Box Set #3: The Serenity Deception: [The 4 book 3rd Adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood]
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The Serenity Deception
The Complete Four Volume
3rd Adventure of
Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood
Copyright 2014, Robert A. Iannone
All Rights Reserved
Molly
An {Egg}White Christmas
Tee’ka
Mysteria and Sera’Fina
Serenity
Molly
Book1, The Serenity Deception
Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood
Copyright 2014, Robert A. Iannone
All Rights Reserved
Author’s Note
In this book, we re-introduce the character Molly and her mother Jenny.
We first met them in the novella An {Egg}White Christmas
(which is only offered for sale during the month of December).
But, not to worry.
As a bonus, I have included the book at the end of this story.
Table of Contents
Prologue
From Reven
From An {Egg} White Christmas
Chapter 1 – Triskaidekaphobia
Chapter 2 – Truth and Dare
Chapter 3 – Year of Living Dangerously
Chapter 4 – Jenny and Molly
Chapter 5 – Simply Irresistible
Chapter 6 – Egg’s Ben’Edikk
Chapter 7 – Ben’Edikk Arnold
Chapter 8 – Return of 7
Chapter 9 – Shameless Mimic
Chapter 10 – Laff’Alott
Prologue
From
Reven – Book 4 of Zynn-Zaz’zia
It was just the girls . . . Egg, Sylvia, Meggy, Aeri’elle, Bl’azzz, Soo, Spirit, BreeZee, Sassi and K’ssss. They had some important business to attend to.
Egg faced the new recruits. “Bree and Spirit, do you still wish to become Hameggattic Sisters?”
“Absolutely”.
“Yes.”
“Then repeat after me, “We are the Sisters of Mystery and will protect each other from danger and keep each other’s secrets for as long as the sun shines and the stars twinkle.”
The girls spoke the words.
“By the powers vested in me as leader of this motley amalgamation of interplanetary misfits, I declare you both Sisters of the Hood.”
Surprise, surprise . . . everyone hugged everyone else.
The conversation then turned to random subjects.
“Meggy,” asked Bl’azzz, “when are you going to Earth for the operation?’
“My mother insists that I go immediately. However, I have a reputation to repair first. Perhaps the sight of a horribly disfigured former mega-brat will evoke sympathy.”
“They’ll be eating out of your hand in no time,” said Soo.
“I thought you found our earth sayings dumb,” teased Sylvia.
“True dat.”
“Spirit, what are your plans?” asked Aeri’elle. “Are you going back home?”
“That still is not an option. I guess Jynx and I will take a little tour of the galaxy. I suspect there are some sights worth seeing.”
“Is your spaceship big enough to hold passengers?”
“It is quite large. Why BreeZee?”
“I thought maybe I could go with you . . . if you wouldn’t mind?”
“I would love the company. Anyone else seeking a little excitement?”
“Excitement no, but Syl and I would love to go if we could. Maybe next time.”
“Actually, I’d like to go,” said Bl’azzz.
“Really? Why you amazing astronautical adventurer . . . if you go, so will I. That okay with you, Spirit?”
“One can never have too many friends. Soo, you and Bl’azzz are most welcome to join us.” The Thought Weaver hesitated then added, “I so did make the right choice to help the Sisterhood. I appreciate the Queen’s medal of valor . . . but my true reward is your friendship. Thank you . . . all of you.”
That too deserved and received the appropriate hugs.
“Sassi, I expect you to bring Kiss’immee to visit her namesake here on Zynn-Zaz’zia.”
“Well, of course, K’ssss. She will absolutely love seeing Wind’dancers and Nauti. And your new home is so spectacular. Does that mean you aren’t going to age . . . like Zazzi?”
“Actually my husband . . . H’sssss . . . sorry, that word still gives me shivers . . . was informed by the Circle of Life that the technology that kept him from aging has been deactivated. In fact, it has been destroyed.”
“Why?” asked Egg.
“The explosion actually had an unexpected side effect on our serpents. The jolt to their nervous system has pushed them one step closer to sentience. Now, it is only a matter of time and nurturing by Zazzi and I and the first intelligent serpents will emerge. Therefore, the great experiment nears its end. Zazzi will be able to complete his task during the remainder of his natural life.”
“But why was the thing destroyed?”
“So no one could use it to prolong life for selfish reasons. However, the good news is that the harvesting technology will not be destroyed. Perhaps one day we can figure out how it works and use it on Aerianna or Earth.”
“They would be wonderful,” said the Princess. “Please ask for any help you might need, my dear sister.”
“Thanks . . . Meggy. H’sssss”.
“Why are you laughing, you . . . you . . . you . . . rats, I got nothing.”
“Then say it.”
“Say what?”
“I give you permission . . . to say it one more time,” and K’ssss smiled.
“Why you slithering sack of silly, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Feel better?”
“Oh, yes. Thank you.”
They grew quiet for it was about time for each to go her own way. Worse, the next time the Sisterhood was called upon to help, some of the faces wouldn’t be there.
