Adapt Or Be Crushed (The Exceptional S. Beaufont Book 9)

by Sarah Noffke

  “Aren’t you supposed to be discreet?” Sophia asked.

  “Supposed to, but one anvil takes out the wrong person, and everyone looks at you weird,” Lee admitted.

  “Please stop using anvils,” Sophia encouraged.

  “I’ve tried.” Lee returned her attention to the settings for the water purifier. When the motor started and made a loud humming sound, Lee stood back. “I think it’s working.”

  “Because of the loud noise?” Sophia asked.

  Lee pointed to a light on the front. “Because of that.”

  Sophia narrowed her eyes. Next to the light was the word, “Working.”

  “Right,” Sophia chirped. “So now we run?”

  “Yes, now you cowards tuck tail and get to safety,” Lee ordered. “The rest of us are going to stay to ensure it keeps working. This thing usually needs to be slapped around like an old Nintendo.”

  Sophia glanced at Lunis and read his response before replying. “Well then, we’re staying too.”

  “Fine, but it’s your funeral,” Lee sang.

  The water around the air purifier bubbled and sent out waves all around it. Steam rose into the air from the water’s surface and spread in all directions. There was suddenly static electricity of sorts in the air that made Sophia’s hair stand on end as if she’d rubbed it against a balloon.

  Her mouth was dry and her pulse quick. In a matter of seconds, the entire atmosphere had changed.

  “Do you feel that?” Lee asked her.

  She nodded. “Feels like there’s electricity in the air, which when mixed with water isn’t good.”

  “Oh, I meant the ‘I think I ate a bad burrito’ feeling,” Lee admitted, her eyes suddenly wide. “The electricity in the air means something else entirely.”

  Sophia hiccupped on a breath. “What? Is it working?”

  “Yes, that means it’s working,” Lee answered. “And it also means we better run like hell right now!”

  Chapter One Hundred Twelve

  All three sprinted away as the ground under their feet began to quake. Sophia nearly fell several times when the rumble made the dirt skip underfoot.

  Lunis kept pulling ahead and slowing down when he realized that the others were far behind.

  On the ridge, Hiker yelled, and Quiet shook his head. Mama Jamba was still sketching on her pad, not seeming to notice the disturbance. Sophia dared to look over her shoulder as they ran up the hill and saw that water was all simmering and rapidly turning to a boil. That didn’t seem so bad, but when she turned back, Hiker was steering Mama Jamba farther away from the water and Quiet had run for the distant hills.

  Sophia couldn’t figure out what would make those three retreat but then she heard Lee laugh beside her and say, “It’s been too long since a proper tsunami drenched me.”

  “Say what?” Sophia jerked her head over her shoulder and saw a massive wave arching into the air. It rose higher and higher, like a tower growing and promising to fall.

  The look in Hiker’s eyes when Sophia connected with him looking over his shoulder was what put the fear in her. She had rarely seen that much fright on the Viking’s face.

  “We’ve got to get to higher ground,” Sophia encouraged.

  “Jump on,” Lunis demanded while running beside her.

  “I can’t leave Lee,” Sophia stated.

  “And I’m scared of heights,” Lee disclosed.

  “A tsunami is about to take you out, and heights are the issue?” Lunis questioned.

  “I’m over seventy percent water,” Lee argued. “Not hot air, lizard.”

  He shook his head. “Be careful what you call me.”

  “Get into the air,” Sophia ordered to her dragon.

  “I’m not leaving you.” He sounded insulted.

  “If a wave takes us out, we’ll need someone to recover us,” she explained. “You can’t do that if you’re part of the attack.”

  He considered this, then nodded. “Fine.” Lunis launched into the air, his wings spreading as he soared in the direction of the other three, high up on the hill some distance away.

  Sophia immediately missed her dragon by her side but stood by her decision to order him away. She couldn’t leave Lee, and she would need Lunis safe to help them if things got worse. On the heels of that thought, Sophia felt a rush of heat in the air and a new level of moisture as if a hurricane was on the way.

