by Kate O'Hearn
Astraea couldn’t hold in her gasp, while across the room the centaurs shuffled on their hooves. Zephyr whinnied in surprise. Tryn said nothing, but the shock on his face spoke volumes. They were in even deeper trouble than they’d thought.
“All right, who can tell me where we left off?” Vulcan asked.
31
JAKE SAT AT THE KITCHEN table with a crystal goblet in front of him. A fine linen cloth was fastened across the top. Nesso was in his hand, waiting to help.
“What do I do?” the snake asked softly.
“I’m not really sure,” Jake admitted. “I’ve only seen this on the Nature Channel on TV. But the guys hold a snake and it bites through the fabric on top of the container and then the venom comes out.”
“It doesssn’t sssound very pleasssant.”
“I know,” Jake said. “But it’s the only way. Your venom is the only thing that will stop those energy-sapping monsters.” He lifted the snake. “Just give it a try. Bite it like you bit me.”
Nesso looked at Jake and tilted her colorful head to the side. “But you hit me firssst. It hasssn’t done anything to me.”
Jake picked up the goblet and lightly tapped Nesso on the nose with it. “There, it just hit you. Bite it back.”
Nesso’s tongue flicked out of her mouth, and she bit down on the rim until her fangs cut through the linen. Two streams of yellow venom squirted down the inside.
“You did it!” Jake cheered.
When the venom stream stopped, Nesso pulled her fangs back in. “That wasssn’t ssso bad.”
Jake looked at the small pool of venom. “You did so great. How long before you can do it again?”
“I don’t know,” Nesso said. “I have never bitten anything twiccce in a day.”
“Don’t worry, take a break. I’m going to start working on the arrows.”
Jake lifted Nesso back to her position around his neck and then reached for the centaurs’ arrows. He began dipping the pointed ends in the venom and putting them aside to dry. “I wonder if this will work.”
“It mussst,” Nesso said. “Thossse big, bad thingsss mussst be ssstopped.”
“Too right,” Jake agreed.
When all the arrows were dipped in the venom, Jake made sure the goblet was tightly sealed. There wasn’t a lot left in it, but each drop was precious. “Now I guess we just wait to test them.”
He walked into the living room and sat down. “This world really needs to get into the mainstream. No games, no TV, no Internet, and no phones. What do these people do for fun?”
“They danccce,” Nesso said. “I have ssseen a lot of dancccing.”
Jake reached into his backpack, pulled out his cell phone, and tried to turn it on. “This sucks—it’s dead.” He looked around for somewhere to plug in his charger. “Jeez, they don’t even have electricity? These Titans are living in the dark ages. They said they used to visit Earth. Didn’t they learn anything?”
With nothing more to do, Jake sat back and started to doze.
“Jake, wake up!” Nesso called. “I jussst heard sssomething.”
Instantly awake, Jake heard the front door open. “Astraea, Zephyr, is that you?”
There was no answer.
“Thisss isss bad,” Nesso said. “Sssomeone isss here. I can hear them.”
Jake got up quietly and dashed back into the kitchen. He hid the arrows on a chair beneath the table but kept them within easy reach. He then put the goblet of venom in a cupboard. Finally he took a seat and waited to see who was coming.
He didn’t have long to wait. There was the sound of hooves on the floor and a tall, imposing centaur entered the kitchen. She looked to be in her thirties, with her dark hair piled high on her head. She was dressed in a tunic that covered her torso and draped down her horse legs. She would have been a funny sight were it not for the malevolence revealed on her face.
“Do you wish to tell me what happened here last night?” Her dark eyes seemed to penetrate right through him. But if she recognized him as human, she didn’t show it.
“What do you mean? Okay, we did have a bit of a party, but the noise wasn’t that bad. I mean, no one complained or called the police.”
That comment stunned the centaur for a moment. But then she moved closer. “There was no party. Vulcan was brought here but did not leave. Where is he?”
“Vulcan?” Jake asked. “You mean Spock’s planet on Star Trek?”
The woman stopped. “I mean Vulcan. He was here. Where is he now?”
