by Sarah Noffke
Being specific with making the wish did help, but still, genies usually found loopholes. If someone said, “I wish for a million dollars put into my Chase account,” they might learn that since they didn’t dictate a timeframe, it would happen the moment after their death.
“Lunis is right,” Sophia stated with a sigh. “It’s too risky to ask the genie to help us with the Rogue Riders or Trudy. Those are problems that the Dragon Elite have to resolve on our own.”
Liv nodded, looking sideways at the blue dragon. “Why do I get the impression that you have an idea for how I can use the second wish?”
A coy expression took over Lunis’ face. “Oh, well, I mean, if you have an extra wish and nothing you’d like to ask for, I thought I could help you out.”
Sophia stuck her hands on her hips and glared at her dragon. “What is it that you want? If it’s unlimited leaf tickets on Animal Crossing or tons of Robux on Roblox, the answer is no. I’m tired of you wasting your money and energy on virtual dollars to buy furniture that doesn’t exist.”
He returned the glare. “I don’t judge you for how you spend your money with your Amazon addiction.”
“So what if I buy something from Instant Amazon every single day? It’s all stuff I need,” Sophia argued, crossing her arms in front of her chest defiantly.
“You bought a bunch of yarn the other day,” Lunis replied.
“So?” Sophia challenged.
“So, you don’t knit or crochet,” he countered.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m thinking of taking up the hobby.”
“When?” he questioned. “In all your free time?”
“I might get a break at some point,” Sophia answered. “With the new dragonriders joining us, things could ease up.”
Lunis shook his head. “Yeah, because as second in command of the Dragon Elite and the lead in the field, you’re not going to have way more to manage.”
“I need a scarf,” Sophia argued, not backing down.
“You already bought a dozen off Amazon.”
“They aren’t the right colors.”
“Although this is highly entertaining,” Liv cut in, an amused expression on her face, having watched Sophia and Lunis argue back and forth, “I think we should probably make the most of our time.” She pointed at her midsection. “Demon baby, remember?”
Sophia and Lunis both nodded.
“So, Cyrus, what is it that you want me to wish for?” Liv asked.
He slid his gaze to the side, a sly expression on his face. “A hedgehog.”
“Are you serious?” Sophia nearly yelled, throwing her hands in the air. “What do you want with a hedgehog? Have you heard they’re good snacks or something?”
He shot her a look of offense. “Absolutely not. I want it as a pet.”
“Why do you think you get a pet?” Sophia questioned.
“Well, the Great Librarian gets that owl-cat thing.” Lunis indicated where Beatrix was still perched, glaring down at them with indifference. “Liv has that cat—”
“Lynx,” Liv corrected. “And I wouldn’t call Plato a pet since he pretty much owns me and is the most powerful being on this planet, save for Papa Creola and Mama Jamba.”
“Wilder has Evan,” Lunis continued as though he hadn’t heard her.
“They’re friends,” Sophia argued. “Evan isn’t Wilder’s pet.”
Lunis shook his head. “That’s not how I view it. Then Evan has NO10JO, and it seems like I should have a pet. I promise to take care of it and feed it, and you won’t even know that I have one.”
“Why a hedgehog?” Liv asked, highly entertained by this conversation.
“Have you seen YouTube videos of them?” Lunis questioned. “They’re so flipping cute. You can put little socks on them, and they lay on their backs and have the cutest little bellies and—”
“If you want a hedgehog, then go and get one,” Sophia interrupted. “We shouldn’t waste a wish on one.”
Lunis shook his head. “Liv was going to throw it away anyway. And I might have already tried that…” His words trailed off as a look of shame covered his face.
“What happened to the hedgehog you snuck into your Pad?” Sophia asked, narrowing her eyes at the dragon.
“Well, they’re tiny, and I’m big and—”
Liv laughed. “You sat on your hedgehog and killed it, didn’t you?”
Embarrassed, Lunis nodded.
“So now you want me to wish for a hedgehog that can’t be crushed, don’t you?”
Another nod.
“Sounds good to me,” Liv sang, holding up the golden lamp again.
