Page 10 of The Timeless Vigilante

“Headlocks, you say?” Hiker asked, appraising her with a new sense of intrigue.

“She’s badass, sir,” Sophia gushed, smiling at Gen. “She’s going to make an excellent member of the Dragon Elite. And she has the first dragon’s egg ever. And it will be the very last to hatch. How cool is that?”

“How many times do I have to tell you that cool means cold, not neat?” Hiker asked, then seeming to think of something, he tilted his head to the side in confusion. “Why doesn’t Gen talk strangely if she’s been here for only a wee bit?”

“She’s outfitted with a communication device from Papa Creola,” Sophia explained. “It translates our vernacular for her and then also her Old English for us. It’s completely seamless. And she can understand what I mean when I say, ‘cool.’”

“Oh, it’s similar to the chi of the dragon that allows dragonriders to understand and speak any language then,” Hiker said, nodding in understanding.

“Yes, that’s where Father Time got the idea from,” Sophia stated. “Maybe you could get one of the devices, sir. I know you’ve been in the modern era for centuries and you still talk like a Viking.”

His eyes fluttered with annoyance. “I wasn’t dropped into the modern world when I was twenty-years old. I have lived well over five hundred years and some things are ingrained in me. I’ve had to evolve the Dragon Elite over centuries and it hasn’t always been easy.”

“But I’ve helped, haven’t I, sir?” Sophia asked, batting her eyelashes up at the man.

Hiker glared at her, before giving his attention to Gen. “When Sophia showed up, she was the first female dragonrider,” Hiker explained. “That was a new situation for me. For centuries, I’d only ever led men as riders. Not only that, but the dragonriders were pretty much dormant, in hibernation. That was due to a war between mortals and magicians. The Dragon Elite had been rendered ineffective because mortals couldn’t see magic.”

“And if you can’t see a dragon, then they can’t arbitrate over nations, creating world peace and fixing negotiations,” Sophia added, filling in the blanks.

Hiker nodded. “The few dragonriders I had left and I were pretty much locked down at the Gullington for a couple hundred years.” He glared at Sophia. “Then the war ended and mortals could see dragons and magic once again.”

He thumbed in Sophia’s direction. “Next, this one bounces in and shakes everything up, telling us that we must go rule over the modern world once more. I allowed us to evolve and have tried my best to fill the ranks as all the dragon eggs hatched and magnetized to riders. It wasn’t simple since dragonriders aren’t the easiest group to organize and train.”

Hiker sighed, looking tired suddenly. “We’ve finally ironed out all the kinks. I didn’t think we’d have any big changes for another couple centuries. I mistakenly thought I’d get a break. But now all of a sudden, you, Gen Beaufont, have shown up with a new egg. Just when we thought all dragon eggs had hatched. And then you inform me that you stole the very first one and hid it away until now… Why are the Beaufonts always a big headache for me?”

“Sir, you had like two hundred years off,” Sophia dared to tease.

He glared at the small dragonrider, flaring his nostrils. “I haven’t had a day off since then, not from the time when you showed up. And now I’ve got a thief from the medieval era to try and corral.”

Before Gen could tell this huge man off, Quiet appeared in the doorway. The small gnome looked so unassuming as he beckoned the leader of the Dragon Elite toward him.

“I’ll be right back.” Hiker stalked across the office, disappearing out into the corridor at once.

“So do we like him? Or not?” Gen asked, giving Sophia an amused expression.

“We do,” Sophia said with a giggle. “He’s a grumpy Viking, as I like to call him. He’s stubborn and rigid, which plays off nicely from my cheery and easygoing disposition. We make an excellent team. Like good cop and bad cop.”

“What’s a cop?” Gen asked.

Sophia shook her head. “I’m sorry, I forget just how big your knowledge gap is in this modern world. I guess the communication device doesn’t decode everything, does it? But Hiker is similar to you and your lack of modern knowledge because he spent so much of his time locked up in the Castle, so maybe you two will be good for each other.”

“Maybe…” Gen said, not so sure she could work with someone who was so stern without giving him a bloody nose regularly.

“I figured out what your dragon is. Quiet just told me,” Hiker grumbled, interrupting the conversation as he thundered back into the office.

“A dragon, I’m hoping,” Gen said, tensing. “That’s what he told me. Is he not one? Is he a dinosaur? A platypus? What is he?”

Hiker started pacing the open space of the office, a well-worn tread across the old wooden floors. He’d definitely made that path many a time while he pulled on his beard, like now. “I can’t say.”

“What?” Gen questioned, bolting forward, looking between the man and Sophia. “Why not?”

“You have to figure it out on your own when he hatches,” Hiker explained. “It’s part of his namesake, which you must instinctively know. If I tell you, then I compromise your bonds.”

Gen sat back, annoyed. “Are all things a riddle in this place?”

Sophia nodded. “I’m afraid so…”

“Well, does Quiet know when the egg is going to hatch?” Gen asked, her chest vibrating with anticipation.

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