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

Chapter 8

"Well, here goes nothing," said Neiko as she walked down the hall. She was trying to measure up what to say to her mother about what happened. She sat down at the table and waited for her mom to hand her dinner. They prayed, and after they finished, Neiko began eating.

"I wonder where your daddy is," her mom said, trying to break the silence.

"I don't know, probably got held up at LP again," Neiko replied with a mouth full of cabbage.

"Is there something on your mind? You're awfully quiet."

"Yeah, um—did you hear anything strange—like in my room... like metal hitting the wall or something?"

"No, why?"

"I was just wondering because a couple of strange things happened a few minutes ago."

"Like what?"

"Well—like...um—I was playing with Ramses, and when he hit the wall he clanged, and then I tried to ring him in the toy box; I missed, and he hit the side and said 'Ow'."

"Who is Ramses?"

"One of my toys—the guy with the shiny armor."

"Amanda," she groaned in an aggravated manner, then said gently, "Oh—yeah—well... that's nice, dear."

"Mom, I ain't makin' this up. It really happened."

"That's really using your imagination. Did this happen during a battle?"

"No! This wasn't pretend—this was real. Like in real life," Neiko stammered.

"Oh, well, that's a really nice joke—"

"I'm not joking—and I haven't even laughed about it. If I was joking, then I would be laughing my head off."

"Has he ever done this before?"

"No."

"Did he come with any special real-life sounds or anything?"

"No, he was just a plain toy. I've had him for a long time, and I've played with him a million times, and it's never happened before—never mind, let's talk about something else."

* * *

Raven, Bloodhawk, and Francesco laughed about their first feats as they gazed into the Eye. "Her mom doesn't even believe her. Look at the disgust on her face!" laughed Francesco.

"It's working like a charm; it won't take too much more of this, and Neiko will be out of commission soon and very vulnerable," Raven replied.

"How much longer?" asked Bloodhawk.

"Not much longer. Probably two more will do it. Francesco, prepare to kick her out if anything is mentioned to the Tribes about it," Raven said.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm ready for that. I can't wait till then," Francesco sneered.

"The best part is that she doesn't even suspect. And when she does, it'll be too late," Bloodhawk said with glee.

"You're absolutely right, son. Now be patient. We can't make any mistakes, I'll let you know when the time is right. Now, Francesco, go and be ready for the next step: expel Admiral Kidd!" Raven said in a sinister manner.

"With pleasure," Francesco said with a devious smile.