Sophie's POV
Keefe carried me all the way up the front steps of the hideout, into the main room. Surprisingly, a couple of our friends were already seated at the meeting table, looking tense and alert.
As soon as we were noticed by them, Percy and Annabeth shot to their feet, running toward us.
Annabeth grabbed the basket from me as Keefe slowly lowered me to the ground, just for me to be snatched up into Percy's arms.
"Are you okay?! Where did you go?!" Percy pestered, releasing me to hastily cup my face between both his hands. "We were worried sick, young lady! You cannot just-!"
"Mr. Forkle needs you in his office," Annabeth cut him off, ripping Percy away from me.
I slowly nodded my head, confused at all of the commotion that occurred just because Keefe and I went out. Mr. Forkle could've just mind-linked me, seeing as my Telepathy was working now, since I was away from the maze.
Nonetheless, I silently reached back to grab Keefe and pull him along with me, silently telling him that I needed him there.
He wordlessly followed along as we passed by Tam and Biana, both who were still sitting at the meeting table but appeared to be dozing off. Biana was resting her head on his shoulder, while Tam slightly tilted his head toward hers, their chairs too close together for Tam's usual liking.
I didn't miss Keefe's smirk as we passed them.
He continued walking partially behind me until we reached the hall, where we strolled on side-by-side. We swung our intertwined hands back and forth, letting silence overtake us.
Of course, I broke it when my mind went haywire trying to sort out all of the questions I had.
"What do you think he wants?" I asked warily, looking up at Keefe briefly.
"He probably learned about your new Foster powers in his Forkle-y ways and now wants to talk about it," Keefe summed up, momentarily sending a breeze of calmness with his hold on my hand. "And, please, for my sake, stop your anxiety before it makes me sick."
I blushed involuntarily, forgetting that he even had the ability to pick up on my emotions that easily.
Wait a minute . . .
"Why the sudden confusion?"
Oh, gods. Does that mean he picked up on what I was feeling in that cave?
"Foster?"
I dismissed all of the thoughts and emotions coursing through me in an attempt to hide my feelings, purposefully bowing my head a little so a curtain of hair shadowed my face.
"Hey, Shy Foster's only fun when I'm in on the joke," Keefe huffed from beside me, halting me from continuing to walk and turning me to face him.
"Noooo," I whined, trying to step back from him, but he just used his free hand to lift my chin up so that we were eye-to-eye.
"Why are you embarrassed, now?" he questioned, staring into my soul.
Okay, Sophie. Deep breaths. You've got this.
I made direct eye contact with him, after a couple seconds of keeping my eyes shut tightly.
"Keefe, I lo-."
"You kids!" a voice impatiently down the hall, making both of our heads snap to the source.
Keefe and I both abruptly turned to him, one hand still latching onto the other's, and jogged toward Mr. Forkle, who was standing in the doorframe of his office.
As soon as he saw us jogging, he turned and re-entered his office, leaving the door wide open for us.
Moment long forgotten, Keefe and I exchanged a wary glance before rushing into the room, him closing the door behind us.
"Miss Foster, my intentions were to discuss this with you alone, but obviously Mr. Sencen has no desire to leave, so he can be included," Mr. Forkle started then muttered, "because you teenage couples have to be attached at the hip," under his breath.
But, Keefe and I both heard it, leaving me blushing and Keefe snickering quietly to himself as we both sat down in the chairs positioned in front of the desk.
After we'd calmed down, I realized that Mr. Forkle hadn't said anything, yet. Not necessarily unusual for him, but he never needed time to gather his thoughts before; he almost always had the answer when it came to me. I studied Mr. Forkle as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, alerting me to the fact that he dreaded sharing his news with us.
"Miss Foster, it's come to my attention of your powers and how the elements play a role in all of this," he said. "I'm not going to repeat what I've learned, merely add onto that knowledge with the serious cautions that come with utilizing this connection with the elements."
I only nodded at his statement, already zoning out by staring at a fixed point on his boring, light brown-colored desk.
"I recently gained permission from the gods to gift you this," he said, peaking my interest enough for my eyes to snap up to his. He looked ill, his skin clammier than usual and forehead sweaty. Why didn't I notice this before? "I must warn you of the importance of this artifact. It was made up many years ago when you were born and kept under my supervision until now. The responsibility is just now growing apparent, as you can probably tell by my sickly appearance.
"Admittedly, you weren't supposed to gain this artifact until the elements had been safely within your grasp, definitely not through the Neverseen. But, without proper guidance in accordance to the use of the elements, I fear that you'll end up facing serious consequences," Mr. Forkle continued to explain. "The gods are already in a state of unrest at the power you hold over them."
I gulped nervously. All I was hearing was responsibility, possible guilt, and more responsibility; one thing that my elven side couldn't handle well and the other that my demigod side despised.
Keefe quickly grabbed ahold of my hand again, sending a wave of tranquility through me. I sent him a small smile, grateful for the comfort.
Mr. Forkle reached into a drawer of his desk and withdrew his hand, revealing a rolled-up scroll.
That is the scroll from the library.
"You hid that thing in the library?!" I shrieked, unable to contain my disbelief.
"Well . . ." he started out, almost sheepishly. "My other location had been breached and no one would suspect it in plain sight, so I figured that was the best option. You must've found it easier than most because you were drawn to it . . . or, more likely, it was drawn to you."
