by Sarah Noffke
Her magical reserves were too low. Sophia was out of energy, and without that, she’d never make it home.
Think, think, think, she chanted in her head, trying to come up with a solution as the rocks continued to rain down outside the cave entrance and the temperature grew so hot her head felt close to bursting.
Sophia remembered something she’d read in her father’s book when reviewing it. “Very powerful magical objects can be used as energy sources in a pinch, but one must be careful because they can also burn out magic if they are extremely powerful.”
Sophia turned the token over in her hand, seeing where it had burned her. This object was no doubt powerful. What did she have to lose? Either she used it and died or stayed there and died.
Drawing in a hot breath, Sophia leeched power from the token, directing it at the faint portal. The portal grew solid.
A large rock hit Sophia in the head, and she jumped through the portal just before she lost consciousness. The last thing Sophia remembered was the rush of welcome cold air on her cheeks and the sight of the green hills as she stumbled through the portal. Then she fell face-first, enjoying the cool grass on her burning face.
Everything faded.
Chapter Forty-Seven
“Her pulse is strong,” a familiar voice said over Sophia.
She worked to open her eyes but felt held hostage by sleep. In the palm of her hand, she felt the token, still hot to the touch but no longer burning her palm.
“Well, then, I say we leave her here,” Hiker grumbled. “Lunis is with Tala in the cave, Evan is with Mahkah, and Wilder is gone, so I can think of no other way for her to get to the Castle.”
“I can think of someone who can carry her.” Now that Sophia was coming to, she recognized the voice of Ainsley.
“If you want to carry her, be my guest,” Hiker said with a laugh.
“I could use magic, but why should I do that when you’ve got those perfectly capable arms?” Ainsley argued.
“Me?” he asked, sounding offended. “You’ve got to be kidding!”
“Well, she has a head injury, which is pretty typical for the little dragonrider to show up at the Castle with,” Ainsley stated matter-of-factly. She was referring to when Lunis had dropped her at the stairs of the Castle after she passed out at the facility north of the Gullington.
“It looks like a scratch,” Hiker stated.
“Yeah, it’s nothing the Castle can’t fix,” Ainsley agreed. “She does look to have been blasted by something hot, though.”
He sighed. “She was probably at the beach, sunning herself.”
“You know damn well that’s not true,” Ainsley said, fire in her tone.
“I wouldn’t know where she’s been since Sophia won’t tell me,” Hiker ranted, frustration in his tone. “And now Mahkah and Tala have shown up with bizarre injuries neither one of them can explain, and of course, Lunis isn’t talking.”
“Then may I suggest you pick up this girl and take her to the Castle?” Ainsley asked. “Maybe if you do something nice for Sophia, she’ll do something nice for you and tell you what’s going on.”
Hiker muttered something under his breath.
“What was that, sir?” Ainsley asked.
“As the leader of the Dragon Elite, you wouldn’t think I’d have to do favors for my riders to get them to cooperate and share information,” he growled.
“And yet, your management style hasn’t fostered such reciprocity, so whose fault is that?” Ainsley questioned.
Strong hands reached under Sophia, picking her up from the cold ground with ease. “It’s obviously mine.”
Ainsley harrumphed, sounding pleased. “Good. Admitting we have an issue is the first step toward fixing it.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
The sound of heavy boots thundering back and forth across the floor stirred Sophia from the sleep that tried to hold her hostage. She peeked open one eye, to find the source of the noise to be exactly who she’d guessed it to be.
In her hand, she still had the gold token. She clenched her fingers around it, grimacing at the burn on her palm.
To her surprise, when she lifted it up, her head didn’t hurt at all, and she felt raring to go, energy flowing in her once more.
Hiker halted at the sight of Sophia sitting up in her four-poster bed.
“Oh, good. Thanks for keeping it down while I slept,” she said, pushing her hair out of her face and yawning. She was still wearing her armor, which was covered in dirt and rocks.
He grimaced at her. “Oh, did I wake you with my pacing? Well, I wonder why I’m so restless? Maybe it’s because one of my riders is currently out of commission, having been attacked by some venomous creature, and his dragon is suffering from a similar situation. And then I have another rider who is a secret-keeper, and her dragon is much like her.”
“You should fire her,” Sophia said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and stretching. “Thank you, Castle, for the repair job. I feel ready to go.”
“The question is, where are you going?” Hiker asked, his hands on his hips. “A mission for me?”
Sophia slipped the token into her pocket and nodded. “Sure thing, sir. I just have to go run a real quick errand first. I’ll stop by your office when I’m done.”
“When will that be?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.
She slid off the bed, testing her legs. It was amazing how much more refreshed she felt than before. “Hard to say. Maybe an hour, maybe a week.”
Hiker stepped in front of Sophia as she tried to pass him, hoping to escape to the restroom where he wouldn’t dare follow. “Sophia, tell me what happened to Mahkah.”
“He’ll be okay, right?” she asked, pretty certain he was based on Hiker’s level of concern. If Mahkah was in mortal danger of not recovering from Hydra’s bite, Hiker would have shown fear rather than irritation.
