“Um . . . no.”
“Spill it. Did you kiss Zazzi?”
“SYLVIA. How could you even ask such a thing?”
“Did you.”
The Wind’dancer shrugged, then stuck out her tongue. The other girls howled. “Don’t any of you dare tell K’ssss. I’d die of embarrassment.”
“If I may clarify,” interjected Tee’ka, “the reason you became K’ssss is because your subconscious mind wished it.”
“Really?”
“Oh, please,” said Aeri’elle. “That’s not too hard to figure out. You know exactly two sea serpents . . . K’ssss and Soo. Obviously no one in their right mind would want to become her,” and she pointed at the pond.
“Hey, that was hurtful,” but she was teasing. She splashed the dragon with a huge slap of her tail.
“I deserved that.”
“Yeah, you did.”
“Who’s next?”
“Why don’t you go, Egg?” answered Spirit.
“Okay. Well, hang on to your hats . . .”
“We don’t wear hats,” began Bl’azzz, but she stopped when one materialized on her head. It was the one that J’azzz-min had worn.
“Hey, it’s my hat.”
“Now you may hold on to it as Egg requested,” said Tee’ka in all seriousness.
“Oh my gosh . . . it’s just an expression.”
“Can we get on with it please,” begged Aeri’elle.
“Go on Egg . . . but I’m keeping the hat.”
“I gotta tell you that it’s not as cute as you think. Anyway, you’ll never guess which dragon I turned into.”
“Storm.”
“Nope.”
“Bl’azzz.”
“Uh-uh. And it wasn’t big bird.”
“I know. I know,” cried Sylvia. “F’Aerianne.”
“Great guess . . . but no. It was Bl’udd.”
“Are you kidding?” asked Soo.
“Nope. It was the one-and-only, great big, not-very-bright, traitor-turned-hero that we all love to hate.”
“You have one sick subconscious,” said Aeri’elle.
“Actually, I asked Tee to turn me into him.”
“Why?”
“Cause he’s the biggest dragon that I ever saw. So if I wanted to experience what it’s like to be one, I thought I might as well be the strongest, largest one I could think of.”
“Kind of makes sense,” said Bl’azzz.
“What was it like? What did you do?” asked Spirit.
“I relived him saving the Nauti village. He’s really powerful. You’d think it would be tough for someone that big to fly, but it wasn’t. He flapped his wings as if it was nothing. It was completely effortless. And he could maneuver as easily as I can in my flying suit.”
“So, what great insights did you learn about us dragons?” asked Aeri’elle.
“I felt totally invincible . . . like nothing or no one in the universe could stop me from doing whatever I wanted. I was king of the sky and the world had to bend to my will. It was so amazing. How in the heck dragons lost to serpents and humans I’ll never understand.”
Bl’azzz smiled at her friend’s story but Aeri’elle, always the professor of history, knew the answer to Egg’s question. “Egg, your explanation of how you felt physically was wonderful. But, what of your mind? What were you thinking as you did what you did?”
“Well . . .,” and the girl went quiet as she gave the question some real thought. “It’s a little hard to explain. Everything seemed . . . um . . . simple, as in obvious. I had one overriding urge and that was to grab the thingy that was about to explode and to take it as far from the village as fast as I could. And, I really wanted to drop it before it blew me up. As I said, it was simple . . .,” but she trailed off as she tried to understand why it didn’t seem quite right.
“Something troubling you?”
“Um . . . yeah, but I’m not sure what it is.”
“I do. We dragons were beings of action. We saw a problem or a task and we took care of it. But we always reacted . . . never anticipated.”
“Huh?”
“We didn’t see the future and plan for it. We saw the present and reacted to it. That’s why serpents and humans were able to beat us. They could see beyond the now . . . a little like our own Spirit. Sadly, my people couldn’t. It was only after King M’earth began his rule that Dragons began to change. We built our first universities and we learned from the others – from humans and serpents. What you experienced with Bl’udd, who’s more than a thousand years old, is the old version of us dragons.”
