Ark - Box Set #6, Part 1 of Ever After [an Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood novel] Read online

  Ever After, Part 1

  Another adventure of

  Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood

  ©Copyright 2016, by Robert Iannone

  All rights reserved (Book & Illustrations)

  Table of Contents

  Book 1 – I’za

  Book 2 – The PhoG

  Book 3 – Ark of Forever

  Book 4 – Egg’s Ben’Edikk

  I’za

  Book 1 of Ever After

  Another Novel of

  Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood

  ©Copyright 2016, by Robert Iannone

  All rights reserved (Book & Illustrations)

  Cover art by Sean Duffy

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1 – New Beginnings

  Chapter 2 – Egg and Benny Sitting in a Tree

  Chapter 3 – Hot Fudge Sundae

  Chapter 4 – Loose Ends

  Chapter 5 – Almost Made It

  Chapter 6 – Doctor Hoo

  Chapter 7 – Who You Going to Call?

  Chapter 8 – Ghostbusters

  Chapter 9 – The PhoG

  Chapter 10 – Heartless Heart

  Prologue

  From Xara, Book 4 of Nemesis

  Her next stop was to see Benny. She waited outside his office while the guard announced her presence. The Prince himself came to the door.

  “Please come in.”

  She smiled in acknowledgement but said nothing.

  “How are your people?”

  “So far, so good. Your medical staff performed miracles. Please express my gratitude.”

  “I will pass on your thanks. And may I extend my congratulations to you and your sisters. You have written yet another glorious chapter in the history of the Hameggattic Sisterhood.”

  “I guess. Maybe later when everyone’s healed I’ll feel more glorious. Right now I’m just mentally exhausted.”

  “Considering the complexity of the challenge, I certainly understand.”

  Tired as she was, Egg took that the wrong way – as if she hadn’t been up to the task. “Is that a criticism?”

  “Good grief, no. Setting aside my feelings for you for a moment, if we were a warring people, I would not hesitate to name you General of my armies and Admiral of my fleet.” Egg tried to interrupt with an apology but the Prince stopped her. “In addition, if you had the time, I would add Primary Adjutant of the Diplomatic Corp. You are simply the most remarkable being I have ever met.”

  She smiled. “On Earth, the title would be Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.”

  “I truly have no idea what that means.”

  “It means that I apologize. You have been beyond wonderful. I can’t thank you enough.”

  “Compared to you, I have done nothing.”

  “Benny.”

  “Yes?”

  “How did you know?” It was the one thing that he did do that made her eternally grateful.

  He understood what she was referring to. “Merely a lucky guess,” which it most certainly wasn’t.

  “You saved her life.”

  “She is a loyal subject and a heroine of Aerianna. I could do no less.”

  Egg didn’t respond in words. Instead she went up to the young man and kissed the heck out of him. It was a kiss of gratitude . . . but sometimes one emotion can get confused with another.

  “I do love you, Gracie,” he managed to say when their lips parted.

  “And I . . .” but she didn’t finish because she wasn’t sure how she felt. However, she definitely did feel something as evidenced by the flush on her cheeks. She had never kissed anyone with so much passion before – not that there were many other opportunities. So, since it was so darn pleasant, she just kissed him again.

  When they finally broke apart, the Prince asked, “Can we talk?”

  “Later, okay? I need to go to the recovery room.”

  “Of course. Will you have dinner with me tonight?”

  “I’d like that.” To her surprise, she wasn’t just being polite – she really meant it.

  Chapter 1 – New Beginnings

  Aboard HRM Rose’Alynnia

  She paced back and forth nervously. One thing Egg wasn’t good at, and she knew it, was waiting. However, sometimes that’s all you can do. So as not to waste this time, her mind started reviewing all the things that needed to be done to complete this mission so they could leave Spell ‘Bound. After all, as leader, that was ultimately her responsibility.

  There was, first and foremost, helping Benny get the people of Spell ‘Bound organized . . . nation building was probably no easy task.

  Then there was Jax’x. Nursing her back to health so she could break her heart . . . the latter not something she was looking forward to.

  Bl’azzz was in surgery . . . which was the reason she was here in the recovery room. Waiting. Much to her relief, one of the doctors chose that moment to come out to give her an update.

  “Dragons are almost indestructible. The blast that she took in the chest did only minor damage. She sustained more cuts and bruises as she fell and fought to grab on to the rocky wall. The worse of it was a broken talon.”

  “That’s not serious, is it?”

  “Certainly not life threatening. But, it’s like breaking a couple of toes on a human. Makes walking, and even standing, a bit cumbersome.”

  “How long till it heals?”

  “In a few weeks she’ll grow a new one.”

  “When can I see her?”

  “The team is completing their examination to ensure that there are no other injuries. Perhaps a half hour. If you have other pressing matters, I can call you when she’s out of surgery.”

  Egg gave that a moment’s thought. “That would be great. Thank you.”

  “Um . . . I’m not sure how to address you.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You are the Heroine of Aerianna. Should I address you as My Lady? Miss Eloise? I . . . I’m sorry, this is such an honor and I’m a tongue-tied fool. Please forgive me.”

