by Sarah Noffke
Chapter Four
“I really don’t know what to say,” Sophia muttered, holding up the t-shirt Lunis had gotten her. Well, by gotten her, he’d ordered it on her Amazon account and had it shipped to the PO box in town since packages couldn’t come to the Castle directly.
You’re speechless because you love it so much, right? Lunis asked, a hopeful expression in his eyes.
They stood on the Expanse, outside the Nest, the waves of the Pond crashing against the shore in the distance, creating gentle music.
“Love is a strong word,” Sophia teased, winking at him.
You don’t like it, he said with disappointment.
“That’s not it,” she stated. “I just don’t know where I would wear it.”
He rolled his eyes. It could totally go over your armor, or you could sport it when you go to the mall or hang out at the bowling alley.
She laughed. “I’m not that kind of teenager.”
Sophia couldn’t even fathom being the kind of young adult who had a part-time job and hung out at a burger joint on the weekends.
You should try it on, Lunis encouraged.
Deciding that indulging her dragon was for the best, Sophia slipped the blue T-shirt on over her armored top and found it fit perfectly. Lunis obviously knew her size. However, he didn’t really know her style, she realized. She peered down and reread the words on the graphic. In big letters, it said, “My other ride is a dragon.”
“Well, thanks.” Sophia giggled at the absurdity of it all.
No worries, he chirped. Well, you paid for it, so thank yourself.
“Yeah, about that,” she began, an edge to her voice. “We need to discuss some budget rules using my Amazon account.”
He lowered his chin, a discreet expression in his eyes. So I should cancel the area rug I bought for the Cave?
“You’ve moved back into the Cave permanently, then?” she asked, glancing at the Nest. Sounds of struggles could be heard from the infant dragon's roughhousing.
Yeah, the little jerks that just hatched have taken over the Nest, he grumbled bitterly.
It was hard to know if the new dragons were either good or evil, as they were designated to be one or the other and nothing in between. If one was judging by behavior, then they had a perfect mix of good and evil between the hundred that had hatched.
“Shall we go and see the little tykes?” Sophia asked, indicating the dark opening of the Nest nestled into the hillside next to the cliffs that overlooked the Pond.
Jerks, Lunis corrected. They are all jerks. Well, the ones in there. The good ones in the Cave are very pleasant.
That was one way they had assumed the temperaments of the new dragons. Like attracted like and the good dragons appeared to prefer their own. The “little jerks” chose to associate only with each other.
“I’m sure they are just misunderstood,” Sophia joked, wanting to believe there was a good reason the dragons had been deemed evil by the angels. She had read in The Complete History of Dragonriders that it was about achieving balance. She couldn’t deny it was strange that out of every batch of dragons, there would be an equal number of good versus evil ones. It seemed that since dragonriders were supposed to be about maintaining peace and protecting the Earth, they’d all be good—but that was only for the Dragon Elite, which was always composed of good. The evil ones apparently had been the lone riders, like Thad Reinhart and Gordon Burgess.
Sophia pulled her sword quickly upon entering the Nest, defending herself from the black dragon she’d nicknamed Blackey. He was one of the firstborn. In truth, only he knew his real name, and his rider if and when they magnetized.
Blackey lunged at her as soon as she entered, mouth open and steam shooting out. The aggressive dragon jerked his head to the side, his eyes glowing red as he swiped his clawed foot.
Sophia swung Inexorabilis, urging him back. He didn’t appear the least bit deterred and would have taken another swing at her if Lunis hadn’t stepped into the Nest and charged forward to take a place in front of Sophia. With a flick of his tail, he launched Blackey across the cave, sending him hard into the back wall.
The dragon was about the size of a pit bull and had the temper to match. He sprang to his feet as soon as he hit the ground, shaking his horned tail and narrowing his eyes at the large blue dragon. He might have been evil, but he wasn’t stupid and wasn’t about to attempt to fight Lunis.