“Wait, you’re going to give him what he wants?” Sophia questioned in disbelief.
Liv shrugged. “Why not? He’s right that I wasn’t going to use the wish. You don’t seem to want anything. So give Herald what he wants, and maybe he’ll start being nicer to me.”
“Doubt it,” Lunis muttered.
“Well, either way,” Liv continued. “How badly can a genie sabotage a wish for an indestructible hedgehog? That one can’t backfire on us too badly, but any other wish could carry serious consequences.”
Sophia sighed with resignation. “Fine then. You get what you want, Lun.”
The blue dragon grinned.
Holding the lamp with a renewed sense of nervousness, Liv let out a breath. They’d put it off for long enough. Now it was time to summon the genie known as Stan.
Chapter One Hundred
Sophia knew that Liv had battled vampires, werewolves, dogs with three heads, faced down the God Magician, and defeated armies of zombies and other monsters. However, she had never seen her as nervous as when she rubbed the surface of the genie’s lamp. Her hands shook, and she chewed furiously on her lip.
Almost immediately, thick bright turquoise smoke began to pour from the spout of the lamp. It continued to flow as it rose, taking shape and creating a figure of a man. The genie stayed connected to his vessel as he bobbed in the air towering high above Liv and Sophia and as tall as Lunis.
Stan was semi-transparent for only a moment before taking solid form, the smoke whisking from his bottom portion swirling but still somewhat translucent. His skin was the color of the turquoise smoke.
He had a mostly bare barrel chest. Around his neck, he wore a large gold necklace encrusted with many different colored gems. A similar belt wrapped around his waist as well as red fabric that would cover his bottom if he had one instead of a trail of smoke for legs and feet.
On the genie’s head was a turquoise turban with a red feather and more gems. A long braid that looked possessed danced in the air at his back, like a snake. Long golden hoops hung from his ears, and he wore a forked goatee. He looked madder than hell about being summoned as he regarded the two magicians in front of him.
Stan’s red eyes narrowed at them as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Who dares to wake me?” he boomed in a deep voice.
“Hey, Stan,” Liv began, shaking off her prior nervousness. “Sorry, but we’re going to skip introductions since they’re pretty much irrelevant and time is of the essence.”
“Stan?” he questioned, his mouth pinching for a moment as anger flared across his face. “How dare you call me by that name?”
“They dare to do a lot of things you don’t like,” Lunis teased, appearing amused by all this.
“My name is not Stan,” the genie complained. “That’s what the horrid last master I had called me before sinking my lamp to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean.”
“Yeah, Rudolf rarely gets names right,” Liv mumbled.
“So is your name Kevin?” Lunis asked. “Or Kurt? Or Kiran? Or Karl? Inquiring minds want to know.”
Liv’s eyelids fluttered with annoyance because no one wanted to know and they didn’t have the time for all that, but they also didn’t have the time to discuss hedgehogs, and that had happened.
“No, none of those are my names,” the genie replied bitterly, h
olding his thick, muscular arms wide. “I am the great, the powerful, the incredibly majestic Bob!”
A snort followed by a laugh popped out of Lunis’ mouth. “Bob? Like, short for Robert?”
“No, like Bob,” the genie corrected.
“So it doesn’t stand for anything?” Liv asked. “Like, ‘billowing ominous body?’”
“You dare to insult the great, the powerful—”
“Are we running through that again?” Lunis interrupted, obviously amused by this whole show.
“I refuse to be insulted by a dragon,” Bob said, offended.
“Are you okay with being insulted by a magician?” Lunis indicated Liv. “Because she’s a lot worse than me.”
“This is cute and all, but regardless of whether you’re Kyle or Bob or Byle or Kob, I don’t care,” Liv began. “I rubbed your lamp, and now I’d like to make my wish.”
“Very well,” Bob stated while undulating up and down. “You can have three. Make them now, and I will grant them.”
“I’ll take two, Bob,” Liv replied.
“But you have three,” he argued.
