by Kate O'Hearn
“That we’re going to school and being taught by instructors who used to use the Solar Stream all the time. We’re students seeking knowledge. . . .”
“And?”
“And maybe I should ask them.”
14
“MOM?” JAKE CALLED AS HE slowly woke up. “Mom, I had the weirdest dream. . . .”
Opening his eyes, Jake saw the golden glow filling the small room. He sat up quickly and looked around. Where was he? What happened? Then it all rushed back to him. He wasn’t home anymore. He was in a strange place called Titus. His right hand was still stinging, and the final piece of the nightmare slipped into place. He’d been bitten by a snake.
Jake backed up as his wild eyes sought the snake. “Where is it?” he cried aloud.
“Where isss what?” a small voice said.
Jake wasn’t sure whether he’d heard the voice for real, or if it was just in his head. Either way, he was terrified. “Who said that?”
“I did.”
“Who?”
“Me.”
Jake became aware of a light weight around his neck. When he put his hand up to see what it was, he felt something the thickness of his finger start to move. He tried to pull it away, but it wouldn’t move.
“You’re hurting me!”
His heart was racing and he was in a panic as he tried to wrench the thing away from his neck. Finally it gave, and Jake saw that it was the same snake that had bitten him. He threw it away. When it hit the floor, he heard it say, “Ouch.”
The snake rolled over and started to slither back to him. “I am cold, you are warm,” it said in its high, light voice. “Pleassse let me be warm again.”
Jake looked wildly around, hoping and praying for the source of the small voice. Because if he couldn’t find it, there was only one thing it could be. But that was impossible. “Stay back!” he cried.
The small snake stopped. “Pleassse, I am cold.”
Jake knelt down and, in the dim, golden light, saw that the snake’s head was off the ground, looking at him. Its tiny tongue flicked in and out of its mouth. “Would someone please tell me that snake isn’t talking?”
“Pleassse, I am cold, you are warm. Help me.”
Jake backed up farther until he was against the wall. “Oh no, no, no! I’ve seen Harry Potter at least five times. Talking snakes are not good.”
“What isss Harry Potter?”
“Don’t try that with me. You know exactly what it is.”
“I’m cold. Pleassse help me.”
“Help you? You bit me!”
“You hit me first.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yesss, you did.”
“This is insane. I’m arguing with a snake!”
“What is a sssnake?”
“You are.”
“No, I am Nesso.”
“No, you’re a snake. See, you have a forked tongue that goes in and out, you have a thin body and sharp teeth that you bit me with.”
“Becaussse you hit me firssst.” Nesso’s tiny head drooped. “And now I will die becaussse I am cold and you won’t sssave me.”
“Hey, don’t die.” Jake wasn’t a fan of snakes, but he would never hurt one on purpose. “Seriously, dude, don’t die.”
“Need heat to live,” the snake hissed.
Jake started to shake his head. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but if I pick you up and help you get warm, do you promise not to bite me again?”
“Yesss . . .” Nesso lay its head down on the floor.
Jake reached out and gently lifted the snake. Its smooth scaled body was ice-cold and limp. Its eyes were closed. “Hey, hey, little critter, don’t die.” He cupped his hands closed and blew warm air into them.
After a few minutes, he felt the snake moving in his hands.
“I’m alive?” Nesso’s tiny voice called.
Jake was shaking his head. “Well, little dude, you’re as alive as I am, because right now, I’m not so sure about either of us. Talking snakes? I mean, really . . .”
“I don’t underssstand.”
“Join the club.” Jake looked down at the small, coiled snake in his hands. “So, why did you sneak into my bag?”
“I didn’t sssneak into it. I entered it when you were in the treesss. You were warm. I hoped it would be warm too becaussse it isss cold here. But it wasssn’t warm. Only you were.”
“That’s strange. It’s warm here to me. Can I take you home?”
“Yesss, pleassse,” Nesso said.
“A polite snake, go figure . . . So where do you live?”
