by Kate O'Hearn
“Hey, Zeph, are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Astraea said. “You don’t think this crazy idea of a school is really going to work, do you? I mean, look, those are Titans playing with Olympians.”
Zephyr watched the new friends and nodded. “Maybe they were right. Maybe Arcadia will bring everyone together.”
“Just in time for it to be ruined by whoever’s bringing strangers here.”
“Aren’t you cheery,” Zephyr commented.
They made it to the front of Arcadia Two and waited while a couple of teachers stood at the entrance chatting. When they finally left, Astraea charged forward. “If we’re going to do this, now’s our chance.”
Astraea held the front doors open as Zephyr passed through them. Since Astraea had two classes in this building, she knew where the stairs were, but not the ramps. “How do you think you’d do with stairs?”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know where the ramps are or if they even go down into the lower level. Tryn said Jake is hiding below.”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” Zephyr clopped forward and headed into the stairwell.
If the situation weren’t so serious, Astraea would have been in hysterics watching Zephyr trying to get down the stairs. Each step was shallow, and she looked like she was walking on tiptoes. Twice she slipped and nearly fell. But with Astraea helping, they eventually made it to the lower level.
Zephyr glared back at the stairs and snorted, “I am not doing that again! Once we leave here, I’m never coming back.”
Astraea nodded. “I wonder if the designer didn’t want Titans and Olympians like you to come down here.”
“Why would they do that?” Zephyr asked. “Was it your father?”
“You know Dad would never do anything like that. Besides, he’s been too busy with the prison.”
“Well, when we find out who it was, remind me to step on their foot.”
“I will,” Astraea chuckled. She looked around. “You know, it’s dark down here. I have great night vision, but this is too much even for me. I’m sure glad you’re here.”
Zephyr’s natural glow was enough to drive away the total darkness of the lower level—but not enough to remove the eeriness. “It’s bigger than I thought,” she said. “Why are there so many corridors? Which way do we go?”
Astraea shrugged. “I have no idea. Let’s just look around and see if we can find Jake.”
They made their way through the lower level, looking and listening for any signs of Jake or the mysterious figures that Zephyr had seen entering the school the previous evening.
“I don’t like it down here,” Zephyr said softly. “It feels . . . wrong.”
“It sure does,” Astraea agreed.
Zephyr leaned closer. “Why are we whispering?”
“I don’t know, but I’m not going to stop.” Astraea was still carrying her broom. She turned it around and reached for one of the bristles, pulled it out, and laid it against the wall.
“What are you doing?”
“This place is a labyrinth. I half expect to see the Minotaur down here. The last thing I want to do is get lost, so I’m leaving us a trail to follow.”
“Good idea.”
They stayed close together as they wandered through the corridors. Along the way they passed multiple closed doors. Astraea tried each one and found them all locked. “Why would they lock them? What are they hiding?”
“Do we really want to know?” Zephyr asked.
Astraea looked at her best friend but said nothing. The hair on the back of her neck was rising, and she had the feeling they weren’t alone.
Zephyr’s eyes were wide and her tail swished the air as her ears moved around. “I hear something,” she nickered softly.
Astraea nodded and pointed forward. “It’s coming from there. I wonder if it’s Jake.”
In that moment, Astraea was torn. Should they go forward and investigate the soft sounds? Or turn around and run? Every instinct in her body said run, but her feet started to move in the direction of the sounds.
“Astraea, wait . . . ,” Zephyr nickered. “What are you doing?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted.
They approached a four-way junction. The sounds were coming from just ahead and seemed to be getting closer. Astraea was locked in the grip of fear but still kept walking.
As they reached the junction, they turned to the left and came face-to-face with two figures.
Astraea screamed.
18
“YOU SCARED THE LIFE OUT of me!” Astraea cried as she shoved Jake back.
“Me?” he cried. “What about you two, all glowy and mysterious? I thought for sure you were the strangers coming back. I’ve had the worst night of my life, and the last thing I need is you two sneaking around.”
“Who’s sneaking?” Astraea said. “We were looking for you!”
Tryn was standing back, trying to hide a smile.
“What are you laughing at?” Zephyr said to him. “Scaring us half to death isn’t funny.”
“I know,” he said soberly, “though your faces are rather amusing.”
“You want to know what would really be amusing?” Zephyr challenged. “Me stepping on your foot—that would be hysterical.”
Astraea took a deep breath and calmed down. “I’m all right now. But seriously, you really scared us.”
“It’s this place,” Jake said. He looked past Astraea. “Did you find my sister?
Astraea shook her head. “I’m sorry, we couldn’t find her. We searched until the night dwellers arrived to work in the orchard.”
“Where is she?” Jake demanded. He looked back at Tryn. “I’ve gotta get outta here and look for her.”
“You can’t. You still smell like a human,” Tryn said. “You’ll be caught.”
“Look, I’m going nuts down here doing nothing while my sister is out there somewhere,” Jake said. “I’ve got to go. There are bad things going on that I want no part of.”
“What things?” Zephyr asked.
