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

by Robert Iannone

  “Did you hear what Aeri’elle said?”

  “Yes. If that’s what you think I should do, then I will.”

  “Be sure to tell us where you tie the boat . . . you know, just in case.”

  “And, good luck.”

  “Yeah . . . from both of us.”

  *****

  “Hi, Daddy.”

  K’ssss’s father looked up from his workbench and saw his daughter and two of her friends.

  “Hi, Sweetheart. What are you doing here?”

  “We came to ask you something.”

  “K’ssss, I’m very busy. Maybe you and your friends could come back another time.”

  “No . . . I can’t.”

  “What did you say?” Her dad had never heard his daughter argue with him before. Not ever.

  “She said she can’t. She needs your help. We all do.”

  “And who are you? And who is we?”

  “My name is S’eeee-sik. And the ‘we’ means all the people of Aerianna who are tired of being ruled by the evil Mobius.”

  “Okay, that’s enough of that. I don’t know what you three want from me; but I don’t have the time to talk about fairy tales. Now, K’ssss, please leave and take your friends with you.”

  “Hey, you hairless, huffy harlequin . . . stop being so mean to your daughter.”

  “Now see here . . . do you know who you are talking to?”

  “Actually . . . do YOU know who you are talking to?”

  “My daughter and her two ill-mannered friends, I presume.”

  “Not quite. I am the great granddaughter of her Majesty, Queen S’eeee.”

  “What?”

  “What?”

  “H’sssss.”

  “Have you heard of the Shades of Night?”

  “Yes. Some kind of secret society trying to overthrow the king if memory serves. Are you three members?” He asked the question with obvious scorn . . . as if the Shades were of no importance.

  “I am. These two belong to the Hameggattic Sisterhood. It was founded on Earth . . . a planet orbiting a star called Sol. They are dedicated to ending the reign of terror that has befallen us.”

  “Really? Founded on Earth? And how is that possible?”

  “I believe you know the answer . . . the space portal, after all, was invented by one of your ancestors.”

  That got his attention. “Okay. Let’s assume that I believe that part. How are they going to rid us of Mobius?”

  “It is a very complicated story. Just know that what your daughter requires from you will help save our people.”

  “Are you really related to the Queen?”

  “Yes.”

  “Who else belongs to your little club?”

  “That is not your concern. However, I will tell you of one who has supported us with his advice and wisdom.”

  “Okay, who?”

  “Prince Storm.”

  The dragon was revered by all loyal Aeriannians and the mere mention of his name was enough to sway the skeptical inventor. “K’ssss, I love you dearly; but I have no idea how you got mixed up in this . . . or how you were able to help. But, I’m willing to do whatever I can.”

  “Hey, Mister know-it-all,” said a very upset Soo’. “You’d be very surprised what a hero your daughter has been. If it wasn’t for her, this whole thing might never have happened.”

  “I would like to believe that . . . I really would. But for now, I’m very glad she has made two great friends.”

  “Just wait till you see who gives her a medal,” said Soo’ with a mischievous grin.

  *****

  Sassi found a secluded place to tie up the boat. It was about a quarter mile from town and there was no one else around. It seemed as good a place as any . . . or so she hoped. After making sure everything was as safe and secure as she could make it, she used her communicator crystal to call Egg and described the hiding place.

  She then made her way up the bank and found a dirt path leading towards the town. It only took her a few minutes to make her way to the little shack where her father lived. As she walked up to the front door, her heart was beating a million times a second and she was having difficulty breathing. She was hoping and praying that Egg’s dream would be true. She loved her father . . . but was scared to death of the Mo’beye he had become.

  She knocked twice.

  She heard some commotion behind the door but couldn’t quite make out what it was. As she went to knock again . . . the door was suddenly flung open with great violence.

  And there stood the Mo’beye . . . black robe, monster eyes and a stick that she knew was really a weapon. She didn’t mean to, but she yelped at the sight of her father.

  The Mo’beye stared at her for a long time, then after looking up and down the street to see who might be watching, reached out, jerked Sassi into the cabin, and slammed the door.

