About an hour later, with all three shelters set up side by side, the girls were settled in and comfortable. Everyone was hungry and had taken out their favorite food or snack to munch on.
“What are you eating, K’ssss?” asked Sassi.
“Pickled sea snake. Would you like some? It’s very good; it tastes just like . . . ummm . . . pickled sea worms.”
“No, thank you. I was just curious.” She looked at Egg and Sylvia who were sharing her tent and made a face like ‘Ugg . . . I’d rather starve’.
“Anybody want some of my sweet Q’cumbers?”
“OH, good grief,” complained Aeri’elle. “Even I get gas from those.”
And so it went . . . with the girls talking and giggling and just plain relaxing. It felt just like a sleepover . . . only it wasn’t night and this wasn’t someone’s comfy house.
When it got a bit out-of-hand and the mood was just too frivolous, Dazzle decided to bring the girls back to the reality of their situation.
“Egg . . . what is your plan for crossing the Kiln?” That stopped the chatter immediately.
“What do you mean, Dazzle?”
“J’azzz-min told us of the sand serpents. But she also said that she could only tell us of one of the dangers we may encounter. So we can assume there will be others. How will we protect ourselves?”
Sometimes a nine-year-old girl is just a nine-year-old girl.
Sometimes a nine-year-old girl is Flying Girl.
And sometimes a nine-year-old Flying Girl knows when she doesn’t know.
“I’m not sure. But this land seems like the least dangerous. So whatever we ALL decide (she emphasized the word) to do here . . . we should learn from it and then come up with a better plan when we get to the Colorless Wood.”
Everyone, including Dazzle, was impressed by this statement.
“So . . . any suggestions?” asked Egg.
*****
They decided they didn’t need to fly very high to avoid the sand serpents. They would go as high as they could . . . but anything above the ground should be sufficient to insure their safety. Unfortunately, they would find that the plan wasn’t going to work.
As they were packing up their supplies, they heard the now too familiar voice of the weird cat. “Hey, girlies . . . I’mmmmm back.”
“We are almost ready to proceed.”
“How exciting. Be still my pounding heart,” said the cat sarcastically.
The girls finished by taking down the three tents and packing them away. Egg then took the opportunity to give each of her Sisters one last hug before they ventured into the scary desert that was K’actus Kiln. After she hugged Sylvia, she turned to J’azzz-min and said, “Okay, we’re ready.”
“HEY . . . don’t I get a hug?” teased the cat.
“I’ll hug you,” volunteered K’ssss.
“How does a sea serpent with no arms actually hug?”
“She’ll just coil around you . . . like a snake.” It was hard to tell if Soo’ was teasing.
“Enough,” commanded Dazzle. “It is time to go.”
So Aeri’elle grabbed Soo’ while Bl’azzz took hold of K’ssss. The dragons flapped their wings and took to the air. Egg followed with Sassi and Sylvia. They circled over J’azzz-min expecting her to lead them.
“Where do you think you’re going . . . home?”
“NO,” yelled Egg. “We’re going to fly over the sand so the serpents can’t get us. I can carry you too, if you’d like.”
J’azzz-min grinned like the Cheshire Cat then levitated into the air. She got face to face with Flying Girl and said, “Nice try, but you can’t fly over the Kiln. It’s in the rules.”
“What do you mean . . . we’re flying right now?”
“True but like I told you before . . . and you still don’t listen real well . . . K’actus Kiln doesn’t start until yonder hill.”
Egg looked at the hill then flew towards it. As she crossed the imaginary line that began the desert, she started to fall to ground. Well, it was more like a feather falling than a rock. But she fell.
The two dragons that were following her also drifted down to the ground.
As they stood there feeling helpless, Soo’ asked, “So, what’s plan B?”
“I don’t think we had one.”
The cat materialized out of nowhere and stood in front of the sisters. “If you girlies would stop fooling around, we can get this show on the road. Unless, of course, you’re scaredy cats?”
“I’m not a scaredy cat, I’m a sea serpent,” said K’ssss helpfully.
