“Yes. But I am also here to save you from the same fate . . . if I can.”
“What?”
“You are destined to be lost in time. In your heart, you already knew that.”
“What is she talking about?” demanded the Princess.
“I . . . uh . . . just had this feeling.”
“Forget it Egg,” yelled Aeri’elle. “Ain’t going to happen. If anyone’s going to get trapped . . . it’s going to be me. No arguments.”
“And I will be by your side,” said the Princess with fierce determination.
“That path is not open to you, M’egg-Alynnia. Your destiny lies elsewhere.”
“Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do”? For the first time in quite a while, Megg sounded like her old self.
“You misunderstand. It is not up to me to choose your destiny.”
“Then explain what you meant.”
“For most, there are many paths into the future . . . but for some, only a few.”
“You can foretell that which is yet to be.” Megg was stating a fact, not asking a question.
“What are you two talking about?” Egg still wasn’t following.
“She can see into the future.”
“Oh. Oh my gosh.”
Book 4
Reven
Book 4 of Zynn-Zaz’zia
An Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood novel
© Copyright, 2014, by Robert Iannone,
All Rights Reserved.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 – Not in Time
Chapter 2 – Time for a Change
Chapter 3 – Time’s A-wasting
Chapter 4 – Time to Go
Chapter 5 – Time Out
Chapter 6 – Time Castle
Chapter 7 – Tea Time
Chapter 8 – It’s Time
Chapter 9 – Show Time
Chapter 10 – The Sands of Time
Chapter 11 – The End of Time
Epilogue
Chapter 1 – Not in Time
Wind’dancer’s Village
“You can see the future? How is that possible?” asked Zephyr.
“I am a Thought Weaver.”
“What does that mean?”
“The explanation would take time.”
“I’m listening.”
“Z . . . she came here to help. She’s not the enemy.”
The clan leader looked at his wife then back at Spirit. “I’m sorry. Forgive me.”
“Forgiveness is not required.”
“Zephyr,” a voice yelled. Everyone turned to see a woman approach. It was Fl’air from the Council of Elders.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“Considering.” She took a moment to glance at the four strangers.
“They’re friends.”
“If you say so. It’s the WingStone . . . it’s been destroyed. The heat caused it to shatter into thousands of useless shards.” The woman was trying valiantly not to cry. “What are we going to do? My daughters . . .” But that was too much and she broke down. Azure put her arms around the distraught mother and led her away . . . to give her some privacy so she could regain her composure.
“What about her daughters?” asked Aeri’elle. “Were they injured?”
“I do not think that is what she was alluding to,” answered Megg. “Without the WingStone, the children cannot achieve adulthood. Their wings will wilt.”
“Oh my gosh, we can’t let that happen. We’ve got to do something. Can the Nauti help?”
Zephyr was elected clan leader for a reason. “That was the true purpose of the attack . . . why Mobius had it destroyed. He wants us to join forces with the Nauti . . . to become a part of whatever dastardly scheme he’s concocted.”
“May I have a fragment?” asked Spirit.
“Why?”
Her eyes glowed the same eerie red as when she cured Aeri’elle. Then she said, “It is your only hope of survival. The Nauti WingStone, like yours, will not survive.”
“What?”
Spirit chose to remain silent.
“The shards have no value to you, do they?” asked Megg of the Clan leader.
“None. They’re worthless.”
“Then perhaps you should allow . . . our friend . . . to have one.”
He glanced from one girl to the other. “You’ll find them over there . . . by the largest of the burned out trees. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s much to be done.” With that, he turned and left.
*****
The four girls stood watching as Zephyr walked off. Once he was gone, the three non-telepaths started talking simultaneously.
“What do you want with a piece of the WingStone?” asked Egg.
“How will Egg get trapped in time?” questioned the dragon.
“Please explain why I cannot protect my sister?” requested the Princess.
“To answer your questions you must first understand my kind. With respect, this is not the place for such discussions. I will locate an appropriate shard of WingStone. Then, while the villagers organize themselves, we should return to your camp to talk and plan.”
“Egg,” said Aeri’elle, “what do you think?”
“Why don’t you and Meggy go now? I’ll be right behind you. You two really need to get some rest. Besides, Syl, B’lazzz and BreeZee should be on their way back. It’ll be easier if you’re there to explain what’s going on. And if Bree wants to return home to help her folks, tell her okay. We’ll catch up to her later. In fact, promise her that she’ll be a part of our plans.”
“Are you sure we shouldn’t stay until you’re ready to leave?”
“Yeah. Oh, and nice going you two. Saving seven Wind’dancers . . . that’s pretty impressive.”
“I do not remember doing so. Perhaps I was . . . bonked . . . harder than I realized.”
“Well, I do remember every detail, and we were absolutely Hameggattic-like.”
“Then you may regale me with a grand tale of heroism, valor and pluck as we fly off into the sunset.”
“Meggy, you’ve read too many earth romance novels,” teased Egg.
“They are sinfully entertaining, are they not?”
