by Sarah Noffke
Sophia deflated instantly as a tiny fairy with lavender wings dragged a full teacup on a saucer in her direction. “Oh…” Although Sophia had worked to keep the disappointment out of her voice, it was still there.
“Sorry, my dear.” Mae Ling picked up her cup of tea, which a fairy the size of a monarch butterfly and with wings to match had delivered to her. “However, sometimes my job is to help you with the things you don’t expect or think you’ll need, and that’s what I’m doing today.”
The fairy with lavender wings had gone back to work, dragging a plate of assorted desserts over to Sophia. The tiny sprite had piled it high with a slice of vanilla cake, fudge brownies, cookies with fat sprinkles, and truffles.
“Are you going to help me fix the Dragon Elite’s reputation with the magical world?” Sophia didn’t touch her tea or desserts.
Mae Ling shook her head.
“Oh.” Sophia thought for a moment. “Are you going to help us with the mortal world and how they view us?”
Again, another headshake.
“Oh, well, maybe you can—”
“I’m going to give you the name and address of the perfect employee for Heals Pills,” Mae Ling interrupted.
She deflated instantly. “Oh, that’s not something I was working on. Rudolf was supposed to hire for that position, and it’s not really a priority for me.”
“It should be.” Mae Ling sipped her tea. “Heals Pills is an important endeavor that will help the magical world. Having the right staff is important for it to flourish.”
“I don’t disagree. It’s just that—”
“King Sweetwater has other ventures that he should devote his attention to,” Mae Ling stated. “So my best efforts can be in helping you to find not a good person for the role of running the shop, but the best person.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you.” Sophia again masked her disappointment. Heals Pills was great, but in the big scheme of things, it wasn’t her biggest concern.
“Now, based on what I know, this person needs to be resilient,” Mae Ling stated.
“Because Rudolf will be their boss?” Sophia offered.
Mae Ling shook her head. “Because it’s a dangerous job and they will encounter many fatal situations.”
Sophia lowered her chin. “At Heals Pills? We are talking about the same place, right?”
“We are,” Mae Ling answered. “I’m privy to things that I can’t disclose, but I will say that’s one reason that the king shouldn’t be in the shop any longer. It’s a powerful place that sells miracle things. That won’t go unnoticed.”
“So what do you have in mind as far as an employee goes?” Sophia asked.
“Well, you need someone who has multiple lives,” Mae Ling explained.
“Like a cat?”
“Sort of. There’s a particular individual who had an accident when he was younger. He fell into a fountain, and when they fetched him out, they determined that he’d be different in a few ways.”
“And these ways?”
“Well, he has many lives and can’t easily be killed,” Mae Ling answered.
“Was this fountain the one for youth and longer life?” Sophia guessed.
Mae Ling waved her off. “Doesn’t matter. It’s since been destroyed. Anyway, there’s something else about this individual.”
“Yes?” Sophia braced herself.
“He sort of attracts trouble. It’s part of the counterspell that adhered to him when he came out of the fountain. Everything comes with a price. You can have multiple lives, but there will be something one pays in return.”
“Then why would I want to employ him?”
“Because he’s the best person for the job according to my findings,” Mae Ling stated. “The shop will have trouble regardless. It’s inevitable. So it’s better to have him with his defenses than to have someone vulnerable. Otherwise, you’ll go through employees left and right.”
“Okay, then where do I find this guy?” Sophia questioned.
Mae Ling snapped her fingers, and a card materialized in the air. “This is his current address.”
Sophia took it with a grateful smile. “I look forward to meeting this strange fellow.”
“Oh, but you’ve already met him.” Mae Ling returned to her tea after handing off the card.
“I have?” Sophia read the name on the top of the card. Her eyes widened as she groaned. It read:
Ramy Vance
Previous bodyguard to Zac Efron
Current bodyguard to Henry Cavill
“That guy?” Sophia asked. “That’s the guy who can’t be killed?”
“Can’t be killed easily,” Mae Ling corrected. “Yes. He’s the right person to run your shop. Give him socks for Christmas—and lots of cheese.”
Sophia nodded, wondering how she’d gone from trying to save the world to recruiting a shop clerk. She had the strangest job of anyone she knew.
Mae Ling pointed at the plate of desserts. “Now eat up. And drink your tea. It’s getting cold, and I had it laced with an herb that will help with negotiations.”
“Negotiations?” Sophia tentatively regarded the teacup.
“Well, you don’t think you can just offer Ramy the job, and he’ll take it?” Mae Ling asked.
“No, I wouldn’t dream of it.” Sophia picked up the tea and drank it in one gulp before wiping her mouth.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
It was ironic to Sophia that her job so often brought her back to her hometown of Los Angeles. She didn’t know the many roads well or all the back routes for navigating around the city to avoid traffic. However, she knew the way the city felt. It always filled her with a gentle hum in her chest. That was the city's energy, and Sophia felt it the moment she stepped through the portal onto the movie studio lot in Hollywood.
“Oh, it’s good to be home,” Sophia said to herself, careful to stay out of view as camera technicians and makeup artists hurried to their stations.
