The room was dark and damp. Sophie couldn't see anything. She stretched out her fingers in front of her face. Yep, she couldn't see them.
Sophie could sense a presence around, but where was it? She stumbled blindly forward and hit something hard and cold.
There was a sound of shattering glass, and liquid splashed onto the ground. Then a zooming noise swiped across her, blowing her blonde hair and covering her face.
Then Sophie remembered the bottle of starlight under her cape. Of course! She took it out, and instantly the room flooded with a calming emerald green light.
There was a black round table in the middle of the rounded room, and on the table was an elegantly carved ceramic bowl with a sheen that was probably glaze. Graceful-looking swans were embedded on it. This obviously belonged to the Black Swan.
She looked over to a corner in the room, and gasped. Fitz, Dex, Keefe and Biana were huddled there, blindfolded and tied up with thick rough rope.
Anger boiled in Sophie and she clenched her fists. Did the Black Swan do this? Now she knew for sure she couldn't trust the Black Swan. But how many confirmations did she really need?
When Sophie looked up, she could see ten stars each placed in a different position. A constellation. Cygnus.
Typical of the Black Swan, Sophie thought bitterly.
Sophie's eyes widened. She heard a tiny sound behind her on the left. Whirling around cautiously, she scanned the area. There was nothing. Although...she sworn she had heard something.
Then she looked at a particular spot that seemed to be bright and dark at the same time, and it was as if the air around it was constantly shifting. Her eyes seemed to slide over it, like it was too unimportant to care about.
Sophie persisted. She was sure someone was hiding there. But Vanishers didn't hide like that.
Forcing her eyes to stay at the spot, Sophie walked over and not really knowing what she was doing, took a swipe at the empty spot.
The air shifted, and Sophie touched empty air. Sophie got frustrated, and shouted, "Come on out! I know you are there."
When there was no answer, she stomped her feet furiously and muttered, "Such a coward."
Suddenly a voice that sounded like a boy spoke. "No. I'm not a coward. I'm not a coward!" Then there was a pause, and the voice spoke again, sounding panicked this time. "Oh no. Oh no!"
Sophie smiled wickedly. "So, come on out. I already know you're there, so what's the point of hiding now?"
Muttering sounds came out of nowhere. It sounded like the boy was cursing Sophie. The air shifted again and a boy appeared. He had dark maroon eyes and auburn hair that hung down to his ears.
"Where's Kerlof?" Sophie asked him, hoping that Kerlof was Mr Forkle's real name.
The boy's face twisted into a scowl. "I'm not telling, Moonlark."
Sophie flinched at the word 'Moonlark'. She still wasn't used to the name Project Moonlark.
"Don't call me that," She rubbed her wrists. "Release my friends."
"Do it yourself. It wasn't me who did this. It was somebody else. Nope, not going to tell you who."
She sighed, and deftly untied the rope and took down their blindfolds.
When Sophie saw their tired faces, she almost burst into tears. Biana's usually perfect face had blood splattered on it, and the others' had dirt and grime smeared on them.
Sophie dropped her hands down. It was her fault that they had turned into this state.
A hint of guilt trickled into her body, but she blocked it. She wasn't going to let guilt break her mind. She was supposed to be Project Moonlark. She was supposed to be strong. Powerful. Not weak and broken. Especially in front of the Black Swan.
Sophie slapped her friends' faces. "Wake up. Wake up!"
They moaned and muttered, but they blinked their eyes open slowly. Fitz tried to stand up but failed, his knees buckling and he collapsed on the concrete ground.
"Come on." pressed Sophie, helping them up one by one.
"What happened? Where are we? Who is he?" asked Biana warily, pointing to the boy.
"I don't know," said Sophie truthfully.
The boy was muttering under his breath. He seemed to be saying, "Sora, don't show yourself."
Then a tinkling voice sounded, ringing loudly. "The more you tell me not to do something, the more I want to do that thing."
A girl that looked almost identical to the boy appeared.
"Hello," she said. "I'm Sorajin, but everyone calls me Sora."
She had an accent that Sophie couldn't distinguish for a split second. "You're Japanese?" she asked incredulously. Japanese people were the ones who had started World War II. "But how? If you're an elf, how can you be Japanese?"
Sora smiled. "My brother - Soreas - is too – sort of, but he hasn't quite the accent-"
"Hey!" Soreas said indignantly.
Sora ignored him. "But we are elves. We're not really Japanese; we're just super expert at the language. We're Polyglots too. But that's not the sole special ability we have."
"What special abilities do you have?" asked Fitz.
Sophie thought: A second special ability! I'm not the only one!
But Soreas interrupted. "Sora," he began, "if you didn't notice, it's already time to lead them to . . . you know where."
Sophie still had tons of questions running through her mind, but she waited, and followed Soreas, Sorajin, Fitz, Dex, Keefe and Biana to two swinging doors situated at the back of the rounded room.
Questions could wait. Now, it was time to meet the Black Swan.
