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

by Sarah Noffke

  He looked around at the shelves of books proudly. “The person I’ve chosen as the new librarian understands that, and when the time is right, I’ll call on you and Sophia to find him.”

  Liv nodded, feeling a rush of sentimentality, brought on by Plato’s words. He was right about the Great Library being protected, both in that it should be preserved and also kept secret from the world. In this place, there were spells that, in the wrong hands, could cause serious damage. They could end the world as they knew it. According to Sophia, that might have been the Earth’s future, but they were about to change all that.

  “I’ve taken down the protective wards on the Great Library,” Plato said, his eyes suddenly distant.

  “Making us vulnerable to attack,” Liv observed.

  “I trust the Dragon Elite won’t allow that to happen,” Plato imparted.

  She nodded, pressing her lips together.

  “When the time comes, I plan to move the library, making it vanish from this spot,” Plato explained. “I trust those who want it gone, won’t stop searching for it, unless they believe it’s been destroyed.”

  “So we’re going to fake it so Nevin Gooseman thinks there is no more Great Library,” Liv guessed.

  “We aren’t going to do anything,” he said in an authoritative tone. “Yet, it is safer for this place if it is thought to be gone.”

  “Well, what can I do?” Liv asked. “You know I’m not good at sitting around and doing nothing.”

  He blinked, drawing in a breath. “Unfortunately, that’s exactly what you’ll have to do. Pull up a seat and watch because this battle is about to begin.”

  Liv followed his gaze, finally seeing what he had been looking at for a while, approaching. In the distance, a huge fleet of a magitech army was racing toward them over the ocean.

  Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Two

  Nevin Gooseman smiled with satisfaction at the sight of the Great Library perched on a set of stones off the coast of Zanzibar. It was a tiny building, but he could sense the magic rebounding off of it and knew it was the real deal.

  Rudolf Sweetwater had finally delivered on the location of the Great Library. That was good because he had only one more day before Nevin was going to dispose of him. Too many strange things had been happening at his residence with that fae around.

  Nevin knew it was impossible for the king to have his magic since he was eating the spelled food, but his presence was causing problems with his staff, making them misbehave. Someone most recently had gotten a strange white powder on the keyboard to his computer. All the staff had been fired, and Nevin’s children scolded.

  He couldn’t take any chances—not when he was so close to taking the Dragon Elite down. It was all but inevitable.

  Nevin leaned on the railing of the roof, where he stood in Stone Town, standing high above the city of Zanzibar on one of the tallest buildings on the coast. It gave him a perfect view of the events that were about to unfold and kept him a safe distance from the action.

  In the distance, approaching from the other side of the Great Library, having come through the portals, was his magitech army. The helicopter that contained the king of the fae was in the lead.

  In a matter of a few minutes, Rudolf Sweetwater would be escorted into the Great Library to fetch the book Nevin needed to undo the spell that was cloaking the evil dragons. The fae had been told that if he delivered the book, he’d be allowed to go free.

  Technically that was true. Nevin’s men would leave Rudolf in the Great Library and fly off with the book in tow. What the dumb fae didn’t know was that moments after they were gone, the Great Library and all of its contents, along with Rudolf, would be blown to bits and erased from this world.

  It was all going according to plan, Nevin thought with gratitude, rubbing his palms together in satisfaction. This just proved when you did the right thing and rid the world of evil that you were rewarded, Nevin concluded, staring at the magitech army approaching the Great Library. Nothing could stop what would happen next.

  Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Three

  The magitech army was impressive, Sophia had to admit. In the lead was a helicopter that didn’t move like one. Its blades rotated with a smoothness, unlike anything Sophia had seen before. The fighter jets behind it were no doubt stocked with too much firepower. All meant to level the Great Library when the time came. But that time wasn’t going to come. Today things were going in the Dragon Elite’s favor. Nevin Gooseman had won too many battles up until now sullying the reputation of the dragonriders. Today it ended.

  She turned her attention to Wilder hovering next to her, Simi and Lunis barely having to flap their wings to stay afloat.

  She gave him a single look and he knew what to do. It would be his job to get King Rudolf to safety. He pressed out his lips, giving her a kiss in the air before speeding off after the helicopter, hoping to cut it off before it got any closer to the Great Library.

  Spinning around, Sophia gave the command to Evan and Mahkah who set off at once, their jobs to go after the army. Sophia held onto the CAR before her. As Hiker had advised her on her birthday, there were times to fight and there were times to sit back and let others. Sophia and Lunis would remain cloaked and free from the danger of the battle about to ensue, but their job wasn’t easy.

  This fight was all about timing, and if they didn’t get it exactly right, they stood to lose more than just the Great Library. The dragonriders had never been more at risk than then, when having to race around an army that would inevitably be exploded to pieces, but hopefully only when they were far away.

  “What does that button do?” King Rudolf Sweetwater said, pointing to the dashboard of the helicopter and nearly knocking the pilot in the face.

