by Sarah Noffke
Lunis paused in mid-air, holding them up on the winds as they watched a spectacular sight that both had only heard about.
Dragons could swim, but it obviously wasn’t their strong suit. Mostly they could employ an effective diving technique with their flying. It had actually been Bell taking a bath in a lake that started the rumors regarding the Loch Ness Monster. It was during a brief period in time when mortals could see magic. Something wore off, allowing them to see magic for about an hour before the curse was reinstated, blinding mortals to dragons and all other magical creatures. But a few brief sightings of Bell swimming in the lake were enough to start a myth that inspired millions to search for the famous Loch Ness Monster.
Coral wasn’t just a good swimmer. Her connection to the water made her excellent at navigating, too. She could dive deep, swim fast, and both she and her rider could breathe underwater for long periods of time. Sophia only hoped all that was enough to help them find the entrance to this facility.
She held onto that hope and her breath as Evan and Coral raced toward the surface of the water, plunging into it and diving deep, disappearing at once.
Chapter Thirty-One
During their plunge through the waters of the South Pacific, Evan wouldn’t be able to communicate with Sophia. That meant she was forced to wait in silence, hoping that he found the entrance without issue.
Lunis landed on the beach of the small island, the tide greeting his feet. He kicked around in the water, splashing Sophia. She ducked, laughing, muting her side of the comm so she didn’t distract Evan.
“I thought you might feel left out that Evan gets to have all the water fun,” Lunis told her.
She shook her head, sliding off his back and sinking her boots into the soft sand. “If your elemental power was water, then that would be fine, but I’m glad that you are connected to the moon.”
“Doesn’t do us much good here, living in the past,” he stated, looking to the horizon where the moon would rise soon.
“Yes, but who knows what the night will bring,” Sophia said, not fully prepared for whatever they would face at the Institute.
“Just remember that magicians can’t portal with the eggs,” Lunis reminded her. “You can only do that atop a dragon.”
“Right,” she muttered, hiking up farther on the beach so that she could create a portal to the Institute when the time was right. “I’ll have to trust Evan to get them out of there on Coral. Then once they are outside of the Institute and back in the air, we will all portal back.”
“Which they can do, but you are going to have to start believing in him,” Lunis stated.
She cut her eyes at him. “I believe in him.”
“To steal all the pastries and earn a contemptuous glare from Hiker regularly,” Lunis added.
“And to chew with his mouth open and talk with his mouth full,” she said.
“But you’re going to have to believe in him to do his part here,” Lunis lectured. “He has a lot to learn and is arrogant, but he wouldn’t be a rider if he didn’t have extraordinary abilities. In battle is the time that we must offer our support to our comrades the most. Sometimes it is precisely that encouragement that gets someone through.”
Sophia nodded reluctantly. “Okay. I know you’re right. I guess if he manages to get into the Institute, then I’ll have a bit more confidence in him.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Bubbles raced over Coral and Evan as they dove deeper into the cold waters of the Pacific. The two were nearly melded together, moving as one as the waters darkened.
Coral could see well underwater, lending that ability to her rider. Although Sophia had given Evan specifics on what he was looking for, he still worried that he wouldn’t be able to find this entrance.
They might only have a limited amount of time to find the dry dock since surveillance was most likely happening, and a dragon swimming in the area wouldn’t go unnoticed for long. Evan planned to cloak them once they were through the entrance, but doing so now would pull from their magical reserves, potentially drowning them. Coral needed all of their power to navigate the ocean waters as they searched.
Evan played a tough act, but silently inside, he wasn’t at all confident about this mission. Only Coral knew that he was worried he’d fail. He had already gotten himself nearly electrocuted to death and Sophia had to save him. What if he screwed up again?
You hadn’t screwed up, Coral argued in his head. You simply didn’t know what you were getting yourself into.
Hearing her voice as they swam deeper was a comfort that he needed.
No, but that’s exactly why I do need Sophia, he related. She knows about magical tech, which I never anticipated.
And she needs our help getting into this place, Coral offered. You two are a team. Remember that, and you’ll be successful.
A good reminder, he said to her, continuing to search but only seeing marine life and nothing that looked like an underwater facility.
They could only stay submerged for another couple of minutes, and that might be the time they needed to race back up to the surface. Evan was considering whether they should head up before making another attempt. There were so many problems with that scenario that he didn’t even want to consider it.
For Coral, it would be best if she dove from a flight position, which meant more risk of them being spotted. And with each attempt, they were losing precious reserves. This was harder than Evan anticipated and he felt their energy depleting fast.
He was just about to make the hard call to go back up to the surface when he spotted something. It was shiny, reflecting light from an unknown source.
Get closer, he urged Coral.
She complied, her wings pushing them deeper toward the strange sight.
Evan was about to quit again, thinking they’d simply stumbled upon ship wreckage at the bottom of the ocean. However, if this was a ship, it was unlike any he’d seen before.
