by Sarah Noffke
Sophia shook her head. “Indikos said we can’t go yet. Adler is still in the House of Seven, but he’s preparing to leave.”
“So, like cowards, we’re going to sneak in there and get the egg back?” Liv asked. “Isn’t that exactly what Adler did? I vote we march in there and confront the scoundrel.”
Clark reached out, placing a calming hand on Liv’s shoulder. “Remember that Sophia isn’t supposed to have the dragon.”
“Says who?” Liv challenged. “Adler? Whoever he has working with him who can bend the rules?”
“It’s dangerous to have a dragon, Liv,” Clark stated. “You know that. And although it’s extraordinary that it magnetized to Sophia, there are many who would challenge it or try to take it from her.”
“Okay, so we can’t go striding into Adler’s chamber and take back the egg,” Liv said, a bit defeated.
“Not yet,” Sophia amended. “Indikos says he will know when Adler has left, and then he’ll help us get in there and take back the egg.”
“But Adler is going to know we stole the egg,” Liv challenged. “We can’t delay the inevitable.”
Sophia nodded. “Yes, which is why Indikos has asked a special request for helping us.”
“Oh, hold on a second,” Liv said, fisting her hands on her hips. “That runt broke into our home and helped Adler steal your egg, but he gets to make special requests?” Liv leveled her gaze on the dragon. “You get that it’s a miracle you’re still alive right now, right?”
Sophia stood, giving Liv a pleading expression. “He regrets what he did. I don’t know how to explain it, but I can feel it with such certainty. He’s sincere about that, and about helping us.”
“Fine,” Liv surrendered. “What does he want?”
“He says that after betraying Adler to get me back my egg, he’ll be in great danger,” Sophia said.
“Yes, Adler will be on a rampage,” Liv said.
Sophia shook her head. “Not from Adler. Apparently, he should be gone for a long time. There’s something else in the House that Indikos is frightened of.”
“Let me guess, it’s the rule-bender,” Liv stated.
“I don’t know,” Sophia answered. “However, Indikos wants our protection in exchange for his help.”
“Our protection?” Clark asked. “Won’t we all be in danger from whatever this enemy is?”
“I don’t know,” Sophia stated. “But Indikos has asked that we take him directly out of the House of Seven after he helps. He no longer wants to be here.”
Liv’s eyes brightened. She couldn’t believe the timing. It was uncanny. This was exactly what she needed to persuade the elf to reveal Inexorabilis’ secrets. “Yeah, I think I know exactly where we can take him afterward.”
“He has to be safe,” Sophia argued, facing Liv.
She nodded. “I know I made threats, but I’m serious now. If Indikos helps us, I promise to take him someplace where he won’t just be safe, but I suspect he’ll be cherished. And as a bonus, he’ll help us to unravel a piece of this puzzle so we can finally bring justice to the House of Seven.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Adler Sinclair opened the wardrobe in his study, tilting down one way and then the other. When that didn’t work, he rummaged through the contents, not finding what he was looking for. Overwhelmed by frustration and grief, he picked up the clothes inside and slung them across the room. The wardrobe was mostly empty now.
“Indikos!” he yelled, his face flushing red. “Where are you?”
Breathless, he turned around to survey the destruction he’d done to his quarters. It was time that he leave. The God Magician wouldn’t allow him to delay one more day. But Indikos had gone missing. Adler kept expecting him to turn up, thinking that maybe he’d gone far off to hunt. But something told him at his core that the small dragon was in the House.
His eyes fell on the box sitting on the top of his desk. The one that contained Sophia Beaufont’s dragon’s egg. He considered taking that with him to the Matterhorn, but he knew it was a bad idea. The climb was steep and dangerous, and once he got up there, there’d be much work to be done.
Adler shook his head. No, he’d just have to leave the egg behind. Indikos, too.