  She glanced over her shoulder and spied a wall of blue. That was right before the giant wave crashed, knocked her hard to the ground, and covered her in water, seeking to drown her at once.

  Chapter One Hundred Thirteen

  No, Lunis yelled in Sophia’s head.

  She wanted to tell him that she was okay and not to worry. But that was a lie, and they both knew it. The all-powerful water had its way with her as it threw her to the ground, assaulted her with its impact, and sent her in different directions.

  Something hit her head, face, and side. Sophia barely registered knees and knuckles and assumed they belonged to Lee, who was also being tossed around.

  Sophia wanted to communicate with Lunis but knew that the effort it would take was beyond her. All her efforts had to focus on surviving the surge of water that sent her one way and another.

  Suddenly, Sophia was overwhelmed with the idea of how hard water could be. It was usually so soft when it dripped or sprinkled from the sky. Nothing felt silkier than running a hand through a pool of water. Scotland was known for having the softest water in the world, but right then it felt as sharp as blades as it assaulted Sophia from every angle.

  The current pulled Sophia in unknown directions. She couldn’t tell which way was up or down, very much like she was in an avalanche. Although she was careful to keep her mouth closed and hold her breath, she knew that her efforts would soon be defeated and she’d suck water into her lungs. Then it wouldn’t matter where the water put her.

  Oh no, you don’t, Lunis said in her mind and picked her up with his claws. I hear you giving up, and that’s not an option. Not like this. Not yet.

  She felt so heavy as he lifted her through the water like a fish caught on a line that resisted being reeled in. But Sophia wanted to be pulled up. She wanted Lunis to save her. She needed him to because she wasn’t getting out of this one on her own.

  In the recesses of her foggy mind, she was secretly grateful that she’d sent Lunis away because he could never have saved her otherwise. It was a good reminder of why everyone didn’t march into battle. Sometimes the heroes were meant to be the ones who stayed behind to swoop in and save the day.

  When Lunis lifted Sophia from the rolling waves, she suddenly felt waterlogged. The brightness all around her was too much for her eyes, which had been blanketed by the Pond’s darkness.

  She felt the rush of wind from Lunis’ wings overhead. Her lungs welcomed the air as she sucked in breath after breath. She held onto the claws holding her, not feeling their sharpness but rather their protection.

  Sophia was strangely sad when Lunis released her and dropped her on the grounds of what she guessed was the Expanse.

  She rolled over on her back, still coughing up spurts of water, and tried to open her eyes, but each assault from her chest kept her lids pressed shut.

  It wasn’t until she had stopped coughing and caught her breath that she was able to open her eyes. “L-L-Lunis,” she stuttered. “Get Lee.”

  A blurry figure pressed into her line of vision. Sophia could only roughly make out the edges of a familiar figure.

  “Don’t worry,” Lee stated. “Lunis retrieved me first. Guess he’s my dragon now.”

  Chapter One Hundred Fourteen

  “You did what!” Sophia stared at her dragon sitting obediently next to her on the Expanse and looking her over with concern.

  Lunis laughed when he’d determined that she was okay. “I knew you’d want me to save Lee. And she was in a much worse place than you.”

  “Yeah, I forgot to mention that I can’t swim,” Lee a
dmitted.

  “Seems like something you should have offered up when we went on this whole purifying water mission.” Sophia tried to breathe through the burning in her chest.

  “Details.” Lee waved her hand in the air dismissively. “Anyway, thanks, Lunis. But I’m not a reptile person, so I don’t think it’s going to work out. You should probably remain Sophia’s dragon. My dog would pee on my bed if I brought you home.”

  Lunis nodded and pretended to be disappointed before glancing at Sophia. “Is that all right? Will you pretty please keep me?”

  She smiled despite the winded feeling in her lungs and the exhaustion seeking to make her collapse where she sat on the Expanse. “Yeah, I guess so. But you were going to let me drown.”

  “No,” Lunis argued. “I saw you quite clearly, navigating the tsunami. Lee was the one who was pulled down and didn’t make a single effort to combat the waves. She let them throw her around.”

