“Why does that make sense?” asked Egg.
Serenity answered, “Again, to protect itself. M.A.G.E.K. didn’t – doesn’t – want to be vulnerable to an attack. Pretty slick.”
Jax’x continued, “To finish what I know, obviously the Hexes somehow found a way to win. Afterward, they must have again altered the genetics of the population to suppress any future Amber Hearts. I must have been a one in a million anomaly.”
“By the way,” asked Egg “where is this mark that you have?”
Jax’x blushed. “I can’t imagine why they chose to put it there?”
“Where?” insisted Egg with a grin.
“Let’s just say that it follows me wherever I go.”
Everyone giggled except Tee’ka. “I don’t get it.”
“It’s on her butt.”
“Oh. Can I see it?”
“You most certainly may not,” which elicited more giggles. When they died down, Jax’x finished with, “Since the war was so destructive, everything my people had ever achieved was also destroyed. Even our collective memory of what we once were. Over time, the Hexes became the Divine Ones . . . believing that their gift was a holy one. The memory of M.A.G.E.K. disappeared.”
“By the way, Jax’x, do you know why there’s nothing outside of Amber Heart?”
“Legend says that it’s saturated with a deadly radiation. No one ever ventures out there.”
“That’s actually not the reason,” and Serenity explained the why of it.
“How sad. Almost an entire planet going to waste. For as great a people as we once were, we are now not much more than savages.”
“Well, Jax’x, you were right. Your planet’s story is really as tragic as any love story. The law of Unintended Consequences . . . a noble idea turned into a weapon of mass destruction and a means of oppression. I, for one, look forward to righting this wrong.”
Egg’s eyes rolled back in her head. “Come on, Bl’azzz, you’re killing me.”
“Get used to it, Egg-o. I’m a big girl now.”
“Ha. You’ve always been a big girl.”
“Trees and boulders can break my . . . rats, I forgot how that Earth saying went.”
“It’s sticks and stones, sticks and stones . . . not trees and boulders, you lumbering, loopy labradoodle.”
Bl’azzz just winked at the others.
Epilogue
Egg left the ship first and landed on top of TOTO. “I see Po. There doesn’t appear to be anyone else around,” she whispered into her communicator. “Send her down.”
A moment later Tee’ka materialized in a dark alley off the temple. Po was standing there with her back turned. Her instructions reminded everyone not to show themselves or talk so as not to be seen or heard by the bad guys.
Tee tapped the girl on the shoulder. Without turning around Po slipped one arm out of her cloak – and Tee awkwardly slipped it on. They repeated the action for the other arm.
Tee’ka then pulled on the hood and turned around to face away from her companion. This time, Po tapped her on the shoulder - a way to say thank you.
So far so good.
Then it happened. Out of a dark shadow appeared Jagged Peak. He waved his finger and, seemingly from nowhere, a glaring light lit up the whole area. Instinctively, both Po and Tee’ka turned.
Before Flying Girl could even get airborne, the traitorous Divine One pointed at Tee’ka and an opaque force field enveloped the girl.
Po screamed at the hooded man then tried her hand at dissolving the field around the other girl . . . but to no avail.
This took all of five seconds . . . more than enough time for Egg to fly down to help the girls. She tried to grab her entombed sister, but her hands just bounced off the force field.
“BEAM HER UP. TEE’S TRAPPED . . . BEAM HER UP,” she screamed into her communicator.
“Can’t,” came a faint reply.
“Hold on,” and Egg took to the air, her arms around Pond Ripple.
“No. Go back. Go back. We have to save your sister.”
“We will. Just not now.”
Egg turned skyward with a burst of speed. On the ground, Jagged Peak took aim with his finger. A moment later a humongous lightning bolt shot out. But his aim was off and it passed harmlessly behind the rocketing duo.
He tried again . . . with the same results.
The man should have been disappointed at missing an easy target . . . twice.
But he actually smiled . . . it was small and brief and unless you were staring at him, you would have missed it.
Taking his time, he strolled over to his captive inside the force field, and snapped his fingers (just for show, not because he needed to do so). The spherical thing began to shrink . . . and within seconds was the size of a baseball. He plucked it out of the air, examined it carelessly . . . then closed his fist.
The field popped into a little puff of grayish smoke . . . and was gone.
Book 3 of Nemesis – M.A.G.E.K.
©Copyright 2016, by Robert Iannone
All rights reserved (Book & Cover Illustration)
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 – Goosebumps Stump
Chapter 2 – Regrets, I’ve Had a Few
Chapter 3 – How About This
Chapter 4 – T’was the Day Before
Chapter 5 – Reap the Kr’eep
Chapter 6 – I Feel Pretty
Chapter 7 – All You Need is Love
Chapter 8 – Little Po Peak
Chapter 9 – The Key to MAGEK
Chapter 10 – Shazbot
Chapter 1 – Goosebump Stump
As they made their way skyward, narrowly avoiding two humongous lightning bolts, Po finally regained her wits enough to realize what was happening.
“We’re flying.” Though she had been teleporting for the last twelve years, she had never actually flown. It wasn’t quite as romantic as she had thought . . . but it was close.
