“You not understanding the current lingo of the zoomer generation is a ‘you’ problem,” Lunis said smugly but playfully winked at Sophia.
She laughed and pointed at the Barrier where the dragons were about to fly through. “Do you think they’ll return?”
“Yes. I think they’ll return with riders.”
Sophia smiled wide. “So it begins.” She glanced around at the Expanse and the Pond in the distance. “Our once quiet little home is about to get a lot busier.”
Lunis nodded, suddenly turning mildly serious. “Soak it in while you can because I have a feeling that when the new generation of dragonriders come to the Gullington, things will become more complex. More than that, I think our roles will be more demanding.”
Chapter Five
The founders’ ancient language danced under Sophia’s fingertips as she ran them over the walls in the entryway of the House of Fourteen. The gold lettering swirled and sparkled like it was coming alive from Sophia’s touch. She couldn’t read it since she wasn’t a Warrior or Councilor for the House of Fourteen, but many of those who were didn’t know the language either. It was something that they inherently could understand, but had to work at—like many abilities in life.
What do you say? Sophia wondered to herself, half-expecting Lunis to pop into her head with a sarcastic answer.
She didn’t mind that she’d never become a Warrior for the House of Fourteen, taking the position that Liv at first fulfilled until she was old enough. Liv was the perfect Warrior, and Sophia was destined to be a dragonrider. However, now and again, she longed to know the secrets that only Warriors and Councilors knew, like how to read the founders’ ancient language.
Deciding to push the thoughts out of her head, Sophia shrugged. Oh, well. I guess I’ll never decipher the ancient language, and that’s okay.
“As I once said,” a voice sang at Sophia’s back and startled her. She thought she’d been alone.
She didn’t see anyone when she first spun, but then her eyes found the small unassuming black and white cat sitting at the far end of the long corridor. Plato smirked at her.
“Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil,” the lynx continued.
Sophia narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. “Where did that come from? That bit about ignorance? Were you in my head, hearing me give up about ever understanding the ancient language?”
The cat strode in her direction with his tail high in the air, its white tip flicking from side to side. “I have no idea what you mean.”
Sophia sighed. “Why would I ever need to read the ancient language? Liv can if I ever need information. It’s not like I need it to control the House of Fourteen. What they do is separate from the issues the Dragon Elite faces.”
“If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, you are doomed to live under the rule of fools,” Plato imparted, a sneaky grin under his whiskers.
“Why are you quoting the philosopher, Plato?”
His light expression disappeared. “I’m not. That man quoted me.”
Sophia nodded, realizing she should have expected this. “I know that Lorenzo Rosario and Bianca Montavani on the council for the House of Fourteen are corrupt. Probably that newbie Marty Martinez too. I think they’re mostly harmless, trying to benefit personally from their public positions.”
“Don’t you think they’ll be intimidated by anyone or anything that stands to steal that power?”
“Well, of course. It’s been a constant struggle with the council to accept the Dragon Elite. They don’t like what we represent or that it outranks their authority in the world. I’m certain that things are tense with the Rogue Riders out there giving us a bad name.”
“I can assure you that they are.”
Sophia sighed. “Yeah, well, I’ll have to deal with that soon, but I’m not sure how.”
“Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others,” Plato stated sagely.
“So serve through example,” she replied, a doubtful edge in her voice as though she were trying to unravel the threads of wisdom Professor Plato dangled in front of her. How was it that she felt like the feline playing with a string in that scenario?
He nodded.
“I guess,” Sophia replied. “It’s hard to do that and not react in other ways, defending the Dragon Elite. Fighting for our good name.”
“Oh, but we’re twice-armed if we fight with faith.”
Sophia stuck her hands on her hips. “Are you going to keep answering me with lines of Plato, the philosopher, who apparently plagiarized them from you, although the whole timeline of that hurts my head and confounds me?”
“In the words of the great Confucius,” Plato began, “the man who asks a question is a fool for a minute. The man who does not ask is a fool for life.”
Pretending not to be amused by her sister’s familiar, Sophia batted her eyelashes at Plato. “Well, here’s a question you probably won’t answer. How is it that I’m supposed to find the Rogue Riders so that I can stop them from doing whatever they’re doing and therefore protect the Dragon Elite’s reputation?”
Sophia firmly believed she’d hear another Plato quote, or maybe one from another famous philosopher. However, Plato replied, “When I’m looking for a mouse, I don’t search for the rodents. Instead, I seek their cheese. When I find that, it’s not long until I locate my prey.”
A laugh popped out of Sophia’s mouth. “When have you ever eaten a mouse?”
Plato didn’t at all appear impressed. “That’s the takeaway from my advice that I obviously shouldn’t have given you?”
Sophia wiped the laughing expression off her face, becoming suddenly serious. “No, and thank you. I get what you’re saying. I need to go after what the Rogue Riders are interested in—criminals. Still, there are so many in the world. How am I supposed to find them, and how am I supposed to know which ones? Then there’s how am I supposed to—”
“There is no harm in repeating a good thing,” Plato interrupted, quoting once more. “Unless it’s the blasted question of how. I trust you know someone who can help you find criminals and figure out which ones will be best to target.”
Sophia nodded while chewing on her lip. “Yeah, I have a few resources.” Her eyes lifted to meet Plato’s. “Thanks for the tip. It’s a good idea to find the Rogue Riders by going after their own. Now I have to figure out how to get the world to trust us again, which will be difficult since our job as the Dragon Elite always makes enemies for us.”
“When men speak ill of thee,” Plato began, “live so nobody may believe them.”
Sophia thought about this notion. “I think that strategy involves a long game. For the time being, the world isn’t buying everything we have to say, even if it’s the truth.”
Plato nodded with understanding. “No one is more hated than he who speaks the truth.”
“You know,” Sophia mused. “You had some pretty good lines.”
“Had?” he questioned, raising an eyebrow.