  The pilot swatted his hand away. “Stay back there,” the man warned, looking over his shoulder where Rudolf sat alone in the back row.

  “Can we roll up the window?” Rudolf asked over the intercom, the microphone of the headphones positioned right in front of his mouth.

  The magitech helicopter didn’t have doors, and the wind rushing through was really messing up Rudolf’s hair and making his eyes water.

  “Would you be quiet already?” the copilot spat, glancing back at Rudolf.

  “Okey, dokey,” Rudolf sang, leaning out and looking at the blue waters they were crossing.

  Using the magic they didn’t know he had, the king of the fae had already unfastened his seat belt. Now he just had to wait for his new ride to show up. It was sort of like waiting for an Uber, although without the app functionality that told him exactly when the driver would arrive.

  One would think the fae wouldn’t need to take an Uber because he could rely on his portal magic. That person wouldn’t understand how scary it was to try portaling after drinking on the Las Vegas strip all night and finding yourself in a prison cell with a guy named Shark. There was an exact science to creating portals and doing it while drunk made for some dangerous mistakes.

  “Are we there yet,” Rudolf whined, seeing the Great Library in the distance, a few miles away. “I’ve got to pee.”

  “Shut up, you idiot!” the pilot yelled.

  Rudolf smiled at the raging wagon sniffer. He’d sort of miss him when he was gone. But not his copilot, mange jacker. That guy could go eat a bunch of laundry pods and die for all he cared.

  “What the hell is that?” the copilot asked, pointing at the massive dragon and rider who had materialized out of seemingly thin air.

  “That’s your funeral,” Rudolf sang, leaning out of the helicopter and hoping Wilder caught him since he couldn’t use portal magic and really didn’t want to take a swim.

  Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Four

  Wilder was prepared for the attacks the magitech helicopter unleashed. Not wanting to endanger their own, the army behind them didn’t fire. That was fine. They’d have their own friends to play with, Wilder thought with a laugh.

  Having experience battling magitech, Wilder knew that tr
ying to outpace the missiles locked on him was not a good strategy. It was a waste of energy and took him away from his mission of getting closer to the helicopter. Unfortunately, he couldn’t attack it just yet, not with the king of the fae on board.

  So the dragonrider put up his hand and threw out a powerful shield that covered him and Simi. It was more than intimidating to race in the direction of the missile flying at him, unflinching. This part was about faith. He had to know that his magic was working, and it would protect him.

  When the large missile hit the shield, it exploded but Simi and Wilder didn’t feel the effects of it. He could do that maybe one or two more times. After that he’d be out of magic and out of options.

  Wilder hoped it didn’t come to that. He just had to be swift and get Rudolf before the magitech helicopter fired again. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched as Evan and Mahkah materialized, racing past him. Their fun was about to begin as they took on the giant magitech army behind the helicopter.

  Evan didn’t love anything more than the rush that accompanied battle. Well, he loved Coral, his purple dragon, more and NO10JO, his cyborg dog. There were no experiences that trumped riding into a fight, though, knowing he was about to hand some bad guys their asses in a rose-scented basket.

  He slid his head to the side, winking at Mahkah, who rode the brown dragon known as Tala. For as quiet and unassuming as the old dragonrider was, there were few others that Evan wouldn’t want to face in a fight. Actually, the three people that made up that list were in battle with him today and fighting on his side, Wilder, Mahkah, and the scariest of all, the Pink Princess.

  Today, Evan had all the advantages in this battle. Coral’s element was the ocean, which meant the fight was set in their arena. Releasing the reins to his dragon, he leaned out over the side and flicked his hand in the air, like he was on top of the water and splashing the person in front of him.

  Before them were a few cowards, all protected in their magitech fighter jets. Evan could see the pilots, but not the murderous expressions they no doubt wore as the two dragons and their riders raced in their direction.

  “Time to play, fella!” Evan cheered, just as three of the jets released attacks in their direction.

  He cackled loudly as the missiles chased after them. In front of the missiles, a wall of water rose at Evan’s command, making the missiles fall flat and sink into the ocean where they’d detonate safely at the bottom.

  Evan gave Mahkah a proud wink. “Ready for the chase to begin?”

  He nodded, taking off fast, his black braid streaking behind him as they led the magitech army away from the Great Library, but keep them close enough that Sophia could “catch” them with the CAR.

  Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Five

  Her heart pounding in her throat, Sophia watched as the meter rose on the CAR. That was the indication of the magitech registering with the device and being caught.

  Watching Wilder have to race toward the helicopter was stressful enough, knowing he had to endure the attacks without retaliating to keep Rudolf safe. To double her stress, Sophia and Lunis had to idly sit by as Evan and Mahkah rode into battle, antagonizing the magitech army.

  She knew that both riders were competent and could hold their own in most circumstances, but they’d never faced forces this large and stocked with so much artillery. The army of fighter jets had enough ammunition to blow up the Great Library, which meant if they threw everything they had at the dragonriders posing a threat to them, she didn’t think her friends would survive.

