Page 15 of The Timeless Vigilante

“I think you’re correct,” Wilder stated, trotting over to the table of weapons and grabbing a bow and a single arrow. “Let’s try this. It’s a great weapon for riding on the back of a dragon. I happen to love a bow and arrow and it suits this whole Robin Hood look you’ve got going on.”

“Oh, finally a reference I can understand,” Gen said, taking the bow and arrow. “I quite like the idea of being like Robin Hood. Maybe I can be the new, modern version.”

“Yes!” Wilder cheered, pointing at the target in the distance. “Now let’s see how your aim is, Miss Robin Hood.”

Gen gripped the bow in her hands, nocking the arrow into place and pulling back the string. She had shot with many a bow in her day, hunting and policing the streets, as she often took upon herself to do, against her father’s insistence. But that was the spirit that won her the role of warrior—a position she never wanted.

If Gen was honest, since finding that dragon’s egg and hearing his voice in her head, she only ever wanted to be a dragonrider. But that wasn’t an option that existed in her mind until the first dragonrider arose and then it’s all she could think about. Now, she was being given that chance, in a brand new world, with a vast field of possibilities.

Feeling a hope like she’d never experienced before blossoming in her heart, Gen stretched back the string even more, lining the arrow up with the target. Then, just as she was about to let it go, she felt a snap, followed by a zinging noise and then an assault as something broke.

“Did you just break the bow?” Wilder asked her, rushing forward, not mad, but utterly confused.

Gen glanced at the bow in her hands with a broken string and the arrow that had faltered to the ground below. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened. I was just concentrating and… Maybe the string was weak.”

“Maybe the string was brand new,” Wilder countered with a laugh. “I put it on myself this morning.” He glanced back at Sophia with an amused expression. “She broke the bow.”

“I saw,” Sophia said, patting the curled elfin-made sword on her hip fondly. “It’s because Beaufonts like blades. I have Inexorabilis, Liv has Bellator and Rose has Paternus. Give her something with some teeth.”

“What about a javelin?” Wilder offered, trotting back off to the weapon table. He picked up a long wooden spear with a sharp tip, spinning around and facing Gen. “I feel like I know how this is going to go, but hey, humor me and try it. Can you throw this at the target?”

Gen took the spear, finding it sturdy in her hand. She nodded, glaring across the grounds at the bullseye in the distance. Then she raised her arm over her head, pulled it back and flung the javelin with a grace to impress.

It spiraled through the air, whirling like an acrobat before it connected with the center of the target. On impact, the handle of the spear splintered and broke in half. The tip of the blade pierced through the target, breaking it into pieces, sending bits of the board ricocheting and then falling to the ground. The whole thing landed in a total mess on the grass, broken javelin handle, target and separated spear tip.

Wilder gave Gen a muted stare. “Did you just break the javelin?”

“I think that the handle was splintered,” she said with an apologetic look.

He shook his head, glancing at Sophia. “She broke the javelin.” In a mock display of annoyance, he marched over to the wreckage and looked down at it. “And this is why we can’t have nice things, isn’t it?”

Sophia laughed. “So we haven’t found Gen’s weapon. It’s just going to take a bit more practice. She is magnetizing to her dragon and we both know how complicated that can be. Her strength will be coming and going until she gets a handle on it.”

“I didn’t break a single thing while magnetizing to Simi, my dragon,” Wilder said with a laugh. “Just so you know, Soph, you’re her sparring partner. I’m sitting out on this training. I don’t like having my bones broken.”

Gen gave Sophia an apologetic look. “You don’t have to spar with me. Maybe I am a bit angsty right now.”

“Of course you are,” Sophia said, smiling thoughtfully at her. “And you can spar with Lunis. He’ll be a good match for you. But first, I’ve got another training exercise for you that’s a little less hands-on and a bit more mental focus.”

“Do I have to think?” Gen asked, giving her a worried expression.

“Worse,” Sophia answered with a wink. “You have to feel.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

IN STILLNESS, STRENGTH AWAKENS

Falconer Cave, The Expanse, The Gullington, Scotland, United Kingdom

After hiking for ten miles, Gen and Sophia arrived at a hidden cave, its entrance cloaked by moss and stone. Sophia had said the next part of Gen’s training with the Dragon Elite involved a mental exercise. After hours of combat training with a massive dragon, Gen was more than happy to use her mind over her body, especially after the long hike up the hills.

Stepping inside, she was greeted by the cool kiss of air, a soothing balm to her weary spirit. The gentle drip of water echoed like a serene melody, inviting her to release the burdens of her past. The walls, adorned with crystalline formations, shimmered in the dim light. They cast dancing shadows that played with her imagination, reminding her that beauty often lies in the unseen.

The earthy scent of damp moss and the mineral tang of stone filled Gen’s lungs, grounding her in the present. Beneath her feet, the smooth rock offered a stable foundation, encouraging her to plant herself firmly in this new world. As they ventured deeper, the cave seemed to embrace her, its narrow passages widening into a spacious chamber that hummed with a quiet energy.

Here, in this sanctum, surrounded by the whispers of the earth, Gen found a space for introspection, a place where the external noise of her life in the 1400s and the overwhelming stimuli of the twenty-first century could not reach her. The cave, with its ancient stillness, seemed to mirror her own quest for identity and belonging, offering solace and a reminder that, like its enduring walls, she too could withstand the ravages of time and change.

The cavernous space was dark and cold, like most caves. However, there was something unique about the stillness in the space, although Gen couldn’t put her finger on why exactly.

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