Anni Moon & The Elemental Artifact: An Elemental Fantasy Adventure Series: Book For Kids Ages 9-12 (Anni Moon Series) Read online

  ANNI MOON AND THE ELEMENTAL ARTIFACT

  By Melanie Abed

  Published October 2015 by Oculus Print

  Copyright © Melanie Abed

  Illustrations copyright © Hisham Abed

  All rights reserved. Digital edition.

  Anni Moon and all related elements and characters are a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the Oculus Print Publishers, you can contact the author at

  melanieabed.com.

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  For Grandma, who read to me first,

  For Raffy, a great friend,

  And for Sham, who helped Anni grow.

  MESSENGER OF MESSAGES

  LEXI WATERSTONE

  CUCLOCKEYBEE

  MABEL’S KEY

  THE INVISIBLE SPEAKER

  M FOR MURDROCK

  A PROMISE MADE

  THE BAD NEWS

  WHIFFLE & EGBERT

  MUDDY SOCKS

  GOLDEN FINGERNAILS

  OLIVER MONDAY

  EGBERT’S PLAN

  LEO’S IN CHARGE

  THE HAND

  QUEEN’S MIRROR

  SQUIRT

  DAPHNE

  MOON MANOR

  DOWN THE CHUTE

  THE BASEMENT

  ZELDA SCURRYFUNGE

  PITHY PURPLE PLUME BERRIES

  FECTUS UNDERGROUND

  SPADU HILLS

  FORTENSIA SPADU

  THE BROUWEN

  MOONSTONES

  BASIL BOGGLE TEA SHOPPE

  THE PEARL PENDANT

  THE S.E.C.

  EAVES-DROPUS

  UNCLE TEDDY?

  THE FUNKOMETER

  OPERATION AIR DUCTS

  WHIFFLE STRIKES AGAIN

  OGGLEBOGGLE’S MAPS

  THE CRACKED PEARL

  OPUS STONES

  LIMBOUGH

  THE TREE OF DEATH

  WHIFFLE’S SACRIFICE

  HOME

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  MESSENGER OF MESSAGES

  Already dressed in her hand-me-down Waterstone Academy uniform, Anni Moon took advantage of the last few quiet moments before she had to rush into the chaos of the school’s kitchen for her morning chores. Any minute, the clock tower would chime and she would have to go. With her back against the tower’s high windows, she sat in her usual spot on the lumpy window seat cushions. She was reviewing notes for her afternoon prep exam on the Periodic Table of Elements when something outside darted past the window.

  The strange flying creature gave her such a jolt that she sprang off the cushions and, in the process, dropped her science book on her left foot. She hopped around in pain on her good foot, then tripped over a moth-eaten afghan, and finally knocked over a dustpan that was filled with ashes. The tower’s paisley and mahogany common room was engulfed in a cloud of soot, and for a moment, she couldn’t see what was outside.

  “Anni Moon! Anni Moon! I need to speak with you, Anni Moon!” said a small yet firm voice.

  The creature flapped against the glass panes as it called her name. Anni stood stock still until the soot cleared and she finally saw it. It looked like a bat. No. A rat. No. It had bat-shaped wings but the body of a rat: whiskers, tail, and all. Whatever this creature was, its brown leathery wings were beating against the glass. It was wearing a little outfit, too, but strangest of all, it was talking to her.

  “Go away,” she said and jumped behind the curtains. She pulled the drapes closed with one hard tug, and the tower’s common room was cloaked in darkness. Panting, she leaned against the wall. She wanted to look outside, but she was afraid that the creature would see her.

  “Lexi? Lexi?” Anni called out.

  She fumbled in the dark over empty packing boxes that littered the floor, careful not to trip over the food tray she had left for Lexi before she opened the small, oval door.

  “You’ll never…”

  The room was empty and Lexi’s bed was made, which was strange. Lexi always overslept, and every morning, Anni woke her up. Not only were they best friends, they had been roommates for the last three years at Waterstone Academy for Girls.