“Got it,” Liv stated. “I’m pretty good at math despite what my accountants say. They’re awful people who keep using my money to pay taxes. They’re obsessed with giving money away.”
“You must make all your wishes,” Bob demanded, heat flaring in his words.
“Nice try, Not-Kyle,” Liv sang. “I know my rights. I can order a whole burrito that I don’t have to finish. I’m an adult and get to do what I like.”
“If you don’t make all your wishes—”
“Then you can’t murder me because you’re only allowed to do that once you’ve fulfilled your duty to your master and therefore, you won’t get your freedom,” Liv interrupted. “I’m really sorry, Bud. I don’t know who enslaved all your kind. It sucks badly for you, but I’ve sort of got other problems.”
“Yeah, like, she needs a hedgehog,” Lunis cut in.
Liv rolled her eyes at the blue dragon. “I don’t. I’m going to make my first wish. Then I’ll get you a pet.” She drew in a breath and closed her eyes for a half-beat. When she opened them again, she looked determined. “I wish that the baby I’m currently carrying is healed of its demonism.”
Sophia held her breath. At first, she wished that Liv had said more, like that the baby was born healthy or normal, but that could have caused complications. Then the child could have been born a mortal, which was considered normal. Magicians weren’t. They were rare and powerful. It was smart that Liv had been so brief with her wish. Supplying pertinent details when making a wish was important, but adding too many could cause different problems.
Bob nodded briefly. “Your wish is my command.”
Liv glanced down at her midsection as though expecting it to look different somehow. “Is that it? Is it done?”
“It is,” Bob stated. “Now for your second wish?”
They’d have to have Renswick test Liv again before they knew if the wish had worked. Sophia understood the tension written on her sister’s face. That had felt too easy. She’d probably expected for there to be this big show of magic or to have felt a jolt or something. The whole thing had been a bit lackluster.
Liv gulped, seeming to be trying to compose herself after the letdown. “Okay, then I’d also wish for an indestructible hedgehog.”
If this wish was a surprise to Bob, his face didn’t show it. Again he simply nodded. “Your wish is my command.”
At Liv’s feet appeared the cutest little spiny creature that Sophia had ever seen. The hedgehog had a pointy face and small black eyes framed by round ears.
“Oh my gosh!” Lunis squealed, putting his head low and nearly putting his snout against the hedgehog’s nose. He could easily have squashed the little guy if he hadn’t been more careful, but thankfully that wouldn’t matter. The hedgehog would be indestructible with hopefully no other drawbacks—having been created by the genie. “I’m going to call him Sir Alexander Connery MacDonald the Second. We’re going to do everything together.”
“What about me?” Sophia asked, slightly offended.
“You can’t do anything with him.” Lunis scooped up the little animal and snuggled him to his chest. “You didn’t want me to have him.”
“Are you not doing anything with me now?” Sophia questioned.
Lunis lifted the hedgehog to his ear and listened as if the creature was whispering to him. “Sir Alexander Connery MacDonald says that we’ll see. He’s not sure if he likes you.”
Sophia sighed. “Fine. Play your little games, Lun.”
“I’m ready to grant your last wish.” Bob looked straight at Liv.
She nodded and pulled back her arm as though about to throw a football. “I’m sure you are Bob, but unfortunately, it’s time to go swimming again. Sorry.”
“No!” the genie yelled, but it was too late.
Liv launched her arm through the air, and the lamp flew over the railing. Bob’s floating form automatically sucked back into the vessel where he disappeared at once.
The golden lamp hit the surface of the Arctic Ocean and immediately sank, plummeting to the bottom of the sea where Bob would stay in solitary until some unsuspecting person might find him one day.
Chapter One Hundred One
“Well, we all got what we wanted.” Lunis looked fondly at the tiny hedgehog.
“I didn’t get anything,” Sophia argued, her hands on her hips.
“You get to pout,” Lunis stated. “That’s what you wanted, right? If you got something good, you’d have nothing to complain about. I got my hedgehog, and Liv got her new car or whatever else it was she wished for.”
“My child not to be a demon,” Liv corrected.
