Rectify Injustice (The Exceptional S. Beaufont Book 6)

by Sarah Noffke

  “Liv wasn’t assigned this case,” Sophia explained.

  “I think one Beaufont sister will do the trick, but only with the right information.” Mortimer’s ear swiveled in the direction of his office like he heard something. After a moment, he relaxed. “Now, what can I help you with?”

  “Well, my source,” Sophia began, not wanting to disclose it was her fairy godmother. She figured Mortimer knew anyway, but she was keeping all her private inside contacts secret to be on the safe side. “They tell me that in order to get to the bottom of the missing magicians, I have to track down the cyborg Trin Currante. Can you help me with that?”

  He nodded, twirling the long hair that sprouted from his large ears around his finger as he thought. “Yes, I figured you’d want information on Trin Currante, and I think I have a lead.”

  “Great news,” Sophia exclaimed.

  “Yes, I’ve heard rumor of a dog that might be connected to her.”

  Sophia peeled back, not having expected this piece of information. “A dog? Are you sure?”

  He shook his head. “No, I’m not. That’s why I’ll need a little more time to firm up details.” Rubbing his belly, he smiled. “Now I’m in the perfect position to get to work and find the information for you.”

  “Thank you, Mortimer. This is really great.”

  “Sophia Beaufont, I appreciate you think I’m helping you, but really, we all work for each other, don’t we?”

  Sophia nodded, liking the sentiment. “Yeah, I guess we do.”

  “I help you find what you’re looking for, and you go and save the world bit by bit,” he said proudly. “I can’t think of a better arrangement.”

  She returned the thoughtful expression he gave her. “You’re right. I can’t either.”

  “Until we meet again.” He bowed to her. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I know something which I only hope gives you what you need to take decisive and swift action.”

  Sophia remembered the stressed expression on Mortimer’s face when she’d entered the office. She wanted to get to the bottom of the missing magicians for the obvious reasons. She wanted to help Trin Currante because she felt oddly compelled. Now, she had a new motivation, knowing this situation was indirectly hurting the innocent and sweet brownies.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “This is why we can’t have nice things,” Ainsley complained when Sophia entered the front door of the Castle.

  The housekeeper was on the floor, arranging the pieces of a broken vase Sophia remembered seeing in the front area. Before it had been in one piece, not hundreds of them.

  Evan stood nearby, leaning against the wall with his hands covering his face. “I told you, it wasn’t my fault. I was being chased.”

  “By…” Ainsley chirped.

  “I’d rather not say,” Evan muttered through his fingers.

  “Oh, no,” Ainsley stated, pointing at the pieces of the vase. A few rose together, mending in midair before falling apart again and landing back on the floor. “It’s going to take me forever to fix this. You’re going to indulge me with what made you knock this ancient heirloom over.”

  “Just make the Castle fix it,” Evan offered.

  Ainsley shook her head. “Why didn’t I think about that? Castle, why don’t you repair the vase?”

  They all waited.

  A moment later, when nothing happened, Ainsley stuck her hands on her hips. “As I suspected, the Castle isn’t going to fix it.”

  “Because Quiet wants me to be in trouble,” Evan complained.

  “Again, go ahead and tell me what was chasing you that made you knock this over,” Ainsley ordered.

  “It was a pterodactyl,” Evan said, his hands still covering his mouth, partially obstructing his words.

  A laugh popped out of Ainsley. “Did you say pterodactyl?”

  He sighed, dropping his hands from his face. “I get that it’s ridiculous since they are extinct.”

  She shook her head. “No, that’s not why it’s ridiculous. You do realize there are wards on the Castle to prevent other winged creatures from entering? Otherwise, I’d be shooing birds out from the rafters like I did a few centuries ago before putting measures into place.”

  “Oh, right,” Evan said. “That didn’t come to mind when a clawed creature was screaming at me and chasing me through the corridor.”

  “You are a dragonrider,” Ainsley argued. “How come a little bird scared you?”

