Rectify Injustice (The Exceptional S. Beaufont Book 6)

by Sarah Noffke

  Sophia felt the heat below her as the fire pooled in her dragon. An eruption of flames shot from his mouth and across the air, hitting the Unseelie directly. When the blast stopped, Sophia expected to see the figure charred and falling.

  Instead, the beast was upright as though standing on firm ground, two hands on the ax it held out in front of it. The fire had gone around the fairy, who had shielded itself efficiently from the attack.

  That didn’t work like I planned, Lunis offered.

  “No, it appears the ax blocked it,” Sophia agreed.

  Well, let’s just stay away from that ax, Lunis said, tension in his tone. I don’t have a good feeling about that weapon if we get close.

  The Unseelie lifted the ax over its head and threw it forward, still holding onto it. A moment later, a hot blast of wind shot at them, nearly knocking Sophia off Lunis and tangling his wings from the gale-like force.

  They recovered by spinning to the side, allowing the majority of the gust to pass them. If the blast had hit them directly, they would have been split apart.

  Sophia gulped, tightening one hand on the reins and the other one on her sword. “Looks like we don’t have to be close to that ax for it to be dangerous.”

  No, but to kill that thing, we’re definitely going to have to get closer for an attack, Lunis said.

  Sophia nodded. She spun Inexorabilis in her fingers as she narrowed her eyes with determination. “Then let’s get closer. I’m not allowing an ugly fairy to take us down.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Treacherous wasn’t the right word for the Unseelie fairy spiraling at them. That word seemed mild compared to the beast swerving like a crazed mental patient, ready to murder the air and everything in its midst until it sliced through them.

  “Thelma is going to be stealthier than us,” Sophia observed, watching the way the monster danced.

  Thelma? Lunis questioned.

  “Yeah,” Sophia answered. “Thelma’s always seemed crazy.”

  My mom was a Thelma, he teased.

  “You didn’t have a mom,” Sophia argued as Lunis slowed, catching the wind on his wings. “I just mean Thelmas have a wild side to them.”

  What do you mean, she’ll be stealthier. He sounded offended. I’m nimble.

  “Yes, you are,” she agreed. “But you can’t deny we’re much larger than her. Thelma’s smaller size will make it easier for her to maneuver.”

  Yeah, but she doesn’t have a long spiky tail, Lunis argued, flicking his tail so it came into Sophia’s peripheral vision.

  “Is that the strategy then?” she asked as they nearly came to a halt in the air.

  Lunis was letting the ugly fairy make up the rest of the distance. I think our strategy needs to be you cut her and I’ll keep her guessing on where we are, he suggested.

  “All right,” Sophia said, standing in the saddle, Inexorabilis in her grasp, the sword pulsing in her hands and ready for a battle.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Fearless and obviously bent on murder, the Unseelie fairy shot in their direction, the ax in front of it and its fangs bared. Thelma’s red eyes glowed with vengeance and a strange satisfaction as it neared.

  Sophia was ready for it when Lunis dropped suddenly, spoiling the crazy fairy’s plan to ambush them straight on. Throwing her sword up over her head, Sophia aimed to slice Thelma’s midsection as she passed over them.

  This apparently wasn’t the Unseelie fairy’s first air battle. It flipped to the side, a strange scream spilling from its mouth. As the monster rolled, its figure blurred, and for a moment, all Sophia could see was the ripped black fabric around them like dark clouds had cast them in shadow.

  The fairy’s head ducked and it flipped like a swimmer changing directions. It was strange to Sophia that Thelma seemed to move more like it was swimming than flying. There was a weird grace about the monster that wasn’t exactly beautiful, but definitely alluring, like a hurricane.

  Lunis reset their position, but not as fast as Thelma. The psychopath was screaming and barreling back in their direction before Sophia could bring her sword into position. She barely had it over her head before the ax struck at her, nearly catching her in the face.