Lunis waved her off, enamored by the little hedgehog. “Like I was paying attention.”
“Obviously you weren’t,” Liv muttered. “Now I need to find out if Bob delivered on his wish.” She turned to Sophia. “I’m going to pay Renswick a visit, then look for clues about these poachers who trapped all the baby narwhals.”
Sophia nodded. “That’s a good idea. I can accompany you to see Renswick again if you’d like.”
Liv shook her head. “Thanks, but that’s not necessary, and you have a pet to deliver.” She pointed up at the mainmast where Beatrix was still perched, patiently looking out at the rolling sea.
“Okay, well, let me know as soon as you hear from Renswick about the test results,” Sophia ordered.
“Of course,” Liv stated, looking at Sophia fondly all of a sudden. “That’s for coming with me to get the genie’s lamp and, well, pretty much everything else. I’m not sure how I would have done it if you hadn’t been with me.”
“You would have been fine because you’re Liv-freaking-Beaufont.”
“That’s not my middle name.” Liv laughed. “But thank you. I’m grateful that you were here for me.”
Sophia smiled. “Of course. I’ll always be here for you. Familia est sempiternum.”
Chapter One Hundred Two
Sophia was relieved that she could bring Beatrix into the Gullington so that she could take the gryphowl to the Great Library through the portal connected to the Castle. Quiet seemed to allow access to this kind of stuff more and more. Maybe it was because the Dragon Elite was expanding so much and more needed to be allowed in to see if they qualified. Or perhaps it was because the days of the Barrier being firmly in place were behind them since they were less vulnerable as they grew stronger. Sophia hoped it was the latter.
“I’m going to take Beatrix to the Great Librarian,” Sophia said to Lunis, who didn’t seem to notice her as they crossed the Expanse, too focused on Sir Alexander Connery MacDonald.
“Yeah, I’ll give him a bath first probably,” Lunis stated absentmindedly. “Then I’m making him a bed, and we’re going to watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch and play Top Trumps for hours.”
“You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?”
He glan
ced up, blinking at her. “Yeah, you said, ‘I’m going to go read Beatrix Potter books in the library.’”
She shook her head. “Have fun, Lunis. Don’t stay up too late. You never know when I’ll need your help.”
“Yeah, I do,” he argued. “Why do you think I came to the Arctic Ocean with hardly a moment’s notice?”
“You didn’t want me to watch the Great British Baking Show without you,” she countered.
“No, I knew you’d need backup,” Lunis stated.
“You wanted to use one of Liv’s wishes to get an indestructible pet.”
He paused, lowered his chin, and gave her a meaningful look. “Sophia, I knew the whole situation was going to be very emotional for you and Liv. Mostly for Liv and you’d need the extra moral support to lend her strength. I knew that fixing an unborn child with wish magic was risky and scary and as much as I pretend to loathe your sister, I can hardly find a thing wrong with her. She’s second-best to you, but if you ever, ever tell her that, I will eat you. Slowly.”
Sophia giggled, feeling the affection rebounding off her dragon. “That’s very sweet of you to say.”
He smugly held his head in the air. “I didn’t say it to be sweet. I said it because it’s true. And I hold allegiance to Liv, whether she knows it or not.”
“Especially now that she got you a hedgehog you can’t squash,” Sophia joked.
He nodded. “Especially now. But I was planning on joining you before I heard about you cheating on me to watch the newest season of the Great British Baking Show. I knew you’d need me.”
“Thanks, Lun. That’s really thoughtful of you.”
He held up the tiny hedgehog. “And look, my awesome thoughtfulness was rewarded. We’re going to go and play in the Pad.”
Sophia giggled and waved at her dragon, Beatrix flying overhead and circling them. “Have fun. Thanks. You’re the best.”
Chapter One Hundred Three
The Great Library was unsurprisingly quiet when Sophia stepped through the portal door with Beatrix flying behind her. The gryphowl hadn’t wanted to perch on her arm as she had with Bermuda, as the giantess had predicted. She would only do that with her true master, and that would never be Sophia. She had Lunis—and he had a hedgehog.
