UNLOCKED, kotlc

Chapter 17

Empty.

That's how Havenfield felt as Sophie walked inside.  The moonlight cast silvery shadows on the usually spotless, but now covered in a thin layer of dust furniture.  A pile of shiny dishes lay piled in the sink, and frosting, probably from a batch of Ripplepuffs, oozed from the counter, dripping to the floor in long slimy threads.

The animals had all moved out now that Grady and Edaline were taken, and moved somewhere near Eternelia was so the Councillers could keep an eye on them.  The usual noise of Grady chuckling and the warmth from Edaline's smile had vanished.  Sophie trudged up the stairs feeling hollow.

She walked through her nightly routine, trying to keep herself thinking about happy things.  But her mind kept drifting back to the fact that her parents were gone and Maruca was gone, and her friends hated her, and Gethen found a new way to knock them all out, and, and...

Amy.

The name was like a lifeline, and Sophie clung to the memories of her sister.  

And that night, Sophie fell asleep dreaming about Amy.

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"Show me Amy Foster," Sophie whispered that morning.

The good night of sleep had helped her spirits a lot, and she felt fresh and rejuvenated when she woke up, which was considerably better than half dead, depressed, and delirious with exhaustion.  She'd decided to hail Amy, who had received her Imparter from Mr. Forkle.

Amy's face rippled onto the screen, and Sophie breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her sister was alive, well, and looking a lot happier than Sophie felt.

She hated to crush Amy's high spirits with her own terrible news, but that was the reason why she'd hailed her... right?

"Sophie!" Amy cried, sounding genuinely surprised to see Sophie- which made her wonder where her younger sister hid her Imparter in the Forbidden Cities.

"Hi Amy," Sophie said, forcing a smile.  Amy saw through it all.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked, sounding concerned.  "I know that look.  That's your face when something bad happens and you're trying to vent it out to someone without making it a pity party."

"Kinda?" Sophie admitted, and she recapped her entire two weeks to Amy.

"You've saved the Elvin world and all the people in it a zillion times and they're turning on you because you asked for some help?" Amy said, sounding exasperated.

Sophie nodded, but only slightly.

"Being special and powerful doesn't mean you have to be a one man band and save the world singlehandedly.  It just means having the guts to stand up for what you think is right," Amy told her, and Sophie soaked up every precious word like it was liquefied gold.  "You did what was right, and you don't let anyone change that."

Amy sent her a small grin.  "Though how has it been going with you and your little boyfriend?"

Sophie groaned.  "We broke up.  And not for the reason you're thinking," Sophie said quickly as Amy giggled and opened her mouth to say something.  "It's just too complicated and there's too much going on!"

"You gave up your true love to save the Elvin world?" Amy said, mock incredulously.  

"He's not my true love," Sophie muttered, thinking of Keefe's ice blue eyes- and then shutting down the thought before she said something embarrassing.

Amy raised her eyebrows.  "And does being a shade somehow make the other dude more attractive?" 

"Shut up," Sophie mumbled, pulling her hair in front of her face  "He's not my- they're not my..."  

Amy giggled, and stuck her tongue out at her.  The voice of her old human parents rung through the screen, and Amy cursed.  

"School is in ten minutes, I have to go," she explained.  "But anytime you want to talk just hail me alright? I-I kinda miss us talking."

Before Sophie could respond, the Imparter went blank and Sophie sank back into her pillows, forcing herself to get up.  Foxfire was out for a few weeks, which also just meant more time with her friends who probably still hated her...

"Stop it," she chided herself out loud, and Sandor poked his head through the doorway.

"Where are we going today, Ms. Foster?"  Sandor asked.

The answer came almost automatically.

"Head to the Leapmaster 500.  Were going to Keefe's house."