  Egg was too tired to get upset – or be amused. She put out her hand and said, “It’s just Egg. Thank you for everything.”

  The doctor looked at the outstretched appendage not understanding. On Aerianna, no one shook hands. Men, however, clasped each other’s arms just above the wrist. “Is there something wrong with your hand? Would you like me to examine it?”

  “What? No.” She exhaled. “Sorry, on Earth people will shake hands for a number of reasons. One is a sign of gratitude.”

  “Really. That’s fascinating. Well then . . .” and he stuck his hand out as he had seen Egg do. The girl took it and gave it a shake. “Did I do it correctly?”

  “Perfect. Thanks again,” and she turned to leave.

  “Um, Egg.”

  “Yes?”

  “This really was an honor.”

  She almost laughed which would have devastated the poor man. Instead, she walked up to the doctor and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Be sure to tell your friends that you kissed the Heroine of Aerianna.”

  “Oh my, I most certainly will.”

  “Just don’t tell the Prince. He’s in love with me . . . and very jealous.”

  “What?”

  *****

  “Hi.”

  “Hey, Bree. You okay?”

  “Can we talk?”

  “Sure.” Egg entered BreeZee’s room and sat on the bed. She knew what was on her sister’s mind. “That was a lot more . . . violent . . . tha
n we’re used to, wasn’t it?”

  “I was so scared.”

  “You didn’t show it. Well . . . maybe when you thought you lost the key.” She was hoping to lighten the mood a bit.

  It worked. Bree giggled at the memory. “What was I thinking? I couldn’t catch a cold let alone a small object. Thank goodness for Serenity.”

  “Yeah, we make a good team.”

  “Any word on Bl’azzz?”

  “Just came from there. The doctor said she’s fine. Lost a talon but that will grow back in a few weeks.”

  “That’s difficult to believe. That energy bolt hit her hard.”

  “The doc said dragons are practically indestructible.”

  “And Jax’x?”

  “She’s going to pull through. Then we get to tell her that the love of her life is in love with someone else.”

  “How could that happen?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “According to both Po and Jax’x, that’s not how Jay’gar felt. What changed?”

  “Maybe being inside that cell?”

  “I have another theory. Maybe Xara did something.”

  And Egg’s goosebumps practically jumped off her arms. She raised them for her sister to see. “There you go.”

  “Why would she do that?” Bree was as angry as Egg had ever seen her. The girl with wings liked Jax’x and this act of pettiness was unforgiveable.

  “Maybe when we capture her we’ll find out.”

  “Are we going after her?”

  “No idea where to look. But sooner or later, we’ll get wind of her shenanigans. Then we’ll pay her a visit. I’m the reason she’s loose in the galaxy.”

  “You can’t blame yourself for that. There was a greater good.”

  “I guess.”

  “Do you know why she shot Jax’x?”

  “It was an accident. Serenity was trying to play hero and when things got out of hand, Jax’x tried to save her. Apparently when the weapon went off, Xara was as horrified as the other two.”

  “So she’s not a murderer.”

  “No. She’s bad news, but not that bad.”

  “She put those two Absolutes in the Cell.”

  “True. But they’re technically still alive.”

  “I can’t feel sorry for them – does that make me a bad person?”

  “Nothing could make you a bad person.”

  “Thank you.”

  Now to the crux of Egg’s visit. “You’re not thinking about retiring from the Sisterhood, are you?” Egg held her breath.

  “I was. But, I was a bit shaken. Now I’m feeling better. So no, I can’t leave you and the others.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that.”

  “And I’m just going to hold you,” and the butterfly girl put her arms around her sister and cried quietly. It had been a traumatic few hours and she needed this release.

  Egg held her sister until she got the call from the doctor. “Come on, let’s go see Hot Lips.”

  Bree brightened. “You should have seen her. She came up out of the rift and spread her wings and started to breathe fire. Everyone out there almost wet themselves. She was magnificent.”

  “You might want to tell her that.”

  “I will. By the way, did you see Benny?”

  “Yup.”

  “And?”

  “We’re having dinner later.”

  “And?”

  “And what?”

  “He saved Bl’azzz. What was his reward?” She smiled as she said it.

  “I might have kissed him.”

  “Might have?”

  Egg couldn’t keep a straight face. “Actually, I kissed the heck out of him.”

  Bree went dreamy eyed. ”He’s so cute.”

  “Maybe . . . in a manly, Prince-in-shining-armor sort of way. You know – if you like that sort of thing.”

  “And?”

  “And apparently I do.”

  “Egg and Benny sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S. . .”

  “Yeah, yeah . . . I.N.G. Where’d you learn that stupid earth saying?”

  “Tee’ka, of course.”

  *****

  To say she was in a hospital bed was a bit misleading. Bl’azzz was lying on her side in the middle of a hefty pile of foliage. Since making a patient comfortable is a large part of the healing process, a bed of leaves – dragons’ natural sleeping arrangement – was the bedding of choice.

  She was hooked up to the usual assortment of tubes and wires and monitoring machines. Ironically, these life-saving devices always made the patient look far worse than they really were.