“I don’t know. I am lossst.”
Jake leaned back against the wall and sighed. “I hear you, little dude. I’m lost too. I have no idea where I am or how I got here. All I do know is, I’ve been told that if I’m caught, I’ll be in a lot of trouble.”
“Me too, I think,” Nesso agreed.
Jake was calming down and actually enjoying having someone to talk to—even if that someone was a snake. “I was going to draw a picture of the thing I saw right before I woke up. But I need my hands.” He paused and peered into Nesso’s red eyes. “Okay, so here’s the deal. If you promise not to bite me again, I’ll put you back around my neck so I can use my hands and you can stay warm.”
“Promissse . . . ,” Nesso said.
Jake pulled the snake closer, and it slithered off his hands and coiled around his neck. The cold, smooth scales tickled as Nesso’s head made it to the front again and caught hold of its own tail. The snake settled down and sighed contentedly.
“Can this day get any weirder?” Jake mused.
“I hope not,” Nesso said.
With his hands free again, Jake reached for his backpack. Right before he put his hand in, he paused. “Was there anyone else in there I need to worry about?”
“There wasss only me,” Nesso responded.
Jake wasn’t sure he could trust the snake—it was, after all, a snake, and could any of them be trusted? Still, he held his breath, shut his eyes, and reached into his bag, waiting for another stinging bite. Instead he felt his collection of pens and pencils at the very bottom. Picking one, he pulled it out and released his breath.
“I told you ssso . . . ,” Nesso said.
“Yeah, well, you’re a talking snake. Forgive me if I don’t trust you yet.”
“And you are a sssilly big thing.”
“Sorry, dude, you’re not the first one to tell me that.” Jake reached for his notebook and opened it to a clean page. He started to draw. After a few minutes, he was seeing the shape of the thing that had been going after Molly right before he fell off his skateboard.
“The head isss wrong,” Nesso commented. “And the beak wasss more pointed.”
Jake looked down at his picture of the monster. Nesso was right. The beak on the blackbird creature that he’d seen was longer and sharper. “How did you know that?”
“I have ssseen it too,” Nesso said. “It wasss before.”
“Before what?”
“Jussst before.”
“Oh, that’s helpful.”
“I am sssorry, but what do you exssspect from me? I’m only sssmall.”
“Size doesn’t matter. It’s what’s inside that counts.”
“That isss easssy for you to sssay. You are big. I am sssure you could sssee where you came from. I live on the ground; I can’t.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Jake acknowledged. With the help of Nesso, he kept working on the sketch of the creature he’d seen briefly before he fell off his skateboard and smashed his head. Jake remembered large black wings, a sharp, pointed beak, and the height: it had been tall, almost like a man in a bird suit. But even bigger than that and a lot more terrifying.
They worked together on the image and Jake was surprised at how detailed Nesso’s memory was. When he finished, he felt shivers of fear coursing through him.
“Yesss,” Nesso said. “I sssaw that thing with the other o
nesss.”
“What other ones? All I saw was this.”
“No, there were othersss.”
“What did they look like?”
“Big, like you. But dark, and I was ssscared. I tried to hide from them, but . . .”
“But what?”
“I—I wasss caught by the thing you drew. I thought it wasss going to eat me. But it didn’t. It put me in a dark placcce. Then I wasss here. . . .”
Jake was absently stroking its smooth body. It was warming up and seemed to sigh with each stroke. He looked at his finished sketch. “So what is it?”
“I don’t know,” Nesso said. “But it isss bad. They all are.”
Jake studied the sketch, trying to remember more, but as he did, he thought he heard something coming from outside the small room. “Do you hear that?”
“Voicccesss,” Nesso said. “Coming thisss way. Ssstop the glow or they will find usss!”
Jake looked over to the bag of glowing moss. He lunged forward and shut it tightly, throwing them into total darkness.
