by Sarah Noffke
Hiker heard his brother spit and assumed Thad was wearing a look of disgust.
He couldn’t argue with a word he said because Thad was right. Hiker had run, had given up his family’s legacy, his inheritance, and a prosperous life. But what had he been supposed to do? It was kill Thad or be killed by him. There was no other way.
He’d even offered to split the inheritance, but his twin wouldn’t go for it. Thad had contended he should have had it all from the beginning.
The twin’s parents had both died when they were infants, forcing the children to be separated shortly after birth. Hiker had been sent to live with his father’s parents, an affluent family who owned a lucrative business and were considered very respectable. The Wallace’s were loving people who gave Hiker many opportunities to learn and succeed. They sent him to the best schools and gave him the very best of everything. They even made efforts for Hiker to spend time with his twin, who lived on the far side of town.
Thad went to live with their mother’s family—the Reinharts. They lived in squalor and were considered criminals by most. Thad was often abused or neglected, but any time the Wallace family tried to get him away, they were fought. The patriarch of the Reinhart family, an angry drunk, argued Thad was the last he had of his daughter, and he wouldn’t let him go. He didn’t really want the boy. Mostly he just wanted another thief in his charge. He wanted someone he could abuse and control. Someone who could help run his scams and do his bidding.
The boys grew up living very different lives. Thad had never forgiven Hiker for the life he considered so much better than his.
One might contend it was circumstances which made Hiker the good-hearted man and Thad rotten to the core, but like attracts like. When the boys were divided up shortly after birth, the good twin was magnetized to the healthy home, and the bad one sent with people more like him.
Thad’s heart had been blackened from the beginning. Hiker later learned that much when he researched connections between twins, trying to shield his brother from finding him. That had been shortly after it came to light that when one twin died, the other inherited their magical power.
What neither twin knew was, destiny had dictated their path from the beginning. Thad had been born bad, and Hiker, good. It was set up that way for a reason. The angels had seen to it. Balance in the world was important, and these two men were a part of that. Soon, they’d meet their matches.
All twins destined to ride dragons fulfilled a certain destiny. One was always good. The other was purely bad. There was no escaping it. Only the angels and Mother Nature knew the true reason for this.
These two men knew they were twins but no more because their true destiny hadn’t found them—but it was about to.
“You know,” Thad said, his voice no longer booming. He was dangerously close. “I should have killed you when I had the chance. When we were in the womb. All I would have had to do was wrap my umbilical cord around your neck, and none of this would have been an issue. Alas, I did not and now…”
The cold wind stroked Hiker’s face; almost a comforting thing, he thought. It was followed by the opposite as his twin rose over him, standing on the boulder where he was shielding himself.
Hiker stiffened.
It had all come down to this.
There was no escaping. He knew that much. The expansive hills offered many paths for escape, but none were available to Hiker in his current condition. He wouldn’t get ten yards before his brother struck him down and killed him for good.
He wanted to close his eyes and not watch as Thad pulled a sword from his belt, a greedy look on his face, but he wouldn’t allow himself to look away. Although Hiker had run all these years, it hadn’t been to avoid his own death. It had been to avoid his brother’s. There was no reality where he could fight Thad and kill him, and that was the only option as far as his twin was concerned. Ironically he’d now die by Thad’s hands because he was unwilling to fight him.
Hiker Wallace was anything but a coward. He simply didn’t have what it took to keep fighting someone he wanted to love. His heart, time and time again, failed to understand why Thad wanted power when love was the better option. Why Thad hurt others when peace could heal him. There was so much Hiker didn’t understand about his twin.
When Thad stood on the boulder above Hiker, he forgot it all and tried to make amends with the man who had haunted him all his life.
“I’m sorry,” Hiker said, looking straight up into his brother’s eyes as he stood above him, making him crane his neck. “I’m sorry you don’t want me alive. I’m sorry you had to live with the Reinharts. But more than anything, I’m sorry you’d rather have my power than the life we could have had together.”