He hadn’t wanted to leave the House of Seven at all. He couldn’t remember the last time he had for such a long stretch. This was his home. But he knew the God Magician was right. They needed to protect the signal. Decar had to protect the history they’d erased. He was closer than ever to doing that. No giant would be successful against him. And then, once everything was safe and the One had reached full strength, they could take over as the rightful heirs of the House of Seven, reigning with supreme authority.
Of course, the God Magician would have to take out Father Time first. He was the one who stood in the way of Talon fully rising. But he only needed a little longer to increase his strength before he could battle the gnome.
Talon had been disappointed in Adler when he couldn’t locate Father Time. He had tried, following Olivia Beaufont, but never able to find out where she went. In the end, the God Magician believed that Adler was stalling about going to the Matterhorn, and ordered him to abandon the job of finding Father Time and continue with the mission as planned.
Adler let out a weighty sigh. He didn’t want to leave the House of Seven. He didn’t want to leave Indikos behind. And he was fearful what would happen to Talon without Adler to control him and keep him from acting out.
He picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, glancing one last time behind him at his quarters, a small hope fluttering in his chest that Indikos would be there, waiting to take the journey with him.
He wasn’t.
Adler swallowed his disappointment and opened the door, charging out into the corridor. He couldn’t help feeling that he might never see the House of Seven again.
However, Adler knew that was absurd. It was only that everything was riding on what happened next.
Someone had gotten close to the signal broadcasting from the Matterhorn. If something happened to that, everything would be lost. Everything they had worked for. Mortals would wake up and see magic, and then the old war would inevitably start again. They’d try to rule over magic, governing it, when that was never their place. They’d ruin everything, as they’d tried to do before. That was how the Great War had started.
That was why Adler didn’t just plan on guarding the signal broadcasting from the Matterhorn that kept mortals from seeing magic. He planned on increasing its intensity. He hadn’t told Decar or Talon about that, but he believed he now possessed the right formula to change the signal so that it prevented mortals from ever coming into power in the House of Seven again.
If what Adler planned worked, the signals would wipe out all mortals forever.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
It hadn’t been Liv’s idea for Sophia to tag along as she and Indikos broke into Adler’s quarters. However, the young magician had been persistent. She’d brought up excellent points about how it was her dragon’s egg they were going to retrieve. And she should also be there to speak with Indikos, since she was the only one who could.
In the end, Liv couldn’t argue with her little sister. It was just that whatever power Adler was pulling on to bend rules in the House of Seven worried Liv even more than usual. The House had been constructed using specific laws. That was how they maintained the balance and order. If there was something present that allowed Adler to bypass the rules, well, it meant they had other things to worry about.
Liv consoled herself with the idea that Adler was gone. Maybe whatever power he was using had left with him. She tried to convince herself that things were looking up. Adler was out of her hair. His dragon had turned on him. She’d use Indikos to get Hawaiki Topasna to help her with the sword, and then she’d stop the signal on the Matterhorn, find the Mortal Seven, and throw a big party. The end.
She almost wanted to slap her hands together to celebrate the finality
of it all. However, deep in her core, Liv knew things weren’t going to be that simple. They never were.
“He says it’s this door,” Sophia said in a hushed voice, pointing to a door in the long corridor.
“Cool,” Liv said matter-of-factly, as if her sister telepathically communicating with a dragon wasn’t a big deal at all. “Does he have to open the door, or what?”
Sophia lowered her chin, giving Liv an expression that said, “Come on, get real.”
“Oh, so we open the door, which allows us entrance because we’re with the dragon, right? Kind of like knowing the right guy at a club, huh?” Liv asked.
The miniature dragon was riding on Sophia’s arm, his wings half-cocked like he might take flight at any moment. She set her fingers on the door handle and looked at Indikos carefully.
Liv wasn’t sure what exchanged between the two of them, but a moment later Sophia returned her gaze to the door and pushed it open. It hesitated for only a moment before opening all the way.