“Yeah, we are.”
Po craned her neck to look at Egg’s back. “Where are your wings?”
“Only BreeZee has wings. Well, so does Bl’azzz but she’s a dragon so that’s not weird.”
Po studied the girl in whose arms she was held. “You’re their leader. You’re Egg.”
“Nice to meet you, Po.”
“Is Jax’x okay?”
“She’s great.” Egg, as you would expect, liked that the girl cared about the Librarian. That’s what friends did. “We’ll be there in a few seconds.”
“Where’s there?”
“The Gracie . . . it’s the name of our spaceship.”
“There’s no air up there.” It was a statement of fact . . . but Po wasn’t sure that Flying Girl knew that.
“No problem. My suit protects us.”
“Is that how you fly . . . your suit?”
“Yes. Not as cool as being able to teleport, but still more fun than a barrel of monkeys.”
“What are monkeys?”
“Really not important. I just meant that there are few things in life that give me more pleasure than flying.”
“So you don’t have a boyfriend?”
Egg smiled. “You and Tee’ka just have to talk.” Then she realized why that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. “What was that thing they put her in?”
“The girl’s name was Tee’ka?”
“Yeah.”
“She gave her life for me. I’ll never forget her sacrifice. What was she like?”
Egg didn’t like what she thought she was hearing. “What was that thing?” she asked again.
“Not completely sure . . . but it looked to be a Vanishing Veil. I’m . . . I’m almost certain it was.”
“Vanish? Where did Tee vanish to?” This definitely wasn’t sounding good. Hopefully it wasn’t like that contraption that entrapped Jay’gar.
Po turned her head so she could look the other girl in the eyes. “When the Divine One chooses, the Veil begins to shrink in size. As it does, t
he person inside begins to deconstruct into its component parts . . . molecules and atoms. She’s gone. I’m so, so sorry.”
Egg forced herself to look away. Fighting back tears, she managed to mumble, “There’s the Gracie.”
*****
They entered the ship through an airlock. When it had finished pressurizing (by being filled with air), the inner door slid opened. Egg took the other girl by the hand and ran as fast as she could to the control room.
It wasn’t that far but Po was breathless by the time they reached their destination. “You okay?” asked Egg. Even in times of great stress, Flying Girl could never ignore the needs of others.
“Sorry. Remember, I teleport . . . I can’t even remember the last time I had to run somewhere.”
“Sorry about that”. They walked into the control room and were greeted by six pairs of anguished-filled eyes. Before anyone could speak, Egg blurted, “Did you get her?”
Serenity shook her head and answered, “No. She was inside some sort of force field. I couldn’t get a lock on her.”
“What happened after I . . . after we left? Have you been tracking her?”
“Egg, the force field disappeared soon after you took to the air. When it was gone, there was no trace of Tee that I could find.”
Poor Po stood there transfixed by the pain she had caused. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated then began to cry. As ordinary a reaction as that might seem to us, for a Divine One it was all but unheard of. They simply didn’t show emotions that way.
Jax’x ran over to her friend and enveloped the sobbing girl in her arms. “It’s not your fault,” she said softly . . . but she looked at the others to see if they thought differently. Their reaction wasn’t one of blame but confusion.
“Why is she crying?” asked Bl’azzz.
It was Egg who answered. “She said that Tee is gone.”
“We know that. We just don’t know where.”
Egg was trying her best not to emote. She was their leader and needed to be strong. But she had never lost a sister before . . . at least not to death. “Po said that the field around Tee is called a Vanishing Veil. When it disappears the person inside . . .” She had to stop for a few seconds to calm herself. “She said the person inside is gone.” But it was just too much to bear and she put her hand over her mouth to stop a sob from spilling out.
The look in Flying Girl’s eyes was pure horror and the other girls, sisters who knew each other so well, understood immediately.
Bl’azzz, despite her medicine, burped and burned . . . nearly incinerating a couple of her sisters. The two newcomers screamed at the unexpected tongue of flame . . . their fear adding to the already high tension in the room.
BreeZee fell to her knees for fear that she would retch.
Serenity threw her hands over her face . . . as if she could hide herself from the truth.
The only one that did not seem to be reacting like the others was Spirit . . . but in her kind, it was hard to tell. “She’s not dead.” At first it wasn’t clear if she was making a statement or asking a question. “STOP,” she shouted . . . the force of it whacking the others across their proverbial heads. “Tee’ka is not dead.” When she had their attention, she explained, “I would have seen it. The thread of something that . . . something that significant would have glowed brightly. There was no such thread. She is not dead.”
“What is she talking about?” asked Po of her friend.
“She can see the future,” came the not quite accurate reply.
“Truly?”
“Only threads of the future; and then only probabilities of which will come to fruition,” explained Spirit.
For the first time Po realized the voice was in her head . . . and not from her ears. Remembering the stories she had heard when researching the Sisterhood, she stated the obvious. “You are the telepath.”
“I am Spirit.”
“I am Pond Ripple. But Spirit, I saw the force field. I am almost positive it was the Vanishing Veil. There is no escape. I am so very sorry.”