  “Ohhh.”

  “Sassi, oh sweet heavens, it’s so good to see you again.”

  “Daddy?”

  “It’s me, Sassi Lassi, it’s me.”

  “Oh, Daddy.” And the young girl threw her arms around her father and cried . . . from happiness.

  Then he said something that really stunned his daughter. “Tr’yst, come out.” Tr’yst, of course, was his wife and Sassi’s mom.

  The kitchen door opened and the woman squealed in delight. She ran across the room, grabbed her daughter, and held her tightly. Now there were two people crying . . . from happiness.

  “Oh, Baby. It’s so wonderful to see you. Are you okay?”

  “I am now that the three of us are together again. Oh, Mom, I can’t tell you how long I’ve dreamt about this; to be a family again.”

  “Me, too, my dearest child . . . me too.”

  “Me, three,” added her father who came over and joined the group hug.

  Over the next ten minutes, they continued their hugs, giggles, and tears. Then the conversation turned more serious when Sassi asked, “Dad . . . tell me about the pendant you made me wear?”

  “I didn’t want Mobius to know that I wasn’t under his control anymore. So when he told me to give that thing to you . . . I could either reveal my secret or pretend to force you to wear it. I was hoping that you would find some way to destroy it . . . before he could do anything to you. I’m sorry; I know I was taking a great risk. But I guess it worked out okay.”

  “You did the right thing, Daddy. It all worked out.”

  “Hey, he only made you wear some ugly jewelry. Do you know what he did to me?”

  “What?”

  “He shot me.”

  “No!”

  “Yes.”

  “Why Daddy?”

  “Same reason. I knew Mobius was watching. But believe me . . . it hurt me more than it hurt your mother.”

  “Ha. I already made him promise to buy me something incredibly nice when this is all over.”

  Sassi giggled. “What’s that?”

  “A new house . . . for the three of us.”

  As you might expect, that revelation brought more happy crying and excited conversation. When they finally settled down again, Sassi brought the conversation around to the Quest. She gave them a brief summary of everything that had happened so far, and then added . . .

  “So, Mom, we need at least one hundred humans, fifty dragons, a dozen F’yre Dragons and a dozen serpents from the Shades of Night.”

  “My goodness . . . what in the world for?”

  “To defeat Mobius, of course. And there’s something else. Each of the humans must look like this . . .” and she showed her mom a sketch she had made. “I’ll do the face art myself.”

  “That’s a lot of work.” Then she took a closer look at the sketch. “Is that who I think it is?”

  “Yes. And Daddy . . . when you took me to Q’umulus; you did it to spy on Mobius, didn’t you?”

  “Wow . . . that’s very good reasoning; and a heck of a memory. That was a long time ago.”

  “It was the last
thing we did as a family.”

  “Yes, Sweetheart. I’m so sorry. We both are.”

  “I know Daddy. But it was for a great cause and I’m so proud of both of you.”

  Yup . . . that brought on one more group hug and a round of happy tears.

  “Daddy, I need to know everything you learned. And I really need to know how to get to Q’umulus.”

  “I can tell you all the things we discovered that might be useful in your fight . . . but I can’t tell you how to get up there.”

  “Why not?”

  “Mobius controls who comes and goes very, very closely. Sorry, Sassi . . . but you’re going to have to find your own way up there.”

  Chapter 8 – A Passing Storm

  “Egg . . . can you hear me?”

  “Hi, Sassi. Is everything okay?”

  “Yes and no. You and Sylvia were right about my dad. And my mom is here, too. She’s going to get all the Shades that you wanted, but it’ll take at least a couple days.”

  “That’s terrific. What’s the bad news?”

  “My dad told me all about the things he discovered on Q’umulus. Some of it will be really useful. But . . . he doesn’t know how we can get up there.”

  “Fiddlesticks.”

  After a moment of silence, Soo’ called, “Hey, Egg.”

  “Hi, Soo’. How’s it going?”

