Geezer's Property #9

Mekare looked upon the Lockemet, who was seething, tail twitching angrily. “Yes, Lockemet, if the Lockegeo did not exist, we would be long gone, as would the pegasi and the druids.” The Lockemet nodded contemptuously.

“For now, we will go back to Moselle. Lockegeo, we shall return within three days, and these three shall be ordained as your successors - I shall send messengers to the Lockezan and the Lockerel. Fare well.” Mekare nodded briefly, the Geezer bowed again, and Mekare turned, sinking back into the waves. “Come, my followers…”

The Lockemet, after glaring grimly at the Geezer, turned and slithered back into the water, trailed by the naga, who hissed sinisterly at them before retreating sullenly.

As the last tail vanished into the sea, Rowan let out a long, wistful breath. Sherman rounded on the Geezer.

“Okay, Geezer, WHAT have you gotten us into?!” He demanded angrily, hands on his hips.

The Geezer looked down at him and smiled wryly.

“You mean, I assume, what have you gotten yourself into? I didn’t ask you to sneak onto my property, and I didn’t ask those forsaken naga to come here.” He harrumphed to himself. “Well, once one of the Ancients has given you a task, you would be a fool to back out.”

He stumped to the tide pool where Saya was hiding under a rock. Leah was attempting to coax her out, and Saya was peeking out from behind a sea-dollar and looking extremely frightened. Upon seeing the Geezer she glided hesitantly up to the surface.

“Well?” she asked somberly. “Has Mekare ordered your death by naga rensanoa yet?”

The Geezer shook his head ruefully. “Something far different then what we expected. I have to train these three to be my successors…in three days.”

Saya didn’t look too surprised.

“Leave it to Mekare to have a crazy sense of humor,” she sighed. “And what did the Lockemet say? He didn’t spear you on sight?”

“He wanted to.”

It was Saya’s turn to grunt thoughtfully. “He’s gone soft on you, Frank.”

“Don’t be foolish, Saya, he only acts like that when he’s got something in that wretched head of his.” the Geezer sighed again. He looked at the three kids grouped, all looking confused and somewhat frightened, though the first shock had worn off. “Come on, you hooligans. We’ll go have breakfast.”

“Wait!” squeaked Saya. “Take me with you! I don’t want to be out here alone when the naga might come back!”

The Geezer considered that. “All right. You.” he pointed at Sherman. “What’s-your-name. There’s a bucket by the back door- bring it over here.” Sherman nodded and scurried over to the house, tripping over rocks here and there. It was a large, slightly-grimy looking bucket with sand and some jagged rocks in the bottom. The Geezer took it without so much a mumble of thanks, and put it into the tide pool, letting the water flow into it.

Saya, after watching the water, swam in with some difficulty. The Geezer lifted it up gently.

“Let’s go, whatever-your-names are.” he started walking towards the mansion, holding the bucket carefully level. Saya’s voice emerged from the bucket- “Don’t drop me, Frank!”

“In the name of Adremmalech, you silly little changeling, I won’t drop you!”

*********

Twenty minutes later they were sitting at a neat kitchen table with a bowl of oatmeal apiece. Saya swam in a large aquarium nearby, surfacing every now and then to say something.

Sherman was tucking into the oatmeal with hungry vigor, Rowan was absent-mindedly putting a spoonful in his mouth every thirty seconds and Leah was stirring hers repeatedly with her spoon, looking worriedly at the lump that was forming in her bowl.

The Geezer had left their presence to find “the books”, as he had referred to them, when he left the kitchen about five minutes earlier.

“What’s keeping him so long?” asked Leah, nervously pushing away the oatmeal.

“He’s probably bringing out the hourglass,” mused Saya, leaning on the edge of the aquarium. “I’ll save Frank some time and tell you the history of the world.”

Sherman looked up from the last spoonful of oatmeal.

“We know all that! Attila the Hun, and Hitler, and, uh….you know. Stuff like that.” he waved the spoon noncommittally.

Saya rolled her eyes. “I’m talking about magical creature history, not your eternal wars.” She caught sight of Leah’s oatmeal. “Eat it up, you’ll need your strength,” she advised. Leah automatically began to eat as Saya told the story of the earth.

“A very long time ago,” began Saya after ducking into the water and coming back up, “the naga roamed the earth much like you humans. Only they didn’t eat everything in sight and kill each other so much as you guys. Anyway, there were also the pegasi and the druids, and from reading the Lullaby books you should know what they are, pegasi being large cats and dogs that claw their way through the sky.”

“Have you ever met one?” asked Rowan with great interest. Saya shook her head.

“I don’t want to. They would probably eat me. Anyway, a couple hundred years after you humans became intelligent enough to realize that magical creatures have wills, the naga, the pegasi, the druids and the humans went to war. Then there came a druid mage called Saeran Lockebeth”- she went underwater again for a second – “who was powerful enough to put an end to the wars.”

“What did he or she do?” asked Sherman, attention drawn away from the pot of oatmeal in the center of the table.

“There was an alliance formed between the pegasi and the druids at Lockebeth’s will, and the two races worked together to build a beautiful fortress on an island in the middle of the sea, with Mekare’s permission. The pegasi lured the naga to the sea and over the water to the island, and Lockebeth cast a powerful spell that made the island sink into the ocean, never to surface. The fortress was called…”

“Atlantis!” gasped Leah.

__________

I said I would put this up last night, but I didn't have the chance

So I wrote a lot more to make up for it. XD

Enjoy! I do so enjoy writing this.

~Sumi