  Before Anni stepped inside, she saw it, lying on the floor, still perfectly folded with crisp edges. The letter—that awful, dreadful, hateful letter—that came three days ago, demanding that they pack up and move out of the tower common room. This room had been Lexi’s home for as long as she could remember. It had been Anni’s since she moved in three years ago.

  Anni caught sight of Lexi’s bedside clock. “Eggs! Is that the time?”

  She was late for kitchen duty! How had she missed the clock tower’s chime? She picked up Lexi’s untouched tray, backed out of the room, and closed the door.

  She raced over to the common room’s double doors with the tray balanced against her hip, but before her hand touched the knob, the doors burst open. She lost her grip and the tray went flying. Cold hot chocolate and a gelatinous mass of marshmallows soared into the air and collided with a gooey peanut-butter-and-banana-honey sandwich, which landed on the door, floor, and Anni.

  “What is this?” asked Rufous Finnegan, Waterstone Academy’s security and all-purpose assistant. He was a young male dressed in a regulation gray uniform, and a proud germophobe who always wore a pair of sterile gloves. “Food violation!” His fistful of keys jangled as he took note of this infraction on his Waterstone Academy clipboard.

  Anni sat on the floor, peeling pieces of bread and banana off her skirt. There was no hope for her favorite black-and-white-striped socks, a gift from Lexi; they were soaked in wet cocoa and she since didn’t have another pair, she took them off to dry.

  Finnegan glared at Anni. “Why’s it so dark in here?”

  “No!” Anni yelled.

  He flung the drapes open, but there was nothing outside except gray clouds. Whatever Anni thought she saw was gone.

  Finnegan scanned the room. “These boxes are empty. What’s wrong with you? Can’t you read?” His lips curled into a smile as he pulled an official Waterstone Academy embossed letter from his clipboard, waved it in her face, and read: “‘Miss Alexa Waterstone and Miss Anni Moon: Please have all your belongings packed and ready for removal this Saturday afternoon. The new school owners will be moving in the following Monday.’ You must be ready to vacate the room by Saturday morning.” He folded the letter and sneered at her. “It’s about time you two charity cases were pushed out. This is a Headmaster’s tower, not a hideout for worthless little orphan girls. Speaking of which, you’re late for kitchen duty, but I’m not here for you. Where’s Lexi?”

  “Sleeping,” Anni said. “Why do you care?”

  “None of your business.” Finnegan leaned in. “You think you have the right to know everything, don’t you? News flash: you don’t. Things are changing around here, and with any luck, you’ll get
chucked out. Now, get downstairs before I make you.” He grabbed her arm and yanked her toward the door.

  “Hands off, Minion!”

  “What did you call me?”

  Whoops! She had never called him Minion to his face before. This was a first, and boy, did Finnegan’s face flare red. She slipped out of his grasp and headed for the hall, but stopped short when a perfectly dressed woman blocked the doorway. Shock turned to relief, and the corners of Anni’s mouth lifted but quickly died back when she saw the woman’s warning look.

  “At last you’ve found her. I’m so relieved,” said Vivian Sugar, a Waterstone Academy counselor. She wore an impeccably tailored suit that made her look older than she probably was, but she was easy to talk to, not stiff or reserved. Vivian Sugar exuded a casual, yet calm grace, and her voice was just as sweet as her name. “Thank you, Rufous dear. I’ve been looking for her. Could you please tell Cook that Anni has an appointment and cannot attend kitchen duty this morning?”

  “I’m sorry, Miss Sugar, but I can’t.” Finnegan poked at his clipboard as if it was a law book. “Have you seen this room? The girls have not packed. There’s food and drink everywhere.” He waved his clipboard around, creating a gust of air that ruffled both Anni and Vivian’s hair. “And it needs to be cleaned before the Murdrocks move in!”

