“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 reason. 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?”