Becoming Magical [2]

C H A P T E R - 4 1

" 'Sup Dex?" Meredith greeted with a grin.

"Great. Does he really need to be here?" Dex asked, glaring at Keefe.

Keefe smirked. "I was just thinking the same thing about you."

"Guys, come on, cooperate with us." Meredith said.

"Why does everyone like you better than me?"

"Probably because I don't annoy the hell out of them."

Sophie rubbed her temples. She had bigger problems than two stubborn boys. One big, gray, muscly one in particular.

"We can handle this, Sandor," she told him for the tenth time.

"You're trying to break into a place your parents have not only forbidden you to go, but have built a special locked gate specifically to keep you away from. Be glad I haven't barricaded you in your room."

"Whoa, Gigantor's hardcore. And why are Grady and Edaline so . . ." Keefe's voice trailed off and his smile faded. "This is where it happened, isn't it? Where you guys were taken... "

Sophie cleared her throat. "Yeah."

His hands found Meredith who grasped it softly and said, "See, I'm still here. You don't need to worry."

Sophie's heart ached at that. The Cliffside gate was in plain sight of the clue the Black Swan had planted—and they'd hidden it inside a lock. That had to mean they wanted her to pick the lock on the gate and go back to the one place she'd vowed never to go again. The cave where it all went wrong.

Face your fears.

"Is that why you needed Dex and Mer here?" Keefe asked quietly.

Actually, having Dex there made it worse. He was just as terrified as she was—and she hated putting him through it again. Only Meredith seemed to be putting up a brave face but she could see that she was always seconds away from punching someone. "He's the only one who can open the lock. He's—"

She glanced at Dex.

Dex sighed. "Might as well tell him—he seems to know everything else."

"Oh, more secrets. I love secrets!" Keefe added.

"Dex is a Technopath," Meredith supplied.

Dex cringed at the word, but Keefe's eyes widened. "Seriously? That is awesome! Why did you hide it from me, Mer? Why is that a secret?"

Dex stared at the lock—a small silver orb that dangled from a chain between the two gates—as he shrugged, his cheeks tinged with pink.

"So you can just, like, make a gadget do whatever you want?"

"Sorta." Dex traced his finger over the metal, making it flash with a rush of runes. "It's more like I understand them. I ask them how to do what I want and they tell me."

"That is the coolest thing I've ever heard—and, dude, we need to team up. Think of all the chaos we could cause!"

"See, I told you it was cool. Keefe agrees with me."

Dex's face was tomato red by that point—but he was also grinning from ear to ear. It made Sophie want to hug them all, but then the silver lock flashed green in Dex's hands and clicked open, letting the chain slip free.

"Step aside," Sandor ordered, pushing past them as he drew his curved black sword. "Everyone stay behind me."

He threw open the gate and started down the narrow zigzagging stairway that cut a path down the steep cliff to the sandy cove below. It was a path Sophie had walked dozens and dozens of times—but her legs still didn't want to cooperate.

Dex's didn't seem to be working either. Mer seemed to be brave enough to be walking down the path with a determined expression on her face, leading the way behind Sandor.

"Come on, guys," Keefe said, nudging his way between them and hooking his arms through theirs. "Gigantor's got us covered. Mer's gonna whip up some awesome watery moves."

Sophie tried to believe him as they made the long, slow descent, but her insides had still tangled into knots on top of knots, and by the time they reached the white sandy beach, she was pretty sure she was going to throw up. Especially when she turned to face the largest cave.

The wide gap in the weathered rocks held good memories and bad memories and the worst memory of them all, the moment where everything got flipped inside out and upside down and ripped apart. When three dark-cloaked figures jumped out of the shadows and took her, Meredith and Dex away.

Sandor thoroughly inspected each of the caves before giving them the all clear.

"So, we going in?" Keefe asked when everyone hesitated.

Dex dropped Keefe's arm and backed up. "I'm sorry—I can't. I . . ."

"Hey, it's fine Dex." Meredith said softly.

"Hey," Sophie said, waiting for him to look at her. "It's okay. You don't have to. Just wait here."

She knew exactly how he felt. But she had to face her fears.

"This is for Alden," she whispered as she took a step forward. Then another. Sandor, Meredith and Keefe started to follow but she held out her arms. "I'd rather do this one alone, if that's okay? I'll call if I need you."

She didn't know what was waiting for her in there, but she wanted to face it on her own. She was tired of being afraid.

Her heart pounded so loudly it drowned out the roar of the ocean as she took the last few steps and entered the dimly lit cave. Shadows danced along the walls and across the packed sand floor, and her eyes were drawn to the spot where she'd collapsed to cry. Right before the arms had reached out and—

She counted her breaths and forced the memory out of her mind. She had one job to do, and she wasn't going to let anything get in the way.

A tiny pile on the floor in the back of the cave caught her attention, and as she made her way over, her breath caught in her throat.

Freshly churned sand.

She spun around, checking for any sign that she wasn't alone. But whoever had stirred up the ground was gone. They'd left something, though. A small clump of twigs and branches on a nook in the rocks.

A nest.

Tucked in the center was a small, mirrored trinket box with a familiar black curve worked into the latch. She closed her eyes and made a silent wish that this would be the answer she needed, then plucked the tiny cube from the twigs.

Inside she found another scrap of paper and a tiny black swan. Not a pin this time—a charm. Carved much more crudely, with jagged cuts and very little detail, which seemed strange. But she was sure there was a reason. She hoped the clue would make it clearer.

There were two lines of text on the note when she unfolded it, but her eyes only saw the first. A small sob slipped through her lips as she read the four words that changed everything.

We can fix you.