Keeper of The Lost Cities: Book 9: Showdown

Chapter 23 - Sophie's POV

We discussed the Mysterious Case of Vacker Amnesia during lunch, but none of us could come up with some partially legible that made sense. There was something wrong with every reason. After school, I drag Tam with me to the library, and though he whines and resists with his every living breath (noooooo, Sophie, I don't want to die today!), he uncovers a lot of information about Juline's little ice -cocoon idea and envelopes himself in the words swirling around him, but that's not what I'm researching.

"Sophie, get this." Tam flips through the pages and uses his fingers as tabs as he sorts through the information he's gathered.

"What?" I look up from my book on Washers and Memories.

"Juline can wrap us in the ice cocoons, but if we manage to regulate a certain body temperature, she can let go of the control on our ice and we can maintain the ice ourselves." he looked at me and my book. "But that's not what you're researching."

I shake my head and rub some fingers against my temples. "I just can't get it out of my head."

"When we get them back, you can ask them." His voice turns steely.

"Whatever." I grab as many books as I can and Tam lifts the rest with telekinesis as we move to put them back. "It's late and I have to talk with Grady about something."

"Hmm... what's it about?"

"I thought maybe we can use the Panakes Blossoms on Kenric's Wanderling."

Tam cocks his head. "That's not a bad idea."

I snort. "Of course it's not, I came up with it."

Flori coughs inconspicuously behind me and I relent. "OK, fine, Flori helped too."

"Thank you," she says from behind me. "Team Foster-Flori?"

"Since when have you called me Foster?"

Tam smirks behind his bangs. "I didn't know Sophie could have these kinds of conversations."

"Sophie can-"

"TIME TO GO!" Bo takes the rest of the books, shoves them into a random cubicle and herds us around the library and underneath the leapmaster.

"Why?" Tam sounds genuinely sad.

"Oh, is Tam missing the library?"

"WHAT? NO-"

"Oh, my god, it's true!"

Tam looks scared.

"Oh-kay, that's enough," Flori chides as she calls for Havenfield. Tam goes on his own but not before shooting me a death glare.

I find Grady staring at the Panakes Tree, and I run to stand next to him.

"We can use these on Kenric's Wanderling," he mumbles.

"I was supposed to tell you that!" I sulk.

"What? " he looks confused.

"I was supposed to tell you that the Panakes could heal Kenric's Wanderling! And now you've gone and figured it out yourself." I grumble.

Grady gives me a joking/knowing smile. "Well, you can't be the smart one all the time, can you? Give others a chance."

"Fine."

Grady ruffles my hair. "Find out anything new today?"

I sigh and plop against the Panakes trunk. "A lot of new information. But none of them make any sense when I try to reason them into our little situation. I just can't understand why Biana would be affected and not Dex. The reason that makes the most sense would be Gethen washing Biana's memories. But why? What's the point of keeping them there if they're not going to remember it all? Yeah, sure, maybe to blackmail us - or maybe just me - but the Neverseen knows that Biana and Dex are just as involved as Tam or Linh are - maybe even more so. And then why would he erase the memories of only one of them?" I shake my head. "There are just too many questions and not a single answer."