by Sarah Noffke
With a look of desperation on her face, Baba Yaga held up her hand and muttered a summoning spell.
Liv laughed when the broomstick hovered in the air horizontally. “Oh, no, B.Y. That’s not going to work, because you still can’t go near the pages since the spell wasn’t completed. It appears your broom hates you after the last fight.”
“That’s not true!” she argued.
“That’s funny,” Liv began with a laugh. “Then why is it that we were told this broomstick would be your demise?”
Liv, to Sophia’s total amazement, hopped onto the broomstick and began flying through the air, sending sparks radiating like murder hornets that quickly sped off in Baba Yaga’s direction, sending the old witch diving for cover behind the countertop.
Sophia recalled what they’d missed before. Papa Creola’s other statement when instructing the sisters on Baba Yaga was regarding the broomstick. He had said, “It can only be used after you acquire all of the pages from the grimoire.”
Sophia had thought he’d been referring to using it to kill Baba Yaga. But killing a powerful witch with her own broomstick seemed ineffective. However, using it to recapture the pages of her book and create a weapon against her, that was just badass.
Papa Creola was right to keep the information from them because them figuring it out on their own encouraged the energy of the moment. If he had confessed every detail, they might have overthought it and not waited for the right moment. Timing, after all, was everything. Hadn’t Papa Creola said just that at the last meeting?
Liv hollered with satisfaction, one hand over her head like she was riding a bucking bull. The broomstick seemed to have a mind of its own as it streaked through the airport sundry shop, nearly lopping her head off on the low ceiling. But as she rode, the broomstick shot more red and orange sparks out. Sophia didn’t have to worry about them hitting her because they homed in on the old witch.
Several found her hiding spot, making the ugly woman howl with pain as she shot up from behind the countertop. She threw her arm out in an effort to send an attack at the soaring broomstick, but the assault was instantly deflected.
It did seem the broomstick really hated the old witch, even after all this time. Maybe because it was marred in the last attack and abandoned, or because the pages from the grimoire were separate from her now and it had a life of its own.
Whatever the reason, the perfect weapon for Baba Yaga’s demise had finally been completed. All they needed to do was prepare for the last punishing blow.
Sophia pulled Inexorabilis from its sheath, feeling more connected to her mother than ever before, knowing that together, she and Liv were about to defeat one of their mother’s enemies once and for all. When the old witch, not paying attention because her focus was directed over her shoulder at the broomstick powered by Liv racing after her, Sophia stuck out the blade.
Quickly Baba Yaga halted, not wanting to face the sword. The momentary hesitation came at a deadly cost, and the fireworks of rocket-like attacks sent by the broomstick blasted the old witch, creating an explosion.
Sophia dove for the corner, covering her head and face as magazines and gum and books rained down on her. Soot and ash quickly followed, burying the dragonrider. She didn’t know which way was up or down as she was covered in an avalanche of objects.
Chapter One Hundred Eleven
Sophia didn’t know whether to dig up or down. She’d heard about how disorienting it was for victims covered in rubble from an avalanche, but hadn’t understood until that moment how easy it was to lose sight of direction.
The light from the store was completely blocked out by all the stuff that was covering her. It felt like a heavy, very uncomfortable blanket.
She felt something on her back and tried to push up, finding she was on stacks of debris. How fast the shop had turned into a wasteland when Liv had taken off on Baba Yaga’s broomstick. And that was after the witch had made her shop an array of disorder, sending objects to the ground and flying through the air.
“You under there, Soph?” Liv’s voice called, sounding muffled.
“I’m here,” Sophia said, her mouth ramming against something sharp…the corner of a book, she realized.
“Oh man,” Liv groaned. “We kill a witch with her own broomstick but turn a small shop into a junkyard in seconds. I’m not sure which part is more impressive.”
Sophia felt something give above her, making it easier to finally move. She pushed up. She didn’t find any footing, but thankfully there was light. The sundry shop was unrecognizable.
The dragonrider wasn’t sure what had transpired when she dove for safety, but she could infer from the damage the witch had turned to ash and rained down on the store, bringing with her every single object on the shelves, as well as ceiling tiles and light fixtures and everything else.
Pushing sweat off her forehead, Sophia blinked, trying to make the indistinct objects come into view. “What happened? She’s dead?”
Liv smiled at her. “Yep. Wake up, sleepyhead. Rub your eyes. Get out of that bed. Wake up, the wicked witch is dead.”
Sophia couldn’t believe it. Only Liv… “Are you seriously singing the munchkin’s song?”
“Are you seriously still lying there in debris when we should be locking arms and doing a little dance?” Liv countered.
“What about Clark?” Sophia asked. “Is he okay?”
Her sister nodded. “He’s fine. His ego is more bruised than his face, I think, but he’ll be eager to see us when we wrap up things here. I sent him back to the House of Fourteen when I got him through the barrier so Hester could look over his injuries.”
“What do we have to do here?” Sophia asked, peeling herself out of the wreckage, finding it much deeper than she would have expected.
“Well, although that broomstick is pretty awesome,” Liv began, pointing to the instrument leaning in the corner of the store like it was just an ordinary object, “I think you said you needed the grimoire to find a temple location or something or other.”
