by Sarah Noffke
“Yes, to Saint Valentine entering through the Barrier,” he expressed.
“Oh, thanks,” Sophia said, finding herself speechless. It was what she wanted, so she didn’t know what else to say. There was something else bothering her.
“While I have you here,” she began, noticing the early signs of sunrise starting over the hills in the distance. “Why are you waking me up early every morning? You let the others sleep in. I dare say, some of them sleep much longer than they should.” She laughed but was also secretly jealous. Not that keeping secrets from Quiet worked.
He was still studying the dark hills, which were quickly gaining light from the new day dawning. “This is the quietest time of the day when most are asleep and you can hear things that are usually overpowered by the hum and drum of the day,” the gnome said at an audible volume. “If you want to hear the secrets, the ones you have longed to know, or maybe even have hidden away from, at this hour is the time.”
The groundskeeper of the Gullington strode off for the hills, leaving Sophia to contemplate his strange words.
Chapter Ninety-Five
“Wow, that’s beautiful,” Sophia remarked.
Liv brushed her hair off her shoulder and batted her eyelashes. “Why, thank you. I’ve switched shampoos.”
Sophia giggled at her sister and pointed straight ahead. “I was referring to the ancient Indian temple.”
“Oh,” Liv said, pretending to be offended.
Before them in the southern region of India was an exquisite temple so intricately carved its thousands of places seemed to call for Sophia’s attention at once. It was several stories high with a dozen steps leading to the entrance. Columns surrounded the structure, and behind it, rainstorms were forming.
“Well, I guess we better make haste, or we’re going to get soaked,” Liv said, hurrying up the stairs.
“Are you serious?” Sophia asked, hurrying beside her sister. “You’re rushing to meet the scorpion goddess to avoid getting sprinkled by a gentle rainstorm?”
Liv halted, turning to face her sister. “This is your first time in Indian, then?”
Sophia nodded.
Liv laughed. “I would take the scorpion goddess over the torrential downpour, to be honest.”
“Well, before the crazed Chelamma or the crazy storm, do you want to tell me what the plan is?”
Liv nodded. “Absolutely. We’re going to walk in there and get the kanike. Then you’re buying me enough drinks to get me delightfully buzzed. After that, I’ll go and tell Papa Creola I broke his rule, as his sole and only trusted delegate. He will be angry and probably sulk for a bit, but he will not fire me because I’m the only one willing to put up with his bad attitude and horrible management practices. Also, I think in the end, he will agree this needed to be done. Then you’ll toddle off to that bakery and get the cupcake or whatever they make and ensure Serena continues to be a total pain in my ass for upwards of a century. Any questions?”
“Yeah, just one,” Sophia said, trying not to laugh. “You sort of glossed over the whole, getting past a giant scorpion goddess without killing her. You want to elaborate?”
“Right,” Liv said, drawing out the word, seeming distracted by the dark clouds brewing overhead. “You’ve got fire magic, right?”
Sophia nodded. “Yeah, it came via the chi of the dragon thing I inherited.”
“Lucky,” Liv said, doing her best Napoleon Dynamite impression. “I had to battle tons of hot-headed gnomes to get that skill.”
“You know,” Sophia said with a sideways smile. “I think you and Lunis are more alike than either of you care to admit.”
Liv seemed surprised by the sudden mention of her dragon. “Why would you say that? I don’t have bad breath and sharp skin, do I?”
Sophia shook her head, laughing. “No, but he always makes Napoleon Dynamite references, as well as bad jokes.”
Liv regarded her under hooded eyes. “I’m going to take offense to that last part. My jokes are awesome.”
“They’re so bad they’re good,” Sophia countered. “I think he is jealous of you, and if I’m honest with you…” She paused, assessing her sister’s reaction. “I think you’re jealous of him.”
Liv pretended to study the storm clouds like she was a meteorologist about to give a report. She pursed her lips and said, “It’s hard not to be jealous of him sometimes.” She turned to face her sister directly. “He is your dragon, and that’s amazing. You’re amazing. You’re the first female dragonrider in history. You have created a new batch of the last dragon eggs this planet will ever see. You’re a legend in the making and have already changed so many things for the better in the two short decades you have been on this Earth. Why wouldn’t everyone want to be the closest one to you? That just happens to be Lunis and that’s how it should be, but yes, at times it’s tough because after you magnetized to him, you grew up rapidly, literally maturing overnight and left for the Gullington. It isn’t his fault. It’s no one’s, just life, but sometimes it’s hard to accept.”
Sophia put her arm around her sister, hugging her tightly. “There’s always room in my life for you. I need you both.”
Liv pulled her in and hugged her back. “I know. I get it. I think we both just love you so much. That isn’t a bad thing.”
Sophia smiled, feeling the tender love of so many amazing people in her life.
Chapter Ninety-Six
“Where do you think the light switch is?” Liv asked when they entered the ancient temple. Being Father Time’s delegate came with loads of advantages. One of them being that Liv was able to open a secret entrance no one had come through in many centuries. The temple had been sealed long ago when Chelamma went into hibernation. Now only those who were thought to be after the kanike would dare to trespass. That would be Liv and Sophia.
