by Sarah Noffke
“I like that about you.” Sophia winked and leaned against the tunnel wall. It was made of dirt and rock in this area. “I’ll take a break here and hang. Really chill, you know? Max relax.”
Ainsley studied her. “You look odd doing that. Like it pains you and is totally unnatural.”
Awkwardly, Sophia crossed her arms across her chest, trying to pretend like it felt natural. Deciding that was too closed-off a position, she dropped her hands and shook them out before pinning them behind her head and leaning on the wall with one foot kicked up behind her.
“How is this?” Sophia asked. “Do I look more natural? I’m relaxing.”
Ainsley’s eyes widened in horror. “Whatever you do, don’t move.”
Sophia tilted her head. “Is that part of relaxing?”
“I fear it’s too late for relaxing,” Ainsley answered. “Whatever you do, don’t fight back.”
Chapter One Hundred Four
Sophia didn’t have a chance to ask why she’d fight back because an instant later, something picked her up, pinching her shoulder as it lifted her off her feet. She heard the crumbling of rock and a strange growl as the wall behind her disappeared.
That’s when she realized it hadn’t been a rock wall at all. What Sophia had been trying to lean against casually appeared to be a rock monster, and it currently had her suspended in the air over its head, holding her by her tie-dye shirt and shoulder. Its grip was rather painful, biting into her shoulder as she stared into the soulless monster’s black eyes.
Sophia had never seen a rock creature like the one holding her. She’d always thought of rocks as beautiful with their array of colors and textures. This guy, well, he was one ugly rock monster. The beast with rough edges and a block-like face most closely reminded Sophia of a golem, which she’d read about but didn’t think were real. She hadn’t even seen mention of them in Bermuda Lauren’s book, Magical Creatures. Making a mental note to tell the giantess about these monsters, Sophia fought the urge to send a combat spell at the rock monster as it growled into her face.
The rock animal was huge, holding her several feet off the ground as it studied or figured out how to eat her. It was lined with cracks and had huge rippling rock muscles and a thick body.
Sophia wiggled, kicking her legs, trying to free herself from its grasp but that only made Harry grip her tighter, really pinching her shoulder.
Harry, Lunis said in Sophia’s head. Good name for him.
It’s a great name, Sophia argued, trying to figure out her options. I’m sure all this guy wants is a full head of hair.
Yes, that’s probably why Baldy is so angry, Lunis said as the monster growled again, spitting bits of rock and dust in Sophia’s face.
She consoled herself with the fact that she hadn’t been clean since stepping foot in the Elfin Council, stepping her bare feet on the dirty floors where everyone else’s feet touched.
“Remember, you can’t fight,” Ainsley called from somewhere on the ground. Sophia couldn’t see much with her shirt nearly pulled up over her face by the monster being rude to her brand-new clothes.
“Oh, good, you’re still there,” Sophia joked.
“Well, I had thought about having a lay-about,” Ainsley fired back. “See if you can talk to him.”
Sophia kicked her legs, trying to get out of the monster’s grip. He grabbed her around the waist, holding her like King Kong held the lady he captured. She yelled from the sudden movement and from having the air knocked out of her torso by Harry’s tight grip and rock-hard hands. On the brighter side, she had a better view now without her shirt nearly obscuring her face, and her shoulder wasn’t being assaulted.
“Talk to him.” Sophia pressed her hands onto his fingers and tried to wiggle her way out. “Like, about how he’s crushing my spleen?”
Harry roared and shook Sophia violently, his expression of hostility not shifting.
“I’m thinking something that doesn’t make him want to kill you,” Ainsley called up from the ground.
“Cool, cool.” Sophia tried to sound casual, deciding to stop fighting Harry, which only made him angrier. “I’m not allowed to fight, but I have to deal with this guy who has an anger management problem. Remind me why I’m doing this again?”
“To save all of Scotland,” Ainsley answered matter-of-factly.
“Right,” Sophia chirped and looked up at the rock monster. “Hey, there, Harry. How’s it going?”