Sophia nodded. “Yeah, it’s supposed to help us so we can protect the demon dragons. It’s a complicated spell.”
“Okay.” Liv extended a hand to her sister. “With Baba Yaga officially dead, I think it’s safe to reassemble the spell book.”
“Are you sure she’s dead?” Sophia wanted to know.
Liv laughed. “She turned into a thousand bits of ash confetti, so yeah, I’m pretty sure.”
Sophia took the offered hand and allowed her sister to pull her from the wreckage. “So, when Mom defeated her before…”
Liv understood the question. “I think she used the broomstick to tear the pages out of the grimoire and send them to various places. That was probably the most she could do at the time, and then Baba Yaga got away and went into hiding. I’m certain Mom had no idea she’d have a prophecy that dealt with her daughters to recover the book.”
Sophia nodded. It all made perfect sense and was also perfect irony. How intertwined her life always seemed to be to the past. “But, she’s not coming back?”
“No,” Liv answered, putting a comforting arm around her shoulder. “Once we remove the pages from the broomstick, I think it will be worthless once more, but I’ll return it to Papa Creola just in case he wants it for his museum of strange artifacts.”
“So, you figured it out, huh?”
Liv shot her a wink. “I work for that man. I know he laces clues into his orders, but figuring them out has to happen at the right time.”
Sophia laughed, thinking of the irony of that statement. “So, we were meant to find the pages even though it was a part of Baba Yaga’s larger evil master plan?”
“Yes,” Liv agreed. “But you needed the book, and without that gnarly witch, we would have never done it. Sometimes you have to let an evil rise so you can get the treasure and kill it before world destruction. It’s pretty much the story of my life.”
Sophia threw her arms around her sister’s shoulders, grat
eful they had survived and saved Clark. The dangers weren’t over. They never were, but at least they lived to fight another day. And for her, that day would be tomorrow.
Chapter One Hundred Twelve
The incantation that removed the pages from the broomstick destroyed the object at once. Thankfully the pages remained intact and went into the grimoire with ease, like they were grateful to be back together and reunited with the leather cover that bound them together.
Sophia remembered Reese, her oldest sister, used to tell her that books were very much alive. That’s why in the library in the House of Fourteen, the books changed places or made each reader’s journey through the space unique.
“Books are living, breathing objects with souls and personalities and a life of their own,” Sophia remembered Reese telling her one time as she braided her hair and explained the seemingly inconspicuous charms of the book in her lap.
Sophia had been a child then. She felt so far from that even as she kicked her legs over the side of the Santa Monica pier like a carefree child, Baba Yaga’s grimoire in her lap and her sister and brother on either side of her.
“How do you feel?” Sophia asked Clark, looking him over.
Thanks to Hester, the Councilor and Healer for the House of Fourteen, there wasn’t a mark on his face to show the battle he’d endured.
“A bit foolish,” he admitted, his legs dangling with Sophia and Liv’s as they watched the sunset over the Pacific Ocean.
She laid a comforting hand on his arm. “You don’t expect everyone to have a nefarious agenda, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
He sighed. “I should. I’m a Councilor for the House of Fourteen. We see the worst of the worst. It’s not like I don’t have an accurate world view.”
“Then maybe that’s exactly why you want to walk down a narrow alleyway, called by an old lady who is looking for her cat and expect to find just that,” Sophia offered.
Clark pursed his lips. “I think I’m past the point of being allowed any naivety in this world.”
“Oh, don’t be so cynical,” Liv sang, smiling at their brother. “It’s because you hold on to hope in your position that the world has half a chance. If the political leaders of this world saw everything as bleak and with no possibility for good, then their decisions would reflect just that. If we think the world is destined to go to hell in a cauldron, then all our efforts will be to save ourselves instead of each other. The moment we lose sight of what’s amazing because we think that evil overshadows it, we lose the real magic in this world.”
Sophia hugged the spell book to her chest, feeling especially grateful for her sister’s undying optimism right then. She wanted to believe that every word she said was true, just like she had when she was a child, and Liv told her tall tales their mother had passed on from her adventures. But much like Clark, she wasn’t allowed such naiveties.
The cold facts of her present life were that world politicians were painting gloomy pictures around the Dragon Elite, and it was coloring everything for mortals. It made their decisions to be fearful when a dragon was spotted. It influenced everything from the way they voted, to the programs they endorsed, to the rants they made on social media. The whole thing spread like wildfire because in truth, Sophia decided that maybe the world at large didn’t want saviors. That wasn’t as much fun when villainizing was an option.
The political landscape had shifted dramatically since Nevin Gooseman had started his campaign against the Dragon Elite, and the only solution was to shield the demon dragons until perspectives could be changed. Until the world wanted peacekeepers once more and no longer feared them, and the world governing organizations were accepting of the Dragon Elite again. Sophia believed that would happen, it would just take time.
Even the goodwill effort of Lunis and the angel dragonettes saving the 747 was cloaked in doubt. What should have been seen as a noble act of bravery and sacrifice was being taken apart by the news channels.