  “I pretended it was my wife,” Lee disclosed with a laugh.

  “I had to choose who to save first,” Lunis continued. “And it was you, Soph, who sent me away with the order to help after the impact. I stand by the decision. I had my eye on you the entire time I retrieved Lee and hurried back for you. I think I still had gobs of time to waste. Probably could have hurried a little less.”

  “Thanks, but when I’m submerged in water and close to drowning, never hurry any less.”

  “Fine.” Lunis smiled at her fondly, obviously relieved that she was okay. He was right to save Lee first. They both knew that the assassin baker wouldn’t have survived otherwise. The chi of the dragon protected Sophia, as did her conditioning and training.

  It was only then that Sophia took a moment to take in her surroundings. It knocked her breath out of her chest for a second time. The Gullington was unrecognizable.

  Chapter One Hundred Fifteen

  Whereas before the Pond had been vast, and the green hills and slopes surrounded the body of water, now the deep loch was mostly empty with strange creatures wiggling around in the muddy bottom.

  The sea monster Wilder had to battle for the first bow laid like an unmoving blob in the center of the dry Pond.

  Sophia realized that she, Lunis, and Lee perched high on a ridge, a good distance from the Castle and the other areas of interest. She spied Mama Jamba, Hiker, and Quiet standing on the Castle’s backside. They briefly looked at her, and their concern evaporated from their faces before they faced back toward the mostly empty Pond.

  Around the Gullington were tiny little ponds. It appeared to be a strange wetland throughout the Expanse.

  Suddenly, it all made sense. They’d been caught in the tsunami, which became a rushing ocean of sorts. That’s when Lunis had picked Sophia up from the water and brought her to one of the highest ridges, where she’d be safe from any further waves. The Pond’s water had settled across the Gullington in the aftermath, rather than in one place like before.

  Sophia’s heart ached for all the creatures in the Pond that were currently suffering from having their habitat taken from them. But as soon as she thought that, Mama Jamba raised her hands. As small and unassuming as the old southern woman was, the act carried great power with it.

  The air around her lit up. Hiker stood back as if needing to give Mother Nature space or pushed back by her strength. Although Mama Jamba’s face didn’t change from its usual pleasant expression, Sophia spied the intensity behind it.

  The ground under them rumbled. Rocks fell from the Castle and tumbled onto the grass. It felt inevitable that another earthquake was imminent. Then the water across the Gullington receded as if being siphoned into the ground.

  Sophia stood at once, wondering what was happening and where all the puddles of water making up the new wetlands were going.

  Mama Jamba’s arms shook in the air, but she smiled. Beside her, Hiker’s face contorted with tension. Quiet swayed back and forth. Before Sophia could study the three any longer, she noticed the Pond begin to refill from the bottom up, covering the wiggling aquatic life and blanketing them in sparkling clean water.

  The wetlands around the Gullington slowly disappeared as the Pond simultaneously refilled until it was back to the level it had been before the tsunami. Sophia was overwhelmed with relief and turned to smile at Mama Jamba, who helped them restore the Gullington to how it was before.

  Sophia’s smile faded at once when she saw Quiet sway several inches one way, then the other before he toppled forward and nearly landed on his face. He would have, but Hiker Wallace reached out in time and scooped the passed-out gnome up into his arms.

  Chapter One Hundred Sixteen

  Sophia sprinted toward where Quiet had passed out next to Mama Jamba and Hiker. Her lungs were still taxed from nearly drowning, and her body was recovering on multiple levels. That’s why instead of running down the sloping hills, she tumbled several times and rammed her shoulders and knees into small stones.

  Still, she sprang to her feet after rolling and continued toward the Castle. However, she watched as Hiker carried the small groundskeeper around the large building and disappeared on the other side.

  Completely out of breath and unable to run any farther, Sophia stopped a few yards from where Mama Jamba still stood and looked out proudly at the Pond, which seemed to shimmer with a new intensity.

