by Sarah Noffke
That kind of thing wouldn’t work though. A stupid tactic used by a stupid do-gooder, Tanner thought bitterly. It had been like when that girl had tried to recruit him to the Dragon Elite. There were demon dragonriders and angel ones, and the two didn’t mix. They were too simple and could never compete with the superior strategy employed by the Rogue Riders.
Nathaniel drained the silver flask he’d pulled from his Dolce & Gabbana jeans and screwed on the lid before slamming it into Tanner’s chest. “Fill ‘er up.”
Tanner cut his eyes at the other dragonrider. “Fill it yourself. I’m not your servant.”
“I’m second in command, so technically you are.” Nathaniel raked his fingers through his bright orange-red hair. The tropical island was much better than the desert where they’d been stationed. Hopefully once the natives built their shelter and cleared off the islands, it would be nice—like a resort location for the Rogue Riders. Then they could put up a barrier and keep people like Wilder out.
“Get one of the other guys to do it.” Tanner indicated the other two dragonriders stationed around the pit on the far side, guarding it. The boss said that they weren’t to take any chances with the trespassing Dragon Elite member, so he had guards on him at all times.
Wilder, the rider for the Dragon Elite, obviously hadn’t approved of the Rogue Riders tactics of taking over lands and forcing out the natives. The guy had probably been planning something—a way to stop the Rogue Riders. Well, he had planned something, but now he sat in the ground, realizing that he messed with the wrong guys. That dragonrider had finally met his match. No longer would the Dragon Elite rule. There were new sheriffs on the globe now, and they didn’t play by the same rules.
Also too bad for the angel dragonrider, he wouldn’t get onto the main island where the boss and the others were. That place was tightly sealed with a barrier that no one but a Rogue Rider could get past. Soon this island would have a barrier too. All of the islands would when they fully took over that area—after forcing all the dumb elves out.
Tanner pulled the soul stone from his pocket, tossed it in the air slightly and ignored Nathan. The light purple color caught the light as it landed in the palm of his hand, cold and smooth.
“Put that thing away,” the second in command ordered at once as anger flared on his face. “It’s not a toy.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Tanner fired back.
“Go get my drink refilled from the barrel,” Nathaniel ordered, ignoring him.
Reluctantly, Tanner took the flask. “Fine, but only because I’m thirsty.”
He strode around the pit, and his eyes connected with the guy contained inside it. He shot him a scathing expression while enjoying the black eye on his face along with the other bruises they’d given him.
The ten-by-ten hole in the ground where the prisoner was held was reinforced with magic around the walls and the netting that ran over the top. Still, they weren’t taking any chances especially since they knew Wilder’s dragon was still out there somewhere. They’d searched the island but hadn’t found any signs of the dragon, which according to Nathaniel was white and a large female.
“What are you looking at, Dumb Butt Wipe?” Tanner asked the angel dragonrider as he went over to the barrel of rum sitting next to a palm tree by the pit.
Wilder stood and strode over to the far corner of the pit, then looked up at Tanner with a discerning expression in his blue eyes. “The weakest dragonrider ever put on this Earth. It’s a wonder that you ever magnetized to a dragon.”
Tanner’s fingers tensed on the flask. The boss had told them not to do more than ugly up this guy’s face with bruises since they might need him for leverage with the Dragon Elite. He was a definite bargaining chip as they took over and secured power. However, at this rate, Wilder would get seriously hurt—possibly worse.
Dead men couldn’t talk either, and no one would know that it had been Tanner who offed the angel dragonrider who needed to be taught a lesson.
Chapter Fifty-One
“Are you sure that your dragon isn’t a large pony?” Wilder continued to egg Tanner on. “I hear they’re sometimes attracted to runts. You know, because they relate to their size.”
“You better shut your mouth, or I’ll knock your teeth out,” Tanner threatened as heat built in his chest. In school, they always called him Runt. Sometimes Nathaniel still did.
“I mean,” Wilder flipped his hand back and forth, “it stands to reason that if your pony bounced in the air that it would feel like flying.”
“Coal is a dragon and way better than yours, Foot Sniffer,” Tanner fired back, then flushed hot, feeling stupid for his attempt at an insult. Wilder reminded him of the cool guys in school. The ones who always got the girl and sat at the table with the jocks. The ones that Tanner was going to make pay now that he was a dragonrider.
“At the Gullington, Coal was one of those reject dragons who no one wanted around,” Wilder stated casually. “I see nothing has changed.”
“Take that back!” Tanner pulled back his foot and kicked the side of the rum barrel. The wood splintered from the dent he’d made from the assault from his steel-toed shoe.
“What’s going on over there?” Nathaniel glared in Tanner’s direction.
“Nothing,” he replied at once, his breath hot. “Listening to the incessant rambling of this Suck Pipe.”
“Don’t talk to him, Squid,” Nathaniel ordered. “And get my drink. I’m parched from this heat.”
Tanner narrowed his eyes, but it was the sound of the trickling liquid from the barrel that stole his attention. “Shit,” he muttered after realizing that he’d cracked the container and the drink was quickly soaking the ground.