So called experts with apparently nothing better to do than debate were regularly seen on television picking apart the widely photographed and video recorded scene of Lunis saving flight 2126. They said he’d intervened without permission, infringing on mortal’s rights to choose.
When Dragon Worshippers or even just seemingly intelligent mortals countered that the mortals on the flight probably hadn’t wanted to die, the reason they were in danger in the first place was called into light.
Speculators had gone on to assume the reason the flight had been in danger at all was that a Dragon Elite member was on board the plane, putting everyone at risk.
Nevin Gooseman, who obviously loved the limelight the more he had of it, had held a news conference where he stated the Dragon Elite put everyone in more danger. “Their enemies don’t have to become our enemies. But the more we allow their governance in our lives, the more dangers we will find they have to save us from. Invite a commander into your home for dinner, and you will find they bring war for dessert.”
It was confounding to Sophia that an organization created by the angels and Mother Nature to protect the planet had been so ruthlessly misinterpreted by the public. She didn’t believe the Dragon Elite’s presence put the world in more danger than it prevented. However, proving that would take time. It would take many concerted efforts, and unfortunately, it would take something that was harder than ridding the world of all the demons on the planet—political reformation.
Sophia sighed, thinking of her plight.
Liv put a comforting arm around her sister’s shoulder and hugged her in tightly, sensing her stress. “You can’t fix the world in one day.”
Pressing her head into her sister’s, Sophia nodded. “Can you, inside a few hundred centuries?”
“I don’t know,” Liv answered honestly. “I think there will always be new battles to fight and evils that want to take over. Fortunately, I think we have the benefit of looking back on history and remembering our mistakes in times of war. If we only ever want to abolish evil, then we’ll miss something very valuable in this world.” She pointed to the grimoire in Sophia’s hands. “For instance, for as awful as Baba Yaga was, she created a spell book that will help the Dragon Elite.”
Sophia pulled the book away from her chest and looked the ancient cover over. “You’re right, and it will be my mission to get the world to see that when they are ready.”
“Did you find what you were looking for in the book?” Clark asked, giving the grimoire a skeptical glare like it might come alive and eat them at any moment.
Sophia nodded. “Yes, the temple location is in Cyprus.”
“Beautiful vacation spot,” Liv stated at once. “Great beaches, clear waters, and the minotaur problem is almost under control there.”
“You always have to make everything weird, don’t you?” Clark said, shaking his head at her.
“I make it fun,” Liv countered. “You make it boring. We all have jobs in life.”
Clark hid a smile. “What I don’t get was if Baba Yaga was a seer, then how didn’t she know that you’d have the broomstick or that you’d double-cross her.”
“There’s actually a lot of things you don’t get,” Liv teased. “I’ll make you a list later. It will start with not putting down the toilet seat. It’s a pretty easy task. I’ll teach you, and then we’ll turn our attention to dating. Girls actually like it when you form coherent sentences instead of stuttering at them and running away.”
Sophia laughed. “I think that much like Papa Creola, there will be gaps for seers. It’s impossible for someone, no matter how powerful, to see everything. That’s part of the beauty of this world, there are no certainties. Even Papa Creola and Mama Jamba have unexpected events happen to them.”
“Right,” Liv chirped. “Where would the fun be if there wasn’t a bit of the unknown in life?”
“I agree,” Sophia said, looking over the book that was now a permanent part of her collection. Papa Creola had stated that once she recovered the
grimoire, she would need to be the protector.
She didn’t know what that would involve. It would probably bring more than a few enemies to her door, but she would contend this didn’t mean the Dragon Elite brought dangers to the world. They protected, and it would be her job to ensure this powerful spell book, with too many curses to count, stayed out of the wrong hands. Liv was right, there were also a lot of good things in the book created by the evil witch. Like the information that would amend the protective spell for the demon dragonettes.
“Thanks for your help, guys,” Sophia said, looking between her siblings.
“Well, you’re welcome,” Liv stated. “Although I don’t think Clark volunteered his help for this mission per se.”
He chuckled at this. “I didn’t, but no matter what, I’m always here for you, Sophia. That goes for you too, Liv, even if you can’t remember to shut the kitchen cabinets to save your life.”
She laughed. “You can teach me.”
“Well, I’m always here for you two, whatever you need.” Sophia felt a great sense of fondness for her sister and brother.
“Of course you are, Soph,” Liv said, returning the tender expression. “Familia est Sempiternum.”
The dragonrider nodded. “Yes, Familia est Sempiternum.”
Chapter One Hundred Thirteen
“Oh, I’m packing my swimming trunks,” Evan sang, striding into the dining hall, NO10JO on his heels.
Ainsley still hadn’t returned to her duties around the Castle, and it wasn’t because she was still physically recovering. Sophia knew the housekeeper couldn’t bear to face Hiker yet. Too many years had passed between the two, and being normal when she’d discovered they were once in love with a potential for happiness was too much for the elf to deal with.
Sophia had ordered takeout for the guys and Mama Jamba again and sent up some for Ainsley. She was never in her room when Sophia tried to stop by and see her, and she suspected that was probably because she didn’t want to be found. She was probably actually in the room but disguised using her shapeshifting abilities.