by Sarah Noffke
She nearly laughed but instead shook her head. “No, I was thinking of ways of dealing with these guys without breaking their noses.”
The pirate with the gun kept trying to hit them, but it just bounced against the shield. The others seemed to be looking for a way around, but Sophia had put up a barrier they couldn’t cross. It wasn’t going to hold for long, especially if Evan kept chatting about dinner options.
“Can we break their spirits?” he asked. “Because I don’t like the way that one is looking at me.” He pointed to one of the pirates on the far end who had a zipper for a mouth and revolving telescopic eye. Evan shivered. “It’s like he’s looking into my soul.”
“I didn’t realize you had one, so that’s something,” Sophia teased. “Seriously, ideas?”
“I can tie up one,” Evan offered. “NO10JO will take one, and since you’re a showoff, you get to take Gun Boy and the other.”
She nodded, irritation heavy in her gaze. “Yeah, that seems about right.”
He patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. Once I’m done. I’ll be here for moral support.”
“You’re a pal,” she said, running through options quickly, trying to decide how best to disarm these guys. She spotted something next to the port side of the ship. “Hey, grab that net over there.”
Evan thankfully didn’t question this. Using magic, he lifted the huge net and brought it closer to them. “Now what?”
“Drop it on them,” she commanded.
He sighed. “Really? That’s your plan? Throw a net on them like this is some slapstick comedy hour? Are we going to throw banana peels down for the next band of pirates to slip on?”
“Maybe,” she replied smugly. “Just do it, would you?”
He looked disappointed. “I just don’t get why you can’t have a bit more flair with your plans. Like, we could use that cannon over there for intimidation. Or we could take their weapons away and force them into one of the rowboats and send them out to the middle of nowhere.”
She batted her eyes at him. “We are in the harbor…”
“A little imagination wouldn’t kill you, that’s all I’m saying,” he replied.
“Would you throw the freaking net on them already,” she ordered, the barrier starting to come down.
“Fine,” he said with defeat, lassoing his hand in the air and then throwing the net. It jumped up high and spread out. By the time the cyborg pirates figured out what was going on, it was too late. All of them had been working on pulling Sophia’s shield and barrier down. They hadn’t been paying the least bit of attention to Evan.
The rope net dropped on them, covering them entirely.
Sophia released the barrier and shield and took over for Evan, yanking the net up and tying it to the mast, the pirates bundled together. Thankfully the one with the gun appeared to be pinned between his mates and couldn’t get his arm free to fire at them. This wasn’t going to hold them long, though, since they had knives and swords.
Sophia grabbed Evan and yanked him toward the captain’s quarters. They had limited time and probably a lot more pirates to subdue on their way to find Trin Currante.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
“Look what you made me do,” Evan complained, holding up his middle finger, seemingly flipping Sophia off.
She gave him a curious glance before turning her attention back to the doors for the captain’s quarters. They were locked. Sophia could tell that much by spying the deadbolt between the set of double doors.
“Is that a splinter?” Sophia asked, distracted by the mission, which should have been soaking up all of their attention. She was learning Evan did things his own way. She wouldn’t tell him, but it was sort of entertaining.
“Yeah, I got it from fighting that guy with the mop,” he said, picking at the sliver of wood in his finger.
Worried she might be electrocuted, Sophia paused before trying to open the doors in front of them. She silently wondered and worried where the rest of the crew was. From past experience, Sophia knew Trin Currante didn’t have a shortage of cyborg friends or minions or whatever she considered them.
“How is that my fault?” Sophia wondered, her hand hovering next to the handle of the door. “You’re the one who wanted to fight the mop guy. Remember, you said, ‘I’ve never fought a guy with a mop.’ Then you gave me the one with the sword, like a true gentleman.”
He sighed, sucking on his finger, like that would help and not make things worse. Having the Castle take care of all the Dragon Elite’s ailments seemed to make one of them in particular clueless on first-aid practices.
“It’s your fault because you’ve dictated I can’t harm a wire on any of the cyborgs’ heads,” he muttered, his finger still in his mouth. “To make it up to you, I’ll take all the most dangerous villains we encounter. You can sit by and look pretty. I wouldn’t want you to chip a nail.”
It was Sophia’s turn to flash her middle finger at him. “As you can see, I don’t wear nail polish or have any worries about messing up my manicure.”
He peeled back. “I swear, I’m going to teach you how to be a lady if it’s the last thing I do.”
“I look forward to this day when something is the last thing you do,” she told him, turning her attention back to the locked door. She’d stalled long enough and could hear the pirates in the net growing restless.
“Are you insinuating you’re looking forward to me dying, Phia?” Evan asked, pretending to sound offended.
“Shh,” she scolded. “I’m going to try and open this door.”
“Oh, is that what I’m waiting for?” Evan inquired. “It’s not that hard, but I get that simple things are challenging for you. Here, I’ll be a gentleman and get the door for you, Pink Princess.” He reached out with his hurt hand and grabbed the door handle.
Electricity poured from the door to his hand immediately, making Evan convulse. It was similar to the other time Sophia had witnessed him getting electrocuted. Thankfully the voltage wasn’t as much as the last time, and Evan jerked his hand back, the smell of burning filling the air at once.
