Adapt Or Be Crushed (The Exceptional S. Beaufont Book 9)

by Sarah Noffke

  She hadn’t expected that Liv would come back to their family. Or that she would take the position of Warrior for the House of Fourteen, meaning that the responsibility wouldn’t fall on Sophia. Or that she would become one of her best friends.

  But more surprising than all that was that when it came to facing danger, there were few that Sophia wanted by her side other than Liv Beaufont. She, like Lunis and Wilder, made adventure fun. Sophia never felt scared when Liv was around, probably because she knew that she was with the very best in the world.

  Sophia suddenly felt so very grateful to be a Beaufont. To be Liv’s sister. To have the family and past that she did, and the upbringing that had brought her to this point.

  And as it usually happened, the universe heard her thoughts and responded in kind.

  Steam rose from the lake’s edges as something glowing sprouted from the center of the body of water.

  Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Seven

  “I’m getting tired of small bodies of water lately,” Sophia supplied as the disturbance gave both sisters pause.

  “Because you too had a boating incident lately?” Liv asked over her shoulder.

  “You had a boating incident?” Sophia looked her sister over for injuries. “Are you okay?”

  “I broke three bones, but the gnome is going to be okay, unless he doesn’t deliver on his side of the bargain,” Liv replied.

  Sophia nodded. “Yeah, I experienced a small tsunami.”

  “They’re never small,” Liv replied. “And we’ll have our fair share of tsunamis if we don’t hurry up and stop this volcano.” She picked up the pace, hurrying up the mountain although the glowing orange thing was growing larger in the center of the small lake.

  Liv was right. Mount Castiglione wasn’t far off the coast. If it erupted. there would be earthquakes and tsunamis and all sorts of aftermath that the Beaufont sisters would have to deal with. Not only did they not want to worry about evacuating innocent people from their homes and saving the lands of Italy, they had an important person they needed to get into place. Since the Great Library had been without a librarian, things had been crazy at the Gullington, and Happily Ever After College, and who knew where else. It was time that things returned to normal. Or at least as close as they could get to it.

  “So what do you make of…” Sophia’s voice trailed away, not knowing how to describe the disturbance in the lake that Liv seemed keen on ignoring.

  “Do you want my real answer? My fake answer? Or the funny one?”

  “Well, since entertainment seems to keep me moving, let’s go with all three.”

  “Okay, in reverse, here we go.” Liv had to hunch to get up the steep hill. “It’s a bad light display because Paul is one of those types who puts up Christmas decorations in early November thinking that’s at all appropriate.”

  “Ha-ha.” Sophia wished her sister had tried harder, but recognized the fear in Liv’s voice. She felt it too, rebounding in her chest. “And your fake answer? What’s that?”

  “It’s probably a lava monster who wants to make our life hell,” Liv said as the lake bubbled more and steam made the air thick.

  “And your real answer?” Sophia asked in a rush.

  Liv shook her head erratically as something emerged from the water and threw hot droplets of water on them. “I’m sorry, that was my real answer. I think that’s a lava monster, come to take us down! Run, Sophia! Run!”

  Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Eight

  Something large and round emerged from the lake that was now a bubbling cauldron of mess, and what Sophia was pretty sure it was the new pits of hell. Hot water spurted up and hit them in the face and on the backs of their hands. Sophia knew they needed to keep climbing, but it was impossible to ignore the danger that had popped up from the lake and appeared to vie for their attention.

  Not only that, but Liv had halted and pulled her sword Bellator. This immediately made Sophia unsheathe Inexorabilis.

  “What are the chances that this is a funky Santa Claus display gone wrong?” Sophia asked her sister and blinked to see through the steam rising in the air.

  “Do you want my real answer, fake one, or funny one?”

  “Last time you only gave me two of the three, so what will I get this time if I ask for all of them?”

