by Sarah Noffke
Sophia shook her head. “I won’t be confined. You do you, boo. I’ll do me.”
He rolled his eyes at this. “Leave the hip talk to me too. Otherwise, you’ll get all this shade thrown at you, and it will be big yikes.”
“You’re straight up trippin’. I totes know the current hip slang,” Sophia argued.
Lunis shook his head. “You’re so cringy, you potato.”
“What are you even saying right now?”
“You not understanding the current lingo of the zoomer generation is a ‘you’ problem,” Lunis said smugly but playfully winked at Sophia.
She laughed and pointed at the Barrier where the dragons were about to fly through. “Do you think they’ll return?”
“Yes. I think they’ll return with riders.”
Sophia smiled wide. “So it begins.” She glanced around at the Expanse and the Pond in the distance. “Our once quiet little home is about to get a lot busier.”
Lunis nodded, suddenly turning mildly serious. “Soak it in while you can because I have a feeling that when the new generation of dragonriders come to the Gullington, things will become more complex. More than that, I think our roles will be more demanding.”
Chapter Five
The founders’ ancient language danced under Sophia’s fingertips as she ran them over the walls in the entryway of the House of Fourteen. The gold lettering swirled and sparkled like it was coming alive from Sophia’s touch. She couldn’t read it since she wasn’t a Warrior or Councilor for the House of Fourteen, but many of those who were didn’t know the language either. It was something that they inherently could understand, but had to work at—like many abilities in life.
What do you say? Sophia wondered to herself, half-expecting Lunis to pop into her head with a sarcastic answer.
She didn’t mind that she’d never become a Warrior for the House of Fourteen, taking the position that Liv at first fulfilled until she was old enough. Liv was the perfect Warrior, and Sophia was destined to be a dragonrider. However, now and again, she longed to know the secrets that only Warriors and Councilors knew, like how to read the founders’ ancient language.
Deciding to push the thoughts out of her head, Sophia shrugged. Oh, well. I guess I’ll never decipher the ancient language, and that’s okay.
“As I once said,” a voice sang at Sophia’s back and startled her. She thought she’d been alone.
She didn’t see anyone when she first spun, but then her eyes found the small unassuming black and white cat sitting at the far end of the long corridor. Plato smirked at her.
“Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil,” the lynx continued.
Sophia narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. “Where did that come from? That bit about ignorance? Were you in my head, hearing me give up about ever understanding the ancient language?”
The cat strode in her direction with his tail high in the air, its white tip flicking from side to side. “I have no idea what you mean.”
Sophia sighed. “Why would I ever need to read the ancient language? Liv can if I ever need information. It’s not like I need it to control the House of Fourteen. What they do is separate from the issues the Dragon Elite faces.”
“If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, you are doomed to live under the rule of fools,” Plato imparted, a sneaky grin under his whiskers.
“Why are you quoting the philosopher, Plato?”
His light expression disappeared. “I’m not. That man quoted me.”
Sophia nodded, realizing she should have expected this. “I know that Lorenzo Rosario and Bianca Montavani on the council for the House of Fourteen are corrupt. Probably that newbie Marty Martinez too. I think they’re mostly harmless, trying to benefit personally from their public positions.”
“Don’t you think they’ll be intimidated by anyone or anything that stands to steal that power?”
“Well, of course. It’s been a constant struggle with the council to accept the Dragon Elite. They don’t like what we represent or that it outranks their authority in the world. I’m certain that things are tense with the Rogue Riders out there giving us a bad name.”
“I can assure you that they are.”
Sophia sighed. “Yeah, well, I’ll have to deal with that soon, but I’m not sure how.”
“Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others,” Plato stated sagely.
“So serve through example,” she replied, a doubtful edge in her voice as though she were trying to unravel the threads of wisdom Professor Plato dangled in front of her. How was it that she felt like the feline playing with a string in that scenario?
He nodded.
“I guess,” Sophia replied. “It’s hard to do that and not react in other ways, defending the Dragon Elite. Fighting for our good name.”
“Oh, but we’re twice-armed if we fight with faith.”
Sophia stuck her hands on her hips. “Are you going to keep answering me with lines of Plato, the philosopher, who apparently plagiarized them from you, although the whole timeline of that hurts my head and confounds me?”
“In the words of the great Confucius,” Plato began, “the man who asks a question is a fool for a minute. The man who does not ask is a fool for life.”
Pretending not to be amused by her sister’s familiar, Sophia batted her eyelashes at Plato. “Well, here’s a question you probably won’t answer. How is it that I’m supposed to find the Rogue Riders so that I can stop them from doing whatever they’re doing and therefore protect the Dragon Elite’s reputation?”
Sophia firmly believed she’d hear another Plato quote, or maybe one from another famous philosopher. However, Plato replied, “When I’m looking for a mouse, I don’t search for the rodents. Instead, I seek their cheese. When I find that, it’s not long until I locate my prey.”
A laugh popped out of Sophia’s mouth. “When have you ever eaten a mouse?”
Plato didn’t at all appear impressed. “That’s the takeaway from my advice that I obviously shouldn’t have given you?”