  “Then you haven’t heard,” said Vivian, flashing a winning smile as she patted her blonde, bobbed hair back in place. “I completely understand your duties, Rufous, and I wouldn’t dream of upsetting things.” She gently rested her hand on Finnegan’s clipboard and he flinched. “However, the Headmistress is extending the girls leniency through the weekend—”

  “I haven’t heard this.” Rufous Finnegan looked taken aback. He shook his head. “No. I was told that the new owners would be here by—”

  “I’m sure all of this will be explained later. However, Anni has an appointment with Headmistress Turnkey at this very moment, and she really mustn’t be late, Rufous.”

  “I do?” asked Anni, confused. She would remember something like that, mostly because it usually meant she was in trouble.

  “Yes, you do,” said Miss Sugar with a half-smile and a wink.

  Anni steered past them both and headed for the hall, taking her time and eavesdropping.

  “Now, Rufous…”

  “Yes, Miss Sugar?” said Finnegan, more tersely than before.

  “Call me Vivian, Rufous. And please, if you would be so kind as to clean up this mess and take it back to the kitchen. We really mustn’t keep Cook waiting.” Vivian tittered, “We both know how she gets.”

  Anni didn’t dare wait to hear Finnegan’s reply. She took the stairs two at a time, deciding it was best to stay clear of him for the rest of the day—or forever—if she could.

  As she made her way down the stairs, she decided that there was no such thing as talking flying creatures like the one she imagined in the window. She was being silly. At the bottom of the stairs, the main corridor was deserted. Everyone was tucking into breakfast in the dining room, which made her stomach grumble. It’s where she would be collecting dirty plates and cups, if Vivian Sugar hadn’t rescued her.

  She walked up to the Headmistress’s office door, ready to knock.

  “And where exactly do you think you’re going?” asked Ms. Downsnout, the Headmistress’s secretary. She rolled her tea trolley up to the door, blocking Anni’s way.

  “In there,” said Anni. “Isn’t she expecting me?”

  “No. She most certainly is not.”

  “Are you sure? Because—”

  “The Headmistress is getting ready for a barrage of meetings all morning and afternoon long. As you can see, I am equally busy. Therefore, I’ll give you to the count of three to get back to whatever it is that you should be doing.” Ms. Downsnout pushed the cart inside the office and closed the door behind her.

  Did Miss Sugar make up her meeting with the Headmistress in front of Finnegan so that Anni got out of her kitchen duties? Miss Sugar did wink, after all, and it was the kind of thing she’d do. Either way, since she wasn’t expected for kitchen duty, she wasn’t going to waste a rare kitchen-duty-free morning. The first order of business was to find Lexi, and she knew exactly where to look. She headed right back down the hall until…

  “I don’t understand,” said Egbert Frode Moon indifferently. “If Lexi is not in her room, then perhaps you know where she is?” Egbert was a lanky man with large ears who paid little attention to his wardrobe: from his coffee-stained button-down shirt, to his cardigan with moth holes, and his pants, which were always several inches too short for his long, dark legs. He also had a slight hunch in his shoulders, which Anni supposed was due to Egbert’s never-ending obsession with the oversized wristwatch he was constantly leaning over. Even now, standing in the middle of the foyer and blocking Anni’s only way outside, Egbert didn’t even bother to look up from his wristwatch when he said to Finnegan, “And where’s Anni?”

  Anni plastered herself against the wall. If there was anyone she avoided more than Finnegan, it was Egbert, and now they both stood a mere ten feet away from her hiding place.

  Even though Egbert was now Anni’s guardian, he was no replacement for Anni’s previous legal guardian, Mabel Moon, the kindest woman anyone could ever hope to know, and the previous Headmistress of Waterstone Academy. Ever since Anni was a baby, Mabel Moon was Anni’s everything, and the closest and only thing she had to a parent. In those happier days, Anni couldn’t have imagined a better life than the one she had, but all of it changed three years back, when Mabel mysteriously disappeared and was later declared dead. Anni never even got to properly say goodbye. Upon Mabel’s death, all her assets were frozen, which left her brother-in-law Teddy Waterstone, and their beloved Waterstone Academy, bankrupt and in need of funding. Egbert had been forced to step in and take over, and not only had he inherited Mabel’s troublesome legal affairs at Waterstone, he inherited Anni as well. Far too busy to console a heartbroken girl, Anni assumed she was just another task on Egbert’s schedule, and when he hired Finnegan to handle odd jobs, she had become one of them.