“She’s got the weirdest sense of humor,” commented J’azzz-min. None of the sisters chose to correct the cat’s opinion of their silly friend.
Having no choice but to walk, Egg asked, “Which way?”
“See that tall pillar of rocks in the distance . . .”
Everyone looked to where the cat was pointing but only the dragons had the ability to see that far away. “I see it,” said Aeri’elle.
“That marks the end of the desert. The Kiln isn’t very large so you could cross it in about eight hours. But you have only four hours of daylight left.”
“So do we camp when it gets dark?” asked Sylvia.
“Don’t ask me, girlie. I don’t care.”
“You’re supposed to be our guide.”
“I am and I did. You go that away. What did you expect . . . me to hold your hand?” She looked at the girls in disgust. “Last piece of advice . . . I suggest you do the hustle and quick-scram. Ta-Ta.” And with that, J’azzz-min did her kitty-litter dive and disappeared.
They stood there looking a bit overwhelmed but Egg quickly regained her composure and took charge. “Bl’azzz, take the lead. I’ll follow, then both Soo’ and K’ssss side-by-side, then Sassi and Sylvia together. Aeri’elle you bring up the rear.”
The proud dragon didn’t like that and complained to the Princess. “Your Majesty . . . I saw the rock pillar first. I think I should have the honor of leading.”
“This is not a matter of honor. Egg is hoping that your sister can use her unique talent to help defend the rest of us should it become necessary.”
“I was unaware of any talent that she possessed.” Aeri’elle really had changed and was becoming a very good Sister. But every now and then, her old self would kind of pop up and spoil things.
“I think the Princess is referring to Bl’azzz’s . . . umm . . . gas problem,” explained Sassi.
“Can you do the fire breath thing whenever you want?” asked Soo’.
“I can definitely do it whenever I don’t want. But I can sometimes force myself to burp and burn.”
“Let us go. And all of you . . . be ever vigilant.”
*****
The girls had been hiking for almost an hour. They seemed to be making good time. Trying to get out of the K’iln as fast as they could was great incentive to keep traveling at a good pace. The sun was getting lower and lower in the sky and the sand was turning a brilliant orange color…
And so far so good . . . they hadn’t met any sand serpents or any other danger.
They crested a large dune and looked down at a big basin. They would have to climb down, cross that basin then climb back up on the other side.
“Should we go around this thing?” asked Sylvia.
“It would be too far out of our way. Besides, it doesn’t look that difficult. I say we continue,” suggested Aeri’elle.
It really was up to Egg, but she had no better suggestion. “Let’s do it.”
So the three human girls jumped up on the serpents back (they could slither very quickly over flat sand . . . moving much faster than humans walking) and K’ssss and Soo’ slid down the tall, steep face of the bowl. Going downhill was easy for the large sea creatures; it was going uphill that was hard.
On the other hand, the two dragons spread their wings and glided down. Apparently, the rules said you couldn’t fly up . . . but gliding down was okay.
“That was fun,” laughed K’ssss as they reached the bottom and the girls slid off. But her laughter died away when the walls of the dunes they had just descended started to spin. If you were standing in the middle of a merry-go-round looking out at the painted wooden horses as they spun faster and faster . . . that’s what it was like.
“Oh my gosh.”
“What is happening?”
What was happening was the wall of sand towering over them was spinning faster and faster. Worse yet . . . it was beginning to close in on the girls. At the rate it was going, they would be buried in a matter of minutes.
“We gotta get out of here…NOW,” yelled someone.
“And how do you propose to do that? We can’t climb back up while it’s spinning,” said Bl’azzz.
They stood there petrified. Egg was trying her best to come up with a solution . . . but without any luck. “I . . . I . . . I don’t know.” But as she said it, she noticed the silly smile on K’ssss. And for some reason, she knew it was going to be okay.
“K’ssss,” she yelled over the incredible noise that the sand was making (kind of like a snake hissing). “You know what to do, don’t you?” If they weren’t so frightened, the other girls would have fallen down laughing at such a dumb idea.
