by Kate O'Hearn
Cylus had a thick rope draped around his shoulder, while his best friend, Render, was carrying the large sack. “I hate to admit it, but you’re right,” Cylus said. “My mother has been replaced by a Mimic. I asked if I could stay out all night and she said yes. My real mother would never let me.”
Several other centaurs were nodding. “My dad said the same thing . . . ,” Render added.
Cylus puffed up his chest. “We’re going to get Vulcan and he’s going to tell us where my mother is or I’ll kick the stuffing out of him.”
“We think we know where they’ve taken our parents,” Astraea said. “We just need to figure out how to get there.”
“Where is she?” Cylus demanded. “What have they done with my mother?”
“She’s in Tartarus with everyone else,” Astraea answered.
Cylus reared up, and his face contorted with rage. “Tartarus! I’m going to kill Vulcan for taking her there.”
The other centaurs snorted and pawed the floor with their sharp hooves.
“We’re not killing anyone,” Tryn insisted. “But we are going to ask him why they’re here.”
“And how to get to Tar-teer . . . Tar-tar . . . you know, that prison place.” Jake entered from the kitchen. He stopped short when he caught sight of the centaurs. “Whoa, what—are—you?”
“Tartarus,” Astraea corrected, coming up to him. “Jake, this is Cylus and his herd. They’re centaurs.”
Jakes eyes were huge as he walked all around Cylus. “You guys are totally awesome! I gotta take a selfie with you when this is over.”
Cylus wrinkled his nose. “What are you? You stink.”
Astraea said, “I told you the Mimics are bringing humans from Earth. Jake is one of them.”
“This is a human?” Cylus cried. “A real one from Earth?”
“Yep.” Jake nodded, still studying the centaurs. “I’m from Los Angeles. I was brought here a few days ago.” He leaned closer to Cylus. “Are you for real? I mean, I’ve never seen anything like you before. You’re like half man and half horse!” Jake reached for Cylus’s chestnut back where it joined his torso, but the centaur caught hold of his arm.
“You touch me, human, and you will be pulling back a stump!” Cylus shoved Jake backward.
“Cylus, stop,” Astraea said. “Jake didn’t mean anything. He’s never seen anything like us before and doesn’t understand our ways.” She looked at Jake. “You must never touch a centaur unless they invite you to.”
Jake nodded quickly and put his hands up. “Sorry, dude!”
“Dude?” Cylus said. “Is that an insult?”
“No, it’s not! Cylus, calm down,” Astraea cried. “We have more to worry about than your feelings. We’re in trouble and we need to figure this out.”
“What’s to figure out?” Render said. “We’re going to tie Vulcan up, put him in the sack, and then demand that he tell us how to get to Tartarus to free our parents or we’ll thump him. It’s simple.”
Jake leaned closer to Tryn and whispered, “Are all centaurs this violent? He reminds me of the bullies back at my school.”
Tryn nodded. “I’ve only ever met one that wasn’t. He’s a teacher called Chiron. The rest are as fiery as Cylus and his friends.”
Cylus heard the remark and turned on Tryn. “Chiron isn’t a true centaur and everyone knows it. He’s a weak—”
“All of you, shut up!” Zephyr whinnied. “Cylus and Render, calm your tempers, and Jake, stop asking stupid questions that annoy the centaurs. We have to plan our attack on Vulcan!”
“It’s not me, it’s him!” Cylus challenged.
“Yeah,” Render huffed. “Stupid humans . . .”
Jake looked at Tryn. “What did Zephyr say?”
“She told you to stop asking questions that annoy the centaurs and that we have to plan the capture of Vulcan.”
Jake nodded. “Sorry, Zephyr, you’re right.”
“Good!” Zephyr said. “Now, does anyone know where Vulcan is right now?”
Darek clopped forward. “Yes. Before meeting up with Cylus, I checked his forge. He’s alone there now—but it’s very open. If we’re not careful, we are going to be seen interrogating him.”
Astraea nodded and rubbed her chin. “Obviously we can’t question him there. We’re going to have to take him somewhere else.”
“Bring him here,” Zephyr offered. “No one ever visits me but you. We could keep him here and no one would ever know.”
