“Zazzi, this is BreeZee. BreeZee, Zazzi” said Egg not realizing the awkwardness of the situation. Wind’dancer and serpent just stared at each other . . . neither one sure what to do.
Then as Zazzi came closer, BreeZee jumped up and began to move away. It was M’egg who understood what was happening.
“BreeZee, Zazzi is here to help us. He is a friend.”
“I am very pleased to meet you, BreeZee. If I may say so, your wings are extraordinarily beautiful.” He had never seen such wings close up.
“Thank you. I . . . I . . .” she took a deep breath “There was a time that I thought I would be taken to you with wilted wings. I never expected to survive the Rite. Please don’t be offended, but my kind pray that they will never meet you.”
“I understand. Such meetings are very sad. But, it is not of my choosing. I am a servant of Zynnia.”
“During the Rite, she came to me, helped me. I owe her my life.”
“As do I. We have much in common upon which to build a friendship. The least of which is saving our world. I would be honored if you would call me friend.”
Everyone turned to look at the Wind’dancer. “For the love that Zynnia has for her people and for our world, I would be pleased to call you friend.”
“Yay,” said Sylvia softly.
“Yay, indeed,” added M’egg.
“Egg, what just happened?” asked K’ssss.
“Zazzi and BreeZee just became friends. Isn’t that great?”
“H’sssss. I like Zazzi.”
“We know. He’s pretty special.”
“Oh yes. He’s very pretty.”
*****
“Okay, so Bl’azzz and Soo have their assignment. Zazzi and K’ssss will reconnoiter. I want BreeZee to take Meggy and Aeri’elle to meet her dad. So far, Mobius hasn’t done anything to the Wind’dancers. Before he does, they need to know what’s going on.”
“Then what?” asked the Princess.
“Then you need to convince them to work with us. More than that, they have to trust you two. In fact, they have to be willing to do whatever you ask of them.”
M’egg turned to BreeZee. “What do you think? Would your father accept our leadership in this?”
The Wind’dancer exhaled slowly. “The problem you’re going to have is me. No one will believe me . . . so they may not believe you.”
“I do not understand?”
“My father and everyone else in the village think I’m . . . loony tunes.” BreeZee turned to Egg and asked, “Did I say it right?”
“Perfect.” Before the girls from Aerianna could ask, Egg explained what it meant.
“Why do they consider you crazy?” asked Sylvia. “You’re not, are you?” The other girls gave her a dirty look so she defended herself with, “Well, I never met a Wind’dancer before, so how would I know? It’s like when the Myst Tree talks to us . . . he might be crazy but how can you tell with a talking tree?”
“Oh my gosh”.
Now all eyes turned to Egg.
“Remember his message to me. Something like the problem is in the present, the terrible consequences in the future but the solution is in the past.”
“What about it?”
“I totally forgot until Syl mentioned him.”
“And?”
“Well, we know what the problem now is . . . Mobius.”
“And he is probably going to try and take over Aerianna again,” said M’egg. “Remember, he does not know that the Crystal Egg is no more.”
“So that’s the future terrible consequence,” added Aeri’elle.
“That leaves only the ‘solution is in the past’ part. Anybody want to guess what that means?”
The girls went silent as they gave the riddle some thought. But it was Zazzi who offered them the answer.
The Circle of Life, never far from the serpent, descended and apparently said something to him. Then, without warning, an arc of electricity sparked out of the Circle and went right into Zazzi’s head. The girls all gasped.
“ZAZZI,” screamed K’ssss. “Are you dead?”
“No, dear K’ssss. The Circle was imparting some knowledge. I am fine.” He turned to Egg and said “Reven.”
“Excuse me?”
“Reven,” he repeated.
“No, I heard you; I just don’t know what a reven is.”
“Up until a moment ago, I didn’t either. But Zynnia has explained.”
“Explained what?”
“About Reven.”
“What about reven?”
“It’s the answer you’ve seek.”
“What is?”
“Reven.”
“Zazzi, if you don’t spit it out I’m going to explode.”
“But, but . . . I can’t spit. Please, don’t explode.”
“Egg’s going to explode,” asked a startled Wind’dancer.
“OH MY GOSH . . . STOP”.
Sylvia was rolling on the ground laughing. The other sisters h’ssssed and eeked and giggled as befitted their species. The two newcomers were totally bewildered.
Egg shook her head in disgust . . . but mostly at herself. “Sorry, I keep forgetting we’re about a trillion miles from Earth. A lot of the things I say actually mean something totally different. So, if I say something that sounds weird, ask me what it means. Second, Zazzi, if you have an answer . . . and don’t say reven . . . would you please explain it to us.”
“Of course”. He hesitated then asked, “So I don’t have to spit?”
“No, you don’t.”
“Very well. Zynnia would like you to know about her biggest mistake.”
“That would be reven, right?”
“Yes . . . Reven.”
“Keep going” Egg encouraged.
“When she first became guardian of this world, she had what she thought was a brilliant idea. Unfortunately, it was just the opposite. She created Reven - a construct of time.”
“Yeah . . . that means absolutely nothing to me. How about you guys?” They all shook their heads no.