“Oh, sure. Everybody, get on my back or Soo’s.” At first, no one moved. Then Egg yelled, “Come on. Do as she says,” and she jumped on K’ssss. Bl’azzz and Sassi joined her. Sylvia climbed on Soo’ and Aeri’elle reluctantly joined her. When they were ready, K’ssss slithered over to the spinning wall then launched herself onto its face. Without enthusiasm, Soo’ did the same. Immediately the Serpents and their riders started spinning as fast as the sand.
They spun faster and faster and the walls got closer and closer. If they weren’t hanging on for dear life, the girls would have yelled at K’ssss for being so stupid. Then, as the whole bowl was about to collapse upon itself and bury the girls under tons and tons of sand, K’ssss changed her position slightly and instead of spinning around . . . she spun up and out of the bowl. Soo’ smiled then mimicked her friend. Both sea sisters actually got airborne and landed with a splat on the other side of bowl . . . just where they had wanted to be.
“Wheeeeee! That was even more fun. Can we do it again?”
The girls had fallen off the serpents’ backs and just laid on the sand trying to catch their breath and stop their heads from spinning. They all looked back just to make sure they were really clear of the danger.
Egg got up, went over to K’ssss, and gave her a big hug. “You did it. You saved us.”
“I did?”
“Yeah, you . . . you . . .” but Soo’ couldn’t think of anything rude to say. Instead she finished with, “you big, beautiful beast.”
Then everyone else joined in to hug and congratulate the silly girl. Finally, it was Dazzle’s turn. “You have saved your sisters, K’ssss. You are truly a heroine of Aerianna and when I am Queen, I shall give you our highest medal of valor.”
“I like medals,” which got everyone, including the Princess, laughing. Sometimes when you’re scared and the danger passes, it’s good to laugh.
When the laughter died away, Dazzle asked, “Egg, how did you know that K’ssss could save us?”
“I’m not sure. When I looked at her, she had a goofy-happy look while the rest of us looked scared. I just got the feeling that she had done something like this before.” They all looked at K’ssss for confirmation.
“Well, I never did it with sand. But when there are whirlpools, my friends and I like to jump in and get spun around like we just did. Then to get out of it, you kind of point your head up and you get tossed out.”
Soo’ shook her head in disbelief. “I never did that. I was always too afraid.”
“Egg . . . you really did pick your Sisters well. I would never have guessed that this silly . . . ,” Aeri’elle caught herself, “ . . . I mean that this brave serpent would have had such courage and presence of mind to extricate us from this atrocious situation.”
“Did she say something nice about me?” asked a befuddled K’ssss.
“Yes . . . you creepy confused crustacean.”
“Oh, thank you. Nobody ever says anything nice about me.” Then she paused for a moment, thinking it over. “What did I do again?”
“You saved our lives and I’m very proud of you,” and Sassi gave her a big hug.
“Does that mean we can go home now?”
“Sorry, K’ssss, but our Quest has just started. Let’s get going before it gets too dark to see.” And the girls got back in formation and continued deeper into the Kiln. And as they walked, they smiled knowing that they had just passed their first test. Unfortunately, their luck was about to run out.
Chapter 4 – Crazy as Grazy
It was after sunset and the only light they had was from the moons of Aerianna . . .
. . . but it was enough to see where they were going. The stone pinnacle that J’azzz-min had pointed out was still visible, though just barely. So they kept going.
Besides the weird landscape, another thing that made the journey seem scary was the total lack of sound. No wind hissing over the sand, no birds chirping or screeching, no coyotes howling . . . just nothing. The girls could actually hear each other breathing . . . and that made it all the more awful.
“Dazzle,” Egg whispered so the others would not hear her.
“Yes?”
“I have a bad feeling.”
“Explain.”
“I can’t. Only . . . I’m getting goose bumps.”
Dazzle had lived long enough on Earth to understand what Egg meant. “Do you wish to stop? Perhaps we should camp until sunrise.”
“I think it’s too late for that.”
“Why do you say that?”