Liv stepped around her sister and Indikos, her hand protectively on Bellator as she scanned the area. As the dragon had told her by way of Sophia, Adler wasn’t there. However, it appeared that someone had ransacked the place in his absence.
“Are we late?” Liv asked as Sophia shut the door behind them. “Has someone already searched his quarters for the egg or whatever else?”
The young magician closed her eyes and then shook her head. “Indikos believes Adler did this, searching for him before he left.”
“Oh,” Liv said, scanning the area. “I do the same thing to my place when I’m about to go on a trip. That’s the only way I can find all my undies and matching socks.”
Sophia snickered and then glared at the small dragon. “It wasn’t a bad joke. I think she’s funny.”
“Tell the dragon that if he doesn’t like that joke, I’ve got a dozen more he’ll loathe,” Liv stated, toeing some books on the floor.
“You just did,” Sophia said as Indikos flew to a large desk at the back of the room.
As if magnetized, Sophia strode in its direction, her eyes unblinking.
“Soph?” Liv asked, watching her sister robotically move forward.
On the surface of the desk was a large box with intricate detailing. Indikos stood beside it, his eyes intense as he regarded the box.
Liv hurried over, pulling Bellator from its sheath. She wasn’t sure what they’d find, but she wasn’t taking any chances. Although she didn’t know how this could be a trick, she wasn’t ready to let down her guard.
“Is that…” Liv’s voice trailed away as she peered over Sophia’s shoulder.
Her sister nodded. “Yes. I can feel him.”
Carefully, Sophia opened the box and there, as bright and sparkling as Liv remembered, was the large blue dragon’s egg.
As if meeting an old friend, Sophia scooped it up into her arms, cradling it against her chest. She closed her eyes and pressed her cheek to the egg.
Liv waited for a long moment until her sister straightened, opening her eyes. “He missed me.”
Liv smiled. “Of course, he did. He’d be crazy not to.”
Sophia’s eyes welled with tears. Liv reached out and grabbed her arm, worried that something was wrong. “What is it?”
Regarding the egg in her arms intensely, Sophia said, “He’s close to hatching. He says he was only waiting for me to find him.”
Liv kept her eyes glued to the egg as if expecting the small dragon to break free at any moment. When nothing happened, Liv said, “How much longer?”
Sophia shook her head. “Not long, but it’s hard to tell. Time works differently for dragons.”
Liv nodded like this made sense. “Well, you have him now, and can take him home.”
Sophia shook her head. “No, he says it isn’t safe there. Adler knows I have him. He might come back for him.”
Liv realized she should have expected this. “Then where can we keep him?”
Sophia glanced up, her eyes begging. “Can he stay at your place?”
Liv was already shaking her head before Sophia finished her question. “It’s not safe. There aren’t the right wards on the place, and you need to be with him. You know Clark would never go for it.”
“Clark knows I’m unsafe in the House, especially after this incident,” Sophia stated. “He’s actually at your place right now setting up proper security.”
Liv lowered her chin, realizing she’d been had. “So you two have been planning this?”
Sophia shrugged guiltily. “I’m sorry, but it’s for the best. There’s no other better place than John’s shop. He’s a Mortal Seven, like you told me, and you’re a Warrior everyone fears.”
“Who also has a ton of enemies,” Liv added.
“Please, Liv,” Sophia pleaded. “Just until he hatches and we figure out something else. You won’t even be there.”
Liv was about to ask where she’d be, but then there was flapping and Indikos landed on her shoulder. She regarded the small dragon with an annoyed expression. “Oh, that’s right, I’m taking this guy to his new home.”
To her surprise, the dragon affectionately pressed his head into the space between her neck and shoulder, folding his wings in tight to his body.
This was all unexpected. Indikos changing his loyalty, the solution to getting Hawaiki’s compliance, Sophia and her egg, and also the strange fullness in Liv’s heart.