  The girls quietly entered the room. Egg’s ‘doctor admirer’ was fiddling with one of the lines leading into Bl’azzz’s taloned, and bandaged, foot. “Is she awake?” whispered Egg.

  Before the doctor could respond, Bl’azzz practically yelled, “EGG-O, I’m alive. Can you believe it? I’m alive.” Then a second or two later she asked, “Why am I alive?”

  “Ladies – and that means you too Bl’azzz – let’s try to keep the excitement to a minimum,” admonished the doctor. “Ten minutes, no more. She needs to rest.”

  “Thanks, Doc,” answered Egg.

  The silly man seemed to be pondering something. “Should we shake hands again?”

  Bree looked at her sister. “What’s he talking about?”

  “Long story.” To the doctor she explained, “No, that’s not necessary.”

  “But the last time you thanked me, you shook my hand.” He seemed disappointed.

  Rather than explaining, Egg said, “You’re right,” and pumped the man’s appendage a couple of times. “Ten minutes and we’ll leave, promise.”

  “Very good then,” and he left – looking at his now ‘shooked hand’ and smiling.

  “That was weird,” exclaimed Bree.

  Egg walked up to Bl’azzz. “How do you feel?”

  “Sleepy. They gave me something for the pain.”

  “Doc said you’ll be good to go in a few weeks.”

  “Go where?”

  Egg smiled. “Wherever you want.”

  “Bl’azzz, I told Egg what a great show you put on. Wings flapping, fireballs blazing – it scared the heck out of those two Absolutes.”

  “I’ll tell you a secret. That was fun.”

  “Fun? You nearly died.”

  “I almost never get to be a dragon on these missions. This time I did. As I said . . . fun.”

  “Well, from now on, I’ll use your natural skills more often.”

  “So why am I not dead?” Bl’azzz asked as lightly as she could.

  “Benny saved you.”

  “Really? How?”

  “When Bree told him that you had fallen and that I went looking for you, he went back to his ship and told his people to scan for dragon life signs. They found you just as you began to plummet and beamed you to sickbay.”

  Bl’azzz took a few seconds to digest that. Then she smiled which caused her to say “ouch.”

  “You okay?”

  “It only hurts when I laugh. So, what was his reward?”

  “Whose?”

  “You know perfectly well who.”

  Before Egg could answer, Bree blurted, “She kissed the heck out of him.”

  “And?”

  “Hey. Just a kiss. It was just a kiss,” came the defensive response.

  “That’s all my life is worth? A kiss?” teased the dragon.

  “I almost gave him a handshake instead of the kiss. But for your sake, I upgraded his reward at the last second.”

  “For my sake? I should thank you then. You forced yourself to kiss an incredibly handsome man . . . just for me. How can I ever repay you?”

  “Shut up. And since you’re in such a feisty mood and obviously in no danger of anything, I command you to go to sleep. We’ll be back in the morning.”

  “But I don’t know what happened?”

  “We won. Tomorrow we’ll catch you up with all the details. For now, sw
eet dreams. And Bl’azzz, you did great. Thank you.”

  “Hmmm,” replied the almost asleep dragon. “Egg and Benny sitting in a . . .” but the rest was lost in a gentle snore.

  “I’m going to kill Tee’ka.”

  Bree laughed as they left the room. “Just get her a man.”

  *****

  “Where to?”

  “Let’s go see Jax’x. Serenity won’t leave her side. I want you to take her to dinner then maybe spell her for a bit so she can get some sleep.”

  “I can do that.”

  “By the way, Serenity wants to ask Jax’x to join the Sisterhood.”

  “I guess her change of heart is for real. I certainly love the idea.”

  “Me too. But when we do ask her, it can’t come across as a consolation prize for losing Jay’gar. We need to convince her that she can make a real contribution.”

  “Egg . . .”

  “Yeah?”

  “You’ve changed.”

  “I just threw on anything I could find. Why?”

  “No, you silly woman. I mean you’ve changed as a person.”

  Egg smiled. “I don’t think so. I’m sure I would have remembered.”

  Bree gave her sister a playful swat with her wings. “I’m serious. Your manner, your whole bearing, is . . . so mature, cool and calm. You were always ‘tough and in-your-face’ . . . did I use that phrase correctly?”

  Egg nodded.

  Bree continued, “But now it’s not just youthful belligerence but acts of moral superiority and righteous indignation.”

  “Stop. First, that’s the most sophisticated argument on any subject that I’ve ever heard you make. Second, I’m just older and more of a curmudgeon. Other than that, it’s the same old me. But thanks . . . I guess.”

  “I wasn’t trying to compliment you. I was only making an observation.”

  Egg pretended to pout. “It sounded like a compliment.”

  “Well, if you’re begging for one I’ll give you one. When I grow up I want to be just like you. How’s that?”

  “Meh.”

  Bree laughed. “Benny is one lucky man.”

  “Hey, he’s not getting lucky. At least, not tonight.”

  “Egggggg!”

  *****

  “Hi, Serenity. How is she?”

  “Hey, Bree. The doctor just left. He said her vital signs are strong. She should make a full recovery.”