by Kate O'Hearn
“Snowstorms do that too,” Jake said. “It can be the middle of the night, but the clouds seem to reflect light.”
They stood in silence, watching the large flakes collecting all around them. In just a few minutes, there was almost half an inch lying on the railing.
“Jake and Tryn, would you come here, please,” Themis called. She was standing on the corner that was closest to the main road. There was a look of deep concern on her face.
“What is it, Themis?” Tryn asked.
“Please go back downstairs and find Jupiter. Tell him that I feel something is wrong. Trouble is coming. I cannot say what it is yet, but we are in danger. Tell him to move the non-human-looking Titans off the main floor and hide all the snakes if you can. Hurry. We do not have long.”
Jake frowned, but Tryn was already running.
Jake and Triana caught up with him in the stairwell. “What was that all about? I don’t understand.”
Tryn paused for a moment on the stair. “Themis is a seer. She sees the future and is never wrong. If she says trouble is coming, then it’s coming.”
They started to run again. When they made it down to the main floor, they ran through the workers to the office. Jupiter, Juno, Pegasus, and the senior council were inside. Without knocking, Tryn burst in.
“Forgive me, Jupiter, but Themis is on the roof. She says danger is coming. We have to hide the snakes and move the non-human-looking Titans off this floor.”
Jake wasn’t sure if he believed that Themis could see the future. But by the reaction from Jupiter and everyone else in the office, they did.
“Thank you, Tryn,” Jupiter said. “I want you, Jake, and Triana to go upstairs. Gather the snakes together and hide them if you can.” He looked over to Pegasus. “Please go with them. You must not be seen.”
Pegasus whinnied and started to move.
“And take the Shadow Titans with you!” Jupiter called.
Within minutes of Themis’s warning, the entire plant was on alert. Soon all the snakes were gathered together in one area on the top floor and covered with blankets. Nesso warned them all not to move or make a sound.
The Shadow Titans were also on the top floor, with their Titan handlers holding on to their controllers. The nymphs, fawns, and centaurs were all gathered together. Aurora remained below with her wings covered with rags and bulky clothing.
In addition to the Titans, a large supply of swords and weapons were carried to the top floor and hidden as well as possible. But not before everyone was given at least one weapon to use if necessary.
Once everyone was in place, all the torches were extinguished, casting the entire plant into darkness.
Jake, Tryn, and Triana stood at the boarded-up windows, peering out. So far, despite Themis’s warning, nothing was moving out there. The snow continued to fall and had reached over an inch before there was a warning cry from the opposite side of the large room.
“Jake, please come,” called an Olympian standing at the windows. “There are red and blue flashing lights heading this way. What does it mean?”
Jake and the others ran across the room to the windows and peered out. Jake gasped, and Pegasus whinnied in warning. This was the worst news possible.
“What is it?” Tryn demanded.
Jake looked at the long line of cars turning onto the road that led straight to the plant. He lost count after twenty. “I don’t understand how they found us. I didn’t call home, but those are the police, and they’re heading this way!”
27
ASTRAEA HAD TO FOCUS ON remaining silent as she watched the Mimic that looked like her grandfather walking down the street. There was someone beside him, but she couldn’t clearly see who it was. Whoever they were, they didn’t seem to need the light. Did that mean that he was still a Titan? If so, how could he not know about Hyperion?
After they passed from view, Astraea looked over to Zephyr. “My grandfather is a Mimic.”
“This is worse than we expected,” Zephyr said. She struggled beneath the weight of Belis. “Can you ask him to get off me now?”
Before Astraea could speak, Belis moved off Zephyr and she could climb to her feet again. “I knew he was big, but I didn’t expect him to be so heavy!”
Belis returned to his normal colors and his head slid up to Astraea.
“Thank you, Belis,” she said, stroking him.
“Yes.” Zephyr finally surrendered. “Thank you, Belis. I think you just saved our lives.”
