by Sarah Noffke
Arbitrate or Die
Exceptional S. Beaufont™ Book 2
Sarah Noffke
Michael Anderle
This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.
Copyright © 2019 Sarah Noffke & Michael Anderle
Cover by Mihaela Voicu http://www.mihaelavoicu.com/
Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing
A Michael Anderle Production
LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
LMBPN Publishing
PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy
Las Vegas, NV 89109
First US Edition, December 2019
eBook ISBN: 978-1-64202-626-9
Print ISBN: 978-1-64202-627-6
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Sarah’s Author Notes
Michael’s Author Notes
Acknowledgments
Books By Sarah Noffke
Check out Sarah Noffke’s YA Sci-fi Fantasy Series
Books By Michael Anderle
Connect with The Authors
The Arbitrate or Die Team
Thanks to the Beta Team
Mary Morris, Nicole Emens, John Ashmore, Kelly O’Donnell, Larry Omans
Thanks to the JIT Readers
Angel LaVey
Dave Hicks
Deb Mader
Debi Sateren
Diane L. Smith
Dorothy Lloyd
Jackey Hankard-Brodie
Jeff Eaton
Jeff Goode
Kathleen Fettig
Larry Omans
Lori Hendricks
Micky Cocker
Misty Roa
Paul Westman
Peter Manis
If we’ve missed anyone, please let us know!
Editor
The Skyhunter Editing Team
Once again and a thousand times more, for Lydia.
— Sarah
To Family, Friends and
Those Who Love
to Read.
May We All Enjoy Grace
to Live the Life We Are
Called.
— Michael
Chapter One
Roughly four hundred years ago.
The blue sky was dotted with soaring dragons shooting fire at one another. The grass was covered with blood from riders and dragons. The air in Scotland was filled with vengeance as the war between the Dragon Elite and the Rogue Riders finally came to a head.
Hiker Wallace wasn’t happy his men were about to take the advantage, winning the battle. He never wanted it to come to this, but Thad Reinhart had left him no choice.
“There are only two dragons left,” Adam Rivalry said, landing on Kay-Rye beside Hiker on his own dragon, Bell. They stood on a bluff, overlooking the battlefield now littered with dead bodies.
“Leave Ember and Thad alive,” Hiker ordered.
“But sir,” Adam argued, his long white beard blowing over his shoulder from the wind. “Thad started this. You know as well as I do that he will never stop.”
Hiker sighed as he watched two dragons collide in the air, wings tangling, teeth snapping at each other. Their riders fought from the dragon’s backs, clanging swords.
The warrior for the Dragon Elite overpowered the other, knocking the Rogue Rider off his dragon, where he fell a lethal distance to the ground below, dying on impact. The dragon, severely injured, dove for his rider, speeding away from the dragon he’d been fighting.
The dragon had little time left, not just because his rider was dead, but because one of his wings was broken and his lung punctured. It wouldn’t be long before he died, lying on the battlefield next to his rider.
“We have to give Thad a chance to surrender,” Hiker said, running his blood-flecked hand over his short blond hair. For only being one-hundred years old, he’d seen his fair share of battles and death, but this was by far the worst.
Killing their own had never been what he wanted, but the Rogue Riders had broken the rules of adjudication, using their powers for their own gain instead of resolving conflict. People worldwide had grown fearful of dragons and riders, having witnessed them attack villages, pillage, and slaughter innocent mortals.
If left unchecked, the Rogue Riders would ruin everything that the Dragon Elite had worked for. They had to be stopped.
“It looks like you’ll get your wish,” Adam said, pointing to the ora
nge dragon who soared overhead, Thad Reinhart upon her.
Ember was headed in their direction, completely unscathed from battle. Thad wore a full helmet that covered his face, but Hiker could sense his fury. He had lost, and there was nothing left to do but to surrender.
Hiker’s men flew behind Thad, forming a barrier, should he think of escaping.
Ember landed on the edge of the bluff, her red eyes like hot coals in a fire, her long wings still spread.
Hiker’s men crowded in behind him and Adam, providing protection should the last Rogue Rider try and fight.
It won’t come to that, Hiker said to Bell, his dragon, in his head. He won’t fight.
You want to believe that he’s learned his lesson, she replied. But rehabilitation isn’t always an option for some.
He made a mistake, Hiker said adamantly. The power went to his head. Now he will see…now that he’s lost almost everything.
I don’t know. You might consider listening to Adam on this, Bell stated.
He’s not purely bad, Hiker argued.
He may not change, Bell warned. The power might have gone to his head, or it might be who he is.
Everyone can change, Hiker stated with conviction.
Not those that are born bad, Bell replied. You know what I mean.
I know what you think, he told her. And on this, we disagree.
Thad pulled off his helmet, his scarred face grimacing across the short distance at Hiker.
It had been a long time since he laid his eyes on the man before him. Much had changed about Thad Reinhart’s appearance. He had always looked rough, but now he appeared soulless.
Hiker slid off of Bell, just as Thad did the same from Ember and strode over to him, his armor clanging as he walked.
“I bet you’re happy now,” Thad said, his eyes sliding to the dead bodies littering the moor behind Hiker.
“Not in the least,” Hiker stated. “You know I never wanted it to come to this. You’re the one who abused your power as a rider. We are meant to protect. To resolve. To keep the peace. And you’ve been doing the opposite.”
“We are the most powerful magical creatures on this planet, and you want us to bow to mortals!” Thad yelled, his face blossoming to a bright shade of red.
“We serve the mortals,” Hiker replied, keeping his temper under wraps. “That’s how Mother Nature deemed it.”
