Sophia nodded. “Had. Have. You get the point. Anyway, I was looking for information on the history of the old demon dragonriders. You wouldn’t happen to be willing to fill me in on it?” There was a hopeful edge in Sophia’s voice.
“Your first inclination to seek out your brother for the information was right.”
Sophia lowered her chin. “You’re not allowed in my head.”
Plato sauntered past her and wiggled his tail in the air. “Get on the list of those who tell me what I’m not allowed to do.”
“Fine,” Sophia seethed. “Stay in my head. Don’t tell me about lost history. Still, maybe you’ll impart something.”
Plato turned, seemingly willing to entertain one last question.
“Did the philosopher, Plato, steal all your words?” Sophia asked. “Or was he real at all?”
“He was,” Plato answered. “He had one original quote.”
Sophia gave the lynx an expression that said, “Go on then.”
“He was a wise man who invented beer,” Plato stated and vanished without a trace.
Chapter Six
Sophia found herself laughing as the lynx disappeared, leaving her alone once more in the entry hall of the House of Fourteen.
Plato had been strangely helpful, giving Sophia the idea of going after the criminals of the world to find the Rogue Riders. That was still a lofty goal and a little overwhelming, but she had some ideas to make the monumental task a little easier.
She didn’t like it one bit that Plato could poke into her head, but Sophia also recognized that trying to keep one of the most powerful entities on Earth out of her mind was a waste of her time. Instead, she focused her attention on finding Clark, who she knew wasn’t at the apartment since she’d already stopped by there on her way over. There also wasn’t a meeting happening in the Chamber of the Tree for another hour.
Thankfully for Sophia, Clark was a creature of habit. He wasn’t at the apartment he shared with Liv and Stefan, so he was somewhere in the House of Fourteen. Her brother wasn’t the type to hang out at coffee shops or taverns on his time off.
For starters, there wasn’t really time off for Clark. There was merely the in-between when he slept, ate, and got ready. Also, he wasn’t the type to hang out. Living with Liv had softened him up a little and now and then he’d chill on the sofa. However, Liv had argued that while they were vegging and watching Netflix, he was quietly plotting out his ten-year plan, finessing it to the smallest detail.
After checking a few of Clark’s usual haunts, Sophia realized exactly where to find her brother and wondered how she hadn’t guessed that first. Her feet brought her up to the House of Fourteen’s top level, where one of the best and strangest parts of the building resided—the library.
The library in the House of Fourteen wasn’t as majestic as the Great Library, which held every book ever written and instantly updated with new editions as they occurred. However, it had mostly all magical books, which made it a fascinating place to visit. The books were alive in one regard, due to the magic they held, and therefore the volumes greatly influenced their home.
Finding Clark in such a big area usually would have been difficult, but the library in the House of Fourteen, much like the Castle, responded to people’s thoughts. That’s how one found the book they were looking for or found themselves completely lost, depending on how they directed their thoughts. All someone had to do was think about what—or in this case who—they were looking for, and the library would rearrange itself accordingly to lead the searcher to the right aisle, row, and book.
However, patrons in the library had to be diligent because their thoughts led them to what they were looking for, but those were fickle things that often changed without warning. One small diversion in thoughts and someone could go from being led to a book on shrinking spells to finding themselves shrunk and stuck in the belly of a beast. Magic was a tricky thing, and even those who understood it well knew better than to think they could fully understand it all.
Moreover, the library didn’t hold up signs that led the way to whatever a person was looking for. On its path to continue to be tricky, the library offered clues on where to go and the person following them had to be on the lookout, following the right direction and not getting fooled.
Clark, Sophia thought to herself. Where is Clark?
“Beaufont,” she hastily added. “The person.” She didn’t want to go to a shrine for Clark Gable or books on Dick Clark. Both of whom were magicians, but few knew that.
“I need to find my brother, Clark Beaufont,” she said to the quiet library that seemed to go on for miles.
She did her best not to focus on the overwhelming size of the place or the many other things vying for her attention. Her job was to stay focused.
Sophia closed her eyes and clearly saw her brother’s face in her mind. She focused on that, as if his flesh-and-blood body stood in front of her right then. Her foot moved forward without her consent.
Her eyes sprang open, and she almost wished they hadn’t as the library spun all around her, turning into a blur and making her instantly dizzy. Although she was used to spiraling through the air on her dragon, the rotating library made her sick—probably because it was unnatural to her, she reasoned. Nothing was more natural than to fly through the air on her dragon.
Libraries that spun on their own, well, that was by far a more unnerving experience, especially because Sophia didn’t know what to expect when it quit moving. All she could do was remain still, hoping that one of the many shelves of books speeding by her didn’t knock her over or flatten her with the speed at which they moved. Also, Sophia was well aware that moving even an inch could mean she walked out a window at the back of the whirling library and fell to her death.
The House of Fourteen’s library patrons risked their lives every time they ventured to find a book. Such were the dangers one faced when searching for one of the greatest treasures in the world—knowledge.
Sophia was about to close her eyes again when she noticed the spinning slow, as though she was at the center of a disc that rotated itself to a stop. She drew in a breath, expecting to see an aisle in front of her that led to another one, then a set of clues and more spinning. Instead, she found herself face-to-face with her brother, who started and screamed as he fell backward, stumbling onto his backside and hands.
Chapter Seven
Sophia stopped herself from laughing at her spooked brother, who was all white as his chest heaved. He must have been tracking unsuspectingly through the library, reading the book he’d since dropped on the floor, and suddenly found himself nose-to-nose with Sophia. It would have scared most anyone, but Clark was also a little more excitable than many. It didn’t take much to make him reach for an anti-anxiety potion.
Clark was still on his tailbone, looking up at Sophia from the floor as though trying to decide if she were real or an apparition.
She extended a hand to him as she smiled sensitively. “Sorry that I scared you. I blame the library.”
He nodded and looked around, trying to get his bearings. “It stuck you right in front of me. You must have really focused on finding me.”