I cringed at the thought of a thousand-year-old Melanie walking around, shouting orders at everyone. Thank God I’d be going back to my own world when this was over.
Melanie wrinkled her forehead. She wasn’t convinced yet.
“Ophi and Serpens would be able to leave the heavens—with Melanie’s help, of course,” I added. “You’d all be like partners, working together to keep the people of Stellaris safe.”
“Partners, huh?” Ophi said. “That I could agree to.” He glanced at Melanie. “The question is, can she see me as her equal?”
I turned to Melanie. “Well? Can you? For the sake of Stellaris?”
“Great leaders need to do what’s best for their people,” Bobson said, shocking the hell out of me with his levelheadedness.
Hercules squeezed Melanie’s shoulder and smiled at her. “Show them you are the compassionate person I’ve always known you to be.”
Melanie nodded, but it looked like it pained her to do it. “I accept the terms of the agreement.”
Okay, so she still sounded like an unfeeling robot, but at least it was something.
I looked at Ophi. “So we’re good?”
“We’re good, but could someone untie me now? I’d like to heal this arrow wound in my leg.”
Bobson looked to Melanie for approval before he untied Ophi. Luckily, she didn’t object. Ophi flexed his wrists and pulled the arrow from his thigh. Then he turned to me.
“I guess I start my new job as healer right now, huh? With Andrew and Kevin? That is after I heal my leg.”
I smiled. “Thank you, Ophi.” My smile faded as I realized what that meant. We had to free Serpens. “Wait, will Serpens behave if we let him out?”
Ophi looked at Serpens, who flicked his tongue in response. Ophi nodded back at him. Apparently, he spoke snake. “He’s willing to go along with it as long as Melanie keeps up her end of the deal.”
All eyes fell on Melanie. She huffed, clearly annoyed that we all doubted her. “You have my word.” Hercules rubbed her shoulder. If he believed her, then the rest of us would have to too.
Ophi and Bobson walked over to the net where Serpens and Scorpius were tied up. Ophi whispered something to Serpens, and the snake nodded in agreement. Serpens opened his mouth slightly, revealing a fang. A drop of liquid fell from the fang onto Ophi’s leg. I watched as the blood disappeared and the hole the arrow had made closed without a trace.
Ophi smiled and flexed his leg. “Much better.”
“Um, Hercules, do you think maybe you should help them with the net?” I asked. “We don’t need Scorpius making a run for it when Bobson and Ophi release Serpens.”
“She’s right,” Melanie said. “Scorpius won’t obey Ophi at all.”
Hercules raised his eyebrows and smiled. I had a feeling he was about to show us how strong he really was. He walked over to the net and wrapped his arms around Scorpius. “Let Serpens out. I’ve got this one under control.”
Bobson opened the net just enough for Serpens to slither out. He went directly to Ophi, who reached out like he was going to pick up a puppy or some other little creature. I was completely confused by it until the most amazing thing happened. Serpens wiggled his body, shrinking down to the size of a large boa constrictor or python—still enormous, but not all that abnormal.
“What?” I gasped.
“We’re a team,” Ophi said. “I can’t exactly work with him if he’s the size he becomes in the heavens. If I’m human sized, then he must be snake sized.”
“Look out!” Hercules yelled.
We all turned to see Scorpius lashing his tail at Bobson. Bobson backed away, leaving the net wide open.
“Don’t let go of him!” Melanie screamed. As if that was even a thought in Hercules’s mind.
Scorpius was struggling to get free, and Hercules was losing his grip on him.
Avery raised his bow and arrow and shot Scorpius in the head. Scorpius flailed around in pain, making it even harder for Hercules to keep his grip on him. Bobson was frozen in place, watching everything happen. I’d never seen him freeze up like this. He’d always come across as fearless. I searched the area for a weapon. The only thing in sight was the hose. I reached for it and turned the knob to full force. I aimed it at Scorpius’s head, which wasn’t easy since he was swinging it all around, trying to get free from Avery’s arrow. Still, I smothered him with water.