“She’s wrong,” Thad spat. “That old bat has been losing it for years, and you follow her blindly. I give her a century, maybe two before she’s mad and throws this planet to shit. And you’ll have gone with it unless you wise up.”
“There’s nothing to wise up to, Thad,” Hiker reasoned. “We don’t kill the innocent. We don’t take what isn’t ours. We serve. That’s what the Dragon Elite are for.”
Thad laughed. “That’s just a daft organization you made up. We are dragonriders. We own the skies. We are in control of the most powerful beasts. We do as we damn well please. It’s time you recognized that.”
Hiker threw his arm to the battlefield behind him. “Your men are dead, defending you and your mission. What do I need to recognize? Your ways are wrong. They are polluting this Earth. They will get you killed. And you’re ruining our name. People need to trust the dragonriders, but they can’t as long as they fear us. Stop this nonsense, and I can allow you to live.”
Thad looked at him with pure vengeance. “You’re going to kill me?”
Hiker coughed out a long breath. “I’ll do what it takes to keep the peace. There are some things I’m more bonded to than anything else, and that’s one of them. Peace. It’s what I was born to protect.”
“You’ve got it all wrong,” Thad spat.
“I don’t,” Hiker argued.
“So, you refuse to take the power that’s rightfully ours?” Thad asked, his hands twitching at his side.
“I will always refuse anything that compromises Mother Nature’s ultimate purpose,” Hiker responded.
Thad shook his head. “She corrupted you long ago.”
Hiker gritted his teeth together. “She’s the very reason we are here.”
“And sometimes you have to leave the shade of the family tree,” Thad argued. “You should know that better than anyone.”
“I do,” Hiker stated. “But I’m not leaving her tree.”
“Well,” Thad said, and began backing for his dragon, “then we split ways here.”
“No,” Hiker stated. “You have to face the punishment for your crimes.”
Thad held up his hands. “I believe I have. You’ve taken all my men.”
“You made them fight us,” Hiker spat.
“And we lost,” Thad countered. “Now, I leave you.”
“No,” Hiker stated. “You have to face your crimes. You’ve killed. You’ve maimed. And none of it was necessary. I can’t allow you to go without punishment.”
Thad shot him a rebellious look. “Then you’ll have to stop me, and we both know you won’t do that.”
Hiker froze. He didn’t know how to respond.
The disobedient rider gave Hiker a challenging look. “That’s what I thought,” Thad added when Hiker didn’t move.
Again, Hiker just stayed frozen.
“I guess I’ll just be on my way,” Thad said, turning for his dragon.
“He won’t stop you,” Adam yelled. “But I will.” The dragonrider shot a powerful spell that was meant to incapacitate both rider and dragon, but it only hit the dragon, stopping Ember’s heart and knocking her back several yards, where she free-fell over the side of the bluff, landing on the sharp rocks below.
It all happened so fast. Thad turned one way and then the other, confusion blanketing his face. Bewildered and then frantic, he ran to the edge of the bluff and looked down to where the earth met his dragon. It was hard to tell them apart, but it was certain that the dragon was dead.
“You!” Thad accused, turning and pointing his finger at Hiker.
“It was me,” Adam argued. “You weren’t going to change. You’ll bring a curse upon us. Come after me, if you want to punish someone.”
Hiker tried to quiet his friend, but it was useless.
“I’ll take care of you, Adam, in time,” Thad stated, fury in his red eyes. “But first, I’m going to make Hiker pay. If it’s the last thing I do, I will ensure that the person who challenged me and killed my dragon dies painfully, while watching their precious Earth burn.”
And before Hiker could respond, Thad rushed off, climbing down for his dragon far below, although it was useless to try and save her.
Hiker shook his head and turned to his men, knowing they deserved his praise for their efforts.
However, a new war had just started. Although Thad was alone, he was resourceful and wouldn’t let this death go lightly. He would be more destructive than before.
He would be a true monster after Ember’s death.
Chapter Two
With a violent jerk, Hiker shot up in his bed, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Sweat soaked the bed and he had the smell of fire and blood stuck in his nose. Like always before, the recurring dream felt so weird.
“It wasn’t real,” he said, looking around his dark room. The sun hadn’t yet risen in the Gullington, but there would be no more sleep for Hiker Wallace.
The dream wasn’t real, but the memory was. And for four-hundred years it had haunted him every day of his life.
Adam had continuously told him—when he was alive—that it wasn’t his fault, what happened to Ember. His best friend had taken the blame, but Hiker knew better. Adam had done what he had to in order to protect. Thad had been out of control. He would have gone on to continue his rebellious wrath, unwilling to accept punishment for his crimes. Adam had only been trying to stop him.
Yes, Adam’s spell had been miscalculated, killing Ember instead of incapacitating her and Thad. But it should have been Hiker who stopped the leader of the Rogue Riders, and he and Adam both knew it.
Hiker swung his legs over the side of his bed, enjoying the cold wood floors on his feet. It grounded him in the Castle when he still felt like he was in the dream on the moor, the recent battle thick in the air.
Shaking his head, he headed for the basin he kept on the side table. The Castle had had plumbing for a couple of centuries, but there were some things that Hiker couldn’t get used to.
That was why he was skeptical that he’d ever get used to the Kindle where all his books were housed currently. Well, most of his books. He hadn’t been able to find the Complete History of Dragon Riders on the device, but then, he didn’t really know how to use it. Asking Sophia for help wasn’t really an option. It was best if no one found that book and learned the secrets he’d worked hard to keep, especially now. But if he could find the book, then he thought that he might be able to discover solutions to other problems that didn’t involve Thad Reinhart.