Vernon

Glad you could join us for the next fortunate episode of Elliot’s Adventures. If you’re new here, you can catch up by returning to the beginning, and reading really fast…

Rushed back into the bower, Cassandra strained her eye stalks and stretched on tiptoe to see beyond a wall of drones six drones deep that blocked her from leaving. Beyond that protection, the Hive Elite waged a vicious air battle against the renegade wasps.

“Look!” she shouted. “Bats have come! So many bats — they’re helping the Hive Elite!”

“What is that?” Elliot demanded of Vernon.

“My greatest shame,” he whispered, his wings hanging limp from his slumped shoulders, eerily green in the mushroom light.

“I don’t understand,” Elliot said. “Those aren’t the Marauders from Bog. Why did they attack the Queen? Is Fen at war, too? Does King Arnie know?”

“It isn’t exactly a war,” Vernon replied, “more the wasps’ personal vendetta against Queen Lilian.” He held up a hand to stop Elliot’s next question. “I know — my own kind.” He blinked quickly and drew himself erect, meeting Elliot’s puzzled gaze with tentative, yet defiant, pride. “But I am not one of them.”

Cassandra joined them. “It looks like the battle’s over. Thank goodness the Queen’s troops won.”

“They always do,” Vernon assured her.

More confused than before, Elliot asked, “Then why would wasps attack the Queen?”

Vernon sighed. “It’s a long tale of friendship and envy, betrayal and greed, and love that was not meant to be…”

To be continued. . .

Previously, on Elliot’s Adventures ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Next time . . .

Author: Sue Ranscht

Having survived valve repair surgery and an experimental cardiac bypass at age 5, three years before it was an accepted medical procedure, Susan grew into the size of her overworked and enlarged heart. Maybe she thought she had enough to give it away -- twice. Both times, she had to retrieve the shattered pieces and puzzle them back together. She thanks her Dad for the only advice of his she ever followed to the letter: "Never get married. Learn to take care of yourself." So of course she is a writer. Susan has co-written a YA SciFi novel, and has three more novels in various stages of evolution. She's had several short stories published in other people's anthologies, some of which were contest-related. Let her tell you a story... View all posts by Sue Ranscht