by Kate O'Hearn
When they had everything, they made their way quietly out of the temple. Pegasus was standing outside talking to the night guards. He nickered and came over.
“Are they going to try to stop us?” Astraea asked.
“No,” Pegasus answered. “But they are not foolish. They realize we are up to something.”
The centaurs were carrying their bows and quivers full of venom-dipped arrows, as well as slingshots and rocks. Astraea had her own supply of weapons and was wearing the bracelet that Vulcan made for her that held two volunteer snakes. She stroked the surface to reassure herself as much as them.
When Tryn and Triana arrived, Tryn was carrying his and Jake’s skateboards, while Triana had a sack of ambrosia cakes and several bottles of nectar.
“If any of you have second thoughts,” Pegasus said somberly, “now is the time to speak up. We are facing untold dangers—if you want to stay, it is understandable and there will be no recriminations.”
Zephyr opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again. “Nah, I’m fine.”
“Can we just go?” Cylus said.
Pegasus nodded. “Good. Let us move away from the temple, and we can leave.”
“Wait,” Cylus said. “We need to get one more thing. Don’t leave without us.” The centaurs disappeared into the trees. They returned several minutes later with sacks tied around their waists.
Astraea crinkled her nose at the stink coming from the bags. She knew that smell: it was Mimic food. “Ugh, what are you bringing that for?”
Cylus explained, “Lergo waits for its food to die. These are dead animals. We can use these as bait to get that snake to follow us into the Solar Stream.”
Astraea nodded, but plugged her nose. “Great idea, Cylus. I just hope we don’t get sick with the smell.”
“Indeed,” Pegasus agreed. “Come, it is time to go.”
They walked quietly into the trees and made their way back to the glass lake. On the shore was a large area that had been cleared by the Mimics. Tryn stepped forward and held up the ring. “Is everyone ready?”
When everyone nodded, Tryn said, “Take us to Zomos, daytime.”
The Solar Stream burst open in a swirling vortex of light.
Tryn looked at everyone. “Here we go,” he said, and stepped into the light.
10
JAKE SQUEEZED ANGIE’S HAND AS the voices grew louder and closer. But mixed in with the voices was a soft whimper. Someone or something was suffering. They were both too frightened to say anything or move. But as they listened, the sounds slowly faded.
After so much violence, the silence was even more frightening. During the worst of it, Jake hadn’t been aware of movement. But after, he realized that all the snakes were on the bunk with him and Angie. The snakes had been as frightened as they were.
“I think we’re okay now.” Jake’s voice was little more than a hushed whisper.
“What was that?” Angie asked.
“I don’t know,” Jake said softly. “On this crazy world, it could be just about anything. And probably bad for us.”
They fell silent and sat in the dark. Finally Angie moved back to her bunk and settled down again. When she did, all the snakes went with her. With nothing more to do until after sunset, Jake did the same, hoping that there wouldn’t be a repeat of the horror.
It seemed an eternity that they’d been in the boat. Jake wondered how much of a time difference there was between here and Earth or Xanadu. With the endlessly long days and nights, the time difference must have been huge. As it was, it felt like his own body clock had shut completely down.
“Are you awake?” Angie called softly.
“Yep,” Jake answered.
“Do you think the night is coming?”
“You’re the one with the super vision. All I see is darkness.”
“I can’t tell from here, and I don’t want to move too much,” Angie said.
Nesso hissed briefly. After that, they heard a couple of snakes moving around. Before long she said, “They have checked outssside. It isss ssstill day.”
“It’s still day,” Jake repeated. “I was thinking, one day or night here must be like two or three at home.”
“They are long,” Angie said. She moved around and then touched his hand. “Here’s some more ambrosia for you and Nesso.”
“No thanks. We should save it for the snakes.”
“I brought back plenty for all of us. You must eat to stay strong.”
Jake laughed lightly. “Strong? Not even close. You’re a lot younger than me, but you could break me in two if you wanted.”
“I would never harm you!” Angie gasped.
“No, what I mean is that even though you are younger, you’re really strong. All you Titans are. It’s like you’re made of steel or something.”
“We are just as we are,” Angie said. She yawned softly. “I am getting tired again.”