  “Have I mentioned the claws and that it was very hungry?”

  Ainsley shook this off, standing from the floor. “It was obviously the Castle messing with you.”

  Evan sighed. “Obviously. That is that short, round man’s problem. I was just minding my own business getting ready for my next mission and then this beast descends on me from the ceiling. I didn’t even have my sword or anything on me.”

  “And your magic was apparently broken.” Ainsley brushed off her dress.

  “I didn’t have time to think,” Evan argued. “I know you think you know what you’ll do when faced with a threatening situation, but it’s much more complicated than you’d think. You don’t jump right to the option of using magic. Half the time, it doesn’t even work right because fear messes it up.”

  The housekeeper narrowed her eyes, murder written in her gaze. “No, I wouldn’t know how I’d react when faced with danger since for the last few centuries, I’ve been cleaning this Castle, trying to figure out what I was missing. Oh, that’s right! My memory!”

  Evan shot Sophia a look that said, “Oh, hell. What have I done?”

  She backed up a step as the redhead’s face blossomed into a shade the same color as her hair.

  “I didn’t mean it that way,” Evan said, his voice trembling with fear.

  “No, you never mean it that way until you’ve done your damage.” Ainsley nearly yelled, her fists by her side, her chin low as she took a step forward. “The Dragon Elite members just do as they please with no concern for those who serve them and how they feel.”

  “Is that what Quiet’s problem is?” Evan asked, blinking rapidly.

  “Quiet’s problem with you is very simple.” Ainsley was shaking all over. “He just doesn’t like you.”

  Evan actually relaxed a little. “Really? Well, that makes sense. I’m not that likable. When I was in school—”

  “Would you be quiet?” Ainsley interrupted, seeming to grow more frustrated by the second.

  “I can’t because I’m not a little gnome,” Evan joked. He obviously wanted to die, Sophia thought.

  She was going to come to Evan’s rescue when a hand grabbed her from behind and tugged her into the weapons room. When she saw who it was, she was surprised to feel their strength—although she shouldn’t have been, she realized.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “I know places where those two would turn extremely peaceful people into warmongers,” Mama Jamba said, shaking her head and indicating the next room where Ainsley and Evan could still be heard arguing. Evan was mostly apologizing, usually followed by a backhanded compliment.

  “I get why Ainsley is upset, though,” Sophia offered.

  “Of course, dear,” Mama Jamba stated. “But fixing her doesn’t happen yet. She’s not ready. Hiker isn’t ready, and you’ve got other things on your plate. Namely…” She held up a small pouch and swung it in the air.

  “What’s that?” Sophia asked, hesitation obvious in her voice.

  “Magic beans,” she answered.

  Sophia laughed, waiting for the real answer. When it didn’t come, she replaced her laughter with a serious expression. “You’re not joking?”

  Mama Jamba shook her head. “Of course not. I just completed creating them.”

  “These magic beans; what will they make?” Sophia was not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

  “Something magical,” Mother Nature sang, mischief bouncing around in her periwinkle blue eyes.

  Sophia realized she should have expected this an
swer. This wasn’t a person who volunteered much information or provided tons of details about things, ever.

  “You want me to do something with those?” Sophia guessed.

  Mama Jamba nodded proudly, handing the pouch over. “I knew you’d be up for the job.”

  Sophia hadn’t really said she was, but she wasn’t going to say otherwise to Mother Nature. The pouch was surprisingly heavy for its size and the fact it contained beans.

  “Do you want them planted on the Expanse somewhere?” she asked, indicating to the window where the glowing green hills of Scotland could be seen sprawling in the distance.

  Mama Jamba jerked her head back and forth. “Oh, no. I need you and Lunis to take these far, far away from here.”

  Sophia thought she’d covered up the expression on her face, but hiding anything from Mama Jamba was impossible.

  “Oh, I know,” Mama Jamba groaned, pretending to be annoyed. “It’s never easy or convenient. Travel across the globe, Sophia. Follow my riddle-like instructions. Risk your life for a mission I refuse to explain fully.” She stuck her hands on her hips and frowned. “The things you have to put up with.”

