by Kate O'Hearn
“Of course,” Vulturnus said. He gave Astraea a kiss on the forehead. “We will not be long. Stay safe.”
Astraea nodded. “You too.”
“Tryn,” Angie called. “Will you look for my parents?”
Tryn nodded. “If they’re there, I’ll tell them you’re with us and are safe.”
When Vulturnus was settled behind Tryn on the skateboard, Tryn called, “We’re ready, Melissa; lead the way.”
“Coming,” Melissa said. She looked back at Jake, Angie, and the others. “Later, dudes!” Opening her wing covers, she freed her wings and took off into the dark sky. “Follow me. The party’s this way!”
Tryn ordered his skateboard to follow. “We’ll see you soon!”
Astraea watched them in the sky until they were out of sight.
“Are they gone?” Jake called. “I can’t see a thing.”
“Yes, they’re gone,” Astraea said. “Since we have to wait, how about we eat something and get some rest?”
They ate their fill of ambrosia. Against everyone’s better judgment, Angie insisted on giving almost half the container to Lergo, arguing it would give him strength. The snake ate everything that she handed to him.
“Won’t that make him, like, immortal?” Jake asked. “Tryn says ambrosia does that.”
“It does,” Astraea agreed. “But I don’t know if it would work on Lergo. He’s a big snake and didn’t eat very much.”
“I eat it and I am immortal,” Nesso said. “You and I are forever.”
“Yes, we are,” Jake agreed. He told the others what Nesso had said.
“At least it’s made him feel a bit better,” Angie said.
Cylus lay down in the grass and sighed. “Does anyone else still ache from the building falling on us?”
“Oh yeah,” Darek said. “I don’t think my back will ever be the same again.”
“I’m sure I cracked a bone in my leg,” Zephyr agreed.
“And my wings,” Astraea added.
Render was still on his hooves. “Since I wasn’t in the collapse and I’m not hurt, I’m going to take a quick look around. Maybe I can see how far we have to go.”
“Be careful,” Cylus ordered.
Render trotted off into the darkness.
“Look at him,” Cylus complained. “Not a mark on him and he’s trotting like he hasn’t walked all this time.”
“It’s not fair.” Zephyr yawned.
Jake was settled on the ground near Angie. He sat up. “Nope, I still can’t see a thing.”
“That’s because you’re a weak human,” Zephyr teased.
“Zeph,” Astraea said. “Don’t start.”
“What did she say?” Jake asked.
“Not much,” Astraea answered.
“She said you are a weak human because you can’t see Render,” Angie said. “He’s not weak, Zephyr; he just can’t see in the dark.”
“Which means he—is—a weak human,” Zephyr muttered.
They all settled down, watching Render moving farther away. When he was nearly out of sight, they noticed him turn around and gallop back.
“Hey,” Render panted. “There’s a huge city just down a hill, not far from here. It’s full of lights. It was too far for me to see details, but I think I saw movement down there.”
Cylus got up. “Let’s go check it out.”
“We can’t,” Astraea said. “We promised to wait for the others.”
“Tryn’s got his board; he can find us,” Cylus insisted. “I’m not saying we go in. I just think we should get closer.”
Astraea looked at everyone in the camp. They were getting up and looked ready to move.
“All right,” Astraea said. “We’ll just get a bit closer. Then we stop and wait for the others.”
Render offered his back to Jake again, and once he was seated, they started to move. The city was farther than they’d expected, but eventually, they made it to the top of the rise overlooking the brightly lit city.
“Hey, I can see the lights,” Jake said.
“The queen is there?” Darek cried. “How are we supposed to get her in all of that?”
“It won’t be easy, I know,” Astraea said. “But we have to try. In the meantime, we go no farther. We’ll stay here and wait for Tryn, Vulturnus, and the others.”
They sat down again and waited. But as the long night passed, Astraea started to worry. “They’ve been gone a really long time. I hope everything is all right.”
