by Kate O'Hearn
“I told you, we ask the questions!” Cylus said.
Vulcan smiled, and it chilled Astraea to the bone. “All right, little spawn, ask your silly questions and I will answer. But know this: I have a few of my own.”
“Where do you come from?” Astraea asked.
“Does it matter?” Vulcan answered. “If I were to tell you the name of our world, would it make any difference to you?”
“Try us,” Tryn said.
Zephyr whinnied. “Or are you frightened?”
“Me frightened of you? Hardly. All right, we come from Tremenz in the Zolcar system, and our queen is Langli. See, it means nothing to you—but everything to me.”
“So why are you here?” Tryn asked. “If you come from Tremenz, what does your queen want from us?”
“She wants nothing from you. You have no value to us,” Mimic Vulcan said casually. “It is Titus we want for ourselves. Soon you will be gone and Titus will be ours. The queen will divide and we will spread further.”
“You want to take Titus?”
“No, we are going to take Titus, and you can’t stop us.” Vulcan looked past everyone as though he expected others to arrive.
Astraea followed his gaze. “What are you looking for? No one knows you’re here.”
Vulcan smiled at her. “Are you so sure, Astraea? If you must know, I am waiting for your commander. Talking to you is a waste of my time.”
“We have no commanders,” Cylus spat. “We figured out who you were all on our own. We know you’ve taken our parents.”
“Foolish spawn,” Vulcan said. “Do you think I care what you think you know? I only let you capture me so you would bring me to those in charge. Now, who and where are they?”
“You didn’t let us capture you,” Darek said. “We overpowered you.”
“No, I allowed you to capture me. I was awake the entire time and heard everything you said. Now answer me, who else knows about us?”
“Enough of us to stop you,” Tryn said.
Vulcan studied Tryn and everyone in the stall for some time. He tilted his head to the side. “How strange that foolish little spawn have discovered our presence. I believe you, you have no commanders. But you also have no others with you—you are alone in your knowledge, and it will die with you.”
“Why does he keep calling us spawn?” Render asked. The young centaur approached Vulcan. “What does it mean?”
Jake stepped forward. “Spawn means offspring, or in our case, kids. We are the spawn of our parents.”
Mimic Vulcan’s eyes landed on Jake. “I am surprised you are still free, human. We have kept Hyperion busy with all the visitors we’ve been bringing to Titus.”
Jake nodded. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m still free and intend to stay that way.”
“Not for long. After we take Titus, your world is next.”
“You won’t be taking Titus or Earth,” Tryn said. “We will stop you.”
“There is nothing you can do to stop us. You are just weak little creatures with no power of your own. Now that I know you have no commanders, I need not be concerned. This interrogation is over. . . .”
“I’ll show you how weak I am!” Before anyone could stop him, Cylus launched an attack on the Mimic with both his gloved fists. He wrapped his hands around Vulcan’s neck and started to squeeze. “This is for Panis!”
“Fools,” Vulcan laughed. “You have no idea what you are up against. Now you will learn there is no opposing us. None of you will survive the night to warn the others.”
Mimic Vulcan didn’t so much break free of his bindings as melt through them as though he was made of soft dough. He stood and caught hold of Cylus’s hands and tossed the young centaur across the stable. Cylus struck a stall door and crumpled to the floor in an unconscious heap.
Render charged the Mimic and punched his face with his gloved hand. But the hand went right through the flesh as though it was liquid. The Mimic’s face then closed around it, locking his hand in place. Mimic Vulcan smiled and reached for Render’s neck. He didn’t squeeze—he didn’t have to. With just the light grip, Render’s eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed.
“Let him go!” Tryn cried. But as he caught hold of Render, Mimic Vulcan’s other hand shot out, clutching Tryn by the arm. Tryn gasped and crumpled to the stable floor.
“No!” Jake cried as Tryn fell.
“You should have stayed hidden, human; you might have lived a little longer!” Vulcan caught hold of Jake and in seconds, he too was unconscious on the floor.
Zephyr reared and called to the centaurs, “Everyone, fight before he kills them!”