  “Miss Sugar told me Anni had a meeting with the Headmistress,” said Finnegan.

  “Nonsense. The both of us will be in meetings all day,” said Egbert.

  Anni panicked. They were walking toward her. She dashed into the sunroom across the hall and hid behind the closed drapes of the double glass French doors. She jiggled the handle, but it was locked!

  She peeked through the drapes as she gripped the handle tighter.

  “Finnegan, you deal with this. The Headmistress is expecting me,” said Egbert. “Locate Lexi first and then find Anni.”

  Finnegan left in a huff. Egbert stood in the hallway, still adjusting his watch as Ms. Downsnout exited the Headmistress’s office. “She’s waiting. The paperwork is laid out with a tea service. Is there anything else?”

  “No,” said Egbert. “And no calls. Let us know when Murdrock arrives.”

  Anni ground her teeth. Whether it was due to her grip or sheer luck, the garden door clicked open. Carefully and quietly, she slipped outside.

  With the intention of finding Lexi, Anni raced across the open lawn toward the clock tower, their secret hideout, on the opposite side of the grounds. It was drizzling and the grass was very muddy. Chicago’s spring started late, and all the buds on the trees refused to open, making them bare like skeletons.

  “No, no! Ugh, double eggs!”

  A large, shiny copper lock closed the loop of a heavy chain through the door’s latch. The clock tower had been locked up from the outside. Anni slumped down onto the wet grass. Lexi couldn’t be inside, but where was she? Why was the clock tower locked up? And was it the reason the clock tower hadn’t chimed that morning?

  Getting back inside the school without getting caught was risky. She had just stood up when something dark darted across the sky. It swooped down at her.

  “Arrgggghhhh!”

  She stumbled and
ducked. The flying creature, the same one that tried to get in the common room window, was circling above her.

  “Anni Moon. Anni Moon. Stop. Stop. I have a message for you.”

  The small, hairy, vest-wearing creature closed its leathery brown wings and plopped down on the grass beside her. He clutched his chest, one paw covering a small, golden emblem stitched onto his little red vest, as he panted and wheezed.

  “Message?” Anni mumbled. “What! This is weird…you’re a rat…no, a bat. And you’re talking to me?”

  “For snozdoddles’ sake, Anni, of course I can speak.”

  “Uh…” Feeling extremely dumb, not to mention a little bit crazy, Anni said, “Okay so what’s your message?”

  “It’s not my message,” said the creature, half-standing with his palms pressed on his small kneecaps. He pulled himself upright and said, “It’s your message. I’m Brat, First Order Elservice Fleet. We are messengers of messages—no questions required. Only a reply will suffice. I’m starting your message now.” He pulled out a tiny whistle from inside his tiny vest and gave it a squeak. “Your message is, ‘Dear Anni Moon. You are not to leave Waterstone Academy for Girls under any circumstances. No matter what happens, you are not to leave the school.’”

  “What?”

  Brat pulled out the tiny whistle again and gave it another squeak. “Again, your message is, ‘Dear Anni Moon. You are not to leave Waterstone Academy for Girls under any circumstances. No matter what happens, you are not to leave the school.’”

  “Huh?”

  Brat shook his little head and raised his whistle once more.

  “No, no.” Anni raised her hands. “Don’t say it again. I heard you the first time…none of this makes sense. Where would I go?”

  Brat’s eyebrows furrowed. He paced and mumbled to himself, “I knew I should have listened to Avis Crumplehorn and taken that course on human interaction.”

  “Human?”

  Brat looked up. “Yes. Yes, you are a human and I’m an Elemental. Glad we got that straight. As I was saying, I’ve delivered your message. Now, what’s your reply?”