“And yet you wore an ogre homing device for weeks with no inkling of its existence,” Mr. Forkle reminded him. “I’m not saying that to fault you. Simply to help you realize what we’re up against. The ogres have defenses far beyond our knowledge and experience. And as for your thoughts, Mr. Dizznee, you saw how King Dimitar reacted when Sophie attempted to read his mind. How do you think he’d react to someone invading his city?”
Sophie cringed at the reminder of how serious the consequences of that single act had been. She still hadn’t shaken her doubts that it was related to the Wildwood plague.
“We cannot be hasty with our efforts,” Granite told them. “We must be strategic.”
“That doesn’t mean we should waste time, either,” Keefe argued.
“Do not fool yourself into believing you are the only one feeling impatient,” Mr. Forkle warned him. “Tell me, do you know the names of the dwarves we lost on Mount Everest? They were Ermete, Irja, and Kun—and Yegor is still in critical condition. They were dear friends and we are anxious to avenge them. But that is not an excuse to take foolhardy actions.”
“I know you’ve all spent months solving clues on your own and disobeying adults,” Granite added. “But you must remember we were the ones guiding you through that.”
“We figured out a few things on our own,” Fitz argued.
“Indeed, you did,” Granite agreed. “Which is why we’re glad to work with you. But we must be a team.”
“That’d be easier to believe if you guys weren’t keeping so many secrets,” Sophie reminded them.
“The only secrets we keep are ours,” Mr. Forkle said.
“What about the memories you stole from my head?” Sophie had two blank spots in her mind. One from when she was nine and had an allergic reaction to limbium—an elvin substance Mr. Forkle must’ve given her for some reason. The other was from when she was five, and Mr. Forkle triggered her telepathy. She could vaguely recall seeing a boy in elvin clothes disappear—but she couldn’t remember who he was.
“Those memories were mine,” she said. “And you took them and expect me to pretend it’s not a big deal.”
Mr. Forkle let out another long sigh and turned to telepathically debate with the Collective. As the silence stretched on, Sophie braced for a long “You kids” lecture.
But when Mr. Forkle finally spoke, he said, “Very well. In the interest of earning your trust, would you like your memory back?”
TEN
SOPHIE HAD TO let the sentence slosh around in her mind before the words could soak in. Once they did, something still felt wrong.
“You mean memories, right?” she asked. “You stole two.”
“We are only offering one—the memory I know you desire the most.”
“The Boy Who Disappeared?” Sophie asked, and the Collective nodded.
Sophie turned to her friends, knowing she wouldn’t get a better offer. When she had their approval, she told the Collective, “Okay.”
“All right, then,” Mr. Forkle said, reaching for her temples.
Sophie flinched back. “Wait—you’re doing it now? Since when is anything with you guys ever that easy?”
She glanced at her right hand, where a small star-shaped scar commemorated the time Mr. Forkle reset her abilities. He’d had to give her an entire ounce of limbium and then inject her with a modified human remedy to stop the allergic reaction from killing her.
Mr. Forkle cleared his throat. “Returning memories is a simple process—though you should prepare yourself for the fact that this memory was taken to spare you additional worry.”
“I still want it back. Just like I want the other memory.” She turned to the Collective, trying to find their eyes amid their crazy disguises. “If you won’t return it now, I think I deserve a guarantee that you’ll give it back to me eventually.”
“You deserve that and more,” Granite said. “So we can agree to your term—as long as you understand that we will choose when to return the other memory.”
Sophie agreed, and Mr. Forkle turned to Fitz. “I’d like to have you assist.”
“Why him?” Dex asked. “If you need another Telepath, why not use Granite?”
“Because Miss Foster trusts Mr. Vacker,” Mr. Forkle said. “And the two of them have an extremely unique connection. In fact, we’re hoping to train them as Cognates.”
“REALLY?” Fitz asked, his eyes sparkling.
“What’s a Cognate?” Sophie asked.
“An incredibly rare telepathic relationship,” Granite explained. “One very few Telepaths are able to achieve. I know I’ve never found anyone I could partner with.”
“Neither have I,” Mr. Forkle agreed. “Cognates combine their power through a deep personal connection. It’s too early to know if you’re truly compatible, but it’s worth exploring—especially given the potential we’ve witnessed. On your own, Miss Foster, you came far closer to reading an ogre’s mind than any have before. Perhaps with the combined strength of a Cognate you would find true success—though I’m definitely not suggesting you attempt to probe an ogre’s mind again. I’m simply illustrating the potential. Your telepathy has proven far superior to even my most optimistic calculations. If you and Mr. Vacker achieve Cognatedom, it would reach another level entirely.”
“You want to try it, right?” Fitz asked as Sophie resisted tugging on her eyelashes.