Rules of Justice (The Exceptional S. Beaufont Book 8)

by Sarah Noffke

  “She’ll be fine,” Hatch told them. “Sophia just needs to rest, and then her magic will return. I’ve also put a nutrition patch on her arm, and that will refill her energy. Give her an hour and she’ll be back with us.”

  “Every second away from her is torture,” Pip said melodramatically.

  Lewis chuckled. “Now you know how I feel about coffee.”

  Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Four

  When Sophia awoke fully, she was lying on the surface of one of the worktables in Hatch’s lab. Perched beside her, leaning over her was Pip. She opened her eyes to look into his and startled immediately, bolting upright and knocking her forehead into his.

  “Oh, my love!” he exclaimed.

  Sophia rolled to the side, clutching her head, which felt like she had rammed it into a metal wall. She tumbled off the side of the table and fell on the floor.

  Rolling over on her back, she spied Pip hanging over the side of the table and Hatch giving them both an amused expression.

  “That’s one way to wake up,” Bailey said, striding over and extending a hand to Sophia to help her up.

  She took the hand and popped up to her feet, grateful to find her energy had returned, and her magic was restored.

  “How long was I out?” Sophia asked, rubbing her head where she banged it into Pip.

  “It felt like an eternity,” Pip said dramatically.

  “About forty-five minutes,” Hatch stated matter-of-factly.

  “Oh, that was so weird,” she related. “I’ve never passed out like that from depleting my reserves.”

  “Well, Pip might have figured out how to siphon the energy from you.” Hatch scowled at the AI. “So, on top of you funneling your power out, he was also tapping into it.”

  Pip swung his legs over the side of the table and slid down to his feet. “I was trying to help. I had never felt magic before. It was addictive. Much like you, Sophia.”

  She ignored him. “Did it at least work? Did all the magic get into the device?”

  “Yes,” Hatch chirped, sounding excited. “The device is ready to go. I just have to tell you how to use it, so you don’t kill yourself.”

  “Yes, please do!”

  Hatch indicated the stainless-steel container with the antennas and buttons that were all put together now. “It’s called a CAR because—”

  “He’s obsessed with cars from Earth,” Pip interjected. “He’s got a huge collection in the back. Hey, here’s a great idea. We can go and make out in his ‘64 GTO.”

  “Not unless you want to be disassembled,” Hatch threatened. “That’s not why it’s called that. The acronym is for ‘Catch and Race.’”

  “That doesn’t make any sense, Doc,” Bailey said, eating what Sophia thought was maybe a falafel wrap.

  He cut his eyes at her. “You don’t make sense.”

  She lifted a can of Coke as if in a toast. “No arguments there.”

  “Anyway,” Hatch continued, returning his attention to Sophia. “The idea of CAR is it will sense any and all magitech in a five-mile radius, so you’d better ensure that you’re not using any.”

  “The Dragon Elite rarely do,” she admitted. “Our leader is mostly against technology.”

  “Remind me not to invite him to my next dinner party,” Hatch said dryly.

  Pip laughed. “That’s cute. You hosting a dinner party. I can just see you wearing a bow tie and apron and having seating assignments.”

  Lewis grinned. “I’d go to that dinner party.”

  “I’d get kicked out of it,” Bailey added.

  “That you would,” Hatch replied. “As I was saying, the CAR is going to pick up on all magitech in the vicinity, so don’t have any. Not even a phone. Once it’s attached, you’re going to need to lock onto the devices, whether they be planes, rocket launchers, or helicopters. That’s the catch part of the device.”

  “Then we’re going to need to run like hell,” Sophia guessed.

  Hatch smiled at her. “I’d exchange you for the lot of this bunch of imbeciles. I would have had to draw them a picture and explain it ad nauseum for them to get it.”

  “Do you ever get the impression Hatch doesn’t care for us much?” Bailey asked through a bite to Lewis.

  He shook his head. “He adores us.”

