by Aimee Carter
Nolan’s mouth dropped open. “That’s not fair!”
“Neither is scaring me half to death and forcing your brother to risk his life to protect you.” Malcolm checked his watch. “Breakfast starts in a few minutes. We need to—”
“Can I stay out longer?” said Simon suddenly, rubbing the fresh scratches on his shoulder. “I—I want to visit Darryl.”
Malcolm’s expression softened, and though he pursed his lips, he nodded. “Fifteen minutes. Not a second longer, understood?”
Simon nodded and watched as Malcolm helped Nolan toward the Arsenal, with a pair of hulking wolves trailing after them. The pack was always present in the zoo during closing hours, protecting the school entrance from intruders. While normally Simon was annoyed by their presence, today, as he glanced into the brightening sky, he was grateful.
He made his way to the secluded spot, where his uncle was buried under a stone statue of a howling wolf. Beside it stood a second wolf statue marking his father’s grave, but Simon didn’t linger there today. Instead he patted the first wolf’s muzzle, staring up at the scar running down the statue’s face. Sometimes he talked to his uncle, and sometimes he didn’t. Today, the silence said it all, and he sighed into the cold morning air.
Out of instinct, or habit, or maybe even a little hope, he glanced at the base of the statue, where a loose rock stuck out. Twice he’d discovered postcards from his mother there, but his heart sank as he saw that once again, there was nothing. When he’d lived with Darryl, she had sent him a postcard every single month while she supposedly traveled the country studying animals, and it was yet another thing missing from the life he’d known. He couldn’t be mad at her for leaving, though, not now that he knew what she had really been doing: searching for the pieces of the Predator, the Beast King’s weapon that had given him the power to absorb others’ Animalgam abilities. The leaders of the five kingdoms had destroyed the weapon and each taken one of the five pieces to hide, and now, centuries later, both Celeste and Orion were trying to put the Predator back together. While Celeste had nearly succeeded, Simon had managed to stop her—but he hadn’t been able to stop Orion from kidnapping his mother, who knew where each piece was hidden.
Between Darryl’s death and losing his mother, the past four months had been the worst of Simon’s life. He knew his mother was alive—thanks to her last postcard, he even knew she was in LA, where the General of the underwater kingdom lived. But he was stuck all the way across the country, under the careful watch of his uncle and a pack of wolf Animalgams who knew most of his tricks by now.
“Hey, Simon!” called a member of the pack, a wolf who was usually a curly-haired woman named Vanessa. “Your fifteen minutes are almost up. Aren’t you cold?”
“A little,” he admitted. He was already frozen through his thick down jacket, but he had been determined to visit. Each day he didn’t see his uncle, he felt guilty, even if he knew Darryl wasn’t really there anymore. If, somehow, Darryl did know, Simon never wanted him to think he’d forgotten him. He may not have had any memories of his father, but he had a lifetime of his uncle, and some days—most, if Simon was being honest with himself—he couldn’t fully accept the fact that there would never be more.
Simon gave the statue one more pat before following the wolf back to the warmth of the Arsenal. A steep staircase led deep beneath the building, and he ran his fingers over the wall to keep his balance. The secret door at the bottom of the stairs opened up to a massive cavern that was as big as the entire zoo, and the pentagon-shaped school stood on the opposite side of a moat filled with piranhas, jellyfish, and Simon’s least favorite—sharks.
Thankfully it seemed mostly empty now, save for a few schools of fish doing morning drills, and Simon hurried across, his stomach rumbling. His friends would be at breakfast by now, and maybe telling them about the trip to Sky Tower would ease the knot of anxiety in his chest. Nolan’s stupidity still rankled at him, and it was the only thing keeping him from mentally berating himself for his own idiocy. It had been a close call—too close. Simon knew better than anyone that Orion was trying to put the pieces of the weapon together for one reason and one reason only: to kill Nolan and steal the Beast King’s powers.
Unbeknownst to Orion, though, Nolan wasn’t the only one who had inherited those abilities. Simon had them, too—a secret no one but his mother and closest friends knew, not even his uncle and brother. For now, all he could do was use them to hunt down the pieces and protect his brother. But if the five kingdoms ever discovered that there were two living Beast King heirs, they would tear the entire Animalgam world apart until Simon and Nolan were both dead.