“Oh.”
“Egg, it’s pretty amazing that you were able to sense that . . . forgive me you two . . . that shortcoming. It’s not all that obvious,” said Sylvia. ”Maybe, just maybe, you’re more intellectually curious then you pretend to be.”
“Was that supposed to be a compliment?” her friend asked with a smirk.
“More of an observation.”
“Good . . .'cause it was a pretty pathetic compliment.”
“Okay, who’s next?”
“I want to hear about Spirit’s little adventure,” answered BreeZee.
Everyone turned to the Thought Weaver . . . who did the most unexpected thing.
She flickered.
Chapter 5 – The Otherwise Located
“Oh my gosh!”
“What’s wrong?” asked the Thought Weaver.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? You . . . you flickered.”
“Flickered? If that’s an earth expression, I don’t know what it means.”
Instead of answering, Egg turned to Tee’ka. “What’s going on? Why is she still a . . . a . . . whatever it is that you are?”
“Egg, what are you talking about? It’s me . . . Spirit. I was a computer generated construct but now I’m back to being me.”
“Yeah . . . not so much.”
The exotic alien turned to the others. “What is she going on about?”
The girls all looked from one to another. Sylvia finally repeated, “You flickered.”
“What are you saying . . . I’m still a construct? That’s just crazy.”
BreeZee told her friend “Call your four legged companion. Have her come to you.”
“Why?”
“Trust me.”
“Alright, if you insist, I’ll play along. Jynxie . . . to me.”
The Shamie looked up when her name was called by her mistress. She looked at Spirit (or at least at Spirit’s image) then bent her head to the left then to the right as if she was trying to figure out what it was that had called her. Finally, a couple of her antennae-like things sort of danced around.
Then she growled and burped.
“JYNX?”
“Tee’ka?”
“Egg?”
“What’s going on? Why is she still like that?” and the girl pointed at Spirit.
“Apologies, but I do not understand the question.”
Egg looked at Sylvia who was staring back. She touched her arm and said “goose bumps.”
“And there goes our vacation.”
“Tee, Spirit is still a construct. Why?”
Tee’ka flickered (and unseen by the girls, Spirit did also). “Because she was always a computer generated construct, of course.”
“Now I’m getting goose bumps” Sylvia interjected.
“Houston, we’ve got a problem.”
Bl’azzz turned to Soo and asked, “What the heck does that mean?”
“Why are you asking me?”
“You’re right. What was I thinking?”
“Spirit.”
“Yes, Bree?”
“You seem awfully calm about this.”
“Of course I’m calm. Why shouldn’t I be?”
Bree glanced at Egg who said “Because you used to be a flesh and blood person and now you’re a . . .” she couldn’t remember the word she wanted.
Sylvia offered, “A hologram.”
“Yeah, thank you. Y
ou’re a hologram.”
“Sisters, I’m not a hologram. We’ve had this discussion a hundred times. I’m a computer generated projection.” Then she needlessly added, “like Tee’ka.”
“If you were always like this,” asked Aeri’elle, “why doesn’t Jynx recognize you?”
Spirit flickered then asked, “Who is Jynx?”
“Oh, boy.”
*****
Meanwhile, Back on Earth
“Good morning.” It was the third time he said it.
Grammy finally looked up from her book.
“Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“That’s quite alright. I was so completely lost in this story that a siren wouldn’t have gotten my attention.”
“Must be mighty interesting.”
“Oh my, yes.” Grammy smiled and told the stranger “my name is Eloise. And who might you be?”
“Nice to meet you Eloise. I’m your next-door neighbor . . . well, at least for the next few weeks. My name is Ezra. Ezra Hightower. Just came by to say hello.”
“That’s very thoughtful. Would you like to sit? I could get you a cup of coffee or make you some tea?”
