“Oh my poor grandson. This is terrible. Is he alright? You haven’t harmed him?” Only Po would have allowed such questions.
“As far as I know, he’s fine. Please, don’t ask me to explain because I can’t.”
“Can you at least tell my why you’re here? Why are you telling me this? Is there something I need to do to insure his safety because I’ll do anything? I will give you my life for his.”
He nearly had a heart attack when Po went over and gave him a hug. “Jay’gar and Jax’x are my friends and I intend to help them. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Hay’gar was intelligent . . . probably where his grandson got his smarts. “You are rebelling against the Absolute, aren’t you? Has that ever happened before?”
She ignored the question because she didn’t know the answer. “Like you, I will do everything possible to get him back safely. Hay’gar, I love him.”
Second heart attack. “You love him?”
“Please don’t get me wrong. I also love Jax’x and I would never do anything to hurt either one.”
“May . . . may I sit down?” The poor man was being overwhelmed.
“Of course,” and she pulled out a chair for him to sit on . . . then one for herself. “I need your help.”
“What can I do?”
“Jay’gar told me that you taught him a secret code – one that only you two know.”
Hay’gar smiled proudly. “I wanted to see if he could crack it. He was only twelve but he did it in less than a month.”
“Can you teach me? Tonight?”
“Well, of course. It’s really not that difficult. No one has a need for such a thing so no one is looking for it. It’s actually quite simple. I use recipes. For example, apple pie has only a few ingredients so the message will need to be short.”
“Then teach me now.”
“May I ask why?”
“I’m being placed under house arrest. I will need to get you a message.”
“I still don’t understand”
“I’m sending for help. If they come, you will have to act as my emissary. Can you do that? For Jay’gar?”
“I would die for my grandson.”
*****
She worked on the scrolls for weeks. Even with her powers, it still was trial and error. Once completed, she used the first device to scan the electromagnetic spectrum in an attempt to find extraterrestrial life. Assuming she found someone, she still had to determine if they were friendly, had spaceflight and would help. She had no idea how to accomplish that.
Then one day she discovered that a federation of planets, all with spaceflight, were abuzz with talk of a group of extraordinary girls.
They were called the Hameggattic Sisterhood.
Their leader had the unusual name of Egg – which she assumed meant something different than the edible shelled food they conjure on Spell’ Bound.
She learned of a leader called Rose’Alynnia whose daughter, M’egg-Alynnia, was queen of a world called Aerianna. She was also a member of this Sisterhood.
Po spent another full week to conceive of a plan. She revised it a thousand times but finally could think of nothing else to change. It was time. To simplify things, she would tell them that she was the Librarian, otherwise the story would get too confusing. And since she didn’t know these people and was afraid to trust them (old habits die hard), she would tell them that the Librarian was both a Divine One and a witch. Let them think she was incredibly powerful and they had no choice but to help.
She teleported the second device to the planet Peekaboo Prime and left it for Rose’Alynnia as a gift for her daughter, the Queen.
It worked. When M’egg-Alynnia opened it, Po took control of the girl’s mind.
She called for a meeting of the Sisterhood so she could talk directly to this Egg person. The conversation didn’t go quite as she planned.
After the Sisters gathered, she spoke through the Queen’s mouth. She had decided she needed to be like an Absolute . . . firm and demanding with as many threats as she could make.
“If you wish your Queen returned to normal, you will agree to my demands. Once you have accomplished the task that I assign, I will relinquish control of her mind.”
It didn’t take long for Egg to be Egg. “No.”
“What?”
“I said no.”
Book 2 of Nemesis – PO
©Copyright 2016, by Robert Iannone
All rights reserved (Book & Cover Illustration)
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 – Ziz the Whiz
Chapter 2 – I am the Librarian
Chapter 3 – Meet, Greet Then Repeat
Chapter 4 – A Brief Debrief
Chapter 5 – That Bleep of a Kr’eep
Chapter 6 – The Spy Who Loved Me
Chapter 7 – Serendipity
Chapter 8 – Plan Within Plans
Chapter 9 – Point of No Return
Chapter 10 – Gone Girl
Epilogue
Underneath the celestial lair,
Lies a chamber that holds the sphere.
Suspended by a train of thought,
Perpetual motion stopped by naught.
Heart and Hex must combine as one,
Directed thru he - born with none.
Chapter 1 – Ziz the Whiz
She was devastated. Having no experience at negotiating, she had tried sounding strong and threatening - certain that it would intimidate them into agreeing to her demands. But it had achieved just the opposite results. Rejection.
But after initially being rebuffed in no uncertain terms, Po finally secured the help of the Hameggattic Sisters. They promised they would come to Spell’ Bound as quickly as they could. She ended her talk feeling very good about them . . . not all that dissimilar from her feelings for Jax’x. That was surprising and unexpected. Their leader, the girl called Egg, was someone she felt she could trust.
