Kotlc one shots

Truth be Told (8)

As soon as we're done eating, Keefe excuses us and takes me back up to my room. 

"Okay, questions start now. What was that downstairs?" He asks as soon as the door is closed. 

"What was what about?" I ask innocently, keeping my emotions neutral. If I give away Alvar, screw the Neverseen not letting me back in, they'd be out to kill me. 

"You know what. When Della and Alden were talking about Alvar. Does the Neverseen have plans with him involved? Is that why you know his name? What are you guys going to do with him?" I can admire Keefe for this. No matter how goofy and carefree he seems to be around his friends, he's truly willing to do anything to protect them. But it's a good thing he doesn't suspect Alvar's a member of the Neverseen, that would be very bad.

"You and I both know that I won't share any of the Neverseen's plans. The deal was that you don't ask me about any of the Neverseens plans, only about me."

Keefe looked like he was about to go off on me but paused and took a deep breath, running his fingers roughly through his hair. "Fine. But if Alvar gets hurt and you didn't tell me..."

"Yeah yeah, you'll hunt me down and I'll regret my decision for the rest of my life, I got it," I say while rolling my eyes.

We settle down on two chairs,  mine a spinny one by a desk and his a more sofa-looking one. 

"So what do you want to ask me?" I start.

"Let's start with the basics. What powers do you have?" Keefe pulled out a notebook from his pocket. I felt as though I was back in the testing room with Vespera and she was taking notes on her clipboard but I pushed down that feeling so he didn't know this makes me uncomfortable.

"I'm a telepath, inflictor, polyglot, and..." I pause. I know I'm not supposed to tell anyone what my other powers are. The Neverseen always told me if the Black Swan found out I was an enhancer and a teleporter, they would use it to their advantage. 

But Keefe will know I'm not giving him everything if I don't tell him... so maybe half-truths will have to suffice for now.

"And what?" He asked, looking up from his notes.

"...And an enhancer," I finish, hoping he wouldn't question if there was another one.

"Why were you hesitant to share that last one with me?"

"The Nevereen always told me I was never allowed to share that information with the Black Swan because you guys would use it against them," I admit. I feel guilty, like I'm already giving away all of the Neverseens secrets I was never supposed to share.

"And how would we use that against them?" Keefe asked with a raised eyebrow.

I shrug, but I know the answer.

"You know I can feel that you're holding something back from me, right?" Keefe says without looking up from his note-taking. 

I sigh, annoyed. "It's just that my enhancing powers are... stronger than other peoples."

"How did the Neverseen use your powers to help themselves?" He still doesn't look up from his paper, but I see his pen pause its scribbling and I know he's interested in the answer.

"Umm, I don't think you'll like that answer," I warn because he most certainly wouldn't.

"I'm not here to get answers I like, I'm here to get the truth, now answer the question," Keefe says, though I can tell he's already a bit uneasy.

"Well... they used my enhancing to help upgrade their own powers. Mostly pyrokinesis for... questioning prisoners and empathy to know if someone was telling the truth or not." I immediately want to take back my last bit when I realize Keefe could make me hold his hand during these questions and I would never be able to get around anything again. Plus it would be exhausting.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to use your enhancement for my benefit. I'm not like the Neverseen," Keefe says pointedly, feeling my panic, but I ignore him, only glad he didn't take the opportunity.

"What about your other abilities? Have you ever used those to torture people?" 

"I never said we tortured people," I point out, even though I'm very well aware that's exactly what we did, and by the look of Keefe's face, he does too. "Fine, yes I did hurt people with my inflicting a couple of times and I read most of people's thoughts." 

In the Neverseen, being able to be a part of the interrogation process was an honor, but here, Keefe was making me feel like the monster he saw me as. I wouldn't say I particularly enjoyed hurting people, but the ones I was involved in deserved it, so I can't say I regret it either. 

"And how does it make you feel that you helped tortured innocent people just because you were told to?" Keefes looked up from his little notepad now, glaring at me with his sharp, icy eyes that reminded me a bit too much of Giselas. 

"I didn't do it just because they told me to. I did it because those people deserved it," I say challengingly. Who was he to judge me and what I've done? He knows nothing of the things I've gone through or even who I am.

"And what did they do to deserve it? Did they look at the Neverseen the wrong way? Maybe questioned their beliefs?" Keefe taunted and I sneered. I would never hurt someone over such silly things. Sure the Neverseen was always a bit one-minded, but we only ever hurt people when it was completely and totally necessary. 

...well, at least, I had.

"Of course not. I'm not a monster," I say through gritted teeth because although I don't care what Keefe thinks of me all that much, I do want him to understand that I'm not evil. 

"Really? Because I'm starting to doubt that. Tell me what the reason was," He demands. I can tell his patience is running thin by the way his voice is rising with every new sentence and his tighter grip on the pen.

"No," I refuse, crossing my arms. 

"Why not? Afraid to admit what you did was wrong?"

"No, you just don't deserve to know."

"Fine, don't tell me. I'll go downstairs and tell Mr. Forkle about how you used your torturing skills on me last night. Have fun being escorted by Gigantor all the way back to your new home, I'll wave you off," Keefe snapped as he stood up, storming to the door. 

"Wait, Keefe, stop! You can't do that!" I say, but I know that he very well could do that, and there's nothing I could do to stop him.

"Unless you tell me why, then I can and I will," he replies, getting to the door too quickly. 

"They killed my sister," I blurt out, and then immediately want to take it back. Keefe pauses, his hand hovering over the door knob and I cover my face with my hands, curling into a ball in the chair.

I could hear him walking closer to me, unsure of what to do or say, but I wasn't having it. 

"Get out."

"Sophie please I didn't mean-" he tries, but I cut him off.

"Get. Out," I growl.

And he leaves without another word.