UNLOCKED, kotlc

Chapter 23

The first things Sophie noticed- before the shock and realization and fear- were the women's eyes.  They were sharp and piercing, and something remained unsettling about the way her gaze stumbled into hers and their eyes interlocked. She didn't look anything like Mr. Forkle- she had long wavy brown hair and pale, dramatic features.  Her mouth was upturned into a sneer.

"Mr. Forkle doesn't have a sister," Fitz said, speaking what everyone had been thinking.

The women cackled manically, and Sophie backed up a step as Sandor drew his sword higher and Ro's daggers flashed menacingly to the side of her.  "Oh yes, I am sure that is what my brothers had hoped you to believe."

"He's dead," Sophie spat, trying to catch her off guard.

"Oh I know my dear," the women said, her voice smoothing Sophie over, the calm words rolling of her tongue like water.  "I watched him die.  It is only a matter of time before the second one dies too."

"What's your name?" Linh asked, sounding surprisingly calm.  

"They call me Adela," she said.  "I have been here so long that it is hard to remember what I used to be."

The name sounded a bit familiar....

"Yes, Sophie," Adela said.  "You recognize it, don't you?  In the Forbidden Cities, humans have a singer which they call Adele.  My voice is persuasive and soothing as you might already have noticed.  They say it is like a song."

"Who says that?" Keefe demanded, his fists clenched.  Sophie knew he was thinking of Lady Gisela.

"I am the Neverseen's weapon, my dear.  Me and my brothers... we each ran off to our own organization.  They founded the Black Swan.  I created the Neverseen."  Her eyes turned green.  "I envied their relationship- they're togetherness, they're unity.   I tried to do this.  And see where it has left me- forgotten, and abandoned.  You are on that road Sophie.  Because I tried to love.  It got me nowhere."

Her eyes fizzled back slowly to their normal color.  Keefe and Stina both looked a bit lightheaded because between the group of them, there were some crazy powerful emotions going on in the room.

Mr. Forkle had never mentioned a sister- though if Amy was secretly an evil murderer who created such a malicious organization, she'd do her best to avoid talking about it too.  Why did she mention always trying to love, and then something happening after that?  Most importantly, how was she supposed to get Edaline and Grady back from the Neverseen?

"This cavern could collapse any minute now," Adela continued.  "Your little Psionipaths did such a quick job.  If Ruy were doing better, he could fix up this place in a snap."  She hesitated, and looked off guard for a split second.  Then she regained her composure and went on.  "So what is it going to be, Moonlark?  Will you stand for your 'friends' and fall right into their hands?"

Sophie pressed herself against the wall and tried to act brave.  All in all, she was failing.

"My brothers created you to be so much more than this.  They never realized what you could do.  What you could be."

"So is this what it is then?" Sophie challenged.  "I go with you and my friends get the stellarlune to let Grady, Edaline, and Maruca leave?"

Adela curled her fingers,  her features settling into a smug grin.  "Indeed."

Keefe caught on to what she was saying before anyone else.  "Don't Foster, it's not worth it," he said.  "She's lying."

"And what if we want to just fight our way out of it?" Sophie pressed, knowing he was right.

Her smile didn't even falter. Instead, she vanished out of sight and reappeared right in front of Sophie, face to face.  Her nose grazed her cheek as she said softly,  "You'll have to go through me first."

And right before Sophie prepared to lunge at her, she realized what had been so unsettling about her eyes when she had first seen them.

They were brown.