by Sarah Noffke
Seconds later, the giants all released their arrows. They flew through the air in a large arc, racing in Lunis’ and Sophia’s direction—all taking the same trajectory.
Seriously guys, you can do better than that. Lunis shook his head and flapped his wings, angling upward and climbing higher into the air. The arrows all missed them and landed in the sea.
All of the giants immediately reloaded.
You’d think for as big as their heads are, that they’d have more brains, Lunis joked to Sophia.
She shook her head. Something tells me we shouldn’t underestimate them. They’re learning our strategy.
Learn it, Lunis replied. Write it down, dear giants. Put it in your playbook for all I care.
Sophia laughed. Well, I wouldn’t pull the same move on the next attack, she informed him, watching as the archers all pointed their bows higher in the air.
Lunis sighed. I didn’t hatch yesterday, you know.
When the one Sophia figured was the chief of the giants—known as Dag, according to Bermuda—blew into the horn again, she held her breath, wondering what her dragon would do next. Lunis didn’t rise in the air but rather shot forward, getting dangerously close to the cliff’s edge. All the arrows meant for them arched over them, landing at their backs in the water.
Now, Lunis urged, immediacy in his voice.
Whipping her hand through the air as he cut to the side, giving Sophia a clear side view of giants along the coastline, she created a blast of wind. It hit the water first, making a huge wave that rose high into the air over the cliffside before crashing down. The giants didn’t have a chance to react, and the result was the small tsunami assaulted them.
It knocked many of them to the ground, making their bows tumble from their grasp. Chief Dag didn’t move but instead stood stock still as the wave of seawater rushed over his feet and legs, coming up to his knees.
Not wasting a single second, Lunis supersized underneath Sophia, making her reposition herself to keep her balance.
It was always breathtaking for her to see and experience her dragon changing shape instantly, growing to the size of a 747 plane. He was suddenly enormous, casting a vast shadow on the giants below.
Their reactions were priceless, and if Sophia weren’t busy keeping an eye on the would-be enemies, she would have loved to take a picture.
Time to land this plane, Lunis sang, followed by making a motoring noise.
Okay, pilot, Sophia replied. I’m ready for landing. That looks like the perfect place for a runway. She indicated the area where many giants were gathering themselves, having been hit hard by the wave. It didn’t appear to hurt any of them seriously, but it stunned them all, which was the point.
Their looks of horror intensified as Lunis angled his head down like a plane coming in for a landing. They all understood at once that if they didn’t move, a dragon-plane would run them over. As large as even the biggest giant was, he stood no chance of surviving that.
Chapter Thirty
Lunis made a perfect landing, his long wingspan taking over the stretch of grass. The giants couldn’t run fast, but Sophia thought they were sprinting faster than they had in a long time to avoid being run over.
The sight of them fleeing while looking over their shoulders in horror was quite comical. Sophia knew that Lunis was slowing his landing to give all the lumbering giants the chance to reach safer grounds.
Chief Dag had simply backed up with long strides, not attempting to run, but he’d been far enough back that he had a head start on the others.
Sophia jumped to her feet on Lunis’ back, mindful that she shouldn’t pull her sword as she normally did when facing danger.
However, the giants didn’t have the same instinct. Many had retrieved their weapons after being assaulted with the tsunami, but they were still running, trying to put distance between them and the huge dragon who was an easy target at this point. That was the risk she and Lunis had taken, and Sophia was confident it would be the act of intimidation they needed. Hopefully, things wouldn’t escalate any further. She didn’t want anyone to get hurt, especially not Lunis.
When Lunis halted, many giants stopped to see what he would do next. Chief Dag stood on the top of a small hill, his eyes narrowed and vengeance heavy in his gaze. “Arm yourselves!” he boomed.
Lunis opened his mouth, the next action he was considering obvious. All of the giants’ eyes widened as it occurred to them that they were near enough to the dragon to become toast. If Lunis fired at them, there would be no getting away from the flame.
Chief Dag, who was possibly a safe distance away, lifted the horn to his mouth.
“No!” Sophia yelled while holding up her hands to show she was unarmed. “We aren’t here to war with you. Quite the opposite.”
“You’ve trespassed onto our lands, dragonrider,” Chief Dag spat, his deep voice echoing over the lands. “The punishment is clear for such disobedience.”
“We’ve come here to talk to someone,” Sophia explained. “Since there are no phones or other messaging here, you’ve left us little choice but to make a surprise visit.”
Sophia’s first instinct was to apologize, but she knew that the way to get the giants’ favor wasn’t through saying she was sorry. That would seem weak. These weren’t the types to respect a show of manners. They wanted a show of strength and power and if riding in on a huge dragon didn’t do that, she wasn’t sure what would.
“No one here would want to talk to a dragonrider,” Chief Dag insisted. “Bringing that beast onto our homelands is an act only punishable by death. You’ve left me no choice.”
Again the leader of the giants drew the horn to his mouth. Sophia tensed. Lunis inhaled, and she knew what came out of him next would scorch the earth and all those standing on it. She didn’t want it to come to that.