A cold chuckle lacking all humor spilled from Thad’s mouth. He was poised, ready to jump down in front of his brother and deliver the blow he’d dreamed of for so long—the one that finished Hiker. But, as was Thad’s style, he was going to relish the moment.
“I never wanted you as my twin or my brother,” Thad said through clenched teeth. “Why share this world with the inept when I can rule it alone!”
Hiker saw the telegraphed moves that signaled what his brother would do next. It was the flexing of his muscles. The arching of his back. The glint in his eyes. Hiker knew he wouldn’t be able to escape the next series of actions.
When Thad jumped off the boulder, sword in hand, Hiker was astounded by what happened next.
A large shimmering red something shot across his vision. It happened so fast he only caught a glimpse as it knocked Thad off the rock and launched him several dozen yards, where he landed in the grass and rolled down the hill, far away.
Hiker had never seen a beast like the one that landed right after Thad was thrown. His brother continued to roll head over feet as Hiker tried to stand, one hand on his injured leg and one hand on his weapon.
Upon getting to his feet, he surprised himself by dropping his sword and letting it fall to the grass. He only caught a brief glimpse of Thad as he recovered. He looked up with shock as the great magical creature unfurled her wings before tucking them into her massive body, covered in sparkling scales.
The good twin had never seen a dragon. He thought they were just lore. As he looked into the ancient eyes of the dragon whose name he knew by heart, for no apparent reason, he knew dragons were real—and this one, somehow, someway, belonged to him.
With his remaining strength, before the pain in his heart and his leg made him sleep, Hiker sunk into a low bow and showed his respect to the dragon.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Bell,” he said when he rose, not at all understanding what was happening, but embracing it at once. He had no clue how he knew the dragon’s name or knew her at all, but like magnets, he felt the draw.
The dragon lowered her massive head, her eyes shimmering with acceptance for the magician before her.
We’ve always known each other, Hiker Wallace, she replied. But only now can our lives together commence as they were always meant to.
Thad Reinhart watched from the bottom of the hill, his eyes burning with hatred. Not only had he failed to kill the one man he’d wanted dead for so long, but now Hiker had something else he wanted.
He turned and sped for the mountains, intent on finding another way to end his brother.
Little did he know, waiting for him by the stream where he’d seek refreshment, was his own dragon.
And like him, Ember’s heart was black.
Like Thad, she’d been born that way.
Chapter Seventy-Five
“Whose balls are freezing right now?” Evan asked, his teeth chattering.
“This shouldn’t come as a surprise to you, but not mine,” Sophia answered as she pressed her hands deeper into her wool-lined pockets.
“My balls aren’t freezing either,” Ainsley said, striding out of the Castle carrying a tray with glasses of whisky.
“Why do we have to do this?” Evan complained and squinted in Hiker’s dir
ection.
All of the riders, Ainsley, and Quiet, were gathered in front of the Castle, the only light came from the stars in the darkened sky and the flames burning in the windows. All of the electrical lights, which the Castle had started to include in different areas, especially for the Christmas decorations, had been extinguished for the countdown. Hiker wasn’t a fan of the growing trend of electric items being included in the Castle, but Sophia was confident he’d come around in time.
“First-footing is a tradition,” Hiker explained. “And since Sophia is making us celebrate holidays—”
“Making?” she interrupted. “I refuse to apologize for bringing a bit of cheer to this place.”
“Yes, but you should apologize for the five pounds I’ve put on eating holiday sweets,” Ainsley said, handing a glass to each person.
“You’re a shapeshifter,” Wilder said, taking the whisky. “Can’t you just shift to a form where you are five pounds lighter?”
“I can, but then I’m not my authentic self,” Ainsley said self-righteously, lifting her nose.
“You once spent an entire year in the form of a giant,” Evan pointed out.
“It was only because I was mad at the Castle and wanted to wear out the furnishings faster with my larger form,” Ainsley explained.
