𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧

C-h-a-p-t-e-r T-w-e-n-t-y-F-o-u-r

"So, what plan do you guys have?"

Sophie was sitting on top of one of the tables in the cafeteria, swinging her legs as they dangled off the side. She still wasn't sure if teaming with Ruy and Keefe was a good idea, but she wanted to know why Lady Gisela and Gethen were talking about her parents-

Or, who Sophie thought had been her parents.

"So," Keefe said, stopping a moment and giving Sophie a scrutinizing look. He shook his head and continued. "So, we know that there is some sort of room-secret room-that my mom and Gethen know about, but we aren't sure where it is."

"It's on the corner of the Garden Room down the hallway to the Akrasia Room," Sophie recited. She had-without her conscious' opinion-memorized where she heard Gethen and Keefe's mom's mind walls. She mentally chastised herself.

Keefe's eyes widened. "Wow, you just made everything a lot easier." He saw her disapproving scowl and grinned back.

"Now what?"

"Well," Ruy said, shooting a look at Keefe that Sophie translated to 'shut-up-before-I-smack-your-face'. Sophie gave them both quizzical looks. 

Ruy ignored her and continued, "We need someone to keep a look-out, and since Sophie and I don't have useful abilities, and Keefe doesn't have any to begin with-" Keefe opened his mouth to interrupt, but Ruy held his hand up "-I think we should decide who's going to sneak around anyways.

"As I was trying to say," Keefe exaggerated, shooting Ruy a glare. "I think Sophie is the perfect one for the job." Sophie turned to face him better, but ended up falling off the table and crashing to the floor. 

"What?"

"I mean, you're a Telepath, so you could just stay in your room while tracking their thoughts while you report where they are to Ruy and me." 

Sophie sat on the bench and thought Keefe's plan through. 

"That's. . . actually really smart."

Keefe pretended as if he had been wounded. "You don't have to sound so surprised."

"Er, I guess," Ruy said, his eyebrows forming a crease between his forehead. "It just. . . sounds to easy."

"That's because it is."

Sophie squeaked and nearly fell over again. For a moment she thought the disembodied voice was a ghost, but then realized it was Alvar. 

"What do you want?" Ruy grumbled. For some reason Alvar and Ruy had never seemed to like each other, and Sophie wasn't exactly sure why. Alvar was around the same age as Ruy. But, Sophie realized,  it might be because Alvar was at the Foxfire-Sophie wrinkled her nose-and Ruy was at Exillium.

"I want to know why you guys are sneaking around and spying," Alvar's voice said. A moment later the air where his voice was shimmered. Alvar's body flickered into sight, and Sophie sent a worried glanced at Keefe. She knew that he wasn't allowed to know Alvar was a part of the Neverseen, but she wasn't exactly sure why.

Luckily, Keefe was busy walking around the table trying to find Alvar, his back turned to them. He hadn't seen the flicker.

Sophie opened her mouth to explain the situation, but before she could say a word, Keefe interrupted. "And, uh, why should we tell you?"

"Because I can go right up to Lady Gisela and tell her what you're doing."

Ruy and Keefe exchanged worried looks. 

"Buuut. . . if you guys tell me what you're doing and let me join you, I might just reconsider."

"How do we know that you won't just turn around and tell Lady Gisela what we're doing?" Ruy said, his eyes suspiciously passing between Sophia and Alvar's voice. He probably thought Sophie was feeding Alvar the information telepathically.

"Just trust me," Alvar's voice said. Sophie could imagine his cobalt eyes glinting and flickering like Vanishers always do. "Besides, I might be more help to you. I am a Vanisher after all."

"Fine," Ruy grumbled. Keefe then explained the entire situation to Alvar. Though he didn't mention Sophie's mishap with Verdi. Keefe's eyes gleamed with pride as he explained his "ingenious plan" to the Vanisher.

After the small troublemaker finished, Alvar stayed silent.He took a deep breathe and said, "I have a few concerns and ideas to make this plan work better."

Keefe turned to Alvar. He looked very interested in what the older boy had to say. Keefe was probably trying to figure out where he recognized Alvar's voice, but his attempts were futile.

Keefe would never imagine Alvar-a Vacker-joining a rebel group in hopes of fixing the world. The brain did funny things when it didn't want you to believe something.

Keefe prompted Alvar's disembodied voice to voice his opinions and critiques.

"Wouldn't it be better if Sophie and I teamed up? Sophie could stay, uh, for example, in the cantine, and transmit where there are at this moment to me. I'll be invisible and I can continue tracking them."

Sophie's turned to see Keefe's reaction and he looks a little crestfallen. Sophie guessed Keefe didn't want 'strangers' making changes to his original plans."Yeah," Keefe mumbled, "I would've said that, but I didn't even know you were coming. . ."

"Keefe, your plan's great." The words can from Sophie's mouth before she was able to stop herself. 

Keefe smirked, "I know." Sophie sighed. This was why she didn't try with him. Any time she tried to be comforting or serious, he just brushed it off acting like he was the Lord of the world or something.

"And, another question: What's the point of Alvar being here?"

Ruy sent a steely glare at Alvar. "Because I was actually invited. And I can prove to be useful when I want to."

"Hmm." Was all Alvar said in reply.

"So can we go through with my plan, now?" Keefe asked, the mischievous flicker in his eyes returning.

"Yeah, let's do this."

○   ○   ○

See anything, Sophie transmitted to Alvar.

No, not-wait.

Sophie waited. And waited. And waited. What felt like hours had probably only been seconds. The suspense was killing her.

WHAT IS IT ALREADY, she imagined screaming into Alvar's ear. She could sense his thoughts spread sporadically throughout his brain in surprise.

It was just Umber, Alvar said. Somehow Sophie could hear the disappointment in his thoughts.

Sophie nervously tracked Alvar, Gethen, Lady Gisela, Ruy, and Keefe's thoughts, not reading them. She was waiting in the cantine, like Alvar wanted, but she was afraid someone was going set of the traps and cause a headache.

Keefe, with help from Ruy, had set traps all over the hideout in a matter of minutes (how, Sophie wasn't sure) in hopes of slowing down his mom and Gethen.

The traps weren't supposed to harm, just hinder. Sophie hopes Keefe was true to his word and that no one would be hurt. She wasn't sure how much she believed him.

An abrupt scream caused Alvar's thoughts to concentrate where the upset noise had come from. Alvar quietly crept down the hall.

There were Lady Gisela and Gethen.

The first trap had been set off.