  Offering her a humorous smile, Sophia said, “I don’t mind, really. Just tell me what I have to do.”

  The frown turned upside down. “Oh, you know better than to expect clear instructions.”

  Sophia nodded. “Right, riddle-like instructions. How did I so soon forget?”

  “You have a lot on your mind,” Mama Jamba offered. “I will tell you that you need to leave right away.”

  “Are the beans time sensitive?”

  The old woman offered a sympathetic smile. “That they are, but also, it will take you a while to get to New York.”

  “Really?” Sophia questioned. “Can’t we just travel through a portal?”

  The expression on Mama Jamba’s face was telling.

  Sophia slumped with sudden understanding. “Let me guess, we can’t portal, can we?”

  “You can.” Mama Jamba tossed her gray curls back and forth, but they didn’t move. “It could possibly negate their effects.”

  “Right,” Sophia said, drawing out the word. “So, we need to fly to New York.”

  That would take a whole day. Mama Jamba was right, they’d need to leave right away.

  “Yes, and I can tell you the actual planting of the beans is relatively simple,” Mama Jamba explained. “Just drop them in some dirt in the city and you’ll be good.”

  “Oh, okay.” Sophia sighed with relief. “Anywhere in New York?”

  The sly smile on Mama Jamba’s face made the relief evaporate. “No, I think you know it’s got to be a bit more specific than that.”

  Sophia nodded. “Okay, where in New York? I’m ready for the riddle.”

  “It’s nice to see you embracing this challenge,” Mama Jamba approved. “It’s going to be a part of something very important. Something the Dragon Elite desperately needs.”

  That made Sophia feel better, even if she didn’t get to learn specifics about the mission.

  “Now, my dear,” Mama Jamba continued. “Once you’re in New York, you need to find a very specific plot of land. It won’t be large, but the beans will hopefully lead you to it. They will undoubtedly vibrate, light up, and possibly hum with music when you get to the place they should be planted.”

  “Well, that’s something, at least,” Sophia said, a bit more hopeful. “Anything else you can tell me about this small plot of land?”

  Mama Jamba nodded. “Yes, it’s holy ground.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Holy ground?” Sophia questioned, on top of Lunis and riding out of the Gullington. They hadn’t wasted any time setting off, knowing they needed to start on the voyage right away.

  Thankfully, Lunis was well-rested for the very long journey since he’d just been hanging around the Nest. This would be the farthest he had ever flown. He wouldn’t get any breaks crossing the Atlantic Ocean, which meant Sophia would have to aid him with spells to keep him going.

  Yeah, that part is perplexing, Lunis agreed, flying through the Barrier. I mean, New York is not Jerusalem or the region of Palestine.

  “Wow, you sound so learned right now,” Sophia said, not used to her dragon being serious.

  Hey, what do you think I’ve been doing while you’ve been galivanting about without me?

  “I have no doubt you’re going to tell me,” she told him with a laugh.

  Watching CNN, of course, he answered.

  Sophia laughed “Well, of course. I didn’t realize you could get cable inside the Nest.”

  I stole it from the neighbors. He snickered.

  “Wouldn’t the neighbors be the other dragons in the Cave?”

  He shook his head. No, it’s you in the Castle.

  “I don’t have cable,” she argued. “I just watch Netflix and Amazon.”

  And cable, he agreed. Don’t check your credit card bill if this is an issue.

  She shook her head. “I don’t even know how you’d manage that at the Castle. It’s not like we can get wired for cable.”

  No, but a certain gnome likes you, and someone might have told him you needed the sports package, Lunis admitted.

  “You didn’t!”

  I did, he said, glee in his voice.

  “You’re so strange.”

  So did you bring something for the long trip? Lunis asked as they flew over the rolling hills of Scotland, the coast quickly approaching.

  “Like what?”

  Like Pictionary or Monopoly.