Sophia wiped the laughing expression off her face, becoming suddenly serious. “No, and thank you. I get what you’re saying. I need to go after what the Rogue Riders are interested in—criminals. Still, there are so many in the world. How am I supposed to find them, and how am I supposed to know which ones? Then there’s how am I supposed to—”
“There is no harm in repeating a good thing,” Plato interrupted, quoting once more. “Unless it’s the blasted question of how. I trust you know someone who can help you find criminals and figure out which ones will be best to target.”
Sophia nodded while chewing on her lip. “Yeah, I have a few resources.” Her eyes lifted to meet Plato’s. “Thanks for the tip. It’s a good idea to find the Rogue Riders by going after their own. Now I have to figure out how to get the world to trust us again, which will be difficult since our job as the Dragon Elite always makes enemies for us.”
“When men speak ill of thee,” Plato began, “live so nobody may believe them.”
Sophia thought about this notion. “I think that strategy involves a long game. For the time being, the world isn’t buying everything we have to say, even if it’s the truth.”
Plato nodded with understanding. “No one is more hated than he who speaks the truth.”
“You know,” Sophia mused. “You had some pretty good lines.”
“Had?” he questioned, raising an eyebrow.
Sophia nodded. “Had. Have. You get the point. Anyway, I was looking for information on the history of the old demon dragonriders. You wouldn’t happen to be willing to fill me in on it?” There was a hopeful edge in Sophia’s voice.
“Your first inclination to seek out your brother for the information was right.”
Sophia lowered her chin. “You’re not allowed in my head.”
Plato sauntered past her and wiggled his tail in the air. “Get on the list of those who tell me what I
’m not allowed to do.”
“Fine,” Sophia seethed. “Stay in my head. Don’t tell me about lost history. Still, maybe you’ll impart something.”
Plato turned, seemingly willing to entertain one last question.
“Did the philosopher, Plato, steal all your words?” Sophia asked. “Or was he real at all?”
“He was,” Plato answered. “He had one original quote.”
Sophia gave the lynx an expression that said, “Go on then.”
“He was a wise man who invented beer,” Plato stated and vanished without a trace.
Chapter Six
Sophia found herself laughing as the lynx disappeared, leaving her alone once more in the entry hall of the House of Fourteen.
Plato had been strangely helpful, giving Sophia the idea of going after the criminals of the world to find the Rogue Riders. That was still a lofty goal and a little overwhelming, but she had some ideas to make the monumental task a little easier.
She didn’t like it one bit that Plato could poke into her head, but Sophia also recognized that trying to keep one of the most powerful entities on Earth out of her mind was a waste of her time. Instead, she focused her attention on finding Clark, who she knew wasn’t at the apartment since she’d already stopped by there on her way over. There also wasn’t a meeting happening in the Chamber of the Tree for another hour.
Thankfully for Sophia, Clark was a creature of habit. He wasn’t at the apartment he shared with Liv and Stefan, so he was somewhere in the House of Fourteen. Her brother wasn’t the type to hang out at coffee shops or taverns on his time off.
For starters, there wasn’t really time off for Clark. There was merely the in-between when he slept, ate, and got ready. Also, he wasn’t the type to hang out. Living with Liv had softened him up a little and now and then he’d chill on the sofa. However, Liv had argued that while they were vegging and watching Netflix, he was quietly plotting out his ten-year plan, finessing it to the smallest detail.
After checking a few of Clark’s usual haunts, Sophia realized exactly where to find her brother and wondered how she hadn’t guessed that first. Her feet brought her up to the House of Fourteen’s top level, where one of the best and strangest parts of the building resided—the library.
The library in the House of Fourteen wasn’t as majestic as the Great Library, which held every book ever written and instantly updated with new editions as they occurred. However, it had mostly all magical books, which made it a fascinating place to visit. The books were alive in one regard, due to the magic they held, and therefore the volumes greatly influenced their home.
Finding Clark in such a big area usually would have been difficult, but the library in the House of Fourteen, much like the Castle, responded to people’s thoughts. That’s how one found the book they were looking for or found themselves completely lost, depending on how they directed their thoughts. All someone had to do was think about what—or in this case who—they were looking for, and the library would rearrange itself accordingly to lead the searcher to the right aisle, row, and book.
However, patrons in the library had to be diligent because their thoughts led them to what they were looking for, but those were fickle things that often changed without warning. One small diversion in thoughts and someone could go from being led to a book on shrinking spells to finding themselves shrunk and stuck in the belly of a beast. Magic was a tricky thing, and even those who understood it well knew better than to think they could fully understand it all.
Moreover, the library didn’t hold up signs that led the way to whatever a person was looking for. On its path to continue to be tricky, the library offered clues on where to go and the person following them had to be on the lookout, following the right direction and not getting fooled.
Clark, Sophia thought to herself. Where is Clark?
“Beaufont,” she hastily added. “The person.” She didn’t want to go to a shrine for Clark Gable or books on Dick Clark. Both of whom were magicians, but few knew that.
“I need to find my brother, Clark Beaufont,” she said to the quiet library that seemed to go on for miles.