*****
It took a few minutes to find a piece of the WingStone that Spirit considered useful. While she was looking around, Egg found Zephyr. He was in deep discussions with other members of the Council.
“Excuse me, Zephyr.”
The Clan Leader turned to face Egg. “Yes?”
“I’m sorry to bother you . . . but could we talk for a minute?”
The man looked annoyed at the interruption. “Can’t it wait?”
“I’m about to leave.”
Remembering that Egg and her sisters came to help and that two of them almost sacrificed their own lives to save his people, he felt a stab of guilt. “Please forgive me . . . I’m a little distracted.” To his councilors, he said, “This young lady is Egg. She is the leader of the sisterhood that came to rescue her fellow citizens. It was her two sisters that saved seven of our people.” He turned to Egg and said, “Again, on behalf of the entire clan, we thank you.”
“That’s what friends do, isn’t it?”
Zephyr smiled, “Yes, it is.” He excused himself and led the girl a short distance away so they could talk.
“What can I do for you?”
“Tonight I’ll send BreeZee home. Then tomorrow I would like you to follow her back to our camp. You should hear our plans and . . . you need to know what we expect you and your people to do.” She tensed, waiting for him to get really upset.
There was dead silence for a few heartbeats then, with much effort, the usually gruff Zephyr asked, “Why should I take orders from you? We’re in a life and death struggle . . . something I doubt you ever faced. I would be derelict in my duty to this clan if I simply did as you directed.”
Egg smiled for two reasons. “Thank you for not screaming at me. I kind of expected it.”
/> Despite the situation, the big man managed a grin. “My wife would be proud. Be sure to tell her when you get a chance.”
“I will. Anyway, as for that ‘never having faced danger’ part (the other reason she smiled), would you do me a favor? Your daughter is going to tell you a little about the Hameggattic Sisterhood. If after hearing her story . . . our story . . . you still don’t want to listen to my suggestions, then okay. But either way you should probably know what my sisters and I are planning to do.”
“Fair enough.”
“Great.”
“Egg . . . how many years do you have?”
“If you’re asking my age, I’m twelve . . . but that’s earth years. I don’t know what that would be on Zynn-Zaz’zia.”
“Am I going to be impressed with the story of you and your Hameggattic Sisterhood?”
“Probably not. It’s just about seven, silly girls.”
*****
On the flight back, Egg purposely flew slowly so that she and Spirit could have a chance to talk.
“Have you ever flown before?”
Spirit smiled. “Not as you mean.”
“So how old are you?”
“Age is not relevant from one world to the next. However, you would consider me a teenager.”
“Oh”. Egg was a little surprised since the girl seemed much older. “What planet are you from?”
“Paradox.”
“Great name but I never heard of it. Is it nice?”
“It is home.” Well, that was neither a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down.
“So why did the Myst Tee send you and not someone else?”
“It was foretold.”
“What does that mean?”
“My path to the future is the one upon which I now embark.”
To Egg’s befuddled mind, all she heard was gibberish. But until she had Sylvia, Megg and Aeri’elle to help interpret, she decided to leave that statement alone. “Do you have a family or friends back home?”
“Parents and a brother, however no one I would call friend.”
Getting information out of Spirit was like trying to pull teeth out of a chicken (they don’t have any) . . . so Egg said, “Nice talk” and sped up. They landed within minutes.
*****
When they arrived, they found Sylvia unconscious with her head in BreeZee’s lap. Aeri’elle and Megg were kneeling beside them.
“What happened?”
“They got Bl’azzz. If it wasn’t for Bree, they would have had Syl too,” said Aeri’elle.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“Some kind of weapon . . . but she’s only unconscious.”
“May I?”
BreeZee noticed the Thought Weaver for the first time. “Oh my.”
“Go ahead,” said Egg.
The alien girl bent over Sylvia and touched her head . . . all the while her eyes glowed the same eerie red. “As you suspected, she is uninjured.” And, as if on cue, the girl came to.
“How do you feel?” asked her worried friend.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know; I just got here. But I guess our winged warrior saved your sorry butt.”
“You did?”
“I was in a Sun-Seeker Tree watching. When you guys came out, the Nauti dropped three devices. The first exploded with a big flash, the other two with incredibly loud noise. All of you just fell over unconscious.”
“Why were you there? How did you save me?”
“Egg sent me. And as for saving you . . . well, it wasn’t all that hard. The Nauti were walking and I was sailing. They never had a chance to stop me from swooping down and grabbing you.”
“Yeah, right,” smirked Egg. “It was like a walk in the park.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“Sorry. Just teasing . . . you make it sound as if it was easy, but we all know you risked a lot. Just like these two did.” Then it struck her that she had yet to tell the girl about the fire. “Bree . . . your village was attacked.”
“By Mobius?”
“No, Bl’udd. He set fire to the trees. I’m sorry.”
The Wind’dancer turned to the other girls. “How are my parents?”
“They’re fine,” said Aeri’elle.