“And it’s not too far from the forge,” Darek offered. “Here is the best place.”
“Well then, let’s stop all this talking and go,” Cylus said impatiently as he clutched the rope on his shoulder. “I want my mother back, and he is going to tell me how to do it!”
27
JAKE RELUCTANTLY AGREED TO STAY behind and prepare the stable to keep Vulcan while everyone else headed out.
“We’ll meet you there,” Cylus said, as he and his herd trotted off into the darkness the moment they were outside.
“It’s all right,” Zephyr called after them. “Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine. Just leave us here and we’ll catch up with you. . . .”
“That’s centaurs for you,” Astraea said as she, Zephyr, and Tryn took a different route to Vulcan’s forge. “They don’t want to be seen with us in case it tarnishes their tough reputations.”
“Well, I don’t want to be seen with them, either,” Zephyr said. “I just hope Cylus doesn’t do anything stupid before we get there. His hands and hooves work much faster than his poor little brain.”
“He’ll wait for us,” Tryn said. “You saw the look in his eyes. Despite his angry exterior, he’s genuinely frightened about his mother. He wouldn’t do anything to endanger her.”
The evening air was fragrant and warm as they walked down the quiet, tree-lined path toward Vulcan’s forge. Night dwellers were out and nodded in greeting as they passed. Animals that only came out at night strolled through the parks, unbothered by their presence. An owl, almost as large as Astraea, swooped down from a tree branch and snatched away a large squirrel.
Up ahead a Titan couple was walking hand in hand and seemed to have eyes only for each other. Astraea stole a look at Tryn but looked away quickly when he caught her staring at him.
Zephyr watched their exchange and nudged Astraea playfully with her muzzle. “Something you want to say, Astraea?”
Astraea looked at her sharply, but then gazed around at the beauty of Titus and the people out walking, unaware of the danger they were facing. “It all looks so peaceful out here.” She stopped and faced her two friends. “We’re doing the right thing, aren’t we? I mean, we’re not crazy, something is happening here, right?”
“Oh it’s happening,” Tryn said. “I am absolutely certain—especially after what I saw beneath Arcadia Two. There’s no doubt about it. This is just the calm before the storm, and if we don’t stop it now, it might be too late.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Astraea said. “I don’t know who to trust anymore. If we can’t trust our own families, what’s left?”
“I know,” Tryn agreed. “When we get Vulcan, maybe we’ll finally understand.”
They walked the rest of the way in silence. It wasn’t far to the forge, but they were drawing their journey out, hoping that by the time they grabbed Vulcan, the streets would be as empty as possible.
When the forge was just half a block away, the herd of centaurs appeared from the opposite direction.
“What took you so long? We’ve been circling this block forever,” Cylus challenged. “Was it that smelly human?”
Zephyr snorted, “Hey, no one calls him smelly but me. You got that, Cylus?”
“Both of you, please,” Astraea said. She looked at Cylus. “His name is Jake, and no, we’re not late because of him. We took our time so the streets could clear a bit. We don’t want to be seen.”
“Oh . . . yeah, good plan,” Cylus agreed. “We looked inside the forge. Vulcan is still there.
We think he’s alone.”
Tryn nodded. “Good. I want to go in first and see if I can get him in the back area of the forge. Then you guys can come in and grab him from behind.”
“Why do you get to go in first?” Cylus challenged. “Maybe you want to warn him or something.” The centaur looked at his herd. “I don’t trust this silver-skinned weirdo, do you?”
The other centaurs muttered and shook their heads.
“Well, you’re going to have to trust me, because Vulcan knows me better than all of you. You saw for yourself in class, he knew my name. So even if he is a Mimic, he somehow knows me. I can distract him.”
“Cylus, you’re wasting time. Just shut up and let’s get this done,” Zephyr said.
“All right,” Cylus said to Tryn. “But we’re watching you. You do anything to ruin this and I’ll stomp you into the ground.”
A flash of anger crossed Tryn’s face but vanished just as quickly. “You could try, but you wouldn’t succeed.” He nodded to Astraea and walked toward the forge. “Count to twenty and then come in.”
