“Yhank tou,” Ticker cheered and smiled up at her before returning his attention to the complicated map.
“Does that map show the locations of all the Brownies in the field?” Sophia asked, her curiosity overwhelmed by the interesting instrument.
Ticker nodded.
“That must be a very powerful map,” Sophia was impressed.
“Pery vowerful.” Ticker placed his finger on a small structure on the map that resembled a cottage with smoke billowing from the chimney. He dragged his finger across the map until he was to the top left corner, where there was an X with words that Sophia couldn’t decipher.
A second later, a Brownie who was bigger, rounder, and older than Ticker appeared beside them with a tired expression on his face.
He sighed, not seeming to notice Sophia standing there with the box in hand. Picking at his rat-like teeth, the Brownie gave Ticker a look of relief. “Oh, good, am I getting reassigned? About time. Those mortals aren’t the do-gooders they once were.”
Ticker nodded at the other Brownie, then glanced at Sophia. “Teeting mime.”
Understanding that Ticker had politely excused her, she curtsied slightly to the Brownies and smiled. “Thanks for all your help. Good luck with everything. I’ll check in later to see if you need any help.”
“Sye Bophia!”
Chapter Eighty-Three
Sophia was so impressed and overwhelmed by the Brownie map that she’d forgotten to ask Ticker what she should have made with the special ingredients or where to have it done. Finding the young Brownie there instead of Mortimer had thrown her for a loop too. Thankfully, Sophia thought that she’d be able to figure out the next part on her own, or at least knew where to start.
Once on Roya Lane, Sophia suddenly got a very strange feeling. It was so abrupt that she paused to check the contents of the box of special ingredients that Ticker had given her, thinking that maybe there was something about them that made her feel weird. Although she knew they were magical, there didn’t appear to be anything nefarious about them.
However, for some reason, Sophia couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something wrong as she strode down Roya Lane. Consumed with trying to figure out the sudden change, Sophia became aware that many magical creatures gave her rude stares as she moved past.
Sophia was used to getting attention when she walked down Roya Lane. As a Dragon Elite, many of the gnomes acted paranoid when she waltzed by. Her association with the House of Fourteen, which governed the magical world, also made her not everyone’s favorite person. They always seemed to think that she would break up their affairs or throw the rule book at them.
Nevertheless, something was distinctly different about how people regarded her on Roya Lane on that particular day. Usually, the elves, gnomes, and other creatures were merely guarded when Sophia trotted by. This time though, there was a hint of hostility.
Several times, Sophia could have sworn that she heard names thrown at her. Words like bully, tyrant, and thief.
This was the Rogue Riders’ doing, Sophia realized as she pieced it all together. They’d been out stealing and bullying and exerting their power on the mortal and magical world. This was what Liv had referred to regarding the House of Fourteen’s concern. The demon dragonriders behaved however they liked, and the Dragon Elite were the ones who would pay the price. Things had to change. The Rogue Riders were the ones who needed the rule book thrown at them.
Sophia hurried as the crowd ahead closed in on her at the narrowest part of the lane. She could get away from an angry mob of magical creatures, but not without incidents that would continue to make her look like the bad guy.
Any confrontation at this point would put her and the Dragon Elite in the wrong light. She had to fix the perception. Then she could address the magical world directly.
Those on the streets ahead all looked her way. None of them wore welcoming expressions. Unlike before, they didn’t shrink away, worried that Sophia would break up their dealings.
Instead, they turned to face her with hostile expressions. Sophia wished she’d seen this coming, and regretted not putting a disguising spell on herself.
Although she’d been headed to the Crying Cat Bakery, now she had second thoughts. She didn’t want to draw negative attention to the business. However, she reasoned that Lee wouldn’t care since she usually went out of her way to scare customers away, not wanting to have too much work refilling the sold-out display case of pastries. Still, Sophia didn’t want to cause trouble for her friends.
Therefore as the crowd formed a solid line up ahead, Sophia made an impromptu decision and spun. To her horror, she found that a large, angry mob at her back blocked her from retreating.
She was trapped.
Sophia knew that fighting her way out of this one wasn’t an option. Based on the expressions on most of the crowd’s faces, she didn’t think that talking to them would help. Whatever the Rogue Riders had done, it hadn’t gone over well with the magical world, and they wanted to take their frustrations out on a dragonrider.
As quickly as she could, Sophia created a portal as someone lunged for her—a gnome who was yelling about having all his gold stolen. Sophia leapt through the opening and hoped that her plan worked.
She needed to get out of that part of Roya Lane right away while also staying there. Her goal was to throw off the angry mob while still getting done what she needed to accomplish.
This new development made it even more apparent that Sophia needed to fix fairy godmother college and get the help she needed to stop the Rogue Riders. The demon dragonriders had obviously gone way too far and needed to be taught a lesson.
Chapter Eighty-Four
Sophia slipped into the Crying Cat Bakery before anyone could spot her and shut the door with a little more gusto than she’d intended, which made Lee’s head snap up.
The assassin baker narrowed her eyes at Sophia. “You got a lot of nerve showing your face in here.”
Throwing her chin into the air, Sophia sighed dramatically. “No, not you too. I thought that of everyone you’d get that the Dragon Elite aren’t the problem.”
Lee strode around the counter while wiping her hands on her apron. A red liquid that Sophia desperately hoped was strawberry jam covered them. “Dragon Elite? What do they have to do with anything?”
“Well, you’re mad about dragonriders stealing and stuff, right? And you mistakenly think that it’s the Dragon Elite.”
Lee pursed her lips. “I dare you or anyone else to steal something from me.” She crossed her arms over her chest and gave Sophia a questioning expression. “Go ahead and try it.”
Sophia rolled her eyes, not willing to be challenged. “No, I think I’m good. But if you’re not mad about the Dragon Elite or thieving dragonriders, then why are you upset with me and asking how I have the nerve to step foot in here?”
“Specifically, I asked how dare you show your face in here, but whatever. We won’t split hairs.”
Feeling the tension headache from dealing with Rudolf earlier returning, Sophia rubbed her temple. “Yeah, let’s not split hairs on that when there are so many other things I know that you’ll want to do that with.”