Serpens was useless against Scorpius. His smaller form was no match for the giant scorpion. So he wrapped himself around Ophi’s upper body as Ophi marched over to the net and to Scorpius’s back end. The second Scorpius’s tail hit the ground, Ophi stomped on it, pinning it in the dirt. Avery shot a few more arrows, and Scorpius went down. With a huge sigh, I lowered the hose.
Bobson finally stepped forward and closed the net. I’d never seen him look so scared. He knew he’d almost been killed, and even with Ophi here to heal him, the near-death experience had done a number on him.
No one said a word while the net was secured. It took all my willpower not to bust on Bobson just a little. But we were all on edge, and I didn’t want to make things worse.
We headed inside to Andrew and Kevin’s room. Kevin was snoring louder than a weed whacker on his bed. Andrew, on the other hand, was very quiet. Too quiet. I leaned over him, listening for faint sounds of breathing. Nothing. Avery grabbed Andrew’s wrist and felt for a pulse.
“Oh, God,” he said.
I stared at Andrew’s lifeless body. He was gone. And he’d most likely passed all alone in this strange world while Kevin slept.
21
I’d never seen a dead body up close before. Once at my great aunt’s funeral, I caught a glimpse of the casket. Only enough to see her wrinkled hand between the crowd of people paying their respects. It hadn’t bothered me too much because I didn’t know her very well. Not that I knew Andrew well either, but he wasn’t old and wrinkled. He was young, innocent. I inhaled sharply, choking on the air.
Ophi gently tugged on my arm. “Step aside. I can fix this. He’ll be fine.” His eyes were full of sympathy as he squeezed my elbow. And in that instant, I forgave him for wanting to send me into the heavens. Stellaris had made him temporarily insane. I could relate. Ever since Avery had disappeared and this whole mess started, I’d acted pretty crazy.
Avery and I stepped away from Andrew. Serpens slithered down Ophi’s arms as they got into position. Ophi held Serpens over Andrew’s body. Serpens was easily bigger than Andrew, and I couldn’t help worrying that he’d try to swallow him whole or something. I may have forgiven Ophi, but I was still terrified of Serpens. After all, he was a snake, and Andrew might be his idea of a snack. Ophi gently squeezed the sides of Serpens’s mouth, exposing his fangs. My hands shook, and Avery wrapped his arms around me. I was thankful he knew me so well.
I turned my head so I could see what was happening with Andrew. I felt responsible for his death. It was my fault he’d been taken. My fault he’d been hurled into a ditch and used as bait to lure the rest of us out. I’d played right into Draco’s hands. All because I thought I could take matters into my own hands and do a better job than…than Melanie. What had I been thinking sending the guys off to keep Draco occupied? I knew they were terrified of weapons, and they hadn’t had much training. How could I do that to them?
Tears spilled down my cheeks. My vision blurred, and I blinked back the wetness as I stared at Serpens—more specifically his fangs. Huge, pointy, and lethal. Not long ago Ophi was threatening my life, and Serpens…well, how many times had he tried to kill me? Yet here I was, trusting the two of them to save Andrew. The only explanation was I was completely crazy.
Venom spilled from Serpens’s fangs as Ophi moved him down the length of Andrew’s body, dripping the clear liquid all over him. I gasped. Sure, Ophi had said Serpens’s venom could heal—I’d seen it heal Ophi—but I also knew it could kill. I remembered the effect it had on Draco, and he was ginormous. Of course, Andrew was already dead, so there wasn’t
any risk of killing him.
Ophi stepped back, and Serpens closed his mouth. I stepped away from Avery and closer to the bed. “That’s it? What happens now? Didn’t it work? Shouldn’t he move or something?”
“Ell.” Avery reached for my arm.
Serpens wound himself around Ophi’s body, flicking his tongue at me. I didn’t speak snake, but I didn’t need a translator to tell he was cursing at me. Ophi shook his head at Serpens. “None of that. We have no issue with Ella.” He turned to me and motioned toward Andrew. “These things can take time. The venom will work its way through Andrew’s body, but how long it takes depends on how long he’s been dead. No one was watching him when it happened, so—”
“We wait.” I stared at Andrew’s body. The venom slowly soaked into his skin. It was sort of like watching water absorb into soil. Andrew looked peaceful. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was having a wonderful dream. I wiggled my faded fingers and almost envied Andrew. Almost.
