The Loyal Friend (Unstoppable Liv Beaufont Book 5) Read online

  The Loyal Friend

  Unstoppable Liv Beaufont™ Book 5

  Sarah Noffke

  Michael Anderle

  This book is a work of fiction.

  All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  Copyright © 2019 Sarah Noffke & Michael Anderle

  Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  A Michael Anderle Production

  LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  LMBPN Publishing

  PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy

  Las Vegas, NV 89109

  First US Edition, April 2019

  ISBN: 978-1-64202-223-0

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Sarah’s Author Notes

  Michael’s Author Notes

  Acknowledgments

  Books By Sarah Noffke

  YA Dystopian Fantasy

  Books By Michael Anderle

  Connect with The Authors

  The Loyal Friend Team

  Thanks to the JIT Readers

  Crystal Wren

  Peter Manis

  Micky Cocker

  John Ashmore

  Jeff Eaton

  Kelly O’Donnell

  Misty Roa

  Larry Omans

  Angel LaVey

  If I’ve missed anyone, please let me know!

  Editor

  The Skyhunter Editing Team

  For Trudy.

  The first day we met, you called me a tiger.

  Still my favorite college class ever. And the one that flamed my fire for writing.

  — Sarah

  To Family, Friends and

  Those Who Love

  to Read.

  May We All Enjoy Grace

  to Live the Life We Are

  Called.

  — Michael

  Chapter One

  Five years ago

  There were few things as breathtaking as the Swiss Alps in autumn. For Guinevere Beaufont, only the faces of her children compared to the majestic scene before her. The dark green undergrowth of the neighboring hills around the Matterhorn was enough to make her rejoice. The trees were a dazzling array of reds, oranges, and yellows, and the mountain they would soon be climbing was covered in fresh white snow.

  It wasn’t the ideal season to scale the mountain that rose over fourteen thousand feet in the air, but the timing was important. They were finally making progress; so close to uncovering the next part of the puzzle, and it couldn’t wait until spring, when it would be safer.

  Everything would be fine. It was one of those rare occasions when she and Theodore got to go on an adventure together, and although they couldn’t portal closer to the summit due to the wards around the Matterhorn, they still had magic. More importantly, they had each other.

  “So this fae you questioned,” Theodore said. He was only a few steps behind Guinevere, and his breath was already ragged from the climb.

  “Elf,” she corrected, flashing a smile over her shoulder at her husband.

  His light-colored hair was sticking out from under his cap, which framed his face. Ian and Clark had their father’s strong jawline, and also his stoic nature. The girls, Reese, Olivia, and Sophia, took after their mother by being too loud at times and always bursting with energy. All of the children shared their parents’ independent spirit, or at least Guinevere liked to think so. If she had passed only one thing onto her children, it would be the ability to think for themselves. That was more important than having incredible powers or good looks or all the money in the world.

  Guinevere smiled, feeling her chest warm. She was grateful that her children had all of those attributes, too. They were beyond blessed—a strong, happy family with an incredible future spreading out before all of them. But Theodore and Guinevere weren’t content with their children growing up in the world they had. Yes, it would be a good life if they did, but it wasn’t enough. The Beaufont children deserved to live in a world of magic that was balanced and whole. One day, their children would replace them as Councilor and Warrior. One day, but hopefully not anytime soon, Guinevere thought, keeping an even pace as they hiked.

  More than anything, Guinevere and Theodore wanted their children to take over the House of Seven. Not as it was now, but rather how it was supposed to be. It was their dream to fix what had come out of the Great War. That had been a blunt reaction—one man’s mission to create exclusivity. A single Founder’s fear and prejudice that he spread all over the world.

  It truly only took one to change everything, demolishing the House’s structure, which had been created with the intention of balance and peace.

  It also only took one person to fix things, Guinevere thought. She glanced over her shoulder at her husband and partner. Or two people.

  “Are you ready to start climbing?” Theodore asked, already out of breath. He wasn’t used to the high elevation, or hiking for that matter. Warriors braved the elements, traveling the globe on missions, and Councilors stayed behind and researched. But they’d made the decision that today’s mission was a case for both of them. It would require Theodore’s sharp thinking and Guinevere’s bravery and agility.

  “Are you ready for the climb, old man?” Guinevere asked him with a wink.

  He paused, his hands on his knees as he doubled over from the exertion. “It’s true that I’m not as sprightly as I used to be, but I can do this all day long. I’m only taking it slow for your benefit.”