Jake looked at her and frowned. “If you just said something, I can’t understand you.”
Zephyr shook her head and snorted. “This language thing is really getting up my nose!”
Astraea stroked Zephyr’s head. “She wanted to know what bad things are going on.”
Jake told them about the two groups of strangers he’d seen the previous night—and the sound of something heavy being dragged. He also introduced them to Nesso. Despite all attempts at communication, no one other than Jake could understand her—though she could understand everyone, including Zephyr.
“Isn’t this just great,” Zephyr fumed. “Jake can’t understand a word I say, and none of us can understand what Nesso says except Jake. This is like a poor comedy from the Muses.”
“Except it isn’t funny,” Astraea said. She peered more closely at the snake. “She is really beautiful. Her scales look like sparkling beads.”
“Thank you,” Nesso hissed. “You are beautiful too—for a big thing.”
Jake passed along the message and added, “She’s also very polite.”
Astraea looked back at Zephyr. “I bet Nesso was brought here by the same people who brought all the other creatures and humans.”
“What creatures?” Jake asked.
It was Astraea’s turn to explain what she’d seen the previous night in the prison. “It’s easy to get into, but some of the things in there were terrifying. They all have one thing in common, though. No one remembers how they got here.”
“I can’t believe they brought a clown here,” Jake said.
Astraea nodded. “He’s really nasty. I didn’t like him at all.”
“No one likes clowns, ever since Pennywise. My sister is terrified of them. I’m glad she’s not in the prison with him.”
“Who is Pennywise?” Astraea asked.
“You don’t want to know,” Jake said. “But he’s terrifying.”
“Still,” Astraea continued, “the clown was better than that living rock that tried to eat me.” She lifted the hem of her long tunic and showed them her leg. Even in the dim light of the golden moss and Zephyr’s glow, the dark tongue marks were easy to see. “I thought for sure I was dead until the two-headed worm told me what to do to get away.”
Jake was shaking his head. “For the last time, are you guys absolutely, positively, affirmatively, and completely sure I’m not in a coma? Because right now, that’s starting to look awfully good.”
Zephyr whinnied angrily, “Would you please stop all this ridiculous talk of a coma? This isn’t a coma, it’s real!”
“What did she say?” Jake asked Astraea.
Astraea’s eyes flashed to Zephyr and then back. “She says it’s not a coma, this is real. And she’s right. It is.”
Jake nodded. “Then we’re really in trouble.”
“We are,” Astraea agreed. “Those creatures have been brought here from many worlds, not just one.”
“Why?” Jake asked. “Why did they bring me from LA? And what did they do with my sister?”
“That isn’t the biggest puzzle of all,” Tryn said softly. “Jake, show them the picture you drew.”
Jake pulled the notebook from his pack. “I drew this last night before the strangers came. Nesso really helped. She said the same thing took her.”
Astraea gasped when she saw the sketch, while Zephyr snorted and pawed the ground.
“It’s a Shadow Titan, isn’t it?” Tryn said. “We talked about them in school today.”
Astraea nodded. “But how is this possible? Minerva said they were all destroyed.”
“Obviously not all of them,” Zephyr added.
Tryn said. “When I saw this, I realized the danger is bigger than we thought.”
“None of this makes any sense,” Astraea said. “Saturn was the one who created them, but he seems fine with his sons ruling Titus. He’s even become Jupiter’s top adviser. He can’t be the one creating them.”
“So who is?” Jake asked. “I don’t remember much, but I do remember it being big and scary.”
“You were lucky to have survived,” Astraea said. “From what Minerva said, they have no mercy. All they do is kill.”
Tryn nodded. “Unless they have been instructed to do other things.”
“Who would do that?” Zephyr asked. “I thought they couldn’t be controlled.”
“I don’t know,” Astraea answered. “But we’re going to find out. I promised those people and creatures in prison that we’d get them home, and we’re going to—even that awful rock monster that wanted to eat me.”
“Then I guess the first thing we do is figure out who was down here last night and why. Jake and I were trying to follow a trail. We think it’s blood.”
“Blood?” Zephyr cried. “Are you sure?”
“Where is it?” Astraea asked.
“This way,” Tryn said.
He led them down the dark corridor. Halfway down, he stopped and pointed at the floor. “There. It’s not a lot, but it looks like a few drops.”
Astraea bent down and looked at the blood. “Zeph, you’ve got a great nose. What do you think?”
Zephyr harrumphed. “Are you saying my nose is big?”
“Did I say that? No, I said it was great,” Astraea said. “You can smell things I can’t.”
“Oh, all right then.” Zephyr lowered her head down to the floor, sniffed the dots, and shook her head. “Yuck, it’s blood. I think I might be sick. . . .”
Jake frowned. “What did she say?”
“She said it was blood, and that she might be sick,” Tryn repeated.
“I thought horses couldn’t throw up.”
Zephyr glared at him and pulled back her lips. “What—did—you—just—say?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Astraea said.
“Yes, it does! He called me a horse again!”
