“Then consider that our arrangement—and remember that the rules apply to you as well,” Granite told her.
I will still transmit to you on occasion, Mr. Forkle added, making Sophie jump as his voice filled her head. But I will not open my mind to your thoughts or hear your reply unless you transmit back to me. I hope this proves that we do consider your wants and concerns. Clearly it’s going to take time to adjust to our new working arrangement. But we are on the same side, even if our approaches differ. And since I already saw what you were thinking, let me go ahead and assure you that we are investigating the gnomes’ situation, and we have seen no obvious signs of the Neverseen’s involvement. The footprints Oralie mentioned—and by the way, you should use that Imparter she gave you very sparingly—belonged to two teenagers living nearby.
Why are there teenagers living near Wildwood?
Most likely they’ve been banished. But they were clearly not a threat to the gnomes. So you can let go of your conspiracy theories for the moment. Give us time to investigate properly.
“We know you two are having a secret conversation,” Keefe interrupted. “Care to share with the rest of us?”
“He was just clarifying something,” Sophie said.
“Was it about Gethen?” Keefe asked. “You promised to tell us about the interrogations.”
“There isn’t much to tell,” Mr. Forkle said. “Each time I’ve tried to probe his mind, he was . . . unresponsive.”
“So do a memory break,” Keefe pressed.
“You misunderstand what I mean by ‘unresponsive.’ His head currently appears to be empty. There are no thought processes. No dreams. No memories of any kind. I’ve never seen a defense like it, and I’ve yet to figure out how to counter it.”
“Do you think it’d help if I tried to heal him?” Sophie asked.
“That would be far too dangerous,” Granite said. “It’s possible his goal is to lure you into his mind and trap you there. Isn’t that what Fintan tried to do during his healing?”
Sophie winced at the memory. If Fitz hadn’t dragged her back to consciousness, Fintan would’ve burned her alive without her even realizing.
“But you’re taking the same risk when you search his mind, aren’t you?” she asked Mr. Forkle.
“I am far less valuable than you—as are we all.”
“He’s right,” Squall agreed. “And I’m sorry, but I must get back or someone will notice I’m missing.” She removed a frosted purple-black crystal from her crackly cloak and leaped away in a flurry of snow.
“Now, what was I saying?” Mr. Forkle asked, watching the snowflakes swirl.
“You were making excuses for why we can’t find the Neverseen,” Keefe told him. “Pretty lame ones, if you ask me.”
“So you feel it’s lame to keep Sophie safe?” Granite asked.
“No—but it’s lame to not use me,” Keefe argued. “We know some of the Neverseen are in Ravagog. Give me a green crystal and I’ll hunt them down.”
“That is the most supremely absurd idea I’ve ever heard,” Mr. Forkle told him.
Sophie had to agree. King Dimitar had taken out her humongous goblin bodyguard with a single punch from his apelike fist. And the ogre who’d grabbed her during the attack on Mount Everest had literally dragged her through ice and stone.
“If they catch you, they’ll kill you,” she whispered.
“Well then, I guess it’s a good thing breaking into places is my specialty,” Keefe told her.
“This isn’t sneaking into the principal’s office,” Fitz said.
“I can handle it,” Keefe insisted. “And now is the time to make our move. The Neverseen are scrambling. We caught Gethen. Brant’s all charred and burned. And my mom”—he cringed at the word—“isn’t as tough as she’s pretending to be. She won’t last long with the ogres. She needs gourmet dinners and fancy clothes—and she’s horrible with bad smells.”
“That may be,” Mr. Forkle said, “but you’re forgetting that trespassing on ogre land violates our treaty. We cannot spark a war.”
“Haven’t they already voided the treaty by helping the Neverseen?” Fitz asked.
“King Dimitar is claiming that was done by a band of ogre rebels,” Blur explained. “If they’re acting without his permission, the Council can’t hold him responsible.”
“Does the Council honestly believe him?” Sophie asked.
“Besides, aren’t we rebels too?” Dex added. “If they caught Keefe, wouldn’t the Council be able to give the same excuse?”
“Why is everyone assuming I’m going to get caught?” Keefe asked. “You guys are clearly forgetting how awesome I am!”