by Kate O'Hearn
She flapped her powerful wings and took off into the sky. Instead of heading back to the apartment, they circled the area, watching the water rise. It soon poured into the buildings and flowed along neighboring streets.
More lights in the buildings came on as the Mimics inside felt the vibrations of the water. They peered out the windows and watched the fountain. There was no sign of it slowing.
“Um, Zeph,” Astraea said as they watched. “Did Pegasus teach you how to turn it off? Like when there is enough water?”
“Not exactly,” Zephyr said. “He didn’t even tell me where the water came from. Just that we could draw it up.”
“So you don’t actually know when it’s going to stop.”
“Uh—no,” Zephyr said. “But how much water can there be?”
“Do you think it could reach our hiding place?”
“Good question,” Zephyr answered.
As the water rose, they heard crashing starting several streets away. Zephyr flew toward it. “Looks like we have company.”
Lergo was tearing through the streets. The massive snake stopped near the water flow, and it’s tongue dipped in and out of its mouth as it started to drink deeply.
“Wow,” Zephyr said. “I guess it was thirsty.”
“I didn’t think about that,” Astraea said. “Lergo needs water just like we do.” She followed the length of the snake’s body and saw just how large it was. “It’s unbelievable—I never imagined a snake could grow so large.”
“Why would it want to eat me?” Zephyr said, referring to when Lergo had nearly killed her. “I wouldn’t have been more than a treat.”
“Well, we do eat grapes, and they’re small.”
“Oh great,” Zephyr said. “Now you’re calling me a grape.”
“Well,” Astraea teased. “If the fruit fits…”
They hovered, watching the snake drink. After a while, Lergo paused and looked up.
“Uh-oh,” Zephyr said.
Without warning, the massive snake rose and launched itself at them with its mouth wide open. Missing them by a breath, it slithered up the side of a building to chase them.
“Zeph, fly!” Astraea cried.
Zephyr flapped her powerful wings hard to get away, but Lergo was fast. Very fast. It used the building as a launchpad and threw itself into the air to catch them. Using all her strength, Zephyr climbed high in the sky and screamed when she felt the tip of the snake’s snout graze her hooves as its mouth tried and failed to bite her.
Lergo crashed back down onto the rooftop and collapsed it with its weight. They didn’t stay to watch the whole collapse, but they heard it.
“I hate that snake, I hate that snake, I hate that snake…,” Zephyr screamed as she tore out of the area and headed back to their apartment.
They landed on the roof of their building and were still shaking. Astraea slid off Zephyr’s back, and her knees nearly gave out beneath her. Holding on to Zephyr’s wing for support, she leaned against her best friend.
“No more night excursions, okay?”
“Agreed,” Zephyr panted. “I don’t think we should tell the others what happened.”
“I won’t if you won’t,” Astraea said. “Let’s just calm down a bit before we go in.”
21
JAKE WAS SLOWLY GETTING OVER his anger with the Titans as he heard more stories of the cruelty and abuse they’d suffered at the hands of the Mimics. The day after he and Angie returned to camp after the death of Melissa, a winged Titan approached him.
“Jake,” he said. “I am Vulturnus. I have been told that you know my parents and sister?”
He was tall with shaggy long blond hair. His face was gaunt and his arms were like twigs. Jake had noticed him before and saw that he had no feathers on his wings. It was only now that Jake realized the likeness. “Are you Astraea’s brother?”
Vulturnus nodded. “I am here with my brother Aquilo. If you had not found us when you did, I am certain he would have died. He was hurt in that cabin by the animal press. The Mimics would not allow us to treat him or give him more ambrosia. All I could do was give him my portion. I am so grateful to you and Angitia.”
“Is he all right?”
Vulturnus nodded. “With thanks to you. He is still very weak, but I am certain he will recover.”
“That is such a relief,” Jake said. “I know Astraea’s going nuts worrying about you.”
“As my brother and I have been about her.”