  Holding Inexorabilis with everything she had, she kept the ax at bay. Face to face with the monster, Sophia stared into its gaping black mouth and hollow red eyes, and a violent chill ran over every inch of her body.

  She wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold the ax off. The pressure Thelma was exerting was greater than Sophia’s strength. Lunis, sensing Sophia was going to lose this round with the monster having the upper position, swerved to the side and raced away, trying to get some breathing room from the evil fairy.

  Thelma wasn’t going to have that, though. The monster, like a possessive girlfriend, raced after them, screaming the entire time.

  To Sophia, the high-pitched wail seemed to say, “Get back here! You’ll be mine or you’ll be dead.”

  As fast as Lunis was, the fairy kept up with him.

  Glancing over her shoulder, Sophia saw that he kept Thelma at bay by waving his spiked tail rapidly. As it swerved, he flicked his tail and nearly caught it in the face many times. This seemed to put a tiny bit of caution into the Unseelie and it slowed, but only slightly.

  Thinking they had finally caught a break, Sophia let out a tense breath, hoping to reset. Then she realized things weren’t about to get easier.

  She’s just started pulling out her bag of tricks, Lunis said as the fairy threw a round of sharp, deadly icicles in their direction.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  How do you kill a fairy who has ice magic and an ax? Lunis asked, a bit of humor in his voice despite the tense situation they’d found themselves in.

  This time he shot straight up in the air to avoid the dagger-like icicles. They zoomed under him, nearly catching him in the belly.

  “I should have seen the icicles coming,” Sophia apologized. “She’s a fairy, and ice is their strongest element.”

  And mine is fire, Lunis said, preparing to blast the fairy again as she lined up another shot at them from underneath.

  “No,” Sophia argued. “Not only did that not work the last time because of the strange ax she has to create a shield around her, but we can’t have you burning through your reserves. We’ve got a long journey ahead of us.”

  Lunis rolled to the side to avoid a collision with another round of icicles. Sophia only had a split-second warning to hug her dragon, ensuring she stayed on his back rather than tumble to the ground hundreds of yards down.

  Avoiding the ice attacks wasn’t a sustainable strategy, and both Lunis and Sophia knew it. Moreover, it wasn’t advisable for Sophia to use her magic to defend them. They had a long journey ahead, and if she used up her magic with combat spells, they might not make it across the Atlantic Ocean.

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Sophia said to her dragon.

  She felt him smile. Yeah, let’s play hardball.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Stay…stay…stay,” Sophia encouraged her dragon as the crazy-ass Unseelie fairy drifted from side to side as though on a violent breeze.

  Thelma kept its distance, but that was because its attacks could be made from afar, and it didn’t want to risk the wrath of Lunis’ tail.

  When facing a deranged creature Sophia thought only existed in Scottish lore, it was difficult to stay unmoving in front of the monster.

  It was like the opposing sides were having a stare-off.

  Thelma narrowed its red eyes, seeming to try to decide why they weren’t darting away from it to get distance like before. As soon as they faced off with the demon, it halted its attacks. Sophia assumed it sensed they had changed their strategy, but thankfully it hadn’t seemed to have figured it out.

  Should I give chase again? Lunis asked, sinking a few inches before beating his wings slightly to make up the distance. It was like breathing. He’d lower a bit and then regain the he
ight. Sophia hoped it had a mesmerizing effect on Thelma, but guessed the creepy fairy was just planning its next attack.

  “No, let’s stay where we are,” Sophia said, trusting her instincts. “She’s about to throw something at us again. She isn’t sure why we don’t have a panicked look about us like before.”

  Panicked. Lunis scoffed. Speak for yourself, Soph. I’m not the least bit panicked. I mean, sure, I was a little concerned before about getting cut by that ax of hers, but something tells me it could filet me where most blades shouldn’t be able to cut.

  “Yeah, there’s definitely something about that ax,” Sophia mused. If Wilder were there, he would know what was up with the weapon.

  “The key is to stay put when she throws the next attack,” Sophia encouraged.

