cascade | kotlc

15. Nice to Meet You

 "Wylie?" Biana repeated. "Prentice's son?"

Shadows darkened Mr. Forkle's eyes as he nodded. "The Neverseen ambushed him in his room today. Thank god Miss Linh and June were there, otherwise he might've been taken."

"What happened?" Sophie asked. "How did the Neverseen even get in?"

"It's not supposed to be possible," Mr. Forkle admitted. "I myself had set up hundreds of security measures in the Gold and Silver towers, pressure sensors lining every hallway, motion trackers behind every door, locks on every window. But the fact that they managed to ambush today -- and Miss Linh and June discovered their own entrance -- proves it was not enough." He sighed. "I will need to reconsider everything."

"Will he be...?"

"We don't know," June told her sister. "He's not awake, but he's not asleep either. It's as if..." She shuddered. "The Shade did something to him, and he just passed out. I was wondering if you could check his mind for anything that happened."

"I can try," she said slowly. "But... Wylie..."

"Physic is treating him as we speak," Juline promised, checking her Imparter. "But he'll need to remain sedated for days. She says his mind is going through... turmoil."

"Days," Sophie repeated. "Turmoil."

"Does Physic think Wylie will recover?" Fitz asked.

"He didn't suffer any external injuries today, but interally is anyone's guess," Blur told him. "Mr. Tam is checking his shadowvapor levels, but we do not know. Anything could happen."

"How did he even get taken from the Silver Tower?" Dex asked, looking completely bewildered. "The security's supposed to be legendary. My technopathy mentor went on and on about how it was designed the same way they did the insane security at Lumenaria, with a team of anonymous Technopaths each building only one small piece."

"I mean, we managed to get through the window," Linh offered. "That definitely proves the security's not as amazing as it should be, if trapezing is a viable strategy."

"We still had to have Wylie let us in though," June murmured. "I don't know how they would just break in... unless... I have no clue."

"Also," Mr. Forkle continued, "rest assured that the Lodestar mirror is just a mirror. Nothing in the Hall of Illumination had been disturbed. There was no trace of a fingerprint or a foot print, no way to remove the mirror from the wall and access behind it."

"You don't know that for sure unless we break it," June pointed out. "What if there's some funny way to get through?"
"That is unnecessary," he told her. "The Neverseen did not shatter the mirror on their way through. It is impossible. The Lodestar is simply just a mirror. You can only see yourself in it."

"Not just yourself..." Biana's eyes widened. "Not just yourself."

"I don't know what that means. Additionally, all the Foxfire logs show Wylie being alone. If another prodigy helped them, they would've immediately been sensed by the perimeter system, which coincidentally was why June had to rely on Miss Linh today for her infiltration. I will praise you on your creativity and courage, but do not do that again-" he glared at them. "Even if today you've saved Wylie's life, infiltrating Foxfire is completely unacceptable."

June shrugged. "I won't regret it, if you want me to do that. We've prevented Wylie from being taken."

"I know. But we haven't done enough."

-

Alluveterre was silent after Wylie. Linh still sat there, in the girls' common room, quietly watching the waterfall trickle, her mind replaying the battle at Foxfire.