  “Soph…” Liv said as the steam drifted to the side of the lake and the creature that was undoubtedly a monster rising from the center of the water became visible. “In all seriousness, run!”

  Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Nine

  Liv shoved her sister in front of her and pushed her up the hill, encouraging her to get up there faster before the creature that was no doubt fueled by the heat of the volcano came to life.

  Both put away their swords as they ran, seeing that the upcoming area was steeper and required both hands to climb.

  Sophia didn’t mind that Liv’s hands were pressed into her behind, knowing that she was trying to propel her away from the danger faster. The monster was unlike anything that Sophia had faced, which was saying a lot.

  Then, as if Liv were in her thoughts, she said through ragged breaths, “I’ve never seen something like that! What is it?”

  Sophia shook her head as her fingers dug into the dirt to help her climb ever higher. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen that kind of thing before either.”

  “Well, let’s get pictures later after we’re far enough away. Can’t wait to post that on my Instagram,” Liv stated. “I’m not sure what that monster is capable of, but I don’t want to find out.”

  That was the thing, Sophia realized at once. The round monster that was like the top of an octopus head hadn’t attacked them yet. It had simply emerged from the steaming, boiling lake with its head glowing bright orange. It had limbs much like an octopus, but as far as Sophia could tell, only two or four at the most. It was hard to be sure since she hadn’t stayed by the lake’s edge long enough to get a good look. And part of the body was still submerged in the glowing water. She hoped it stayed that way.

  Very much unlike an octopus, the creature had three eyes side by side and a large mouth. That was the thing. Its mouth was so large. Like, almost half the size of its head. And that had been what was most strange about it, although there had been many things.

  The beast was so large that it could easily take up half the lake, and the antennas on its head were strange. But it was really the mouth. For Sophia, that was the cause for concern. Yet, they weren’t under attack. They were simply climbing a steaming, rumbling mountain the same as they’d been doing before.

  Sophia suddenly halted and turned to her sister. “That thing…”

  “I’m calling him Herbert,” Liv supplied at once.

  “Good name,” Sophia replied. “What got to you most about it?”

  “The mouth,” Liv answered without hesitation.

  “Yeah, me too, but why?”

  “Maybe because it was huge, the better to eat us with,” Liv stated in a rush and pushed Sophia in the bum again. “Can you hurry up? I’ve got places to be that don’t involve an active volcano.”

  Sophia laughed at this, then to her devastation realized something. She halted again.

  “What?” Liv asked. “Did you lose a contact? Just remember you forgot to turn in your library books? Realize you let that sub sandwich punch ticket expire before cashing it in? Left the coffee pot on in the Castle?”

  Sophia wanted to laugh, but she couldn’t as she squinted around. “We’ve lost the trail. I don’t know the way up anymore.”

  Chapter One Hundred Thirty

  Liv stepped around Sophia and squinted in the waning light. The orange glow from the lake and smoke made the setting sun very eerie, but a little beautiful since it cast a strange array of colors over the sky.

  “How hard can it be?” Liv questioned. “We go up.”

  Her eyes widened when she saw what Sophia was talking about. The trail had disappeared, and somehow they’d ended up on the side of a scree wit
h a sharp incline that plummeted to a pit of jagged rocks far below.

  “Oh, hell,” Liv complained and turned to survey the way they’d come. “Well, we can double back.”

  “But Herbert…” Sophia indicated the direction of the lake, which was obscured from view thanks to a tree line they’d entered. However, doubling back would put them back into view.

  “Honestly,” Liv began, “I think I’d rather deal with Herbert at this point than take our chances moving forward. We have to cut upward on a path that will lead to the cabin at the top. That one looks like a steep slide down.”

  “Agreed.” Sophia followed her sister as they scrambled down the dramatic decline.

  “Herbert is part of that specialness you mentioned when saying the Hidden Places only has dangerous locations, isn’t he?” Liv questioned as they strode back the way they’d come.