“Me too,” Jake agreed. “It’s going to be a long night; let’s try getting more sleep.”
Despite the darkness of the boat, Jake still couldn’t sleep. He tried, but the more he tried, the harder it became. Counting sheep didn’t work; thinking of floating on peaceful water didn’t help. It was just so frustrating, being in the middle of a war, and yet he had to lie down and do nothing but wait.
Eventually a snake hissed, and Nesso said, “The sssun isss going down and the Mimicsss are moving inssside.”
The sun was setting, but even that took forever. Like him, Angie hadn’t slept again. Instead, they sat together, waiting for the dark.
“It isss time,” Nesso hissed.
“It’s time to move,” Jake repeated softly.
Angie left her bunk and crawled up to the hatch. She pushed it back carefully and peered out. She returned to Jake a moment later. “There’s no one out there. Let me help you out.”
Just like the previous night, Angie led Jake out of the boat, into the water, and back up onto land. As she guided him down the street, she started to slow down. “I see something on the ground.”
“What is it?”
“I’m not sure.” She bent down and peered closer. “It’s like Mimic goo, but not quite. Like something has been dragged and it was bleeding.…”
“Well, we did hear those strange sounds. Where does the trail go?”
“The same direction we’re going. Toward the trees,” Angie said.
Jake stopped. “The trees?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Then I need you to keep a good close watch on everything. This could be a trap. Maybe they know about our visit last night.”
Jake felt Angie tense as she stood up. She started leading him again. “This is where we enter the trees. Do we still go in?”
“I don’t think we have much choice.”
They continued off the pavement and onto the soft ground. Before long, Angie stopped. “Last night we went in this direction to find the others. The slime trail goes in a different one. What do you want to do?”
Jake knew he should say, Go to the prison. The others would be waiting. But the sounds from earlier haunted him. “Maybe we can follow the slime a bit longer. Just be careful.”
After a few minutes, Angie stopped again. “There’s a cage. It’s much bigger than the one I was kept in.”
“Is anyone inside it? Could it be Emily or Riza?”
Angie took them forward several more steps. “There is someone inside,” Angie said softly. “But it’s not a person. It’s a—it’s—a…”
Jake could feel her trembling. “What is it? Tell me, what are you seeing?”
“I—I think it’s a Mimic. But it’s large and shaped funny.”
Jake’s mind reeled with imagination. Why would they put a Mimic in a cage? “Take us closer.”
Angie hesitated, but then started to walk.
“Tell me everything you see,” Jake said.
“It’s hard to tell what it is,” Angie started as she took a hesitant step. “I can see a head,
but it just doesn’t look like a normal Mimic.”
As they neared the cage, in the overwhelming silence, Jake heard soft whimpering.
“That’s what we heard,” Jake said. “Is it hurt?”
“Yes. There are deep cuts on its stomach, and one of its arms is almost falling off. And there’s another cut on the side of its head.”
As they neared the cage, the whimpering and moaning continued. “I think it’s dying,” Angie said.
Jake wasn’t sure what he was feeling. He hated Mimics—all of them. And yet he felt stirrings of compassion for the strange Mimic-like thing in the cage. Perhaps he was moved by the pathetic sounds it was making.
When they took another step forward, Angie cried, “Jake, get back!” But it was too late. He felt a tendril wrap around his waist. The wounded Mimic was attacking him!
11
THE TENDRIL AROUND JAKE’S WAIST was tight, but not so tight that he couldn’t breathe. And for some reason, he felt fine. No weakness, no passing out. What he did feel was a strange presence in his mind. He wasn’t alone in his own head.
Jake heard Angie screaming, and he was able to tell her he was all right. But he couldn’t say more as his mind was drawn into another consciousness. Soon it was as though he were sharing the thoughts and memories of someone else and could experience everything they felt. He couldn’t see anything, but he could hear and he could feel.
Within moments, he knew the presence was female and that she was moving toward something very important. She was completely surrounded by hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Mimics murmuring softly. There was no aggression toward her. In fact, there was reverence.
Whoever she was, Jake could feel that she was profoundly afraid. Not of the Mimics but of failure. The presence had an overwhelming sense of trepidation and obligation, as though something monumental was about to happen that she wanted no part of.
