cascade | kotlc

30. Bittersweet Reunion

tw: bl/od 

"Tam broke the force field," Fitz said behind her, making her jump. "And he's stamping out Brant's flames. The stones are damp, so the only thing that caught was his cloak. How can I help?"

She shrugged, tapping Gethen's still forehead. "Find something to restrain them. I don't know when this wears off..."

"Last time it was about half an hour," Sophie piped up, crawling beside Keefe and checking his pulse. She frowned at his limp body. "How do we move him like this?"

"Read his mind. In fact, probably read everyone's mind," she told her, kicking Alvar harder than she needed to. "Calla's power makes it so that they see their greatest hopes. That's manipulatable."

Sophie closed her eyes, frowning slightly as she tapped Keefe's temples. Suddenly she jerked back, staring at him in panic, rubbing her wrists as she backed off and pressed herself against a mossy column.

"Uh?" Fitz scratched his head, checking Sophie's temperature. "You... okay?"

She didn't respond, almost spasming as she clutched her heart.

"Maybe you should read her mind," Tam said, coming up beside him and holding Brant unconscious, shredding the cloak fabric into makeshift rope. "She doesn't look very okay."

"It might've been something she saw," Biana muttered as she kicked Alvar in the face again. Blood gushed down his nose, and she jumped on his chest, silently hoping for internal injuries.

Fitz closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to Sophie's temples. A couple seconds later, his eyes fluttered open, a large, goofy grin spreading on his lips.

"I'm assuming it's something..." her voice trailed off as she studied Keefe. "Oh. I see." She giggled, tying a constictor knot around Alvar's wrists and ankles. "Of course that's what he would see."

Her brother nodded, trying very hard not to laugh. Tam's eyes passed from Sophie to Keefe, understanding dawning on his face as he- Tam- stifled a laugh.

Biana chuckled. "Did I just see Tam Song laugh?"

"That was merely my lips curving upward," he informed her. "There's a difference. And we should probably restrain the Pyrokinetic and Psionipath."

"I wonder when he's- they're- going to wake up," Fitz said as he punched Alvar's face a couple times. His nosebleed had stretched down to his pants, and Biana barely felt any pity as she joined in on the beatup.

"That's cool and all," Tam called, a slight twinge of annoyance in his voice. "But is anyone going to help me with holding these two?" He pointed to Ruy. "Someone take him. Speaking of which, we should probably check on Sophie too."

Fitz sighed and gave Alvar one last good kick before pulling Ruy into a choke hold, slamming him into a fractured wall a couple times for good measure. Tam held Brant the same way.

"I'm keeping his mind clouded with shadow so he can't start any more fires, but I'll feel a lot better when he's locked up in a fireproof cell." He tilted his head, tapping Sophie's knuckles. "Uh, is she going to wake up anytime soon, or..."

"Maybe when she finishes daydreaming about Sokeefe." Biana bent Alvar's back into his knees, slapping him again as she tied his back to under his legs. "We're going to need more rope. I'm not satisfied yet."

"You should probably stop his bleeding," Tam told her, wiping off some red blood from her legs as he gagged. "I'm not taking this as bad as I should be. Is that a problem?"

"It's proof you're a warrior. It'll stop bleeding soon, you don't have to worry. I wonder..."

Sophie spasmed again, shaking her head furiously as she dropped onto the mossy ground, panting rapidly and hugging her legs to her chest.