by Sarah Noffke
Trin ignored their banter, pursing her lips. “I made the breakfast burritos because I thought you’d like them. If you don’t, then fine. I won’t try anything new.”
“Sounds good to me.” Hiker eyed his burrito, which was also untouched.
Trin stormed back to the kitchen, her black boots making noise as she stomped.
When the kitchen door swung shut, Wilder shook his head at Evan. “Smooth move, mate. Please teach me your ways, Casanova.”
Evan kept looking over his shoulder, back at the kitchen—worry on his face. “Man, I didn’t mean to offend her.”
“Still, it’s who you are, and there’s no way of avoiding it,” Wilder stated.
“It would seem,” Evan grumbled, turned back, and glared down at the burrito.
“Don’t worry.” Ainsley sounded sympathetic. “You guys will find your way. It’s hard when you serve someone and also are in a more complex relationship.”
Evan nodded and picked up the burrito, not at all looking sure about the food.
“Does anyone want to know what I think about Evan fancying the housekeeper?” Hiker speared a roasted potato with his fork.
“Not really, son.” Mama Jamba snapped her fingers, and a skiing magazine appeared beside her half-eaten short stack of pancakes.
“You also could be a little nicer to Trin,” Ainsley said to Hiker and nodded at the burrito. “She’s trying and putting her spin on the job.”
“You seem to have loved the change to the menu,” Hiker teased and eyed the burrito she dissected with a fork and knife but didn’t eat much of.
“I thought it was an interesting adventure,” Ainsley said smugly.
“I like eggs for breakfast, not adventures,” Hiker argued.
“This is delicious!” Evan exclaimed, having taken a bite finally. “What’s wrong with you old sticks in the muds? Breakfast burritos are the best thing ever!”
Wilder leaned forward in the other dragonrider’s direction. “I think she heard you in the kitchen,” he whispered. “I think the chickens who laid those eggs far outside the Gullington heard you.”
Evan took another bite and chewed with a delighted smile. “You miss eggs, don’t you?”
Wilder shook his head. “The only thing I miss is stealing your bacon.”
Both guys’ eyes darted to the tray in front of them where there was one hash brown left. They seemed to both have the same idea, rushing to pick up their fork to snag the potato. Sophia had less decorum. She reached out and grabbed it with her fingers, stuck it in her mouth, and winked at Wilder and Evan, who both regarded her with offended expressions.
“While you two battle, the real culprit will steal your treasure,” she said through a mouthful of hash brown. “So be careful what you spend your time doing.”
Hiker cleared his throat and pushed away his plate. “Speaking of which. I want you all in my office straight after breakfast. We have to discuss this Rogue Rider situation. Something tells me that it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
“Sir, your optimism is always so inspiring,” Evan commented and continued to eat his burrito.
Hiker stood, his presence commanding. “I’ll see you all momentarily. We have much to discuss.”
Chapter Three
“What company makes the best snow gear?” Mama Jamba asked no one in particular from her place on the Chesterfield in Hiker’s office. She was thumbing through a magazine and eyeing a pair of skis.
Hiker scowled at her from behind his desk. “How am I supposed to know?”
“How do you not know that?” Evan asked Mother Nature from where he perched against the far wall next to the bank of windows overlooking the Pond. “Don’t you pretty much know everything?”
She shrugged. “Who has time to keep up with all that stuff?”
“Papa Creola,” Sophia answered from her seat beside the old woman.
“Where do you plan to go?” Wilder asked Mama Jamba, hanging over the back of the sofa, draped between the two women.
She shrugged again. “Maybe the Alps or the Rockies, or I’ll make a new mountain range.”
“Or you can help us with our latest enemies, the newest set of Rogue Riders,” Hiker urged, irritation in his voice.
“I could.” Mama Jamba hummed while turning the magazine’s page. “I’ve never skied. I wonder if it’s hard.”
Anger flared on his face. He was about to voice his complaints, but Evan cut him off.