“I have to go back.”
“I know. But you need to do something for us.”
“What?”
“Tell your dad about the Sisterhood . . . and the Quest.”
“Why?” The girl’s first thought was that now was a totally inappropriate time to be bragging.
“He needs to realize we can be trusted . . . that we have some experience in this stuff.”
“Oh. Sure.”
“If you can, convince him to come meet with us here tomorrow.”
“I’ll try.”
“Thanks. Bree . . . you should know that most of your trees were destroyed. Including the one with the WingStone. I’m really sorry.”
The girl’s eyes had gone wide . . . then she began to cry. No Stone meant all the children would be lost.
“Do not weep for the loss of the stone.”
BreeZee turned and stared at the alien girl . . . as if she was from another planet (which of course she was). Having the words form in her head and not through her ears was disconcerting, but paled in comparison to Egg’s news. “You must be that thought . . . girl . . . weaver . . . whatever. You can’t understand how tragic this is for my people. You have no idea.”
“My name is Spirit. I know that there is a path that will bring a resolution far more satisfying then you or your people can imagine.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Bree . . . she can see the future.”
“What? Never mind . . . I have to leave.” She was too distracted to concentrate on such weird things.
“I’ll take you,” offered Flying Girl.
*****
“Tell me how you saved Sylvia. I was stupid for asking her to go in the first place.”
“Just the opposite. You were brilliant in having me there to help if something went wrong.”
“Thanks, but that’s not how I see it. Anyway, tell me what happened.”
“I saw everyone lose consciousness so I just dove down and before I hit the ground, pulled up and grabbed Sylvia. The Nauti were in no position to stop me. It really wasn’t all that special.”
“Let me see . . . you positioned yourself perfectly, without being seen by the Nauti, evaluated the enemy, made a split-second decision, performed an amazing aerobatic trick, surprised the bad guys so they couldn’t follow and returned my best friend safe and sound. Well, I’m sorry to have to tell you this . . .” She paused for effect.
“What?”
“The Queen’s going to pin a hero’s medal on you. So you best plan for a visit to Aerianna and to Q’umulus.”
BreeZee’s face lit up . . . until she remembered what had happened to her village. “What do you think Spirit meant about the WingStone?”
“Not a clue, but I have this feeling that everything’s going work out really well.”
*****
Egg returned to find the four girls sitting around the fire.
“How are you feeling?”
“Good as new. How’s BreeZee?”
“Worried before we got there — horrified when she saw the destruction.”
“Has anyone heard from Soo or Bl’azzz?”
“No.”
“That would have been too easy. Anyway . . . Spirit, what did you mean about the WingStone?”
“Do you find it difficult talking to boys?”
“Huh?” That was out of left field.
Spirit repeated the question while all four sisters stared at her.
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Please . . . humor me.”
Egg made an annoyed face at the girl and at the question . . . but she answered. “Yeah, I’m very shy. For the longest time, I thought they were all jerks. Then
I met Zeke, and after about a billion years, I finally became comfortable with him . . . and his brother. But that’s the exception.”
“If I told you that when you return to Aerianna, you will meet a young man that you will fall in love with . . . what would you do?”
All eyes turned to Flying Girl.
“I’d probably not go . . . and just return to Earth. So?”
“Then knowledge of the future — that you might fall in love — would change that future. By not going, the love you could have found would be lost forever.”
Egg thought about that for a few seconds. “Guess so.”
“Did you wish to ask me about the WingStone again?”
She didn’t answer right away. Then a light went on in her head. “Ohhhh . . . I get it.”
“Get what?” asked Sylva.
“If she tells me, whatever good could happen, might not happen.” Egg looked at Spirit who nodded.
“I knew that,” replied Sylvia. “I was just testing you.” She was a bit embarrassed that she hadn’t figured it out herself.
“I’ll give you a free pass, Feminion . . . but only because you got bombed. Next time . . . well, I might just have to replace you.”
“Ha. Who would you get?”
“I hear the Great and Powerful Oz is going to give K’ssss a brain (jokingly referring to the fact that her dad said it was just a matter of time). I think she’d do nicely,” teased her best friend.
Sylvia responded by sticking out her tongue.
Egg then turned to the Thought Weaver. “By the way, that stuff about me falling in love . . . that was just an example, right?”
Spirit smiled. “Perhaps the Wizard will give you a heart. Who’s to say?”
Egg’s mouth dropped open.
Chapter 2 – Time for a Change
Before the conversation could turn to the Thought Weaver and her story, Egg was surprised by a call from the Great Wizard. It just wasn’t the one she had kidded about.
“Egg, it is I . . . Zazzi.”
“Zazzi, what’s going on? Did something happen to K’ssss?”
“Yes.”
“What? What happened? Is she alright? Should I come and help? Where are you?” She had another six questions, but was forced to take a breath, which gave the serpent a chance to explain.
Box Set #2: Zynn-Zaz'Zia: [The 4 book 2nd Adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood] Page 28