Justice Unhatched (The Exceptional S. Beaufont Book 5)

by Sarah Noffke

  “Captain Morgan!” Sophia exclaimed, wondering why the child was sitting by herself in the hallway. She pulled her out of the seat and cradled her to her chest. Sophia checked her over and ensured she was okay. She appeared fine and wasn’t fussing at all.

  “What are you doing out here?” Sophia asked the child.

  Since she was an infant, she didn’t answer, and Sophia was forced to go into the main chamber to find out more. She was certain it would kill most of her brain cells. Juggling holding the baby and the magical cupcake, she entered the large room to find more confusion.

  Rudolf was kneeling over Captain Kirk, also perched in a baby seat. “I don’t know how they taught you at school since we didn’t use common core, but I’m certain you carry the one.”

  “What is going on?” Sophia asked from the doorway and saw Captain Silver was sitting in a car seat with a steering wheel attached to the front.

  “Well,” he said proudly, popping up to his feet. “I realized parenting full-time was detracting from my job as king. Since I have heard so many say one should make all businesses family businesses, I put the Captains on the payroll.”

  “No,” Sophia said, shaking her head and not needing the explanation he was no doubt going to give to her.

  King Rudolf Sweetwater nodded proudly. “Oh, yes.” He pointed to the baby in her arms. “Captain Morgan is my new bodyguard. Looks like she let you in.” He reached forward and tickled the baby’s chin. “Good work, little love.”

  He ran over and presented Captain Silver, who was sitting with paper, crayons, a calculator, and an abacus in front of her. “I present to you my new accountant.”

  “Angels above,” Sophia whispered.

  “But it gets better!” Rudolf exclaimed, holding up a single finger victoriously.

  “I don’t see how.”

  He rushed over to where Captain Kirk was drooling on a plastic ring of keys. “Here we have my chauffeur.”

  Sophia shook her head. “I admire your problem-solving and that you want to have a family business, but you get why this won’t work, right?”

  His smile dropped. “There are some sort of tax complications, aren’t there?” He spun around. “Captain Silver, look into this! I’m sure it will involve filing a Form 899 or whatever. Drop everything and do it.”

  The baby threw her hands in the air like she was fed up with the job. Sophia didn’t blame her.

  “Rudolf,” Sophia began, carefully putting Captain Morgan on a blanket, “I can appreciate that as a king of a busy empire you’re overwhelmed, and I love that you want to make things involve your family. But your babies are just that. They’re babies and not ready for such jobs.”

  “So, I need to wait a year or so?” he asked, looking between the three babies.

  Sophia shook her head. “Try like eighteen or more years. They have to grow and learn first. Then you can incorporate them into the business. I think I have something that could help.” She held up the white box containing the magical cupcake and presented it to the king of the fae.

  His mouth fell open. “Is that it?”

  She nodded, hardly able to contain her excitement. After all the complications, it had actually worked out. She was going to get her twenty million dollars, and everything would work out for everyone.

  “My half-birthday cake!” he exclaimed, rushing forward. “You remembered!”

  Sophia yanked it away before he grabbed it. “No, King Rudolf. This is the cupcake containing the special herbs from India you asked me to get for Serena.”

  “You actually did it?” He sounded surprised.

  “Of course, I did,” she told him. “This is the solution to your problems. If you help Serena, then she will pitch in with the babies, and you won’t feel so stretched between your role as king, father, and husband. Remember?”

  He seemed to have difficulty recalling the conversation but finally nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably a better solution than me employing the Captains or killing Stefan or ordering all my people to off themselves so I don’t have to rule over them.”

  “None of those are solutions,” Sophia agreed with a sigh, handing him the cupcake. “Now, Serena has to eat this right away. I want to see her do it.”

  “Not a problem,” Rudolf announced. Turning to a couch covered in blankets, which Sophia hadn’t realized had a person strewn across it. She was draped in covers, her hands and feet sticking out in various places. “My love. I’ve got a treat for you.”

  “What?” Serena exclaimed, twisting over and putting her back to Rudolf. “I don’t want it.”

