Moonlark Turned Evil

3: The Lost Cities

Sophie glared up at the dinosaur model, tuning out her human teacher's words. It had been a week since she came to the Forbidden Cities, and she hadn't seen a single elf. There was no sign of one, either, except for the 'bushfires' that had sprung up around the city.

She didn't need to smell the sweet ash to know it was Everblaze.

Maybe setting the Everblaze was part of Gisela's plan to force the Black Swan to dance to their tune—but if that was the case, then whatever master-plan Gisela had come up with wasn't working.

The teacher—Mr. Sweetney?—said something else, and the other students headed off in different directions. Mr. Sweetney mumbled an inaudible sentence, and disappeared into the next room over.

Now left alone, Sophie turned around.

She immediately bit her lip to keep herself from smiling.

Ruy and Alvar were standing behind her in human clothes, but the Psionipath had clearly stopped at the wrong shop: he was wearing black jeans and a bright yellow t-shirt that said HAPPY DAYS—paired with dress shoes.

"Ruy—" Opening her mouth was clearly a mistake, because she burst out laughing, clutching her stomach. "That-that outfit—"

Ruy crossed his arms, scowling. "Yes, yes I know. I look amazing. Change the subject," he hissed at Alvar, who was too busy smiling.

"Wait, stay there for a moment." Sophie fished her phone—a human gadget she'd made sure to buy—from her pocket, snapping a photo of him. "There," she said, satisfied.

Ruy's scowl deepened.

"Anyway, what are you here for?" Sophie asked Alvar, correctly assuming that Ruy wouldn't speak to her for a few minutes—or, at least until he needed her help.

"My dad sent us to get you," the Vanisher explained. "Fitz, my brother, has a bramble championship right now, so we were asked instead. He'll meet you at the interview."

"The interview?" Sophie questioned.

"For Foxfire," Alvar said.

Sophie raised an eyebrow. This will be way easier than I thought. "Well, thanks for coming to get me. Is there any discussion necessary, or are we just going to leap straight there?"

Ruy and Alvar shared a look.

"We'll probably have to ask first," Alvar admitted. "I'll call him."

Sophie followed the two boys into a deserted corridor. She glanced at the camera filming them, before kicking off the floor.

She used a mixture of levitation—a skill that all elves were born with—and some wind that she pulled through the ventilation system to keep herself upright as she stood on the wall, parallel to the floor.

Reaching out, Sophie tapped her finger against the side of the camera. Using her Technopathy, she erased any evidence of the three of them entering the corridor, switched the device off, and then dropped back down to the floor.

Ruy produced an Imparter, which Alvar reluctantly took.

The latter drew a deep breath, and blew it out.

His expression reworked itself into a face that belonged to a young man who'd just discovered something important, with no sign of the Alvar Sophie knew well. It was a masterful change, one that showed he'd been practicing.

"Show me Alden Vacker," Alvar told the Imparter.

A face appeared on the screen, accompanied by a light beep that told Sophie the call had been accepted. She peered at the screen from outside of the camera's range. The man had teal eyes—nope, she hadn't been expecting that one—and wavy, dark brown hair.