The Knowledge of the Hidden

Chapter 15

"I can't believe I've been so stupid," Josh says suddenly at lunch the next day.

I frown, leaning over to wipe the charred fish from my leg, which he spilled all over me, dropping his bowl in some kind of sudden realization.

"You? Stupid?" I say, dryly, more concerned with the mess than whatever he's discovered. "Somehow I doubt that."

Josh looks at me, as if realizing suddenly that I am there, and not as though I've been sitting beside him the whole time.

"It's your mom."

I try to act unconcerned but I find myself turning, my eyes searching for her without my consent. "Where?"

"No," Josh says, shaking his head. "I mean, she's the one. She's the one who's supposed to cast the shield over the camp."

I raise my eyebrows, waiting for him to elaborate.

"You can get through the shield on the invisible house," Josh says, his eyes fixed somewhere in the distance. "Which means she was the one who cast it. Beth said it was one of the leaders that was working on the shield, and since shield powers are extremely rare, it almost has to be your mom that she was talking about."

I start to feel nauseous, pushing my own food away. Josh looks at me, his own smile so at odds with the feelings giving rise inside of me.

"Lilly, this is good news," he says, noticing my expression. "You can talk to her, ask her to wait until we can figure out a safe way to bring Luke here. Or maybe she could even cast it, but lift it later when it's time to get him."

"Yeah," I say, "you're right." But his words don't comfort me and he can tell.

"I know you're still mad at your mom—and you have every right to be—but you know she would never do anything to hurt Luke."

"I'm not worried about that," I say, glancing out toward the leader tents. "I'm worried that she'll think leaving Luke in Eximius is the right thing for him. She made that decision once before already."

"Yeah, but so did you," Josh says. I glare at him. He shrugs. "I'm just saying, things are different now."

I cross my arms tightly against my chest. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Just talk to her," Josh says. "It can't hurt."

The increasingly tight knots in my stomach suggest otherwise, but I agree anyway.

I make my way to the invisible house after dark, not pausing to consider whether or not she will be there. I don't even know which tent is hers, after all, and I've managed to run into my mom in the house both times I've been there. I walk back and forth around the area for a while, the house's exact location still fuzzy to me. Before long, I take a step that feels different than the rest and watch as the forest around me becomes solid walls.

I make my way toward the large wooden staircase, running my hand along the banister as I begin to scale it. It truly is impressive, this house, and I find myself wondering how it's possible that it could even be out here. I had mentioned this to Josh the day we discovered it, and he suggested it may have been from the old days, before the wars and that my mom just cast a spell to cloak it. It doesn't look old to me though, in fact, it looks almost as modern as the houses in Eximius.

At the top of the stairs I find a long hall with several doors, all closed. Unlike the main entrance, there are no windows and I don't dare look for a light switch, so I have to feel my way down the hall, only the vague outlines of door handles visible.

I begin to make my way toward one, when suddenly I hear footsteps coming from downstairs. My eyes widen and I turn grab the handle of the closest door, sliding into the dark space, leaving the door cracked so I can see.