“If you all are quite done, it’s almost time for Hogmanay,” Hiker said, holding up his glass of whisky and queuing the others to join him in a toast.
Hogmanay was the Scottish word for New Year’s eve and came with its own traditions. They were all new to Sophia, except for the idea of toasting with a nice drink after the countdown.
For this occasion, Hiker had broken out a very old bottle of whisky but grumbled about it. Sophia knew better, though. He was coming around, and it had all started with his confession to her about being Thad Reinhart’s twin.
His office was back to normal, but she suspected the Castle was still finding ways to annoy him. Not because he was keeping a secret but rather just because the sentient building liked to be entertained.
Eyeing his watch, Hiker began, “The New Year starts in five, four, three, two, one.”
When the countdown was over, everyone cheered, “Happy New Year.”
Sophia clinked her glass with the others before taking a sip. Her insides were instantly warmed from the whisky, which could make her start sweating if she drank enough of it, although it was bitterly cold on the Expanse.
“You’re not making us link arms and sing Auld Lang Syne, are you?” Ainsley asked the leader of the Dragon Elite.
“I don’t think anyone wants to hear you sing,” Evan said, finishing his drink and holding it out to the shapeshifter. “I’d like more.”
“And I’d like you to have manners, alas that reality is not happening, just like your refill,” Ainsley stated and poked her tongue out at the dragonrider.
“Fine, I’ll get it myself.” Evan stalked for the Castle door.
“No, you won’t.” Hiker reached out and held Evan back by the shoulder. “First footing.”
Evan cast him a backward glance. “Yes, and you said that means a tall, dark, and handsome man has to be the first one to enter the ‘house’ at the start of the New Year. That’s me.”
“Why can’t it be a female?” Sophia asked.
Hiker regarded her with mild irritation. “Because that’s considered unlucky.”
She rolled her eyes. “I swear, if the Dragon Elite had a human resource department, I’d lodge a complaint.”
He blinked at her and returned her challenging expression. “But we don’t, so get over it.”
“I think it should be Mahkah who does the first footing because he’s nicer than the lot of you,” Ainsley said, smiling at the quiet dragonrider still nursing his drink.
“Thank you,” he said and blushed.
Quiet muttered something as he strode out to the grounds, his drink in hand as he sauntered away.
“Oh, Quiet, I would have picked you, but you aren’t what we’d call tall,” Ainsley called after the gnome, who was still muttering and obviously agitated.
“It’s going to be Wilder,” Hiker declared. He pointed at the door, his eyes on the dragonrider standing next to Sophia.
“Why does he get to do it?” Evan complained.
“Because I drew straws, and his was the one I picked,” Hiker said definitively.
Ainsley elbowed Mahkah in the side and whispered loudly, “I think it’s because he’s got a man-crush on him.”
Wilder tilted his head to the side as he ran his fingers through his brown hair and smiled. “Why, thank you. I’d be happy to do the first footing. I am tall, dark and—”
“Full of yourself,” Evan interrupted.
“You’re one to talk,” Sophia said.
“What are you all doing out here?” Mama Jamba called at their back as she hurried across the icy grounds toward the Castle.
Hiker blinked at her in confusion. “What are you doing out here? Where have you been?”
She smiled up at the large man. She looked small in comparison. “Papa Creola and I have a long-standing tradition on the New Year. He winds the clock, and then we—”
“Kiss!” Evan exclaimed, laughing.
“Show some respect,” Hiker scolded.
“Oh, no, he’s absolutely right,” Mama Jamba said with a giggle. “We smooch at the start of the New Year.”
“You do?” Sophia asked, trying to picture the hippie elf kissing Mama Jamba.
She nodded. “Yes. We missed one year, and the consequences were far-reaching.” She leaned forward and in a conspiratorial whisper said, “That was the year Pepsi Cola was invented. We’re still trying to fix the ramifications to come out of that.”
