Keeper of the Lost Cities

SIXTEEN

SOPHIE WOKE TO AN AMAZING SUNRISE— pink, purple, and orange streaks blending the ocean and sky into mirror images. She enjoyed the view, but she would need to figure out a way to darken her glass walls. Sunrise was too early to be awake every day.

Grady and Edaline were in the kitchen finishing up breakfast when she came downstairs. Sophie hovered in the doorway, not sure if she should interrupt.

“Either you’re an early riser,” Grady said as he moved the scrolls he was reading to make room for her, “or you didn’t close the shades.”

She sank into a chair next to him. “How do I do that?”

“Just clap your hands twice.”

“How about some breakfast?” Edaline asked. Her voice sounded tired, and the shadows around her eyes were so dark they looked like bruises. At Sophie’s nod she conjured up a bowl of orange glop and a spoon. Each bite tasted like warm, buttery banana bread, and Sophie was tempted to ask for seconds, but she didn’t want to impose.

She didn’t know how to talk to them, so she stared at Grady’s scrolls. The sloppy handwriting was impossible to read upside down, but she did notice a symbol in the corner: a hooked bird’s neck, with the beak pointing down. The image tickled her mind, like she should know what it meant, but she couldn’t find the memory it belonged to.

Grady caught her looking and rolled them up. “Boring stuff from a long time ago.” He said it with a smile, but it was obvious he didn’t want her seeing the scrolls, which only made her more curious. Especially when she spotted a line of runes running along the bottom, and this time they made sense.

“‘Project Moonlark,’” she blurted, before she could think it through.

“You can read that?” Grady asked.

Sophie nodded, scooting back a little when she saw the look in his eyes. Anger, confusion—and fear. “Usually I can’t, but this time I could. What’s Project Moonlark?” she whispered.

Grady’s mouth tightened. “Nothing you need to know about.”

But Alden had said the word she used to babble as a baby might mean “moonlark.” That couldn’t be a coincidence. She tugged out an eyelash.

Grady ran a hand across his face and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just, these are extremely classified documents, and those are cipher runes. No one is supposed to be able to read them unless they’ve been taught the key.”

She swallowed, trying to get enough moisture on her tongue to make it work. “Why can I read it, then?”

“I have no idea.” He shared a look with Edaline. “Maybe the way humans taught you to read, or write, made your mind see things a little different.”

That was the same excuse Alden had given for why she couldn’t read normal runes. It wasn’t particularly believable, but she couldn’t think of anything better. She was pretty sure she’d remember being taught to read cipher runes.

“If you’re ready to go, we should get those medicines Elwin prescribed,” Edaline interrupted, standing. Each word was drawn out, like the whole sentence was one long sigh, which didn’t exactly make Sophie eager to go. But she couldn’t really say no, so she rose, fidgeting with the ruffles on the purple dress she was wearing. It was the simplest dress Della bought her, but she still felt ridiculous. Did the elves have something against jeans?

Grady nodded. “Say hi to Kesler for me.”

Edaline groaned. “This is going to be interesting.”

Sophie glanced at Grady, hoping he wasn’t mad about the scrolls. He gave her a small smile. Then Edaline took her hand, and they glittered away.

THEY LEAPED TO AN ISLAND called Mysterium. Small, identical buildings lined the narrow streets like they’d been cut from a mold. Street vendors filled the air with the scent of spices and sweets, and conversation buzzed around the crowded sidewalks. Sophie’s and Edaline’s gowns stood out among the simple tunics and pants of the other elves.

“Hey, how come they don’t have to dress up?” Sophie complained.

“Mysterium is a working-class city.”

“Oh. But wait—doesn’t everyone get the same amount of money in their birth fund?”

Edaline nodded. “Money has nothing to do with social rank. Our world is ‘talent based.’ Those with simpler abilities work simpler jobs—and they dress correspondingly.”

“Seems kind of unfair,” Sophie mumbled. “You can’t control how much talent you’re born with. Why should you live a lesser life?”

“Their lives aren’t lesser. They have houses just as fine as Alden’s or ours. But when they come to work, they come to a different type of city. A city designed for their kind of work.” Edaline’s grip tightened on Sophie’s hand as several people waved at her.

“You okay?” Sophie asked.

“Yes, I’m just not used to being around so many people.” She kept her head down as she led Sophie through the busy village, avoiding the other elves they ran in to. Everyone seemed to recognize Edaline, though, and whispers followed them wherever they went.

“Look, it’s Edaline Ruewen—can you believe it?”

“I thought she never left the house.”

“She doesn’t.”

