by Sarah Noffke
Sophia lowered her chin. “I don’t usually give my blood away and especially when people don’t ask nicely.”
Seeming as annoyed as her, Bep flashed her a look. “How do you expect me to research the substance if it kills me?”
“That is the age-old question that all the greats have debated for centuries,” Rudolf sang and rocked back on his heels.
Sophia simply shook her head at him before glancing back at Bep. “So you need my blood because…”
“Because you can be around the substance due to the chi of the dragon,” Bep explained. “I think you’re aware of that.”
Sophia nodded.
“Well,” Bep continued, “if I have a sample of your blood, I can create a spell that protects me as well. Then I can do my research, find the remedy, and save the fairy godmother college for you.”
Sophia smiled. “Thank you. In that case, you can have as much of my blood as you want.”
“You know that’s the only time you shouldn’t give one hundred percent,” Rudolf offered. “When you’re giving blood, you know?”
Sophia laughed.
Bep didn’t. As if he were serious, she nodded with a stern expression on her face. “I only need a single vial.”
“Good thing you’re not a vampire,” Sophia joked as she pushed up the sleeve of her cloak and offered a vein for Bep to draw blood from.
“You know,” Rudolf mused. “A vampire can’t go outside because it will kill them. Therefore they don’t get any vitamin D so they’re forced to drink blood. Have you ever really thought about that?”
Sophia blinked at him. “Are you making a case for vampires?”
“Yeah, I think I am,” he replied. “I mean, all anyone ever cares about is the fact that they kill people and spread their bloodsucking disease.”
“Totally,” Sophia said blankly. “Those guys make it about themselves and their fear of dying.”
Rudolf nodded, finished his bottle of wine, and still appeared mostly sober. “If your mean old sister hadn’t gotten rid of the last coven, then I’d make a campaign for vampires and educate the public on tolerance. I mean, shouldn’t we be accepting of all types?”
“Again, they kill people,” Sophia argued.
“So does listening to NPR,” Rudolf stated.
“How do you figure?” She wished he hadn’t finished the wine since the fae made her want to drink.
“Well, every time I listen to it, I want to kill myself,” Rudolf stated.
“Of course, I should have seen that coming.” Sophia looked away when Bep pricked her with a needle and began to draw her blood. Strangely, although she’d been in many a bloody fight, rode high in the sky on the back of a dragon, and faced severe dangers daily, she couldn’t stand the sight of seeing someone drawing her blood.
“Okay, I’ll message you when I have a lead on this substance,” Bep stated. “Your magic is low, and after this, you’ll be even lower. You’ll need to eat.”
“She’s buying me tacos,” Rudolf interjected.
“No, I’m not,” Sophia replied.
“But you promised,” he complained.
“That never happened. I have to go and round up some lone dragonrider,” Sophia countered.
“Oh, did that boyfriend of yours run off with a Miranda?” Rudolf nodded as if that made perfect sense.
Sophia rolled her eyes, surprised how Miranda kept getting brought up. “No, Wilder didn’t. He’s off on a similar mission.”
“Well, I’m all for having an open relationship, so good luck finding your new boyfriend to add to the reverse harem.” Rudolf tapped the counter. “Then I guess that means that you, Bep, will be taking me to get tacos.”
The potion’s expert shook her head. “I don’t eat tacos.”
“But you promised!” he whined.
Bep patted Sophia’s hand. “We’re done. Now take that circus monkey out of here.”
“He has business with you on Heals Pills.” Sophia pulled her sleeve down.
“See and we can discuss them over tacos!” Rudolf exclaimed. “And you buy the beer. I haven’t had anything to drink in ages.”
“You finished a bottle of wine,” Bep pointed out.
“That he didn’t share,” Sophia added.
“That was forever ago,” Rudolf argued.
Sophia strode for the door, hoping to get out of there before Rudolf zapped any more of her brain cells. “See you two later.”