  The thing is, Lunis began, she’s not throwing any attacks anymore. Think she has telepathy and knows our plan?

  Sophia shook her head. “No, we’re both too good at shielding. I think we’re just not running, and that’s giving us away.”

  Then we should run, he offered.

  Again, Sophia shook her head. “I don’t think the plan will work. I’m good at sports but not when on the back of a dragon, racing through the air.”

  That’s funny, Lunis snickered.

  “Doing sports on the back of a dragon?” she asked.

  He shook his head. No, that you’re good at sports.

  “Ha-ha,” she said. The only way to get the red-eyed beast to play was to give it a reason.

  Using her magic sparingly, Sophia held out her hand and gathered up a bit of wind before launching it at the Unseelie like it was a baseball.

  The monster reacted immediately, easily darting away. Then it played right into Sophia’s hand and threw several deadly icicles in their direction.

  That was the moment of truth.

  “Don’t move,” Sophia demanded, holding her sword tight in her grasp.

  Don’t worry, I’m not moving, Lunis said tensely. But those attacks aren’t going to hit me. They are all aimed at you.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The last time Sophia played baseball had been on a video game Liv had. That was the only time, but she reasoned she was a quick learner and would figure it out quickly.

  Or die, Lunis teased as the icicles raced at them in slow motion.

  Sophia didn’t back down from the challenge by encouraging Lunis to drop away from the attacks. Instead, she sucked in a breath and clutched her sword, knowing there was also an instinct held deep within Inexorabilis she could rely on to help her in battle. It wouldn’t play ball for her, but it could help her with the precision of her attacks.

  When the first icicle raced at Sophia’s face, she pulled Inexorabilis around, hitting the sharp shard of ice and knocking it to the side. It shattered, raining cold down on them.

  She didn’t even notice since she yanked her sword two more times in quick succession but only connected with one of the icicles. The other raced by her face, grazing her cheek.

  Sophia ducked, thinking she’d been hit hard. She lifted her hand to her face and found a scratch.

  Just a scratch, she thought.

  A magical attack, though, Lunis stated, obvious worry in his voice.

  “Not enough to keep me down,” Sophia said as the angry fairy threw another round of icicles at them.

  This time Lunis did move, but only to put Sophia in the best position to volley the attack. The idea was to keep up a good defense, but as Sophia hit one icicle after another, another idea occurred to her.

  “Can you get us a little closer?” she asked Lunis when she’d knocked down the last of that round.

  You got it, boss, he told her in an upbeat voice, moving forward several yards.

  This didn’t deter Thelma. Instead, the fairy clenched one fist, the ax in the other and threw another round of icicles.

  Sophia dodged the first two attacks. When the third raced at her, she set herself up in what she hoped was the perfect position. She knew she couldn’t swing too early. What she needed was a home run, not a bunt. This was about winning now, not about defense.

  At the last possible moment, Sophia swung Inexorabilis, waiting for a tug from the sword before yanking it.

  The blade connected with the icicle that had been thrown with a precision to impress. It knocked it back, not breaking it this time. Instead, Sophia sent the icicle back the way it had come.

  Thelma’s red eyes widened in horror at the realization of what had happened. It began to react, but just as it turned to get away, its own attack stabbed it in the back, making both its arms shoot out as a wail that could be heard all over Ireland erupted from its mouth.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Better than revenge with her sword was for Sophia to end her enemy with her own attack.

  She watched from high atop Lunis as the deadly fairy spiraled toward the green hills of Ireland below. Taking her first deep breath in what felt like forever, Sophia was caught by surprise when Lunis darted into a downward dive, headed straight for the falling Unseelie fairy.

  “What are we doing?” Sophia asked in a rush, gripping the reins before she was yanked off the back of her dragon.

  We are ensuring that a potential weapon isn’t lost or falls into the wrong hands, Lunis said quickly. Sorry, it just occurred to me, and there was no time to discuss it.