  “Yeah, like an infestation of space rats in the lower deck,” Hatch grumbled, turning his attention back to Sophia. “So the important part is to get close enough to lock onto this army’s magitech. That’s when you hit the red button. Then you have roughly a minute to get as far away from them as you can.” He indicated with one of his tentacles.

  “I want to hit the red button,” Pip said longingly, perched next to Sophia, his fingers close to the box.

  “Don’t,” Hatch ordered. “This device only has one charge. That means one chance for Sophia to use it successfully. If you’re not locked onto all of the magitech devices when you hit that button, you won’t destroy all of them at once.”

  “Wow,” Sophia said, her eyes wide. “It’s going to destroy them?”

  “Huge explosion,” he declared victoriously. “What I’ve done is quite brilliant—”

  “If he does say so himself,” Bailey interrupted.

  “I do,” Hatch said boldly. “It’s incredibly genius. The CAR turns magitech against itself. Usually, the magic fuels the technology making it faster, more accurate, exceptionally powerful, so forth and so on. However, the CAR detects the magitech and then ramps up its power until it implodes on itself.”

  “Wow, that is brilliant,” Sophia said, suddenly breathless. Then something occurred to her, making her initial excitement wane.

  “There is a problem though,” Hatch warned.

  “The whole exploding part,” Lewis guessed.

  The scientist nodded, not offering him a compliment for the accurate guess. “So you need to get close enough to lock onto the magitech.”

  “That’s the catch part,” Bailey offered.

  “Then you need to get as far from it as possible within that minute after you hit the button,” Hatch repeated.

  “That’s the run part,” Bailey added once more.

  “Which means, if the army is trying to get to the Great Library, that we need to catch them there, then lure them away,” Sophia said.

  “That’s right,” Hatch confirmed. “Or you will take your library down with the magitech army, which will defeat the whole purpose.”

  Sophia chewed on her lip. “Yeah, this is going to be tricky, but at least we have a tool to use.”

  Pip chuckled. “She said, ‘tool.’”

  “You’re twelve years old, aren’t you?” Bailey asked, quite seriously.

  “Twelve and a half,” he corrected.

  “Well, that’s all I can do to help you, Sophia.” Hatch puffed out his cheeks, a look of regret briefly crossing his face. “I don’t think we’ll know if it works, but I wish you the very best. I’m sorry to say, it sounds like you’re going to need it.”

  Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Five

  Sophia was very sad to leave Ricky Bobby. She hadn’t been on the battlecruiser for very long and yet, she’d quickly felt at home there. Even being greeted by Ricky Bobby as an intruder and welcomed by Bailey pointing a gun at her hadn’t put a bad taste in her mouth.

  The dragonrider knew that the crew of Ricky Bobby were only defending their home. She would do the same in their position. Sophia had.

  The crew was so much fun and although she didn’t want to leave them, knowing she’d never be able to return, they made her miss her friends and her family at the Gullington. She had what they did—a camaraderie worth fighting for. That’s what they did, Sophia had learned. They defended the Frontier of Federation space from bullies and madmen and those who wanted to hurt the universe. They were the Dragon Elite, just on a different scale.

  Different from when she entered Ricky Bobby, all of her new friends walked her back to where she entered. Sophia hoped that a portal would open u
p, or she didn’t know how she’d get back. She had faith in Mae Ling.

  “I thought you might want to take this back with you.” Lewis handed her a bag of coffee beans that was labeled “Precious Galaxy Coffee Company.”

  Sophia took it with her free hand, the other one carrying the CAR. “Thanks.”

  “That’s the coffee company that pretty much runs these systems,” Lewis explained. “We help by running the beans from Tueti. The CEO helps us out with missions and funding.”

  “Sounds like a good partnership,” Sophia said, taking a whiff of the beans, and getting their rich aroma through the bag.

  “Everything is about partnerships,” Bailey related, tenderness on her face. “I wish you the best with what you have to do. Glad that we could help, after all.”

  “We?” Hatch questioned, waddling behind them.

  “Hey,” Bailey complained. “I brought her to you. Well, after Lewis put her in a headlock, pretty much.”