  “Come on,” she urged, watching as the meter slowly ticked upwards. It had about half of the magitech caught, but there were at least a dozen more it needed to capture. Rudolf hadn’t been saved yet, which meant there was a stalling game that needed to happen.

  The Dragon Elite were trying to ruin everything, but it wasn’t going to work, Nevin thought with satisfaction.

  Them showing up would actually work in his favor. He wasn’t sure how they knew to be at the Great Library but suspected it was of no coincidence. They were the few allowed into the place full of every book on the globe, so they probably had protective wards on the place that told them when there was trespassing.

  That was another reason the Great Library had to be destroyed. If it was open to the Dragon Elite, but few others, that was unfair. There was no one more detestable than these magicians who rode beasts and thought that their authority trumped that of major countries and governments.

  Nevin knew he’d be stopping the Dragon Elite, but he had no idea he’d have the fortune of doing it that day.

  He smiled sadistically, looking out at the battle waging over the ocean. There was no way that three dragonriders and their monsters could defeat his army of magitech. He looked forward to watching them go down. Then he’d flatten their precious Great Library and return to ruling over the mortal world, unobstructed by the Dragon Elite.

  Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Six

  Knowing he couldn’t take another attack, already having shielded against two, Wilder pulled down the defensive measure and sped toward the magitech helicopter. It was now or never. The problem with that mentality was it also could mean die now…

  He shook off this negative thought and urged Simi to dive low between the helicopter and the ocean. The magitech aircraft was stalled over the waters, having paused to fight the dragonrider. That worked for Wilder but also meant he needed to make his move before they did.

  His move obviously confused the pilots and he watched as they leaned forward, trying to figure out where he’d disappeared to. They thought he was trying to get away. Maybe they thought it was a trick because the Asshats released a third missile.

  “No!” Wilder yelled, knowing he couldn’t put his shield up again. That would ruin the plan and deplete his magic.

  There was only one option left as he and Simi soared directly under the helicopter. He caught sight of the blond hair of the king of the fae and hoped the timing worked.

  At the same moment that Rudolf Sweetwater jumped from the hovering helicopter, his eyes bright and a smile on his face, Wilder threw his arm in the direction of the missile racing at them. He pulled on the element connected to Simi, harnessing the wind. Shields and water could stop missiles. Unfortunately, wind couldn’t. What it could do would hopefully be enough. Wilder hoped the missile would be thrown off course enough, and give them a chance to escape.

  Rudolf had ridden many things before. Horses, bulls, even an elf named Mixie. However, he had never ridden a dragon before. What hopefully would come next would make this abduction business worth it. He liked adding new experiences to his memory.

  Without any concern for his hair, which was undoubtedly destroyed by the raging wind, Rudolf leaped out of the magitech helicopter when the strapping dragonrider he called Kyle soared underneath. Rudolf refused to call anyone Wilder. That was too cool of a name, and to top it off, the guy had hair that might rival his own, as well as piercing blue eyes that almost hypnotized him. They were almost too much, but he was willing to forgive Kyle if he saved his life.

  With an abbreviated goodbye, Rudolf jumped out of the helicopter, making Nerf Graduate and Bastardized Jockey Wanker spin around from the cockpit, shocked that the fae was jumping.

  As he free-fell, Rudolf caught sight of the missile speeding in the direction of the dragonrider and his steed. Kyle threw out his hand, and the attack tumbled back in the air like a stone, end over end. It was close. Close enough that if it detonated, they’d be a part of its collateral damage.

  Putting himself into position, Rudolf dropped onto the dragon like it wasn’t his first time, fastening his arms around Kyle’s waist as his manhood absorbed the brunt of the impact. Unable to talk, he coughed from the pain into the dragonrider’s shoulder as they soared off just as the missile exploded from the wind attack, propelling them in the opposite direction. Rudolf felt the blast of heat like he was lying on a tanning bed.

  Kyle opened a portal in front of them as they
soared over the ocean, and soon they were through it and to another, safer land where Rudolf could get drunk on strawberry wine and forget he ever had to look at so much modern art.

  Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Seven

  One down, Sophia thought, feeling victorious as she watched Rudolf and Wilder disappear through the portal. Now she could “catch” the rest of the magitech devices and finish this fight.

  Evan and Mahkah were keeping the army busy, streaking around them as they fired on. However, they couldn’t maintain that for long, she knew. By the rush of words in her ear, they were starting to figure that out too.

  At first, the communications had been light, full of Evan’s banter as he enticed the enemy.

  Now they were full of tension as the attacks got closer.

  “Just two more,” Sophia told them, staring daggers at the CAR, willing it to catch the other two devices she’d counted, for a total of twenty-four.

  “Hurry!” Evan yelled, and in the distance, she spied as a missile nearly took off Coral’s tail.

  The water attacks were apparently losing their stamina and not knocking down the magitech assaults like they had in the beginning.

  Her heart lightened as the meter ticked up a notch.