Boxed Set: Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood: [The 12 book 1st adventure + the series prequel]

by Robert Iannone

  Egg screamed then dove in after him. She found him on the bottom, grabbed him by the arms and pulled him up to safety. They broke to the surface and both took big gulps of air. They dog paddled back to shore and plopped down on the sand.

  “Thanks,” said the boy. “You saved my life.”

  Egg blushed then managed to say, “You’re welcome.”

  Then he kissed her. It was only on the cheek . . . but it was still her very first kiss.

  When he pulled back and smiled, she slapped him as hard as she could.

  “HEY,” he yelled. “What’d you do that for?”

  Instead of answering, she pushed him back in the water. He disappeared again under the surface, but when he came back up . . . he was no longer a boy. He had become a sea serpent with a goofy smile!

  *****

  When Egg woke up the next morning, she gasped “Oh my gosh,” because the whole dream came back to her . . . every little detail. In her heart she knew that this was one of the messages Dazzle said to expect. And now she understood what she needed to do next.

  *****

  As luck would have it, Egg’s parents left early that morning to do some antiquing . . . their absolute favorite activity. Since Ashley, Egg’s sister, already had plans, Grammy volunteered to come over.

  They were in the kitchen preparing breakfast for each other. Egg was in charge of the toast, while Grammy sizzled some bacon in a frying pan. “How come you don’t just put that in the microwave?”

  “I’m just an old fashioned cook. I can’t abide by all these new fangled contraptions. Besides, bacon tastes better when you make it this way.”

  The toaster popped and the two pieces of rye bread stuck their heads up. Egg grabbed them, dropped them on a plate then proceeded to bury them in butter. “Easy with that, dear one. It’s supposed to be toast with butter . . . not the other way around.”

  They sat at the table with the plates of bacon and toast. Egg had a glass of chocolate milk while Grammy had a steaming mug of coffee. They nibbled on the food but Egg was bursting to tell her grandmother about her conversation with Dazzle and the dream. The older woman knew that, but she was teasing her granddaughter by not asking.

  Finally, her curiosity got the better of her. “So, love, did our princess have anything interesting to say?” That was all the encouragement Egg needed and she jabbered on for the next ten minutes recalling the conversation of the previous night.

  “This seems to be getting way too complicated for my taste.”

  That wasn’t the reaction that Egg was expecting. “What do you mean, Grammy?”

  “Dazzle’s original plan was pretty farfetched to begin with. Now she seems to be bringing the different families together . . . and she won’t tell you why. And then you have a dream . . . supposedly the universe talking to you . . . about kissing a boy and that’s given you an idea on how to proceed with your quest. I’m sorry love, but this is getting out of hand. I don’t want you to go back to Aerianna anymore. It’s too dangerous for a nine year old girl; especially if Dazzle is keeping things from you.”

  “Grammy . . . I have to go. I promised.” Egg was devastated.

  “Sweetheart, I can’t allow you to put yourself in danger.”

  Egg thought furiously trying to come with a counter argument. Finally, in desperation she said, “Ring, tend to my suit,” and a swirl of fog covered her, and when it had gone, she was wearing her flying suit.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m calling Dazzle.”

  Grammy was going to argue then thought better of it.

  “Dazzle.”

  “I am here, Egg.”

  “I can’t see you.”

  “Your Grandmother is angry with me. I do not wish to upset her.”

  “Don’t act like a teenager,” said the older woman. “I have no intention of talking to thin air.”

  “As you wish.” Another cloud of white fog materialized and out stepped the warrior princess.

  “Did you hear our conversation?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well?” Grammy was acting like a very upset grandmother.

  “I have told you that our quest does have danger . . . but Egg has the power to defend herself. As for your neighbors . . . there is no danger to your granddaughter.”

