Page 4 of The Lost Empress

“Oh, and…” Dwayne had his murderous gaze on Amanda.

She paused. Turned to him. Sighed. “Let me guess, I can’t use magic because of some bogus related reason about volatile substances in your office that might explode if I did, right?”

He grinned menacingly. “That’s right. So do it by hand. And since you couldn’t clean the office due to the wards I have protecting it from magic, why don’t you go ahead and do that the old-fashioned way, too.”

She straightened. Saluted in mock respect and then turned, marching like a soldier for the hallway.

“Speaking of books,” Dwayne said, turning to Gen with a sadistic smile she definitely didn’t find inviting. “The council wants you to complete your training as soon as possible. And although they can make their request, they can’t dictate what is required of you to graduate from training.”

Gen, having sat again, pushed back in her seat. “Well, I’m working on completing my shadowing hours and cataloguing magical creatures, per your assignment.”

“Right,” he chirped, evil delight in his eyes. “But I’m thinking that we need to bridge the gap in your knowledge. You’ve missed a good six hundred years of literature.”

“You’re not going to make her read all the books that have been published in that time, are you, sir?” Sully asked, gawking up at his boss. “I haven’t even read all of those.”

“You’ve read none of them,” Jack argued with a laugh.

“Right!” Sully said, nodding enthusiastically. “And I’m a Rogue Rider.”

“Yes, but you grew up in the modern world, Sully,” Dwayne began. “And you have an idea of how our world works as far as moral philosophy goes. Gen’s recent stunt at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art got me to thinking.” He pointed at her. “You want to be this do-gooder who goes off on her own and saves the world, just like all your family of Beaufonts.”

“That’s not what I was trying to do,” Gen cut in.

Dwayne held up a hand, silencing her at once. “I just think that you need to understand the principles associated with the ethics that have been discovered over the last several centuries. Maybe that will give you something to think about instead of taking the law into your own hands, next time. Maybe you’ll see that things aren’t so black and white and there’s a reason that you are to follow my leadership and wait until you’re assigned a case instead of breaking my rules.”

“What are you going to make her do, sir?” Clipper asked, obvious excitement in her voice.

Dwayne snapped his fingers, magically making a piece of folded up paper appear in his other hand. “I’ve got a new training exercise for you, Gen Beaufont. Here’s a list of books on moral philosophy. You are to read them until you have a thorough knowledge of their principles. Once you do, then you’ll be tested. You must complete your shadowing hours, cataloguing of magical creatures assignment and pass the test in order to finish the training.”

Gen unfolded the list that he handed her, overwhelmed by the number of books she was expected to read. The volumes didn’t look like easy reading, either, with titles like Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Nicomachean Ethics and What We Owe to Each Other.

Her eyes scanned the long list of books and their authors, Gen’s mouth falling open. She worked quickly to cover her wide-eyed expression of confusion, knowing that’s exactly what would please Dwayne most right then.

“Sir, passing a test on a list of moral philosophy texts like this is akin to PhD work,” Jack argued, pointing at the piece of paper in Gen’s hand.

Dwayne grinned evilly. “And yet, if she doesn’t pass this test, which I’ll ensure can’t be cheated on or use advantages, like with the other tasks she’s completed thus far, then Gen can’t get a case. She can rot in this mansion or quit out of sheer boredom.”

He lowered his chin, giving her a challenging expression. “It’s really up to you, Ms. Beaufont. If you can’t do it, then you can’t be a Rogue Rider.”

Gen lifted her own chin in defiance, giving him a rebellious, unwavering expression. “I’ll do it. Don’t worry about that, sir. Just get ready to assign me a case because I’ll be an expert in moral philosophy in no time.”

CHAPTER FOUR

ERRATIC ARSENAL

Grounds, Rogue Rider Mansion, Beverly Hills, California, United States

“He can do what?” Gen revolted, throwing her hands into the air with sudden panic. She turned, looking between Sully and Jack, hoping that they were jesting with her. When their serious expressions didn’t change, she confronted her dragon, Emperor, who sat close by, quietly observing the interaction. She threw a finger at the two men. “Are they being serious right now?”

“I’m afraid so,” Emperor answered, aloud for all to hear.

The riders and dragons were scattered across the grounds of the Rogue Rider Estate, performing their daily training exercises. It was there, during the morning practice, that Jack and Sully squashed Gen’s strategy for passing this exam.

She figured that she could shortcut Dwayne’s plan of making her read dozens of complex books and test on their content by using Emperor and their connection together. They could talk telepathically and he knew just about everything if he plugged into the chi of the dragon. That meant that she could just cheat and get all the answers from him. However, apparently, Dwayne had accounted for this with a special testing room in the Rogue Rider’s mansion.

Spinning around, Gen gawked at the two men. “Doesn’t it bother you that Dwayne had a special room built that blocks our communications with our dragons?”

Sully shrugged.

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