“Your boss is going to be pretty mad,” Wilder observed and indicated the barrel.
“He ain’t my boss,” Tanner seethed.
“Oh, so you wait on him hand and foot because what? Are y’all going steady? Is he your boyfriend?”
“You got a lot of nerve, you reject!” Tanner yelled.
“Get my rum and get back here!” Nathaniel exclaimed when he realized that Tanner was still talking to the angel dragonrider.
“Oh man, you’re in trouble.” Wilder shook his head and clicked his tongue.
“There’s more rum on the other side of the village,” Tanner offered, then narrowed his eyes after realizing he didn’t have to tell this guy anything.
“So if that redhead isn’t your boss, why do you take orders from him?” Wilder asked.
“I don’t,” Tanner answered.
“Right, so when he told you to put away your little gem, why did you do it?”
“It’s not a gem.” Tanner kept his voice down this time, not wanting Nathan’s wrath. “It’s a soul stone and way more valuable than anything you own.”
“Oh, you nicked it from a defenseless child, did you?” Wilder asked. “About like how you got those clothes, stealing from a boy on a playground?”
“I didn’t steal these clothes from a child,” Tanner fired back. Anger made his head hot. “And the boss gave me my soul stone. That’s how we all got them, you Tramp Waffle.”
Wilder nodded. “Of course, because that’s how he keeps tabs on you.”
Tanner shot him a scathing look. “You know nothing, and it shows. It’s how we get through our barrier to the headquarters.”
“Oh, with a pretty little rock,” Wilder joked. “How quaint. The Dragon Elite use real magic, but I get that you all haven’t mastered elementary spells yet.”
Tanner laughed coldly. “Coming from the guy we have imprisoned, that’s pretty funny.”
“Imprisoned? I let you all catch me,” Wilder boasted.
Narrowing his eyes, Tanner shot him a wicked expression. “Why would you do that?”
“How better to learn all your secrets?” Wilder’s eyes skated to the pocket where Tanner kept his soul stone.
He suddenly felt hot all over. “Whatever. You’re only saying that after be
ing caught. A real dragonrider wouldn’t be so foolish.”
Wilder tapped the side of this head and winked. “That’s where you’re wrong. Our leaders have taught us to be strategic. Sounds like yours has taught you how to be their servant.”
“You don’t know anything!” Tanner yelled, which earned a contemptuous glare from Nathan. Before the second in command could say anything else to him, Tanner hurried away while holding the flask and wondering if he’d messed up everything.
He hadn’t, he told himself. Wilder was their prisoner, and he wasn’t going anywhere so why would it matter what he knew?
Chapter Fifty-Two
There it was, Wilder thought victoriously. He had finally learned how to get through the barrier to the island. Or at least he had a lead.
Getting caught hadn’t entirely been part of the plan, but it hadn’t not been part of it either. He’d gotten restless trying to find information on the Rogue Riders, and somehow that had led to him being more daring. Once his disguise slipped off, then he was in custody and had been okay with that ever since. From his place stationed next to the demon dragonriders guarding him, he’d learned much more than when trying to spy.
These guys had egos the size of Texas and constantly bragged about their endeavors or let little things slip. Wilder had learned a lot he could pass onto the Dragon Elite. He needed to get out of there and to the Gullington, but Sophia knew he’d been captured, so it was only a matter of time.
Wilder didn’t mind that his girlfriend had to come and rescue him. He’d do the same for her. They were partners. That was the key difference between the Dragon Elite and the Rogue Riders. These guys all competed with each other for rank and prestige. Wilder could only guess that this was a result of their leadership. Conversely, the guys had accepted Sophia as a leader from the beginning, but that didn’t change things between Wilder and her because at their core, they respected each other, something that went a long way among riders. The Rogue Riders didn’t understand that at all.
“Whoa!” one of the demon dragonriders exclaimed and sprang to his feet. His gray dragon jumped up too, waking from a nap. Wilder didn’t know his name, only the second and third in command—Nathaniel and Tanner.
“W-Wh-Whhat the hell is that?” the other no-name newbie stammered and dropped the stick he was whittling.
From down in the pit, it was hard for Wilder to get a glimpse of what they saw. However, he had felt the rush of air mixed with a light spray of water. It felt like a storm was approaching, but from his experience, this didn’t seem like a normal one.
Apparently, Nathaniel thought the same thing. “That’s not right!”
“It could be a trick, sir,” one of the other demon dragonriders offered.
“It might be,” Nathaniel agreed. “We need to figure out what’s going on. That thing could tear this island in half.”
“Or go after headquarters,” one of the guys added.
“Yeah, we have to warn the boss,” Nathaniel stated.
“That thing is simply massive,” another dragonrider observed with awe in his voice. “And it’s getting bigger.”
As the wind picked up, it sounded like the storm was getting closer. Wilder glimpsed something in the air as he backed up and pressed his spine to the far wall to give himself as much perspective as possible. He spied the top of a water spout far in the distance, reaching up to the ominous clouds overhead and no doubt spiraling through the ocean.