  “I’m afraid so,” Sophia stated. “And unfortunately, if Mount Castiglione is anything like the place I visited in the South Pacific, Herbert won’t be our only surprise.”

  “I can’t stand surprises,” Liv complained, but Sophia heard the amusement in her voice.

  When they came to the portion by the lake where the trees disappeared and the water was in full view, both sisters dropped to the ground at once to avoiding getting hit by the balls of lava being thrown at them.

  “Seriously,” Liv grumbled through a mouthful of dirt.

  Both dared to look up to see what Herbert had become. He’d grown—his mouth too. He was using his tentacle-like arms to pick up wads of lava and roll them into round objects as if they were snowballs. Then he stuck them in his giant mouth and spit them around the lake, launching them far onto the shore and straight at the Beaufont sisters.

  “Herbert is officially the worst lava monster I’ve met,” Liv stated. “And I’ve met a few.”

  Sophia agreed. She knew he was also the most dangerous she’d met, and would soon take them out unless they acted fast.

  Chapter One Hundred Thirty-One

  “We need a strategy.” Sophia rolled behind the first set of trees, knowing that shelter from more oncoming lava balls would help.

  “Playing baseball with a lava monster was my strategy,” Liv retorted as the mountain rumbled under them, both still lying on their stomachs.

  “Something tells me that the creature that eats lava and emerged from a pool of steaming hot magma isn’t going to be harmed by a volley of balls being launched back at him.”

  “I don’t know. I’ve got a mean arm,” Liv argued and ducked lower as sparks flew at them from a ball of lava that burst against the dirt on the shore. It was hot. Really hot, but for some strange reason it didn’t burn Sophia like she thought it would. She’d unfortunately been around lava enough to know that one feels it when it’s close, even if it doesn’t touch your skin.

  “That’s weird,” Sophia mused and dared to take a moment to study the bits of lava smoldering in the dirt nearby.

  “You mean that it doesn’t feel as hot as you’d expect?” Liv asked.

  Sophia glanced sideways at her sister. “Can you read my thoughts or something?”

  “No. I know how you think because you’re smart and think similarly to me,” Liv answered. “And I put a protection spell on you earlier to keep you from getting burned. It’s not foolproof and a solid hit from Herbert will be deadly, but it should keep us both from frying or melting, as it were.”

  “Thanks.” Sophia offered a grateful smile. “For strategy, I think we need to consider fighting this guy with the opposite of fire and lava since that doesn’t seem to be his weakness.”

  “Good idea.” Liv pursed her lips. “The problem is that although the king of the fae thinks he’s my best friend, he hasn’t graced me with ice magic yet and I doubt I can manifest it willy-nilly right now.”

  Sophia nodded. Each magical race owned a certain element. As magicians, they had dominance over the element of wind, making producing or controlling it somewhat easy without being a huge drain on their magic. Other types of magic like fire for the gnomes and ice for the fae or water for the elves were harder for them to control. The gnomes had at one point gifted Liv with fireball magic. However, it was rare for a magical race to do that since their control over an element made them unique and gave them an advantage over others.

  “Don’t worry, I’ve got us covered,” Sophia began. “The chi of the dragon gives me ice magic as well as the others.”

  “Being a dragonrider is the ultimate best.” Liv looked impressed. “Well, besides that whole having to ride a dragon and live in the middle of nowhere.”

  “I like those parts of the job,” Sophia argued.

  “You know, at this point, I’d take a dragon over a familiar who sends us to a mountain and makes it an active volcano,” Liv joked. “Los Angeles doesn’t have the same charm as Scotland. The guys who wear skirts in my neighborhood in West Hollywood aren’t the hearty, Viking type who refer to the garments as kilts.”

  Sophia dared to laugh as Herbert sent attack after attack at them. The heat was intensifying from the spray off the busted lava balls. That could only mean that Liv’s spell was wearing off, which meant they needed to act fast. Plus, it appeared that Herbert’s aim was getting better. Or the monster was swimming closer. Either way, they would soon be in trouble.