  “Perfect. We found S’eeee-sik and she did a great job with K’ssss’ dad. He’s beginning to work on that stuff right now.”

  “That’s great. But we have one big problem. Sassi’s dad doesn’t know how we can get up to Q’umulus. My plan won’t work unless we can get there.”

  “Hang on a second.” There was silence for the better part of a minute. Then Soo’ returned, “I found a way to get us up there.”

  “Oh my gosh . . . how?”

  “K’ssss’s dad said by the same way you and Sylvia got here from Earth.”

  “That space portal thingy? How can he do that?”

  “I guess it was his great, great, great, great . . . whatever . . . uncle who invented the thing in the first place. He says it’s a piece of kelp.”

  “It’s made of kelp?”

  “What? No, no . . . it’s just a saying. It means it’ll be easy.”

  “Oh, a piece of cake.”

  “Cake? What cake?”

  “Oh, never mind. When can he be ready?”

  “Ummm . . . he says he’ll need a couple of days at least to finish the stuff we asked for, then another day to set up the contraption. So . . . three or four days. Is that good?”

  “Perfect. Thank him for me. And S’eeee-sik too.”

  “Gotcha.”

  *****

  So far, everything was going exactly to plan . . . or more precisely, according to Egg’s dream.

  But they now had one very large problem that her dream didn’t mention. Where were they going to stay until they were ready to fight Mobius? It had to be someplace where the evil king wouldn’t think to look. And, it had to be big enough to hold all the Shades of Night that were coming to the Sisterhood.

  She hoped that Sassi’s mom could help. “Hey . . . it’s me again.”

  “Hi Egg.”

  “We have a problem. We need a place to stay that’s big enough for all of us. And we need food and whatever supplies you need for your face art and costumes. Do you think your mom could help?”

  “I’ll talk to her and call you right back.”

  But one minute passed, then another and another and Egg was beginning to get worried. It was silly of her not to have thought about this before they got started. ‘Some leader I am’ she thought to herself.

  “Egg.”

  “Hi. Can she help?”

  “Yes. But you need to come pick us up so she can show you where this place is. Then she’ll need a ride back to town so she can start organizing the rest of the Shades.”

  “Hold on a sec,” Egg asked Aeri’elle. “Can you carry three people?”

  “Not really. Three kids, yes. But grown-ups are too heavy.”

  “That’s okay. Hey, Syl,” Egg called on her communicator.

  “Hi, Egg.”

  “You and Bl’azzz need to meet us in the little town down river from the Sisterhood. We’re going to pick up Sassi and her mom.”

  “Great. We’re on our way.”

  “Sassi . . . did you hear that?”

  “Yes. We’ll be waiting.”

  *****

  They picked up Sassi and her mom and flew for quite a while. As the sun began to set, they crested one last hill and there it was . . . an old abandoned castle.

  They landed and everyone stared at the once magnificent structure.

  “Oh my gosh, it’s too cool.”

  “I’m sure you can build a fire,” answered Tr’yst.

  Egg laughed then explained what she had meant by the word cool.

  “Oh. Well . . . then, yes, it is cool.”

  “Who does it belong to?” asked Sylvia.

  “It was one of the summer homes of F’Aerianne.” Aeri’elle and Bl’azzz almost fainted when they heard that name.

  So they entered the Rainbow Dragon’s castle and found it very much to their liking. Obviously, she had lived well as befitted a queen.

  And while the girls began to clean and prepare the rooms for their upcoming guests, Aeri’elle flew Tr’yst back to town.

  *****

  “Hi. Soo’, it’s me.”

  “Hi, Egg. What’s going on?”

  “Sassi’s mom is going to talk to S’eeee-sik about getting the serpents we need. And hopefully she’ll be able to find a place for them to stay that’s close to where you are now.”

  “Sounds good. What about K’ssss and me? We sure would rather be back with you guys.”

  “I know. But I really need you to stay there for a couple of days to get the Shades organized. Then when K’ssss’s dad has the stuff we need, call me and I’ll send Aeri’elle and Bl’azzz to come get you.”