Ainsley laughed. “Harry. That’s a good one. I bet he’d look good with a head of hair.”
“That’s what I thought.” Sophia looked at the beast’s round, rock head.
He apparently didn’t like the idea of a toupee because he shook Sophia erratically as if trying to free the last cookie from the cookie jar—and she was the cookie jar and her organs the cookies.
When her teeth stopped knocking together, Sophia pretended to smile at the monster. “So, I thought maybe we could talk and figure out what you want.”
“Channel your inner hippie,” Ainsley encouraged.
Sophia gulped, wondering if that was even at all possible. “Right… So how do you feel? Has your soul taken a detour on its journey to inner peace?”
Harry didn’t want any hippie therapy because he slung Sophia back and forth through the air, making her neck snap like she was on the worst rollercoaster ride in the world. He paused, seeming to check her over, ensuring that he hadn’t broken his doll yet.
“You okay S. Beaufont?” Ainsley asked.
“Serious case of whiplash, but I’m alive.” She looked up at the rock monster. “So, I was wondering if instead of this, we could make peace, not war.”
Harry’s death grip tightened on Sophia, making her scream from her ribs nearly breaking.
Trying her best not to shoot a killing spell at the monster, Sophia forced a smile. “Namaste. I honor the light that is in you that is in me. May peace be with you, friend.”
That only incited Mr. Anger Mismanagement. He threw Sophia against the wall, making her head careen hard as she ate dirt. However, the assault didn’t mean Harry let go of his prize. He held her up higher above his head, his face lined with rock wrinkles.
Spitting dirt out of her mouth, Sophia tried to control her anger, but Harry was trying her patience. Mustering a serene look, Sophia smiled at him. “You know, the less you care, the happier you will be. Be free, man. That’s my wish for you.”
Apparently, Harry’s wish was to have a Sophia snack because he opened his mouth, which was suddenly a giant black hole. Lifting her higher in the air, he angled her above the chasm that was his mouth, and Sophia felt that she was moments away from being chewed up by the rock monster.
She tensed all overall, wracking her brain for the right hippie words, but nothing came to mind, mostly because her mind was racing with fear and thoughts of her impending death.
Then to Sophia’s ultimate surprise, Harry collapsed into a pile of rocks, and she tumbled to the ground hard, landing on bits of the monster and dirt.
Completely bewildered, Sophia looked around, her heart racing, trying to decide if she should still be on guard. Trying to determine what had happened. And also trying to figure out if she was bleeding internally.
She found Ainsley standing behind her, a bold look on her face, and her hand pointed in the air at where the rock monster had stood. The elf shrugged, seeing the confused expression on Sophia’s face.
“What?” Ainsley responded. “You weren’t supposed to fight, but Dakota didn’t say anything about me defending you. You were seconds away from being eaten.”
Chapter One Hundred Five
“Thanks for saving my life,” Sophia said, brushing herself off of bits of rock and dirt, although it was a pretty worthless attempt.
Ainsley nodded, looking her over with a rare bit of concern. “I think you gave it a real valiant effort, but I don’t think the hippie ways were going to persevere in Harry’s case. He had some real deep-seated issues. Are you okay?”<
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Sophia was pretty bruised and scratched up, but she’d be fine. “Yeah, I think he rattled my brain loose, but it’s okay. I don’t know what I did wrong. Maybe I wasn’t feeling the hippie words.”
Ainsley shrugged. “Well, you didn’t break any rule so I don’t think you’ve deterred the ghosts of our ancestors.”
“Oh, and look.” Sophia pointed up ahead at the path. “It’s different than before. The loop has stopped so getting past Harry was part of the obstacles.”
Ainsley laughed. “Maybe the test is not to fight but have a friend beside you who will.”
Sophia smiled fondly at the elf. “I count myself lucky that I have friends willing to save me when I need it.”
“You’re worth all the efforts, S. Beaufont.”
Remembering that she couldn’t hurry on this journey, Sophia remembered to slow herself down, moseying along as if she had nowhere to be and no care in the world. That almost felt more painful right then than nearly being crushed alive by Harry.
