Zoey sprinted down the main hall. She ignored the hundreds of Mrs. Dupont’s portraits that stared down on her and arrived at the front doors before she slowed to check the main corridor, but it was completely deserted. The constant booms as the mob rammed the transfiguration chamber doors reverberated like the beating of a heart behind her. Could Tristan hold the doors long enough for her? She turned her head for a second.
Tristan and Simon stared back at her. The doors were still in place.
Zoey recognized the door to the room where Xenor had been killed. The door was still open, and yellow light spilled from the opening. She raced in, searched for the desk, and found it.
Xenor’s body still lay on the same spot where she had last seen him alive, and for a split second she felt sorry for him.
She dashed past the stone fireplace and made for the desk. At first glanced she panicked — she couldn’t find the mirror. But then a flicker of light caught her attention.
Behind a tray of decanters filled with red and golden liquid, she could see the silver hand mirror.
Zoey reached over and grabbed it. She held the mirror out in front of her for half a second and saw that her hair was disheveled and her face smeared with dirt and blood. She turned and started for the door.
“Where do you think you’re going?” said a voice.
Chapter 17
A Mouthful of Spiders
Zoey froze in mid-step and whirled around.
Araneae stepped from the shadows. His large bulbous eyes focused on Zoey, and his mouth twitched into a sneer.
“Thought you’d get away did you, little girl?” he said, his voice quivering as though he’d swallowed a harmonica. The dim light cast shadows over his abnormally large head, making him look all the more sinister.
Zoey stepped sideways and placed the mirror prudently on top of a plush chair. She turned and faced Araneae, her boomerang clasped tightly in her hand.
“Yes, actually, I did.”
The man-insect laughed a sick throaty laugh. “Well, I can promise that you and your friends will never leave here alive and in one piece.”
“I wouldn’t bet on that.” Zoey glowered. “We’ve been doing pretty well, considering. I’m betting on us, Spiderman.”
She stood her ground and faced him.
Araneae’s eyes glazed over. He opened his mouth and vomited hundreds of small black spiders. They scrambled down his body, in and out of his clothes, and flowed onto the floor like black water as they surged towards Zoey.
She kicked and stomped on them. They crunched under her boots like glass. But as soon as she had killed a few, more came. There were just too many spiders.
Jabbing pain erupted on her thigh. She looked down. At least six spiders clung to her pants, biting and tearing through the fabric to her flesh beneath. She scraped them off with her boomerang.
She heard Araneae’s laugh over her own screams.
More spiders scuttled up her legs. She could feel them on her back, up her neck, and then down inside her shirt. She screamed and shook her body, trying to get rid of them. She tore off her red shirt and tossed it away. She grabbed a spider from her back, shivered, and flung it to the ground and stomped on it. Another wave of black spiders spilled towards her. She leaped out of the way and crashed into a chair.
Araneae grabbed her, pulled her head back violently by her hair, and shoved her into the wall. She crumbled to the ground, and five spiders latched themselves onto her face. The gangly limbs of the spiders were crawling all over her. She screamed louder than before. They bit and tore at the flesh on her face. She dropped her boomerang and slapped at her face frantically. The spiders fell, and she squished them with her boot.
She spun and could see Araneae’s fist coming directly towards her face. She dived and rolled before it hit her.
Araneae’s eyes widened, and he hissed at her.
She caught sight of her boomerang and started forward, but Araneae kicked her in the stomach. Zoey’s legs buckled slightly, and she staggered. Her throat seared as she took in a breath. She was thrown into the air again, crashed against the wall, and toppled over a table. Glass and silverware crashed down around her. She could feel blood in her eyes. She tried to get up, but her legs gave way beneath her, and she fell.
Tristan’s face flashed in her mind’s eye. Was he still holding them off at the door? Were he and Simon still alive?
“You should stay down when you know you’re going to die. You can’t stop it now, agent.” Araneae sneered.
