Neiko's Five Land Adventure (Neiko Adventure Saga Book #1)

Chapter 6

"Raven! Thank goodness I found you! I have terrible news!" exclaimed Francesco in between gasps.

"Already? What is it this time? It seems trouble has been brewing around you lately," Raven said, annoyed.

"You—don't—understand. It—happened—at the—meeting," he gasped.

Raven turned and faced him. "Is it Neiko? What did she do now? Did she skip? Was she disbanded?"

Francesco gulped and breathed in. "No—worse."

"Did you run a marathon? You sound like you ran twenty miles to get here. When did the meeting end?"

"Yes, I did run. The meeting was over ten minutes ago. I left as soon as it ended because what I have to say is so bad it couldn't wait another minute," he said breathing steadily.

"Ten minutes?! You got here just about as fast as we fly—that's a record for you. If it's that bad, you had better tell me. Does it put a dent in our plan?"

"You bet it does. Neiko wasn't demoted; she was promoted!"

Raven looked at him doubtfully. "Promoted?! Are you trying to put a fast one on me so you have an excuse to complain?"

Francesco shook his head. "No, I swear!"

Raven put his hand on his hip. "Alright, what rank is it?"

He swallowed deeply. "Admiral of the Desert Storm Falcons."

Raven was so angry he slammed his fist on the table. "That's impossible! Who's responsible? I can't believe this!"

"Er...um—well, they all are, but Sigma was the one who presented it to the rest of the Indians," Francesco said as he cringed at the sight of Raven's anger.

"A thousand curses on all of them! I will get even! When I'm finished, Admiral Kidd will never see the dawn of battle against me because I will destroy her life, and she will be my son's wife! They will never see their precious Admiral again! The DSF won't have an officer, and they will be the first to die!"

"Um, that's another—problem." He said weakly.

"Problem?!" Raven thundered. "What now?!"

"They have a new captain; Neiko chose Aquila for the job."

Raven grabbed a nearby chair and threw it against the wall with all of his strength. The chair smashed into splinters upon the impact, and it made a terrible racket that echoed through the hall. Bloodhawk ran in upon hearing the racket, and he just returned from his errand.

"Father, are you alright?" asked Bloodhawk, startled and confused.

Raven raised his hands in the air. "Yeah, I'm just peachy," he snapped sarcastically.

Bloodhawk looked at Francesco concerned. "What happened?"

Francesco told him everything that happened from beginning to end.

Bloodhawk shook his head shocked. "Well, this is just great. What will we do now? We can't do anything till he calms down."

Francesco glanced at Raven. "That's if he calms down. I say we go on with the plan. It's foolproof even if Neiko is an admiral. If we play our cards right, she won't be one long. Then she will become a queen—an even higher rank."

Bloodhawk rubbed his hands together and smiled deviously. "I agree, but he is the one who is responsible for bringing Ramses to life or whatever it's called; we can't do it without him. Aquila a captain? Who would've thought it? Also it is an excellent choice, even though he won't do as good o' job as Neiko. All he needs is experience, and he will easily grow into it. But I'm not really concerned about him."

"I know, but your father is in no shape to do anything right now."

Bloodhawk glanced at his storming father. "We will be able to get things done, if he would calm down and stop breaking things. Anyway, if he doesn't stop in five minutes, I'll take matters into my own hands. I'll bring Ramses to life myself; it couldn't possibly be that hard; besides, I know enough magic—" said Bloodhawk loud enough where his father could hear.

"I heard that!" Raven boomed. "You stupid, illiterate teenager, you couldn't possibly do that yourself! You think you know everything! You couldn't bring your dead dog back to life. What makes you think you can bring a toy to life? You can't do without me, and you know it!"

"Yes father. And I'm not a teenager; I'm 21 years old—"

"And you're still my son, and you barely have any magical knowledge." Bloodhawk winked at Francesco signaling him to say something about beginning the plan. "Well, do you want to begin the plan now?" he asked.

Raven spun around. "Yes, no more planning. It's time to go on with the show. I'll get the Eye, and we'll sit and wait till the time she plays with her toys," he said then he left the room.

Bloodhawk looked at Francesco mischievously. "Works every time.

Now, in a matter of time, I will finally have my queen!"

Francesco smiled. "Yes, Neiko will be out of my hair. Boy, I wished that worked on my dad."

He shrugged. "It only works when he's mad. Most of the time he catches on, but he was so mad this time that he didn't even suspect. Besides, I think he was ready to pull the pin from the grenade."

"Neiko will be lost in the explosion, and no one will know what happened."

They laughed devilishly, and hugged each other.

Raven appeared. "Alright, let's get to work."

Francesco smiled. "I want front row seats for this show, and victory is evident."

Raven smiled. "Until there is a meeting, or you're needed on stage."

"I'll be ready," he said cruelly.