“Melissa wouldn’t let anything happen to them,” Jake said. “I’m sure they’re fine.”
“If there are prisoners with them, that will slow them down,” Render offered. “We have time to rest; let’s use it.”
* * *
All they could do was wait.
Triana was lying on her back, looking at the sky. “This would be a nice world if it weren’t for the Mimics.”
“It does remind me of Earth,” Jake added.
Astraea was lying on the ground and leaning against Zephyr. She combed her fingers through her best friend’s mane. “Or Titus, without stars.”
Angie was in front of Lergo and talking softly to the elderly snake. Astraea could hear her describing Titus and all the things she was going to show him when this was over.
“Lergo on Titus?” Zephyr said softly. “I don’t think so.”
“Maybe Xanadu,” Astraea offered.
The insect sounds stilled as the air was filled with the hushing of Melissa’s insectoid wings. “They’re back,” Triana called.
Melissa was gliding closer and touched down beside Astraea and Zephyr.
When Astraea rose, she looked for Tryn or her brother, but they weren’t there. “Melissa, what happened? Where are the others?”
The tall mantis walked closer and tilted her head to the side as she looked at everyone in the camp.
“Melissa?” Triana called.
Lergo started to hiss. He rose and slithered toward Astraea at speed.
“Astraea!” Angie shouted. “Look, she has two forelegs! That’s not Melissa. Run!”
The creature looked at the snake bearing down on it and then charged. It smashed Zephyr with its triangular head, knocking her into the path of the snake. Lergo had to stop to avoid crushing her.
“Zeph!” Astraea screamed. She tried to run, but the queen moved with impossible speed and a sharp foreleg flashed out and caught Astraea around the waist. The grip was brutal and the sharp spines cut into her as it hoisted her off the ground.
The Risen Queen’s wings opened and she launched into the air, taking Astraea away with her.
28
“WHAT’S HAPPENING?” JAKE CRIED. “SOMEONE tell me what’s happening!”
“Zephyr, stop!” Cylus shouted. “Stop!”
There was screaming and movement all around him, but Jake had no idea what was going on. “Nesso, talk to me!”
“Assstraea hasss been taken,” Nesso cried. “It wasss a queen that looked like Melissssa! It threw Zzzephyr at Lergo to ssstop him. Then Zzzephyr got up and flew after them.”
“Astraea, no!” Jake cried. “Can you see them?”
“Not anymore. They are all gone.”
Jake cursed his inability to see. Though, if he had been able to see, there was little he could have done to stop the queen.
“We have to go now!” Cylus said. “That monster isn’t going to hurt Astraea or Zephyr!”
“We can’t!” Triana said. “We have to wait for Tryn!”
“They could be all night getting back here,” Cylus cried. “The queen’s got Astraea! We have to do something!”
“Cylus, stop. Think!” Triana called. “What good would it do for any of us to go charging in there and get captured. We need more people!”
“Triana’s right,” Jake agreed. “I hate it, but she is.”
They stood together looking down on the city. It took all their strength not to go racing there to try to find Zephyr and rescue Astraea.
After
a while, Melissa landed among them as Tryn arrived with a large group of people. “Everyone, look how many came to help us.”
“Tryn,” Triana cried. “A Risen Queen came. She looked just like Melissa! She took Astraea. Zephyr chased her and we haven’t seen her since!”
The moment Tryn and Vulturnus heard what had happened, they both shouted in rage.
“This is my mother’s doing,” Melissa said. “My sister wouldn’t do anything without permission. The First Queen knew Astraea was our leader. So she arranged for Astraea to be taken to be used against us. I am sure there must have been more of my sisters hidden near the prison camp as well just in case Astraea went there.”
“They set us up, and it worked perfectly,” Jake said. “We walked right into it.”
“I am going to tear that queen apart!” Tryn cried. “If she touches one hair on Astraea’s head…”
“You will have to do it after me,” Vulturnus said. “No one touches my little sister!”