Egg didn’t have a chance to answer because just then they heard a blood-curdling shriek. And rising from the sand in front of them was a sand serpent . . .
The girls screamed.
“RUN,” yelled Aeri’elle.
“NO,” yelled J’azzz-min.
At the unexpected sound of the cat’s voice, they all turned. “DON’T MOVE. NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT.” With the terrifying creature looming above them making horrifying noises, it was extremely difficult advice to take.
“Do as she asks,” commanded Dazzle. So they stopped dead in their tracks . . . one eye on the monster and the other on the cat.
“Hi, girlies. Having a nice walk?” The girls looked at her in utter disbelief.
“My sisters are in grave danger. Do not make light of this situation.”
“Ahhh, it ain’t so bad. In fact it could be a lot worse.”
“How, you freaky, foolish feline?”
“I say we just throw her to the monster,” suggested Bl’azzz. “Maybe she’ll give it a stomach ache and it will leave us alone.”
The cat giggled. “Did I mention that I like you too?”
The serpent roared once again and the girls started to move back. “STOP already,” J’azzz-min yelled again. “Geez, girlies, it’s not that hard to understand. It means don’t move, don’t twitch, don’t run, don’t wave your arms, don’t . . . ah, you get the idea. I hope.”
“J’azzz-min, the creature cannot see very well.” It wasn’t a question.
“We have a winner . . . give the nice ghost lady a round of applause.”
“Stop your foolishness and explain what we are facing.”
The cat stuck her tongue at the Princess, but obeyed. But she couldn’t resist doing it like a schoolteacher lecturing her first grade class. “This big ugly thing is a sand serpent. Normally, I would say wave and be friendly. However, this giant nasty would stick you with his spiny spines. That’s the way he gets his food. The victim starts to hallucinate and then they lose all sense and sensibility. The good news is that he can’t see very well. In fact, he can only tell if something is in front of him if it moves. So as long as you stand still, you’re invisible to it.”
&nbs
p; “Why didn’t you tell us that before?” asked Egg angrily.
“You didn’t ask. Whose fault is that?”
“You’re a lousy guide. Why don’t you run away and see if the Big Ugly can catch you?”
J’azzz-min laughed. “I’ve done that hundreds of times.”
“Really?”
“It’s a giggle. Just when they think they got me, I dive into the sand and disappear. It drives them crazy.”
“So what do we do, just stand here like statues?” demanded Aeri’elle.
“I still don’t like you. But, the answer is yes. He’ll lose interest in about an hour.”
“AN HOUR,” yelled two serpents, three humans and a pair of dragons.
“Gee, that was cute. Do you practice your group yelling?”
“J’azzz, we can’t stand still for an hour.” Egg was already getting tired.
“You could distract it while we sit down,” suggested Sylvia.
“Can’t.”
“Why not?” demanded Dazzle.
“It’s in the rules. I can guide you; I can tell you some stuff. But I absolutely can’t interfere.”
“What happens if you disobey the rules?” asked Sassi.
“I can’t disobey the rules.”
“So you’re a fraidy cat.”
Everyone looked at K’ssss. It wasn’t like her to make fun of someone. J’azzz-min didn’t seem to be offended. In fact, she offered an explanation. “Like I said before . . . listen, listen, listen . . . it can’t catch me. I just can’t help you because if I tried I would melt into a fur ball and blow away.”
Now that sounded a bit unbelievable.
“Care to prove it?” chided Bl’azzz.
The cat made a sound like ‘dwaoop’. “Okay, if that’s what you want. See ya . . . don’t wanna be ya.” And before anyone could stop her, she started to run in front of the sand serpent.
She made it about three steps, and then froze. Her head began to spin around which was really freaky. Then . . . it fell off. Her body stood there for a second then vanished with a ‘pffff’ sound. The girls stared at the head on the sand with their mouths agape. The cat opened her eyes for a second, gave the girls a wink, then slowly melted into a . . . a . . . small pile of fur.
Boxed Set: Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood: [The 12 book 1st adventure + the series prequel] Page 55