“Coffee sounds wonderful. My cabin comes with a Mister Coffee maker. Sadly, all it makes is lukewarm brown-tinted water with a hint of caffeine. Hate to complain but it truly is unfit for human consumption.”
“I’m told dragons prefer their coffee just as you described.”
Ezra’s eyebrows arched up. “Dragons?”
“Don’t you believe in dragons?” asked Grammy with a mischievous smile. She knew very well that she was making the man uncomfortable. But, it was both amusing and a way to test Ezra and see what stuff he was made of. She hadn’t had a man friend in many years. Most times, it didn’t matter. The ladies from all the charities she volunteered at, her daughter and granddaughters more than compensated. But sometimes she thought it would be nice to have a man her own age that she could talk to. It reminded her how much she missed her husband.
“Exactly what kind of dragons are we talking about?” He was beginning to regret being so neighborly. If this lady were a bit of a whack-a-doodle, he would have to find some way to make a quick escape.
“Oh, the usual. Fire breathing ones are my favorite . . . unless they have a gas problem.”
Yikes. Time to beat a hasty retreat.
Ezra looked at his watch and made a big to-do about the time. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize the time. I need to take Max to town. I think he might have gotten a burr in his ear. Perhaps we could have that coffee some other time?”
“I presume Max is your dog.”
“What? Oh. Yes. I didn’t want to bring him over without checking first. Didn’t know if you might not like dogs or if you had pets of your own that might not want Max’s company.”
“Very thoughtful. However, I love dogs and Max is welcome anytime.”
He was a bit befuddled. She now was sounding more . . . more normal. “Um, do you really believe in dragons?”
One thing Grammy tried never to do was to lie. However, you could always hide the truth in a funny disguise. “If I told you that I met two on a planet a trillion miles away, you would think that I was a doddering old woman.” She paused to see his reaction.
He just stared at her.
“One is a professor of history. The other is a F’yre Dragon who’s a vegetarian. It gives her gas and when she burps, it ignites into a ball of flame. It’s both amusing and a little dangerous as you might imagine.”
He continued to stare.
“Ezra, I’m terribly disappointed with you.”
“With me? We just met.”
“Ask me the title of the book I’m reading.”
“What? Oh. Um, what’s the title of the book you’re reading?” He added, “But then I really must rush off.”
“It’s called The Hobbit.”
“The Hobbit . . . by Tolkien?”
“The very one. Did you know there are dragons in the story?”
“Sure. Ohhhhh.”
Grammy pretended she didn’t understand his reaction. “Oh what?”
“That dragon stuff. That was a combination of the story and your imagination.” He said it as if it were fact. “You had me a little worried for a moment.”
She smiled but didn’t acknowledge his theory. “If you would get Max while I get the coffee, I probably could remove the burr. I once worked as an assistant to a veterinarian.”
Ezra flashed a boyish grin and Grammy thought it made him look very handsome and distinguished. He turned around, put two fingers in his mouth and let out a loud whistle. A moment later a very large dog came running up . . . its ears flapping. As he got close, he stopped to survey the scene.
“It’s okay, boy. Come say hello to Eloise.” The dog apparently understood because he came bounding over to Grammy, put his big paws on her lap and gave her a wet kiss.
“Well, hello Max. You are one great big beautiful dog, aren’t you?”
Max barked his agreement and Grammy laughed. “He’s an Irish Wolfhound, isn’t he?”
“That he is. Max, down.”
Max looked at Ezra, then turned back to Grammy and gave her another lick. She scratched his head and back then gave him a big hug. Apparently satisfied, the dog climbed down.
“Let me get the coffee and Max, how about a bowl of water?”
The dog barked.
“He certainly has a lot of personality not to mention being very affectionate and highly intelligent.”
“Takes after me.” Just the corny response you would expect from a man (or a boy).
“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” she teased as she walked into the cabin.