Triana was beside Jake. “I have never seen my brother so angry before.”
Jake still couldn’t see her, but he said, “We both know why. If anything happens to Astraea, he’s going to be unstoppable.”
“There will be no stopping any of us,” Render added. “That queen will feel our wrath.”
There was only the briefest discussion about the camp rescue. They did not celebrate the fact that they had managed to send over a hundred prisoners to Xanadu while at least fifty had joined in the fight against the queen. There was only the fear for Astraea and what the queen was going to do to her.
“I had hoped Diana, Apollo, and the other fighters would be here by now,” Tryn said. “We can’t wait for them. We must get to the queen before she hurts Astraea.”
Melissa said, “It is a trap. They are going to be waiting for us. We must be prepared.”
“We will be,” Tryn said darkly.
They pressed on in the night. After walking slowly down the hill toward the city, they stopped on the outskirts to prepare as best they could. When Astraea had been taken, the two snakes were taken with her in her bracelet, leaving Nesso as the group’s only source of venom.
Jake turned to Angie. “Do you think Lergo could give some venom?”
“I don’t know, but I could ask.…”
When Lergo let Angie know that he still had venom, the gathering of rescued prisoners divided into groups to go out searching for pebbles, sticks, and anything else they could use as weapons to cover in venom.
“We’re still going to need something for him to bite on,” Angie said. “I don’t think there’s a jar big enough for his fangs.”
“I got this. Leave it to me,” Melissa said as she took off into the night sky.
After a time, a large pile of pebbles and rocks were gathered before the massive snake.
Melissa returned with a fallen tree larger than any of them could have ever hoped to carry. She laid it beside Lergo. “It’s up to you now, dude!”
Angie stood before the tree and asked Lergo to bite it. The snake moved forward and lifted the tree in his mouth. When he bit down, a large fountain of venom poured from each fang, covering the rocks, filling their venom jar, and leaving a pool all around.
“That’s a lot of venom,” Cylus commented. He directed the prisoners to start dipping their sticks into the deadly liquid.
Despite the urgency, they had to spread out the rocks to let them dry before they could be safely touched. When they were ready, Cylus, Render, and Darek called everyone forward.
“Take as many rocks as you can carry,” Cylus said. “It only takes one to bring down a Mimic, so use them sparingly.”
The filthy, starving prisoners came forward and collected a share of the pebbles. Many used part of their tattered clothes to make sacks to carry even more.
“I hope that’s enough,” Triana said.
“We don’t need a lot,” Tryn said. “We have him.”
Jake couldn’t see where Tryn was looking, but he had a pretty good idea. They were going to use Lergo to kill the First Queen.
29
ASTRAEA FELT EACH AND EVERY spine on the queen’s foreleg as they cut into her back and abdomen. She tried to brace herself against them, but each time she did, the queen tightened her grip. There was no point begging her to stop; the queen was purposely hurting her.
They flew toward the bright lights. The city streets were much like in the other city they had been staying in. There were homes on the outskirts and then larger buildings with their lights on. But this city showed no damage from Lergo.
That would soon change.
Astraea knew the others would come, and when they did, Lergo would be with them. This would end, once and for all.
The queen slowed and started to descend. They were approaching a building much like the one that contained the Mimic nursery. The one that was now deep underwater thanks to Pegasus and Zephyr. But this one gave Astraea chills.
There were thousands and thousands of Mimics standing outside it. Streetlights blazed brightly, and away from the streetlights, Mimics held torches.
The young queen hovered above the masses, and they parted to allow her room to land. When she did, the air was filled with clicking and Mimic language.
Outside the main building were lines of Shadow Titans three and four deep. Without being told, Astraea knew this had to be the palace of the First Queen.
They walked forward and the Shadow Titans parted. Up three steps, and then the young queen approached the doors as two large Mimics opened them.