Belis tilted his head to the side. “Yes, I said thank you!” Zephyr finished. She looked back at Astraea. “So now what?”
“Now we go see if they’ve grabbed Saturn.”
“Of course they have,” Zephyr said. “There’s no way they wouldn’t have taken him if they’ve taken Hyperion. The question is, are they holding them at the palace?”
Astraea shook her head. “I don’t think so. I know Jupiter told us to check there, but I think it’s a waste of time. Saturn and my grandfather are equally as strong as Jupiter. I doubt there is anywhere in the palace strong enough to contain them. It must be a prison. Probably Tartarus.”
“Oh great,” Zephyr said. “My favorite place in the universe.”
“I don’t like it either, but if they’re holding everyone there…”
“I know. We have to go. So do you want to go now, or let Darek know what we’re planning?”
“I think we should let him know.” Astraea paused. “I’ve been thinking.…”
“Everyone stand back!” Zephyr teased. “Astraea’s been thinking again.”
“Ha-ha, very funny,” Astraea said. “No, listen to me. Before we go to find Darek, how about we check out Crius’s house? It’s not far from here.”
“Astraea, if they’ve taken Hyperion, it’s only logical for them to take his brothers. They’re probably gone too.”
“But we have to try.”
“How did I know you were going to say that?”
Astraea looked around, then pointed to the opposite side of the park. “Crius’s house is over there. We can just go look. We don’t have to go in.”
“Good, because I’m not going in,” Zephyr said.
“I didn’t ask you to.”
“Good.”
“Good,” Astraea repeated. “Now can we go?”
“Lead on.”
They started out across the park. Astraea kept her eye on the snake for any changes. Zephyr did too.
“You know something,” Zephyr said. “Belis reminds me of Pluto’s three-headed dog, Cerberus. He’ll warn us of any trouble.”
“And he seems to be just as vicious toward the Mimics.” Astraea reached out and stroked the smooth scales of the snake slithering right beside her.
After a short walk, they approached a line of the same kind of flowering shrubs they had hidden behind. Astraea stopped. “So, on the other side of these bushes is the path to Crius’s house. His is the middle house between those three homes.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” Zephyr said.
Astraea frowned and looked at her friend. “If you’re frightened, you can stay here.”
“That’s not what I mean. Look at Belis.” The large snake had turned black again. “He changes color faster than you change your tunics.”
Belis was starting to hiss.
“Belis, please stay here,” Astraea said, holding her hand up to the snake. “I’m going to slip through the bushes to see who’s around. I’ll keep hidden and won’t talk to anyone, I promise.”
“Be careful,” Zephyr called as Astraea pushed through the flowering bushes.
Astraea stopped before the greenery opened on the pavement, across from Crius’s home. She peered out and had to cover her mouth to keep from making a sound. There was a full, undisguised Mimic standing with her great-uncle Crius and Saturn. They were all holding torches.
A moment later, the Saturn Mimic lowered his head and handed its torch to Crius. The undisguised Mimic and Crius took a step back a
nd nodded to Saturn just as he started to melt.
The two remaining Mimics watched until Saturn was just a puddle. Then they resumed their conversation as though nothing had happened. Finally, they started to walk away, moving down to the end of the street and then crossing over.
Astraea darted back through the bushes. “We’re too late coming back to Titus. I just saw three Mimics. One looked like Saturn, another looked like Crius, and the third was just a Mimic. Then Saturn melted and it looked like the others just didn’t care. They’ve gone down the street. I want to follow them.”
“You can’t!” Zephyr cried. “If you try that, Belis will attack them and everyone will find out we’re here.”
“But we must. We know that the Saturn Mimic just melted. They are going to need a replacement. Maybe that’s where Crius and the undisguised one went—to find Saturn to make another.”
“Good point,” Zephyr said. “Which way did they go?”
Astraea pointed. “Down there. Then they turned left.”