  “We can do that.” After a brief pause, the serpent said “Ummm, Egg.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Are you getting a little nervous yet? You know . . . now that we’re about to face Mobius and his loony legions.”

  “Truthfully . . . I’ve been so busy getting all of this stuff ready that I haven’t even thought about it. I’m sure it will all hit me tonight when I try to sleep. What about you?”

  “You guys have what I thought was a really stupid saying . . . but I think I understand it now.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I’m so scared . . . I could wet my pants.” Egg heard a H’sssss in the background and Soo’ yelling, “Shut-up, you giant, goofy gumball.”

  “Well, thank goodness you guys don’t wear clothes,” Egg giggled. Then she added, “It’s okay to be scared . . . it shows that you have good sense.”

  “Sounds like something your Grammy would say.”

  “How did you know?”

  “A grandmother is a grandmother . . . on earth or on Aerianna.”

  *****

  The first of the Shades began to arrive the next day. They came one at a time or sometimes in two’s or three’s. And they all brought supplies . . . as much as they could carry.

  “What are we going to do with all these guys?” asked a slightly flustered Bl’azzz.

  “We need to put everyone to work,” suggested Sylvia.

  “I need as much time as possible to do my face art on the humans.”

  “Can we help?” asked Egg.

  “You can’t,” said Aeri’elle.

  “Hey . . . I might be good at it.”

  “That’s not what I mean. You’re our leader and need to be working on your plans. Leave the small stuff to us.”

  “Oh. I guess you’re right.”

  “Sassi, we do something similar on earth. I’m sure you could teach me to do some of the simpler stuff,” offered Sylvia.

  “That would be great. Thanks.”

  “W
hat about us?” asked the other dragon.

  “You and Aeri’elle should find out who can cook. We also need people who can sew.”

  Then Aeri’elle asked the big question, “Egg, when are you going to tell us your exact plans . . . and who’s going to do what?”

  “Probably the night before we fight Mobius.”

  “Why then?”

  “It’s what I think Dazzle would do. She wouldn’t want to tell everybody too soon . . . then you’ll be talking about it and complaining or trying to suggest changes. Worst of all . . . the more time you have to think about it, the more nervous you’ll get.”

  “Wow. Sounds like something the Princess might say.”

  “I wish she was here.” Then Aeri’elle realized how that might sound, so she hastily added, “No offense, Egg. It’s just that she’s already fought Mobius.”

  “I miss her too. But, we can’t wait.”

  “Maybe we should talk to Storm . . .,” offered Sassi. “Maybe he can speed up what he’s doing.”

  “The day before we go to fight, I’ll go see him.”

  “I’d like to come.”

  “Me, too.”

  “I think we all would.”

  So Egg agreed to take all the sisters to meet the famous dragon.

  *****

  The next four days zipped by in a whirlwind of activity. The humans finally had their face art and costumes . . . and that was a pretty weird sight.

  When K’ssss and Soo’ arrived with some of the gadgets Tink’rrr had made, they just stared at the ninety-three humans. Everyone looked almost exactly like Egg. Same face, same hair and even the same outfit. It was freaky.

  “Whoa.”

  “H’sssss.”

  “Pretty amazing, isn’t it. Sassi and Syl did an incredible job.”

  “I’ll say. If you stand next to them, I wouldn’t be able to pick you out.”

  “H’sssss. It’s like that game . . . Where’s S’ally Sea Sh’ell.”

  “It’s more like “Where’s Waldo,” suggested Sylvia.

  “I never heard of either one,” complained Aeri’elle.

  “Doesn’t matter,” said Egg. “Just think of it as Mobius trying to find a needle in a haystack.”

  “Ahhh . . . now that makes sense. Sort of.”

  “What do you want us to do now, Egg?” asked the F’yre Dragon.

  “Well, tomorrow’s the big day. So right now . . . we should go visit Storm. Syl and Aeri’elle . . . put someone in charge of each group and tell them to eat and rest. They’re going to be busy tomorrow.”