He nodded. “Yes, we believe he will be fine. He just needs rest. It would help to know what attacked him.”
“I don’t think the Castle needs to know that information,” Sophia argued. “I think you do.”
He nodded again. “Yes, would you mind sharing with me?”
“We killed Hydra,” she stated.
The expression of shock that covered his face was one of the best reactions Sophia had ever caused in someone. The man’s mouth hung open, and his eyes were wide as he stared at her.
“H-h-hydra? As in, the seven-headed dragon?” Hiker questioned.
She nodded and stepped around him while he was momentarily confused and disoriented. “Yeah, that’s the one.”
“That’s a legend,” he argued.
Sophia shook her head. “It’s actually not. Just because it’s on another planet, people think that.”
“Wait, you took Mahkah to another planet to kill the legendary Hydra?”
“Well, he wanted to go, and I needed help,” Sophia said, taking a seat on her pink bean bag and working to unlace her boots.
He shook his head, trying to dispel all the questions racing around in his mind. “What? Why? I’m mean…how?”
Sophia pulled her boot off and emptied it in the waste bin next to the table. “Papa Creola asked me to relieve Hydra of a job he assigned the creature long ago. To do that, I had to slaughter the beast, and Mahkah was in charge of cauterizing the wounds. He got attacked by one of the heads at the last moment and hence the venom.”
“But why?” Hiker asked, scratching his head.
Sophia pursed her lips and gave him a regretful expression.
“Oh, for the love of the angels, you all are going to have to start sharing information with me,” he complained.
“Have you told the others Thad Reinhart was a dragonrider yet?” Sophia asked.
He shook his head.
“Why is it I get the impression you’re hiding a lot more from us?”
He crossed his arms, a scowl making his forehead crease with wrinkles. “Leaders are supposed to keep secrets.�
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She emptied her other boot, large rocks rolling out of it. “I get that you think so, but they are also supposed to garner trust.”
He gave her an expression of offense. “Are you saying you don’t trust me?”
Sophia simply gave him an expression that said, “What do you think?”
Hiker thundered for the door. When he was almost to the threshold, he pivoted. “I get I haven’t always been the greatest leader in your eyes. We started off rough, and I’m trying to recover the Dragon Elite while Thad is out there secretly hoarding power. I don’t know what I’m up against, and my riders don’t seem to care for me.”
“It’s not that, sir. It’s just—”
Hiker held up his hand, interrupting her. “I get it. Wilder works for Subner. You have missions for Papa Creola, and we all know Mama Jamba is the one really in charge, and she’s all but ordered me to lay off you. However, that can’t last forever.” He drew in a breath, seeming to relax. “I’ll admit I’m struggling with coming into the new era of dragonriders. We’ve had a series of blows I never anticipated. It’s easy to feel defeated when I know we are all that’s left. Sooner rather than later, my riders are going to answer to me and no one else, otherwise there will be no more Dragon Elite. I will see to it.”
Sophia nodded, proud to see the fire begin to burn in Hiker. It was what needed to happen; he needed his courage back. He had to get angry enough before he took back the reins and steered the Dragon Elite into the future.
“Yes, sir,” Sophia agreed, pushing up from the beanbag and wiggling her toes, happy to have them free of her boots.
He turned to leave but didn’t reach the door before Sophia called to him, “And sir?”
He looked over his shoulder at her, impatience on his face.
“Thank you for carrying me to the Castle,” she said, offering him a smile.
Chapter Forty-Nine
After checking on Mahkah and touching base with Lunis, Sophia headed to the House of Fourteen. She was relieved to hear the injured rider and dragon would make a full recovery.
Ainsley had mentioned the Castle was feeling strangely giddy since they returned. She offered that usually the Castle went quiet when it had to work to repair a hurt dragonrider, but not in this instance.
Sophia simply nodded, not disclosing the Castle must have known she was much closer to completing the task it had assigned her. Who knew what this closet in the House of Fourteen was all about or why the Castle wanted her to find it. She had to admit she was curious. More than anything, she had worked to get The Complete History of Dragonriders and couldn’t wait until the Castle delivered on its end of the bargain. Hopefully, it would be well worth all the effort and risk.
The burn on Sophia’s palm was much better, which she was grateful for. It didn’t hurt anymore, but there was still a faint outline from where she’d held the hot token.
When she stepped into the House of Fourteen, she was grateful to find the golden arched entrance hall deserted. Opening the palm of her hand, Sophia glanced at the token and wondered how it turned back time to send her to the “reset” point.
She studied the coin and read the inscription on one side, realizing there hadn’t been any words there before. She was sure, having studied the coin a lot when at the Castle.
Now on one side, it read, Present day, and there was a picture of the House of Fourteen, the Castle, and another smaller building. Sophia pursed her lips, thinking before turning the coin over to read the other side.
She laid it flat on her palm and tried to make out the words. The images were the same, but on this side, it read, Reset Point.
Sophia tilted her head to the side, wondering how to flip the timeline, but just then, everything turned black. She felt like she’d gone blind.