  “Oh, but you do,” he sang. “It’s going to make you age slower so you live longer and can raise our children.”

  “No,” she said, half-asleep. “I just need to sleep for another day or so, and then I’ll eat it.”

  Rudolf looked back at Sophia for support.

  “She needs to eat it soon,” Sophia encouraged.

  Rudolf nodded and turned back to his wife. “Just take a tiny little bite. Then you can return to your two-day naps. I promise.”

  The mortal threw the covers over her head. “NO! I’m not hungry.”

  Rudolf gave Sophia a defeated expression. “What can I do? I guess I’ll just slip further into depression and fall further into the role of a horrid dictator. Thanks for trying. How much do I owe you?”

  Sophia was pissed. No, she was beyond pissed. She had gone through too much for this. Father Time had broken his own laws for this mortal. King Rudolf Sweetwater had shouldered too much of the responsibility. Everyone, including Liv, had sacrificed. The least Serena Sweetwater was going to do was choke down a carrot cake muffin. And she was going to like it.

  She stomped over to the sofa, glad the Captains were not old enough to remember what she was about to do.

  Grabbing the blankets, she yanked them off Serena Sweetwater and exposed the mortal cuddled on the couch in pajamas, even though it was the middle of the day.

  She shielded her eyes immediately. “Ack, it burns.”

  “Deal with it,” Sophia said, grabbing the mortal by her shoulders and hauling her up to a sitting position. She was surprised by how weak the woman was, although she didn’t hurt her as she made her cooperate.

  “Why are you doing this horrible stuff to me?” Serena asked, crying.

  “Making you wake up?” Sophia demanded, eyeing the time. “At three o’clock in the afternoon?”

  “Is it that early?” Serena wailed.

  Sophia glanced up at Rudolf. “Seriously, I’ll drop everything right now and find you a new wife. Someone who will be a good mother to the Captains.”

  Adamantly he shook his head. “No, she is the love of my life. I went to the valley of death and back for her, and I would again.”

  “Fine.” Sophia let out a tired sigh. She grabbed the white box from Rudolf and shoved it into Serena’s hands. “You’re going to take this cupcake laced with magical ingredients, and you’re going to eat it. You’re going to eat all of it, and afterward, you’re going to get up, shower, and take care of your children, because you’re going to live a very long life after ingesting it. You’ll see your children grow up and be able to be productive members of the fae empire.”

  Serena considered this, opening the box and peering at the expertly made cupcake covered in cream cheese frosting and little bunnies. “And if I don’t?”

  Sophia shook her head and wished it hadn’t come to this. She withdrew her sword from its sheath and brought it close to Serena’s face, only inches away from her eyes. They widened. “Then I’ll ignore King Rudolf’s pleas and practice something I saw Liv do earlier and learn what it’s like to decapitate someone.”

  Serena shoved the cupcake into her face so fast, Sophia was certain she swallowed without chewing. She didn’t like having to bully the mortal into cooperating. She knew Serena felt hopeless, and sometimes when people feel that way, they need to be pushed. Once she got the dose of the magical herb, she would feel better. She would
be better, and there was hope she would act better.

  Chapter One Hundred Ten

  After Sophia had affirmed Serena had eaten all of the cupcake, King Rudolf Sweetwater gave her a check for twenty million dollars. She gratefully accepted and ensured he said the magic phrase, “We’re even.”

  She called Alicia and told her she had gotten the funds to finish the LiDAR project, then opened a portal to Montana. The timing of everything was working out perfectly. On the heels of finishing this mission, her dress was ready according to the message she got from the gnome at the seamstress shop.

  Sophia stepped out of the portal, right in front of Hyacinth’s shop. Her eyes went to the other end of the boardwalk, where the craft store was located. She saw a warrior in a long black cloak, with a giant-made sword entering the store and felt only marginally sorry for the guy who was about to get his ass handed to him by her sister, Liv Beaufont.

  Then she remembered her newly assigned, random mission from Lee at the Crying Cat Bakery and decided this might be a good opportunity to start putting things into motion.

