wait..." Wylie Endal frowned at them. "What are you guys doing here? And at this time?"

   Sophie was tempted to barge right past him and find Keefe, but she composed herself enough to quickly explain what was happening. Wylie's dark eyebrows drew together and he swung the door wide.

   "Do you know exactly where he is?" he asked, all business as he led them down the halls.

   "Er, not exactly," Dex replied distractedly, squinting at Sophie's Imparter. "Somewhere up...there?" He gestured vaguely.

   "Maybe you should go to the front," Linh told him. Dex was walking at the back, illogically.

   "Okay..." Dex joined Wylie at the front and the two boys led Sophie and her friends to...a familiar place.

   "The Hall of Illumination?" Wylie frowned. "What would Keefe be doing here?"

   Dex walked into the room, his eyes focused on the Imparter. He stopped in front of a mirror.

   "It says he should be right...here," he muttered. Sophie joined him, tugging out more eyelashes impatiently. She studied the mirror in front of her and choked.

   Lodestar.

   "He must be in the Neverseen hideout," Biana gasped. Sophie stumbled backwards, and Tam quickly caught her, shoved her at Fitz, and approached the mirror.

   "Cue the creepy shadow stuff," Dex mumbled as Tam...did his thing. Sophie slid off her gloves and took Tam's hand. Tam swirled the shadows, grabbing them all before they vanished into the pool of shadows.

   "You realize Keefe couldn't have gotten here without a Shade, right?" Tam said as they reappeared on the mossy, uneven ground.

   "Good point," Fitz muttered. "But his Imparter is supposed to be here, so..."

   "Do you smell that?" Linh interrupted, sniffing the air. There was a musky, damp smell in the air that made it difficult to breathe. Sophie's eyes were drawn to the pane of glass that she had spotted last time they were here. Something beneath it caught her eye and she drew in a sharp breath.

   "What?" Dex asked, following her eyes. He gaped.

   Two cloaked figures lay on the ground, still as stone. Sophie immediately recognized one as Keefe, lying on his side so that she couldn't see his face. The other was Lady Gisela, her Neverseen cloak spread across the stones.

   The bodyguards recovered first, advancing toward Keefe and his mom, followed by Tam and Linh. Fitz took Sophie's hand as she reeled back. Still clutching his hand, Sophie ran to Keefe's side, kneeling beside him as she surveyed him.

   He looked the same as ever, even with his face turned away from her. All that was out of the ordinary was that he was unconscious...or worse. In one hand, he held a goblin throwing star. Sophie gently extracted it and was relieved to see nothing on it. There was dried blood caking Keefe's arm, but if there was a wound, Sophie couldn't see it.

   Finally, she did what she'd been dreading. She tossed aside the goblin star and turned Keefe's head toward her.

   Ice-blue eyes stared into nothing, his handsome face pale and bloodless.

   "NO!" someone screamed. It could've been Sophie herself, for all she knew. "NO! NO!"

   Fitz was saying something, but Sophie couldn't hear him. She slowly looked away from Keefe's lifeless face to where Biana stood beside Lady Gisela. Sophie gasped again.

   A goblin star lay beside her, coated with fresh blood. And her stomach was a mess of more blood.

   Sophie sucked in a breath as she pieced it together. Keefe had thrown a goblin star at his mom...and he hadn't missed.

   But when? And WHY? Why did Keefe had to be...whatever state he was in?

   Fitz crouched beside Sophie, turning Keefe on is back. Sophie looked at Fitz. His face was pale, but his teal eyes betrayed only determination. He put his ear over Keefe's chest, then his mouth. Sophie watched, unsure what to do. Fitz pressed his fingers to Keefe's wrist and neck. Finally he turned to Sophie, tears welling in his teal eyes.

   "He's--"

A/N: Yep, I'll leave it there. Taking a leaf out of Shannon Messenger's book. Please tell me what you think!! I feel like it was kind of awful, but forgive me. Thanks for reading! ~Jade