Edaline pretended not to notice, and they didn’t slow their pace until they reached the only building that was different: a store painted twenty different colors, with curved walls and a crooked roof—like it belonged in a nursery rhyme.

SLURPS AND BURPS: YOUR MERRY APOTHECARY.

The door belched as they entered.

The store was a maze of shelves filled with colored bottles of liquids and pills. Edaline went straight to the back, to a laboratory complete with beakers bubbling over burners with rainbow-colored flames. A slender man in a long white lab coat hovered over the experiments with a skinny boy at his side—probably his son, since they both had the same tousled strawberry blond hair and periwinkle eyes.

“I’ll be with you in two minutes,” he promised as he added a blob of orange slime to one of the test tubes. “Get ready to add the amarallitine, Dex.”

The boy used a long pair of tongs to pick up a glowing yellow vial and hold it over the experiment from a safe distance. “Ready?”

“Not yet.” He slipped on a pair of thick black glasses. “Okay. Now!”

He jumped back as the boy poured in the contents of the vial. The beaker sparked and released an enormous plume of smoke, filling the room with the smell of dirty feet. Sophie fought off a gag and hoped the concoction wasn’t on Elwin’s list.

The man pounded the boy’s back and removed his glasses. “First one we haven’t exploded all day. Edaline!” he exclaimed, finally looking up. “Is that really you?”

“Hello, Kesler.”

“‘Hello, Kesler,’” he repeated, with a convincing impersonation of her soft voice. “That’s all you have to say? Get over here and give me a hug!”

Edaline moved across the room like sludge, but he wrapped her in a big bear hug anyway. “You look good, Eda—but what are you doing here? You never come to town.”

“I know.” She handed him the crumpled scrap of paper. “Elwin said I need to get these for Sophie.”

Kesler scanned the sheet for half a second before his head snapped up. “Sophie?” His eyes found where Sophie was standing and his jaw fell slack. “Did . . . . miss something?”

“Yes.” Edaline took a deep breath. “Sophie lives with us now.”

Kesler’s eyes darted between Sophie and Edaline, like he couldn’t decide who was more fascinating. “Since when?”

“Since yesterday—it’s a long story.” She gestured for Sophie to join them. “Sophie, this is my brother-in-law, Kesler, and my nephew Dex.”

“Hi,” Sophie mumbled, too nervous to make eye contact, especially since these were Edaline’s family. She could practically feel their stares.

“Sophie will be starting at Foxfire on Monday,” Edaline explained.

“Cool,” Dex exclaimed. “What level will you be?”

“Level Two.”

“Me too! Do you know your schedule al—whoa!” He leaned close to her face and pointed to her eyes. “How’d you do that? I turn mine red sometimes—totally freaks everyone out—but I’ve never seen brown before. I like it.”

She could feel her cheeks blush. “Actually, I just have brown eyes.”

“Really? Excellent. Do you see them, Dad?”

“I do.” Kesler studied her like she was one of his experiments. “Where exactly are you from, Sophie?”

“I . . . uh . . .” She wasn’t sure if she was allowed to tell the truth.

“Sophie’s been living in the Forbidden Cities until a few days ago,” Edaline answered for her.

Sophie cringed as Kesler asked, “What?” at the same time Dex shouted, “That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever heard! Was it awesome? I bet it was awesome. Hey, are you human? Is that why you have brown eyes?”

“I’m not human. I was just raised by them.” The words came out, but they felt wrong on her tongue.

“Dex, I think you’re making Sophie uncomfortable,” Edaline said, before he could ask another question.

“Am I? Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

Sophie shrugged. “It’s okay. I know I’m strange.”

Dex smiled, flashing deep dimples. “I like strange. Hey, do you—”

The door burped again.

“You!” A tall woman in a dark green cape stalked through the store, pushing past Sophie and Edaline. A beanpole of a girl in a hooded pink cloak dragged behind.

“What’s wrong now, Vika?” Kesler asked with obvious annoyance.

“Ask your son. This has his handiwork written all over it.” She whipped the hood down from the girl’s head, revealing a shiny bald scalp underneath.

Edaline, Sophie, and Kesler gasped at the same time. Dex, meanwhile, seemed to be trying very hard not to smile. “Hey, Stina. Did you change something? ’Cause you look different today. Wait, don’t tell me. . . .”

“Mom!” Stina growled.

Kesler’s cheeks twitched, like he was battling a laugh. “We don’t sell any balding solutions here, Vika.”

“Just because you don’t sell them doesn’t mean you don’t make them,” she insisted.

Kesler glanced at Dex.