“Maybe we need to come up with a retirement ceremony. Three of you guys are . . . I mean won’t be . . . um . . . “. The rest of Sylvia’s sentence was lost in soft sobs.
“As the next Queen of Aerianna, I expressly forbid the shedding of tears. This is a joyous occasion. The induction of two new, talented and beautiful sisters is something to celebrate. The Sisterhood is still at seven. And, think of it, we now have representatives from four worlds. We will be the stuff of legends.”
“We already are,” said Spirit.
“What does that mean?” asked Egg.
“I should have said that the Sisterhood will soon be legendary.”
“Is my newest sister peering into the future again?” asked K’ssss.
“Perhaps a quick peak.”
“And?” asked Aeri’elle.
“And . . . um . . . our fame is going to get us into trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“I can’t tell. All I can say is that there is a mysterious girl who thinks she can get the better of us. And when she does, she will laugh a lot.”
“Let her laugh,” said Egg dismissing the idea. “No one gets the better of the Hameggattic Sisterhood.”
“Actually . . .,” Spirit hesitated. She took a deep breath then continued “actually, and I’m sorry to say this, she will get the better of you, Egg.”
“Oh. Oh my gosh.”
From
An {Egg}White Christmas
[The complete novella is provided
at the end of this book]
A moment
later, they were somewhere else.
“Welcome to Aerianna.” It was Queen Rose’Alynnia. They were all standing in the great Throne Room on Q’umulus surrounded by all the pomp and circumstance you would expect in the presence of royalty. Storm had told his friend to expect the girls, so the Queen was ready to greet them.
Without a moment’s hesitation, both Egg and Sylvia ran up and gave their friend a warm embrace. The three of them had been through so much together that the bond between them was forever unbreakable.
“Where is his lordship and Meggy?” Egg asked. She was referring to Lord Z’kkk, Dazzle’s husband and M’egg-Alynnia, her daughter.
“Out and about on some Royal business. They send their regrets but they both hope to see you before you leave. Now, let us not be rude to our guests. Egg, would you do us the honor of making the introductions?” In truth, Dazzle of course knew the names of mother and daughter but as Queen of Aerianna, certain etiquette needed to be observed.
“Oh sure. Your Majesty, may I present our friends - Jenny and her daughter Molly.” Turning to the two earthlings, she said, “Jenny, Molly . . . may I present, Rose’Alynnia, Queen of Aerianna.”
Sylvia who was now standing behind the two nudged them forward and Jenny instinctively curtsied. Molly saw what her mother did and tried almost successfully to do the same thing.
“On behalf of the people of Aerianna, I welcome you both to our world.”
Jenny continued to stare dumfounded. An instant before she had been in a shabby motel room in a little mountain village; now she was in a grand and breathtaking palace on a different world. Her mind was finding it difficult to grasp the reality of it all.
Molly on the other hand was completely unfazed. She looked up at the beautiful Dazzle and asked, “Are you really and truly a queen?”
“Yes, little one.”
“And are there really and truly dragons and sea serpents here?”
“Of course.
“And this is a floating city? Really and truly?” (That was Molly’s new favorite phrase. Really and truly, I kid you not).
“Would you like to see?”
“Oh, yes. Please.”
“Then, with your mother’s permission . . .,” and she looked at Jenny.
“I think we would both like to see . . . if that’s okay with you, your Majesty?” (She almost giggled. Here she was talking to a Queen, in a floating city on a world a billion miles from Earth. That thought would make anybody giddy and giggly).
“Of course. Take my hand little one,” and she led the group of Earthlings out of the Throne Room and on to a balcony. Picking up Molly so the girl would have a better view, Dazzle announced proudly, “I give you Q’umulus.”
“Oooooooooooh,” exclaimed Molly breathlessly. “It’s . . . it’s . . . floating”.
“What do you think Jenny? Pretty cool?” asked Egg.
When she didn’t answer, Egg, Sylvia and the Queen looked at the young mother. They were surprised to see her crying.
“Jenny, are you not well?” asked Rose’Alynnia with real concern.
“Your Majesty . . . is all this real? I’m not dreaming, am I?”
Dazzle gave the young woman her warmest smile. “No, my dear, you are not dreaming. This really is Aerianna . . . and your new home.”
Chapter 1 - Triskaidekaphobia
“OH MY GOSH . . . OH MY GOSH . . . OH MY GOSH . . . OH MY GOSH . . .”
“What is your problem?” Sylvia had just arrived at her best friend’s house. She, however, knew exactly what the problem was.
“HAM-ster, I’m thirteen years old!”
“No you’re not. Well, technically not for another hour and let’s call it twenty-three minutes.”
“HAM-bone, don’t you get it?”
“Stop with the HAM words, will you?”
“Not a chance, HAM-burger.”
“That’s it. I’m taking you back to Zynn-Zaz’zia so K’ssss or Zazzi can zap you with the Circle of Life.”
“That’s a lot of z’s,” giggled Egg.