His heart was pounding and he held his breath as the voices came closer. They were speaking a strange language he couldn’t understand. Soon they were passing the narrow corridor leading to his hiding place. Part of him wanted to go out and see who it was, but another part was too frightened to move. The warning from Astraea was ringing in his ears: if he was caught, he would be taken away.
Just as quickly as they arrived, the voices trailed off, and Jake felt like he could breathe again. But he stayed quiet as he felt his way over to the entrance of the small room. When he reached the opening, he poked his head out.
“They are gone now,” Nesso said softly.
“Tryn said no one comes down here.”
“Maybe he doesssn’t know.”
Jake leaned back in but didn’t reach for the bag again. He was too frightened in case there were others. His fears were justified. Just as he moved away from the entrance, more voices passed through the nearby passageway.
As much as he strained to hear, he still couldn’t understand the language being spoken. But from the sound of it, there was a mix of men and women and . . . what? There were strange voices that were neither. But it was the final sound that really terrified him. Something or someone was being dragged along the floor, and Jake was certain he’d heard moaning.
15
BY THE TIME ASTRAEA GOT home, all the lights were off. She was lucky that her parents had gone to bed. But she dreaded the coming morning and having to face them. Instead of entering the house from the front and risking waking them, she crept around to the back and climbed through her bedroom window.
Hiddles was on her bed and meowed when she appeared.
“Shhhh . . . ,” she whispered softly.
Astraea listened for any sound that would indicate that her parents were still awake, but all was silent. She slipped into bed without removing her clothes.
At dawn Astraea got up, changed, went into the kitchen to grab some food, and left the house before her parents awoke. She knew the kind of trouble she was in and didn’t want to face them just yet. At best, she’d be grounded; at worst . . . well, she didn’t want to think about the “at worst.” So she avoided it all.
She was wearing a long tunic to hide the deep purple bruises on her leg from the attack the previous night. But nothing could hide her limp. Her right leg was swollen, and it felt like the monster’s tongue had cracked a bone. To ease the pain, she ate an extra-large quantity of ambrosia cake to encourage healing.
Astraea collected the two jugs of nectar they’d hidden the previous evening and limped over to Zephyr’s home. Her best friend lived a short walk away. Despite her equine heritage, Zephyr preferred to live in a house like most Titans, while her parents were housed in the stable at the rear of the property. Because of the odd situation, Zephyr never told anyone where she lived. Astraea knew because they had grown up together, and for her, it didn’t matter who or what her best friend’s parents were.
Astraea arrived just as Zephyr was leaving the stable. “Morning, Zeph.”
“Astraea,” Zephyr called. “I’ve been thinking about you all night. How’s your leg? Did your parents go crazy when you got home?”
Astraea put down the nectar and pulled up the hem of her long tunic.
“Ouch! That’s impressive.” Zephyr inspected Astraea’s leg. “I’ve never seen such big bruises before. Does it hurt?”
“Well, it sure doesn’t tickle!” Astraea said. “I think that thing cracked my bone. That’s what really hurts.” She looked around. “Can we go inside to talk?”
“Sure. I just finished feeding Mom and Dad. Come on in.” She stood back and invited Astraea into the stable. “So, what did your parents say?”
“I haven’t seen them yet. The lights were off when I got home, and I left this morning before they got up.”
“Coward!” Zephyr teased.
“No,” Astraea said quickly. “I just thought this was better.”
Zephyr laughed. “You are going to be in so much trouble. They might think you never came home.”
“They’ll know I was home. I ate half the ambrosia cake in the kitchen. My brothers are working away from home, so it could only be me. But I’m sure I’ll really be in trouble when I see them after school.”
“I hope they don’t make you stay in.”
“I know.” Astraea reached into a basket hanging on the wall and pulled out an apple. She held it out to Zephyr’s father, Tornado Warning. “Good morning, Tornado.”
It had taken him ages to get used to her. In the beginning, when she was young, Tornado Warning would rear and try to kick her, but with patience and a lot of treats, he finally accepted her. Now he greeted her with a soft whinny and gratefully took the apple.