  “I’ve got a plan, but I’m not sure you’ll like it,” Sophia said with a careful tone.

  “I’m certain that I won’t,” Liv replied. “But I also don’t much care for lying in the dirt and having lava rain down on me, so lay this strategy on me.”

  Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Two

  “You’re right, I hate the plan,” Liv said darkly. “In our next life, I get to be the dragonrider with cool snowball magic and you get to be the Warrior for the House of Fourteen who serves as a diversion to distract the lava monster.”

  “Deal.” Sophia prepared to push to her feet. “Have you figured what you’re going to do?”

  Liv nodded. “I’m going to be obnoxious.”

  Sophia laughed. “Yeah, but how are you going to distract Herbert?”

  “Ha-ha!” Liv boomed. “I’ll let that one pass this time. Okay, are you ready?”

  Sophia held out her hand. It glowed before a snowball formed, cold in the palm of her hand but a welcome relief from all the heat.

  “Awesome. After this, you’re totally making me a snow cone.” Liv hopped to her feet but stayed low.

  “Are you ready?” Sophia tried to find a good spot behind the tree to fire from. It was important that Herbert didn’t see her, or he would attack her and Liv’s distractions wouldn’t work.

  Liv nodded. “For sure. I’m ready to sprint. Incidentally, do you know what a sprinter eats before a race?”

  Sophia wasn’t thinking and therefore completely seriously replied, “No, what?”

  “Nothing,” Liv answered with a wide grin. “We’re fast.”

  Then she took off from behind the trees and into full view of the lava monster who was ready to hurl all his attacks at her.

  Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Three

  Sophia had to give it to her sister. For not being a dragonrider, she was impressively fast. She assumed that Liv had put a speed spell on herself, which was smart because Herbert was also incredibly fast.

  The monster was bigger than the last time Sophia had gotten a good look at it. It was easily the size of a barge in the smallish lake, but only its dome-shaped head stuck out. The rest of its body besides its limbs remained submerged in the water, which was still mostly liquid and not entirely lava yet.

  Herbert had to dig around in the lake to find some magma. When he did, his three green eyes enlarged like he was excited by his find. Then he brought it to the surface and rolled it around before sticking it in his mouth.

  It was such a strange creature that it gave Sophia and Liv pause. The Warrior recovered from her momentarily fascination. “Hey, Herb! Look over here, Three-Eyes!”

  The blob of a mons
ter rotated in Liv’s direction as she ran for the other side of the lake. It used its two tentacle arms to propel itself like it was a large raft. There was no coverage on the far side of the lake for Liv to hide behind if it threw an attack, which meant she had to be fast to dodge out of the way or Sophia had to serve up her distraction.

  Liv put her hands to her head and stuck out her tongue like a schoolchild taunting a bully. “Didn’t your mom tell you that eating lava was bad for your teeth?”

  The monster roared and made the lake boil more around it, as if its anger somehow turned up the heat.

  With Herbert’s back to her, Sophia couldn’t tell when it was about to spit a lava ball at Liv, but that didn’t matter because she had a clear shot at the creature’s massive back.

  She pulled back her arm and launched the snowball at the monster, hoping that it didn’t melt before it reached it. That was one reason Sophia had kept it in her hands a little longer, trying to freeze it into ice rather than snow, which took time and magical energy.

  To her relief, the snowball was solid when it hit Herbert in the back. To Sophia’s horror, the creature spun around at lightning speed and hurled a lava ball straight at the tree where she hid. It burst into flames and made her leap out from behind her hiding spot.

  Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Four

  The monster spun around like a Tilt-A-Whirl ride quickly changing direction, its three green eyes suddenly larger and rimmed with red.

  He was mad, Sophia realized.

  Livid would have been the word I used, Lunis said in Sophia’s head, spooking her.