  Sophia laughed, having forgotten that part of the meeting. “Yeah, that is a fond memory.”

  “Hey, you find a girl in a cloak with a sword on your ship, what do you do?” Lewis asked, holding up his hands.

  “Ask her to marry you and get your heart broken,” Pip whined, kicking at the wall as they halted about where Sophia had entered.

  “I’m interested to see what your portals look like.” Hatch looked around, his round eyes studying the space.

  “Bright,” Sophia offered, looking over her shoulder as she faced the group. Holding up the CAR with the coffee beans on top, she smiled. “Thanks for, well, everything.”

  “Not so fast,” Pip said.

  Bailey stepped in front of him, holding up a hand. “You don’t get to kiss her.”

  “That really should be her choice,” he argued. “That’s not what I was going to do. I have my own parting gift.”

  From the hem at his back, he pulled two T-shirts from his kilt. “I have a company called Pimping Pip’s Apparel, where I make graphic T-shirts. Anyway, I thought you and your dragon should have some, although I don’t know what size your dragon is. I got you an extra small and him an extra-large.”

  “That’s perfect,” Sophia said, smiling at the AI who had instantly become one of her favorite people she’d met on her travels.

  He held up the first one that was small. It read:

  How do astronomers organize a party?

  They planet.

  “Oh wow,” Hatch groaned. “That’s awful.”

  “Thank you,” Pip said blushing. “This one is for your dragon.”

  On the front, it said:

  What did the 30-degree angle say to the 90-degree angle?

  You think you’re always right.

  Sophia giggled. “You and he would get along. Y’all share a similar sense of humor.”

  “I’m sorry,” Hatch related, his lips pursed.

  “What is your dragon’s name?” Bailey asked.

  “Lunis,” Sophia said, instantly missing him. Their connection had been severed since she’d been on the battlecruiser.

  “He’s named after the moon,” Hatch said, sounding impressed.

  Sophia nodded. “That’s right. He gets bigger on the night of a full moon.”

  “Me too,” Pip said with a wink.

  Bailey shook her head. “Maybe Sophia could take Pip with her.”

  “She can’t,” Hatch stated a warning in his voice. “Not only that but Sophia, I believe this is our first and only meeting. I don’t believe you’ll be able to return.”

  She nodded, having suspected that much too. “Yeah, well, thanks to all of you. I think you might have saved my people and a lot more.”

  “We’re all in this together,” Hatch offered. “Our world affects yours and yours ours.”

  Bailey elbowed Lewis. “I think he’s going to cry.”

  “I’m not!” Hatch bellowed. “But it wouldn’t kill you all to have a bit of intelligence like Sophia. A strategic mind is a beautiful thing.”

  Pip tilted his head to the side, looking at Sophia’s behind. “So is that as—”

  “Your portal appears to be trying to open,” Ricky Bobby interrupted overhead.

  Sophia nodded, her throat tightening. “Good luck to you with everything you’ve got going on.”

  Bailey waved her off. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just space pirates and ugly aliens that like to smuggle illegal weapons. No one can know that we are behind all the acts of self-sacrifice, making the universe safer. That’s the rule. Those pirates and aliens give me a reason to drink.”

  “Being awake gives you a reason to drink,” Lewis teased.

  “You give me all the reasons to drink,” she retorted.

  At Sophia’s back, the portal to her world opened, a bright, shimmering light that made them all squint.

  “Fascinating,” Hatch stammered in awe of the portal.

  “I better go,” Sophia said, looking at the portal before turning back to the group, her arms full of gifts and her heart full of the love for the strange beings from another world.

  “You better,” Bailey said, winking at her. “Stay alive and kick those politicians’ butts.”

  “Yeah.” Lewis smiled at her. “Keep doing what you’re doing. It’s a beautiful thing to save the world, even if no one knows you are the one doing it.” He gave Bailey beside him a meaningful expression, which she returned.

  “Sophia, I’ll never forget you.” Pip pressed his fingers to his lips and blew her a kiss.

