Lil Phoenix // Tam Song

5

"STOP!" The shade, whose name Sophie said was is Tam, shouted from across the river as he stretched out his arms and pulled his shadow toward his grasp.

"It's okay! They're with me." Sophie promised.

Tam flicked his wrists, launching the shadows across his the water. "I never said you could bring people here."

"We mean you no harm," Mr Forkle said calmly. "There's no need for your darkness tricks."

"It's not a trick, unlike your disguise. And you don't come any closer unless I take a reading of all of you."

"Uh forget that." Keefe said scrambling away for the shadows.

"It doesn't hurt, it just feels really cold," Sophie told him.

"Still not happening." Keefe said.

"The only people who refuse tradings are those with darkness to hide," Tam told him.

"Or maybe I just don't want some creeper putting his shadow in my brain, especially a dude with silver tips on his bangs. What'd you do, melt down the buckle in your exillium uniform and dip your head in?"

"My registry pendant actually. I melted down the chain after I ripped of the crystal and threw it in my fathers face. Now if I ever face him again, he'll see exactly how little I miss living in his glittering prison."

Keefe looked away, for once without a snappy comeback.

"Okayyyy...we've gotten a bit off track." Adelaide said.

"Miss Phoenix is correct. I appreciate your wariness, mr Song but—"

"How do you know that name?"

"Relax. I know your name because I'm careful—like you appear to be. I don't visit someone i haven't investigated."

"All you know are the council's lies."

(I'm skipping this looooong speech cos I'm super lazy:))

Tam hesitated for a second after hearing what mr Forkle had to say. Then he waved his hand and the shadow  around a clump of trees shifted to reveal the hydrokinetic which Sophie had said was Linh.

"Wow that's like an antivanish. How did you do that?" Biana asked.

"We can trade ability secrets another time, at the moment I have a proposition to the song twins. Shall we?" Mr Forkle interrupted.

He pointed to the river dividing them.

Linh swept her arm and raised the water into a arch before taking her brother's hand and guiding him forward.

"Wow," fitz breathed while staring at Linh. Adelaide saw Sophie looking at how fitz was staring. She put an arm around her best friend and gave a reassuring smile.

She knew that Sophie like me fitz and she was all for Fitzphie. Well sokeefe was quite cute too in Adelaide's opinion.

Dex has seemed equally stunned. The only boy who didn't look impressed was Keefe. Or maybe he was just to busy glaring at tam.

"So who are you guys?" Tam asked, frowning as he studies Mr Forkle's ruckleberry wrinkles.

"This is mr Forkle. And these are my friends, Dex, Keefe, Fitz, Biana, and Adelaide." Sophie said.

Adelaide grinned and said "Just call me Addy. Or Adela. Although nobody calls me Adela, I don't know why. I quite like it. Ooh maybe I should call myself Adela! Yeah that's a great idea."

Everyone smiled, even Tam and Linh.

"Anyways, Lets get back to the offer I was going to give the song twins." Mr Forkle said.

"What offer?" Tam and Linh asked at the same time.

Sophie explained about the arrangements the black swan made with the dwarves.

"What's the catch?" Tam asked.

"There's no catch." Mr Forkle said.

"Seriously, there must be a catch."

"No catch, it is up to you kids to accept it or not."

"This is more than anyone has offered us." Linh whispered. She looked at her brother, her eyes pleading him to accept.

"I guess I could give it a try." He sighed.

Linh then left to get her and her brother's stuff.

"So I assume Sophie told you everything I told her yesterday?" Tam asked.

Mr Forkle replied him but Adelaide didn't hear him as she looked around the forest.

She needed to put this right. The gnomes didn't deserve this. They were good a peaceful creatures.

Keefe sighed, or groaned, Adelaide didn't know which. "And I thought telepath conversations where the worst. Just so we're clear, I'm the president of the Foster fan club and we're closed to new members."

Tam's cheeks flushed "Uh...not sure what that's about but no worries there—no offense!" He told Sophie stealing a quick glance at Biana and another longer one at Adelaide.

"You're going to wash the campsite right?" Tam asked Linh as she appeared with their bags.

Long nodded and used her ability to wash out any traces of them being there.

"Impressive." Mr forkle said. "If you need anything, bring Miss Foster a list to Exillium and I'll make you get it."

"You're not coming with us?" Linh asked as she looped her pendant around her neck.

"No these are your lives. We won't interfere."

Tam looked relieved until mr Forkle said that he had a request for him.

"There is a catch!" Tam said as if his world finally made sense.

Adelaide tuned out on whatever they were saying again(yes she does that a lot) and instead stared at tam.

He had really pale blue eyes with flecks of silver glinting in the sunlight, pink lips and creamy complexion. He also had jet black hair but the tips of his bangs were silver.

He was definitely more handsome that any boy Adelaide had ever seen in her life in her opinion.

"I don't understand." She heard tam say as she tuned back to the conversation.

"So it is as I thought. Thank you, you've been very helpful." Mr Forkle said.

"Wait, how did you know I wouldn't feel anything?" Tam asked as Mr Forkle pulled out his pathfinder.

"I didn't, but I'd hoped that would be the result. It means the plague feeds off shadowvapor and hopefully we are one clue closer to the cure."