To Simon’s relief, as soon as he entered the noisy dining hall, he spotted a familiar shock of blond hair. Jam’s head was bowed as he buried his nose in a novel, and Simon grabbed some breakfast before hurrying over.
“You won’t believe what Nolan did this time,” he said, setting his tray down with a clatter and nearly upsetting his juice. “We were flying, and—”
“Say that a little louder. I don’t think the mammals heard you.” Ariana dropped her own tray onto the table. Her hair was a freshly dyed shade of royal blue, and she flipped it over her shoulder as she slid into a chair beside Jam, who still didn’t look up.
Simon frowned. She was right—they may have known his and Nolan’s secret, but the other students had no idea, not even Nolan’s close friends in the mammal kingdom. And Simon had to make sure it stayed that way. Just because he was angry didn’t mean he could be careless, and he dropped his voice so only his friends could hear him. “We were flying—”
“Did you not see me in the hall, Simon?” A girl with long dark hair sat beside him. Winter only had a glass of juice, and without asking, she stole a pancake off Simon’s plate and dipped it in his syrup. “You walked right by me.”
“I—sorry,” he said, sheepish. In his defense, Winter was very short. “It’s been a long morning. You won’t believe—”
Ariana elbowed Jam in the ribs. “We’re here.”
“What?” Jam snapped his head up, clearly startled to see them. “I—oh. Hi.”
Simon exhaled slowly. “Hi, Jam. Good book?”
“Great,” he said, though his tone was anything but enthusiastic. Closing the cover, he added, “Have they posted it yet?”
“Five minutes ago,” said Ariana. “You’re fifth round. Winter’s fourth. I’m going in the first round, naturally, and of course Simon advances straight to the finals—”
“What?” Giving up any hope of telling his friends what had happened that morning, Simon sat down. “Finals of what?”
All three of them stared at him, and if Simon hadn’t been used to having no idea what was going on, he would have been embarrassed.
“Haven’t you been paying attention?” said Winter. She reached for another pancake, and Simon didn’t bother stopping her. “The midwinter tournament. They posted the order today.”
It was Simon’s turn to look at her blankly, and she rolled her eyes. “You know what a tournament is, right?”
“We all fight the other members of our kingdom in the pit one by one,” cut in Ariana, who was somehow already halfway through her breakfast of fruit and toast. “Whoever wins the last round in their kingdom advances to the finals, where they fight until only one’s left standing. It’s a huge deal, especially if your kingdom wins.”
Simon blinked. Fighting in the pit was the school’s version of sport—where students battled in their Animalgam form to not only learn their own strengths, but also to learn other kingdoms’ weaknesses. And he hated it. He wasn’t very strong in his eagle form, not against predators from the other kingdoms, and he was always worried he would accidentally shift into another animal and give his secret away. “What do you mean, I advance straight to the finals?”
“You’re the only member of the bird kingdom in the L.A.I.R.,” said Winter as if it were obvious. Simon supposed it was.
“But—I don’t want to
,” he protested.
“Then lose your first round and you won’t have to anymore,” said Ariana with a shrug. Before Simon could come up with a response, she focused on Jam. “You’re awfully quiet. They’ll probably let you guys fight in the water, you know.”
Jam shrugged. He was a dolphin and a member of the underwater kingdom, which always had a disadvantage in the sand-filled pit. “None of us have ever won the tournament. I’m not worried.”
“Then what’s wrong?” she said. “Were they out of your favorite sushi again?”
With his expression pinched, Jam pulled out a sealed envelope from between the pages of his book. “The General wrote me.”
“Your dad?” said Winter. “What’s so bad about that?”
“He hasn’t written since we got back from Paradise Valley,” said Simon, instantly understanding the anxiety on Jam’s face. While Simon had never met the General of the underwater kingdom, he’d heard all about him from Jam, and he was strict—far stricter than any parent Simon had ever encountered, and his silence over the past six weeks had become painful for Jam. “Have you opened it?”
