by Kate O'Hearn
“Don’t remind me.”
“So what if it takes us longer to clean, and what if we accidentally clean Arcadia Two as well?”
“Why would you want to clean more than we have to . . . ?” Zephyr paused and then bobbed her head up and down. “Oh, wait, now I get it. Yes, we just might have to clean Arcadia Two as well, and it might take us all night.”
“Exactly!” Astraea said.
Since their classes were on different floors, Zephyr moved on to hers while Astraea climbed the stairs to her first class. When she entered, she saw that Tryn was already there. She walked over and sat down. “Well?”
He looked at her, saying nothing.
She leaned closer and whispered. “So how is he?”
“He?” Tryn said. He frowned, then seemed to understand. “Oh, you mean Jake.”
“Quiet!” Astraea hushed him. “No one is supposed to know about him.”
“I don’t know how he is,” Tryn said softly. “I haven’t seen him since last night. Though there is no reason he should be anything but fine.”
Astraea stared into his eyes, searching for lies, betrayal, or deceit. All she saw were the light flecks of silver in the deep blue. Other than that, he revealed nothing.
“I need to see him. Where did you hide him?”
“He is safe,” Tryn said. “There’s no need to disturb him.”
Tryn’s comment left Astraea worried. Could Zephyr be right? Could Tryn part of the mysterious happenings at Arcadia Two? “But I need to see him.”
The arrival of Minerva cut off further conversation.
“Today we continue our discussion on the wars between the Olympians and Titans and how the peace was finally won.” Minerva went behind her desk and pulled out several large marble friezes with sculptures on them, depicting ancient battles taking place on Olympus, Titus, and Earth. She set them up in a long row to form one long storyboard.
Astraea was only mildly interested until she saw that one of the friezes depicted Emily Jacobs standing on the battlefield. A very elderly looking Pegasus was floating behind her while a dog ran at her feet. Flames shot from her hands.
“That can’t be right,” she called to Minerva. “That shows Emily Jacobs and Pegasus. But you said this was an ancient battle.”
Minerva nodded. “It was, but she was there. That is what makes our shared history so interesting and important. This frieze is of Emily when she, Pegasus, and several others traveled back in time to our past and joined in the fight against the Shadow Titans.”
Gasps filled the room, and students looked at each other in shock. The Shadow Titans, a mysterious army of living, hollow armor created by Saturn, were never spoken of and were entering the realms of myth. Though everyone had heard of them, the Shadows Titans were too terrifying to talk openly about.
“These are the Shadow Titans.” Minerva pointed to another frieze showing several large, sculpted creatures that almost looked familiar, but were somehow more monstrous.
“Is that one with the beak supposed to be a harpy?” screeched a young harpy perched on a pole set into the classroom wall. Her feathers were red, brown, and black. They blended beautifully with the bronze skin of her smooth face. Her dark hair hung down in layers that looked almost like feathers.
“No,” Minerva answered. “The winged Shadows were not sourced from a harpy. That one was sourced using the essence of a large blackbird. The others were created from the Minotaur, a turtle warrior, and a dragon. The poor creatures were tortured, and in their suffering, the Shadow Titans were created. Those hollow monsters fought without pause or mercy and nearly defeated us. We thought we had destroyed them all long ago, until recently, when more were discovered on Earth. They were dispatched, and it is our hope that they have finally been eradicated from existence.”
Astraea shivered as she gazed at the images of the Shadow Titans. She was glad they were extinct. They looked fearsome and unbeatable, and she would hate to meet one in person.
The rest of the history class proved more interesting than Astraea expected as they discussed Shadow Titans and the war, which finally ended with Saturn being defeated and the Titans being imprisoned in Tartarus.
Midway through the class, Minerva invited everyone outside. In the playing field at the back of the school were a series of tables. Across the field a target range had been erected as well as fighting mannequins.