“And you’re a lot of crazy . . . for a teenager”. Her eyes opened wide, her mouth split into a big grin and, grabbing her best friends hands, she started jumping up and down.
They were teenagers . . . and it felt amazing.
“Good grief,” said Ashley, Egg’s older sister, when she came to investigate the commotion. “Are we under attack?”
“Yes,” answered Egg who couldn’t contain her excitement. “Mobius escaped from the time trap and he’s not very happy.” Just the way she said it, exaggerating each of the last four words, caused Sylvia to fall down in hysterics.
Ashley, of course, had no idea who Mobius was nor did she know her kid sister was Flying Girl and the leader of the Hameggattic Sisterhood. “Well, you tell Moby that no one messes with my sister, mister (quoting from a Fandango Sally song). Now you two need to regain control . . . since you’re both teenagers.” She smiled and the other girls squealed and danced around.
“I think I know where Triskaidekaphobia came from.” It was Egg’s dad who had just descended the stairs.
Without thinking, Sylvia said, “Hi, Mr. Egg,” then put her hand over her mouth. Ashley and Egg both started to laugh. They were all kind of goofy and giddy.
“Mr. Egg?” he replied in pretend shock.
Sylvia couldn’t respond . . . she couldn’t even breathe since she was red-faced and hysterical.
Egg calmed down enough to ask, “What’s a Tris-a-get-your-fobia . . . whatever that word you said?”
“Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number thirteen. Obviously, it was coined by the father of the first young girl who turned from a rational, self-controlled child of twelve into a . . . a . . . teenage slithering sack of silly.” He was smiling as he said it.
The mouths on two new teenagers dropped open. “What did you say?”
“A slithering sack of silly. Why?”
Egg looked at Sylvia who shrugged. “Where did you get that from?”
“Get it from? I didn’t get it from anywhere. It just seemed appropriate. Why? Are you offended?”
“No. It’s a phrase that a friend of ours likes to use. It’s not important.”
“Anyway, your mom will be ready in a minute. Well, that’s what she told me a half hour ago. We’re supposed to meet the Z’s at the restaurant at seven. So if you two have any last-second ablutions you need to attend to, I suggest you get a move on.”
Egg’s face scrunched. “Ablutions? Tris-a-get-your-fobia? Dad, that’s gibberish on any planet.”
“It means to wash up,” said Sylvia.
He grinned at his daughter. “I simply presumed that since you are no longer a child, I should converse with you in the language of sophistication and erudition.”
“If I didn’t have my Feminion here to translate, I would think you were talking in Serpent’s tongue or Dragon’s Speak.” She said it without thinking.
“Feminion? Serpent’s tongue? Dragon’s Speak? Is that a reference to Harry Potter?”
Egg was momentarily befuddled by the question. Like the good Feminion that she was, Sylvia came to her aid. “Yes.”
The other girl looked at her best friend. “Yes? That’s all you got?”
“Short and pithy . . . a perfect answer.”
“Pithy? Pithy? Is that even a word?”
“Egg-o, you simply have to get out more.”
“Not me. I’d be afraid to go any place where there might be Tack-toed Ticks or giant spiders or big ugly villains.” And that got both girls to howling.
“Any idea what they’re talking about?” asked Mr. Egg . . . I mean Mr. Graystone. The two girls had always been very guarded about referring to their off-world activities. But they reached a point where they didn’t care anymore. The reason was simple . . . no one ever believed them, which wasn’t too surprising.
Ashley shook her head. “I think it’s a form of insanity.”
“Hey, Mom had me tested.”
�
�I did, but sadly you failed.” It was Mrs. Egg . . . I mean Mrs. Graystone who had just entered the room.
“You said I passed.”
“I didn’t want to upset you,” teased her mom. “The good news is that when you turn thirteen these weird hallucinations will go away. So, in about an hour you’ll be miraculously cured. We are all looking forward to that moment with great anticipation. It’s the real reason we’re going out to celebrate.”
Mr. Graystone was becoming a bit impatient. “Okay, if everyone has regained their self-control, let’s go.”
“Dad, what about Grammy?”
“Sorry, honey. She called to say she wasn’t feeling very well. Nothing serious but she didn’t want to put a damper on the festivities.”
Egg was devastated. There was no one in the universe that she was closer to than her grandmother and namesake. That had been true even before her Grammy gave her the flying suit and jewelry that started the great adventure of her life. “I think I should call her before we go.”
“Your grandmother asked me to give you a message.”
“What?”
“She said, and I quote, ‘Tell Egg not to call until AFTER the party.’”
“No she didn’t.”
“Yeah, she did.”
Egg smiled at something she had told her grandmother on more than one occasion. “Grammy you always know how I feel. It’s like we share one brain but in two different bodies”. To her father she said, “You’re right. That’s exactly what she would say.”
“So let’s go. Besides, there are two young men (he meant Zeke and Zack) waiting impatiently for their gals.”
“Gals?” repeated Ashley. “Gals?”