Chief Dag also pulled in a breath as his lips touched the horn. As he was about to blow and those holding bows would surely fire, a figure ran up over the hills to where Chief Dag stood.
There was a look of horror in Rory’s eyes as the modern giant took in the scene around them. He jumped in front of the chief, blocking him from Sophia and Lunis, and waved his arms. “Wait! Stop! No one harms anyone!”
Chapter Thirty-One
Chief Dag, who was much taller and larger than Rory, stepped around him, pushing him back with an arm to his chest. “You’ve been out of the tribe for too long, Rory Laurens. This proves my point that you don’t deserve my blessing. You’ve forgotten our ways.”
Rory dared to shoot the chief of the giants a challenging expression. “I haven’t forgotten the customs. I’m simply trying to save my people from being annihilated.”
Chief Dag laughed, but it was a forced sound that was deep and hollow. “Us, annihilated? By this girl and her young dragon?” He held out a hand to Lunis and Sophia. “We giants know that size is only important if you know how to use it and it’s obvious that the inexperienced dragon doesn’t.”
Lunis shot steam from his nostrils although Sophia knew he wanted it to be fire from his mouth. “I’m still considering making flaming giant treats. I think my inexperience will still grant me the ability to do that.” He tilted his head to the side. “Shall I give it my best try, and whoever is left standing can rate my efforts?”
Rory dared to take another step, putting himself back between the chief of the giants and Sophia and Lunis. “There is simply no reason for this. The Dragon Elite aren’t our enemies.”
“They trespassed onto our lands,” Chief Dag argued.
“We had to,” Sophia urged.
“Why?” the largest of all the giants questioned at once.
Rory glanced at Sophia, a curious look on his face. “Yeah, why did you come here?”
“To talk to you,” she explained. “Your mum told me you were here and this was the only way to reach you.”
“Bermuda Laurens betrayed us,” Chief Dag boomed. “She sent a magician and a dragon to our lands!”
Sophia shook her head, totally over this guy and his yelling problem. “She told me where to find Rory, but Lunis and I decided to come here, given no other choice. Will you call off your men and allow me to talk to Rory? I need to ask for his help. It’s a matter of security for the House of Fourteen. An issue that could and hopefully will benefit the giants as well as all other magical races and mortals.”
“This sounds important,” Rory said to the chief, urgency in his eyes. “I should talk to her.”
Chief Dag’s eyes swiveled between Rory and Sophia, a question bouncing around in them. Sophia thought there was an equal chance he’d lift the horn to his mouth and declare war or acquiesce. Finally, he lifted his chin and looked directly at Sophia. “You may talk to Rory. Make your request to him.”
Sophia nearly jumped up and down, but before she had a chance to react, the chief lifted his hand, pausing all.
“However, you will have to have this meeting in my tent, in my presence,” Chief Dag stated.
“This is a private matter,” Sophia argued at once. If too many knew about her plan to displace the Councilors for the House of Fourteen, it could ruin everything. She didn’t think the giants would go off blabbering to anyone since they didn’t talk to others, but it was still a risk.
“The only way I’ll allow you to stay on this island one second longer and speak with Rory Laurens is if you have this meeting before me,” Chief Dag declared.
“Fine,” Sophia muttered, realizing this wasn’t too big of a contingency. What did she care if the mean old leader of the giants wanted to spy on her meeting with Rory? He probably was bored to death with gardening and being angry and needed some entertainment. She would consider this a charitable act, allowing him to be present during her meeting.
“But,” Chief Dag went on, his voice stern. “This request you make of Rory Laurens will be reliant on my approval. No giant under my rule is allowed to do anything that I don’t authorize.”
There it was, Sophia thought. There was the big catch.
Not seeing another way, Sophia nodded, stepped off her dragon, and strode through the crowd of giants. She faked confidence and not appearing unnerved as she marched through the huge men, who all wore angry expressions and held their weapons at the ready.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“It was foolish of you to come here,” Rory said through clenched teeth when the two of them went into the chief’s tent. Lunis stationed himself outside, having returned to his normal size but not taking down the intimidation show.
Chief Dag had told Rory and Sophia to wait for him while he took antacids or something, Sophia reasoned.
The tent was plain, made of leather walls and rough wooden beams. A fire pit in the center made the enclosed space so hot that Sophia was instantly sweating.
Shaking her head at Rory, she said, “I think you missed the part where I said I didn’t have a choice. I need your help with something.”
Rory returned her look of frustration. “Sometimes you act too much like Liv.”
“In that I risk my life to save the planet or that I don’t allow angry giants to intimidate me?” she challenged.
He narrowed his eyes at her. “In that you’re too flippant. It’s dangerous for you to be here. These giants are different, and anything can set them off at a moment’s notice.”
“I get that they aren’t like you.” Sophia appreciated how different Rory was from his relatives. In contrast to the savage-looking giants, he wore modern clothes—a pair of jeans and a button-up shirt. His hair was darker and shorter than the others. “I really didn’t have a choice. I have a job, and it has to be done by a giant. Strangely enough, you and your mother are the only ones I know. Well, now I know Chief Dag. Maybe he’ll come to my birthday party.”