On the first table was a selection of swords, daggers, and spears. The second table held an array of bows and arrows fletched with colorful plumage. The final table, constructed of metal and not wood, contained a collection of swords. These caught the attention of everyone in the class. They weren’t ordinary swords. Each blade had a deep groove cut into the length of it, and within the groove a flame burned, though it had no source or apparent fuel.
“These flame-swords are the actual weapons we used to turn the tide against the Shadow Titans,” Minerva explained as she picked up a sword and swished it through the air. “They were designed by Vulcan and his human assistant, Stella. They were the only weapons capable of defeating the terrible Shadows. As you can see, the flames can’t be extinguished—even after all this time, they still burn.”
“How is that possible?” an Olympian satyr asked.
“There was a special mixture poured into the channel. It needs no fuel and keeps burning,” Minerva said.
With her flame-sword held high, Minerva invited each student to pick up a weapon. “Some of you may feel you are too young to handle these weapons, but believe me, we had warriors much younger than you fighting beside us.”
Tryn took a step back from the tables.
“Is everything all right?” Astraea asked as she held up a flame-sword.
“My people do not believe in weapons.”
Astraea frowned. “Your father is human and they fight with weapons. I’ve heard Earth has had many wars. We’ve only had two.”
“My mother’s people don’t fight, and they have never had a war. I do not like weapons, and fighting is pointless.” Tryn said no more and walked away.
Astraea watched him go but didn’t try to follow. He was the strangest person she’d ever met. It had nothing to do with his shiny silver skin or speckled eyes. Tryn himself was a mystery.
Cylus clopped up behind her. The centaur was holding the flame-sword aloft and staring at Tryn with a threatening expression. “I wonder what this would do to silver skin. Do you think he can be burned?”
“Stop it, Cylus,” Astraea warned. “Leave Tryn alone.”
Cylus looked down at Astraea. “Oh, really? Why do you care what happens to him?”
Astraea felt the color rush to her cheeks. “I don’t care. I just don’t like bullies.”
“This is not bullying, but I’ll show you what is.” The centaur trotted up to Tryn and shoved him. “Hey, silver boy, are you too good to use a sword?”
Tryn looked at the centaur but didn’t say anything. He started to walk away again.
“Where are you going?” Cylus challenged, trotting after him. “Did I say you could leave?”
“I don’t need your permission,” Tryn said softly.
Cylus’s face turned red with rage. He wasn’t used to others not being frightened of him, and by the look of it, he didn’t like it one bit. “You are going to regret that.”
The bully went back to his friends but kept staring at Tryn and muttering. His friends laughed and patted Cylus on the shoulder.
Astraea realized that Tryn had just made a terrible mistake. Cylus had a lot of friends who were ready to do anything for him. Whether Tryn realized it or not, he now had an enemy.
After history class, Astraea made her way through the rest of her morning without incident. At lunch she met up with Zephyr and told her friend about what had happened between Tryn and Cylus. “Tryn is an idiot,” Zephyr said. “Doesn’t he realize how dangerous Cylus and his herd of centaurs are?”
“I don’t think he cares.”
They were eating i
n the gardens in front of Arcadia One, sharing the ambrosia cake Astraea brought from home. A fountain with trickling water was nearby, and marble benches were dotted across the grounds so the students could sit and enjoy their meals.
Astraea stood up and gazed around. “Speaking of Tryn, have you seen him lately?”
Zephyr raised her head. “Nope, and I can’t see him here. Maybe he’s still in the school.”
“I hope so,” Astraea said. “But by the look on Cylus’s face in class, I wonder if he’s done something.”
“That wouldn’t be good.”
“I know, especially as Tryn’s the only one who knows where Jake is hiding.”
16
JAKE SAT IN HIS ROOM beneath Arcadia Two. As the long hours ticked away, he found himself more and more grateful for the snake’s presence. Sitting quietly in the dark, he stroked Nesso’s soft scales and actually found it comforting.
At one point, they heard the strangers go back the other way. This time, though, neither he nor Nesso heard the sound of something being dragged.
“I don’t like it here,” Nesso hissed softly.