As they charged, more hands sprang out of the Mimic’s soft body and shot out toward the centaurs and Zephyr. As soon as the hands caught hold of the attackers, they all froze and then dropped to the floor, unconscious.
Astraea watched in horror as her best friend crumpled under the Mimic’s deadly grasp. Vulcan didn’t have to do anything other than touch them, and the centaurs and Zephyr were defeated.
“Zephyr!” Astraea cried.
“Do not worry, Astraea. I have a hand just for you.”
Another hand shot out, reaching for her. But Astraea was faster and darted away. She might not be able to fly with her small wings, but flapping them gave her the speed on the ground she needed to keep out of his reach.
“Release them!” she shouted, as she looked around for any kind of weapon to use against him. She saw a pitchfork against the stall wall and grabbed it. Just as she charged Vulcan, she caught sight of Nesso crawling onto one of the Mimic’s hands. The small snake opened her mouth wide, and her two long fangs bit into the flesh of Vulcan’s wrist.
The Mimic shrieked and pulled all his hands back into his body as strange, choking sounds filled the stable.
Astraea looked at the Mimic and screamed. He was staggering on his feet as his face started to melt and drip onto the floor. In fact, his whole body was melting into a pool of gray goo.
Astraea dashed forward and pulled Jake and then Tryn away from the spreading mess. After that, she struggled to get Zephyr away from it before it touched her. She was out of breath by the time she finished dragging all the heavy centaurs away as well.
The gurgling continued for several minutes until Mimic Vulcan had completely dissolved into a large gray puddle.
Astraea knelt and checked on Zephyr. She was breathing—they all were except for the fake Vulcan. The imposter had managed to bring them down with no effort—including Zephyr, the biggest of them all. If it hadn’t been for the little snake, everyone would have died.
Jake was the first to stir. He shook his head, sat up, and looked around. “What happened?”
“Vulcan grabbed you and you collapsed,” Astraea said. “No one could stop him until Nesso bit him. Then he just melted. That’s what’s left of him over there.”
“Nesso saved us?” Jake reached up to his neck and frowned when he felt she wasn’t there. “Where is she?”
“I—I don’t know,” Astraea said. “She was still biting Vulcan when he pulled his hands away.” She gazed around and saw the bright colors of the snake lying in the middle of the gray puddle. “There she is.”
Jake crawled over and prepared to pick Nesso up. She was covered in thick gray slime.
“Don’t touch her with your bare hands,” Astraea warned. “That stuff may still be lethal.”
Jake pulled on the gloves from Vulcan’s forge and reached into the puddle for Nesso. He wiped her off and looked closer. “Nesso?” His desperate eyes went to Astraea. “She’s not breathing.” Tears started down his cheeks as he cradled the snake. “Nesso, no, please, don’t be dead. . . .”
It took several minutes for the others to recover. They clambered slowly to their feet and gathered around Jake. Tryn knelt beside him. “She saved all of us. We will always be grateful.”
Jake sniffed in misery. “I—I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I only knew her for a short time, but I fe
el like part of me has died.”
Cylus clicked his tongue. “Stupid human, crying over a dead snake. You didn’t see me cry when Panis died.”
Astraea turned on him. “Hey, that dead snake just saved your life! You think you and your herd are so strong? Look at you. Vulcan had you down faster than the rest of us. All he had to do was touch you and it was over.”
“We would have beaten him,” Cylus said.
“Yeah,” Darek agreed. “No one defeats a centaur.”
Tryn rose up and pointed to the puddle of gray matter. “He just did! He beat all of us. I have never encountered such a creature. With one touch I couldn’t move. He drained all my energy. I couldn’t fight him—I couldn’t do anything!” He looked at the group. “This is worse than I imagined possible. How can we defeat an enemy that we can’t even touch?”
“I don’t know,” Astraea said. “But at least we know how to recognize them now. They won’t touch us until they want to hurt us. So we just look for those who avoid physical contact.”
“Then what?” Cylus demanded. “How do we defeat them?”
“I—I will help. . . .”