  Cupping her hand to her mouth and using a whispering spelling, Sophia said, “Hey, over here.”

  The words she said were inaudible to anyone between her and her sister. However, when Liv halted and turned around, Sophia knew that her sister had heard her. Her gaze found Sophia standing across the street. She waved her forward only feeling marginally bad for interrupting her mission again although she knew that Liv wouldn’t mind so much. The craft store swindler was going to get his reckoning one way or another. None escaped Liv’s wrath.

  “You just can’t get enough of me lately, can you?” Liv flashed her a smile as she approached.

  “You know it,” Sophia replied. “Sorry to interrupt you yet again, but I figured since I saw you that I could ask for something…” The guilty expression on her face might have given her away.

  ‘Well, do you need me to defy my boss because I haven’t done that in a while,” Liv joked.

  Sophia felt her face flush hot. “Actually.”

  Liv dropped her chin, giving Sophia an annoyed expression. “You can’t be serious?”

  “I wish I wasn’t, but to repay the baker, I need to get a katana sword that has ten different magical properties and heals the bearer—”

  “Whoa,” Liv interrupted. “This thing sounds awesome. Where do I get one of these?”

  “Not at Walmart,” Sophia said dryly.

  “Who would get a katana sword at Walmart?”

  “You’d be surprised,” Sophia stated. “Anyway, you can’t have the sword because it’s for the assassin baker.”

  “Makes sense,” Liv said, not missing a beat.

  “And to get this sword—”

  “Which is located where? Inside an Egyptian tomb where you have to battle a god of fire or something?”

  Sophia chuckled. “Probably on the moon or in the center of the Earth, knowing my luck.”

  “We share similar luck,” Liv related.

  “I actually don’t know the location of the katana sword yet,” Sophia explained. “But there are a few items and a person I have to secure first.”

  Liv laughed, nodding. “We live parallel lives. Let me guess, all the items are ridiculously hard to obtain and just getting them before said mission will be nearly impossible, right?”

  “We do live similar lives.”

  “And,” Liv drew out the word. “Let me also guess that you need something that makes you time travel, is that right?”

  Sophia gave her sister an apologetic look. “There’s this candy store on Roya Lane that’s only open during a very specific time.”

  “Midnight Lunar Eclipse!” Liv exclaimed. “Yeah, it’s not open until next year. I’ve had my calendar marked. This girl needs some gummy frogs that jump around and chocolate kisses that you blow on and they swirl across the air and smack someone on the kisser.”

  “Oh, are the chocolates for Stefan?” Sophia asked.

  Liv gave her a surprised expression. “Gosh no. We’re not sappy like that. I want to blow them at Clark and thoroughly gross him out. Then I’m putting the frogs in his bed because he told me that eating desserts in bed was disgusting.”

  “That’s great that you’ve wanted to visit this magical candy shop.” Sophia did her best to lace persuasion into her voice.

  “Soph…” Liv’s tone had a warning. “Papa Creola probably already knows about this act of defiance.”

  “Then this time, ask for permission,” Sophia encouraged.

  Liv shook her head. “No, because of course he orchestrated a mission that would help the king of the fae. I don’t think he’s going to do it for an assassin baker who wants a weapon that sounds like it should be kept out of her reach.”

  “Yeah, but if you think about it, this is part of the Rudolf and Serena mission,” Sophia reasoned. “Lee made the cupcake that I needed for Serena. So it makes sense that Papa Creola knows that we’ll need this time device. And all we need to do is travel to the next lunar eclipse. We visit this candy shop and then we’re done. Easy, peasy.”

  “No, you then need to do what?” Liv questioned. “It’s never easy. You must realize that by now.”

  Sophia agreed with a nod. “Okay, so I need to buy magical chewing gum that makes the chewer happy, no matter the circumstances.”

  “Why?” Liv asked.

  With a shrug, Sophia said, “I don’t know exactly. I was just told to get a few things first and then Lee would tell me where to go for the katana sword.”

  “And what are these other things?” Liv asked.