“Me neither,” Jake agreed. “I don’t care what Tryn, Astraea, or Zephyr says. We are not spending another night down here.”
“Thank you,” the snake said politely.
Fear kept Jake from opening up the bag of glowing moss. Without its light, he had no concept of time’s passage. Leaning back against the wall, he dozed off but rarely stayed asleep long.
“Jake, wake up. I hear sssomething.” Nesso squirmed around his neck.
Startled awake, Jake strained to listen. It was several more heartbeats before he could hear what the snake heard. Someone or something was moving around in the corridor. Soon he saw a soft golden glow and heard the sound of footsteps in the narrow passage outside his room.
“Jake, are you still here?”
“Tryn?”
Tryn entered the room. “I left you moss. Why are you in the dark?”
“Why?” Jake cried. “You said no one ever came down here. But this place was busier than the Santa Monica Pier! There were loads of people here.” He checked Tryn’s wrist for a watch but found nothing. “What time is it?”
“It’s midday,” Tryn explained. “I’ve come during my lunch break. What do you mean it was busy here last night?”
“I mean, there had to be at least twenty people down here. They came in two groups. It sounded like the second group was dragging something heavy—something that groaned.”
“Did they find you?”
“Uh, considering I’m still here, I guess the answer is no!” Jake said angrily. “But they scared the daylights out of me.”
Tryn frowned. “I’ve been down here many times and have never seen anyone.”
“Yes, but have you ever been here all night?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Well, I don’t plan on spending another minute down here. This place really creeps me out. Let’s go back to your dorm room. I’m hungry and thirsty, and I really need a shower.”
“We can’t leave, at least not yet,” Tryn said. “It’s still light out and the cleaners are in there. We have to stay here for a bit. Do you remember which direction the strangers went?”
“Pleassse don’t go looking for them,” Nesso cried.
“Don’t worry, we won’t,” Jake said. “There still may be someone down here.”
Tryn frowned. “Worry about what? What are you talking about?”
“I don’t want to go walking around down here in case anyone else is here.”
“I have excellent hearing. I would know if anyone else was down here with us. We are alone.”
Jake’s eyebrows rose. If Tryn was so good at hearing, how could he not hear Nesso? He hadn’t even mentioned the snake. But then again, in the dim light, maybe he couldn’t see it.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Tryn asked.
“No reason,” Jake said. He grabbed his things and followed Tryn into the corridor.
They walked in the direction of the sounds from the previous night. But after a while, Jake stopped. “I don’t know where they went from here.” He looked down at the snake. “Did you hear where they went?”
“I don’t know where they went,” Tryn said. “You heard them down here, not me.”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Jake said. “I was talking to Nesso.”
“Yesss, they went to the left. . . .”
“Who is Nesso?” Tryn asked.
“This is.” Jake pointed to the snake at his neck. “I found—um, him? Her? It?—in my pack last night.”
“Her, if you don’t mind,” Nesso said indignantly.
“Sorry, I found her in my pack. Actually, she bit me.”
“I told you, you hit me first,” Nesso argued.
“I didn’t hit you intentionally. But you bit me on purpose.”
Tryn frowned and looked closely at the snake around Jake’s neck. “Can you really understand her?”
“Of course. I mean, all the animals here talk, don’t they? Look at Zephyr. Okay, so I can’t understand a thing she says, but you and Astraea can. Just like me and Nesso. We understand each other perfectly.”
Tryn shook his head slowly. “This is not the same at all. Not every animal here is capable of speech, but those that can talk are understood by everyone—except for strangers not raised around them. I have never seen a snake like that before, let alone heard one speak. Where did she come from?”
“Here,” Jake said. “She climbed into my pack at some point after I arrived here. I know for sure I didn’t bring her from LA.”
Alarm rose on Tryn’s silver face. “Jake, I assure you, there are no snakes like Nesso here or on Xanadu.”
“Where else could she be from?” The words were just out of his mouth when Jake remembered Nesso saying she was cold and how the bird monster put her in a dark place before she was here. “Wait a minute.” He looked down at the snake. “Nesso, in your home, are there other big people like me or Tryn?”