  Guinevere laughed. “Speaking of things you can do for my benefit, try taking the word sprightly out of your vocabulary. Grown men really shouldn’t say such things.”

  Theodore’s laughter echoed in the crisp autumn air. “Okay, my darling. What would you have me replace that word with? Perky? Frisky? Nimble? Chipper?”

  Guinevere grimaced. “You’ve been hanging out with elves too much. You’re starting to sound like them.”

  “But hey, I’m not starting to smell like them, so that’s a good thing,” he joked.

  “Yes, please never give up daily showers like those hippy elves,” Guinevere agreed.

  “Or the French,�
� Theodore added, looking toward the ridge that marked the French border. “Do you think we’ll make it before too long? I’m hoping to be back by the time the children awaken.”

  Guinevere shot him a rebellious smile. “I will, but I’m not sure about you.”

  He chuckled again. “I suppose if we’re running behind, Ian will take charge for us.”

  “Yes, he’s grown very responsible over this year,” Guinevere stated. “One day he’ll make a fine Councilor.”

  Theodore nodded. “But not anytime soon. He needs a chance to see the world and explore before he’s confined to the Chamber of the Tree.”

  “They all do,” Guinevere replied, referring to her other four children. “And they will. After we do this, we’ll take them on a trip.”

  Theodore shook his head. “You act like all we have to do is stroll up to the top of Matterhorn and flip a switch.”

  “And you act like disabling a signal broadcasting to all mortals’ minds is rocket science.”

  Theodore pursed his lips. “It definitely is science, and I’m not sure exactly how we’re going to disable something the God Magician activated centuries ago.”

  “Well, the only way to find out is to investigate.”

  The elf Guinevere had questioned had been in a trance. Breaking into other people’s minds without them knowing it wasn’t something she liked doing, but she’d come to realize that much of the history they were trying to uncover was locked away in the subconscious of magical creatures who had been on the Earth for a long, long time. They might not remember the events before the Great War or the aftermath, but the memories were there if one knew how and where to look.

  The elf had said that he believed there were several ways a mortal could see magic again, the first of which was to be exposed to it in the purest forms. After learning this, Guinevere and Theodore had pieced things together, realizing that was one reason the council, or rather Adler Sinclair, was bent on cleaning up rogue sources of magic. Adler had said that it wasn’t safe to have ghosts floating all over the planet, but the truth, they believed, was that ghosts were pure magical energy. If a mortal were to come in contact with one, the spell would be broken for them. That was why they’d been trapping the ghosts and consolidating the magic into the canisters, which somehow always disappeared, and Guinevere had yet to find them.

  The elf had also said that constant exposure to magical creatures could, under the right circumstances and depending on the mortal, break down their walls, allowing them to see magic again. That meant that the spell placed on mortals long ago wasn’t foolproof.

  Guinevere had learned early on that there were no absolutes with magic. No spell would work one hundred percent of the time. Once a rule was made—say, that the dead couldn’t be brought back—someone would find a loophole. They were everywhere in this world, and that was what made it so beautiful and gorgeously complicated. Guinevere Beaufont wouldn’t have it any other way.

  But there was one final safeguard that kept the shield up for most mortals, preventing many from knowing that magic existed. It was the signal broadcasting from the Matterhorn. What kind of signal, she and Theodore didn’t know. Was it magical tech, or an ancient artifact? That was also unclear. What the Beaufonts did know was that they had to disable it so they could break the spell. Then, one by one, mortals all over the world would see magic for the first time in their lives.

  After that, Guinevere would find the mortal Seven and bring them back into the House where they belonged.

  It had been hard for her to believe that one man had started a war until she remembered the history books surrounding other, similar wars. Often two sides fought because they feared each other, or thought they were better than the other. Religion spurred wars. Greed and self-preservation were the cause of many battles. What had happened between the mortals and magicians wasn’t so different than the other wars that had been fought over the centuries. It was only different in that the defeated had been banned from a place that should have been their birthright, and the whole history had been erased because what couldn’t be remembered, couldn’t be questioned.

  Now the magical creatures and mortals were separate and seemingly meant to be apart, but Guinevere knew better. She’d felt it from an early age. The divide wasn’t natural. It was the result of one man’s agenda. His fears, and his prejudice.