Without warning, Andrew’s chest heaved like someone had used electric shock to jumpstart his heart. He opened his eyes and looked at Ophi.
I inched closer to him. “Andrew?”
He sat up as if he’d never been hurt.
“Are you okay?” I reached for him, wanting to steady him or help in some way, but he didn’t seem to need help. “How do you feel?”
He studied his limbs and the bed underneath him. “Did I—was I…dead?”
“Kind of.” I shrugged. “But Ophi and Serpens brought you back to life.” I turned to Ophi, a huge smile of gratitude on my face, but his back was to me as he held Serpens above Kevin’s burns.
Andrew hopped out of bed and stretched.
“Hey, take it easy.” I grabbed his arm before he started doing jumping jacks or some other motion that was completely unnecessary and more than risky given he’d just come back from the dead. “You were dead not thirty seconds ago. You should ease back into things.”
“No way. I feel like a new man!” He rolled his shoulders back and puffed out his chest.
I let go of him and chuckled. “Man? Let’s not push it.”
“Hey!” He faked being insulted, and I couldn’t help smiling. Seeing him alive made me feel more alive than I had since Avery kissed me. Avery put his arm around me and walked me over to Kevin’s bed. I wondered if he was just being sweet or if he was letting Andrew know he shouldn’t try to flirt with me. Either way, I was okay with it.
Now that Andrew was okay, we all turned to Kevin. Serpens’s venom dripped onto Kevin’s cheeks where it pooled above the burned flesh. Kevin’s skin actually rippled before smoothing out back to normal. It looked awful, and I couldn’t imagine what it felt like, but I stared in awe as the burns on Kevin’s face and neck disappeared.
Kevin’s eyes popped wide open, and he let out a moan. Serpens was still inches from his face, and Kevin shrieked. “Get it away from me!” He tried to shield himself with his arms, but the burns were so bad the movement sent Kevin into a seizure.
“Ophi! Do something!” I gripped the edge of the bed with my good hand.
Andrew and a few others reached for Kevin. “No!” I put my hands up to stop them. “Don’t touch him. He’s burned too badly. You’ll only hurt him more.”
“Step back!” Ophi yelled. He moved Serpens down the length of Kevin’s body, jerking the serpent back and forth to keep him positioned over Kevin’s shaking limbs.
“Oh God!” I buried my head in Avery’s chest. I couldn’t stand seeing Kevin in so much pain.
“Out of the way,” Ophi said. I could hear him scrambling around the bed as everyone else scattered. Then the room went completely silent. I lifted my head, still afraid to look at Kevin, but forcing my eyes in his direction anyway. His body was still. The burns were gone. Not even a patch of redness remained. No one moved while we waited for Kevin to open his eyes. His eyelids fluttered, and his gaze fell on me.
“You’re fading,” he said.
I nodded and the tears I’d been holding tumbled down my cheeks. “I’ll be fine. How are you?”
He inspected every inch of his arms and legs, raising them gently to get a better look. “My burns are gone, and I don’t hurt anymore.” He shook his head. “But I had this dream that a giant snake was going to eat me.”
“It wasn’t a dream, but he wasn’t trying to eat you. He was healing you with his venom.”
Kevin gawked at Ophi and the large serpent wound around him. “Is that Serpens you’re holding?”
Ophi nodded.
“But how is that even possible? He was huge.”
“Long story,” I said. “The important thing is we’re all on the same side now. Well, except for Scorpius and Draco. They’re still evil and totally pissed at us, but at least they’re under control.”
“You mean they’re under seriously strong netting,” Avery said.
“Not for long,” Bobson said. He’d been hanging back from the rest of the group, not talking or getting involved in any way. It was like he didn’t want us to become real people to him. We were only here to serve in his army. He didn’t have time to care about us one way or the other.