When he was gone, Astraea stood before Cylus. “I know you don’t like him, Cylus, but trust me, Tryn is strong. I mean really strong. He’s already shown you that once. You’d have to be a big idiot to take him on again.”
“Who are you calling an idiot?”
“You, if you don’t realize Tryn is trying to help save Titus. Now come on, that should be twenty. It’s time to go.” Astraea stormed down the street, with Zephyr close beside her.
Halfway down they turned to the right, up the cobbled path that led to Vulcan’s area. The big double doors were open, and they could see the massive hearth in the center of the forge. The flames were lit, but barely. That wasn’t like Vulcan at all. He always kept his hearth roaring. How could anyone who knew him not notice?
Tryn was talking to Vulcan. When he caught sight of Astraea and the others, he walked deeper into the forge and invited Vulcan to follow.
“Let’s go,” Astraea said. She looked at the centaurs. “Cylus, you and your herd catch hold of him. We’ll watch at the door to make sure no one comes in.”
A dangerous grin lit Cylus’s face. “Sure, we’ll get him.”
“Don’t hurt him,” Zephyr warned. “He can’t tell us what he knows if you hurt him.”
Cylus looked back at Zephyr and snorted. “We won’t hurt him—not yet anyway. But I’m warning you, if he doesn’t tell me what I want to know, I won’t make any guarantees about how long he stays unhurt.”
“That’s fair,” Zephyr said. She looked at Astraea. “It is. It’s fair.”
They quietly entered the forge. Astraea and Zephyr remained at the doors and watched for anyone coming. “It’s still clear. Go get him,” Astraea whispered.
She split her attention between keeping guard at the doors and following the centaurs as they crept up on Vulcan. Nerves and doubt bunched in her stomach. She had never imagined in her life that she would be part of a plan to attack a senior Olympian.
Tryn was still standing with Vulcan, asking questions about how to use some of the tools in the workshop. Though he was talking to Vulcan, his eyes remained on the centaurs as they inched closer.
When they were close enough, Tryn nodded.
“Now!” Cylus cried. He threw his rope around Vulcan, pinning his hands to his sides as Render and another centaur, Panis, charged forward with the large sack. They pulled it over Vulcan’s head and butted him forward to knock him to the ground.
“What is this madness?” Vulcan howled. “Release me this instant.”
“We know you’re not Vulcan,” Cylus called as he wrapped more of the rope around the thrashing body.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Vulcan shouted through the sack. “Of course it’s me!”
Tryn moved down to Vulcan’s legs and pulled up his trouser hem, revealing his bare skin. “Vulcan never wears trousers, even in the forge, and he doesn’t have organic legs. You are not him! We know you have been replacing Titans and Olympians! Now we want to know who you are and why.”
Vulcan stopped struggling and went still. “You don’t want to know who we are, spawn,” he said in a soft, threatening voice. “Now release me before I lose my temper.”
“He’s talking too much,” Panis said. “Why don’t we hit him with something hard to knock him out?”
“You do that and it will be the last thing you ever do—” Vulcan’s hand shot out from under the sack and latched onto one of Panis’s hooves. From her vantage point at the door, Astraea couldn’t see his face, but she watched as the centaur collapsed on the filthy floor of the forge.
“Panis, no!” Cylus shouted. “Vulcan, let go!”
Astraea looked over at Zephyr. “Stay here and keep watch. I’m going back to help!” She ran deeper into the forge, only to discover a horrifying sight. Panis was limp on the ground, with the false Vulcan’s bare hand wrapped around his pale hoof. When Render caught hold of the hand and tried to pull it away, he froze and also collapsed.
Cylus roared in rage and reared up. He crashed down on the sack with both front hooves, while Darek kicked at Vulcan’s head and another centaur kicked his back. As Cylus rose up to do it again, Tryn dashed over to the workbench and picked up a cutting tool. He knelt down beside Render and, without touching Vulcan’s hand, cut away the fingers wrapped around Panis’s hoof.
Inside the sack, Vulcan howled and pulled back his arm just as Cylus came down on him with a second blow. After that, Vulcan went still.