It wasn’t clear what movie was underway, but by the looks of the set, it had to be something action-packed. There were pads for falling on the set area’s floor, and wires rigged overhead with various objects. Smoke from a machine billowed around the staged site, obscuring a lot of it.
“Okay, let’s take five,” a guy in all-black clothing said, not noticing Sophia as she stepped out of the shadows.
She had a spell on her that would make her blend into the surroundings in a way. She wasn’t invisible, but she didn’t stand out. An unsuspecting person would simply see her and dismiss her presence right away as unimportant. It was only if she talked to someone that she’d stand out and only for them. It was a complicated spell and draining, but Sophia thought she could risk the magic.
How hard could it be to recruit this Ramy guy? Sophia thought to herself. It wasn’t like she would have to fight him. Negotiate, yes, but that wasn’t so difficult, she reasoned. Why wouldn’t a magician want to work on Roya Lane, rather than as a bodyguard in Hollywood, protecting a mortal?
Sophia hadn’t realized when she first met Ramy that he was a magician, but something must have blocked his powers from registering for her. Maybe he had them turned off by the House of Fourteen. That was a possibility. Or there was a host of other potentials like strange planetary alignments, or it was Leap Day or Ramy had too much curry for lunch.
A very striking man strode from the set and grabbed a towel from a nearby rack to wipe his face. That’s when Sophia noticed Ramy approach, carrying a bottle of water. He handed it to the man with a smile.
“That was amazing, Mr. Cavill,” Ramy said, his eyes full of stars as he stared up at the actor.
Cavill took the bottle, unscrewed the lid, and took a long drink. “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Henry?”
“At least once more, Mr. Cavill, as always.” Ramy winked.
“I wish you’d stop quoting lines from Pirates of the Caribbean,” Henry shook his head.
“Is there another movie you
prefer, sir?” Ramy asked. “The Terminator, maybe? Jurassic Park? Maybe one of your films? Man of Steel is my favorite. What was it like playing Superman?”
“You can’t be killed, and you want me to tell you how it was to play a man who can’t be killed?” Henry drained the water bottle.
“Easily,” Ramy corrected. “We can’t be killed easily.”
“I used to think that was a good thing,” Henry said dryly.
“We need you on the set,” the director called to the actor. “We need to block out the action sequence. Will you come stand over here?”
Henry hurried over, giving Sophia her chance. She approached Ramy, who didn’t notice her as he only had eyes for the handsome actor walking onto the stage.
“Hey, so we meet again.” Sophia stood beside Ramy and watched the actor the same as him. They were like two people at a rendezvous point, pretending to focus on something else and not talk to each other, or so Sophia imagined, her imagination inspired by being on a movie set.
“Like it’s the first time,” Ramy said in a strange voice.
Sophia blinked at him. “No, it feels like the second time. You remember me?”
“How can I forget,” Ramy stated.
“Oh, because of the dragon thing,” Sophia guessed.
He shook his head. “No, because of the stealing Zac thing.”
“He agreed to help me,” Sophia argued.
Ramy’s eyes didn’t move from watching Henry Cavill as he blocked out an action scene. “Are you here to take Mr. Cavill from me now?”
Sophia nearly laughed. This guy was a piece of work. “No, I’m here to offer you a job.”
That surprised Ramy, and he looked at her now. “Do you need me to be The Rock’s bodyguard? That’s the only job I’ll give this one up for.”
“I’m pretty sure The Rock doesn’t need you to be his bodyguard,” Sophia countered. “No, it’s come to my attention that you can’t really die.”
“Not easily,” he added. “Yes, I have suffered many fatal deaths, only to rise again from the ashes like a phoenix.”
“But not nearly as majestic, I’m guessing,” Sophia teased.
He shook his head. “Usually I look like death, but thankfully I don’t feel any pain.”
“Wow, that was some fountain you fell into.”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “How do you know about that?”
“I have sources,” Sophia answered. “She told me that you were the right person for a job I need to fill. Apparently, it could become dangerous, and I need someone who can’t die.”
“Easily,” he added.
Sophia nodded. “I’m not sure how this magical multiple life thing of yours works. You’re a magician, right? Why is it that I don’t sense your magic?”
“Much like the great Warrior for the House of Fourteen, I gave up my magic,” Ramy answered.
“You mean Liv Beaufont?” Sophia asked, surprised by the reference.
He nodded.
“She took back her magic so that she could take the role as Warrior,” Sophia explained.
He waved his hand. “That’s irregardless.”
“Regardless,” Sophia corrected. “Liv has her magic now. She’s my sister, you know?”
Ramy’s eyes widened. “Does she need a bodyguard?”
“She’s a Warrior for the House of Fourteen,” Sophia dryly stated. “Others use guards against her.”
“But still… I would die for her multiple times.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary. Anyway, I need your help to run a shop on Roya Lane.”
Ramy grimaced at her. “That doesn’t sound very glamorous at all.”
“We sell a magical elixir that heals and makes people prettier,” Sophia offered in an enticing tone.
“Let me get this right. You want me to give up my stardom and prestige to run a cash register in a store?” Ramy asked, skepticism heavy on his face.