“Aren’t you good at everything by default?” he asked Mama Jamba.
She shook her head. “Oh, no. We all have our limitations. No one is all-powerful. I create. That’s what I do. I don’t fight or have superpowers. That’s why I have you all.”
“We’d love to do our job if you lot would focus already,” Hiker muttered before glancing at Ainsley, who perched on the corner of his desk. She wore a silver gown with red rose patterns throughout. It was elegant and sophisticated at the same time and made her look like she was professional and also ready for a posh affair. “How are things with the elves after the Rogue Riders invaded their homeland?”
“They’re very grateful for the Dragon Elite,” Ainsley began, her tone neutral. Clinical. “However, even with the protective barrier we put up, they’re still very shaken. It will take a while before those on the island don’t fear that the Rogue Riders will return.”
Hiker nodded. “Understandable. I wish I could reassure them that it won’t happen, but I can’t since I don’t know where the Rogue Riders are. They’ve been quiet since fleeing the island.”
“More like tucking tail and running for their lives.” Evan puffed his chest out.
“What about the tracking device that Mama Jamba made to locate the demon dragons?” Sophia looked around Hiker’s desk where the orb had been the last time she saw it.
The leader of the Dragon Elite shook his head. “It stopped working once we located them. Maybe you can help with that Mama?”
The old woman shook her head of curly bluish-gray hair. “Oh, no. I already did that. I got you acquainted with the demon dragons and their riders so you all could track them down once. I’m not giving you something to keep constant tabs on them. That’s your job, son.”
Hiker’s eyes fluttered with annoyance. “Yes, and I’ve devoted that job to looking for disturbances worldwide. Something tells me that the Rogue Riders won’t remain quiet long. Under Versalee’s leadership, I suspect they’ll create trouble somewhere else very soon.”
“Yeah, there’s evil, and there’s really evil.” Evan whistled. “There’s no reasoning with a demon dragonrider like her.”
“I’m afraid you’re right,” Hiker stated with an edge to his voice. “I’ve met many a demon dragonrider in my day. Some are selfish. Some will abuse their powers to get what they want. Then there are ones like Versalee who are crazed with evil and diabolical.”
“She remind you of anyone?” Ainsley asked him.
Hiker nodded bitterly. “All too well of my brother, Thad Reinhart.”
“By definition, shouldn’t all leaders of the evil demon dragonriders be corrupt?” Evan asked.
“Maybe,” Hiker allowed. “In the past, demon dragonriders either laid low or created tyranny depending on who their leader was. Everything always depends on leadership.”
“Which is why we’re in such good hands,” Evan gushed.
Wilder coughed, and it sounded very much like, “Suck up.”
“Yeah, I want to believe that under the right leadership,” Sophia began while ignoring the guys’ banter, “the Rogue Riders could contribute to the world order by governing mortal criminals, rather than by exploiting and benefiting from them.”
“Do you also want to believe that the Earth is flat, Pink Princess?” Evan asked in a teasing tone. “Because there’s reality, and there’s fiction.”
“You’re fiction,” Wilder quipped before returning his focus to Sophia. “I think you’re right. The demon dragonriders were created for a re
ason. They have to have a purpose.”
“Regardless, they’re ruining our good name.” Hiker strode around his desk looking individually at each of the riders. “The world simply sees dragonriders creating problems and doesn’t know that it’s not us, the Dragon Elite.”
“Was this a problem in the past?” Sophia asked. “When there were Rogue Riders under Thad Reinhart?”
Hiker shook his head. “No, because the world knew there were two groups. We’d been around for a long time, and things were established. In these times, we’ve simply popped up and have battled with reputation from the beginning thanks to stigma and the mortal world easing back into seeing magic after so long.”
“So it seems there’s an opportunity for education,” Sophia offered.