  Sophia started listing them off on her fingers. “I need a weapons expert, a dragon—”

  “This is sounding too easy,” Liv cut in.

  A rebellious smile flicked to Sophia’s mouth. “I need a magic compass that’s elfin made.”

  “There we go,” Liv said, having expected this curve ball.

  “I also need Zack Efron.”

  “Who doesn’t,” Liv said with a laugh. “I’d like to rewrite the stars so that he could be mine.”

  Sophia gave her an annoyed look. “Your boyfriend is a badass demon hunter who is part demon, but only with all the good parts like enhanced powers and longer life. Oh and he’s so flipping cute.”

  Liv nodded with a shrug. “Yeah, but Zack Efron is a fantastic singer and tap dancer.”

  Surprised, Sophia laughed. “How is it that’s what Zack Efron is most known for?”

  “Have you tried tap dancing?” Liv asked. “It isn’t easy.”

  “Yeah, I’m sort of busy with other projects and don’t have time for tap dancing lessons.”

  “We all need hobbies, Soph.”

  She grinned. “Anyway, can you please help me with the time device? You can go to the candy shop with me. We will load up.”

  Liv seemed to consider this. “I have good and bad news.”

  “Oh, so you’re getting the hang of this good and bad news delivery style. I approve.”

  Her sister rolled her eyes at her. “So the good news is that I can help you. I’ll ask Papa Creola permission and we’ll figure something out. You’re right that it’s a part of the overall mission which he orchestrated. The bad news is I can’t do it right now. I really need to deal with that craft store guy who is swindling mortals money. Then I have a few other cases that I’ve got to handle before evil villains accomplish world domination.”

  Sophia nodded. “That’s perfectly understandable.”

  “Oh, but I have more good news,” Liv said, triumphantly.

  “Oh, tell me!”

  “Well, I happen to have a magical compass that was given to me by the elfin king,” Liv related.

  “Shut up!” Sophia exclaimed.

  “Fat chance of that ever happening,” Liv fired back.

  “And of course you have a magical compass.”

  Liv held her hands up. “You know how I do.”

  “Okay, well, that gets me one step closer to ful
filling this mission,” Sophia said, trying hard not to be overwhelmed. “In the meantime, I just have to figure out how to recruit Zack Efron for this mysterious journey.”

  Waving her off, Liv said, “I’d save that for last. We can do that together after we go to the magic candy shop.”

  Sophia smiled. “I’m looking forward to going on another mission with you.”

  Liv returned the expression, proudly. “I’m looking forward to going on a bazillion missions with you. This will just be one of many.”

  “That’s right,” Sophia said, remembering the Beaufont family motto. “Familia Est Sempiternum.”

  Liv gave her a fond expression. “Familia Est Sempiternum.”

  Sophia then watched as her sister crossed the road, headed for the craft store. She waited until she disappeared, turning her attention to Hyacinth’s shop where her magical dress awaited her.

  Chapter One Hundred Eleven

  When Sophia entered the seamstress shop this time, it looked like one instead of being glamoured to look like an antique store.

  The gnome seamstress was smiling at Sophia, her hands behind her back. “Your dress is ready in the dressing room over there. Put it on and we will just check it over, although I know it will fit perfectly. I just want to ensure all the magical properties are right and I don’t need to make any tweaks.”

  Sophia nodded obediently and made for the rooms at the back Hyacinth indicated.

  The audible gasp that fell out of her mouth made the shop owner giggle.

  “Oh, then you like it, huh?” she called through the curtain at the back.

  “Like it?” Sophia questioned. The red dress of subtle paisley designs was extraordinary. The sleeves hung off the shoulder, and the plunging neckline left little to the imagination. The dress would fit Sophia snugly around her waist and then flare out at the bottom, like something Marilyn Monroe wore back in the day. It was one of the most perfect garments she had ever laid eyes on. “I love it,” she exclaimed.

  “Well, put it on, and I’ll get you buttoned up in the back,” Hyacinth remarked from the front room. “You’ll need to go directly from here to your meeting with Saint Valentine, so I hope you don’t have anything else scheduled.”