Having completed the task, she destroyed the evidence . . . using a thought to turn the two devices she had built into a small pile of dust.
She smiled for the first time in almost two months. Jax’x, would be so proud of her . . . of her success in finding help so quickly. She couldn’t wait to see her friend’s face when she presented Egg and her sisters.
Then she realized her mistake. “Oh no. Oh no,” she muttered in horror.
In all her nervousness, she had forgotten to tell the Sisters how to find her or Jax’x. Worse, they would go looking for the Librarian . . . and that would be disastrous.
Her feeling of triumph immediately dissolved only to be replaced with the humiliation of knowing she had been so incredibly stupid. She wanted to cry.
But she knew she didn’t have the time for self-pity. Thinking furiously, she needed a plan to make this right. Her thoughts immediately went to the man she dare not love, though she did – Jay’gar. Her feelings for him, if she could have been totally honest with herself, were the main reason (though most certainly not the only reason) she was helping Jax’x. He was being held prisoner in a Cell of Transitional Non-Being . . . a hellish device conceived and created by the Absolute – Forest Green.
She had heard of them but, until a few weeks ago, had never experienced one first hand. It was said that the poor souls locked inside would be conscious of their surroundings . . . serving their time in complete solitude with nothing to distract themselves except memories of their prior life. Apparently, no longer of this universe or any other (though Po had no idea what that meant) they would neither age nor require food, water or even air.
And, according to gossip, only the Absolute who created the device could recall it and set the prisoner free. How she and Jax’x would rescue Jay’gar was something she needed to figure out. Hopefully the Sisterhood could help. The stories that she had heard were pretty amazing. For instance, two of the sisters were said to be geniuses whose intelligence could not even be measured. One of the two was a sea serpent which, as best she could tell
, was a large snake-like fish. The other was so severely injured in an accident during a selfless rescue mission that she was confined to a mobile chair.
Then she met all of them . . . seeing them through the eyes of the Queen M’egg-Alynnia. Though she knew conceptually what to expect from the stories she had heard, it was still shocking to see such aliens. The two dragons were fearsome to behold but not quite as ferocious as she thought they would be. Still, it was surprising they were part of this Sisterhood. She had read children’s stories about such creatures . . . said to be big, brutal beasts. Intelligence was never one of the attributes used in describing them.
Just as strange were the two sea serpents. The really smart one seemed, to her untrained eye, to be a bit overweight. But, she really had no basis for that assessment.
The one she really was hoping to meet in person had beautiful, delicate wings. Po could teleport anywhere she needed to go, but the thought of flying seemed so . . . well, so romantic.
She shook her head to snap herself out of this time wasting reverie. It was obvious that she needed immediate help and that meant only one person . . . Hay’gar. The man had, at her request, taught her his secret code. She had to give herself some credit . . . anticipating the need for his possible assistance was very clever on her part. She was sure that Jax’x would complement her on such foresight.
She had to tell him to be on the lookout for strangers. However, she was almost certain that the Sisterhood wouldn’t send dragons and sea serpents . . . or girls with wings. They had to be clever enough to send people who could blend in with the inhabitants.
Unfortunately, if they blended in, how would Hay’gar recognize them? For that matter, what were the chances that he would even meet them?
The magnitude of her failure to arrange a proper rendezvous was driving her to desperation. She sat down and took a dozen or so deep breaths. What could she do? After all, she was a Divine One . . . though being so young, she wasn’t all that good at it.
Well, first things first. She composed a note to Hay’gar and buried the coded message into a recipe for star-weed soup. It told him to be alert for people that seemed out of place . . . as if they were new to this world. If he found them, keep them at his house then signal her with the communications device she was providing. She reminded Hay’gar that secrecy was paramount . . . for his grandson’s sake . . . and to use caution when calling her.
Okay, with that done, she now had to find a way to deliver both the recipe and the communications device. Like people (well, like Divine Ones), objects could not be teleported into or out of The Crypt. No one knew why. That left two possibilities . . . violate her confinement and step outside, or get someone to help her.
Of course there was a third way. Maybe she could get her Absolute to override Forest Green and let her at least resume her old duties at the Obelisk. The fact that she was still confined meant that Grassy Knoll was not inclined to release her . . . and that made Po very nervous.
So deep in thought, the girl at first didn’t hear the tapping at the small circular window (the only one in her room) high up the wall. As the sound grew louder, Po looked up and the shock on her face was immediately replaced with an ear-to-ear grin. It was Ziz, the mechanical bird-like creature that Jax’x kept for a pet.
She ran to the window and, using a cord attached to a pulley, opened it allowing the bird to fly in. It circled the room once – as if it was assuring itself they were alone – then settled down on Po’s desk.
Though she had no idea why it was here, she was glad to see the silly thing. “Hi, Ziz. You’re a sight for sore eyes.”