“I agree,” Hiker stated. “Evan and Wilder, I want you to continue on one of the goodwill campaigns you worked on in the past. We need to make ourselves known as the Dragon Elite. I’ll send out a press release stating that we have nothing to do with the Rogue Riders and don’t condone their behavior and crimes.”
“I can help you to craft it and get it out to the other magical races,” Ainsley offered.
Hiker nodded without looking at her at his back. “Thank you. That would be helpful.” He turned his attention to Mahkah, who was beside the door, standing straight, his chin high. “I want you back on adjudication missions.” Hiker pointed at a stack of files on his desk. “I have a few cases that have come in recently, and that way our actions will follow my words. We will try to bring justice and peace to the world, whereas I suspect the Rogue Riders are doing the exact opposite.”
Sophia drummed her fingers on her knee while thinking. “So the Rogue Riders aren’t a new society of dragonriders?”
Hiker shook his head. “I’d guess the shared consciousness of the dragons informed them of the organization that was started centuries before, and they took the name.”
“What did they do in the past?” Sophia asked.
“It depended but it was usually self-serving,” Hiker answered.
“Was it always composed of demon dragonriders?” Sophia continued to question.
Hiker thought for a moment. “Yes, as far as I’m aware.”
“What happened to all of them?” Sophia drummed her fingers on her knee, feeling like she was on the brink of understanding something if she drilled down a little more.
“Well, under Thad’s leadership, unfortunately we had to kill many of them,” Hiker stated, regret in his voice. He shook his head, his blond hair knocking him in the eye. “He didn’t leave me any choice in the matter. Thad couldn’t be reasoned with and had to be stopped. Killing our own has never been my first option.”
Evan drew in a loud breath. “I agree with that sentiment as despicable as those guys on the island were. I tried not to kill any, but they left me no choice.”
The other dragonriders agreed with nods.
“At one point,” Hiker stated, “most of the demon dragonriders fled from Thad’s Rogue Riders, knowing they were fighting his war and weren’t going to win it. Demon dragonriders have always scattered, preferring to be drifters and loners on their own if not led by someone like Thad.”
“I know that Thad went after some for their dragons,” Sophia began slowly, as though trying to work out her question, “but there had to be a lot. More than he could have wiped out. What happened to all of them?”
Hiker blinked at the question as if he hadn’t expected it and was broadsided. “I honestly thought they did their own thing, keeping to themselves. I was shocked when I learned there were no more out there once we returned to the waking world when mortals could see magic once more.”
Sophia let out a long breath. “That doesn’t make any sense though. Like, Thad went after some, but according to the Complete History of Dragonriders, there were quite a few demon dragonriders after the Great War.”
“It doesn’t say what happened to them?” Mahkah questioned.
“No. It cuts off after then.”
“Doesn’t sound very complete,” Evan observed.
Sophia laughed. “I think because the House of Fourteen—or rather the House of Seven then—rewrote history, that the Complete History of Dragonriders paused, not knowing how it should tell the events. I suspect that it’s sorting out the details now and will write those chapters soon, once things settle down on the timeline.”
Wilder shook his head. “A book that writes itself. That’s impressive.”
“It records events,” Hiker imparted. “I suspect you’re right, Sophia, and the book was confused. To your point, it is curious that demon dragonriders disappeared seemingly overnight, but we were locked here, and it seemed that they probably got themselves killed off.”
“I think it would be worth looking into what happened to them,” Sophia stated. “We know that Thad was the last one from the old generation. Maybe if we find out what killed off the rest…”
“We can find that and use it again?” Evan jokingly supplied.
Sophia smirked but shook her head. “No, we can figure out what went wrong the first time.”
“Why?” Hiker arched an eyebrow at her, a deep curiosity in his gaze.
“Because we were almost extinct,” Sophia began, trying to piece everything together in her head as she spoke. “It started with us warring with each other, the angel and demon dragonriders. It feels like that’s where we’re heading once more. Magicians loathe us right now. Tensions are high. Mortals don’t trust us. We’re fighting to stay alive against our own. What if history repeats itself? There are only so many of us left and no more dragon eggs to replace us.”