  “He will be okay,” Mother Nature sang, not looking at Sophia doubled over with her hands on her knees and her mouth wide open as she sucked in unfulfilling breaths.

  “Q-Q-Quiet?” Sophia stuttered.

  “Well, you don’t think I mean Hiker, do you? We both know that he won’t be okay for a long time. Not until he stops being a coward.”

  Mama Jamba’s brazen words made Sophia straighten. She willed her legs forward and strode in Mother Nature’s direction. “Hiker isn’t okay either?”

  It was a stupid question, and she knew it, but the old woman’s reply had made Sophia talk without thinking. The look on Mama Jamba’s face said as much.

  “We both know that man has a lot to come to terms with,” Mother Nature stated firmly. “But your current concern was regarding Quiet, isn’t that right?”

  She’d asked the question, but they both knew that she already knew the answer to it. Sophia nodded and looked out, following Mama Jamba’s gaze.

  The Pond rippled with activity. The fish and other sea creatures seemed to be rejoicing as they jumped high into the air or skimmed over the surface, grateful to have water and be submerged in the Pond’s safety once more.

  “You put the water back.” Sophia was amazed by what she’d witnessed in the last several moments.

  Mama Jamba shrugged. “Someone had to.”

  Sophia almost laughed. The reality was that no one had to. The Gullington could have stayed like that. All the marine life would have died, but Mama Jamba had done something she rarely did and helped them—saved part of the Gullington.

  “Thank you,” Sophia said simply. They both knew that she didn’t have to help, but she had because they were all in this together. Usually, Mama Jamba wanted to empower the Dragon Elite to save themselves, but that wasn’t always an option.

  Sometimes they were out of rope. Sophia and the others had gone to great lengths to fix things, but they needed a little something extra.

  “And Quiet?” Sophia asked after a long moment of silence.

  “He will need time to rest,” Mama Jamba stated, still intently focused on the Pond. “He will repair that which needs nourishment after all of this. The Pond, the creatures, the sheep.”

  “So it worked, then?” Sophia had to ask, although she was certain it had if Mama Jamba and Quiet did their parts.

  “I believe so,” Mama Jamba answered. “There are over seventy-five thousand miles of rivers, streams, and creeks in Scotland. That’s enough to go around my Earth over three times. There are over twenty-five thousand lakes or lochs as the Scots call them. It will take some time for the purification to reach all the areas, but with Quiet’s help
, things will go along a little faster.”

  “So the sheep will be okay then,” Sophia stated with relief.

  “Well, they will until they find themselves on a dragon’s dinner plate.” Mama Jamba laughed. “But yes, they will live a better life and serve a great purpose.”

  Sophia looked across the way, where Lunis and Lee headed for the Barrier. It was no doubt time for the assassin baker to return to her other jobs. “I better go and see her off.” Sophia pointed at the distant pair.

  “You best,” Mama Jamba chirped matter-of-factly.

  “Thanks again.” Sophia moved back the direction she came. “We couldn’t have done this without you.”

  Mama Jamba shook her head of bluish-gray curls as her smile faltered. “When are you going to realize that I can’t do any of this without you? When are you going to figure out that I need to thank you, dear child? You may serve me, but I’m the one who is forever in your debt.”

  Sophia swallowed, took a step backward, and shrugged. “I think that…will take longer to settle in.”

  Mama Jamba’s blue eyes shone when her smile returned. “Good thing we have some time.”

  Chapter One Hundred Seventeen

  Although Lee tried to act tough, Sophia could tell that she was exhausted after the long set of adventures. None of them had slept in a long time, and it had been one scary storm after another.

  At the Barrier, Sophia paused and gazed back at the Castle, her heart feeling tugged in that direction.

  “Your friend, that short guy, is he going to be all right?” Lee asked with a rare bit of concern in her voice.

  Sophia nodded and glanced at Lunis. “If anyone is going to live to tell the tale, it will be Quiet. I’m certain he’ll outlast us.”

  “Unfortunately, no one will understand the story he tells,” Lunis joked.