As they swam closer, he realized it was large enough to be a huge freighter, but it was sleek, covered in brushed steel. And whereas a ship would have curves, this structure was like a box.
Evan had never seen anything like the massive structure that stood not far from them. Sitting on the bottom of the ocean floor was a five-story building that looked like it had just popped out of one of those strange movies Sophia watched. It was mysterious in the way it glowed in the water, and a strange pulse of energy radiated off the place, sending a chill through dragon and rider.
Nothing about this place is natural, Coral related.
No, which is why we’re getting our dragon eggs from it and getting the hell out of here, Evan stated, steering her toward an opening that had to lead to the dry dock. He hoped so, anyway, because if it didn’t then they might drown down there, too far from the surface and lacking the reserves to make it back in time.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“I’m in,” Evan said over the comm.
Sophia let out a giant breath of air. “Oh, fantastic.”
She heard a beep from the other side of the comm. “It that the key card?”
“Yes,” Evan answered in a whisper. “So far, this is too easy.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” she stated. “You need to find the GAD-C room. I’m not sure what it will look like, so just tell me what you see.”
“Well, I see a door beside the one I just came through that’s labeled ‘GAD-C,’” Evan informed her. “Do you think that’s a coincidence or what?”
Sophia rolled her eyes. “Get in there!”
“Hold your dragons,” he complained. “I’m trying to ensure that there’s no one around.”
“Are you cloaked?” Sophia asked, pacing the beach
“Yes, as we discussed,” he answered, “And so is Coral. But I can’t maintain that on both of us for long. The swim took a lot more out of us than I expected.”
“Well, get me in there, and you can drop the cloaks once I knock out the surveillance.”
> “And therein lies the problem,” Evan stated over the comm.
Sophia tensed. “Why? I thought you found the GAD-C room where I can portal to.”
“Yes, but you need me to do something to open the portaling capabilities, right?”
“Yes,” she answered.
“I haven’t got a clue how to even begin describing this room to you.”
Sophia sighed. “Seriously, all of you guys need to get phones.”
“Hiker doesn’t want us to,” Evan confessed.
“And I’m apparently the only one who does things that man doesn’t like.”
“Right, like take the housekeeper to Roya Lane,” Evan said with a laugh. “He’s still mad about that, which has gotten him off my back. Thanks, Pink Princess.”
“Okay, Sparky, get to describing the room to me.”
“Sparky, huh?” Evan asked. “I don’t like it.”
“Well, you chose my handle, and I chose yours. It’s only fair.”
“Mmmm, let me try giving this a shot,” Evan said, speculatively. “There’s a bunch of buttons on one wall. And then there’s this raised platform that has this telescope looking thing hovering over it.”
“That sounds like equipment,” Sophia mused, mostly to herself. “Look for a computer. Do you see one of those? You know what those look like, right?”
Evan scoffed. “Of course I do. But just to be on the safe side, tell me what your version of a computer looks like.”
“Man, I’m sending you all to tech school,” Sophia said.
“Your mom goes to school,” Evan replied.
She laughed. “That’s not how that phrase goes.”
“Well, I didn’t understand it the first time, and my invite to watch the movie was apparently lost in the mail,” Evan complained.
“That’s because you talked all the way through the Doctor Who episode I showed you.”
“How could I not?” Evan countered. “That sci-fi business makes zero sense. None of that stuff could really happen. And really, traveling through time in a police box. Like the authorities wouldn’t figure that out.”
“Science fiction is completely lost on you,” Sophia grumbled. “I need you to look for something with a television screen and a keyboard in front of it. Do you see anything like that?”
“Oh, that’s a computer?” Evan asked, relief in his voice. “Yeah, there’s one of those here.”
“What’s on the screen?”
“Not much,” Evan said. “It says ‘error 584958: resolve to enable portaling.’”
“Hmmmm,” Sophia murmured.
“What’s that error?” Evan asked.
“I have no clue,” she answered. “Look on the rectangular box next to the computer for a power button.”
“How did you know there was a box next to the television?” he asked.
“Experience,” she stated. “And it’s called a monitor.”
“I thought it was called a computer,” Evan said, confused.
“No, the computer is the box. The monitor is the screen,” she explained.
“That’s weird.”
“You’re weird,” she replied. “Now, did you find the power button?”
“I think so. Is it the thingy that has a circle with a line halfway through it?” he asked.
“Yes!” Sophia exclaimed.
“Great, do I destroy it?”
“No,” Sophia stated at once. “You need to do exactly what I say. It’s really important.”
“Okay, I’m ready. What is it?”
“You’re going to turn the computer off and then back on,” she answered.
Evan laughed. “That’s it? That’s your bloody plan to fix the error?”
“Don’t doubt this technique,” Sophia stated. “It’s pretty much the answer to all technical errors.”
“Whatever,” Evan said. “I’m turning it off.”
“All right, then wait a few seconds and tell me what happens when you power it back up.”