“Are you offering to dig into this matter?” Hiker asked. “Can you figure out the missing part of history?”
Sophia nodded with determination. This felt right—the most logical next thread to pull. “Yes, and I know exactly where to look. It’s through understanding what went wrong in the past that we correct the future. We have to figure out what went wrong and fix it this time.”
Chapter Four
In Los Angeles, Sophia was used to steady warm temperatures. If constant was what she wanted, Scotland offered that, reminding Sophia of her childhood hometown. However, it wasn't nonstop sunny weather in Scotland, but rather the persistent rains. At least Sophia knew what to expect day in and day out—rain.
Sophia didn't have a predictable job, so having predictable weather was nice, even constant showers. She didn't mind it so much. It was humbling, and Lunis had explained the weather in Scotland was chosen by the first generation of dragons as their home because they believed it made them hardy, but more importantly, it strengthened their riders. Only the tough could ride on the cutting winds with their heads held high, and their shoulders braced against the cold.
The rain had let up for the time being when Sophia stepped out onto the Expanse of the Gullington after the meeting in Hiker's office. However, she didn't delude herself into thinking that meant the sun would break free from the blanket of thick clouds and bask the grounds in rays of golden light. It merely meant that she wouldn't get drenched during her meeting with Lunis.
The blue dragon flew down from his new place, a cave opening beside the Nest known as the Pad. It wasn’t cold and damp like the Cave with the elder dragons. Nor was it filled with dragonettes like the Nest. It was all Lunis’ and pimped out to his taste with surround-sound speakers, tons of electronics, snacks, and a cozy bed for him to sprawl out on.
Lunis landed on the soft ground beside Sophia with a new serenity on his face. They were quiet for a long moment, not even greeting each other but rather soaking in each other’s presence without words.
Finally, Sophia said, “So, the new place—”
“It’s incredible!” Lunis exclaimed, cutting her off, his tone vibrating with excitement. “I couldn’t sleep. There were so many fun things to check out. I have a Nintendo Switch now and don’t need your stupid phone or to rely on my cracked iPad that you got me secondhand from Liv�
��”
“You’re welcome,” Sophia said dryly.
“Then I got a stomachache from eating too many spicy Cheetos,” Lunis continued.
“Which is why you have cheese dust under your claws,” Sophia observed after glancing down at the dragon’s feet.
“I took a long soak and finally fell asleep listening to rock music at full volume, without a care in the world for waking the baby dragons who haven’t let me have a good night’s rest since they defiled my world with their repugnant existence.” Lunis finished with a dreamy quality in his green eyes.
“You get that the new generation is supremely important and the world’s future rests on their existence and growth,” Sophia blandly stated.
Lunis gave her a dismissive look. “Whatever. It doesn’t mean I have to like them.”
“Well, I’m glad you like the Pad and that you’re able to have your space and quiet,” Sophia offered.
“By quiet, you mean I blared Metallica until my ears bled.”
“Metallica, eh?” Sophia questioned, surprised. “That’s a bit different than your usual pop music choices.”
“I’m in a particularly angsty mood, displaying my independence from the colony.”
Sophia nodded, enjoying the cool mist laced in the wind that swept across the Expanse. A few dragonettes flying low in the sky followed it, gaining height as they headed for the Barrier.
“They’re leaving.” Sophia indicated the almost full-grown dragons.
Lunis nodded. “That’s the second group today. They’re ready, it seems. Or they’re bored without me around the Nest for them to annoy.”
“See? You forced them to spread their wings by moving out of the Nest.” Sophia laughed.
Lunis gave her an irritated look. “Your puns know no bounds.”
“You’re welcome.”
“No, they really should. Leave the puns to me. I’m better at them. You’re the pretty one. I’m the funny one. Let’s not step on each other’s roles.”