“So you’re not nervous about the wedding?” Sophia asked Ainsley, trying to take her mind off the fact that she couldn’t rush to her destination.
The elf pursed her lips. “What’s there to be nervous about?”
Sophia shrugged. “I don’t know, all the people staring at you, all the details that need to be attended to, or the fact that you’re committing to spending the rest of your life with an angry Viking.”
Ainsley shot her a rude stare. “Well, I wasn’t nervous until now.” She looked over her shoulder. “Maybe I can resurrect Harry to come back and finish you off.”
Sophia laughed. “I don’t mean to make you nervous. I was wondering because you seem so relaxed for a bride-to-be, whereas I think they’re usually all obsessive.”
“I don’t know,” Ainsley began, thinking on the matter. “Now that I have my memories, I remember how much I loved Hiker. I love him differently now. More, I think. I’ve spent a lot of time on this planet and much of it with him, and there was a long time when things were confusing.”
“When you didn’t have your memories and felt like you were missing something,” Sophia supplied.
“That’s it,” Ainsley affirmed. “Even then, there was only one thing that felt right in my life, even if I was reluctant to admit it to myself. Hiker Wallace is the only thing that’s ever made sense in my life. I never fit in with my race, having been from a founding family and not a hippie. I’m a shapeshifter, which is rare and seen as a bit of an outcast no matter what magical race I belong to. Then there’s the whole being a redhead. You know we get an unfair rep.”
Sophia laughed.
“But Hiker, even from the beginning,” Ainsley continued, “well, I understood him. I know how he works and when he needs his space, and he gets the same about me. I love the way he looks when he’s thinking. I see his mind working, and it’s a beautiful thing. I like that he isn’t perfect and I celebrate when he gets better. I like that he thinks I’m perfect but celebrates the little victories I have when I get better.”
Sophia smiled wide, thinking how wonderful it was to love like that. To love someone for who they were and enjoy them more as they improved. Too often, people poked at each other’s shortcomings instead of rejoicing in their attributes.
“Well, I for one can’t wait for the wedding,” Sophia said fondly.
“I can’t wait to see the menu you’ve decided upon,” Ainsley said matter-of-factly.
Sophia halted. Her eyes widened, and her mouth popped open. “Menu?”
“Remember?” Ainsley questioned. “When I told you to order a cake and get your dress fitted, I also told you to decide on the food, making it something that Hiker would enjoy, with a bit of a fancy flare.”
Sophia shook her head. “I think you dreamed you told me to do that.”
Ainsley nodded as if this made perfect sense. “Probably. Anyway, in between this mission and taking down the Rogue Riders, can you and Trin nail down a full menu for the guests? I really can’t think of that kind of stuff.”
“Because you’re busy trying to save the world?” Sophia teased.
Ainsley shook her head. “I’m off meal planning after being a housekeeper for a few hundred years.”
“Fine,” Sophia said with a sigh. “I’ll find the time to plan another wedding, but only because you saved my life.”
“I knew I did it for a selfish reason, rather than purely altruistic,” Ainsley sang, her words partially drowned out by a loud thundering sound echoing behind them.
The path ahead of them had opened, long vines dangling from the dirt ceiling of the tunnel. There were deeper dips than before, and much of what was coming up was unseen.
Sophia stiffened, daring to look over her shoulder. Ainsley did the same.
It took a moment to register what caused the ground to tremble under their feet and the loud sound like that of a train about to race past. Then Sophia saw it and her heart jumped into her throat.
Racing at them with no way to avoid it was a huge boulder, rolling straight in their direction.
Chapter One Hundred Six
Sophia’s head snapped back in Ainsley’s direction. “Is that what I think it is?”
“If you think it’s a huge-ass rock speeding in our direction, then yes,” Ainsley answered.
Instinctively, Sophia sped up, starting to run. However, Ainsley wrapped her hand around her arm and pulled her back. “Remember, S. Beaufont. You aren’t supposed to hurry.”
