The Sun Never Sets on Sokeefe

The Lost Lead

Sorry if this is going to be confusing, but if something is in italics, that means it is going to be mental, like a direct thought, transmission, or mental conversation. Thank you so much for reading this, you have no idea how much each read means to me! ❤️

(Fitz's POV)

          My mind raced as Sophie rudely declared she should search Lord Cassius's mind. Why wouldn't she just automatically believe me? I'm the most trustworthy person alive! And by far the smartest, best looking, most talented, and most humble person to ever exist! How dare she argue with me!

          "Fine," I refused to show her how upset her words had made me. "We'll do it together."

          "Actually..." her voice trailed off. "I'm going to search it alone, just in case."

          "In case of what?" I snapped. "Besides, we're cognates!"

          "It's hard to tell what is real or not in his brain," she replied calmly. "And I would like to try alone first."

          "Do you not trust me?" I could hear my voice start to sound angry.

          "That's not the issue," Sophie refused to riled up. "I just think it would work better this way."

I started to fume, and a hot wave of anger and panic hit me. If I went with her, I could try to muddle up the image and defend myself. What was I going to do now? Then it hit me. I would just slip into her mind and make her confused.

It's me. I transmitted to her subconscious, and waited for the familiar tug of her mind letting me in. But nothing happened. An icy terror filled me. What was happening, and why wasn't I in her mind! Did she... did she not trust me anymore? 

A cold certainty spread throughout my mind. I knew what I had to do. I just hoped the few lessons I had taken to be a washer would work.

(Sophie's POV)

As I watched Fitz, I became less and less sure that he could be innocent. I knew for a fact that he had anger issues, and I know how cruel he could be in the heat of the moment. Either way, I would know if he was lying or not in a matter of minutes. 

 Slipped into Lord Cassius's mind, and the minute I did so his oily voice began to talk.

          It took you long enough. His voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard. 

          Why should you care how long it takes? I shot the words at him, trying to make them as venomous as possible. I could hardly look at him without thinking about punching him. The way that he treated his son was unacceptable. Keefe was amazing. He was smart, thoughtful, and deserved so much better.

          All I have been doing is trying to get him to live up to potential. Cassius said, and I realized I had accidentally transmitted the words. I don't think anyone  wants to see him just waste away. You especially.

He sounded like he was implying something, but I didn't feel like discussing it with him. 

Let's just do this. I muttered mentally. But just as I began to search his memories, a white fog seemed to appear. It clouded over his mind, and seemed to consume everything.

What's happening? I asked immediately, but got no response. In a matter of seconds, everything was gone. I quickly shot out of his mind, and backed into Keefe.

          "What happened?" He asked,  not sounding sure that he wanted to hear the answer.

          "I don't know," I responded, not wanted to move away from him. "It's like he disappeared."

Everyone sat in silence for a few seconds before Tam spoke up.

"Does this mean you didn't see what happened to Linh?"

I shook my head regretfully, and looked at the floor.

          "I knew we should have done this together!" Fitz snarled, but he sounded tired. "If I had gone, we would have found it."

Keefe shot him an angry glare, which Fitz returned, staring pointedly at how I was still pressed onto Keefe's side. I couldn't bring myself to move, though. When I was with Keefe... I felt safe. There was no other way to describe it. 

          "What do we do now?" Dex mumbled, tugging on his tunic.

          "Well, there's nothing else we can do now," Fitz cut in. "Lord Cassius is obliviously unreliable anyways, now that he is gone."

Keefe paled slightly and I rushed to reassure him.

"Don't worry, he's not dead. It just felt like he lost his memories," I said, but  Keefe's eyes were still glued to his father. 

          "Well," Elwin appeared and made everyone jump into the air. "It might help if you asked a professional."

I blushed and mentally scolded myself, I should have thought of that. After examining Cassius through multiple different light he eventually declared. "There's nothing physically wrong. I've seen this before a while ago. He's just in shock and should wake up in a few hours."

          "Why is he in shock?" Keefe asked the question we were all thinking. Elwin looked up and adjusted his glasses. 

"Because... his memory has been erased.