Zoey looked around. How could she defeat such a creature? She had no weapon. Desperately, she searched the room, but her boomerang was nowhere to be seen. She started to panic. Was she going to die? She shuddered at the thought of being eaten by thousands of ghastly spiders - it was too awful to think about.
What could kill thousands of spiders?
“My mistress didn’t want me to play with you before, but she’s not here now. She can’t stop me. I’m really going to enjoy this.”
Araneae opened his mouth and thousands more creepy crawlies spilled down his body towards Zoey.
As Zoey backed away, her hand hit one of the decanters. And then it came to her. She knew what to do.
A new surge of strength filled her. She whirled around and grabbed two decanters. She staggered to her feet and hurled the first one at the spiders on the ground. The decanter smashed and covered the spiders in golden liquid. Then she threw the second one at Araneae. It exploded against his chest and face, and drenched him with liquid.
For a moment he looked surprised. He looked down at himself and then laughed. It was all the time that she needed.
Zoey sprinted to the fireplace and pulled out a red-hot log with the cast-iron tongs. She whirled around and hurled the fiery log at Araneae and the spiders.
The effect was instantaneous.
Yellow and orange flames enveloped the spiders in a carpet of fire, and Araneae burst into flames like a human torch. The fire leaked from his mouth and reached the spiders on the ground, enveloping them in a carpet of fire.
Araneae staggered across the room, screaming and flailing his arms in an attempt to put out the fire. But the flames clung to him and grew taller and taller until he fell to his knees and toppled over. The flames danced over his dead body.
He had been going to kill her, and she had defended herself. He had left her no other choice. She felt numb.
Zoey staggered towards the chair with the mirror. She slipped it in the front of her pants and collected her boomerang. She had to get away fast. But just as she was about to leave, something caught her foot. She tripped and almost fell. She turned around and gasped—Xenor’s hand was wrapped around her ankle.
“Xenor?” How could he still be alive?
He let go of her leg. Blood oozed from the deep wound around his neck, and his eyes were half closed, as though it took too much effort to keep them open. His blood-stained lips parted as if he wanted to speak, but no sound came out.
Zoey fell to her knees by him in a puddle of his own blood.
“What? I can’t hear you. Listen, I’m going to go and get Tristan and Simon, and then we’ll help you out of here. I know you don’t like agents, but I promise you, we’re angels compared to the Alphas.”
Xenor’s eyes widened, and then he spoke very slowly. “There…is…nothing you can…do…for me…now…”
Zoey stared at him, not knowing what to do. “Maybe not me, but I’m sure there are agents who are skilled with healing mystic injuries. They can help. Trust me. I can’t just leave you here to die like this. You need help. You’re still alive—”
Xenor shook his head. “Not…for long…”
“I don’t understand,” she said, “if you don’t want my help then what do you want me to do?”
Xenor was overcome with pain and didn’t speak for a moment. Finally, he said, “I know…where…your mother is—”
“What?” Zoey fell forward. “Where? Where is she? Please tell me.”
>
“The Nexus.”
Zoey felt like someone had just stabbed her in the heart, and left the dagger in.
Xenor’s throat gurgled and blood poured out of his mouth. He closed his eyes when he spoke again. “The witch…sold her…to a group of Aneraks…They do…experiments... That’s…all I know.”
Zoey gawked at him for a moment, forgetting where she was. Her mother was in the Nexus? She remembered her nightmares of being tied to a bed and surrounded by men in white coats. What if the person tied on the bed had been her mother all along?
It was even worse than she’d feared. Mrs. Dupont had sold her mother to another world as if she were livestock. She had to clench her jaw to stop from shaking. Mrs. Dupont was going to pay for this. She didn’t know how or when—but she would.
Zoey leaned forward. “Thank you, Xenor. Thank you for telling me.”
He looked a little stiff. She shook him gently. “Xenor? Xenor?”
She shook him again, but he wasn’t breathing. She got up slowly. There was nothing she could do for him now.
