Negotiate or Perish (The Exceptional Sophia Beaufont Book 3) by Sarah Noffke & Michael Anderle

Author:Sarah Noffke & Michael Anderle [Noffke, Sarah & Anderle, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Published: 2021-09-29T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

After Sophia made her case to Papa Creola, he remained quiet, giving her a studious expression. She wanted to keep talking, coming up with more reasons that he should do what she asked, but she’d learned the art of negotiation from Liv and knew that silence was a golden commodity when it came to discussions.

Past the point of uncomfortable silence, Papa Creola remained quiet. Sophia desperately wanted to interject one more point or argument, but instead, she simply continued to gaze at the oldest entity on Earth, besides Mother Nature, of course.

“Okay,” Papa Creola finally said. “I’ll make you a deal.”

Sophia finally drew in a breath. “I’m listening.” She tried not to appear anxious or excited.

“I, of course, will want the Phantom’s horn,” he began.

“Of course,” she said, nodding.

“But that kind of spell to reverse events is very costly for the spectrum of time,” he stated. “Which means, I’ll need some extra power to fuel it.”

“I can stop by the coffee shop and get you a double espresso before you hand off the spell,” Sophia joked.

He scowled at her. “You have your sister’s humor.”

“Thank you,” Sophia said, realizing that he didn’t intend this as a compliment.

“In order to help you, I’m going to need Mother Nature to give me a bottle of her essence,” he stated.

Sophia’s eyes shifted back and forth. “Is it appropriate for me to ask her for that? Maybe you should do that? It seems personal. Like I’m asking for an organ or something.”

He shook his head. “I’m very busy. If I’m going to do it, then I need some of her power. And you’ll have to ask her.”

“But why will she do it?” Sophia asked. “She’s not getting anything. She’s merely giving up something.”

He gave her a skeptical glare. “If you think for a second that I believe you’re undoing Phantom’s death so I can have his horn, you must have been born yesterday, Sophia Beaufont. I know that you have something to gain from this, but I commend you on positioning it in a way that benefits me immensely. Smart thinking. And what benefits you in this equation will help Mother Nature, who you work for. So it behooves Mama Jamba to do this. However, she might have her own hesitations, so you’ll have to take those up with her. If I get her essence, then I’ll hand over the spell. Otherwise, no deal.”

“Okay,” Sophia said, drawing out the one word. “I guess this seems fair.”

“And to help the situation,” Papa Creola began, “I don’t tell Liv about this.”

“You won’t?” she asked, hope in her voice.

“Well, there’s no point,” he reasoned. “She worries enough as it is, and when she does, she’s not as productive. So we will keep it between us.”

“Thanks, Papa Creola,” Sophia said, feeling more hopeful as she headed out into Roya Lane.

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