He grinned to himself when he realized that help was definitely on the way.
Chapter Fifty-Three
“I want one of you to go with me to check out that cyclone. You,” Nathaniel ordered and pointed at the guy with a gray dragon. “You’re going to go warn the boss about this. It seems like something nefarious, but it might be a regular natural disaster.”
“What about angel boy?” One of the dragonriders looked over the pit at Wilder.
“He can’t get out of there,” Nathaniel stated. “Magic doesn’t work from the inside.”
Wilder rolled his eyes, having learned that annoying piece of information after many attempts to get the netting off or dig through the walls using magic. Thankfully he still had his telepathic link to Simi, which was how he could notify Sophia.
“Yeah, but what if this is a trick and the Dragon Elite are out there?” one of the minions asked.
“Then we’re going to teach them a lesson but honestly, looking at the size of that,” Nathaniel pointed at the waterspout, “It’s highly unlikely that a dragonrider can make that. Something like that would take serious power, and I don’t think the Dragon Elite have it in them.”
“You’re probably right, chief,” one of the guys said. “But you still think it’s safe to leave pretty boy?”
“The natives around this place can’t be trusted,” the other man added.
“They’re also about as useless as the Dragon Elite,” Nathaniel added.
“But they keep looking for a way to stay,” the guy with the gray dragon stated. “I’ll be happy when they’re gone for good, and we have the run of this place.”
“Yeah, but as a precaution. The boss would have my butt if something happened to the prisoner.” Nathaniel waved his hand, and a wall of fire sprang up from the pit’s perimeter, momentarily blinding Wilder and instantly making it hotter.
That would complicate things if Sophia were trying to rescue him. However, if anyone could figure out how to get around the various security measures the Rogue Riders had in place, it would be Sophia Beaufont.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Evan could thank his recent tutorial sessions with Mama Jamba for the very impressive water spout he and Coral had been able to create by pulling on their element of water.
Although Mother Nature wasn’t always overly helpful, she could surprise now and then by offering up some incredible knowledge that only she’d know and could teach. Manifesting a huge water spiral that resembled a cyclone in the ocean was impressive by anyone’s standards.
It had been a pretty good idea on Sophia’s part to use the new talent as a diversion, but Evan couldn’t tell the young dragonrider that or he’d never hear the end of it. In truth though, he enjoyed working with Pink Princess. She was smart in battle. Calculated and reliable. Most importantly, she made it fun with her quick wit and antics. All stuff he also wasn’t sharing with her. It was better if they kept up the ruse that they couldn’t stand each other.
From atop Coral, Evan enjoyed the blast of wind from the water spout. The narrow cylinder spiraled up from the churning ocean and reached the brewing clouds above. It was easily the width of a large building and as high as a large skyscraper.
Evan drew on his reserves and cheered as he created another waterspout. It shot up from the ocean like a monster coming alive and wiggled back and forth before connecting with the thick clouds overhead.
The structures were beautiful, like neat strands of silk that stretched from the waters to the heavens. However, Evan knew that up close they’d be anything but pretty.
His little creations were chaos incarnate. They were destruction ready to pounce on an enemy. Now he merely had to wait for said villain to materialize. Then it would be go time.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Lunis, Sophia, and Simi all waited on the village’s far perimeter until Wilder informed his dragon that the coast was clear. As Sophia had suspected, all the dragonriders left due to the sudden commotion of the waterspouts.
She had to admit that they were pretty impressive as they rose through the air and could be seen from a fair distance away. One of the most important parts—other than they attracted the Rogue Riders' attention—was that the diversion didn’t harm the island, which belonged to the meek villagers who had been through enough.
At first, Sophia had considered having Evan create a tsunami or something similar. That would attract attention from the center of the island and be a danger the demon dragonriders couldn’t ignore, but when the tsunami fell, it would wipe
out the island and potentially the neighboring ones.
Sophia hoped that when the time came, the waterspouts simply dissipated—well, after taking out a demon dragonrider or three or four.
“Wilder says that all the guards are gone. They’ve flown off toward the edge of the island to investigate the waterspouts,” Simi relayed from beside Sophia and Lunis, where they waited in the trees.
“Okay, then let’s not waste any time.” Sophia was anxious to set eyes on Wilder and ensure that he was all right.
Simi led the way as they snaked through the overgrown forest. Although flying would be the fastest, most direct route to Wilder in the village center, it would also make them known to the Rogue Riders hopefully flying in the opposite direction. Sophia could have cloaked them, but she was aware that reserving her magic was important, not knowing what obstacles they faced up ahead.
Thankfully the dragons could use a compartment spell to move through the forest and around the trees, which cleared the space more quickly.
Sophia remembered the lay of the land from when they’d spied on that kid Tanner, who’d bullied the natives. They weren’t far from the center of the village, but the place was different than she remembered. Many of the huts and structures had been disassembled, and much of the enclave appeared to lay in ruins.
Sophia suspected that many of the natives hadn’t waited and had already evacuated from the island. In the haste to get away from the evil dragonriders, they’d probably packed their stuff roughly and left behind anything they didn’t require.