In the few seconds that this conversation was transpiring, the others had a chance to regain their poise. Eye wiping and nose sniffling were the most obvious gestures. Then everyone started talking at once.
“Hey, guys . . . quiet,” requested Egg. No one heard so she politely repeated her request with, “SHUT-UP.” That worked. “Thank you. Spirit, tell me you’re one hundred percent sure that Tee is okay.”
“Egg, I said she is alive. I can’t tell you if she’s okay . . . or in danger.”
“But that danger, assuming that she’s in any, won’t result in her di . . . I can’t even say the word.”
“She will not die on this mission.”
Egg took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “Okay, then. That’s good.” It was actually a silly statement but no one felt the need to mention it.
This whole episode made Jax’x feel a bit uncomfortable. For a band of legendary world-savers, these women seemed totally unprepared emotionally for the prospect of injury or death of one of their own. How do you confront evil . . . evil with power . . . and not expect that the worse might befall one of you? Before the girl’s demise was even confirmed, the rest literally fell to pieces. Maybe she was putting too much faith in the Hameggattic Sisters. Mentally, she took a ‘step back’ from the unconditional faith she had placed in what these girls could accomplish. And that was disappointing.
Oddly enough, Egg had a very similar thought. She and her sisters could face the theoretical idea of the ultimate sacrifice . . . but when confronted with the reality of it, they were unable to cope. Maybe they were in the wrong business. She needed to think on it . . . maybe get some advice (though she had no idea from whom).
“I take it the Sisterhood has never lost a member?” Jax’x felt compelled to ask.
“Almost. Meggy nearly died and Big Bird was severely injured. Luckily the Myst Tree had sent Spirit just in the nick of time,” explained Egg.
“I’m sorry, who?” asked Po.
“Meggy is M’egg-Alynnia and Big Bird is Aeri’elle.”
But the Librarian couldn’t let it go. “Were the rest of you there when this happened?” She didn’t think so based on their reaction to Tee’ka.
As she expected, the answer was, “No. It was just those two. When we met up with them, Spirit had already worked her magic.”
“Magic?” asked the Divine One.
“Just an expression. Besides seeing the future, she can also heal the injured.”
“I can see why she’s a valued member of your Sisterhood,” and Po smiled at Spirit. Oddly enough, the other girl looked away.
Into the awkward silence that followed, Jax’x took the opportunity to formally introduce her friend. When that was accomplished, she asked Po, “What happened down there?”
“Tee’ka and I had just exchanged my robe when we were hit by a light. We both turned . . . and there was Jagged Peak.”
“NO!” Jax’x was horrified.
“What’s wrong?”
“I befriended him. I can’t believe he was deceiving me the whole time.”
Before Po could question her friend more, Egg stepped in to take control. “Listen up. Let’s see if we can approach this whole mess logically. First things first . . . If Tee’ka wasn’t put inside a Vanishing Veil, what else could it have been? Po, only you can answer that.”
“Let me think a minute,” and she actually did.
As the seconds ticked by, Egg became more and more impatient. “There can’t be that many possibilities.”
Jax’x jumped in to defend her friend. “There are as many possibilities as your imagination can conceive.”
“I get that, but obviously a Vanishing Veil is . . . I guess you’d call it an oldie but a goodie.”
“What?”
“A standard conjure that many people would employ,” clarified BreeZee.
“Oh. Right.” After a moment, she asked, “Wha
t’s your point?”
“If it wasn’t a Vanishing Veil, he obviously wanted someone to think it was.”
Jax’x was impressed with Egg’s logic . . . and her feeling of disappointment was somewhat mitigated. “Very good reasoning.”
The girl ignored the compliment. “So who did he want to fool . . . Po?”
Before anyone could answer, Bl’azzz asked, “Po, would that thingy have worked on you? Is that why he only took Tee?”
“Good question, Hot Lips.”
“If I was unprepared, the answer is yes.”
“Unprepared as in startled by the bright light?”
“Yes. But even if he had trapped me, I would be able to get out.”
“How do you know?” asked her friend. “Has it ever happened to a Divine One?”
“Um . . . I see your point.”
“What’s her point?”
“No Divine One has ever been inside one of them, at least to my knowledge.”
“You’re going down the wrong path.”
Everyone turned towards Spirit.
“He did not want to capture Po. He wanted her to witness the imprisonment of Tee’ka so she would meet with us and plan a rescue. Since he seems to know much, we can assume he knows all. Therefore, the only way to stop this rebellion is to find out who the conspirators are . . . then capture them.”
Everyone went silent as they considered Spirit’s words. Eventually, Serenity posed a question. “Egg, why didn’t you get goosebumps?”
“What are goosebumps?” Jax’x leaned over and whispered in Po’s ear. When she finished, the girl said, “Interesting.”
“I told you it’s not a foolproof warning system. Heck, it amazes me that it ever works.”
“Don’t buy it.”
“What are you getting at, Serenity?”
“Bree, maybe there’s a different take on all this. What if this guy actually wants to be part of the revolution? What if he still has to fool his Absolute into thinking he’s doing his best to stop the rebellion all the while trying to help it?”
Box Set #5: Nemesis: [The 4 book 5th adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood] Page 20