  Sophia giggled. “Um, I’m on the back of a dragon.”

  There’s room, and I can remain steady so that pieces don’t move, he argued. Well, unless you’re winning. And then…

  Suddenly Lunis flipped to the side, causing Sophia to have to grab the reins to remain in the saddle. “Whoa!”

  He simply laughed, amused as he straightened back out.

  “You’re evil,” she fired, her chest vibrating from the sudden adrenaline.

  I’m playful, Lunis disagreed. Those newly hatched dragons are evil. There’s a difference.

  Sophia sighed, wishing she’d had more time to investigate that problem. At some point, they were going to have to figure out how to deal with the new dragons and the others who hatched and were apparently corrupt. According to The Complete History of Dragonriders, half of the batch of eggs would be evil and the other half would be good. She kept telling herself the concept was relative and the bad dragons could be changed. There would be options.

  Sometimes beings are evil and you can’t fix them, Lunis argued, having heard her thoughts. That’s not really the point.

  “What is it, then?” Sophia asked, realizing her dragon was having one of his rare serious moments.

  Sometimes our job is to keep the balance, he began. Sometimes it’s to combat evil. But most of the time, our job is to protect the good in a world where it’s impossible to erase evil.

  Sophia nodded, taking that in. Yes, she’d like to erase the world’s problems, but that really wasn’t her job. Her role as an adjudicator was to resolve disputes around the globe—not to get rid of them. Maybe there was someone else who had that job, but she suspected there wasn’t. In the real world, there weren’t superheroes who ensured bad things didn’t happen. No, she suspected that more likely, there were people like her who fixed things when they did.

  She was still off in thought a long while later when they were nearly past Ireland. Sophia had been looking without seeing for so long, that for a moment she thought she was seeing things.

  Straightening, she blinked, trying to clear her vision. They had only seen birds in the sky since they weren’t on the routes planes took, mostly to keep mortal pilots from having heart attacks. Seeing a dragon flying through the sky hardly ever went over well.

  Whatever was up in the distance most certainly wasn’t a bird or a plane. It was mostly black and appeared to be a person flying, its long wings resembling those o
f a fairy. Unlike the fae Sophia was used to, this one wasn’t colorful or cheerful. Even from a distance, Sophia could read the menace around the creature.

  Its long black hair spiraled all around, and flowing ripped fabric waved in the wind as the creature quickly approached. Its mouth opened, and a scream like a siren shot out.

  “What is that?” Sophia asked, leaning forward to get a better look at the figure streaking up and down, not making a direct path to them.

  Trouble, Lunis answered. Big freaking trouble.

  Chapter Twenty

  I don’t want to live forever, Lunis began, breathless. But I was hoping to live through this seemingly straightforward mission.

  “What is that?” Sophia asked again, watching as the creature dipped up and down as though riding the waves in the ocean.

  It’s an Unseelie fairy, Lunis explained.

  Sophia, feeling her dragon’s tension, pulled her sword, but that only seemed to anger the fairy, making it open its mouth wide to scream again. Her enhanced vision spied long dagger-like teeth in the creature’s mouth.

  “I don’t understand,” Sophia began. “Most of the fairies I know are harmless. I mean, the fae are no doubt annoying and could irritate someone to death, but they don’t really have the brains to be vindictively harmful or dangerous.”

  This is a unique fairy native to these parts, Lunis imparted. There are the Seelie and the Unseelie. We’ve managed to come across the latter, and they are very malicious.

  The Unseelie fairy was now only fifty yards away. From that distance, Sophia spied a weapon appear in its hands, a long ax.

  “It wants to go toe to toe, I see,” Sophia said, wondering if she should have pulled Inexorabilis. Maybe the creature could have been reasoned with or avoided altogether.

  Few cross paths with an Unseelie fairy without confrontation and death, Lunis stated.

  Sophia gulped. “What’s the best way to fight the thing? Can you use fire?”

  I can try, Lunis stated, opening his mouth as the Unseelie fairy shot forward, sensing what was coming next.