“Like childhood obesity?” Sophia asked.
“Like there are certain venues which only carry Pepsi products,” Mama Jamba answered. “What are you all doing out here freezing your tails off?”
“Balls,” Evan corrected.
“You watch your mouth in front of Mama,” Hiker admonished before turning his attention back to Mother Nature. “We were just about to do the first-footing.”
“Oh!” she cheered. “I love that you’re being so festive this year.” With a smile, Mama Jamba pointed to the front door of the Castle. “Go on then, Wilder. Go on through.”
“What?” Evan threw his hands up. “Why Wilder?”
Mama Jamba leveled her gaze on him. “Because his straw got pulled, obviously.”
“Yeah, obviously,” Wilder said and headed for the front door.
Sophia shuffled forward, following the group as Wilder stepped over the threshold. “Thanks for allowing this,” she said to Hiker in a low voice.
His gaze shifted to her, his face expressionless. “Well, I guess it was overdue.”
“And thanks for the cookie bouquet you got me for Christmas,” she said.
His brow wrinkled. “What are you talking about? I didn’t get you a cookie bouquet.”
She nodded. “No, no, you didn’t. But since you asked, my birthday is in the summer, and I’d totally love a cookie bouquet.”
“What’s a cookie bouquet?” Hiker asked.
“Pretty much exactly what it sounds like,” she answered, enjoying the warmth of the Castle as she entered.
“And where do I get these cookie bouquets?” he questioned.
Sophia’s face transformed with shock. “Are you really going to get me one for my birthday? I can get you some names of companies who make them.”
Hiker shook his head. “No, one of my next projects as a world adjudicator will be to dismantle all companies who make cookie bouquets.”
She scowled at him. “Ha-ha.”
“Sophia,” Mama Jamba called from the staircase, pointing at the second floor. “I want you in bed right away. You have training early tomorrow morning.”
“But there’s more whisky,” Ainsley said, holding up a bottle of amber-colored liquid.
“Mama says Sophia is going t
o bed, so that’s what she’s doing,” Hiker ordered. He also held up a hand and pointed to the second floor.
Sophia couldn’t help but smile as she trudged for the stairs. “Yes, Mom and Dad.”
At the base of the stairs, Mama Jamba leaned forward and planted a kiss on Sophia’s cheek. “Happy New Year, dear. Please rest up since this will be your biggest year yet. Well, until the next one, if we make it past this one.”
“On that somber note,” Wilder said, “sleep tight, Soph. Dream good dreams, and don’t worry about the Earth ending.”
Sophia smirked. “Yeah, I’m sure I’ll drift right off to sleep after this.”
Chapter Seventy-Six
A peaceful wind rolled across the Expanse as Sophia and Mahkah strode out toward the Cave the next morning. Everyone in the Castle was still sleeping after the late night of celebrating. It had been difficult for Sophia to fall asleep, but not because she was worried about her training or the future. There was that, but mostly it was because Evan kept yelling things from the first-floor like, “I’m tall!” “I’m handsome!” “I’m the darkest one here!”
The icy grass crunched under their boots as they moved in the direction of the dragons lounging in the morning sun on the Expanse.
“Do you have everything you need?” Mahkah asked her.
She patted her sides. “The clothes on my back, my sword, and a whole lot of hope. I have everything I’m allowed, but not sure about need. I could use a bag of Doritos for the trip.”
He released a small smile. “I get you’re not allowed a lot for such a long and arduous task, but it’s the only way.”
When Mahkah told Sophia her next training with Lunis was to venture out into the middle of nowhere with no supplies and survive for a week on their own, she wasn’t excited. They couldn’t use magic to survive in the Australian Outback. Instead, they had to rely on each other to find water, food, and shelter.
Similar to a walkabout, this training exercise was supposed to be reflective for the pair, to help them to know their inner selves. It was also apparently going to bring them closer or drive them apart. The way they came out of the experience was crucial to whether they passed or not.