Jake gasped and opened his hands. “Nesso, Nesso, you’re alive!”
“I feel terrible. That big monssster isss bad. Very, very bad. I could tassste the badnesss in him.”
Jake pulled off his gloves and held the snake close as he started to tear up again. “She’s alive!”
Astraea exhaled in gratitude. She stroked the small, colorful snake. “Thank you, Nesso. You saved all our lives.”
“I am glad I could help,” she said. “And that you will live. But I don’t underssstand. I bit the one that brought me here and nothing happened. Why did thisss one die?”
When Jake translated, Cylus came closer. “You can talk to it?”
“Her,” Jake corrected. “Yes, I can. Those creatures brought her here from another world, but she doesn’t know where it is. But I don’t understand it either: If Nesso couldn’t hurt them before, why could she now?”
“I really don’t know,” Tryn admitted, rubbing his neck. “But it is important that we find out. Nesso is the only one who could stop Vulcan. Was it just him who was susceptible to her venom, or will it affect all of them now?”
Astraea shrugged. “I hope it’s all of them. She’s our only hope.”
Tryn walked over to the puddle that had once been the Mimic. All that remained was a pile of empty clothes and the wet, gray mess. “Look there are no bones, just this goo.”
Astraea gasped. “Wait! He’s not the first to die. I heard my father talking to my mom before they were taken. He said they were finding these gray puddles around the prison. He didn’t know what they were. But he described the same thing. It’s the Mimics. When they die, they turn into this liquid.”
“What killed those ones?” Zephyr asked. “We know Nesso killed Vulcan, but what about the others?”
“I don’t know,” Astraea said. “Until now, we didn’t even know it was dead Mimics.”
Zephyr was staring into the puddle. “Hey, look, he might have been a bag of goo, but he still wore nice jewelry. He left a ring behind.”
Tryn reached for a hay fork and brushed the ring out of the puddle. Careful not to touch it with his bare hands, he used the gloves to clean it off.
Cylus and his herd backed up. “That is disgusting! I cannot believe you actually did that.”
With the gray goo off the ring, Tryn inspected it closer. He started to smile. “I’d do more than that to get my hands on this.”
“What is it?” Astraea asked.
Tryn held up the ring. “The key to winning the war.”
“What war?” Cylus demanded. “What are you talking about?”
Zephyr snorted. “Haven’t you been paying attention? Didn’t you hear him saying they were taking Titus from us? Of course it’s a war. But not like any that’s been fought before. This one is silent, and the only weapon they use is their touch.”
“Exactly,” Tryn agreed. “But this Mimic has just given us a big weapon to use against them.” He handed the ring to Astraea. “It’s one of the gems I told you about. This ring will open the Solar Stream.”
“The Solar Stream?” Astraea repeated. “How? You said all the gems were on Xanadu.”
“All but one,” Tryn responded. “There was one lost on Earth. This may be it but I don’t know how the Mimics got it.”
“Perhaps there are more you don’t know about,” Zephyr suggested.
“Could be,” Tryn said.
Astraea inspected the ring. “This is fantastic.” She looked over to the mess that was Vulcan. “I thought we might be able to stop them ourselves, but we can’t. We need help from those more powerful than us.”
“Who?” Zephyr asked.
Astraea looked at her best friend. “You’re not going to like this, but you know who.”
“Oh no,” Zephyr said quickly. “No, no, no. Don’t say it. Don’t even think it!”
“We have to. We can’t fight these Mimics alone.”
“What are you two talking about?” Jake asked.
Astraea looked at everyone. “We have to go to Xanadu to get Emily Jacobs and Pegasus.”
29
“OPEN IT NOW,” ASTRAEA SAID to Tryn. “Every moment we delay, they could be taking more Titans away.”
“She’s right,” Cylus agreed. “I want my mother out of Tartarus, and if Pegasus and the others can help, I want to go ask them now.”
Tryn looked at the ring and nodded. “You’re right. This is bigger than us.” He walked up to the stall wall and held up the ring. “Take us to Xanadu!”
Nothing happened.
