Reversed

ii. two

Sophie tucked the goblin throwing stars into her black cloak, their weight a constant reminder of why she joined the Neverseen in the first place.

Ruy handed her a silver splotcher that looked exactly like the ones she used back in Foxfire—but Sophie knew that there was more to it than met the eye.

"So, how's this one rigged?" she asked.

Ruy made it look like he was tossing his splotcher from hand to hand, but it floated about without really touching his fingers. "You'll have to find out."

Sophie narrowed her eyes and focused on one of the dummies lined against the opposite wall. She shoved the ball of paint forward. It hit the dummy's chest with a thud and burst. The explosion was only a little bigger than the ones she was used to; the silver substance covered more of the body.

"That's all?" she asked. "Just a bigger explosion?"

"Not quite," Gethen said, glancing at her from across the arena. He went over to the dummy and scraped it with his finger. "Yikes. Very hard to get off. Unless you want to use fire." He had taken a break from sparring with Trix, who was currently sharpening his weapons.

A high-pitched whistling noise sounded off to the side, and Sophie instinctively ducked. A blur of silver hurled past her, and she stopped it just before it hit the wall. She floated it back and turned to Ruy, who was smirking.

"Come on, not even a warning?" she said, and launched the splotcher back at him. Instead of sending it straight, she spun it around him. It sped faster and faster as she started to get a feel for using her Telekinesis again.

Sophie had long ago learned not to play by the rules. The Black Swan hadn't played by them when they'd tricked her into fighting for their side—and the Neverseen made it clear they wouldn't either as soon as she signed up. 

She grit her teeth and sent the silver paint ball toward Ruy from behind. A bright burst of light appeared, and the splotcher exploded over a force field.

"Hey, no fair!" she complained. "You said we were working on our telekinesis, not our abilities."

Ruy let the force field down and flicked some silver off his arm before it stuck. "I didn't particularly feel like being silver today."

Sophie grunted and picked up three splotchers with her mind from the ground between them where Ruy had set the rest, sending them flying towards Ruy from different angles.

He stopped them right before they hit. The silver paintballs shook as they hung in the air, like Ruy was having a hard time suspending them.

Or . . . like he was building up energy. 

They lined up and shot towards her.

Sophie splayed her fingers and focused on the splotchers. They exploded in the air, spraying Ruy's cloak and sending a few droplets into her hair. Next, she rolled the remaining ones on the ground closer to Ruy. He fought for control of them, but the combined energy made them explode as well.

"Unless we're going to be attacking the Black Swan with splotchers, can we practice with actual weapons?" Sophie asked.

Ruy snorted. "Go do some stretches."

◦ ◦ ⊰⊱ ◦ ◦

"Am I the only one who kind of wants to raid someone's garden just so we can get half-decent food?" Oman asked. She stabbed at the mushy purple blob with a crinkled nose. "In. Out. Nobody will even know we've been there."

"I'd totally go with you," Sophie grumbled, playing with a silver drop of paint that had stuck in her hair. She had it better than Ruy, though. He had to get a whole new cloak, and Lady Gisela was not happy about it.

"Let's do it!" Oman raised a fist, and some of the purple mush fell off her fork and onto the ground. "Oops," she said, not looking sorry at all.

"Hey, maybe we have a taste-bud-numbing skill nobody's told us about yet." Sophie side-eyed her plate. 

"Would you really go? Because I'm actually thinking about this. And one-person heists aren't any fun." 

"I'd go just for the sake of finally getting a mission," Sophie said. 

Trix strode in, tossing something on the table. "Perfect timing, because it looks like you're in luck. Take a look at what we just received." 

Sophie eagerly grabbed the silver square and tapped it. It lit up with a picture of two tree houses in a place that looked like paradise. 

"Alluveterre." 

"Your old friends breached it. They were trying to take it back, put disappeared as soon as the alarms went off." 

"They'll definitely be back soon," Sophie said, setting down the hologram. A slow grin spread across her face. Finally. 

"We'll be ready when they do. We leave tomorrow." Trix took Oman's fork and started eating. He made a face. "Nasty." 

Sophie gripped the table and closed her eyes. It was time to get revenge.