Book Two: KOTLC One-shots and More

The Thing (Keefe POV)

It wasn't until Keefe leapt back to the Shores of Solace that he started to have misgivings about Foster's plan.

It was a smart plan.

But none of them had offered a suggestion on one major point.

What was their exit strategy?

Getting in and out of Loamnore wasn't easy and certainly wasn't quick.

They were making a stand, sure.

But even if they subdued his mom...and Vespera and who knew how many others...

What then?

Obviously there were some dwarves that were secretly playing both sides. Something didn't add up with what had been going on in Loamnore. They were likely to wind up fighting the Neverseen and navigating some sort of civil war between the honest and the renegade dwarves.

Or was he overthinking it? They had the whole Council with them. But still. Something didn't feel right.

Keefe's dad didn't seem all that concerned about anything, so Keefe stalked off to his room to stew about it.

And that's when he found the note.

His mom had been to the Shores of Solace. Keefe had thought she hadn't even known where his dad's beach house was, but...there was a note that was definitely from his mom.

There were no outright threats in the note, but she made it clear.

It's time to face your legacy.

It's time to get some answers.

And of course, a hefty dose of "you'll regret it if you don't".

Keefe sank onto his bed, burying his head in his hands.

If he did this...

It could go really, really badly wrong. And if it did...his friends might never forgive him.

But if he didn't go, and it turned out his concerns were correct...

His sanity wouldn't withstand the grief and guilt.

But of all the promises he'd made Sophie...he'd broken so many of them.

Would this one be the final straw?

He was going to have to try to live with that, because he needed to go.

Sophie asked him to stay away because she cared about him. Which was sweet and amazing and wonderful beyond words, but...

But this was all about him. His mom made sure of that.

It wasn't arrogance--it was just reality. His mom had done all of this to get to him. And whatever her creepy plans were, part of stopping them was going to be for Keefe to stand up and tell her, once and for all, that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with any of it.

This wasn't Sophie's fight.

It wasn't the Council's or the Black Swan's.

It was Keefe's.

So after ensuring--thanks to Ro's collection of rather menacing bacteria--that his dad couldn't stop him, Keefe grabbed his Imparter and ran for the Leapmaster.

It didn't take much to convince Linh or Marella to join him.

They were concerned, too, and Linh in particular wanted to see her brother at all costs.

And Linh's dwarven bodyguards were their ticket to Loamnore.

As certain as he felt about his decision, he still didn't feel good about it. Especially when he made his grand--and rather sandy--entrance and was immediately accosted with Foster's panic and, what was worse, sense of betrayal.