  “What aren’t we discussing?” Sophia asked as the wind whistled past her ears. Her cheeks felt like they were darting behind her like flags in the wind because Lunis was speeding toward the ground so fast.

  The ax, he said simply, as though that should be enough information.

  A dip into his thoughts, and Sophia knew at once what he intended for her to do.

  She nodded proudly. “Good idea,” she approved, “but can we make it in time? She’s falling fast.”

  We can sure try, he encouraged. You didn’t know how to play baseball and nailed her with her own ball.

  “Hey, I’m a great batter,” she argued as they closed the distance to the Unseelie fairy, who was falling faster every second. Not only did they need to catch up with it, but they needed to somehow get to the ax before it fell from its grasp.

  When Lunis arrived beside the fairy, Sophia realized there was no worry of the beast letting go of its ax. Her dragon continued to descend alongside the fairy as Sophia reached out for the ax. She nearly lost her balance.

  Tightening her grip on her dragon, she reached out again, grabbing for the ax. It was pinned in the dead fairy’s hands like it was cemented there. Sophia pulled on the handle, but it didn’t budge.

  Twice more, she tried to yank it free, but in life or death, Thelma wasn’t letting its weapon go.

  Sophia, Lunis called, grabbing her attention.

  She gritted her teeth and dared to take both hands off the reins to try to pry the handle from the dead fairy’s hands.

  What? she nearly yelled in his mind.

  Don’t want to rush you, but the ground is quickly approaching, he informed her.

  She pulled her gaze away from the fairy to find he was right. There was much less sky between them and the ground than seconds prior. They couldn’t grab the Unseelie fairy since that could be a recipe for disaster. She might not be dead. She might be full of poison. Some fairies exploded into flames shortly after death. There were all sorts of potential dangers.

  Sophia knew she had seconds to get the ax or otherwise give up on the mission.

  One last chance, she thought as she drew in a breath and held it.

  With everything she had, Sophia jerked on the handle to the ax. At first, she was certain it was the end and they’d have to veer up, abandoning the weapon. Then it jumped free of the fairy’s bony fingers, nearly making Sophia topple off the other side of Lunis from the momentum.

  Knowing she had the object of their desire, he pulled up at the last minute as a loud bang erupted from the earth below, followed by an explosion of fire that singed Sophia’s boots and Lunis’ belly
as he took off for the sky, the ax held proudly in Sophia’s hands.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  If this was a movie, Lunis began, out of breath from the dive toward the earth, this would be when the triumphant music played, and we took a victory lap.

  “No victory laps,” Sophia said, eyeing the strange ax. There was something different about it and she wasn’t sure if it could be trusted. She slipped the weapon into her belt, securing it as she focused on the path ahead. “We have enough of a distance to cross, so I say we just keep going and not add any more to our journey.”

  Copy that, Lunis agreed, flapping his wings. So, Thelma…

  “Yeah, what do you think her problem was?” Sophia asked.

  Anger management, he answered. We should tell Hiker that’s where he’s headed if he’s not careful. One day he’ll be this crazy-ass fairy with a bad attitude and fiery eyes no one can reason with.

  Sophia giggled, her chest loosening. “You’re in charge of telling him that.”

  Lunis shook his head. Nah. I’m good. I don’t know about the Unseelie fairies. They just turned out bad for some reason. Mama Jamba would know.

  Sophia sighed as they left Ireland behind and began crossing the Atlantic Ocean. “Yeah, but we both know she’s not talking.”

  She’s not talking to you, Lunis pointed out.

  “Oh, you and Mother Nature chat?” she asked, amused.

  Maybe, he lied. You might want to replenish your reserves before the next monster jumps up and demands to be fought.

  Sophia shook her head. “No, I’m hoping for the most boring voyage across the Pond. No more impromptu villains.” She did heed his advice and pulled a candy bar from her cloak pocket. For Lunis, it would be easy enough to refill his reserves on the long journey. He’d just go fishing with Sophia in tow.