Jake knew it would be rude to ask, but he did anyway. “Did the Mimics do that to your wings?”
Vulturnus opened a wing and looked at the devastation. There was only pale bare skin with open pores where feathers had once been. He nodded. “They plucked us to keep me and my brother grounded. The feathers will grow back, but it will take time. Please, will you tell me how my family is?”
The winged Titan looked so frail and delicate that Jake didn’t have the heart to tell him that the last time he’d seen Aurora was in Detroit and she had been thrown off the back of a taxi when she and Pegasus had tried to help him.
“They’re great,” he said. “I really like Astraea and Zephyr. We met on Titus when the Mimics brought me there.” Jake briefly told him the adventures he’d been through with Astraea and how they’d first met. “They are all on Xanadu with Jupiter and the others.”
Instantly it looked like a great weight had been lifted from Vulturnus’s shoulders. “That is such a relief. Now if we could just find my other brothers…”
“We will,” Jake promised. “Soon.”
Vulturnus nodded, but he still looked exhausted. “I can only hope. Thank you again for everything.”
“No problem,” Jake said. “No offense, but I think you should lie down. You look like you’re ready to collapse.”
Vulturnus smiled, and it was just like Astraea’s smile. “I must say I do not feel particularly well. Perhaps I will.” He walked back toward the cave.
* * *
Very soon a strange kind of routine settled in the camp. Each afternoon, just before sunset, teams headed out to venture into the city to search for Emily, Riza, and any other prisoners of the Mimics.
Despite their searches, they had yet to find anyone else. Several times the searchers entered buildings and encountered Mimics working. These were quickly dealt with, proving the precious value of the snakes and their venom. After that, respect for Jake and Angie grew even greater in the camp.
Those that didn’t go on the city search teams did what they could to keep the camp going. With ambrosia supplies dwindling, another search party left the camp looking for food. They returned with fruit that they’d found in a wild orchard. It was the same they’d been fed at the camp. It wouldn’t replace ambrosia, but it could help extend it.
A large group was just returning from a fruit run when their scouts charged into the camp. “Mimics and Shadow Titans! They are advancing on us. Prepare for battle!”
“Everyone, gather the weapons,” Chiron cried. “The time has come to fight!”
Jake ran over to the wall of spears that had been prepared. But when he reached for one and started to follow the fighters, Diana stopped him. “No, Jake, you are too important to fight. You and Nesso are the only communication we have with the snakes. Please stay here and keep them and Angie safe. They are our only defense.”
Jake was about to protest, but then he saw the fear on Angie’s face. They had never discussed what the Mimics had done to her when she’d been their prisoner in the lab, but now that they were coming to the camp, she was terrified.
Jake nodded and grabbed a second spear. He handed one to Angie. “You probably won’t need this, but it’s good to have. Let’s go keep an eye on the snakes.”
When they made it back to the cave, they weren’t alone. The three Xan—Mila, Ezmi, and Jili—were seated among the snakes. Their faces were impassive, but the trembling of their hands revealed their fear. Jake knew they were a peaceful people, but if it came down to
it, he wondered if they would fight. Tryn had, even though it went against everything he believed.
“We will defend the snakes,” Jili said.
Jake had become accustomed to their incredible beauty, but the fear hidden in their eyes tore at his soul. “We’ll help,” he said. “Angie, you stay here with the Xan. I’ll take the cave entrance.”
Despite his instructions, Angie took a place at the entrance beside him. Jake wanted to tell her to go back, but he welcomed her presence.
“You okay?” he asked.
Angie nodded, but it was obvious she wasn’t.
“I won’t let them take you again,” he promised. “We’ll stop them.”
They stood, side by side at the entrance of the cave. Outside was teeming with activity as Titans, Olympians, and the original people of this world gathered weapons and prepared to engage the Mimics and their Shadow Titans.
Not far in the distance were the sounds of screaming and breaking branches. The fighting was getting close. He gripped his spear tighter.