“Bye,” Bep chirped.
“It’s good that you’re leaving,” Rudolf began. “Because you know what they say?”
“I’m certain that I do and you don’t,” Sophia called over her shoulder.
“Anyway, it’s true, absence makes the heart grow fonder,” Rudolf offered with a smile.
Sophia paused, suddenly surprised. “Ru, you got the cliché right this time.”
He tilted his head as confusion covered his face. “Wait, that’s not how it goes. It’s abstinence makes the heart grow fonder, which is totally untrue. Abstinence makes me dump Cindy.”
Chapter Ten
“I can’t believe you’re cutting me off.” Lunis pouted and laid his head on his front legs stretched out in front of him.
Sophia tightened the saddle on him, although he wasn’t making her job easy by lying on his stomach. “I’m not cutting you off from playing Animal Crossing. I have to use my phone to access the map so I can find this demon dragon and his rider.”
“Is this because I bought a bunch of leaf tickets using your credit card?”
Sophia darted her eyes at him as they narrowed. “You did what?”
“Huh? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You said you bought a bunch of Animal Crossing currency.”
He tilted his head and gave her a studious expression. “Would I do that?”
“You would and you have, and I told you to stop buying virtual money to make things like fake furniture.”
“But the dog wants a treadmill, and the goat asked for a grand piano,” Lunis explained. “What would you do if your friends needed something?”
“They aren’t your friends.” Sophia realized how much Lunis needed this mission. Getting out would be good for him. Then he could derive satisfaction from flying and completing the assignment and not from leveling up by foraging for nuts and berries in a virtual game.
“I don’t say that about Wilder,” Lunis fired back.
Sophia came around in front of him, her hands on her hips. “Wilder is my friend. He’s my boyfriend.”
“Oh, are y’all still trying to make that work?” Lunis teased.
“It’s not work,” Sophia replied, and that was the truth. Things with Wilder were easy. He was her person—the one who got her the best and was the easiest to be around. Sophia had a lot of people she loved, but no one like Wilder. It seemed effortless for him to make her laugh or take her breath away. That wasn’t work. It was chemistry. They were made for each other.
“Are you sure you need my help on this mission?” Doubt edged into Lunis’ voice.
“Yes,” Sophia urged. “Recruiting a dragonrider to the Elite is sort of difficult if I’m not on my dragon.”
“Maybe it will be less intimidating,” Lunis reasoned. “I mean, I’m pretty hardcore. Can you imagine how intimidating it will be for this newbie when they spot me?”
“Lunis, Mahkah says that it’s safe for you to fly. You have to be careful on takeoff though. Don’t overdo it. Once you’re up in the air, it’s all easy. Then with landing, you’ll favor your back legs.”
“I wasn’t planning on landing traditionally,” he teased. “I was going to roll out of it.”
Sophia grimaced. “I’m not in favor of that idea.”
“Fine.” Lunis held out his wing, inviting Sophia to climb onto his back. “We’ll do this, but let’s hope this new dragon and rider are cool. I’m tired of the stick-in-the-mud old dragons. They’re fun-ruiners.”
Sophia giggled as she climbed
into the saddle and took the reins, trying to cover her nervousness. She had her doubts about Lunis’ first flight, but then she remembered something that Mahkah had told her when she first started riding Lunis: “The confidence of the rider becomes the fate of the dragon.”
Sophia swallowed and drew in extra confidence—telling herself that Lunis could do this. They could do this. Her faith in him would translate to his, and he’d be back to his old self. Well, maybe not that, but he’d be back and stronger for having gotten through the challenge.
Chapter Eleven
Sophia wasn’t as nervous on her first ride as she was than when Lunis set off across the area outside the Barrier of the Gullington. She reminded herself that she needed to be confident. That would lend to Lunis’ assurance. But it was so hard not to worry about him as he sprinted and picked up speed.