Astraea knelt down beside Panis. She couldn’t see the blond centaur breathing, so she lay her head against his chest to listen for a heartbeat. “No, no, it can’t be!” she cried. “It just can’t.” Astraea looked up at the others. “Panis is dead.”
28
SILENCE FILLED THE FORGE AS everyone looked at the dead centaur. Cylus didn’t believe Astraea and had to check for himself before he could acknowledge that his friend was really gone.
Across from them, Render came around and managed to make it to his hooves but was woozy. “What happened to me?” He was swaying on his feet, and his face had gone pale.
Tryn’s voice was soft and filled with shock. “You touched Vulcan’s hand while it was on Panis. It wasn’t long, but it was enough to knock you out. Whatever these Mimics are, they’re lethal to the touch. We have to get Vulcan out of here before he wakes and tries to touch us again.”
“Wait, we can’t leave Panis here,” Astraea said. “We have to tell his parents what happened.”
Cylus’s face was red, and he looked like he was on the verge of tears. “His parents aren’t here. They have been taken too.” He took a deep breath and looked up at his herd. “We have to hide him—Panis would understand, I know he would. Let’s take him into the storeroom. Then Vulcan will tell me what I want to know or I will kill him!”
While the centaurs removed their dead friend, Tryn knelt down and looked at the fingers he had cut away. As he, Astraea, and Zephyr watched, the fingers seemed to melt into a pool of gray goo.
“What are you?” Tryn asked the unconscious Vulcan softly.
When the others returned, Tryn rose. He walked back to the workbench and picked up several pairs of the thick forge gloves that Vulcan and his assistants used when they were working with hot metal. He handed out the gloves and kept a pair for himself. “We have to be sure that none of us touch him barehanded. I’m sorry, but we have to get going before Vulcan wakes up.”
The journey back to Zephyr’s house was one of the longest Astraea had ever made. She and Zephyr kept watch for anyone while the centaurs dragged the unconscious Vulcan behind them.
When they made it to the stable at the rear of Zephyr’s house, they found that Jake had cleared out one of the stalls and set up a kitchen chair in preparation for their prisoner. They hauled Vulcan inside.
“I’ll go get Jake,” Tryn said. He looked back at Cylus. “Don’t do anything until I’m back.”
Astraea expected a sharp reply
from the centaurs, but Cylus stayed silent and simply nodded as he watched Vulcan on the stall floor. When Jake and Tryn returned, Jake approached Cylus. “Tryn told me what happened. I’m so sorry about your friend.”
“What do you know about it?” Cylus said angrily.
“Enough to know what it feels like when you lose someone you care about,” Jake said. “I lost it when my grandmother died last year.”
“I didn’t care about Panis,” Cylus said gruffly.
“Cylus, stop it,” Astraea said. “We’re all in this together. You don’t have to hide your feelings from us. I know Panis was your friend, so why can’t you admit that you’re suffering?”
Tryn came forward. “Because to admit that would also mean admitting that this is very real, and it’s frightening to all of us to realize that those Mimics can kill us.”
“I’m not frightened of anything!” Cylus shouted.
“Then you’re stupid,” Zephyr said. “Because you should be frightened of them. We all should be if we want to survive this.”
Jake frowned. “But I thought you guys were immortal because of all that sweet stuff you eat. How come Panis died?”
“We are,” Astraea said. “Or at least we were until these Mimics came along.”
Tryn reached for the sack and hauled Mimic Vulcan up into the chair. He undid the outer rope and pulled off the sack, but then tied him to the chair. Just as he finished, Vulcan opened his eyes.
“Are you happy now? Think you’ve got me nice and secure?” Mimic Vulcan asked casually. He looked around. “So, how many of you know the truth about us?”
“We’re asking the questions,” Cylus said, nearly spitting out the words. “You killed Panis, so I’m this close to doing the same to you. Now I know you’ve taken my mother. Tell me, how do I get to Tartarus?”
“So you know about Tartarus . . . ,” Vulcan mused. “Very interesting. Tell me, who told you about that?”
Tryn stepped closer. “No one told us. We figured it out.”
Vulcan raised an eyebrow. “I hardly think so. You are just spawn. Who is your commander?”