Shockingly, the metal dragonetta responded. “Po, are you alright?”
“Jax’x?”
“Yes, it’s me,” and with that, Ziz’s eyes began to glow and two beams of light flashed out. Where the two met, an image began to appear . . .
“Sorry, the hologram isn’t as good as the one you created of yourself. I need to work on Ziz’s projector.” Amazingly, the voice came not from the bird but from the three-dimensional image of the Librarian.
Despite all that was going on, Po couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wow, that’s impressive.”
The ghostly image of Jax’x smiled warmly. “How can anything I do impress you – a Divine One?”
She was just teasing her friend, but Po took the question seriously. “I guess you’re right. But the thing is, I would never have imagined doing that . . . in which case I could never conjure it.”
Little did she realize that imagination was the only thing that separated an Absolute from those that weren’t. Jax’x, on the other hand, was beginning to understand just that. However, that was a topic for a future discussion.
“Have you made any progress in finding help?”
This time it was Po’s turn to smile . . . then frown. “Yes and no. I found a group of women . . . they call themselves the Hameggattic Sisterhood. They’re the talk on a hundred worlds. Apparently they are well known for their heroics in saving people. Saving worlds to be more exact.”
“Really? That sounds promising. Do you think we could hire them to help us?”
“They don’t do it for money. It’s said they do it just because they have the ability and they hate injustice. How wonderful is that?”
“It sounds like an organization that I would be proud to be part of. So how do we contact them?”
“I just did. They agreed to come to Spell ‘Bound and help us.”
Jax’x’s eyes went wide. “Oh, Po, that’s wonderful. I’m so proud of you. I wish I were there to give you a hug.”
The other girl broke eye contact and looked down at her feet. “Oh, Jax’x, I did something incredibly stupid. I forgot to tell them where to rendezvous with me. I’m sure they’ll go looking for the Librarian . . . and that will be disastrous.”
Jax’x fought the urge to frown . . . Po was obviously feeling awful about her mistake. “Start from the beginning. How did you make contact and what exactly was said?”
Po told her the story finishing with, “So they think I’m you and that I’m a witch and a Divine One. Calling you . . . I mean me a witch was simpler than trying to explain about Amber Hearts.”
“Well, I think that was very clever of you to make them believe you were so powerful. After all, we don’t really know these women.” She paused then asked, “What were they like?”
“First of all, for what it’s worth . . . I liked them. I think we can trust them. Um, physically, they were a little odd. Very alien.”
“In what way?” Jax’x was so intrigued with the idea of life on other planets. There was so much she could learn.
“This Egg and a few others look like us. But, two were dragons, two were sea serpents and one had wings.”
“NO.”
“Yes.”
“How interesting. I can’t wait to meet them.”
“Which brings us back to my mistake,” added Po forlornly.
“Po, stop being hard on yourself. You did amazingly well. I’ll say it again, I’m so very proud of you.”
“Oh, Jax’x, I miss you so much.” Then she felt she had to add “And Jay’gar.”
“We’ll get him back. I just know it.”
“Do you really think so?” Po asked hopefully.
“Of course I do. If I thought I had lost him forever . . . if we had lost him forever, I could never go on.”
“Me too.”
“Po . . .”
“Yes?”
“You’re not helping me just because of him, are you?”
The girl hesitated. Instead of answering, she asked, “Why do you ask?”
“Because I’m trying to start a revolution . . . to overthrow the rule of the Divine Ones. I need you to understand the magnitude of what you’re getting into. I need you to believe in what I’m doing. Jay’gar is important to both of us . . . but that can’t be your only motivation.”
“Why? What difference does it make?”
“Because eve
n if we can’t get Jay’gar back, I intend to continue my rebellion. I need to know that you’ll be there for me . . . for the people of Spell ‘Bound. I need to know that, without hesitation, you’ll put their interest above those of your kind.”
Po’s response showed just how much she had considered what they were trying to accomplish. “To say that Jay’gar isn’t my primary motivation would be a lie. But I truly have come to the realization that something must change. When I went to see Taysen, she did what all of you do . . . humble yourself before a Divine One. I felt humiliated. She’s a good and decent person and doesn’t deserve to be treated like that. When one of my helpers irritated me with his boorish behavior, I sent him to the mines without a second thought. He deserved to be disciplined . . . but not punished in such a terrible way. I never lost a second of sleep over what I had done. Then, Forest Green put Jay’gar in the Cell . . . a punishment that he may have deserved if she knew what we were actually about. But she didn’t . . . it was just a convenient way to get the better of my Absolute.”
“Thank you. I think I understand your motivations better.”
“No. No you don’t. Not in the least.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know I love Jay’gar. He told me that he loved me too . . . but that you would always be his first love.”
Box Set #5: Nemesis: [The 4 book 5th adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood] Page 11