“You know how to make them too,” Dex reminded him.

“I know it was you, you stupid sasquatch!” Stina screamed.

Dex rolled his eyes and pointed to a spot behind her ear. “Did you know you have a dent in your skull right there?”

Sophie bit back a laugh as Stina lunged for him in a flurry of bony appendages.

“That’s enough!” Kesler shouted, pulling them apart. “Control your daughter, Vika.”

“Why should I? It’s not like you control your children.”

Kesler looked like he wanted to throttle her, but instead he gritted his teeth and said, “We have Hairoids in stock. Take some on the house, and she’ll have her hair back in a week.”

“A week?” Stina wailed. “I can’t go to school looking like . . . like . . .”

“Like an ogre?” Dex suggested with a wicked grin.

Stina screamed.

“If my daughter misses any days of school because of your son, I will make sure he is held responsible,” Vika yelled.

“You can’t prove anything,” Dex grumbled.

“I won’t need to. They’d expect nothing less from a bad match!”

Kesler’s friendly features twisted with obvious rage, and he needed several deep breaths before he spoke. Sophie didn’t know what a “bad match” was, but it must be a heavy insult.

“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” Kesler practically spat. “You two are going to get out of my sight, and when I finish helping these customers, I’ll see if I can make the Hairoids more potent. If I can’t, wear a hat.”

Vika stared him down, but he didn’t flinch. “I guess we have no choice. It’s not like anyone else would waste their lives making ridiculous medicines in a useless shop.”

“If it’s so useless, why does everyone buy from me?” Kesler countered.

Vika couldn’t seem to find a retort. So she threw the hood back over Stina’s head and dragged her toward the door.

“I’ll get you for this,” Stina promised Dex.

“Oooh, I’m really scared.”

Stina’s bitter eyes focused on Sophie. “What are you looking at?”

Sophie looked away. “Nothing.”

The door burped again, then slammed.

Kesler pounded his fist against the table, making everyone jump. “Do I want to know what that was all about, Dex?”

“Probably not.”

Kesler sighed. “You need to be more careful, Dex. You know how some people feel about our family—especially Vika and Timkin Logner.”

“Well,” Edaline said quietly, “this store hardly helps the situation. Perhaps if you made it more traditional—”

“Absolutely not,” Kesler interrupted. “Nothing brings me more joy than watching all the stuffy nobles squirm in here.”

“Just like nothing makes me happier than a shiny bald Stina,” Dex added, grinning.

Kesler couldn’t help laughing. “Well, Dex, since you made the mess, you get to tweak the Hairoids. I need to help Edaline with Elwin’s list.”

Dex scowled and stalked off to collect the supplies from the back. He returned a few seconds later with an armful of vials and spread them on the worktable with a sneaky smile. “This will make her hair grow faster,” he whispered to Sophie. “But it’ll also give her a beard.”

Sophie giggled, and made a mental note never to get on Dex’s bad side. “What did that girl do to you?”

“She’s just evil,” he said as he ground black leaves with a mortar and pestle. “Trust me.”

EDALINE DISAPPEARED TO HER ROOM when they returned to Havenfield, and Grady tried to teach Sophie how to light leap alone. She’d never been so horrible at anything in her life.

The first twenty times she tried, she couldn’t feel the warm feathers—no matter how many times Grady told her to concentrate on the tingle in her cells. After that she couldn’t hold on long enough to do anything except break out in a full body sweat from the heat.

On attempt fifty-seven she finally made a solo leap to the other side of the property. She completed the next five in a row and felt ready to collapse, so she wanted to cry with relief when Grady announced she’d practiced enough. But when he checked her nexus, he frowned.

He pointed to the gray rectangle, which displayed only a sliver of blue. “That means your concentration is at ten percent. Everyone your age is at least at thirty percent by now.”

Yeah, and they’d been light leaping their whole lives—but she chose not to point that out. She didn’t want Grady to think she was difficult. “I’m trying as hard as I can.”

“I know,” Grady said, worrying the edge of his tunic with his hands. “But I don’t think you have any idea what you’re up against. Alden told me Bronte doesn’t want you at Foxfire, which means he’ll be watching you like a hawk. He’ll check with your Mentors. He’ll monitor your tests. And at the first sign of weakness, he’ll step in and try to have you expelled. I wouldn’t be surprised if he pushes for you to be transferred to Exillium—and let’s just say it’s somewhere you don’t want to go.”

She nodded, swallowing a mouthful of bile. If she hadn’t been freaked out about starting Foxfire before, she was now.

How was she supposed to pass when she was so far behind?