  “You keep asking me to trust you. I do not know you, Dazzle, even though I have lived with you for seven years.” Grammy was referring to the years she was Flying Girl. “I do know one thing, however. This child is more precious to me than my own life. If anything happened to her I could never forgive myself.”

  “Would you keep her from fulfilling her destiny? Would you condemn a whole planet to pain and suffering?”

  “It is not fair to place all that responsibility on a nine year old girl.”

  “She is who she is. Do not stop her from saving my world . . . from being Flying Girl. In the end, she would not thank you.”

  In her heart, Eloise knew this was true. Her granddaughter had an improbable opportunity for greatness. She also trusted Dazzle more then she would admit.

  “On one condition . . . I must be allowed to go to Aerianna and see for myself the danger she is to face.”

  “GRAMMY.”

  “Agreed; but not now. Egg’s dream requires all of her attention without the distraction of her grandmother. However, I promise you that the next time you may accompany us.”

  “Is there any danger on this visit?”

  “There is little danger now. But that will soon change.”

  Grammy gave a big sigh. “Egg, are you sure?”

  “Oh, Grammy, yes. I have to do this . . . really.”

  “Then go. I’ll be waiting right here.” She gave her granddaughter a big hug and a kiss. “And you better be careful.” As she watched Egg and the princess fly away, she wiped the tears from her eyes.

  ******

  They flew to Scotland then to Loch Ness. Finding a place where no one was watching, Egg dove down into the water, found the ledge that hid the portal and entered.

  *****

  As they emerged over Aerianna, Dazzle asked Egg, “Tell me, my sister, what is your plan?”

  “Well, in my dream Zeke did something very naughty . . . he kissed me.” She turned pink when she said that so she hurriedly added, “Only on my cheek, of course.”

  “Of course,” said an amused princess.

  “And when he fell in the lake he made the biggest splash I’ve ever seen. It was like a tidal wave.”

  Dazzle had no idea where the girl was going with this so she kept silent.

  “Well,” said an annoyed Egg, “don’t you see?”

  “I am sorry but I do not understand.”

  “We have to find a place where everyone is naughty and kiss each other and where there are giant waves.” It seemed so obvious to her.

  Dazzle knew that what Egg had just said made absolutely no sense. But she also knew that dream messages were very difficult to understand . . . especially if you were never taught how. Luckily, everyone on Aerianna studied dreams in school.

  “Egg, I believe the message in your dream was not quite so . . . straightforward.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Dream messages are rarely so simple to understand. For instance, I do not believe we are looking for a place where people are naughty. You dreamt that your Zeke (Egg was startled by that expression but said nothing) turned into a sea serpent. There is great likelihood that naughty . . . as you described his kiss . . . refers to Nau’tika.”

  “You said that word once before, but I forgot what it means.”

  “It is the name of one of the three cities of the sea serpents.”

  “Oh, yeah, right. Now I remember. So you think we should go there?”

  “It seems so.”

  “What about the rest of the dream?”

  “Your Zeke gave you a kiss. It was a present from him to you. So, we should look for a K’ssss in Nau’tika.”

  “Ho
w the heck do we find a kiss?”

  “K’ssss – and she spelled it for Egg – is not an uncommon name for girl serpents.”

  “Oh, that’s so cute. This dream stuff is really very interesting. What about the tidal wave thing. What could that mean?”

  This gave Dazzle pause. Finally, she said, “On your world there is another name for tidal wave . . . one that is more accurate. It is called a tsunami.”

  “I think I heard that word once. But what does it have to do with any of this?”

  “Soo’nami is another serpent’s name.”

  “OH MY GOSH. Really?”

  “It is so.”

  “Okay then, let’s go to Nau’tika and find K’ssss and Soo’nami.” She paused then added, “This is really exciting.”

  “There is only one problem.”

  “There is? What . . . oh.” She had figured it out herself. “In a big city, there may be hundreds of serpents with those names. So how do we find the right ones?”