Paelen and Joel arrived at the cave and took a position beside them.
“Remember,” Jake said. “The Shadow Titans are controlled by the Mimics. Get the silver controller away from the Mimics, and the Shadows become ours to command. Just don’t touch the goo.”
“How many have you killed?” Joel asked.
“A few,” Jake said. “It ain’t pretty, and it’s messy.”
They stood together with their spears raised. When the scout said the Mimics were coming, Jake never imagined how many there could be. He gasped when a wide, solid wall of Shadow Titans marched into the camp.
“We are so toast,” Jake said softly.
“Not yet,” Joel said. “There are a lot of us here, and none of us want to go back into one of those camps.”
As the Mimic Shadow Titans advanced into the camp, defenders, weak and strong, rose against them. But they only had sharpened sticks and were nothing against Shadow Titans with swords and brute strength.
Jake and the others in the cave watched in horror as the Titans fought bravely but were being cut down by the Shadows.
What followed was even worse, as Mimics marched in behind them, shooting tendrils at the defenders.
“There are too many!” Paelen cried.
Joel shook his head. “We can’t win.” He looked over at Paelen and Jake. “It’s been great knowing you.”
Jake nodded. “You too.”
Jake turned to Angie. “Go to the back with the Xan. It will be over quickly, I promise.”
Angie shook her head. “I’m staying with you.”
Jake smiled at her and was once again reminded of his sister. As he raised his spear and prepared to enter a futile battle, he thought of his mother, so far away. She would never know what happened to him. How he died on an alien world trying to stop a race of monsters that were planning to invade Earth after they finished with Titus and Xanadu.
She would never know how much he’d grown up and realized just how important family was. And he would never get to see his new little brother or tell Molly that he loved her more than anything. It would all be gone in a heartbeat.
Taking a deep breath, Jake and Angie joined Paelen and Joel charging forward into the fight.
22
JAKE HAD GONE ONLY A few paces when a loud screeching rose above the sounds of battle. He looked up and saw what he could only describe as a giant praying mantis–like creature swooping down from the sky. It was massive, with a dark pink body and clear cellophane wings that came out from beneath hard, dark wing covers on its back. It had a large, gray triangular head with giant, purple insect eyes. The black slit pupils panned the area carefully.
Like a mantis, it had two upper raptorial forelegs, with spikes on the femur and tibia that looked sharp enough to cut someone in half if they were unfortunate enough to end up in the monster’s grip. There were four other thicker back legs that supported the distended body of the creature.
One of the forelegs looked badly damaged and couldn’t open properly. But that didn’t stop the creature from charging into the fight.
But it wasn’t attacking the Titans or Olympians. The mantis-like creature only went after the Shadow Titans. It knocked them over with its powerful forelegs or bent down and bit them with its strange mouth and threw them away.
Jake was paralyzed on the spot as he stared up at the creature. Every movie he’d ever seen with insect monsters flashed before his eyes. But here and now, this was the very worst of them all, as the mantis stormed through the camp, cutting down Shadow Titans and tearing them to pieces.
When more Mimics emerged from the trees and saw the mantis, they stopped and started to make clicking sounds.
The mantis screeched again, and when it did, the Mimics called into their controllers. All the Shadow Titans stopped fighting and stood, stone-still.
From the frantic insanity of the battle, the sudden cessation of fighting and the ensuing silence was overwhelming. Jake looked around, unable to believe what he was witnessing.
The Mimics were still and clicking softly at the mantis.
Jake took a step and frowned. The mantis was a terrifying sight, yet somehow, as it stood before them, he felt something. A drawing to it, as though he knew it and realized it was there to help.
Jake gasped and ran out. “It’s Melissa!”
“Jake, get away from there!” Steve Jacobs called. He ran forward with a spear in his hand.
“No, it’s Melissa!” Jake repeated. He ran up to the mantis’s leg, which rose high over his head, and hugged it tightly. “You’re alive!”