Beneath the table, Jake reached for one of the arrows and brought it to his lap. “Look, lady, I don’t know who you are or what you’re talking about. We had a few friends over last night and then everyone went home. That’s it—case closed.”
“You are lying to me,” she said matter-of-factly. “In fact, you know a lot more than you are saying, and you are going to tell me.”
Jake’s heart was pounding so loudly, he was sure she could hear it. “Aren’t you going to ask me who I am?”
“I know exactly who you are. You are one of the humans we brought here. Somehow you have evaded capture and are masquerading as a Titan. But that doesn’t matter now. You are going to tell me what you know, and then you will die.”
From the expression on her face, Jake had known she was going to say that. But to hear her actually say it shocked him. “Okay, okay,” he said. “You want to know what I know. Well, I know that I have to put out the garbage on Tuesdays and recyclables on Friday. And I know how to do a triple jump with my skateboard—but I’m not very good at it yet and fall down a lot.” He paused and held up one hand. “Oh wait, I also know why you can’t kill me yet. I haven’t reached level thirty-six on The Zombie Dragons of Zar. I just rescued the Princess of Light out of the Tree of Knowledge and we’re trying to get back to her castle, but it’s really hard and I don’t want to use Internet cheats to win. . . .”
The Mimic took a step back. “What are you talking about? What princess? There are no princesses on Titus.”
Jake snorted. “Duh! The Princess of Light comes from the Light Region of Zar. If I don’t get her back home, I’ll lose the game, and I can’t do that because Ralph Sader bet me my skateboard that I couldn’t do it. I can’t let him win. I love that skateboard. It was a present from my dad and even signed by Rob Dyrdek. He’s my hero in the boarding world and doesn’t sign a lot of merchandise. I mean, it’s worth a fortune. . . .” Jake was hoping that Astraea, Tryn, or Zephyr would come back soon. But he could see by the expression on the centaur’s face that it wasn’t working. He was running out of things to say—and time.
The centaur took a threatening step forward. “I will give you one more chance to tell me what you know. If you do, your death will be swift and painless. If you refuse, your suffering will be unimaginable.”
“Jake, tell her,” Nesso hissed. “I will bite her and sssave you.”
Jake gripped the arrow tighter in his fist. “It’s funny that you should say that, because I said the exact same thing to Vulcan last night—right before he spilled his guts and told me everything. So I know all about your little plan to invade Titus and then go on to Earth. You are removing Titans and replacing them with your own kind. How’s that for knowledge, eh?”
A flash of anger swept across her face and then passed. “Who else knows this?”
“Oh, now that’s another question completely. . . .”
“Tell me!” the Mimic centaur demanded.
“Come closer and I’ll whisper it to you.”
The Mimic tilted her head to the side suspiciously but took several steps closer. “There is nothing you can do to harm me, so do not try anything,” she said. “All right, I am closer. Tell me who else knows about us.”
For all his life, Jake had avoided violence. The bullies back home had always left him alone, because he was a joker who didn’t cause trouble for anyone. But when the Mimic was standing right beside him, he realized he had no choice. He gripped the arrow tightly and
swung it up into the side of the centaur’s horse body. “I’m so sorry, but you left me no choice.”
The Mimic looked at the arrow in her side and frowned. She pulled it out and looked at it curiously. “You think that little stick can hurt me? I feel nothing, but you, on the other hand, will feel everything. . . .”
Her hand flashed out and caught hold of Jake’s arm before he could move. He immediately felt the draining of energy. But just as quickly as it started, it stopped. The Mimic staggered back and shook her head. “What is happening? I feel so strange. . . .” Her words trailed off as the skin on her lips and face started to droop.
The illusion of a centaur slipped away as the Mimic reacted the same way Vulcan had. Folds of unsupported gray skin appeared and then simply melted into a puddle of gray goo and empty clothes.
Jake pushed back his chair and jumped away from the spreading mess on the floor. He instinctively reached up to his neck and was reassured to feel Nesso there.
“It worked!” the snake cried. “I didn’t have to bite her!”