“Damn it!” he exclaimed, clasping his hand to his chest. “That shit will wake you up.”
Sophia nodded. “As I suspected.”
“As you what?” he bellowed. “Why didn’t you tell me you thought the door was rigged?”
“Well, you didn’t give me a chance,” Sophia explained, glancing at the panel beside the door. She tried a few spells on it, but none of them seemed to have any effect on the lock.
“Great, now I have a splinter and electric shock,” Evan remarked, shaking his hand out. “Missions with you are so delightful. Should we find someone to break my nose next?”
“I think that’s a great idea,” she agreed, standing back and surveying the door. That’s when she noticed NO10JO was pawing at a panel on the deck nearby.
“Hey, what did you find?” Evan asked the dog.
“It’s a control panel,” Sophia stated. “Try opening it.”
Evan gave her an incredulous expression. “No way, Smalls. You go first this time.”
Sophia sighed. “Fine. Move aside, Bigs.” She used her magic to unscrew the bolts holding the panel in place. When she removed it, she was unsurprised to find the inside filled with magitech. Scratching her head, she tried to determine how she could fix it to open the captain’s quarters.
Sophia was considering different options when an ax came down, striking into the wires and strange bits of technology buried within the ship. Sparks shot up, followed by hissing and other noises of protest.
“What are you doing?” she demanded as Evan pulled the ax free of the wood and wires.
“Broken things don’t work,” he answered.
“I don’t think that’s how it works,” she reasoned, waving her hand to keep the acrid smell of chemicals from her nose. “Magitech is complex and usually requires counterspells that—”
Sophia was interrupted by a beeping sound, followed by a g
entle click. She spun to the captain’s quarters to find the bolt no longer in place. It had worked. Somehow her dumb friend had fumbled through.
Based on the arrogant expression on Evan’s face, he wasn’t going to let her forget it. “You’re welcome, Phia.”
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Sparks flew from the electronics around the double set of doors when Sophia yanked them back.
On the other side, she found what she’d suspected. However, the State of Grace’s captain was not present in the large area. Instead, standing there as though waiting for the intrusion were roughly half a dozen cyborg pirates, all of them brandishing weapons, with weird sneers on their half-human, half-robotic faces.
Evan and Sophia froze. She shot him a sideways look. “Remember when you said you’d take the next set of bad guys? I’ll just take a step backward while you take care of things. Wouldn’t want to chip a nail.”
She took a step back just as the pirates in the net crashed to the deck, having freed themselves. They then scrambled to their feet and closed in around them. The three were cornered, with no way of getting out without using deadly force.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Nine cyborg pirates the dragonriders could fight outright would have been difficult. Nine angry and armed cyborg pirates they shouldn’t harm made things exponentially more difficult.
Sophia and Evan instantly put their backs to one another. NO10JO took a place next to them, a fierce expression on the dog’s face.
“You still saying we can’t harm them?” Evan questioned from the corner of his mouth.
She nodded, holding up her hands as if in surrender. “We’re not here to fight you.”
Sophia paused, listening to the motorized sounds of many of the pirates as they used the strange magitech in their bodies to study them. She silently hoped at least one of them had the ability to detect if she was lying. That would speed things up. Then they could relax and could all laugh about things.
“You destroyed our security in this area,” a cyborg pirate said. He wore an old top hat and strange goggles, and was covered from head to toe in shiny gold gears.
Sophia scrunched her nose. “Sorry about that. It was his fault.”
She pointed at Evan, who scoffed.
“Way to have my back,” he remarked.
“We just needed to get into the captain’s quarters,” Sophia explained in a rush. She lifted up on her tiptoes. “Just looking for Trin Currante. We were hoping to have a word with her. She around?”
The guy with the top hat stepped forward. “I’m her second in command. What do you want with her?”
Sophia’s sources had been quite specific that talking to Trin Currante was how she was going to get to the bottom of the disappearing magicians. Sophia’s instincts also told her the captain of the State of Grace was the key to getting to the bottom of other matters, specifically why they had come after the dragon eggs and what her ultimate mission was.
“We just want to talk,” Sophia said with confidence. The pirates they’d thrown the net on were moving in closer, many of them looking worn from being bundled up and then falling from up high. They were apparently holding a grudge over the whole thing.
Trin Currante’s second in command pointed to the bound pirate to his left. “Was that why you tied up Ralph?”
“We didn’t hurt him,” Sophia argued, her voice high pitched.
“The same can’t be said for me,” Evan stated, holding up his electrocuted hand and the finger with the splinter.
Sophia was about to explain they were not looking for trouble when the cyborg pirate she’d thrown overboard climbed over the side of the ship, his eyes murderous.
“Oh, really?” the second in command demanded. “You’re not here for a fight. Sure seems like it.”
“We just want to see Trin Currante,” Sophia pleaded.
He stepped forward, his eyes flashing red behind his goggles. The men beside him followed his actions, many of them lifting their weapons. “You’ll see Trin, but only bound and bruised. That’s the rule on the State of Grace.”