Zephyr nodded. “Stay here with Belis. I’m going to follow them from the sky. Even if I am glowing, with their eyes, they probably won’t notice.”
“But we should stick together.”
“Do you see wings on Belis? Because I sure don’t. If we go flying, he’s going to try to follow us. Then he’ll be discovered and our mission will fail. Trust me, Astraea. Staying here right now is the best thing you could do. Just keep hidden.”
Astraea hated being left behind. She loved riding Zephyr, especially when she was flying. But her friend was right. Belis did have to be considered. “All right, we’ll stay. Just be careful.”
“I will,” Zephyr promised as she backed away and opened her wings. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”
Zephyr took off and Astraea followed her progress in the sky. At first Zephyr looked around, but then she saw her target and changed direction. She finally vanished in the distance.
“I guess all we can do is wait,” Astraea said to Belis. She hadn’t really been aware of it as she’d been watching Zephyr. But when she looked at the snake again, she realized he had been coiling around her. Not touching her, but completely enclosing her in the circle he formed. He was even lying over himself to form a wall that came up to her chest level. He was also turning black again.
Astraea looked around but couldn’t see anything. She could hear soft voices coming from the opposite side of the bushes beside them. Then she saw the light of torches peppering through the leaves. As the voices drew nearer, she heard they were speaking the Mimic language.
Part of her wanted to see who was there, but with Belis completely encircling her, there was no way she could get out. His scales were too smooth and slippery for her to climb. There was nothing she could do but wait.
After the voices faded into the distance, Belis returned to his striped colors. But he didn’t uncoil. Astraea realized that if the snake wanted to, he could easily constrict around her and there would be nothing she could do to save herself.
But Belis wasn’t like that. He may one day grow to the size of Lergo, but he was nothing like the serpent that attacked Zephyr.
With nothing to do but wait, Astraea sat down and gazed up at the stars. The stars she had known all her life and watched so many evenings sitting out with Zephyr. But now those stars weren’t the same. They shone down on a world completely transformed, and if they didn’t stop them soon, it would be a world completely occupied by the Mimics.
Time seemed to stop as she waited. But eventually she heard Zephyr land and call out to her softly, “Astraea, are you all right?”
Astraea stood and peered over Belis. “I’m fine. We heard more Mimics and Belis just encircled me.” She tapped the snake’s side. “Thank you, Belis. Would you let me out now?”
As Belis started to uncoil, Astraea reached out and touched his smooth scales. She felt the powerful muscles beneath them moving in waves as the snake went.
“What did you find?”
“Well,” Zephyr started. “There’s good news and bad news.”
“Please don’t start that again. Just tell me.”
“You know, you’re no fun anymore,” Zephyr teased.
“Zephyr!” Astraea cried in frustration. “Please…”
“All right, all right,” Zephyr said. “I followed Crius and the Mimic to the Titus prison. They both went in, and a few minutes later, Crius and Saturn came out again.”
“The prison!” Astraea cried. “Of course. Why didn’t I think of it! It makes perfect sense. They needed someplace strong to hold everyone. Why not put them in a prison built by Titans to hold Titans! It’s much easier to get to than Tartarus and it’s already here.”
“And smells better!” Zephyr said.
Astraea nodded. “All right, so what’s the bad news?”
“There were a lot of guards posted outside it. So we won’t be going in the normal way.”
“What about the secret—”
“Let me finish,” Zephyr snorted. “The secret passage. So I flew over that, too. The Mimics must have either sealed it or didn’t realize it was there. Because no one was posted there.”
Astraea nodded slowly.
“I don’t like that look on your face,” Zephyr said. “That’s the look that says, ‘Come on, Zeph, let’s go see if we can get in.’ Well, you can just forget it! There are a lot of Mimics outside the prison, meaning there will be a lot inside it too. We are on a mission. Not a suicide mission.”