Sophia’s eyes widened in horror, but she slowed. “Even if there’s a huge-ass rock chasing us?”
The rock, which reminded Sophia of the one in Indiana Jones that nearly took him out, was thundering in their direction, making fast progress, sending clouds of dirt forward.
Ainsley was surprisingly calm as she nodded. “Especially then. This has to be a part of the test.”
They were still moving forward, like two people strolling through a mall, and it felt more than bizarre to Sophia. “Okay, so can you zap that rock to bits like you did before?”
“I’m afraid that we cheated once, and a second time might throw you out of the running to get the lava protective spell,” Ainsley answered.
Sophia deflated, her feet moving much too slowly as she looked over her shoulder. The boulder was rolling faster now, the tunnel having descended. Thankfully they were coming up to an incline, but that only meant they had to climb leisurely while the rolling rock used its momentum. It was roughly twenty yards away.
“Okay, so ideas?” Sophia asked.
“I portal back,” Ainsley offered. “Tell the others that you won’t be at the wedding, and I find a new maid of honor.”
Sophia nodded. “I love the plan except for the whole part where I die.”
“Well, if not now, then when?” Ainsley questioned as they started to ascend the steep hill in the tunnel. The unrelenting boulder kept bounding in their direction. Sophia was careful to lumber forward slowly like she was a delivery driver paid by the hour.
The boulder was so big and the tunnel narrow enough that there was little chance they could plaster themselves to the walls and hope it passed them. Sophia was running out of options and with each passing second, she was close to abandoning the guidelines and deciding to sprint to get away from certain death. She nearly died in the hands of the rock monster. If Ainsley hadn’t saved her, she didn’t know how she’d have gotten away. So maybe there wasn’t a hippie option for every problem. Perhaps the solution was to power through and hope the ghosts of the ancestors rewarded her anyway.
She was about to launch forward, spurred on by this new idea when they climbed to the top of the hill, and it leveled off before dipping low again. So low that Sophia couldn’t see the bottom.
“Ready to slide?” Ainsley asked as the thundering noise of the boulder about to race up behind them grew nearly deafening. It reverberated so much with each roll that it made Sophia bounce off the ground.
“No, we’re not sliding down wher
e the boulder will smash us,” Sophia stated, looking across the ravine made by the low dip in the tunnel, which had open cavernous ceilings in this part. “Hold onto me.”
Ainsley shot her a look of surprise. “I get that you’re scared, but I need you to hold it together. Go down like a hero.”
Deciding that they were out of time, like a real hippie, Sophia wrapped her arms around Ainsley and started forward, jumping off the hill and grabbing a dangling vine just in time. Ainsley caught on immediately and held on as Sophia used her grip to hold onto the vine. They swung across the space, gliding to the next higher rise as the boulder rebounded off the top of the hill where they’d been standing and fell down the hill where it broke into pieces.
Chapter One Hundred Seven
Sophia let go of the vine, dropping and landing with a thud, letting go of Ainsley completely, who rolled to the side. Rock bits, dirt, and dust shot up from where the boulder had exploded.
Shielding her face from the eruption of dirt, Sophia tried not to breathe until the cloud of rock fragments passed.
When she thought it was safe, Sophia pulled her arm down to find Ainsley’s pale face covered in dirt and her usually pristine hair blown back. She could only imagine what she looked like with her dirty dreads and face battered by the rock monster.
“Well, that was exciting.” Ainsley dusted herself off as if she’d had a mild adventure.
“Exciting is not the word I’d use.” Sophia dusted herself off, feeling caked in dirt. “But we survived, and hopefully, I didn’t break any hippie rules to do it.”
“I’d say you didn’t,” Ainsley said, an edge to her voice. “I think you’re nearing the end.”
Sophia glanced up to see what Ainsley was referring to. She wasn’t sure if it had been there when they landed or just appeared, but stretched out in front of them was a beautiful labyrinth made of rocks. There was an entrance and a convoluted journey to the center, but it was flat and the path clear.