Jake’s stomach flipped, and he thought he might throw up. He’d never hurt, let alone killed anything in his life, and even though the Mimic had been threatening him, he still felt guilty for killing it.
“You did the right thing,” Nesso said, sensing what Jake was feeling. “It would have killed usss both.”
“I know, but . . . ,” he said.
“I underssstand. You are a gentle big thing and do not like to hurt anything.”
Jake stood unmoving for several minutes, just staring at the mess. But then a thought entered his mind. How had the false centaur known Vulcan had been here? If they’d been followed the previous night, surely the Mimics would have busted in. So did Mimics track by smell? Or worse still, were they linked?
Jake suddenly realized the danger they were in. The Mimics knew about this place, and now two Mimics had died here. Would the others know and come for them?
“Nesso, we’re in big trouble. They know about this house. They must be connected somehow.”
“Jake, we can’t ssstay here. We mussst find the othersss and warn them.”
“I know, but I can’t go outside in daylight or we’ll be caught. We won’t be any good to anyone if we’re in prison.”
“Then we mussst hide and warn them when they return.”
Jake agreed. But Zephyr’s house wasn’t very big, and the stable was open to anyone. Where could they possibly hide and still be able to watch for the others? He looked at the ceiling, hoping for inspiration, and that was exactly what he got.
32
ASTRAEA INSTINCTIVELY REACHED OUT AND caught hold of Tryn’s hand. “How can Vulcan be here? We watched him melt!”
“It can’t be the same one,” Tryn whispered tightly. “Somehow they’ve already replaced him. But how did they know?” He looked at her and his eyes went wide. “We might have a really big problem. They might be a hive.”
“A what?”
“Hive,” Tryn said. “With a queen, and the drones are all connected and work together to form a whole. So if one is killed or wounded, another automatically takes over. If that’s the case, things just keep getting worse and worse. Stay here. I have an idea.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Check on something.”
Tryn raised his hand. “Forgive me, Vulcan, but I need to go drink again. Just like yesterday.”
Vulcan looked over to Tryn. “Of course, Trynulus. Do what you must.”
Tryn whispered to Astraea. “I’m going to the dorm. I’ll meet you at Zephyr’s house. Tell the others.” He glanced over to Cylus and left the room.
Astraea looked over and saw Cylus watching him leave. The centaur had a deep frown on his face. The other members of his herd were pale and whispering to each other.
At the front of the room, Vulcan cleared his throat and reached for a piece of metal. “All right, let’s make a bracelet. . . .”
Astraea was moving as though in a dream. She did everything Vulcan instructed and pounded out the metal into the shape of a wide bracelet. All the while her mind was on fire with fear.
After the class, she and Zephyr waited outside the room for Cylus and his herd. But when they appeared, Vulcan also came out. “Cylus, Astraea, Zephyr, please wait. I would like to speak with you and the other centaurs. Come back inside.”
Cylus looked fearfully at Astraea, and they all started to walk back into the class.
“This isn’t good,” Zephyr muttered.
Astraea had only seconds. “Vulcan,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry, but Zephyr and I are still on detention. I was told by Themis to bring Cylus and the centaurs with us to her office immediately after class.” She looked at Cylus and put her hands on her hips. “You got us detention and now you’re causing more trouble? Who did you attack this time?” She widened her eyes and hoped he got the message.
“It—it wasn’t our fault. He started it,” Cylus cried, going along with the ruse. He looked at Vulcan. “Can I stay here with you instead of going to the office? Themis hates me. She’s already making me clean Arcadia Four after school. There is no telling what she’ll do to me now.”
Vulcan hesitated for a moment, but then his face relaxed. “No, you must speak with Themis first. Then I want you all back here after school.”
“Yes, Vulcan, we’ll be back,” Astraea said. She caught hold of Cylus’s arm. “Come on, let’s go. Themis said we mustn’t delay.”
Cylus and his herd looked back at Vulcan and then followed Astraea and Zephyr toward the ramp for four-legged Titans and Olympians. When they reached the main floor, Cylus pulled his arm free of Astraea. “You just saved our lives!” The other centaurs also nodded and offered their thanks.