Trying to blink or feel anything, Sophia began to panic. Thankfully, spots of lights appeared, and Sophia’s vision began to take shape once more. She wasn’t standing in the same entrance hall as before. Well, she was, but this one was different. For one, it wasn’t covered in gold with the language of the founders dancing along the walls or with the statues of the founders of the House lining the long corridor.
Instead, the short hallway was black and white, as if Sophia had stepped into an old movie. The ceiling was still arched, but the statues were missing. Something she couldn’t quite place her finger on was different about the House of Fourteen, but Sophia believed turning back the clock roughly several hundred years could have been the reason.
Lifting her hand, Sophia noticed how she contrasted starkly to her environment. Her arm and hand were in color, whereas everything around her was black and white. Interesting, she thought, wondering if that meant she was the ghost in this reality.
“Now I need to find this closet,” she said. She ambled down the corridor toward the residential wing where all the closets were located. Sophia was about to move into the area when a figure she recognized walked right in front of her, heading into the Chamber of the Tree. Sophia recognized the man’s large form and features. What made him appear like a completely different person than the one she knew was his demeanor.
Hiker Wallace appeared as a confident man, ready to lead a powerful army as he strode through the Door of Reflection and into the Chamber of the Tree. He wore the traditional clothes she was used to seeing him in, but there was something very different about the man. He seemed whole, unmarked by the years of being ignored when mortals couldn’t see magic and the Dragon Elite became obsolete.
That was why even though Sophia had a mission to find the closet and knew hanging out in the reset point for long wasn’t safe—according to Lunis—she had to at least take a peek and spy on the leader of the Dragon Elite.
Chapter Fifty
The Chamber of the Tree was as different as the entrance hall, filled with black and white figures and no twinkling starry sky overhead. There was still the bench with the council members and a row of Warriors, all standing straight with their hands pressed behind their back.
The white tiger and black raven were also present, but Sophia knew they had pretty much been with the House of Fourteen since the beginning. The sky of lights was also a relatively new addition to the House, which was why it wasn’t in the reset point. That had been how they symbolized magicians once they were registered using magitech.
To Sophia’s relief, almost no one glanced at her when she entered the Chamber of the Tree. However, Jude, the white tiger who represented truth and honesty in the Chamber of the Tree, looked straight at Sophia with a speculative glare in his eyes.
She pulled her attention away from him as a scratchy voice began to talk. It was a man she’d never seen but had heard a great deal about—Talon Sinclair.
His long white hair and pale skin reminded her of Adler’s, his relative who wouldn’t have been born yet.
“What do you want?” Talon asked, his chin down low and light eyes scrutinizing.
When Hiker stepped forward, Sophia realized Talon was speaking to him. “I want the House to recognize the danger we’re facing.”
A great deal of muttering echoed around the room.
“If you will,” Hiker said in a commanding voice. “Thad Reinhart is powerful, and I firmly believe he’s working on something that could potentially harm us all.”
Talon laughed and looked at the other Councilors, whom Sophia didn’t recognize. The bench looked the way she was used to seeing it in the present time, with both magicians and mortals with chimeras.
Sophia knew one of the magicians was one of her relatives. There would also be one of the Takahashis’ relatives on the council since they were also a founding family.
“Really?” Talon argued, His tone was filled with condescension, “I thought the Dragon Elite could handle everything on their own.”
“We can,” Hiker stated. “But why must we do so if there is a war brewing?”
“A war?” one of the Councilors said in shock. “Surely you are exaggerating.”
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sp; “No,” Hiker exclaimed. “Thad Reinhart is working on something. I have reason to believe he’s in league with other powerful organizations.”
Talon dismissed him with a shake of his head. “Really? Who would want to work with the Rogue Riders?”
“Someone who wants power!” Hiker declared. “If we use our collective resources, I believe that whatever is coming, we’ll be prepared to handle it.”
“You want our help?” Talon asked with a laugh in his voice. “Do you also want us to work with elves? How about the gnomes? Oh, and let’s invite the fae and giants.”
Almost all the councilors laughed, save for two.
“Yes, I think we should all work together,” Hiker insisted adamantly.
Sophia couldn’t help noticing the confidence he showed. He was the epitome of a leader. Yet what Hiker was up against, she knew from studying the Forgotten Archives, was much larger than the Dragon Elite or anything else. This was the reset point. This was the calm right before the Great War. After this, magitech would make it so mortals couldn’t see magic anymore. Magicians and everyone else forgot the history. The whole world spiraled into a different era, and the Dragon Elite became ghosts. This was the moment before everything was nearly lost forever.
And Hiker Wallace had seen it. He knew.
No one had listened to him, and the world suffered for it for several hundred years.
“With all due respect,” Talon said, his tone impatient, “the Dragon Elite have never wanted our help. You think you’re so much better than us—”
“Our rule trumps yours,” Hiker interrupted.
“As you constantly remind us,” Talon fired back. “Now you’re the one who needs our help. What are you worried about that’s going to harm us all? Thad Reinhart is only one man. He only has a handful of rogue riders left, isn’t that right?”
Hiker combed his hand over his chin. “Yes, we’ve nearly destroyed all the rest.”