  The path up the mountain had narrowed, and the terrain suddenly got steeper. Sharp rocks crunched underfoot, and Theodore’s breath grew louder. Soon they’d have to pull out the ropes and climb, but he’d do well. Guinevere would help him. They’d help each other. Since the moment she’d met the man now at her back, she’d known she’d found her soul mate. The one person who made her stronger, kept the fire in her burning hot, and made her feel unstoppable. Before Theodore’s father and mother had stepped down as Warrior and Councilor, he and Guinevere had been an incredible team. However, once she took her role in the House of Seven alongside her husband, they had forged a bond unlike any other.

  There was no place she wouldn’t follow Theodore Beaufont, and there was nothing she wouldn’t face to protect him. That was the kind of love that made magic seem ordinary. It burned brighter than anything else in the world.

  Guinevere sensed the presence seconds before she heard it. Halting, she pulled Inexorabilis from its sheath. The sword was light in her hands, an extension of her, imbued with a unique magic she’d relied on many times. It was the reason she still stood there, ready to face down another potential enemy.

  She should have been prepared for the sight of the man who stepped out from behind the rocks, blocking their path up the Matterhorn. However, as much as they’d discovered about the secrets surrounding the House, Guinevere still didn’t want to believe that Adler Sinclair was behind everything. Yes, the God Magician had been the instigator, and she kept telling herself that Adler was only a pawn. Maybe he didn’t even know anything. Maybe they’d only imagined that the many strange and suspicious things he did were related to his ploy to control things. Maybe he was innocent in all this.

  However, when the magician stepped out, his blue robes billowing in the wind, Guinevere had to admit the truth: he was a bad man.

  “Your journey ends here,” Adler stated, his long beard blowing back behind him.

  “Move out of the way, Adler,” Theodore demanded, coming over to stand in front of his wife.

  The old man, who had paper-white skin and hair to match, simply laughed. “You know I won’t do that. You two have gotten too close, which was foolish, but even worse was that you didn’t think we’d know.”

  “Whatever he’s told you is wrong,” Theodore stated, his voice clear and loud.

  A large staff appeared in Adler’s outstretched hand. “He is the most powerful magician in the world. How could he be wrong?”

  “He stole that power,” Theodore argued.

  Adler ground his teeth together, narrowing his eyes. “He took it, which is what the strong do.”

  Theodore tensed, his anger palpable. “I’m sure my ancestor, who was one of the founding members of the House, didn’t see it that way since he trusted him. They all did. They trusted him, and he murdered them.”

  Adler was undeterred by this recounting of history. “The past is over and done with.”

  “It’s also forgotten,” Guinevere interjected.

  “It is better that way,” Adler asserted. “I was hoping you’d see that. Forget everything, and move on. You don’t have to lose it all right here.”

  Guinevere came around her husband to stand beside him. “How do you think we can simply forget that this is all a lie?” She jerked her chin in the direction of the Matterhorn. “Mortals deserve to know the truth. To see magic. This is wrong.”

  Adler let out a heavy sigh, full of disappointment. “I was afraid you’d feel that way.” He lifted his staff, but before he made his next move, Theodore raised his hand and threw up a defensive spell.

  However, nothing happened.

/>   He glanced sideways at his wife before looking around to see why his magic hadn’t worked.

  Again Adler held his staff up, the orb on the top glowing red. Guinevere tried to protect them with her own spell, but it didn’t work either. Before she could block it, Adler’s magic hit her, knocking Inexorabilis to the ground. The sword slid down the scree and stuck between two rocks, where it hung off the side of a steep embankment.

  “What have you done?” Theodore asked, checking on his wife over his shoulder.

  “I’ve ensured that this will be fast and easy,” Adler answered, the orb on the top of his staff glowing again.

  “You’ve cheated,” Guinevere stated, standing. She needed to carefully negotiate her way to the sword so she could grab it.

  “Those who lose like to call those who win cheaters,” Adler reasoned. “I’ve adapted, that is all.”

  “You’ve locked our magic,” Theodore fired back.

  Guinevere hoped Adler would stay focused on Theodore, giving her a chance to retrieve Inexorabilis. It was their only chance against a magician as powerful as Adler Sinclair while they had their magic locked. Her heart was racing, and every part of her was screaming with fear. She’d faced many dangers in this world, but never anything like this. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this was certain death. That Adler had thought of everything. That foolishly they’d thought they were one step ahead of him, when in fact, they had been walking straight into a trap.