The mantis hissed at Steve, “Back off, dude!” Then her triangular head came down to Jake’s level. “Well, duh, of course I’m alive, silly.” Then she laughed. “So that’s what you look like. You really are short!”
Jake didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “No, you’re just really tall!” He reached up to stroke her head.
Melissa’s head moved closer. “Hello, Nesso. Aren’t you pretty!”
Nesso hissed, “You are beautiful!”
“Melissa!” Angie cried as she ran up. “I’m so glad to see you.”
“You too, chickpea!” Melissa said.
The mantis rose to her full height. “You lied to me, Jake. You said you wouldn’t leave me. But you did. I was in that cave all alone.…”
Jake was stunned by how much older she seemed. She had the same pout in her voice that Molly always got. He realized that Melissa wasn’t so much a needy child anymore. In a short time, she had grown into a moody young teen. “I’m—I’m so sorry, Melissa. We really thought you were dead. I swear we wouldn’t have left you if we’d known.”
“I wasn’t dead; I was changing.”
“We didn’t know that. You were hurting so much that when you turned to stone, we thought it was over.” Jake looked way up to her head. “Boy oh boy, that is some change!”
“Awesome, isn’t it? Look, I’ve got wings!” She turned and opened the wing covers to reveal her insect wings. When she turned back, she looked around at the destroyed Shadow Titans and then to the Mimics that were still clicking at her. “They were going to hurt you, but not now. Now they’ll obey me.” She tilted her head at Jake and winked a large, purple eye. “Watch this!” She made a loud screech, and all the Mimics lay down on the ground. Then she clicked and they raised their legs in the air and started to kick.
She laughed at Jake. “Is that cool or what? What do you want them to do? Tell me, and I’ll tell them to do it.”
“I just don’t want them to kill us.”
“Oh, they won’t.” After another screech, the Mimics threw their silver controllers to Jake. Melissa laughed through her strange insectoid mouth. “This is so great!”
Jake looked from Melissa to the Mimics and back to Melissa again. “That’s totally rad! They’re really obeying you.”
“That’s because she’s a queen,” Steve called.
Melissa looked at him. “No
way. I’m not even, like, a Fallen Queen.” She looked over to Jake and Angie. “I’m Melissa, aren’t I?”
“You bet you are!” Jake said. He looked back at the Mimics standing before her. They didn’t move or speak. They just watched her. “They really are yours.”
“You can keep them. I don’t want them,” Melissa said bitterly.
Chiron and several fighters arrived from their battle in the trees. They all stopped and stared up at Melissa.
“It’s all right, Chiron,” Jake called. “It’s Melissa. She didn’t die. Look, she controls the Mimics.”
Chiron looked around at the Mimics, who stood stone-still, gazing up at Melissa. He approached the mantis. “Melissa, do you remember me?”
“Yes,” Melissa said. “You and the others carried me here when I hurt. But then you made me go away.”
Chiron nodded. “And that was a grave mistake. I am so sorry. I sincerely hope you can forgive me.”
Melissa looked at Jake. “Do you think I should forgive him?”
Jake looked at Chiron and then said, “Yeah… he’s cool. They kinda all are.”
When Diana approached, Melissa lowered her head. “You won’t try to send me away again, will you?”
“No one will,” Jake answered firmly. He shot a warning look at Diana and the others. “I won’t let them.”
“Neither will I,” Angie agreed.
“You are welcome among us, Melissa,” Diana said formally.
The Mimics around them continued to click and stare up at the mantis.
Paelen and Joel came closer. “So, what do we do with those things? We can use the Shadow Titans, but what about the Mimics?”
“They don’t live very long,” Jake said. “If we do nothing, in a short while they’ll just melt.”
“I really don’t like them,” Melissa said. “I might just tell them to get lost.”
“Works for me,” Jake said. “But before you do, can we ask one a few questions?”