Jam shook his head. “Couldn’t. What if he pulls me out of school? What if he makes me attend one of the academies at home? What if—”
Ariana plucked the envelope from his fingers. Without preamble, she ripped it open and began to read.
“Hey!” cried Simon, trying to snatch it away from her, but Jam just stared at the table.
Ariana had to stand up in order to keep it out of Simon’s reach, but she scanned the letter, her eyes widening. “It’s an official summons.”
Jam groaned and buried his face in his hands. “I knew it.”
Winter stood and peered over Ariana’s shoulder. “Stop complaining. He just wants you home for the holidays.”
“He’ll find an excuse to keep me there, and you’ll never see me again,” said Jam miserably. “Goodbye, friends. Goodbye, free time. Goodbye, everything I’ve ever loved—”
“You’re more dramatic than I am,” said Winter, sitting back down.
Jam shook his head. “You don’t understand what it’s like there. Everything’s scheduled down to the last second. Exactly five minutes to get dressed. Two minutes to brush my teeth. Five minutes to use the toilet—”
“We get it,” said Ariana. As she sat back down, she handed Simon the letter. “But winter break is only two weeks. You’ll survive.”
“Without you guys? I’ll be shark chum within the hour,” mumbled Jam.
Simon scanned the letter. It was typed up, and there was a very official-looking header declaring it from the desk of the General of the underwater kingdom of North America. Part of him expected a long message, but it was only a couple of lines long.
OFFICIAL SUMMONS for Benjamin Fluke to return to Avalon. Report to General Fluke at 1800 hours on 21 Dec. Expected to remain through 1100 hours on 04 Jan.
It wasn’t even signed. Simon set the letter down on Jam’s open book. “Where is Avalon?”
“Near Los Angeles,” said Jam, eyeing the letter like it was about to bite him. “Off the coast.”
An idea began to form in Simon’s mind. It couldn’t have been more perfect if he’d planned it himself, and he looked between his friends, leaning in. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Jam blinked behind his thick glasses as it dawned on him. “Simon—no.”
“We have to go there eventually,” insisted Simon. “This is exactly the excuse we’ve been waiting for.”
“The General’s already mad enough. He’ll never let me bring friends.”
“He’s right, Simon,” said Ariana grimly, drumming her fingers against the table. “The underwater kingdom is notorious for being closed to members of the other kingdoms. It even takes a special request for my mom to visit.”
While Jam’s father was the head of the underwater kingdom, Ariana’s mother, the Black Widow Queen, was head of the insect and spider kingdom. Even Celeste, who had been the Alpha of the mammal kingdom up until September, was afraid of her. And as far as Simon knew, no one ever told her no.
“They especially hate reptiles and birds,” said Winter, who was still disgruntled about inheriting the ability to shift into a cottonmouth snake rather than a bird. “Even if the General did let Jam bring friends, you and I would never be allowed in.”
“So—I’ll hide,” said Simon. “We have to go. Orion’s been there for over a month now. Sooner or later, he’ll figure out where the General hid the underwater kingdom’s piece, and then—”
He stopped short. What felt like a brilliant idea was quickly crumbling, but he needed to get to LA. His mother had tasked him with finding the hidden pieces before anyone else could get their hands on them, and the Bird Lord was close—too close. And he was sneaky. If he had the right ally working for him, they could already be too late.
“I’m sorry, Simon,” said Jam, and he really did sound it. “There’s nothing I can do.”
“Please, just ask him,” he said. “If he says no, then—okay. But this might be our only shot. You know how important this is, Jam. You all do. It isn’t only about my mom anymore. It’s about the entire Animalgam world.”
“I know,” mumbled Jam, staring at his plate of untouched breakfast. Finally, with a heavy sigh, he said, “Okay, I’ll ask. But if he says no—”
“It’s not like you can get into any more trouble,” said Winter, stealing the last of Simon’s pancakes. He was so relieved that he didn’t even mind.
“Thanks, Jam,” he said. “I owe you big-time.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” said Jam. “We’re friends. But I will expect you to write me if the General keeps me under house arrest until I’m an adult.”