  The most surprising was from Hatch, who was offering her a tender expression. “Remember, catch them, get them away from your Great Library, and run like hell. Although I don’t suspect we’ll know if you’re successful or not, the world will. Losing you won’t be good for the future.”

  “Thanks,” Sophia said speechless. She took a step backward, knowing it was time to say goodbye to her new friends.

  Just as she was about to turn and step through the portal, she paused. “I forgot to ask. You all are the crew for Ricky Bobby, but what do you call yourselves? You know, in case I ever want to look you up again?”

  Hatch smiled. “We’re Ghost Squadron.”

  Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Six

  Sophia felt like she’d been gone from her world for ages when she stepped back through the portal onto Roya Lane. Her heart was heavier than she thought was possible, having to leave behind the crew of Ghost Squadron. She pulled on the strength the encounter had given her. Around the universe, at all points on the timeline, in different dimensions, there were those who were fighting for good. People who would risk everything to save the world they cherished. If Sophia needed another reason to take Nevin Gooseman down, this was it.

  Pulling a macaroon from her pocket, Sophia took a bite, although she wasn’t as hungry as she thought she’d be after that long without eating and after depleting her magic. She glanced at the nutrition patch Hatch had put on her, and she didn’t want to ever take it off as a way to remember the Londil by.

  Then she looked down at the CAR, coffee beans, and T-shirts in her arms and realized she had a few ways to remember her new friends. She had the memories, she told herself.

  She didn’t know what kind of adventures that crew would get up to next, but Sophia knew they’d do it in style. Pip in his kilt, Bailey with her humor, Lewis with his class, Hatch with his brilliance and Ricky Bobby with his unwavering attention.

  With fondness in her heart, Sophia realized she had her very own Ricky Bobby, run by Quiet. Evan, Mahkah, Hiker, Trin, Ainsley, Mama Jamba, and Wilder were her crew. She hoped they spent many rotations, circling the globe, making it a better place together and keeping each other laughing.

  Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Seven

  You were gone for a whole ten minutes, Lunis accused, sounding disappointed.

  Sophia looked between Lunis and Mae Ling with disbelief. “How is that possible? I was passed out for at least forty-five minutes on that battlecruiser, and I had been there for a while bef
ore and a while afterward.”

  Mae Ling’s eyes sparkled with mystery. “It’s just the way it works, my dear.”

  The class had been dismissed when Sophia returned, and Lunis appeared sad he wasn’t being lavished with attention.

  “Well, thanks for opening that portal for me,” Sophia said. “Although I’m a bit confounded by the place I went and how it was possible.”

  Mae Ling seemed to understand her confusion. “Papa Creola recognizes the consequences if the Great Library is destroyed. We all do. Currently, on this planet, there wasn’t a means to destroy Nevin Gooseman.”

  Sophia held up the objects in her hands and indicated the CAR. “I hope we do now.”

  “It will depend on how you and your team perform,” Mae Ling said cautiously. “But I hope so too.”

  “The portal that you two opened to Ricky Bobby…” Sophia trailed away, giving Mae Ling a hopeful expression.

  “It’s closed now,” her fairy godmother answered. “It was a risk to the timeline having it in the first place, but that was one reason I required that you leave Lunis here. That kept you safe and ensured you would return, and not create an anomaly in our history. We are hoping that you change it.” Mae Ling gave her a deadly serious expression. “I think you recognize now how important this is.”

  Sophia sucked in a breath and nodded. “Yes, I get it more than ever.”

  Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Eight

  Technology wasn’t King Rudolf Sweetwater’s forte. Saying words like forte were. Or drinking games. Or cheating at board games.

  Fae didn’t really do technology. They hired ugly magicians to set up their security systems and computers and ensure that their appliances brewed their coffee just right, and their toasters didn’t burn their hot cross buns.

  However, Rudolf was nothing if he wasn’t adaptable. This was a man who didn’t touch a single woman during the Spanish flu. If that didn’t show fortitude, then he didn’t know what did. Of course, after it was safe, he pretty much touched every woman he could, but desperate times call for desperation.