“Hey,” he yelled after her, “I’ll show you my high school yearbook. I was voted smartest, most affectionate and personable senior.”
She yelled back, “How many kids in your class? Three?”
He laughed. “Nine, I’ll have you know.” He sat down and whispered to Max, “She’s nice . . . but don’t be barking every time she compliments you. You have to play it cool. Like me.”
The dog laid down and covered his head with his paws.
“Nice, you flea bitten mutt.” Max chose not to respond to the insult.
A couple of minutes later, Grammy came out with a tray. “Max, here’s your water.”
The dog looked at Ezra who nodded okay. Max barked a thank you.
“You’re quite welcome. Ezra, your coffee. I made it extra strong and scalding hot so be warned. Cream and sugar?”
“No thanks,” and he took the offered mug. “Smells wonderful.” He took a sip. “Now that’s what I’m talking about. That’s a cup of coffee.”
Grammy took her cup and sat down. “I assume Max doesn’t really have a burr in his ear.” She and her new friend turned to look at the dog.
Ezra smiled sheepishly. “Probably not. Sorry about that.”
“I’ll forgive you but only if you prove to be a sparkling conversationalist and a spellbinding storyteller”.
That elicited another boyish grin. “Hope you put on a large pot of coffee.”
“Indeed I did. So, neighbor, what shall we talk about?”
“Anything but dragons”.
“That,” said Grammy, “I can’t promise.”
*****
Still on Earth, but now in California
They were seated in one of the famous seafood restaurants at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. The waitress had just taken their orders and had withdrawn. A busboy filled their glasses with ice water and placed a basket filled with sourdough bread in the center of the table.
“Well,” said Mr. Graystone, “if you had to go to college thousands of miles away from home, I’m glad it’s in the San Francisco Bay Area. This city is spectacular, the college is world class, and we’re just an hour south of the Napa Valley vineyards and two hours north of the Monterey Peninsula. Yosemite is five hours southeast of here and Lake Tahoe is less than four hours away.
To top it off, Silicon Valley, the center of all things tech, is just down the road. I’m in love with this place.”
“That was a mouthful,” teased Ashley. “What about you, Mom?”
“It’s nice.”
Father and daughter looked at Mrs. Graystone. “Nice?” said her husband. “Nice?”
“They have earthquakes here. This whole city was destroyed by one in 1906. The Bay Bridge fell down in 1989. I don’t like the idea of my daughter living here. Sorry, but I just had to get that on the record.”
Ashley smiled in appreciation of her mother’s concern. “Mom, the city was destroyed by fire caused by the earthquake. Their fire department is better equipped should it happen again. And the Bay Bridge didn’t fall down . . . it was only one section. And in case you didn’t notice, they just rebuilt that whole half of the bridge.”
“And even though they get an occasional shaking, they never get hurricanes or tornadoes or ice storms,” added Mr. Graystone. “It balances out.”
“You don’t really believe that you can win this argument, do you?”
The other two laughed. “Not a chance . . . but we had to give it the old college try.”
“Arggggggg,” groaned Ashley. “Dad, that was lame.”
“Hey, I’m on your side.”
“Oh, right.” The girl paused then said, “I know you guys were going to spend the better part of a week helping me adjust. But, my roommate seems great, as do the other girls in the dorm. I think I should spend the time getting to know them . . . you know, bond a little before classes start. You understand, right?”
“Believe it or not, we were going to suggest the same thing. Those girls will be your support system while you are here. Bonding with them is very important,” said her mother. “So, after dinner we’ll drop you off at your dorm and be on our way.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
“We both went to college. So, if I’m allowed to say it – ‘been there, done that’.”
Ashley smiled at her father. “I’ll give you that one. Will you head straight home?”
“We thought we drive to Las Vegas and see a couple of shows first. Then we’re going to surprise your grandmother and sister and visit them in the mountains.”
Box Set #3: The Serenity Deception: [The 4 book 3rd Adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood] Page 17