“I doubt it,” Rory replied as though she was at all serious.
“Joke, Rory. I don’t think Chief Dag is party material.”
“He’s not simply going to allow you to make a request of me,” Rory stated, his fists balled up by his side.
“I don’t see why this is any of his business in the first place,” Sophia argued. “I’m asking my friend for a favor. His flat nose doesn’t have to be in this affair.”
Rory sighed. “I understand. If you’d been able to ask me away from here, in the modern world, I could do whatever I wanted and probably would. When I’m here, I’m under his rule, and he knows it. The chief always has input in everyone’s business.”
“Sounds like he needs to get his own life. Maybe he needs a girlfriend or a wife.”
“He has six.”
Sophia nodded. “He seems like the type.”
“Plus he has something he’s holding over me, and I’m guessing whatever you ask will impact that,” Rory explained.
She eyed him for a moment. “Any chance you’re going to share what that is?”
Not surprisingly, Rory shook his head.
“Okay, so he’ll want something from me in return for you doing something,” Sophia muttered, thinking about what she could offer the guy who had everything. He had a polar bear rug covering his dirt floors and a second pair of boots in the corner. And a really lumpy bed that Sophia suspected was filled with hair or flea-ridden goose feathers. What could she offer to the giant who had it all?
Before she had an answer to that question, the chief thundered through the flap of the tent, halted beside Sophia and Rory, and looked down at her with vengeance in his gaze.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Make your request, magician, then get off my land,” Chief Dag demanded, his voice vibrating with hostility.
So no tea and crumpets for the guest, Sophia thought with a mental laugh but hid her amusement. She took a step backward, not liking having the giant towering so close to her.
“As you might be aware, the House of Fourteen has undergone many changes recently,” Sophia began. “And although—”
“The House of Fourteen and other organizations governed by magicians are none of my concern,” Chief Dag interrupted.
Sophia sighed, realizing that this conversation was going to go back and forth like this. “You might not be concerned, but the truth is that the dealings of these organizations affect the entire world. They affect all magical creatures and mortals as well.”
The chief threw his long arm wide, a span that was impressive even for a dragon. “We, the giants, live on an island. Most of us live away from the modern world. What happens to other magical creatures or the mortals is of no concern to us.”
Gathering all her patience, Sophia tried to keep any looks of annoyance from surfacing on her face. “You might think that living in this bubble works, but I’d argue that there are still things that affect your race even if you’re isolated. It’s impossible for you not to be affected. We’re all connected through collective consciousness. You all use magic as much as we do—”
“We don’t waste our magic and use it frivolously like magicians,” Chief Dag cut in.
Again Sophia worked to keep her anger in check. She could see now that the isolated giants had concrete judgments about the world outside their borders and were set in their ways. Still, she wasn’t giving up. “My point is that the giants almost lost their power when mortals couldn’t see magic. All magical races nearly did since it is mortals who govern the elemental force of magic. The House of Fourteen saved that from happening.”
“The House of Fourteen is the reason that the Great War happened in the first place,” Chief Dag argued, his voice rising. “It’s because of those magicians that mortals lost the ability to see magic, depleting the universal source.”
“As you said, we all pull on a universal source,” Sophia stated. “We all draw from one well, and if we don’t work together to keep magical creatures and mortals at peace, we risk losing more than magic the next time. You don’t only live on this island. You live on this planet. What if something happened to that?”
“What is this request you want from Rory Laurens?” Chi
ef Dag demanded.
Sophia glanced at the other giant. “As you’re aware, the Council for the House of Fourteen has improved since they removed the Sinclairs, but there is still an imbalance.”
Since the chief liked to have his nose in every one of his giants’ business, Sophia didn’t think he’d like to know that Rory was secretly an advisor on the Council from time to time. That didn’t seem like something that Chief Dag would approve of. Therefore, Sophia omitted that unimportant detail. Rory seemed grateful for this and simply nodded as he swallowed a hint of nervousness.
“Liv and I believe that there are still those on the Council who don’t have the magical communities’ best interests as their main goal,” Sophia continued. “We believe there might be a few Councilors who, if tested, would fail in their integrity and honesty. Therefore, we’re constructing a simple set of tasks that would test the pure intentions of these Councilors. I informed the Council that there was a way for magicians to gain full power if they followed a map—”
“You deceived them,” Chief Dag interrupted.
Geez, this guy didn’t know the etiquette of polite communication, Sophia thought.
His friends out here also have zero sense of humor, Lunis said in her head. I’ve been telling them tall jokes, but do you think they’ve so much as cracked a smile?
I’m going to go with a resounding no. Sophia shoved her dragon out of her mind so she could focus.
“Yes, we deceived them, but we have a good reason,” Sophia stated with confidence. “If they take the map, thinking that they can hoard power and rule over the world, minimizing mortals and dictating how the other magical races live, don’t you think they’ve proven who they are? Don’t you think they should be removed from a place of power?”
Chief Dag thought about it, the rusty wheels in his large brain moving very, very slowly. “Well, yes. Those in a leadership role should be honorable.”