“Ramy, I need my sweat rag,” Henry Cavill called from the stage, gaining Ramy’s attention.
He suddenly glanced up and looked around. Finding the towel that Henry had left on a nearby table, he picked it up and brought it over to the actor.
“Thanks.” Henry mopped his sweaty brow.
Ramy nodded like an obedient puppy and returned to his post beside Sophia.
“Wow, and to think I would take you away from all this prestige and stardom,” Sophia said dryly.
“It isn’t always like this,” Ramy argued. “Sometimes I get Mr. Cavill other things.”
“When do you do any guarding?”
Ramy shrugged. “He’s a pretty tough guy, and no one really would dream of messing with him. Mostly I keep back screaming women who want to tear his clothes off, but they can be pretty feisty. I got scratched the other day.”
“You poor thing,” Sophia joked. “Well, I can’t say that you won’t be attacked at my shop Heals Pills, since apparently, it’s going to be the epicenter for danger in the future. We can make the perks worth your while.”
“Why is it going to be so dangerous?” Ramy asked.
Sophia held up a hand, listing off reasons. “It’s co-run by the king of the fae, and he’s offended more people than a diva wearing white to a wedding.” She ticked off another finger. “Second, I’m involved, and trouble follows me around per an agreement I apparently made before I was born.”
Ramy nodded as if this made perfect sense.
“Third, what we sell is valuable, life-changing, and vital. When you have that sort of combination, I’m guessing people will go to great lengths to steal what we have, take the formula we use, or abolish something that could have such far-reaching effects. There are people, after all, who don’t want others to live long lives.”
“My tremendous intuitive sense of the female creature informs me that you are troubled,” Ramy observed, again quoting a line from Pirates of the Caribbean.
Sophia rolled her eyes. “I have a lot of problems and didn’t think playing a human resources rep was going to be on the list today, but according to people I don’t argue with, this is important. Will you take the job?”
“You mentioned perks. What are they?”
“I don’t know. What do you want? Six-figure salary? Lots of vacation? A retirement plan? We have pretty deep pockets, and this business is about making the world better, not about money, although it’s hugely profitable.”
Ramy combed his fingers over his chin, thinking. “I want you to buy my lunch on Fridays and give me the days off that there are major award shows like the Emmys and Oscars.”
Sophia pursed her lips, wondering if she should play hardball with this guy. She decided she didn’t have the time, energy, or inclination for it. “Yeah, that’s fine. We would have bought your lunch every day and gotten you into the Emmys and Oscars.”
“No to buying my lunch every day,” Ramy stated as if offended, then his mouth opened and closed as his eyes widened. “D-D-Did you say you could get me into the award shows?”
Sophia nodded. “Yeah, I don’t see why not. There’s not really anything off-limits for us. I mean, I’m a Dragon Elite. Rudolf is the king of the fae. We have magic, which you do too, but refuse to use for whatever reason.”
“It’s a virtues thing,” Ramy stated. “I’ll probably get over it soon when I’m back in the magical world again. Mortals always judge me for using magic, as if it makes me better than them. Like I could ever be better than Henry Cavill.”
“Wait, does that mean you’ll do it? You’ll take the job?”
“If you’re going to get me into award shows, then yes!”
Sophia tilted her head, confused. “Don’t you get into those events as a bodyguard?”
“Nooooo.” He drew out the word. “Mr. Cavill thinks I’ll embarrass him. The other celebrities, well, they seem to think that trouble follows me and I’d ruin their big event.”
“Oh, yeah, about that…” Sophia gave him a careful expression. She didn’t sense anything strange abo
ut the guy, and yet, Mae Ling had said that he attracted problems and now he admitted to it. “What sort of trouble do you have following you around?”
He held up his hands. “I don’t think I do. Not more than anyone else.”
“Well, how many times have you died and come back?” Sophia asked.
“Only two hundred and six times.”
Sophia laughed, then regretted it when the people on the set gave her rude stares. “Is that all?”
“I know, I don’t know what the big deal is and why everyone says I’m accident-prone.”
“I couldn’t imagine…” Sophia started to have doubts about inviting this guy to manage Heals Pills. However, Mae Ling had recommended him, and she trusted her wisdom.
“Okay, well, I’m glad we could agree, and we didn’t have to pretend to fight like last time,” Sophia related.
He scoffed at her. “Why fight when you can negotiate?” Ramy elbowed her in the side. “That’s a line from Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Ignoring this, Sophia said, “When can you start?”
“Do I get a relocation package?”
Sophia shrugged, not really caring.
“And business cards?”
“Sure,” she answered noncommittally.
“How about a fancy title?”
“You can have a company car for all I care,” Sophia offered.
“Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate,” Ramy replied, his eyes on Henry Cavill, who was getting into place to run through the action scene again. “That was another line from Pirates of the Caribbean.”
“You don’t have to inform me of that each time,” Sophia related. “I’ll assume that as an honest man, the lines are mostly yours.”
“I’m dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest.”
Sophia lowered her chin. “Another quote from Pirates of the Caribbean,” she guessed.
“Right you are,” he nearly exclaimed, watching as a boulder held overhead by chains was lifted over Henry Cavill. Ramy tensed.