She did her best not to focus on the overwhelming size of the place or the many other things vying for her attention. Her job was to stay focused.
Sophia closed her eyes and clearly saw her brother’s face in her mind. She focused on that, as if his flesh-and-blood body stood in front of her right then. Her foot moved forward without her consent.
Her eyes sprang open, and she almost wished they hadn’t as the library spun all around her, turning into a blur and making her instantly dizzy. Although she was used to spiraling through the air on her dragon, the rotating library made her sick—probably because it was unnatural to her, she reasoned. Nothing was more natural than to fly through the air on her dragon.
Libraries that spun on their own, well, that was by far a more unnerving experience, especially because Sophia didn’t know what to expect when it quit moving. All she could do was remain still, hoping that one of the many shelves of books speeding by her didn’t knock her over or flatten her with the speed at which they moved. Also, Sophia was well aware that moving even an inch could mean she walked out a window at the back of the whirling library and fell to her death.
The House of Fourteen’s library patrons risked their lives every time they ventured to find a book. Such were the dangers one faced when searching for one of the greatest treasures in the world—knowledge.
Sophia was about to close her eyes again when she noticed the spinning slow, as though she was at the center of a disc that rotated itself to a stop. She drew in a breath, expecting to see an aisle in front of her that led to another one, then a set of clues and more spinning. Instead, she found herself face-to-face with her brother, who started and screamed as he fell backward, stumbling onto his backside and hands.
Chapter Seven
Sophia stopped herself from laughing at her spooked brother, who was all white as his chest heaved. He must have been tracking unsuspectingly through the library, reading the book he’d since dropped on the floor, and suddenly found himself nose-to-nose with Sophia. It would have scared most anyone, but Clark was also a little more excitable than many. It didn’t take much to make him reach for an anti-anxiety potion.
Clark was still on his tailbone, looking up at Sophia from the floor as though trying to decide if she were real or an apparition.
She extended a hand to him as she smiled sensitively. “Sorry that I scared you. I blame the library.”
He nodded and looked around, trying to get his bearings. “It stuck you right in front of me. You must have really focused on finding me.”
She smiled. “I’m glad it worked, and so efficiently. Yes, I need your help with something and thought you could save me the time of looking.”
A forced chuckle fell from Clark’s mouth as he took Sophia’s hand and allowed her to haul him up to his feet. “You don’t seem to have any difficulty finding things, or me, in this case.”
Sophia nearly threw Clark into the air when she lifted him to his feet, forgetting how light he was. Unlike the other dragonriders she was used to sparring with, who were all muscle, Clark was rather skinny and hunched over most of the time, making him close to her short height. However, where Clark was weak in strength, he was strong in knowledge. Sophia’s brother had to be one of the smartest people she knew, and that was saying quite a lot since she knew the brightest in the world.
“Are you all right?” Sophia looked her brother over when he was on his feet.
He pressed his starched suit down as if it had been wrinkled in the ordeal, although it looked as flawless as when he probably ironed it that morning. Clark couldn’t be any more different from the T-shirt and jeans-wearing Liv. They were complete opposites, and for that, Sophia was grateful that they had each other.
Liv made Clark cut loose and eat ice cream in bed, and Clark reminded Liv that she couldn’t leave the empty container on the floor afterw
ard or they’d attract ants. Sophia was the luckiest of the three because she had the best sister and brother that anyone could ask for. She might have lost her parents and Ian and Reese, but she was still so rich in life, and she never wanted to forget that. At the end of the day, it wasn’t about what someone lost, but about how much they loved that which they had.
“I’m fine.” The crease between Clark’s eyes deepened as he looked Sophia over. “Are you? Is this about the Council?”
Sophia blinked at him. “What about the Council?”
“Their request for your attendance at today’s meeting,” he said with surprise as if he thought she was already aware of this.
She shook her head. “I wasn’t aware that they’d paged me.”
“Oh, so that’s not what this is about then?”
Sophia folded her arms over her chest. “Let me guess. The Council is pissed about all the trouble the Rogue Riders are making?”
Clark nodded solemnly. “I’m sure you can reassure them that it’s all under control.”
“I can lie,” Sophia joked, which didn’t get a laugh from her brother whereas Liv would have thought it was funny.
“Beaufonts don’t lie,” he warned, his tone punishing.
“Of course I won’t.” The playfulness disappeared from her tone. “I don’t think I have much to offer that will make the Council feel better. The Dragon Elite aren’t lying down, that’s for sure. That’s why I’m here. I need your help with filling in the history, and since you pretty much memorized the Forgotten Archives, I thought you could save me the trouble of doing the research.”
Clark perked up. Now Sophia was speaking his language. Talking about books was how Clark kept himself calm. It was his Prozac. “Yes, I’ve read through the Forgotten Archives a few times. What can I help you with?”
Sophia sighed with relief. “Oh, good. I thought so. You see, I think the best way to keep the dragonriders from repeating history is to figure out what went wrong in the past. It should be recorded in the Complete History of Dragonriders, but there’s a lag on the information.”