Sophia’s dragon growled low in his throat, making the others around Blackey back up several yards. The black dragon was easily the biggest of the group, but the others were growing fast. Sophia didn’t want to think about how they would control them when they could fly and breathe fire.
Little jerks, Lunis grumbled to Sophia. See what I mean?
She nodded and stepped around him, although he didn’t seem to like it. She wanted to check out the new dragons who had gone back to wrestling with each other like a litter of energetic puppies. They were mostly a blur of claws and teeth, their tails swinging.
Unlike the good dragons who were bright colors of pink, greens, yellows, and blues, the bad ones were darker. Besides Blackey, the others were burnt orange, brown, and gray.
See why I moved out of my bachelor pad? Lunis asked, bearing down as Blackey stepped forward. The deranged dragon looked like he was considering another attack.
He shrunk away slightly to the side, as though attempting to take another route.
“Yeah, I get it,” Sophia answered, holding her breath. The smell in the Nest was less than pleasant, being filled with rotting meat and waste.
She wanted time to study the dragons, to understand why they were evil, and hopefully discern how their temperament could be used to the Dragon Elite’s advantage. She wondered if there was a way of changing them. Bermuda Laurens, the expert in magical creatures, might have some insights. Before she had an opportunity to observe more of the dragon’s behavior, Mama Jamba stepped through the opening to the Nest.
All of the dragons, Blackey included, cowered away at once. The sight of the small woman, who was slightly shorter than Sophia, was completely unassuming with no armor or sword. She stuck her hands on her hips and regarded the dragons with a menacing glare Sophia had never seen from her before.
“You all have really made a mess in here, haven’t you?”
The brown and gray dragons who had been rolling over each other lowered their heads, cowering like dogs getting scolded by their owner.
Mama Jamba shook her head and glanced at Sophia. “Dear, there’s something at the Castle you need to see.”
Sophia’s mouth popped open. “Is everything all right?”
“Obviously it isn’t, or I wouldn’t have put on my trainers to come out here and tell you to come back to the Castle.”
Sophia peered down to find Mother Nature had exchanged her fuzzy bunny slippers for a pair of Nike high tops with shiny pink laces. It was a strange sight to see the old woman in a black velour suit with sneakers.
“Is everyone safe?” she asked, instantly worried. “Has Ainsley attempted murder on Hiker?”
“Not yet,” Mama Jamba answered. “And everyone is fine, but there’s news coming, and I wanted you to be there when it is broadcast.”
Sophia tilted her head to the side. “So whatever is going on hasn’t happened yet. That’s why you didn’t send one of the men down there to get me, right?”
Mama Jamba winked at her. “You’re always so astute. That’s absolutely correct. They are all lounging in Hiker’s office, not realizing there’s a news report about to come on the television that will change everything.”
“Oh, okay,” Sophia said, turning for the cave exit. “Thanks for getting me. I’ll sprint over as fast as I can.”
Mama Jamba waved her off. “You can walk at a brisk pace with me. We have ten minutes.”
Sophia nodded. She didn’t dare ask the old woman what she should expect. Mama Jamba wouldn’t tell her, so she’d only be wasting her breath. It sounded like she ne
eded to conserve her energy for what was coming next.
Chapter Five
As Mama Jamba had foretold, all of the men were gathered in Hiker’s office when Sophia entered. Evan was on the floor, wrestling around with NO10JO. It reminded her of the evil dragons she’d just witnessed in the Nest. Wilder and Mahkah were sitting on the sofa, taking notes as Hiker paced. He paused when Sophia and Mama Jamba entered.
“Oh good, you’re here,” the Viking said, staring at the two women. “I was giving out missions. Didn’t you have something you wanted to discuss with me, Sophia?”
She glanced at the television in the corner. It was off.
Although Hiker didn’t allow the men to have technology, he had caved and gotten the television as a way to stay up to date on world news.