Once the scorpion goddess realized there were thieves in her temple, she would wake up as an angry creature from her slumber and try to sting the hell out of them.
Sophia had Inexorabilis in her hands and her eyes darted to the side at the sound of every noise, which so far was only the emergence of tiny little scorpions. Never in Sophia’s life did she think she’d be relieved to see small scorpions scampering under her boots. Her thoughts were literally, “Oh good, the queen of the scorpions has not arrived yet.” She would delightedly put up with Chelamma’s little babies until the moment their momma arrived.
Liv, beside her, had out her sword known as Bellator. It had been made by none other than the novel-writing giant, Rory.
There was something special about being on a mission with her sister that made Sophia proud. Being the youngest of five, she had always looked up to her older siblings but none more than Liv. Ian was always so serious. Reese was especially eccentric, and Clark was uptight. They were all wonderful in their own ways, but Liv was well balanced with a practical side and a sense of humor. As Sophia grew up, she had always wanted to be more like Liv than any of the rest, and here she was, back to back with her idol about to gently take down a giant scorpion without killing her and steal the treasure. Sophia could not think of a better bonding trip for the two sisters.
Chapter Ninety-Seven
The pair had illumination orbs hovering beside them, providing the light they needed to see as they progressed through the temple. Liv had been right. Light switches would be ideal. Sophia was reluctant to touch anything, though, since most surfaces were covered in cobwebs and dust.
“Come on, Chelamma,” Liv complained as they entered a different room of the ancient temple. “Would it kill you to clean a little?”
“She is hibernating,” Sophia corrected.
Liv rolled her eyes. “I’ve used that line before. It means I’m curled up on the couch and watching Netflix. The goddess could still sweep on occasion.”
Sophia shook her head, but then froze when she heard a scampering louder than the small scorpions they’d encountered. “Do you think that’s her?” she asked her sister.
/> “Or it’s the cable guy, fixing the Netflix,” Liv said in a horrified whisper.
“Ha-ha,” Sophia replied dryly. “You don’t need a cable guy to get Netflix.”
“You don’t,” Liv agreed. “But Clark is awful at that stuff. He needs all sorts of help. He was trying to run our Netflix through the Wii.”
“What is he from 2010?” Sophia laughed.
“One would think.”
The scampering grew louder. Sophia was relabeling it scuttling. It sounded like a thousand little legs headed in their direction rather than eight.
Sophia braced herself for the mother of all scorpions and a strategy that would involve not killing her, while also incapacitating her and getting to her treasure.
The temple went from brown to black as hundreds of tiny scorpions sped into the room, covering the walls, the ceiling, and the floor.
Chapter Ninety-Eight
“Question,” Sophia said, suddenly breathless. “When you said we could not kill Chelamma…”
“That didn’t apply to her little babies,” Liv fired, pivoting to face the arachnids directly.
The little jerks might seem small, but with their large pincers and arching tail tipped with a menacing stinger, they were anything but unintimidating. Facing a few hundred at once made Sophia want to run for the exit. As rain thundered ever louder over the temple, she realized she had to literally choose her battles.
Liv said the rainstorms in India could create flash flooding within minutes, making for instant danger. As Sophia faced off with a few hundred beady-eyed scorpions, she considered which was worse, drowning or death by scorpions. She decided to take her chances with the latter.
“So the plan?” Sophia asked from the corner of her mouth.
“I say we compete to see who can take out the most,” Liv replied with a laugh.
Sophia shook her head. “Really, we’re going to have a competition right now?”
“It’s always a good time for healthy competition, Soph,” Liv told her and turned to her side of the room, which had stopped filling with the scuttling legs of scorpions. They all flexed their tails, like soldiers trying to decide when to charge.
Sophia pivoted to face the army she had to battle. A hundred scorpions with pincers at the ready seemed ready to run up her body and sting her all over.
“Ready for this?” Liv asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Sophia said as thunder cracked overhead and the scorpions took off in all directions.
Chapter Ninety-Nine
You’re having all the fun without me, Lunis sulked in Sophia’s head.
You’re not seriously doing this right now, she replied, powering up her attack in the final seconds she had before the little jerks reached her.
Well…
Sophia could feel his unease. If he were there, he could open his mouth and scorch all these heathens back to hell. But he wasn’t, and he wouldn’t have fit through the temple entrance anyway.
If you want to have a part in things, then tell me what spell to use, Sophia asked her dragon.
She felt him smile. Now you’re asking the right questions. Do the one where you scorch them with fire from your mouth.
Sophia nearly laughed, realizing he had read her thoughts. Try again. How about something I can actually do, like a combat spell?
Let me think about it, he related. Give me a bit and I’ll get back to you.
The scuttling feet of the scorpions pounded the ground, walls, and ceiling of the temple like a drumbeat as they formed groups.
Um…cool, but I’ll be scorpion dinner by then, Sophia informed him.
Lunis sighed. Okay, fine. Why don’t you try the knock-knock joke you tried on me the other day? It made me want to die.
