Becoming Magical [2]

C H A P T E R - 4

It was only a dream, Sophie tried to tell herself as she wiped the cold sweat off her forehead. But her skin throbbed from the memory of the pain, and she could still smell the noxiously sweet sedatives that had burned her nose. And that voice . . .

She would never forget that voice.

She shivered as she crawled out of bed, tiptoeing across the carpet and pressing her ear against her smooth wooden door. Her racing heart slowed when she heard Sandor's steady breathing on the other side. Deep down she really was grateful for his protection. She just wished she didn't need him.

Dex didn't have a bodyguard. He'd simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Sophie still felt horrible about that. She was the one they'd been after, because they'd wanted to see what she could do.

And Meredith, she was tortured for information due to her. Meredith had shrugged off most of their worries but Sophie could see how it had affected her. She was more jumpy, her hands reached to the charm bracelet on her hand if she heard any surprise noises and her dark circles were growing. Even her eyes showed panic every time she heard something.

But . . . what did they think she could do?

The question haunted her more than the nightmares, and she padded to her desk to retrieve the only thing she knew would calm her down.

The silk-wrapped bundle had been tucked safely at the back of the bottom drawer and she didn't remove the cloth until she'd hidden herself under her covers. The cool silver sphere turned warm at her touch, and the word SPYBALL glowed in golden letters, casting a dim light in her little cave of bed sheets.

Sophie closed her eyes, needing a second before saying the names she'd carefully memorized—the names the Council had forbidden her to know.

"Show me Connor, Kate, and Natalie Freeman," she whispered, opening her eyes as the Spyball flashed and three figures came into focus in the center of the orb.

Her mom looked thinner, her sister looked taller, and there were streaks of gray in her dad's hair that Sophie didn't remember him having—but it was them. Sitting around a dinner table in some faraway part of the world, eating fettuccini like the perfect happy family. With no idea she even existed.

It was what she'd wanted for them—what she'd begged for. To be erased, so they wouldn't have to miss her in their new lives. But it wasn't easy being forgotten. Especially since she couldn't forget them.

She watched until her eyes blurred with tears. Then she smeared them away and whispered, "Show me Mr. Forkle."

The Spyball turned black and flashed the word she was getting very tired of:

UNKNOWN

Her grip tightened on the sphere, trying to squeeze it into submission. She knew it wasn't his real name, but part of her kept hoping the Spyball would somehow figure out his real identity. He was her only link to the Black Swan. The one who'd rescued her, Mer and Dex when they'd been taken. The one who'd triggered all of her new abilities. He'd even posed as her next-door neighbor when she lived with her human family, and was probably the one who planted the secrets in her head.

He had all the answers she needed.

But he didn't want to be found.

She wrapped the Spyball back in the cloth and returned it to its hiding place. The drawer above it held a thick teal book, which she removed next, along with another silk bundle. She sank to the floor, leaning against the side of her desk as she unwrapped the bottle of moonlight. The pale glow made it just bright enough to see, without letting Sandor know she was awake.