Mr. Forkle looked pale as he mumbled, “I wasn’t aware that it had.”
“Wait, isn’t that where the Lake of Blood is?” Sophie asked.
“It is,” Mr. Forkle said. “But it’s a large valley, and the Lake of Blood is on the other side. Still, I’d better check on Sior, Lur, and Mitya.”
He pulled his crystal from his cloak and turned to Physic. “You can handle things without me?”
“Don’t I always?” She offered Sophie her hand as Mr. Forkle leaped away. “Come on, let’s go finish healing your friend.”
THIRTY-THREE
PHYSIC’S GOOPY, POOPY salve—or as Keefe called it, the pooplosion!—did its job, erasing the last remains of the black spiderweb veins on Fitz’s chest. After that it only took another hour of dry heaving and fifteen other medicines before Physic pronounced Fitz “cured.”
“You’re not healed,” she warned Fitz. “You’re going to need another week of recovery for that. And you’ll need to drink a vile tea every morning.”
“Did you say ‘vile’?” Della asked.
“Oh yeah—it’s nasty stuff. But so is getting impaled by a giant bug.” She set a jar on the table filled with seven spiky red flowers. “Steep one hollowthistle into a cup of boiling water and make him down the whole thing in one gulp. Try not to throw it up,” she told Fitz. “And no getting out of this bed except for essential things.”
“So, like, a few rounds of tackle bramble?” Keefe asked.
“Very funny,” Physic said. “But seriously—no. Fitz will look worse before he gets better. Just know that’s part of the process. I promise he’ll be his old self by the seventh cup.”
“Can’t I just down all seven cups right now?” Fitz asked.
“Not unless you want your insides to liquefy.”
“Am I the only one who thinks that would be kind of cool?” Keefe asked, earning another laugh from Physic.
“I like your style, kid,” she told him. “Though I have a feeling I’m going to need to keep an eye on you.”
“You can try,” Keefe told her. “And dude, now that you’re done with the Great Vacker Hurlfest, we can tell you that Foster found out one of Forkle’s identities. Sir Astin.”
Della’s eyes widened the most. “He was my Mentor when I was a Level Three.”
“He was?” Sophie asked. “Do you think he was in the Black Swan back then?”
“I don’t know, it was a long time ago.” Della stared out the window, her mind in the past.
Fitz, Dex, and Biana meanwhile didn’t seem that impressed. They were surprised, of course. But crazy as the revelation was, it still felt like Mr. Forkle’s other identities had to be an even bigger mind blow.
Sophie jolted back to the present when Fitz yelped.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, “I was just trying to sit up.”
“Vertical is not your friend yet,” Physic told him. “Make horizontal your buddy for the next seven days.”
Fitz sighed, and winced from the sigh. “Can I at least practice Telepathy?”
“You might be up to it in a few days,” she told him. “But I doubt it. You need to rest. You came pretty close to dying.”
“I knew it,” Dex mumbled from the corner. Sophie hadn’t seen him this miserable since the Council had forced him to adjust her ability-restricting circlet. “Can I . . . um . . . talk to you for a sec?” he asked Fitz. “Alone?”
“Uh . . . sure,” Fitz said slowly.
“Come on,” Della said, herding everyone out. “Physic should check us, too.”
“Indeed I should,” Physic agreed.
“But we’re going to stand close enough so we can eavesdrop, right?” Keefe asked.
Fitz flung a pillow and smacked Keefe in the head—then yelped, clutching his shoulder.
“Don’t make me restrain you!” Physic warned him. “And don’t you dare fling that pillow back!” she told Keefe as he lined up his aim.
Sophie was the last to leave the room, trying to guess why Dex wouldn’t look at her. Her theories evaporated when she entered the main room and found Mr. Forkle and Calla whispering.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Probably nothing,” Calla said, but the strain in her voice was too noticeable.
Mr. Forkle cleared his throat. “I was unable to find Lur, Mitya, or Sior. I’m sending Calla to make a more thorough search.”
“Won’t she be exposed to the plague?” Sophie asked.
“I won’t surface unless the roots assure me it is safe,” Calla promised.
Keefe’s eyes darkened. “If anything happened to them because they were searching for my mother—”
“The two would have nothing to do with each other,” Calla promised.
When Keefe started to argue, Calla made her way to his side. Sophie couldn’t hear what Calla whispered to him, but his whole expression softened.
“I’ll be home soon,” Calla said, nodding to Sophie. “Try not to worry.”
“Here,” Physic said when Calla was gone. She handed Sophie a small green vial. “This will help you destress.”
Sophie sniffed the elixir. “This doesn’t have limbium in it, right?”
“Nope—I learned my lesson last time.”