“No There are other big thingsss, but nothing like you. I have never ssseen anything like you before.”
“Uh-oh,” Jake said. “Houston, we have a problem. . . .”
“My name is Tryn, not Houston.”
“It’s an expression. It means we have a really big problem. Nesso has never seen anyone like us. It means that whoever brought me here must have brought Nesso from somewhere else.”
“How can that be, when you speak the same language?” Tryn asked.
“It wasn’t alwaysss like that,” Nesso said. “When I firssst came here, I couldn’t underssstand anyone. But then I bit you and now I can.”
“Really?” Jake said. He frowned. “She says she couldn’t understand any of us until she bit me. Then she could.”
“Fascinating,” Tryn said. “Perhaps when she bit you, it broke some kind of barrier between you.” He held up his hand to the snake. “Maybe if she bites me, I could understand her.”
Jake pushed Tryn’s hand away. “Trust me, you don’t want to do that. When she bit me, it was like every part of me was on fire. My heart raced and I couldn’t breathe. I thought for sure I was going to die, and I know I passed out. Even now my hand really hurts.” He held up his hand, revealing the swollen fang marks and dark bruising around them. “She might even be poisonous to you.”
“Good point,” Tryn agreed. “But her being here is really bad. It means whoever is bringing humans to Titus is also bringing others. The question is, who and why?”
“Well,” Jake said, bending down and reaching into his backpack. “I can’t answer why, but I can show you who.” He pulled out his notebook and opened it to the sketch. “This is what I saw grab Molly before I fell off my skateboard. Nesso says she was caught by the same thing right before it put her in a bag or something. But she says she saw other dark things too.”
Tryn looked at the sketch and gasped. “Is this really what brought you here?”
&
nbsp; Jake nodded. “I remember it was big and black. It kinda looked like a giant bird.”
Tryn was shaking his head and his eyes were wide. “That was no bird. Jake, this is a Shadow Titan!”
17
ASTRAEA PUSHED THE HEAVY BROOM down the empty hall of Arcadia One, while Zephyr worked beside her, dusting off shelves and windows with a flash of her long white tail.
“This isn’t so bad,” Zephyr said. “It’s better than licking flowers to get nectar.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have to push a heavy broom.”
“They say a little hard work is character building.” Zephyr moved on to the next window and sang aloud, “Swish, swish, swish,” as her tail brushed against the glass. “All done, nice and clean . . .”
When Astraea reached the end of the hall, she turned and pushed the broom back again. “Finally!” she said. “Now just pick this up and we can head over to Arcadia Two.”
Zephyr trotted over with the dustpan gripped between her teeth. She bent down and held it to the floor as Astraea swept the dust and debris from the busy day onto the pan. It was then dumped into the trash receptacle.
Astraea picked up the broom and slung it over her shoulder, and they made their way to the ramps that led from the upper floors down to the lower ones. Students and faculty with legs and feet used the stairs. But for those with hooves and other means of transport, the ramps were ideal.
The sun was still shining overhead as they exited Arcadia One and started walking across the grounds toward the second building. The park area in front was filled with students. Some were sitting together, others were walking, or standing and talking. As Astraea looked at them, she noticed several Olympians speaking with Titans. They were laughing and shoving each other playfully.
In the field beside the school she saw a mix of Olympian and Titan satyrs, Seneka the sphinx, some harpies, and a few centaurs playing a ball game. They were chasing each other as the ball was kicked toward the goal line. But at the last minute, one of the harpies swooped down from above and caught it in her clawed feet. Screeching loudly, she turned and carried the ball toward the other goal line. Before she could get it into the net, a harpy from the other team knocked the ball from her claws. Everyone cheered as it fell to the ground, and a blond centaur took control and maneuvered it back to the net. Seneka was the goalkeeper and tried to block the centaur, but he turned and kicked the ball. Seneka roared in fury as it whooshed past her and into the back of the net.