KEEFER Of The Lost Cities

Exile- Councillor's Visit

As Keefe and Sandor followed Grady and Sophie down the stairs, Keefe noticed Grady lean over to Sophie and ask her something quietly. A trickle of fear made its way to Keefe, and he stiffened for a second, wondering what Grady had asked her.

When they reached the bottom, Keefe moved closer to hear their conversation, which technically wasn't eavesdropping because they weren't exactly trying to hide it. "Why is the Council concerned about what happened? Why does it matter if Bronte can inflict on me?" Sophie asked, frowning.

"They're just a little concerned that your mind... isn't as strong as they thought it was." Grady was definitely trying to step around the topic delicately. Keefe wanted to laugh or get mad at someone. She was literally quite possibly the strongest telepath in recorded history, and they were upset she wasn't stronger?

"Why would that affect Silveny?"

Grady sighed. "If Bronte's theory is right, it would affect everything—but it's not right. And that's what you're going to show them right now."

"What's Bronte's theory?" Sophie pulled at an eyelash.

"It's not important."

"Kinda sounds like it is," Keefe jumped in, grinning as Grady turned to face him. "Forgot I was standing here, didn't you?"

"No—I—what are you doing here, Keefe?"

"Foster invited me." He reached out and brushed Grady's arm. "Whoa—that is some serious tension radiating off of you. Is it that bad?"

"Is it?" Sophie asked, panic igniting in her, making Keefe regret saying that out loud.

"Empaths," Grady grumbled as he turned back to Sophie. "There's very little chance that Bronte's right, Sophie." 

He was avoiding it, and it was making Sophie panic more. "I need to know," she whispered. "What is he saying about me?"

"It's not worth repeating, Sophie—it's just going to upset you." 

"Please. I have to know."

Grady shook his head, but Keefe could tell that he was giving in. "Fine, if you really want me to tell you, I will—but I completely disagree with him." He ran a hand down his face, closing his eyes as he said, "Bronte thinks that you're malfunctioning." 

What the gulon did that mean?

"He thinks that the new abilities the Black Swan triggered aren't working right—and that it's affecting your other abilities. Why Fitz can transmit to you now and why you can't block Silveny's transmissions and why he was able to inflict on you today."

"Because I'm .. . malfunctioning." A tornado of enotions flooded out of her at those words. Anger. Embarrassment. Fear. A whole lot of fear.

"He's wrong, Sophie. Bronte's been wrong about many things—and this is another clear example."

"Of course he's wrong," Keefe agreed. "If anyone's malfunctioning, it's him—I heard him try to laugh one time and he sounded like a freaked-out banshee."

"Exactly. It doesn't mean anything," Grady promised, blatantly ignoring the last part of Keefe's statement.

 Sophie smiled nervously as she said, "I guess I need to prove him wrong." She headed for the door, and Keefe knew it was because she was trying to put distance between them so he couldn't sense her emotions.

Keefe walked behind her as she made her way to the pasture, cataloguing her emotions. And there was a whole lot of panic going on. 

"Hey, ease up with the walking panic attack, Foster," Keefe whispered, walking closer behind her so she could hear him. "Remember, Bronte's just trying to get in your head. If you let him, he wins." Sophie nodded, but he knew she wasn't convinced. She looked up to the sky, then the grass, before her eyes landed on the councilors. And great, she was nervous again.