“Yes, sir, but…” Sophia looked back at Mama Jamba, wondering if what she’d been gotten for was about to happen.
“You have a few minutes, dear.” Mama Jamba scooted the guys over and took her usual seat.
“A few minutes before what?” Hiker asked, glaring at the old woman.
“You’ll see,” she said cryptically.
He sighed. “Well, go on then, Sophia.”
She remained standing even after Wilder got up, offering her his place. “I’m good. And I wanted to talk to you, sir, about an idea that King Rudolf had.”
With a loud exhale, Hiker shook his head. “I don’t have time to entertain hare-brained ideas from that fae.”
“That’s what I thought,” Sophia began. “However, this one has merit. He’s proposing we use the dragon eggshells from those that have hatched to make a magic potion that could have healing properties for magicians and other magical races.”
Hiker paused his pacing with a look of surprise. “That actually isn’t a bad idea.”
“They are just sitting there unused,” Wilder said as he took the spot next to Sophia even though she hadn’t taken her seat.
“I’m certain the shells will have many magical properties, healing being at least one of them,” Mahkah stated.
“Then, I’ll approve of the project.” Hiker looked at Sophia. “You’ll have to champion it, though, which will require securing the right potions expert and then determining how we will disperse it to those in need.”
“King Rudolf will, of course, want a cut of the action,” Sophia explained.
The light expression on the leader of the Dragon’s Elite face dropped. “Of course, he will. That’s fine. Maybe he can help with the latter part, freeing you up.”
Sophia nodded. “I’d be happy to take on the project, sir.”
“Suck up,” Evan said through a fake cough.
“What’s that?” she asked with a heated expression.
“Oh, nothing.” He batted his eyes at the cyborg dog. “Some of us work one case at a time. And some of us work all the projects at once so they can get extra gold stars and look exhausted all the time.”
Sophia ran her hands through her tangled hair. “I don’t look exhausted, do I?”
Wilder shook his head at the same time Evan nodded.
“You look amazing,” Wilder told her.
“You could brush your hair,” Evan added.
Sophia shook her head. “I don’t take on all the projects.”
“Actually you do, dear,” Mama Jamba disagreed, curling her feet up under her.
“It wouldn’t kill some of you to show the same ambition.” Hiker glared down at Evan, who was still playing with NO10JO.
“It might, sir,” he replied at once. “I didn’t work for like a century. I’ve got to slowly ease myself into this whole thing.”
“It’s time.” Mama Jamba pointed at the television.
“Time for what?” Hiker asked, looking between her and the television.
“Well, turn that thing on and you’ll find out for yourself,” she answered. “It’s much more fun that way.”
“Fun for you,” he grumbled. He stalked over to the television and scowled over his shoulder at Mama Jamba. “Why do I get the feeling that I’m not going to like whatever is about to happen next?”
She grinned at him. “And here I thought you couldn’t see the future, son.”
Chapter Six
Sophia had never really watched mortal news programming before. Her brother Clark told her it was a waste of energy and time. He had said, and she’d always suspected it was sensationalized, biased, and a device used to exacerbate fears rather than to quell them. She was about to learn just how right her instincts had been.
When the television in Hiker’s office lit up, everyone fell silent. Standing in a crowd of reporters was a man dressed in an expensive suit, with salt and pepper hair. He had an air of confidence about him…no, Sophia paused. She studied the man’s nonverbal cues as he waited for the crowd to settle down around him. It was entitlement the man exuded, which was very different from confidence.
There was something else peculiar about the man. The bottom of the screen labeled him as Nevin Gooseman, Congressman for the U.S. Senate. It was hard to tell from looking at him on the screen, but Sophia was almost certain he was a magician. In his presence, she’d know for sure. She could sense the magical vibrations that a magician gave off. Each race “vibrates” at a different frequency, and her sister, Reese, had taught her long ago how to pick up on this.