Astraea looked over to Jake. “Jake, please. I keep telling you—Zephyr gets really angry when you call her a horse. You’ve got to stop before she becomes violent.”
“I’m really sorry, Zephyr,” Jake said sincerely. “But I’m still not used to all this and you being—well, you know—you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Zephyr challenged.
“Hey, look what we found,” Tryn said quickly as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a wide bracelet. “I’m sure it’s Vulcan’s. I think that might be his blood.”
Astraea looked at the bracelet. “How do you know it’s his?”
Tryn was turning over the bracelet. “I told you he helped build our homes on Xanadu. He was always wearing it.” He pointed to a mark on the polished metal. “Look here, I was there when he scratched it putting up a wall.”
Astraea looked at the mark. “So you think it could have been Vulcan that Jake saw being dragged down here last night.”
“I’m afraid so,” Tryn said.
“Wait, no, it can’t be,” Zephyr said. “I saw Vulcan today in class. He was teaching us about metalworking. It couldn’t have been him down here last night. There were no wounds on him.”
“I’m not lying,” Tryn said. “This is Vulcan’s bracelet!”
Astraea nodded. “We’ll see him tomorrow at school and look for it. But there is something else to consider. Perhaps Vulcan was down here. But maybe that isn’t his blood at all. Maybe he was one of the cloaked people Jake saw dragging the big thing.”
A flash of doubt crossed Tryn’s face but disappeared just as quickly. Finally he said, “Perhaps. But the Vulcan I know would never be part of anything where people were hurt.”
“Or just maybe,” Zephyr suggested, “you don’t know him as well as you think you do.”
They continued to search the labyrinth beneath Arcadia Two and were able to pick up the blood trail and follow it through several corridors. But it mysteriously stopped at a stone wall at the end of a remote hall.
“This is impossible. It can’t just stop here.” Astraea’s eyes searched the area, looking for any other clues. “It’s like they’ve gone right through the wall. There has to be a secret passage or something.”
Astraea, Jake, and Zephyr inspected every inch of the rock. After several minutes they finished, and Astraea scratched her head. “Nope, I can’t figure it out.”
“I fear I may know what happened,” Tryn offered.
“Finally he speaks!” Zephyr said. “You know, you could have helped us search.”
“There was nothing to find,” Tryn said. “Had I told you, you wouldn’t have believed me.”
Astraea approached him. “Believed what? Do you know what happened here?”
He shook his head. “Not this in particular, but I do believe I have an idea. I have seen it before—on Xanadu.”
“What are you talking about?” Zephyr said.
“There are several ways to open the Solar Stream. One can fly very quickly to enter it, or there are certain gems that can open it. All you need do is either place it on a wall or wear it, and with a command, the Solar Stream will open and you can venture to other worlds.”
“That’s impossible!” Jake cried. “Nothing could do that.”
“I’m sorry, Jake, but you’re wrong,” Tryn said. “I have seen such gems with my own eyes. In fact, Emily Jacobs wears a ring with a Solar Stream gem, though she doesn’t really need it. She can open the Solar Stream by herself, or Pegasus can fly into it.”
Astraea frowned. “I’ve never heard of gems that can open the Solar Stream.”
Tryn shrugged. “Probably because they’ve all been gathered up and are stored on Xanadu. There’s only one missing, and that’s lost somewhere on Earth.”
“And this is the first time you thought to tell us about all this?” Astraea cried.
“I didn’t think of it until now.”
Astraea could hardly believe her ears. “So if someone had one of those gems, they could travel anywhere and bring anything back.” She look
ed back at Zephyr. “That’s why they gathered them all together on Xanadu—to stop it.”
“Then they did a rotten job of it,” Jake added. “Look at me and Nesso, and maybe Molly. How else did we get here from our worlds? Or the others you saw in the prison.”
Zephyr pawed the ground. “This just keeps getting worse and worse.”
Tryn moved away from the group and walked back down the corridor. He stopped halfway and stood before a door. It was locked. So he pulled out his lockpick set and adeptly opened the door.
“In here,” he called.
Astraea followed him into the room. It was filled with stacks and stacks of crates. Tryn pulled down a wooden crate from the top of a pile and opened it.
“What is that terrible smell?” Zephyr called.
“Something stinks!” Jake choked out at the same time. At his neck, Nesso was hissing and slid around until her head was hidden under the back of Jake’s tunic. “It smells worse than roadkill!”
“It’s this.” Tryn held up what looked like a freeze-dried animal. It was thin and wide, but there was no mistaking a head and limbs.
Astraea pinched her nose and approached the dried animal. “What is that? I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
“I don’t recognize the species, but it looks freeze-dried. Look how many crates there are.” He glanced down the corridor again. “I wonder if there are more rooms like this.”
“What’s it all for?” Astraea asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Tryn mused. He put the animal back, sealed the container, and returned it to the stack. “But I have an idea how we can find out.” He squeezed through the maze of crates. “Jake, come here.”
Jake followed him and disappeared behind the crates.
“What are you doing back there?” Astraea asked.