Sophia could feel the bit of faltering on the right side as Lunis favored his injured leg, but he was still running and almost fast enough to spring off the ground. That would be the real test. That was the part that would put the most strain on his leg.
The hope was that it didn’t make it worse. Mahkah believed that flying would strengthen it, but Lunis hadn’t wanted to practice before they left. He said it would jinx things, but Sophia sensed that he was afraid it would make it sore and therefore he wouldn’t be up for this mission. He was willing to go out with a bang to accompany her.
Confronting the very first new dragonrider since her on an injured dragon wasn’t ideal. In a perfect world, Sophia would be rested up and not somewhat drained from containing the toxic spill at fairy godmother college. But more important than that, Lunis would be in tip-top shape and not have the worries of landing.
Riding had become such second nature that Sophia had to remind herself how much she did that was on autopilot. The rider cued everything with their motivation and thoughts. It was they who navigated even without using reins. Again, the rider's emotions made the dragon fast or nimble or the opposite.
Therefore Sophia pressed her eyes shut and privately told herself that Lunis could do this. That he’d not only do it, but he’d do it well. Every occasion after this would be better because of the strength he had to muster to overcome this setback.
Not a setback, she told herself. An opportunity to get stronger. Better.
After that thought, Sophia made the firm intention for Lunis to launch into the air, feeling that the momentum was right. She felt him leap after stumbling a little, which made her eyes spring open with sudden concern.
However, to Sophia’s relief, Lunis had successfully soared into the air and quickly gained speed and altitude. He’d done it. He’d flown for the first time after the big battle and injury. Now he only had to land…
Chapter Twelve
Once they were airborne, everything felt normal. Flying was as natural as breathing for Lunis and Sophia. It felt so good to be back in the air for both of them. Sophia sensed the happiness radiating from her dragon’s heart, and it made her happy. She was hopeful that this would lend to the positive mood they needed to secure the landing. Everything was about the emotions surrounding the event and the power of thought.
Sophia pulled up her phone and looked at the map that Mama Jamba had created for them to find the demon dragons and riders. Since it was an interactive map that changed when the dragons and riders moved, Sophia had set up a webcam on it and connected the feed to hers and the guys’ phones. Each was assigned specific riders to go after. Sophia’s were in an area of the Mojave desert outside Las Vegas.
As she’d studied the map, it had repeatedly appeared that many of the demon dragons and riders were concentrated in that area. That was strange, and Sophia couldn’t figure out why that would be the case. Maybe demon dragons preferred the desert's heat, versus the angel dragons who liked the cold winds in Scotland.
However, it was only the demon dragons that had magnetized to riders that were in that desert area. The others had spread around the globe. There had to be a reason for the concentration, and Sophia was close to figuring it out as they approached where the map said her assigned demon dragon and rider were located.
We’re almost to them, Sophia told Lunis telepathically, then checked the map on her phone again. She glanced down at the desert below and realized that they were over a huge truck stop on the outskirts of Las Vegas.
Eighteen-wheelers and other vehicles lined the parking lot. The large structure over the filling station shaded much from view, but Sophia thought that a dragon should still stick out and wasn’t likely to be next to the pumps, filling up. Different groups of tourists and truck drivers congregated in various areas, conversing or stretching their legs from the many hours on the road.
How do you think we spot them? Sophia asked. The demon dragon could be glamoured as a truck to keep attention from them.
They could be, Lunis replied. Or they could be hanging out behind the truck stop and harassing a mortal.
Sophia jerked around and looked in the direction behind the truck stop. She immediately spotted what Lunis meant. There at the back of the building was a smallish black dragon and next to him was a short guy holding a mortal by the neck as he pinned him to the brick wall of the building.
Sophia leaned low and prepared for what they’d need to do next. Let’s get down there and find out what’s going on.
He directed them downward and prepared for the landing.
Sophia held her breath. This would be the moment of truth.
Chapter Thirteen
Sophia tensed and prepared for the landing. She felt Lunis do the same as stress welled to the surface in him.