Astraea approached her best friend and stood before her. “Zephyr, Jupiter is counting on us to bring back help. Inside that prison could be all the help we need in just the one place. We have to go inside to check.”
Zephyr narrowed his eyes. “I knew you were going to say that. So just for you, I checked the best route for us to get there without being seen.” She made a sound like a sigh. “Come on, it’s this way.”
Astraea put her arm over Zephyr’s neck and walked beside her. “You know something, Zeph? You’re the best.”
28
ASTRAEA, ZEPHYR, AND BELIS HEADED toward the secret entrance. Zephyr was right. There was no one around as they made their way to the large park with the monument building in the center of it.
“There it is,” Astraea said as she gazed around. “It all looks the same.”
“Except there are no night dwellers around. I don’t get it,” Zephyr continued. “Titus is a big world with a large population—where is everyone? They couldn’t fit everyone in the prison.”
“Maybe those who aren’t in this prison have been sent to Tartarus.”
“Maybe,” Zephyr agreed. “My question is, is there anyone left? What about Darek? He’s out here alone. If everyone is gone, has he been discovered?”
“I guess we’ll find out later if he’s not at the meeting place.”
As they started across the park, Astraea kept her eyes on Belis. So far the snake hadn’t changed color. They reached the small white building with the marble pillars out front. Astraea tried the door and found it open. She looked back at Zephyr. “So far, so good.”
They entered the building and discovered the center plinth with the eternal flame still there and still burning. They moved past the bronze plaque dedicating the monument to the fallen from the War to End All Wars.
At the back wall, Astraea reached for the small handle on the tiny door. When she tried it and it opened, she looked back at Zephyr. “I’ll just go in and see who’s inside. Then I’ll come out again.”
“And as always, I’ll just stand here and wait,” Zephyr said. “What about Belis?”
Astraea looked back at the large snake that had squeezed past the plinth on the other side. Half of his body was still outside the monument. “Belis, please stay here with Zephyr and keep her safe.”
Belis’s tongue flashed in and out. When Astraea entered the secret tunnel, despite her request, the snake squeezed in right behind her. “Please, Belis, I’ll just go in and be right back.
” But no matter what Astraea said, the snake refused to obey.
“Forget it, Astraea. He’s going to follow you whether you want him to or not. Just go and hurry back. And don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine out here, all by myself.…”
Astraea grinned at her friend. “Try not to miss me too much.” She turned and darted down the dark tunnel.
One of the first things she noticed was all the torches had burned out. Meaning no one was tending to them. Meaning if the Mimics knew about the tunnel, they didn’t care. She could see relatively well, but in the complete darkness, the world turned black, white, and shades of gray to her eyes.
Belis made no sound behind her as they moved forward. But when they reached the door that led into the prison corridor, the snake’s tongue flicked in and out, and he blocked Astraea’s path. Moments later, he turned black.
Astraea stopped and whispered, “I understand. Please let me closer. I won’t open the door.”
This time the snake obeyed and backed off to allow Astraea up to the door. She pressed her ear to it and heard voices speaking and, behind them, the sound of soft weeping.
Astraea kept her ear to the door and her eyes on Belis. After a time, the voices moved away. Not long after that, Belis’s stripes returned. Astraea reached for the handle and pulled the door open.
She was immediately struck by the stale, muggy air and the stench of unwashed people. It was almost as bad as Tartarus had been. The cell directly across from the door was filled to bursting the Titans and Olympians. There was no room for anyone to lie down or even move.
The next cell was the same. As was the one after it and then after that. Astraea could hardly believe the horrors the Mimics had done to her people.
When the cell occupants saw her, they didn’t say a word. One pointed through the cell bars and mouthed, Be careful—they are just through there.…
Astraea looked back to the large doors that separated the cell blocks. It was behind those doors that she’d nearly been killed by the living rock. She then approached the cell and whispered, “Is my grandfather Hyperion here?”