“Reven is the mistress of a Time Castle. All time flows into and out of the castle. Because of this, Reven can travel anywhere time exists . . . from the far future to the dim past. Had anything on Zynn-Zaz’zia gone wrong, Zynnia would have used Reven to go back in time and set it to rights. Reven was never needed, never used and all but forgotten.”
“Still not getting it . . . but how does that help us?”
“If you can lure Mobius into visiting the Castle, it would be possible to trap him in the past.”
“Trap him how?”
“The science is far above your understanding. Suffice it to say that you can send Mobius back in time and keep him there forever.”
“So he wouldn’t die, he’d just be stranded?”
“Exactly.”
M’egg asked, “And where exactly is this Time Castle?”
“On top of the mountain range on this island.”
“My people have never seen this castle. How can that be?” asked BreeZee.
“Because it’s never in the here and now, it’s always in the future.”
“Meaning”.
“Meaning that to us . . . all of us . . . it doesn’t exist because it has not been built yet.”
Exasperated by this whole, bizarre conversation, Egg hung her head and buried her face in her hands. She finally got herself under control. “So all we have to do is convince Mobius to visit a castle that hasn’t been built yet. In fact, it will never be built in our time . . . only in some future time that we can never catch up to. Is that it?”
“Yes. Very good”. Zazzi was impressed.
Egg was getting a headache.
The Princess decided to try her hand in this conversation. “Zazzi, did Zynnia have any suggestions as to how we can overcome this paradox . . . luring Mobius into a castle that will never exist.”
“Oh, of course. Didn’t I mention it?’
“Mention what?”
�
�A Thought Weaver.”
Egg rejoined the conversation. “Nope . . . apparently that slipped your mind. Now, in twenty-five words or less, can you tell us what a thought weaver is?”
“Of course,” then a moment later he added, “actually, no. I have no idea. Zynnia didn’t explain. She did say that Egg needed to talked to her cousin and ask for his help in this. Does that make any sense?”
“Sort of. Her cousin is the Myst Tree . . . the talking tree.”
If Zazzi was surprised, he didn’t show it. But BreeZee was amazed. “Zynnia’s cousin is a talking tree? How weird is that?”
“Not as weird as you think.”
Aeri’elle then stated the obvious. “I guess we do nothing until tomorrow.” She turned to Zazzi and BreeZee and explained, “Egg talks to the Tree in her dreams.”
“Oh.” Poor BreeZee, all of this was so wonderfully weird and getting weirder by the minute. She was so excited.
Soo was relieved by the delay. It meant one more day with her sisters and one less day as a prisoner of Mobius. “Then tonight, I want to hear Megg’s story.”
“What story?” asked Zazzi.
Egg explained. When she finished she could read the expression on BreeZee’s face. “And, I expect you (Zazzi) and you (BreeZee) to tell us a story as well.”
“I would be honored,” said the serpent. As lonely as he was, to be invited into this circle of friends was a thrill.
“I probably should tell my story first,” said BreeZee. “Compared to a Princess and . . . um . . . Zynnia’s companion, my life is pretty boring.”
“It’s not about the most exciting thing that’s happened to you,” explained Sylvia. “It’s about something in your life that had a real impact . . . that changed you.”
“Oh. Then that’s easy. Have any of you taken the Rite of Ascension?”
*****
About a week ago
Mobius was very pleased with himself. Plans were progressing very nicely but there was still much to complete before he could be assured of victory.
And of revenge.
With any luck, the Queen would send the seven silly sisters to do her dirty work. He smiled at the thought. How utterly delicious life would be if he could get even with those horrid little girls.
Especially the one that called herself Egg.
It almost made him giddy with anticipation.
But first, he had to unite the Wind’dancers into his little army. Howl had told him about the Rite of Ascension – something he totally approved of. Test everyone for strength and courage, then dispatch those too weak to meet the challenge – it was, to his mad mind, a very elegant system. It also presented a very easy way to bring the Wind’dancers under his control.
He would destroy their Sun-Seeker Tree with the WingStone then they would be forced to join with the Nauti. Without the Nauti’s WingStone, all of their children who had yet to take the Rite, and those yet to be born, would eventually lose their wings.
The evil one was having such an enjoyable time . . . and the best was yet to come.
*****
Present Day
“So what now?” Aeri’elle asked Egg.
“Well, for one thing, we got up way too early.” Sylvia and M’egg both muttered something rude under their breath.
“With your permission, Egg, I would like to take K’ssss and show her the serpents under my care.”
Egg again glanced to Soo who nodded yes. “Would you like that, K’ssss”?
It was obviously a silly question since the answer was never in doubt.
“No.”
Whoops, that wasn’t expected. All six sisters stared in disbelief while Zazzi looked crestfallen.
Into the stunned silence came the very familiar, “H’sssss. I was joking.” She smiled and asked, “Was that a good joke?”
“Why you jesting, jocular jelly-roll . . . that was very good.”
“How long will you be gone?” Egg asked Zazzi.
“We should be back by mid-day. Is that satisfactory?”
“Perfect. And K’ssss, don’t forget you have your communications crystal. So if you need to talk to us, you can.”