Zoey ignored her pain and charged down the main hall as fast as her legs would take her. Her heart leaped when she saw that Tristan and Simon were still holding the doors shut. They were such champs.
“What took you so long?” said Simon, his face was a nasty deep purple, and he was sweating like he’d just stepped out of a sauna. “I thought you said you’d be right back...”
“I know, sorry - spiders,” she said, a little breathlessly.
Simon frowned. “Spiders? What spiders?” He looked on the ground as though he half expected to see some near his feet.
“Can we talk later?” said Tristan.
His skin was losing its blue hue. His hands slipped, and the doors opened two inches. “I’m losing my strength - the doors are going to open.”
Simon’s eyes widened. “That’s bad. This is bad.”
Zoey clipped her boomerang to her wrist and pulled out the mirror. She moved in between Simon and Tristan.
“Zoey, hurry!” Tristan’s hands slipped and several fingers pushed through the opening in the doors. Then hands wiggled into view.
“When I say now,” began Zoey, “you have to let go of the doors and grab my arms. Got it?”
“Yes,” said Tristan.
Simon looked worried. “I’ll do my best—”
“Simon!” growled Zoey.
“Yes, yes,” he agreed. “Got it.”
Zoey let out a shaky breath and forced herself to relax. She let the images of the Hive and the feelings of comfort from the only real home she’d ever really known take on a life of their own. Was their Hive even still standing? Or had it been destroyed by the hostiles? It was a chance she had to take.
She held up the mirror, but the stress of the situation meant that she couldn’t stop shaking. “Push the doors, you fools!” Mrs. Dupont called from behind the door. “Push! PUSH!”
Zoey did her best to ignore Mrs. Dupont’s voice and focused all her thoughts on the Hive. This was their only shot.
Something smashed into the doors from the other side, and the three of them were pushed back, but Tristan pushed it closed with a great final effort.
“Now, Zoey!” cried Tristan. “Do it now! Please!”
Zoey thought of the Hive, and of Agent Franken and his Hazmat suit. She hoped the contents in her tiny vial would be enough for him to make an antidote. Sweat dripped from the tip of her nose. Suddenly she felt cool, and then hot. She watched as her reflection flickered.
“NOW!”
Tristan and Simon let go of the doors and reached out—
The doors blasted open.
Mrs. Dupont shrieked as she lunged for Zoey’s throat—but she missed and grabbed the air instead.
Zoey, Tristan, and Simon were already gone.
Chapter 18
The Antidote
Agent Franken fell off his chair with a thud. He lifted a gloved hand and pointed.
“How? How did you get in here? What sort of uniforms are those?”
Zoey, Tristan, and Simon had landed beside Agent Franken’s cubicle in Room One of the center of Militia and Defense. Zoey rushed over to Agent Franken and helped him up. He stared at her in amazement.
“Did you just…?” He lowered his voice. “Did you just mirror-port here?”
Zoey beamed down at him. “Yes I did—we did,” she said, and pointed to Tristan and Simon.
Agent Franken’s jaw dropped. “You mean - you and them? Together? The three of you?”
“Yes.”
Agent Franken looked as though he might faint. He stood still, and then his face broke into a smile. “That’s extraordinary! You were able to manipulate and create gateways with your own mind. And you mirror-ported others with you. Astonishing! ”
Simon and Tristan laughed, and Zoey looked embarrassed. She pulled out the small glass vial and handed it to Agent Franken.
“This is the sample you needed. It’s from the original source.”
Agent Franken held the vial between two gloved fingers. He lifted it to the light. “Yes, this looks like the same black oil. How did you manage to get it?”
Zoey exhaled loudly. “That’s a long story.”
His eyes were red, and he looked tired. He’d aged ten years since she’d last seen him.
Suddenly, the walls cracked, and plaster and dust fell from the ceiling. Even through the soundproof walls, they could hear the sound of guns being fired.
“That sounded like a bomb,” said Simon.
“Agent Franken, are we too late?” asked Zoey, fearfully.