“Are you sure I shouldn’t just destroy the computer?” Evan asked. “It’s what’s keeping you from portaling in here, right?”
“Yes and no,” Sophia answered. She’d already tried to portal into the Institute, but no luck. “I think based on what Griff said and didn’t understand was that the room is free to portaling most of the time, but the computer got the error, preventing it.”
“But then anyone could enter the Institute at any time,” Evan argued.
“No, they’d need to know that they could only enter through the GAD-C room,” Sophia said. “Trying to portal anywhere else in the Institute wouldn’t work.”
“Well, your voodoo worked,” Evan said. “The computer fixed the monitor.”
“That’s not really how it works, but tell me what it says.”
“It now says ‘Portal allowed.’”
“Okay, let’s see if that’s in fact correct.” Sophia gave Lunis a look of hope before attempting to open a portal into the GAD-C room in the Institute. Unlike before, the shimmering bright door through space and time opened. “Looks like I’m on my way,” she said, stepping through the portal and entering Thad Reinhart’s territory.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The GAD-C room was dark when Sophia entered. And cramped. She collided straight into Evan, or she thought it must be him since he was cloaked. He dropped his cloak, smiling down at her.
“I got you in here.”
“Great. Now can you scoot?” Sophia asked, looking around at the strange room. The contraption in the room looked like an MRI machine. The buttons on the wall appeared to be what operated it. Sophia didn’t know what it did, but she’d been able to portal in there, so that was all that mattered.
She hunched over the computer, accessing the files. Sophia thought if she could get an idea from there about the security, she might be able to take it down from one spot. However, that computer appeared to only control the portaling wards. She’d prepared for this.
“What’s that?” Evan asked, pointing to the small device she pulled from her cloak. “Is it candy?”
Sophia tilted her head to the side, giving him a petulant expression. “Yes, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to take a snack break.”
He rubbed his stomach. “Yeah, that’s a great idea. I’m starving after that swim.”
“This,” she said, holding up the small device, “isn’t a candy bar. It’s a high-frequency adjuster that jams security systems, bringing them down for short periods of time.”
Evan shook his head. “I don’t think it’s too late for you to learn how to speak English, but currently, I can’t understand a word you’re saying.”
“I’m going to bring down the Institute’s drawbridge so we can storm the castle,” she explained. “Does that make sense?”
“Why didn’t you just say that?”
“Well, it hasn’t worked yet,” Sophia said, turning on the device. “It’s brand-new magic tech, so hopefully Thad doesn’t have a patch for it. Once this is out for a month or so, every hack in the magical world will be aware of it, having firewalls that prevent it from doing what it’s supposed to.”
The red light on the device blinked, making Sophia hold her breath.
“We are back to me not understanding a word you’re saying,” Evan stated.
The light flashed red several times before turning green. “It worked. That’s all you need to know.”
“Which means?” Evan asked.
“Which means that although I have been able to take down surveillance, most security measures should be disabled, but not for long.”
“Which means?” he asked.
“We get to have fun storming the castle,” Sophia said, sliding up to the door, preparing to enter the actual Institute.
Chapter Thirty-Five
“How was I supposed to know that’s a movie reference?” Evan asked.
Sophia stood squarely in the long corridor, having already knocked out a security camera on the ceiling.
The hallway was sort of dizzying. The walls and ceiling were all brushed stainless steel, the carpet a shimmering blue that resembled water. This place felt like something straight out of a science fiction novel.
“Everyone on the planet would get that reference,” Sophia stated and then amended. “Everyone but the guys in the Dragon Elite.”
“Well, here’s an idea,” Evan offered. “Stop making popular culture references since you know we’ve been living in a bubble and won’t get them.”
She shook her head, carefully starting forward. “I can’t do that. Half the stuff I say is references to pop culture. You’re just going to have to get with the times.”
There were a few doors in the corridor. Sophia halted in front of the first one they came to.
“There’s no handle,” Evan observed. “How do you think you open it? Magic maybe?”
“Well, magic is relative,” Sophia said, pressing the button beside the door, making it recede into the wall.
“Man, that’s h-e double toothpicks i-s-h,” Evan said in awe.
Sophia stuck her head into the room, finding it crammed with boxes. It appeared to be a supply closet.
She shut the door and continued down the hallway.
“So, the eggs weren’t in there?” Evan asked.
“They were totally in there,” she answered sarcastically. “I destroyed them with my laser eyes.”
“No, you didn’t. You don’t have laser eyes,” Evan argued.
She turned to him, rolling her eyes. “Yes, that’s the takeaway. And why would I destroy the eggs we are here to recover?”
The sounds of a hydraulic made Sophia freeze. The next door was up ahead several yards. And whatever was approaching was on the other side of a bend. She pulled Evan even with the wall.
“What is it?” he mouthed.
“Something with actual laser eyes,” she said, remembering the powerful robots she encountered at the first facility.