“Every day,” promised Simon. But as frightened as Jam was of his father, they both knew they had bigger things to worry about. Whatever it took, they had to find the underwater kingdom’s piece of the Predator. The Beast King’s weapon could only be destroyed when it was assembled, and in order to do that, they couldn’t let a single piece fall into Orion’s hands. Even if it meant facing the wrath of a very angry General and the entire underwater army, Simon had to take that chance. They all did.
3
WINGING IT
Nolan reappeared in their History of the Animalgam World class later that morning, sporting a sling and a story about falling down a staircase as he and Simon had raced to the bottom. Simon had started to protest, especially when he saw the way Nolan’s friends were glaring at him, but he supposed it was a step in the right direction. Only a few months ago, Nolan would have told everyone that Simon had pushed him.
Finally, once wheezy Mr. Barnes had finished his lecture on the seventeenth-century feuds between the many divided factions of the insect kingdom—which, as Ariana liked to point out, also included arachnids and other creatures most people would just call bugs—Simon followed Jam toward the underwater kingdom’s section of the L.A.I.R. That narrow corridor was, as far as Simon was concerned, the coolest part of the school. The glass hallway was surrounded by water, and everything from schools of fish to the sharks that guarded the moat swam past, going through the daily training drills the members of the underwater kingdom had to endure. It was no secret how much Jam hated the regimented life of his kingdom, but Simon thought the views might have made up for it.
They ducked down the trapdoor that led underneath the tunnel, into the section where the students slept. Rather than head to the dormitory, Jam led Simon to an office that smelled of sardines. A hulking man with a neatly trimmed moustache sat behind a desk, his size giving the impression it was meant for a child rather than a full-grown man.
“Sir,” said Jam at the threshold, saluting the man—a great white shark Simon only knew as the captain. “Apologies for the intrusion, sir. Permission requested to make a phone call, sir.”
The captain didn’t bother looking up. “Is it an emergency, soldier?”
“I—” Jam glanced at Simon and swallo
wed. “I received an official summons from the General, sir, and—yes, sir. It’s an emergency, sir.”
The captain exhaled and grudgingly said, “Very well, soldier. Permission granted.”
Jam saluted once more and backed out of the doorway. “Come on,” he said quietly to Simon. “The phone booth is this way.”
Jam showed him a cramped booth with a stainless steel phone hanging from the wall. It had barely enough room for a single person to sit down, so while Jam dialed, Simon stayed outside to make sure no one was around to overhear. He wanted to go to LA so badly that he felt nauseated, and the possibility that the General would say no ate away at him. Worst case, he supposed he could sneak away during winter break and fly to California. It wouldn’t be fun living off whatever golden eagles liked to feast on—rats and small animals, more than likely, and he probably would have known if he’d bothered paying attention in zoology—but he could do it if he had to.
“Ma’am, this is Private Benjamin Fluke, ma’am,” said Jam into the receiver. He didn’t sound like the quiet but confident bookworm he was at school; instead his voice quavered, and as Simon watched, he paled. “I’m calling for General Fluke. Yes, ma’am. I’ll hold, ma’am.”
Simon caught his eye, and he flashed Jam a thumbs-up. He knew it was completely unhelpful, but he didn’t know what else to do. It was his fault Jam was in so much trouble to begin with, and now he was practically forcing his friend into digging the hole even deeper.
“Sir!” Jam’s voice rose an octave, giving him the impression of a squeaking mouse. “Yes, sir, I received your—yes, sir, I’ll be—yes, sir, eighteen hundred hours—yes, sir, I know what I did was—”
Jam grimaced and held the phone an inch from his ear. In the quiet hallway, Simon could hear a booming voice yell what sounded like a well-rehearsed lecture, though Simon couldn’t make out what he was saying. Not that he needed to. No doubt he was ranting about the impromptu trip they’d taken to Arizona to find the reptiles’ piece of the Predator. They’d succeeded, and it was currently hidden underneath a fake bottom Simon had created in his sock drawer, but while Ariana’s mother hadn’t seemed to mind, clearly Jam’s father did.