Agent Franken pursed his lips. “I’m not sure. Things are pretty bad all over the world. The Agencies in Germany, India, Japan, and Australia have fallen into hostile hands. It’s a miracle ours is still standing - so far.”
He looked at the vial. “If I can produce an antidote with this - you’ll have done a great deed for humanity.”
“How long will it take?” asked Tristan. “I mean, how long do we have until the borders and mirrors are back on?”
Agent Franken swayed his head from side to side. “If I can concentrate without interruption, an hour maybe, perhaps two.”
He looked at them. “You three might want to stay here. It’s safer in here than out there.”
Another bomb exploded somewhere on the upper levels. The room shook, and two light fixtures snapped and crashed on the floor.
“Thank you, Agent Franken. But I think we should be out there with the rest of them,” said Zoey. “We can still help while you work on the cure. We’ve been gone long enough, and I’m sure they’re wondering what happened to us.”
“They might even think we’re dead,” said Simon.
Zoey watched as Agent Franken began working on his cure. “Maybe. All the more reason to get out there and show them that we’re not dead.”
“Are you sure you’re okay, Zoey?” said Tristan. “You’re bleeding,” he said, as he tossed his red shirt on the ground. “You have a nasty cut on your forehead, and there’s blood all over your shirt. What happened over there? Did the spiders do that?”
Zoey told them about Araneae, and what Xenor had told her about her mother.
“The Nexus?” Simon asked. “But why would Mrs. Dupont sell your mother to some scumbags in the Nexus?”
“I’m not sure, but I think it’s for the same reason that Mrs. Dupont experimented on her before.”
“Which is what?” asked Tristan.
Zoey swallowed. “It has something to do with the blood of the Originals. I don’t know how I know this, but I just do.”
“Then the mystics are performing experiments on her,” said Simon. “That can’t be good.”
“You know what this means, don’t you?” Tristan had an intense look in his eyes.
Zoey looked away from him. “I do.”
“I don’t,” said Simon. “You two want to share?”
Zoey turned to Simon. “It means that I need to find her. It mean
s I have to go to the Nexus and rescue my mother.”
Simon was speechless. “Have you gone completely mad? What did that woman do to your brain? You can’t go to the Nexus, no agent has ever crossed over—I’m not even sure there’s air there! Besides, the minute you cross over, you’re dead—”
“My mother crossed over,” interrupted Zoey, “which means I can, too. And I’m going to find her. But right now, we have to help to protect the Hive until Agent Franken conjures up the cure.”
“That’s right,” agreed Tristan. “This fight’s not over yet.”
Simon looked pale, and he lowered his voice. “It might not work. His cure, I mean. I didn’t want to say it, but I feel that I should. What happens if his so-called miracle cure doesn’t work? What will we do then?”
“It will work,” said Zoey. “Have a little faith. We didn’t go all the way to Mrs. Dupont’s Fun House for nothing. It’s going to work. I know it will.”
She turned and looked at the old man in his spacesuit. “I have faith in him. He only needed the sample, and we gave it to him. Now we let him work. Come on.”
Zoey ran for the exit.
“Wait!” cried Simon.
Zoey jumped and looked around wildly. “What? What?”
Simon pointed to his red uniform. “We can’t go out in these. We’ll get killed.”
He started to undress.
Zoey was glad to be rid of the stinky uniform. She tossed it on the floor next to Simon and Tristan’s pile.
When they were all free of the uniforms, Zoey reached for the handle on the exit again.
“Ready?”
They could hear muffled screams and shouts now that they were closer to the door. Tristan and Simon nodded and drew their weapons.
Zoey pulled open the door.
The smoke and the smell of burned flesh were the first things that hit her.
Bodies were scattered under piles of concrete and plaster. She couldn’t tell if they were friendly or hostiles. She only knew that they were dead.
They moved cautiously down the corridor. Holes peppered the walls, and entire chunks of the floor were overturned like something big had crawled out.
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