“For the moment,” Astraea said. “Let’s forget the last class and get out of here. Tryn said he would meet us at Zephyr’s house.”
Cylus nodded. “Fine, we’ll be there shortly. I don’t want to be seen leaving with you, in case Vulcan is watching.”
“Good idea,” Astraea agreed. “Just get there as soon as you can.”
While Cylus and his herd left, Astraea and Zephyr ducked out of the building and hurried back to Zephyr’s house.
“Themis will be furious when she hears that we missed the last class as well as our detention,” Zephyr said.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about her.” Astraea stopped. “Zeph, she sent us into the orchards and then asked what we’d seen, as though she expected us to see something.”
“So?”
“What if she expected us to find Jake? Or maybe even be attacked by that big thing we saw? Also, have you ever seen her touch anyone?”
Zephyr paused. “No, she always keeps her arms behind her back.”
“Exactly,” Astraea said. “What if she’s a Mimic too? She’s the head of the school, a position of power. It makes sense that they’d replace her first.”
“You think she could be working with Vulcan?”
Astraea nodded. “If she wasn’t, he wouldn’t have let us leave him and go to her office. He must have known that if we went there, she’d get us. We’d be just as dead.”
Zephyr whinnied angrily. “This is getting insane!”
“I know,” Astraea agreed. “Zeph, we can’t come back to Arcadia—it’s too dangerous now. Let’s go back to the house and check on Jake. Then we’ll wait to see what Tryn was planning. Whatever it is, he’d better tell us soon, because I’m sure the Mimics are onto us.”
When Astraea and Zephyr made it back to Zephyr’s house, they approached the door and heard a soft pssst.
Astraea turned around, looking for the source of the sound.
“Up here,” Jake called softly.
Astraea looked up and saw a hand waving at them from the flat roof. “Jake what are you doing up there?”
“Don’t speak,” he called softly. “We’re in terrible danger. Just pretend nothing is wrong and come around to the back of the house.”
; As Astraea and Zephyr made their way around the house, Zephyr whinnied, “Humans are insane. Most normal people would sleep inside, not on the roof.”
“There has to be a reason he’s up there,” Astraea said.
“Yes, there is,” Zephyr insisted. “He’s nuts!”
By the time they made it to the back, Jake was peering down from the roof. “Are you really you?”
“Well, who else would we be?” Zephyr nickered.
Astraea nodded. “Of course it’s us.”
“Prove it,” Jake said.
“What?” Zephyr cried. “You tell him if he doesn’t come down right now, I’m going to fly up there and kick him off my roof.”
Astraea looked up at Jake. “Zephyr says if you don’t come down now, she’s coming up there to kick you off her roof.”
Jake hesitated for a moment and then said, “I guess it’s you.” He started to climb down and landed on the ground at their feet. “We are so toast!” he said. “They know about us!”
“I know!” Astraea cried. “But how do you know?”
“Another Mimic came around today. She looked like one of those horsey people, you know, like Cylus and his gang. She knew Vulcan had been here and wanted to know what happened to him.”
Astraea gasped. “What did you tell her?”
“The truth,” Jake said.
“What?” Zephyr cried. “Now I’m really going to stomp him!”
When Zephyr took a threatening step forward, Jake backed up and held up his hands. “I don’t know what you just said, Zephyr, but please calm down. Yes, I told her everything, but it was just to test her reaction. When she tried to kill me, I stabbed her with an arrow dipped in Nesso’s venom, and she melted just like Vulcan did.”
“Really? It worked?” Astraea said.
Jake nodded. “Yep, go see for yourself if you don’t believe me. There’s a new gray puddle in the kitchen.”
Zephyr shook her head. “More dead Mimics? That’s it. I’m moving out of my house.”
Jake asked Astraea, “What did she just say?”
“That she’s moving out.”
“Great idea!” Jake said to Zephyr. “They obviously know this is goo central, and I’m sure more will come looking for Vulcan and that other one. I think they might be linked somehow.”