  Dazzle smiled warmly. “Very good, little sister. Very good.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “We go to Nau’tika and trust your instincts.”

  “What are instincts?”

  “The feeling you have in your stomach . . . in your gut as you earthlings might say.”

  “Well . . . then let’s go. Grammy is waiting for me and I bet she’s crying.”

  So they flew out over the ocean until Dazzle pointed to a dark patch of water. “Down there.”

  Egg dove down under the surface and there on the bottom of the ocean was a giant dome of beautiful – and eerie – purple crystal. It reminded the girl of a brain she had once seen in some silly horror movie . . .

  She looked around but didn’t see any sea serpents. For that, she was glad. From the images that Dazzle had shared with her, she knew that they came in as many shapes and colors as did dragons . . . and they were just as scary looking.

  *****

  As she swam closer to the crystal-enclosed city, Egg could begin to make out details of what was inside. And the best way she could think to describe it was . . . ummm . . . well, a giant piece of coral. There were strange shapes and the shadows of the inhabitants all mixed together. She wished that Sylvia was with her . . . just to give her a little courage.

  {“Which way, Dazzle?”} Egg didn’t actually say the words since she was underwater. She just had to think them because her companion could read her thoughts.

  “There are entrances just for serpents located close to the seabed and others designed for humans or for dragons. Look for the smallest opening high in the dome.”

  She swam around once and spotted what she was looking for. {“Here we go”} and she entered Nau’tika.

  Chapter 7 – She Sells Sea Shells

  {“YIKES!”}

  “Please do not scream.” Of course, the scream was inside Egg’s mind.

  {“Sorry. But look at this place.”}

  “It is beautiful . . . in its own way.”

  It looked just like coral. The only difference was that these things were huge and all lit up and twinkling. “What is that?”

  “These structures were built by serpents out of their crystals. Some are homes; others are laboratories and places of work. Virtually the entire city has been designed to accommodate humans and dragons who come to shop for Serpent-made goods or to visit on other business.”

  {“Well, I’m always ready to go shopping. Which way?”} she asked.

  They entered one of the colorful . . . things . . . and inside was another shock for Egg. “Oh my gosh.”

  Giant coral for serpents made some kind of sense . . . but this was just weird. It looked like a mall. The big difference was that in addition to normal walkways for humans, there were canals for serpents. For dragons, all the stores were roofless so they could fly in.

  And of course, there was one other thing . . . a sea serpent. Just one very silly looking sea serpent.

  “A warm hello, human girl. What a great pleasure.” The goofy thing slid right up to Egg.

  “Ummm, hello sir.”

  “We get so few visitors these days. What brings you to our fair city?”

  “I was looking for two of my friends . . . K’ssss and Soo’nami.”

  The serpent slid over to what looked like some kind of a computer terminal and using its tongue, punched in some information. “We seem to have a dozen K’ssss’ and seven Soo’nami’s. Which ones are your friends?”

  “Ask her name.”

  “Excuse me sir, but who are?”

  “H’sssss. H’sssss”

  That noise startled Egg until Dazzle explained it was how a serpent laughed.

  “I am not a sir; I am female. My name is S’eeee-sik. I have been expecting you, Egg.”

  She didn’t know what startled her more — being called Egg or the serpent’s silly name. Dazzle, however, was more concerned about the first.

  “Ask her how she knows of you,” said the princess urgently.

  “How do you know my name?”

  “We have a mutual friend. But, come, we must find a place to talk.” And she led the way into a store that said “Sea Shells.”

  The store was empty except for one serpent who was fussing with the stuff on the shelves. She . . . he . . . it . . . never even looked up to see who came in.

  “We can talk here.”

  “So how come you know who I am?”

  “How was the weather on the surface?”

  “What?”

  “I heard that there was a Storm. Some people don’t like them. I, on the other hand, am like you. I believe we both find that there’s nothing like a good Storm.”

  “My dear friend has been busy on our behalf.”