Avery turned to him. “What do you mean?”
“I think it’s time we send them back to the heavens where they belong.”
“Wait.” As much as I wanted to put the constellations back in the sky and get home, there was something I had to do first. I gave Avery’s hand a quick squeeze before walking over to Ophi. I didn’t get too close. Serpens had started his tongue flicking again. “We can find the others, the guys Draco took. You could heal them or bring them back to life if they’re—” I couldn’t bring myself to say it. “The point is, thanks to you, we can save them. All of them.”
“We have no idea where to find them now,” Bobson said. Not exactly the response I expected from him. I figured he’d have some comment about how I didn’t get to call the shots here.
“What about the constellations? One of them must have seen where Draco took the boys. Between the orb and the observatory, we should be able to communicate with Sagittarius or one of the others. I’m sure we could get answers.”
“Observatory?” Avery asked. “I didn’t know there was one.”
Bobson nodded. “Melanie’s father’s office is an observatory. He uses it to monitor the heavens. It gives a closer view than the orb.”
“Then let’s go there.” I was already heading out the door. Everyone followed me, including Kevin, who was fully recovered like Andrew.
“Why am I not surprised you found out about the observatory?” Bobson kept his eyes focused in front of him instead of looking at me.
“I guess despite your lack of trying, you’re starting to get to know us.”
We headed through the sitting room and to the observatory door. I reached for the knob, but it wouldn’t turn. “Locked. Bobson, any chance Melanie trusts you with a key?”
He glared at me and pulled a pen out of his pocket. He opened the cap and dripped some ink on the doorknob. With the slightest twist, the door opened. “No door this stuff can’t open.”
“Good to know.” I made a mental note as I pushed past Bobson and into the observatory.
The guys filed in behind me.
“Whoa, I thought we were going to an observatory?” Derek said. “This looks like a library. I’ve never seen this many books.” He walked over to the ladder attached to the shelves. “And come on, it even has the moveable ladder thing.”
“This was—is—” I corrected myself, “Melanie’s dad’s office. But it’s an observatory too.” I pointed at the ceiling.
“It looks like a really tall library to me,” Derek said.
I went over to the desk and pressed the small button on the side. The black slab creaked and moaned as the ceiling shifted to the side, revealing the heavens above.
Derek grinned. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”
“Give it a rest.” Avery gave Derek a look that shut him up instantly.
“We need to find those guys fast.”
“Probably a good idea,” Bobson agreed.
I locked eyes with Bobson, not quite sure what he meant, but not wanting to waste time asking either. “Show me how this works. How do I talk to the constellations?”
Bobson walked over to the desk and pulled out the keyboard tray. Only there wasn’t a keyboard. There was a screen filled with pictures of the constellations. “Press the image of the constellation you want to see and the telescopic lens in the roof will rotate until it finds it. Then you’ll be able to talk into this.” He pointed to a pen attached to the tray by a small chain.
“Another pen? Really?” What was the obsession Stellarians had with pens?
“It’s not a pen. It’s a microphone.” Bobson picked it up and handed it to me. Okay, so he was right, but if he was waiting for an apology, he was going to be standing there for a long time.
I checked out the screen again, my eyes searching for the one constellation I’d come to really like. “There you are, Sagittarius.” I pressed the figure, and it lit up. The ceiling creaked again as the telescopic lens scanned the sky for Sagittarius. Everyone stared in wonder.
“Okay, I take it back,” Derek said. “This is the coolest observatory ever.”
Avery smiled and shook his head. It was good to see him smile.
Once the lens was in position and Sagittarius was staring down at us, I picked up the microphone. “Sagittarius, can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear, Ella. No need to yell.”
“Sorry.” For a second I felt like my grandma, who was convinced you had to yell into the phone or the person two states over on the other line couldn’t hear you. “We need a favor. We’re looking for the guys Draco took earlier. Do you know where they are?”
“I haven’t seen them in a while, but Draco dropped them into his nest when he took Andrew to the crater.”
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