She patted his neck and leaned low. You’ve got this, she said to him in her head.
The mortal spotted them as they approached, and his eyes widened. That got the attention of the dragonrider who was pinning him to the wall. The guy looked over his shoulder and didn’t appear happy to see Sophia and Lunis flying in their direction.
Lunis should have slowed down to make the landing as easy on his front leg as possible. But Sophia knew that this was also personal. She recognized the black dragon from when it hatched and harassed Lunis and many others on the Expanse.
Coming in fast, Lunis brought his back legs forward and nearly tipped Sophia back with them. She had to overcorrect to keep from flying toward his tail.
He flared his wings and cupped the air to stop his momentum as he lowered to the desert floor, hovering in place for a moment. Like a phoenix descending from the heavens, he landed on his back legs with Sophia holding onto the saddle to keep herself upright.
What had been a careful attempt to avoid injury appeared as a very regal entrance. However, the excitement of having such a brilliant display had made Lunis overly excited. The blue dragon fell forward a little harder than intended. Sophia felt the pain that rocketed through Lunis as if it was hers when he landed too hard on the injured leg. However, his complaint came out as a majestic roar as though he was making his presence known to the new rider and mortal and not that he was crying out from the searing pain.
To promptly take the attention off Lunis, Sophia slid off her dragon and strode straight over to the dragonrider who still held the mortal against the wall. The guy was a smidge taller than her, which made him pretty short for a male. He wore designer jeans and a graphic T-shirt. His short brown hair was spiky in the back and combed over one eye, reminding her of a hipster in Hollywood who thought they were too cool for school. Hopefully, this guy wasn’t like those pretentious ones.
“Hey,” Sophia said at once and narrowed her eyes at the guy and the mortal he held. “Is everything okay?”
She expected him to explain what the problem was. Maybe the dragonrider had caught the mortal doing something wrong and was punishing him, making him right his mistake. That was her hope.
The dragonrider shook his head at her. “This doesn’t involve you.” He turned his attention back to the mortal. “Do we have an understanding?”
The guy nodde
d as nervousness made him shake. “Yeah. I give you thirty percent of my earnings. That’s fair. I can do that.”
“Earnings?” Sophia approached. “What are you talking about?”
“I said this doesn’t involve you,” the dragonrider spat.
Sophia was shocked that this guy wasn’t interested in her. Even more shocked that he was dismissing her. She would have thought that a brand-new dragonrider would be ecstatic to meet one of his own. She was when she came to the Gullington. Of course, if there were a lot in this area, which there were based on the map, maybe this guy already had and things hadn’t gone well, and he was on guard about other riders. They were known for being loners.
“It’s cool, man,” the mortal said in a rush. “I’ll give you what you want. Will you let me go?”
The dragonrider returned his attention to the mortal and pressed him harder against the wall with a little more force than Sophia thought was necessary. As dragonriders, they were exceptionally strong—much more than a weak mortal. There was no reason to hurt them like that unless they were threatening them, and the mortal was unarmed and appeared not to be fighting back. “Weekly. You got it?” the dragonrider said, his face inches from the mortal’s.
“Weekly. You got it.” The scared mortal nodded.
The dragonrider dropped the guy as he stood back, which made him fall on his hands and knees. “Out of my sight or I’ll make it forty percent.”
The mortal jumped to his feet. His eyes darted to Sophia and the dragons at her back before he sprinted off, fear radiating from his every movement.
The dragonrider turned and faced Sophia, while brushing his hands off from the altercation. “Okay, sweetheart. Now I guess I have to deal with you since you don’t know well enough to mind your own business.”
Chapter Fourteen
This wasn’t going at all well. Sophia’s hand flexed next to her sword. She refrained from pulling Inexorabilis while reminding herself that this new dragonrider was inexperienced and probably nervous and used to defending himself. She was a friend, here to extend the olive branch to him.