Astraea stroked his muzzle and looked back at Zephyr. “If my mom and dad do ground me, I’ll sneak out anyway. I gave my word to those people and creatures in prison. I said that I would try to help get them home, and I am going to.”
“Well, while you were sleeping soundly last night, I went out again.”
“You did?”
Zephyr nodded. “After you told me what you saw in the prison, I couldn’t sleep. So I went out to stretch my wings and look for anything strange. I found it at Arcadia. But I was glowing too much to get very close without them seeing me.”
“What was it?” Astraea said. “Tell me!”
“I saw a group of people wearing dark cloaks—there had to be at least fifteen of them. They looked like they were dragging something heavy. I followed them as long as I could, but then they went into Arcadia Two. I waited ages for them to come out again, but they never did.”
“Wait, Tryn was going to hide Jake beneath Arcadia Two?”
“Exactly,” Zephyr agreed. “I wonder if they found him.”
“I hope not. Maybe Tryn can tell us.”
Zephyr pawed the ground. “Astraea, have you considered that Tryn might be part of it? We don’t really know him, and we trusted him with Jake. What if we were wrong?”
Astraea considered for a moment and then shook her head. “I don’t think so. He’s too shy to be involved in anything.”
“Just because he’s shy doesn’t mean he can’t be corrupt. I really hope you’re right.”
“Me too.” Astraea reached back into the basket of apples and handed several to Tornado Warning and then to Zephyr’s mother, Lampos, in the neighboring stall. The black winged mare nickered in appreciation. “But there’s only one way to find out: we have to ask Tryn.”
They left the stable and made their way to school. Astraea was anxious to get to class to see Tryn, but before they could, they had to deliver the nectar to Themis.
After entering Arcadia One, they made their way to the principal’s office. Astraea knocked, and they walked in.
Themis was in the inner office and called them forward. She was sitting on her three-legged stool, gazing out the large window. “So tell me, how was working
in the nectar orchard?”
“Sticky,” Zephyr answered. “And the flowers tasted awful.”
Themis turned. “You are not supposed to eat them.”
“I know,” Zephyr said. “But I had to lick them to get them to open and release their nectar. I can still taste them now.”
Themis laughed softly. “So did it help you appreciate the hard work the night dwellers do for us?”
“Absolutely,” Zephyr said.
“Good.” Themis’s gray eyes settled on Astraea. “You are very quiet this morning. Is there something you wish to tell me?”
“Not at all.” Astraea held up the two jugs of nectar. “We did as you asked and brought these. It’s fresh nectar. May we go to our classes now?”
The principal stood up from her stool and walked closer. Her eyes narrowed. “Are you sure there is nothing you wish to tell me? Did anything happen in the orchard?”
Astraea was instantly on alert. “Like what?”
“You tell me. The orchards can be a very mysterious place, especially after sunset. There is no telling what you might find in there.”
Astraea looked over at Zephyr before answering. “All we found were the night dwellers, once they started to arrive. They were really nice and friendly. So we just collected your nectar and went home.”
Themis stood still, staring at Astraea just long enough to make her very uncomfortable. “Um, is there anything else? We really should be getting to our classes.”
Finally Themis moved back to the window and peered out. “You may go. Just remember that tonight you are sweeping the floors of Arcadia One.”
“What?” Zephyr cried.
Astraea slapped her hand over Zephyr’s muzzle. “Yes, of course. We have a week of detention and we’re happy to do it.”
“We are happy to do it,” Themis corrected.
“We are happy to do it,” Astraea repeated. She pushed Zephyr back toward the door. “Thank you, Themis. We will see you later.”
Back in the hall, Zephyr whinnied. “What did you do that for?”
“I didn’t want you to endanger our detention.”
“So now you want detention?”
“Yes, and so do you.” Astraea walked with Zephyr toward her first class on the main floor. “We have to stay late and clean the school, right?”