Not being in the physical presence of this politician, Sophia could still tell he was most likely a magician by the way he moved and his mannerisms. It was similar to the way someone can tell if a person was French by the expressions they exhibited.
Behind the man in the distance were dragon worshippers, holding signs displaying their love for the magical creatures. They were always campaigning in major cities lately, and Sophia had even heard they’d flocked to Scotland, hoping to see signs of the Dragon Elite somewhere.
A reporter’s voice came on over the scene, broadcasting louder than the sounds of the crowd around Nevin Gooseman on the street. “We’ve been told the Congressman has an important announcement regarding the Dragon Elite. A surge of dragon worshippers have flocked to this location—many of them excited to hear information on the governing entity they’ve come to love and admire.”
Hiker’s eyes cut to Mama Jamba, but she wasn’t giving anything away with her impassive eyes.
“I think they’ve found out your little secret,” Wilder said to Evan, winking at him.
“That I’m a handsome, intelligent, and available bachelor?” he asked seriously, petting NO10JO.
“That you’re afraid of the dark and not fit to be worshipped by those who think you’re brave,” Wilder fired back.
“I told you, Quiet won’t allow me to turn the lights off in my bedroom at night,” Evan complained. “I’ve given up turning them off since it probably just entertains him watching me get up over and over again. That guy needs a hobby. Is it creepy to anyone else that he’s always peeping on us?”
“Just to you, because of the things you do that are undoubtedly embarrassing and unclassy,” Wilder joked.
“Would you lot be quiet?” Hiker griped. “I’m trying to hear this.”
The room fell quiet as Nevin Gooseman began speaking.
“We have all been surprised by many recent developments in the magical world,” the politician began in a rehearsed tone. “It began with mortals seeing magic again, a result of something that I’m sad to say my fellow magicians were a part of.”
I knew it, Sophia thought, proud to confirm she was right about the congressman being a magician. It was rare to see, as they usually didn’t work in the mortal world, let alone for a mortal government.
“With that came many new discoveries,” Nevin Gooseman continued. “Mortals learned of the different magical races that have always existed around them. Then came the knowledge of governing bodies that you weren’t aware of that control many aspects of your lives. The House of Fourteen, the magician’s leading organization, too, has had its fair share of challenges explaining their i
nvolvement in many assorted issues. Specifically, recently, they were complacent in the wake of their own population going missing. It was events such as those that opened my eyes to my own race’s shortcomings and how it affects those I serve.” Nevin Gooseman glanced around the crowd and made eye contact with many of the reporters. “I’m of course referring to you.”
“Burn,” Evan said as hands shot up into the air around the congressman, the reporters antsy to ask questions. “House of Fourteen is gonna have some explaining to do.”
The politician smiled politely, holding up his hand to quiet the reporters. “I’m happy to answer questions once I finish.” He cleared his throat and looked around as the group quieted. “The House of Fourteen is struggling to earn the trust of the mortal world, which I’m certain will take many efforts due to past grievances. However, reflecting on this made me take a hard look at other organizations that state they have authority over us. I’m referring to the Dragon Elite.”
Hiker closed his eyes for a half-beat, dread covering his face as several of the reporters vied for attention and the crowd at Nevin Gooseman’s back erupted in applause.
The politician pushed his hands up in the air, trying to regain control after the outburst. “I was as surprised and ecstatic as many of you at the discovery there were still dragons, and that included the Dragon Elite who are supposedly the ‘supreme global ruling authority.’” Nevin used air quotes for the last few words with a skeptical expression. “As one of your trusted civil servants, I was reluctant to blindly accept that these dragonriders had shown up after centuries of absence from affairs to take over as leaders over our matters and disputes. That just didn’t seem right to me.”
From the crowd of hippies, someone shouted, “The dragons have come to save us!”
Nevin Gooseman glanced over at the group of hippies with a commiserate expression. “No one wants to believe that more than me. Just because these magicians ride dragons, that shouldn’t automatically make them superior to us.”