Nervous laughter dragged Sophie out of her daze, and to say she wasn't all surprised that it was coming from Lady Gisela was an understatement. She wrung her fingers anxiously and tried for her best confident smile.
"Come on guys!" She gestured to the cloaked figures around her. "She's a traitor! A scandalous traitor! She has no right to betray us like that. There is only one of her and so many of us. Let us overthrow this disgrace of a leader and not forget why we joined in the first place! Who's with me?"
The Neverseen members looked around as if trying to decide who was more powerful- Adela, along with the rest of Sophie and her friends -or the desperate Polyglot.
"I swore to Adela," one member piped up fiercely. "I joined this organization for her views and for whatever she wanted us to do. If she decides that this is the better way than-" the figure gulped "-then so be it."
The rest of the figures around her nodded and Lady Gisela growled in frustration. "You have no idea what you are getting yourself into," she warned- but the lie was so translucent that Sophie could see through it like glass.
"No more empty threats," Sophie told her, breaking the metal handcuffs with her telekinesis. "We're finishing you off."
The rest of it came so suddenly that it was practically a blur- all Sophie could hear was shouting and the sounds of things thudding behind her.... she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to keep herself from shaking... and somebody's arm wrapped around her and held her close and Sophie felt herself melting into his arms as she realized it was Keefe...
And... Lady Gisela wasn't dead.
At least not yet.
But Adela was coming up on her threateningly and Keefe's mom was shaking and...
She raised up a crystal- a silver one? -and Adela was too late.
"You may have disassembled the Neverseen," Lady Gisela whispered as she faded away. "But our project for Keefe was called Project Phoenix for a reason."
Her eyes locked into Sophie's.
"And a phoenix always rises from the ashes."
And then the room set on fire.