  {“You mean Storm told him . . . I mean her . . . that I would come here? How would he know that?”}

  “I cannot say. Ask S’eeee-sik.”

  “What did he tell you and who are you and why are you helping me and . . .”

  “Slow down little human and I will explain. I belong to a resistance movement and your friend is our friend.”

  “What’s a resistance movement?”

  “You are young, aren’t you?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “We resist Mobius and we work for the return of the Princess.”

  “Do not tell her that I am here.”

  {“Why?”}

  “Mobius could read her thoughts.”

  “Who is 'we'?”

  “Ah, a very good question. We are called the Shades of Night . . . a group of mostly females who will do anything to end the tyranny. We are not very powerful but we fight Mobius as well as we can. Now that you are here, we are at your service.”

  “How many are you?”

  “I cannot say. I only know of one other. And she knows of one other and so on. This way Mobius might capture one or two of us, but he can never get us all.”

  “But how did you know it was me?’

  “Our friend described your outfit. And, you called me sir. No human from Aerianna would make that mistake, especially since I am so very cute.”

  “Sorry about that.”

  “I took no offense.

  “Can I ask you about your name? How can a sea serpent be sea sick?”

  “H’sssss, H’sssss. I am not seasick; I am S’eeee-sik. S’eeee was our queen. The sik after the name means little one. So I am little S’eeee.”

  “Oh. That makes more sense.”

  “Ask her how we can contact her people when we need help.”

  “If we, I mean, if I want your help, how do I call you?”

  “Just leave us a sign and we will find you.”

  “What sign?”

  The serpent gave that some thought then said, “Leave us the sign of the Egg. Now, I must go. Stay here for about an hour then you must leave. Good luck and be safe.” And with that, S’eeee-sik slid away.

  “But . . . but . . .” Egg didn’t finish since the serpent was gone. She wanted to know how she could talk to th
e K’ssss’ and Soo’s.

  “Can I help you?”

  Egg turned around startled by the question, looked up at the serpent and screamed “OH MY GOSH.”

  “What is wrong?” asked the Princess.

  “What the heck’s wrong?” hissed the serpent.

  “I know you.”

  “That’s nice. Have you been here before?”

  “No.”

  “Oh. So where did we meet?”

  “In the lake behind Grammy’s house.”

  “Well, okay. Sorry I don’t remember your name. Mine’s Soo’nami but everyone calls me Soo’.

  “Glad to meet you . . . again. My name’s Egg.”

  “Egg? Isn’t that kind of a stupid name; even for humans?”

  “That’s not a nice thing to say.”

  “Hey, I can’t help it if you have a stupid name.”

  This wasn’t going well. Egg meant to say something nice but instead she said, “Where I come from your name means a big dumb wave.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “I should just go” This couldn’t be the right Soo’.

  “Listen, I didn’t mean to be mean. I don’t get many humans in here. In fact, you’re only like the second . . . or maybe the first . . . human I ever talked to.”

  “You’re only the second sea serpent I ever talked to. S’eeee-sik was the first.”

  “Who?”

  “The sea serpent I was just with.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t see S’eeee or anyone else.”

  “But she was standing . . . I guess you call it standing . . . right here about a minute ago.”

  “Sorry,” and Soo’ seemed to shrug her shoulders.

  “Oh, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, ummm . . .,” now Egg was stuck. How was she going to get Soo’ to join the quest? It was the moment she had been dreading.

  But before she could think how to continue, she was interrupted by the serpent. “Ahhh, slippery snail snot . . . look who slithered in.”

  “Hi, Soo’. It’s me.”

  “Of course it’s you. Who else would you be?”

  “H’sssss, H’sssss.”

  “Cut that out. It wasn’t supposed to be funny.”

  “H’sssss . . . oops, sorry.”

  “What do want K’ssss? I told you I would call you if that dumb shell came in and I didn’t because it’s not in.”