“Xanadu,” Tryn repeated. He looked at the ring and gave it a shake, and then called out Xanadu a final time, but nothing happened.
Cylus snorted. “You said the ring opened the Solar Stream. You lied to us.”
“No, I didn’t,” Tryn said. He studied the ring. “It looks just like the gem from Emily’s ring. I could have sworn they were the same.”
“Well, it’s not,” Zephyr said. “We’re on our own here.”
“No, we’re not. We can still get to Xanadu,” Tryn said. “There’s the arch in Jupiter’s palace. We could go there and use it.”
“But Jupiter said you couldn’t use it,” Astraea said.
“Yes, but I believe Jupiter is a Mimic. So I’m not going to listen to anything he—or it—says. I understand if you don’t want to come with me. It will be dangerous. But I am going to the palace to try.”
“Hey, you’re not leaving us behind,” Cylus said.
“Yeah,” cried the other centaurs.
“Or us,” Astraea agreed, standing with Zephyr. “If you’re going to the palace, so are we.”
“You betcha,” Jake agreed. “Let’s go.”
Astraea turned to him. “Wait. You’re not coming.”
“What do you mean I’m not coming? Of course I am.”
“Jake, it’s too dangerous for you,” Astraea said. “You could get caught.”
“So could you,” Jake insisted. “Besides, I’m carrying our special weapon.” He held up Nesso. “I’m the only one who can understand her in case we get into trouble.”
“Yesss,” Nesso said. “I can help, but only if Jake comesss.”
“That’s blackmail,” Tryn said when Jake repeated the snake’s message.
“No, it’s just smart business,” Jake finished. “If Nesso goes, I go.”
“Fine!” Cylus shouted. “I don’t care who comes. Let’s get going!”
They left the stable and started the long walk to Jupiter’s palace. This time the centaurs stayed with them. Astraea was sure it had nothing to do with friendship. The centaurs realized that staying close meant there was a small snake that could protect them.
The situation was grim, but it still didn’t stop Jake from being awestruck by all the sights of Titus. “This place is unreal,” he said to Astraea. “I wish my mom could see it.
She’d be blown away.”
Astraea frowned. “We don’t have strong winds. She couldn’t be blown away unless she was very light.”
“I meant amazed,” Jake corrected.
Each step was a new discovery for Jake, and for Astraea as she tried to see her world through his eyes. They walked past some night dwellers, who smiled at them, showing their sharp teeth.
Jake turned and watched them walk away. “You have vampires here?”
“What’s a vampire?” Astraea asked.
“No,” Tryn said. “The night dwellers are not vampires. They just look like them—at least that’s what my dad told me.”
“They really do look like them,” Jake agreed. “Did you see those teeth?”
“Enough talking,” Cylus complained. “Shut up and just keep walking. You are slowing us down, human.”
Jake leaned closer to Astraea. “I don’t think he likes me very much.”
Astraea looked over at Cylus and the centaurs. “They don’t like anyone who isn’t a centaur very much. It’s just the way they are.”
Cylus turned back to Astraea and shot her a dirty look.
“What?” Astraea said. “It’s true, isn’t it? You don’t like anyone else.”
“So?”
“All of you, shut up!” Zephyr said, walking beside Astraea. “You two would argue over anything, wouldn’t you?”
As they got closer, they saw Brutus the giant standing outside the palace, staring at it.
“Oh wow!” Jake cried. “Everyone, look! There’s a giant, I mean a real live giant! He’s massive.”
Astraea slapped her hand over Jake’s mouth. “Be quiet! Giants have really good hearing!”
Jake eyes were huge as he pointed at Brutus and tried talking beneath her hand.
“Yes, Brutus is a giant, we know. He works at our school. But Jake, you have to be quiet, please!”
But it was too late. Jake’s voice had caught Brutus’s attention, and he took two long strides to reach them. He bent down closer to the ground to ask, “What are you all doing out so late?” He paused and started to sniff the air. “What is that? I have not smelled something like that since . . .” He gasped and his eyes shot to Jake. “You! What are you doing here?”
