𝓟𝐫𝗼𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝓢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐞

Chapter #28 - Grady

Chapter #28 - Grady

Sophie interrogated Glimmer on what she knew about the caches' theft so quickly and anxiously, you would assume she had eaten dozens of mallowmelt slices beforehand.

"Do you know who took them?"

"No."

"Why only the caches?"

"I'm not sure."

"Did Bo detect the trace of any imposters?"

"Ugh— can't you understand? We don't know anything yet! And even if they did, I doubt they'd tell me." Sophie admitted this was a good point.

Meanwhile, Grady finally conceded that now would be a good time to invite everyone involved and tell them about... what Keefe had told him. Especially since they could also learn more about the caches being taken.

And soon enough, scattered across the pastures of Havenfield were Grady, Edaline, Sophie, all twelve councillors, all members of the Black Swan— Juline and Tiergan didn't bother to wear their ridiculous disguises— and so many others it was dizzying. It was a crowd size he and Edaline would've gone out of their way to avoid three years ago, before Sophie came to the Lost Cities.

He was eternally grateful those days were over.

But more importantly, the group was awfully similar to many other incidences— times when they had tried to figure out what the Neverseen was planning, only to fail miserably. Times that, in the end, Grady had no choice but to let his daughter risk her life.

He hated it every time.

But today was different.

Today he at least had some information to share. It was information that he honestly wasn't sure if he should believe, considering who it came from. That Boy wasn't exactly the person Grady trusted most, after all.

But he knew that Keefe wouldn't have risked coming just to tell him a lie.

Because he may be stupid and reckless— but there was no denying he really did care. Not that Grady would even consider forgiving Keefe for all the hasty stunts he'd pulled.

"Why did you invite everybody here?"

Grady turned around and found his wife, her eyebrows scrunched up in worry and curiosity. "Edaline! It's a really long story..." He suddenly trailed off, realizing that everyone was looking at him. Their faces were silent and focused, clearly waiting for him to explain. And so he took a deep breath and started talking.

***

"Keefe can trigger abilities?!"

"In humans?"

"And Lady Gisela is trying to make an army of them?"

"Are you sure this is true?"

"I'm not totally sure it's true," admitted Grady, struggling to find the right words, "But... it definitely seems worth looking into." Everybody went silent for a moment, then went back to frantically asking questions so much that all the voices overlapped to create a symphony of chaos.

The Council and Collective stayed noticeably silent, which must've meant they were both monitoring their discussions telepathically. But there was another person who wasn't talking either.

"Are you alright, Sophie?" Grady asked, rushing to his daughter's side where she was leaning against the panakes, like she was letting everything sink in.

"I... it's just a lot," she said, staring at the hectic crowd, "And I know I should be focusing on everything you're telling us about Gisela's plan but— I can't help but think, Keefe was right here, but then he left again."

Grady bit his lip, "I'm sorry." He reached into his pocket wrapping his fingers around the imparter but not taking it out yet and said, "There's... another thing I gave Keefe when I gave him the quicksnuff." He knew he had promised he wouldn't tell anyone about the imparter. But...

"What?" Sophie sat up against the bark, intrigued, probably with a few theories stirring in her head.

All of a sudden, Grady's next words were cut off by the booming voice of Councillor Emery.

"We have decided," he announced, "that this information— despite sounding somewhat far-fetched— is certainly plausible enough to look into." It had always amused Grady how the Council could say something so simple, yet turn it into such a complex sentence.

"Took you long enough," he heard Glimmer mutter quietly. She had also been suspiciously silent throughout this whole ordeal.

Emery added, "However, we also think that with so many involved people here, it would also be a good time to discuss something else that has happened recently, in which Mr. Forkle notified us of."

All eyes turned to Forkle.

He cleared his throat and told everyone about the Neverseen somehow taking the caches— though mysteriously not the scrolls— and that Bo hasn't detected the scent of anybody coming near them who wasn't intended to.

"Maybe his senses were just fooled," Sandor offered. The other goblins seemed particularly fond of this possibility.

"Maybe," Mr. Forkle said, "but it seems more likely that nobody snuck in, but rather somebody who was allowed near them actually took them."

"Are you implying that somebody you trusted with the caches— probably someone here right now— is in cahoots with the Neverseen?" Tiergan asked, unconvinced. Evidently, Forkle hadn't brought this up in their telepathic Collective discussion.

This time, everyone's gaze shifted to Glimmer.

She shook her head so much her hood swished around. "I swear it wasn't me. You've all seen how overly guarded I am. When would I have time to steal them?" Not everyone seemed satisfied with this answer— Grady sure wasn't. He knew Sophie had grown to trust this ex-Neverseen-member a bit, but he had a feeling she was hiding something.

"Can I say something?" Sophie asked.

"Go ahead."

"I don't think we should spend time trying to figure out who took them," Sophie said, earning a couple confused head tilts. "I know that sounds strange. But... we just learned a huge part of Lady Gisela's plan, and I think we should pay more attention to that. Plus, we already got some information from one memory in the caches— and we're gonna be able to read the scrolls soon. Instead of dwelling on the things we don't know, wouldn't it be better to take advantage of the knowledge we already have?" She looked at Glimmer on that last part, and nodded meaningfully.

Sophie let that sink in, and a bunch of her friends started nodding into agreement. Then the Collective all nodded, then the Council, until eventually everyone had to admit what she was saying had merit.

Grady shot Sophie a smile, signifying that he agreed as well, but his mind was elsewhere. Because suddenly, he'd just had a terrifying thought. A vision he wasn't sure if he could get out of his mind.

An army of humans with abilities— numbed by Keefe, and being controlled by Lady Gisela and the rest of the Neverseen— coming and attacking Havenfield. The human Mesmers control Sophie and anyone else there so they can't run away, and the Pyrokinetics burn everything down. Until Sophie is gone forever. Just like Jolie.

He knew it was just his imagination, but it felt like a nightmare, getting closer and closer by the minute.