Still, Sophia stayed tensed in a fighting position, ready for his next move.
He groaned and rubbed the back of his head that had smacked into the pavement. Not wanting to risk him getting away, Sophia sent a binding spell at the madman that tied up his wrists and feet, and made it impossible for him to get up.
“Oh, come on!” he complained.
“Be grateful I didn’t break something of yours,” Sophia challenged.
He tried to roll over, but with his hands pinned tightly in front of him, it appeared impossible. “I think you did.”
“Mad ban,” Ticker said in a low voice in Sophia’s ear.
“What did you want with Ticker?” Sophia watched the guy squirm.
“Nothing,” he lied and kicked his feet, which were bound too.
Sophia sighed. “Guess how much worse your life can get?”
He growled. “Not much! I’m out of money and have debts to pay or I’ll be paying with my life.”
“So?” Sophia challenged.
“So, Brownies know where treasures are!” he yelled. “They know where everything is!”
That was true. Sophia had been on her way to see Mortimer when she ran into the guy fleeing with Ticker. She hoped that the head official for the Brownies would be able to tell her where to find Tiffannee Freud. They didn’t know everything, but they did have eyes in many places and knew a lot. One of those things was undoubtedly the location of treasures.
“You were going to have Ticker tell you where to find money and valuables, then,” Sophia guessed. “And steal… Your problems can’t be that bad.”
“How would you know, rich girl?” the guy whined.
Sophia shook her head. “You know, having money doesn’t fix all your problems. There are some things in the world bigger than that.”
He laughed, but the sound contained no joy. “How would you know?”
Sophia thought about the upcoming battle where the Dragon Elite would need the best armor in the world and a mysterious weapon. A cold chill ran down her back. “Believe me, I know.”
She pulled out her cell phone and messaged Liv. It read: “You still on Roya Lane? I have a present for you.”
Chapter Forty-Three
“You and I need to discuss what qualifies as a present.” Liv eyed the criminal who was giving her a scared stare.
“Please, please don’t leave me with her!” he begged. “Kill me now. Put me out of my misery. Take me to your authorities. Just don’t leave me with that woman!”
Sophia laughed. “Sorry, you fall into her jurisdiction, magician. And my authorities would roast you…quite literally.”
“Oh, Jock.” Liv shook her head and clicked her tongue. “You missed me, didn’t you?”
Ticker had climbed over Sophia’s shoulder and was now cradled in her arms, perched up high and watching everything with wide eyes.
“Liss Miv!” The little Brownie blinked at Liv with an endearing expression.
“Awe, I missed you too, Tick,” she gushed. “We need to go on another mission together.”
“Yes, but right now I’m going to get this little guy back to his parents,” Sophia stated. “I bet they missed him and are worried sick.”
Liv nodded. “Although they know he can take care of himself. I would have felt sorry for Jock if he thought that Ticker wasn’t going to get away and in the process make his life hell. You picked the wrong Brownie to nab, Jock.”
The guy gave Sophia an urgent expression. “I don’t know who you are but please, take pity on me. Don’t leave her with me! She’s horrible.”
Sophia laughed. “She’s my sister.”
Jock groaned. “Oh, kill me now.”
“Wow.” Sophia shook her head at Liv. “What did you do to this guy the last time?”
“I thought we had a great time, Jock,” Liv joked. “You didn’t like my singing?”
“She didn’t stop for hours,” Jock said like it was the most horrifying experience. “And then her and the demon hunter used me as target practice.”
“No,” Liv corrected. “If Stefan and I used you as target practice, then there’d be holes in you. The objective was not to nick your pretty little face. Did we?”
“Multiple blades grazed by my face!” he boomed.
“But they didn’t cut you, now did they, Jock?” Liv hauled him up to his feet and looked him over. “Wow, you look like crap. What have you been doing, living on the streets?” She reeled back. “Yeah, you smell like you’ve been living in a cardboard box.”
“What else am I supposed to do?” he complained. “You shut down my business—”
“Selling illegal magical devices to underage magicians,” Liv interrupted.
“They’re harmless,” he argued.
“They help them cut school and cheat on their exams,” Liv countered.
“And I still owe those thugs for the merchandise, which you all confiscated,” Jock stated.
“Maybe we’ve learned to stop doing business dealings with thugs, then?” Liv asked. “I mean, I shouldn’t have to tell you that when your business associate is named Blood Stains, that you probably don’t want to work with him.”
“It was supposed to be easy money,” Jock griped. “Now I owe him a ton of money, and if he finds me, I’m dead.”
“If I catch you doing anything illegal or anywhere near the Brownie Official Headquarters, then you’ll be begging Blood Stains to take you out,” Liv threatened. “I can promise you that my punishments are a lot more creative, and will leave you with nightmares.”
He visibly shivered in her grasp. “I know from experience.”
Liv gave Sophia a sideways expression. “Thanks for taking Jock down. He’ll be safe with me.”
He shook his head adamantly. “I won’t. She’ll keep me alive, but I promise I won’t be safe.”
Sophia laughed. “How did you get into the Brownie office?”
Liv sighed. “Jock is pretty clever.” She gave him a pursed expression. “Imagine if you used your talents for good?”
“What are you going to do with him?” Sophia watched as Liv led him off.
“I’m going to give Jock one last chance to turn it around,” Liv stated, not using as much force with the guy as if she loathed him. Knowing her, she was going to bail him out and try and reform him so he quit doing illegal stuff and contributed to society rather than was a drain on it. “But I’m probably also going to give him matching black eyes and some scars to remember me by.”
Jock shook his head, his eyes wide as he looked over his shoulder. “Please help me,” he begged Sophia.
She simply laughed and squeezed Ticker tightly, grateful that he was okay. “Good luck, Liv. Chat soon.”
“Yeah, I’ll catch y’all on the flip side.” She waved as she led the criminal away.
“Lye Biv!” Ticker waved back, smiling wide.
Chapter Forty-Four
“Ticker!” Pricilla exclaimed and threw her arms around the little Brownie when Sophia crawled through the small door. She didn’t know how Jock got out of there so fast since he was larger than her, but like Liv said, he was very clever. Hopefully he went on to use his brains for something good rather than illegal.