I felt nauseous just looking at the scroll, but also that same curiosity and excitement I had felt the day I first laid eyes on it.
His shaky hand reached over the desk, ready to deliver the scroll to me. But, by studying his face, I saw the barely-restrained greed and hesitance. It reminded me of the way Gollum was with the ring in the Lord of the Rings series.
My precioussss.
I almost laughed at the comparison of Mr. Forkle to Sméagol.
Nonetheless, the scroll was dropped into my awaiting hands. Mr. Forkle slumped back in his seat, relived of the weight of the burden. Meanwhile, I stared wordlessly at the thing in my hands.
"How do you feel?" Mr. Forkle asked cautiously and warily, his exhaustion overtaking him. "It's completely normal to experience a power surge of some sort-."
"Nothing."
"What?" Mr. Forkle asked stupidly.
"I feel nothing," I said, still examining the rolled-up paper in my hands. It was of a beautiful baby blue color, having changed to it the second it dropped in my hands. There were patches of white throughout the scroll, too, like fluffy clouds.
I blinked and it was gold, the same color of my now-glowing hair. Some streaks of a vibrant red were slashed across the paper, making it seem more ancient.
Then, I forcefully blinked, and the color was an earthy green. Brown scattered marks littered the portion of the scroll I could see, almost completely blended into the green by the looks of it.
Looking away and then looking back again, it changed to a whitish grey. The color was weirdly translucent, making the texture of the paper seem lighter than before.
I looked up to see Mr. Forkle and Keefe giving me weird looks.
"Did you see that?" I asked carefully, wondering if I'd gone insane for a bit.
"See what?" Keefe questioned slowly.
"The colors," I murmured like a maniac, glancing back down at the now-blue scroll.
Definitely insane.
"No," Mr. Forkle said curiously, no worrisome tone in his voice or cautious approach to the word. I breathed in a sigh of relief, thinking he probably knew what was happening, but didn't see it himself. "The elements seem to only respond to you."
Lovely.
"Alright, can we use the thing, now?" Keefe asked frustratedly, impatiently waiting for the action to begin.
"Yes, I believe Miss Foster is ready," Mr. Forkle replied, staring me straight in the eyes with determination and confidence that I was severely lacking at the moment. "But, it would be easier for me to help in a different form, an identity you haven't become acquainted with, yet."
Oh, great. Another one.
Dex's POV
I slaved away all day and night, coming up with the best version of the invention I could. It would work like a telegram, but could modify the person's sense of touch if necessary; meaning that a person could reach out and pick up or prod "Jolie's body" if necessary.
Yeah, I also figured that Jolie was the only person that made sense in this scenario. Obviously, she looked like Sophie, not exactly the same, but similar. She was also Brant's lover, hence the meeting at their old house.
Even a monkey could prove that Jolie was the one I was supposed to save with this invention.
Hey, Dex, no pressure or anything, but you need to invent something to save your cousin that you thought was dead. Oh, also, the one giving you the instructions will be Brant, the psycho Pyrokinetic that killed that cousin you're trying to save. Good talk. Try not to mess up.
I really needed to stop hanging out with Percy and Nico, those sarcastic fools.
It was currently 4 a.m. and I had just finished my sweet invention. Brant had been very vague about the time of the meeting, so I figured it was best to get there sooner rather than later, deciding to leave as soon as I felt ready enough.
The device itself was tiny, merely bug-sized, easy to exchange without attention drawn to it and shove into the pocket of one's tunic or cloak.
I purposefully made it a dusty tan color, seeing as it could trick the eye to make it blend into someone's skin or camouflage as part of the terrain they'd be making the exchange on. Technically, I hadn't seen the land it'd be on, but I was hoping they would have the sense to bury it or shield it the best to their ability if the color was off.
There was also a device needed to trigger the invention's capabilities, a small control with a green button and a red button.
Since Brant was a two-year-old maniac child who didn't get enough sleep, in my eyes, I decided that the green and red buttons would be the most basic Technopath trick to use for the invention.
If he somehow messed up turning the thing on and off, I would personally sign up to smack some sense into him.
Wow, Dex. When'd you get so violent?
Anyone who would've asked me that in this situation had clearly never met Nico, Tam, or Piper.
Nico and Tam were the most intimidating, in my opinion, and threatened people the most.
And, Piper was just outright scary when she was mad. I felt bad for Jason yesterday when he accidentally stepped on her foot in the common room.
He woke up with a nice surprise this morning.
Or should I say the day before yesterday and yesterday morning?
This extra working messed with my sleep schedule. But, at least I'm actually included in something.
Anyway, I decided that now would be the best time to sneak out. This way, I could get to the meeting place early and get out before the others woke up.
But, the second I stepped out of my room, I noticed that a light was coming from Mr. Forkle's office. Loud crashes that couldn't have been heard through my noise-cancelling door and walls were echoing down the halls.
Instead of being curious, I used the loud noises as a distraction for my getaway.
I quickly scurried through the halls, my Imparter, the invention and its control, and other devices tucked in the pockets of my pants. When I made it through the front door, I finally breathed, closing my eyes momentarily.
A twig snapped a few feet to my right.
"Well, well, what do we have here?"
A/N: filler part with cliffhangers because i'm evil : )