Sophia, facing total peril, tried not to laugh. Leave it to Lunis to make jokes in the face of death.
Lunis, I was hoping for something a bit faster acting than bad humor, she said a bit tersely, gripping her sword, although she didn’t think it would do much good against a bunch of tiny scorpions.
Fine, fine, he said, sounding bored. Then you’ll have to rely on a cedar oil spell.
Are you freaking serious, Sophia questioned, tensing as she feared the scorpions were going to attack at any moment. It was like they were stalling to see which one of the Beaufont sisters would wet their pants first.
I’m totally serious, he answered. Cedar oil has long been known to not only repel arthropods but also kill them. Now, you’ll have to ramp up its effects to make it fast-acting, but I have faith you’ll come through. Or you’ll die there, alone without me after leaving me to go on a mission with your sister.
Do you feel better now, Sophia asked her dragon.
Sort of, he answered.
Now this cedar oil spell, Sophia urged. How do I do it?
I’m uploading the protocol, he said matter of factly.
Seriously, Lun.
It’s all there, he told her. Just pull it up from our shared drive.
If you don’t stop being so modern I’m going to…, she trailed away, realizing she knew the spell. He might have been joking, but Lunis had given her the perfect way to deal with the little jerks facing her.
And not a moment too soon as they took off in her direction.
Chapter One Hundred
As the little beasts charged at Sophia, she sent the essential cedar oil spell in their direction, holding up one hand while the other held her sword. The spell, which she had never practiced, seemed to flow naturally from her hand and hit the hundreds of scorpions, covering them with a light coating. It slowed them at first before making them lock up completely. Then one by one, they popped over on their backs dead.
The spell worked, she rejoiced to Lunis, watching as the league of enemies died off. Sophia continued to spray the little jerks with the spell, shooting her hand around the room.
Naturally, Lunis said, sounding smug. Just call on me whenever you’re about to lose your butt.
Thanks, Lun, Sophia said as she fired off shot after shot at little scorpions that had gotten through and were making their way to her.
I’ll never let you down, Soph, he said, before going quiet in her head.
Behind her, Sophia knew Liv was battling her own army of scorpions. By the good bit of cursing, it sounded like it was going mostly well. It was when the language got really colorful that things were not going to plan.
Sophia turned when she had stamped out the last of her scorpions to find Liv had too. She had used a different chemical spell.
“What was that?” she asked her sister.
“An acid spell,” Liv answered. “I figured if it melts off your face, it should melt a scorpion. But caution, don’t walk over there.” She pointed to the area of the temple she had been defending. “I think the floor might cave in since I used…well, acid.”
“It was effective,” Sophia said, smiling at her sister and finally breathing again, although she realized that was a bad idea since the air was filled with chemicals in the enclosed area.
“Thanks,” Liv said, sizing up Sophia’s area. “You did mighty fine too. What was that spell you used?”
“Cedar oil,” Sophia answered. “Lunis gave it to me.”
Liv nodded proudly. “You used the ‘Call a friend’ option. I approve.”
Sophia could not help but smile. She was on a mission with her sister, with her dragon helping telepathically. In the end, a family would benefit, and they would get the funding they needed to save the dragon eggs. It felt like everything was working out right finally.
Something that wasn’t thunder shook the temple hard and Sophia realized she had spoken too soon. The devil was on her way. She was wearing eight shoes on her long legs and had a stinger ready to take out whoever had awoken her from her long slumber.
Chapter One Hundred One
“Is it too late to tell you I don’t want to do this sibling mission with you?” Liv asked, pressing her back against Sophia’s and holding up h
er sword, Bellator.
“Yeah, I think so,” Sophia said, finding herself trembling as she clutched Inexorabilis.
“I mean, in hindsight,” Liv remarked, her voice vibrating, “I should probably not be here right now. It’s really a conflict of interest for me.”
“I think you’re in over your head at this point,” Sophia observed as the noise from the other chamber got louder.
“Remember when you asked about having a plan earlier?” Liv asked.
“Yeah,” Sophia replied.
“And remember when I said we should not kill her?” Liv continued the odd questions at the worst possible moment.
“Yep,” Sophia answered.
The beast thundered into the temple room. Chelamma was at least ten feet tall and was almost not able to make it through the doorway. She appeared similar to a centaur in that she had the body of a scorpion but the top half was of a naked woman. Her genetics were all messed up in multiple ways because her face wasn’t that great to look at either if you could get over the fact she had a huge stinger arching over her back. Her eyes were too small and her chin too pointy, and her teeth were very prominent. Her clawed hands were reaching forward even as she stalled in the archway of the entrance and looked at the two sisters. On top of all of the physical problems preventing Chelamma from getting a date was the fact she was super rude.
Instead of greeting the first guests she had had in a few hundred centuries, she opened her mouth and screamed, making a sound that made the temple vibrate and dust rain down from the ceiling.
“Yeah, as I was saying,” Liv continued. “All protective acts are over. I’ll suffer the repercussions. Let’s take this horrid creature down. It’s kill or be killed time!”