It might not have been an ideal situation, but deep down, Liv felt like they were on the right path. There was still much danger ahead of them, but she’d willingly face it for more moments like this.
It was magic that made these things possible. Without it, there would be no dragons hatched. No small magicians changing the world. And no unexpected unfolding of events.
And that meant Liv had to wake the mortals up and make them see what they’d lost to preserve magic for all. She had to finish what her parents had started.
Sighing deeply, she nodded. “Yes, you and the egg can stay with me.”
Sophia almost yelped with joy but stopped herself.
Liv smiled. “But if that dragon is about to hatch, you better start thinking of a name for it.”
Sophia nodded appreciatively. “I have a few in mind, but I want to wait until we formally meet. And I promise I won’t be a burden. You won’t even know I’m at your place.”
Liv shook her head at her little sister. “You’ve never once been a burden. Just the opposite. And remember, I won’t be there. Indikos and I have a mission. As promised, I’ll be taking him to a place where he’ll be safe, and maybe even happy.”
The dragon’s appreciation poured through him into Liv. It was strange how she could almost feel his thoughts through his actions. She began to understand how Sophia could communicate with him, although she communicated with the dragons on a different level.
Sophia giggled at the exchange. “He’s no chicken, but I think he’ll make an excellent traveling companion for you. Just promise to return safely from the journey and come back to me.”
Liv laughed too. “Don’t worry, Soph. Nothing in this world will keep me from returning home to you.”
Even though she was standing in Alder Sinclair’s chamber and facing another dangerous journey, Liv’s heart was bursting with gratitude. She couldn’t believe how much her life had changed, and she wasn’t going to trade it for anything in the world.
Magic had made her life so much fuller than she had ever imagined it would, and she was going to do everything she could to preserve it forever.
Sarah’s Author Notes
June 8, 2019
In the notes for the last book, I discussed how I got the idea for the chicken. Inspiration is a funny thing. I’d channeled my frustrations about having to watch my ex-husband’s chicken into a book. Little did I know that I’d actually grow to enjoy the character of the chicken. Don’t think I’ve softened up and I’m going to volunteer to watch my exe’s flea bags. Oh no. It’s just that I l
ike the idea of turning the negative into a positive. More of that happened with this book.
I had the privilege of getting to spend a week in Italy this spring. To make it even better, Jurgen Moders, beta reader, first proofer and idea swapper, offered to meet me in Rome. To say I was honored was an understatement. Jurgen traveled for twenty-four hours, one way, so that we could meet in person and explore the Coliseum and Forum together. I think there are less chaotic places we could have met, but where would the fun in that be!
We had a lovely time gaining all sorts of inspiration as we strolled through the ancient runes. But little did we know that the inspiration would come from such unexpected things. We were going through security and the guard kept giving Jurgen crap for the bag attached to his belt. The other guards had said it was sufficient to just look inside but this one wanted it to go through the scanner, which meant Jurgen had to take it off, which meant he had to take off his belt and nearly lose his pants. It was quite the ordeal. I did not laugh. I also was of no help. But afterwards, I did include the scene in the book, sort of, although Liv didn’t lose her pants. That’s how we turn the frustrating moments into entertainment though.
Thanks to Jurgen for venturing so long to meet up with me. It was such a fun adventure. I then went onto Venice where I kept thinking of all the awesome fight scenes I could construct in the canals. And that’s why we have a book set in Italy. The next book is set in Hawaii and therefore you might wonder if I have a trip planned there. The answer is no, but I’m doing a reverse osmosis sort of thing. If I write about it, maybe I’ll magically land a trip there. Go there in the mind and you can go there in the body. Hey, magic is real!
Lydia and I often construct story ideas in the morning over breakfast. One morning she or I or the cat said something about a guy named Kyle Foggerbottom. I think we were talking about how Finely, the cat, had to get ready for his accounting job. We go through this every morning talking about how he better get his suit on and get down to the bus stop or he’ll be late.