Evan pressed back into Sophia. “I really like my face. Sure I can’t use my ax?”
Adamantly, she shook her head. “Defend yourself, but try not to be overly aggressive. We need to earn their trust.”
Sophia had hardly finished her orders when the eleven men all sprang into action, ready to tear them limb from limb.
Chapter Sixty
Babe, how’s it going? Lunis asked, as Sophia dove to avoid the first attack from one of the pirates.
She grunted, ducking. Two of the cyborgs rushed into each other as she crouched, taking each other out. Their metal heads bumped hard and each staggered into another set of men, throwing them off-balance.
I’ve had better days, she said, finding it easy to slip out of the attacks as the dogpiling began. All the cyborgs had rushed to the center of the circle and they didn’t notice she’d squeezed her way out of the circumference and was now on the edge, making for higher ground.
From there, she noticed Evan fighting on the perimeter as well as the cyborgs dogpiled each other. They weren’t the smartest group, she realized, watching as they scrambled around, probably thinking she was on the bottom.
Need backup? Lunis asked, his voice playful.
She knew he was overhead watching everything unfold and apparently wasn’t worried yet. No, not yet, she told him. Anything you did would be considered an attack. I’m trying to de-escalate things.
A superb job you’re doing, he teased as one of the men spotted her.
“There she is!” he yelled, pointing at her.
The pirates began pushing up off each other, shoving to try to get to her.
Well, I can’t say things are going to plan, Sophia told her dragon. But hold out on some hope for me.
Okay, he chirped. I’ll just be over here, making Cindy believe she’s going crazy. Paul thinks she’s had too many glasses of prosecco since she keeps insisting she sees a dragon when he’s not looking.
Poor Cindy, Sophia said with a laugh, searching the deck for an option that got her away from the mob of angry cyborgs clambering up the steps to where she stood.
Evan was successfully deflecting most of the attacks and remained partly unscathed. He threw up his forearm to block a wooden bat about to come down on his face. The pirate changed positions at the last moment, and the weapon brushed off Evan’s shoulder as his elbow rammed into the guy’s nose, making it explode with blood.
“Oh, sorry, mate,” Evan exclaimed. “You ran right into that one.”
Sophia was about to scold her moronic partner when she heard a familiar sound—one of the cyborg weapons powering up. Jerking her gaze back to the approaching mob, she noticed the guy with the gun installed on his arm, aiming it straight at her. It was starting to glow green.
She sighed, thoroughly annoyed that this band of pirates had to resort to violence when she was just trying to talk.
You’re surprised a bunch of crazed cyborg pirates who broke into the Gullington and stole dragon eggs have resorted to violence? Lunis questioned.
She yanked out Inexorabilis and sliced through a rope hanging from the mast next to her.
Excuse me for thinking that even pirates can be civilized, she said, wrapping her hands around the rope, and securing her hold on it.
Maybe you should have brought them a pirate-ship-warming present, Lunis offered.
Sophia sucked in a breath, and as the first set of pirates closed the distance to her, she launched herself off the platform and swung like Tarzan across the deck, flying over the heads of the pirates battling Evan. When she was on the other side, she dropped and swung around to face the enemies who would undoubtedly follow.
Like, a fruit basket? she asked her dragon. Is that the kind of gift I should have brought them so they wouldn’t be so angry?
I was thinking more like a pirate’s favorite food, the blue dragon said, a hint of mischief in his voice.
Sophia kept her sword out as two of the pirates rushed at her. Oh, no, Lunis, don’t say it.
Say what? he asked. You do know what a pirate’s favorite food is, right?
Stop, she encouraged as one of the cyborgs, a proud grin on his face, held up his arm and a long blade extended from it. The other one was brandishing a metal pipe, and they both looked like they were going to pounce on her at once.
An arrrrtichoke, of course, Lunis answered, laughing at his joke.
Sophia jumped backward as both pirates sprang for her. She threw up her sword as the first pirate’s knife hand came down on her head. She was able to hold him off, but he was incredibly powerful and she wouldn’t last for long.
Shoving the knife up and off, Sophia jumped as the other pirate tried to sweep her legs out from under her with the metal pipe.
Although not usually one to run when in battle, Sophia had no choice but to back up quickly. To her relief, she moved much faster than the cyborgs who creaked as the hydraulics in their motorized legs worked to keep up with her.
Her luck ran out when she came to the starboard side of the ship. It was stocked with crates of supplies, and behind them was the railing and harbor waters. She was running out of options.
The guy with the knife brought his arm backward as his face screwed up with vengeance. When he launched it, she jumped to the side and his knife sank into one of the wooden crates, getting stuck immediately. Rage filled his face.
“Sorry,” she said, spinning and coming face to face with the one with the metal pipe. He brought it up overhead about to bring it down on her head.
Sophia, taking the only option available to her, brought her knee up and shoved it into his groin. He doubled over with a loud groan, and she ducked under his arm as he fell to the deck.
She was about to rush to the far side of the platform when she ran straight into the pirate with a top hat—Mr. Second in Command. He didn’t look happy about things as grease dripped from the many gears on his body like he was bleeding from several assaults.