There was more chatter as the two Mimics glowered at Astraea. Entering the building, the young queen could not stand up, as she was much taller than the ceiling. Crouched over, she put Astraea down and used her deadly forelegs on the marble floor to balance herself.
Astraea lifted her tunic and inspected the wounds caused by the queen’s spines. The sharp points had broken the skin, and a line of blood drops dotted her abdomen.
The queen pushed her forward, forcing her to walk. Astraea turned sharply. “This won’t end, even if you kill me. My friends are coming and will stop you from ever hurting anyone else again.”
The queen screeched and whacked Astraea with her triangular head, throwing her back against the wall. Astraea slid down to the floor with the wind knocked out of her. Everything hurt, but her wings had taken the brunt of the impact and protested in pain.
Astraea scowled and stayed down. In the light of the corridor, she wondered how she could have ever mistaken this queen for Melissa. Not only were their forelegs different, but this insect queen’s face showed rage and menace, while Melissa’s somehow managed to convey innocence and friendship. It was hard to imagine they were sisters.
The queen motioned for Astraea to get up and go down the hall. For a moment Astraea considered defying the order. But when the queen opened her forelegs to reveal the spines again, Astraea thought better of it.
“All right, all right, put those things away!” Astraea climbed to her feet.
The queen motioned again for her to walk forward, and Astraea did as she was told. She felt the bracelet on her arm and hoped the queen didn’t realize that Frick and Frack were hidden inside. It had never been discussed whether snake venom was deadly to queens, but it was to the Mimics, which made Astraea feel a bit reassured.
They moved down the long corridor. Toward the end, two large Mimics stood before another set of doors. A Titan stood with them. A Titan that Astraea hated. Tibed, the traitor. The last time she’d seen him was at her grandparents’ house. She’d thought the Mimics would have killed him by now. She was wrong.
“Well, look who’s here,” Tibed said. His face was flushed with excitement. “Astraea, you would have done better to never get involved. At least you might have lived—a bit longer.”
“You’re a traitor, Tibed, and everyone in Titus knows it.”
“No,” Tibed said. “I am an opportunist. They were going to invade whether I helped them or not. At lea
st now I will survive, and your grandfather and all your family will be destroyed.” He leaned closer as malice rose in his voice. “And you, Astraea, you will be first to go.”
“You’re such a fool, Tibed. Do you actually think these Mimics will let you rule Titus? You’re going to end up in one of those camps just like everyone else.”
Tibed’s face turned red with rage and he raised his hand to strike her, but the queen lowered her head and clicked at him.
Tibed nodded. “You are right; it is not my place to deny the First Queen her pleasure. I just hope she lets me watch your death.”
One of the Mimics stepped forward and spoke to Tibed. “This is Astraea of Titus? The spawn that has caused us so much trouble?”
“It is,” Tibed said.
The Mimic leaned closer to Astraea. “I shall enjoy witnessing your end.”
A sharp retort was on Astraea’s lips, but with the violent queen standing right behind her, she held it in. “I wouldn’t have been any trouble to you if you hadn’t invaded Titus.”
“We go where we please,” the Mimic said. “Titus is ours now. As are Xanadu and many other worlds. Our queen has spawned. There are many new, powerful Risen Queens, and we shall spread even farther.”
Again Astraea withheld a comment that would surely have resulted in a blow from the queen, or a tendril from the Mimic. Neither option held any appeal.
“Nothing to say?” Tibed taunted.
“No,” Astraea said firmly.
“That is probably the first intelligent thing you have said.” The Mimic pushed open the door and stood back. “Both of you go in; she is waiting for you.”
Astraea peered in and gasped. But her shock was short-lived, as the Risen Queen shoved her brutally in the back.
The room before her was much bigger than Astraea had imagined. It had been built by knocking out the ceiling and all the walls of the building, creating a chamber that was at least three stories tall and as big as the whole building.
But that wasn’t what stole her breath. The chamber was filled with young queens. They all turned and stared as she and Tibed walked in.