“What would I say?”
“Good grief,” cried Soo. “You make me dizzy, you deeply disturbing ding-bat.”
*****
After they left, Sylvia asked Soo “Do you think she’s going to stay on Zynn-Zaz’zia with Zazzi?”
“You think he’s going to ask her to marry him?”
“He certainly seems to be in love with her.”
Egg asked, “But is she . . . I mean does she . . . um . . . you know?”
“Elegantly phrased,” teased the Princess.
“If you’re asking is she old enough to get married. The answer is yes. If you’re asking does she understand what that means . . . the answer is also yes. I don’t know how it works on earth or with dragons and humans, but for us serpents we just know. When we’re ready, we’re ready.”
“But she doesn’t seem to be . . . um . . . very worldly or anything.”
“Listen, I know you guys all think K’ssss isn’t very bright. But she comes from a family of really, really brilliant serpents. Tink’rrr is a genius. So is her brother. Her younger sister graduated with the highest grades ever from college. And her mom is considered the tops in her field.”
“What’s that got to do with K’ssss? We know how brave and loyal she is. And nobody in this world, or any world, is sweeter or more loveable. But . . .”
“I worked with Tink’rrr for a long time after the Quest and got to know the family really well. He thinks that it’s just not her time yet. When everything in her head lines up just right, she’s going to be as smart as the rest of the family.”
“Really? K’ssss?”
“Really.”
“What could bring about this miraculous transformation?” asked Aeri’elle.
“Who knows? As I said, it could be just a matter of time. Or maybe it will be by falling in love. But one of these days, and it pains me greatly to say this, I won’t be able to make fun of her anymore.”
“You can always make fun of me,” offered Bl’azzz.
“Why you gaseous, gorgeous goofball . . . thank you.”
“Glad to help.”
Chapter 6 – Girl Stuff
A few days ago
“I got two of them.”
“Did they put up a fight?”
“No. I just swooped down and grabbed them out of the air. They never knew what hit them.”
“Where are they?”
“Howl’s got them locked in a room.”
“Did you hurt them?”
“No.”
“If they have even one scratch, I will pluck your feathers. Now show me where they are.”
Bl’udd led his ill-tempered companion to a Sun-Seeker Tree. “In there.”
“Go take a nap.”
“I’m not sleep . . . oh, never mind.”
Mobius went into the tree and found Howl by the door to the room where the two Wind’dancers were being kept.
“How are they?”
“Scared out of their minds, but otherwise unhurt.”
“Good. Do you know them?”
“In passing. The girl is Windy and the boy is Skye. They’re engaged to be married.”
“Excellent. Wait here.”
Mobius opened the door and went in.”
*****
Present Day
The girls spent the rest of the morning preparing (again) for the days ahead. It was a constructive way to waste time. They double checked their supplies, re-inventoried the stuff the Minister had given them and discussed potential strategies.
“In light of this information about Reven, did you still wish for Aeri’elle, BreeZee and I to visit the Wind’dancers?”
“They still need to be warned about what’s going on. And we’re probably going to need their help at some point. So, the answer is yes,” Egg replied to the Princess.
“Egg”.
“Yeah, BreeZee?”
“I really think I shouldn’t go with them. I’m just going to cause my father and the others to doubt what they’ll hear.”
“Don’t you think that if they see a dragon with a wingless girl on her back it might scare the bejeebers out of them?”
“Wind’dancers don’t have any bejeebers . . . so probably not.”
“Rats,” mumbled Flying Girl realizing she had done it again.
“Is that like a bejeeber?” asked a confused BreeZee.
Egg picked up a pebble and turned to Sylvia who was red-faced with laughter. “Don’t make me throw this at you.”
Syl stifled another laugh then said, “You’re just grumpy because you got up too early.”
Egg squinted her eyes and growled at her best friend. Then her eyes flew open and she screamed “OH MY GOSH.”
“WHAT?” Sylvia screamed in return.
“It’s a Tack-toed Tick . . . on your shoulder,” and she pointed.
The other girl jumped up and started swatting at herself all the while screaming, “GET IT OFF. GET IT OFF.”
The two dragons and Soo shook their heads. BreeZee recoiled in horror not knowing exactly why the girl was so terrified. The Princess just smiled at her sisters.
Egg glared at her Feminion with a smug look on her face.
Sylvia finally realized she had just been had. “Eloise Grace Graystone, how could you?” she demanded.
“I was befuddled by a grumpy attack. My bad.”
“Oh, you . . .,” and Syl stormed off without finishing her thought . . . more from embarrassment then from anger.
It finally dawned on BreeZee that the girls were just kidding each other. “Dare I ask?” she said to Egg.
“It’s another long story from our last adventure. I’ll tell you later.”
“So . . . do you still want me to go?”
“What do you think, Meggy?”
“We should trust BreeZee’s judgment in this. She knows her father, and her people, better than we.”
“Thank you, your Highness”. The winged girl got a chill when she said that. It sounded so romantic . . . being a princess.
“Please, you must call me Megg.”
Box Set #2: Zynn-Zaz'Zia: [The 4 book 2nd Adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood] Page 23