framing the archway they’d passed through when they’d entered—which seemed like a shocking oversight in the Neverseen’s security.
But then Sophie remembered the black disks they were supposed to be carrying and couldn’t help wondering if an alert had already gone out.
Were the Neverseen on their way?
“Okay, let’s get started,” Tam said as if he’d been worrying about the same thing. “How do you want to do this?”
The flickering blue flames cast just enough light to show that the shelves were crammed with trunks and scrolls and books and boxes, and there didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to anything.
“I guess we should fan out,” Sophie decided. “The cache is a round, clear crystal about this big”—she looped her fingers to demonstrate the size of a marble—“and there might be two of them together, since Fintan’s cache should be here too. Grab both if you find them—and try not to touch much else. We don’t know if any of this stuff is booby-trapped.”
“The Neverseen wouldn’t do that,” Glimmer argued.
“How do you know?” Sophie countered.
Glimmer shrugged. “They’d rather capture you themselves. Or kill you.”
Bo cleared his throat. “I’ll guard the entrance—and I’ll be watching both directions, in case anyone is thinking of escaping.”
“Oh please,” Glimmer told him. “Where would I go?”
“I guess we’ll never know.” Sandor drew his sword. “I’m doing a perimeter check. Everyone, stay where I can see you.”
He disappeared into the darkest corner of the cave.
Sophie shared a look with Tam before they headed for the shelves. Flori and Glimmer followed, each of them choosing different places to search.
Sophie’s section seemed to be filled with bin after bin of tiny glass vials, each a different color. None of them were labeled to tell her what they were—but that didn’t matter. She wasn’t there to find out what elixirs the Neverseen were making.
“Hey, do you think this is that soporidine stuff?” Tam called out.
Sophie spun to where he was pointing and noticed a stack of barrels lined up on their sides, tucked into the shadows. A quick count told her there were twenty, which matched how many dusty circles they’d seen on the floor of the first Nightfall facility.
“Probably,” she realized—which made her wonder if any of the vials she was searching were filled with the antidote.
She shoved a few in her pockets just in case.
“You need to hurry!” Sandor warned—as if they didn’t already know—and Sophie forced herself to skip past the next section, which was crammed with scrolls.
Part of her was dying to unroll them and see what she could learn about the Neverseen’s plans. But she was there for one thing and one thing only.
“You’re looking for Kenric’s cache,” she mumbled as she tore through a pile of fabric on the next shelf. It seemed like a bunch of scraps, until she noticed the white eye symbol and realized it was more of the Neverseen’s cloaks.
Dozens of them.
Maybe hundreds.
Goose bumps prickled her skin as she imagined facing that many enemies.
They’d barely survived battling a few of the Neverseen at once.
How were they supposed to—
“Is that what you’re looking for?” Glimmer asked, tossing something tiny and black at Sophie’s head, which turned out to be a velvet satchel.
The size was right—and Sophie could feel two small items inside—but her fingers were shaking so badly, she couldn’t unknot the strings.
“Here,” Flori said, using her green teeth to rip the fabric before pouring two clear orbs into Sophie’s palm.
“YES! THIS HAS TO BE THEM!”
Sophie honestly couldn’t believe it.
Things never went this smoothly—which made her glance over her shoulder, waiting for cloaked figures to leap out at her.
But the cave stayed silent, except for the muffled rumble of the waterfall—and the pounding of her heart as she tucked the caches safely into her pocket.
“Okay, time to go,” she said, taking one last longing look around the cave as she pulled out the crystal Tiergan had given her.
“That’s it?” Glimmer asked, and Sophie noticed that she was holding a small blue bundle.
“What’s that?” she demanded.
“My stuff. You know, the reason I made this deal in the first place? Don’t look at me all suspicious like that! I told you this was why I went to so much trouble to be able to find this place! Plus, we all know your little bodyguards are going to search it as soon as we’re out of here. But we’re seriously leaving? Already?”
“Our time is almost up,” Sophie reminded her.
Glimmer shook her head. “Woooooooooooow. That’s… I don’t even know what to say to that.