Grady forced a smile. “I know you’re struggling to adjust and have a ton to learn, but you’re going to have to push yourself as hard as you can. And I promise I’ll help you every way I can. Edaline will too.”

A flash of light pulled her out of her mounting panic attack, and two people appeared a few feet up the path. She recognized Dex from Slurps and Burps, and the woman he was with resembled Edaline, except her hair was messy and her yellow gown was wrinkled and plain.

“Had to come see for yourself, Juline?” Grady asked.

“I’m allowed to visit my sister, aren’t I?” she asked, her eyes riveted to Sophie.

Grady laughed. “Where’s the rest of the family?”

“Home with Kesler. I didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

“And maybe you wanted time to gossip without interruption?” Grady teased. “Sophie, why don’t you show Dex your room? I have a feeling the girls have a lot of talking to do.”

SOPHIE HAD NO IDEA WHAT to do with Dex. She’d never had a friend before—much less a boy—much less an elf. Dex seemed pretty comfortable, though. He wandered her room, touching everything that caught his interest. He thought her human clothes were hilarious, and was even more excited when he found the scrapbook she’d hidden on the bookshelf.

“Hey, is that you?” he asked, pointing to the photo mounted to the cover.

Sophie’s eyes stung as she glanced at the picture. Her dad and sister waved at the camera while she hid in the background building a sand castle. “Yeah. That was last summer.”

“Is that your dad?”

“Yeah. Well—um—that’s the guy who raised me,” she corrected, blinking away the tears that had formed. It was going to be hard to get used to saying that. But she had to. She wasn’t his daughter. He didn’t even know she existed anymore.

Dex frowned. “What happened to them?”

“I’m not allowed to know.” She couldn’t keep the sadness out of her voice. As much as she didn’t want it to matter, it was hard not knowing where they were or how they were doing.

“Sorry.” He shuffled his feet. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” She wasn’t sure she was ready to look through the scrapbook, but Dex already had it open and was flipping through the pages. She hoped there weren’t any naked baby pictures in there.

“Why did you take your picture with a guy in a giant mouse suit? Actually—better question: Why would anyone wear a giant mouse suit?”

“We’re at Disneyland.”

His head snapped up. “I have my own land?”

“What?”

“My last name is Dizznee.”

She laughed. “I’m pretty sure it’s a coincidence.”

He squinted at the picture. “Are you wearing fairy wings?”

“Okay, I think we’ve had enough fun with the photos.” She pulled the scrapbook away from him before he found anything else to make fun of.

“Sorry. I just can’t get over it. I mean, I’ve never seen a human, in real life. And you lived with them.” He shook his head. “How come you live with Grady and Edaline? Are you related to them?”

Her jaw tightened. “I’m not related to anyone.”

“You’re alive. You must have parents.”

She shook her head. “My real parents didn’t want me to know who they are, so as far as I’m concerned, they don’t exist.”

Dex didn’t seem to know what to say to that. Honestly, she didn’t either.

“Hey, this is one of those music things,” he said, picking up her iPod.

“Yeah. How did you know?”

“My mom’s into human movies. She doesn’t have many, but one of them had one of these things in it, and I’ve always wanted to see one. We don’t have anything like them.”

“Really? Why not?”

“Elves aren’t really musical—not like dwarves. They have some awesome music.” He slid his fingers across the screen. “It’s dead.”

“No outlets here. No way to charge it.”

Dex flipped it over. “I don’t know much about human technology, but I bet I could make it solar powered.”

“Really?”

“Well, I can give it a try.” He slipped it into his pocket and went over to her desk, rifling through all her Foxfire stuff. He scanned her schedule. “Sir Conley’s pretty cool, I hear. But good luck with Lady Galvin. She has the highest fail rate of any Mentor—ever. I’m pretty sure she failed her last prodigy a few weeks ago.”

Sophie’s heart slammed so hard she was surprised it didn’t punch through her chest. Were they trying to make her fail? She wouldn’t put it past Bronte to rig her schedule.

But . . . this was school. She’d always been great at school.

She took a deep, calming breath.

“Hey, I could help you find your way around tomorrow,” Dex offered.

Relief flooded through her. She wouldn’t have to do this alone. Except . . .

“You wouldn’t mind being seen with the weird new girl with the weird brown eyes and the weird human past?”

“Are you kidding? I can’t wait to tell everyone you were my friend first.”

She smiled. “We’re friends?”

“Yeah. I mean—if you want to be.”

“Of course!”

Dex’s smile widened, flashing his deep dimples. “Cool. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”