Soon they arrived at a place of great significance, and he felt her tremble.
Sharing the mind-link with the presence, Jake knew she was here to fight but didn’t want to. She had no desire to harm anyone. All she wanted was peace. Yet she was duty bound to fight.
As they proceeded, Jake heard a sound he’d heard earlier that day. Harsh screeching and shrieking that was filled with murderous rage. The presence he was sharing a mind with held no rage and did not respond.
Soon a voice Jake could actually understand started to speak to the presence and the screeching thing.
“Most reverent young queens,” it started. “Your mother, our beloved First Queen, has waited millennia to find another Xan so she could finally spawn her special daughters. To give you the extra strength that makes you queens, she has absorbed the energy and power of the last two Xan, and passed it along to you. You carry all that we are, all we can be. Your future is our future. Your survival is our survival. Through you, we will spread even farther throughout the universe.
“That which has not happened in countless generations must happen now. But you must earn your new colony. Only the strongest between you may take your place as a Risen Queen of a new world. Whichever one of you falls will die, nameless and shamed for all time.”
The gathering of Mimics murmured even louder while the opposing queen continued to screech and threaten. The mind Jake shared offered no reaction. He could feel she still did not want to hurt anyone.
“Come forward, queens.”
Jake felt the queen move forward without hesitation. Duty forced her. She had no choice. It had been her destiny from the moment she’d hatched.
But she didn’t want to fight. It felt—wrong. She knew that to not fight was a betrayal of her royal obligation, but she wanted nothing to do with this selection process. Even if it meant her death, she would not harm her sister.
Moments later a voice shouted “Go” and the two queens came together. Or rather, the opposing queen attacked Jake’s queen while all she did was try to defend herself. She refused to fight, even as her sister tore at her and injured her greatly.
Jake could feel the deep wounds, but not the immense pain, as though he were being shielded from it. With each cut and bite, he cried out for her to fight back, but she refused.
He recalled how long the fight he and Angie had heard had lasted, and he wished he could tell his queen to run or get away. But this was a memory and he was just an observer.
Finally it was over. The opposing queen was too tired to continue. Somehow, Jake’s queen had managed to survive. She was gravely wounded, collapsed to the ground and bleeding as pain tore through her.
Then the voice started again. “It is over. Our new queen has risen.”
There were more murmurs and rumblings from all the Mimics around them. But Jake couldn’t hear them well, as the queen’s pain was absolute.
“You,” the voice spat. “You have dishonored yourself by surviving. We will not give you the release of a quick death. You will be removed from this place to die alone in your shame. You are fallen. You are nothing.”
The Fallen Queen was shoved into a cage, and it was dragged away to where he and Angie had found her.
The tendril around Jake’s waist receded. Angie was beside him, calling his name.
“Whoa,” Jake said, taking several steps back. “That was intense!”
Angie threw her arms around him. “You’re alive! I was so scared that the thing was going to kill you. I just didn’t know what to do.”
Jake shook his head. “She wouldn’t do that.”
“How do you know?”
“Because when she touched me, she let me know who she is and what happened to her. She’s a Mimic queen that was forced to fight her sister even though she didn’t want to.” He stroked Nesso. “Did you get that too?”
“Yesss,” Nesso said sadly. “It wasss terrible.”
“I’m not a queen,” the Mimic said softly. “I’m nothing. I’m fallen.”
Angie gasped. “She can speak!”
Jake nodded. “She must have read my mind and learned when she let me into hers.” He said to the queen, “Don’t believe that guy. You’re not nothing, and not fallen. You’re brave for what you did.”
Jake reached out for the cage bars.
“Jake, stop! She’s a Mimic,” Angie cried. “She’ll kill us!”
“She won’t,” Jake said. “That’s why she’s hurt, because she doesn’t want to kill anyone.” He turned toward Angie and told her what he had experienced in the mind-link.
“Why did they make you fight?” Angie asked. “Couldn’t you both be queens?”
There was a long, pain-filled sigh. “Only the most totally vicious will rise. If I’d won, I’d be a Risen Queen. Because I wouldn’t fight, I’m dishonored and will die in my shame.”
“No way,” Jake said.
“Yes way,” the queen said. “It’s how it’s always been done.”
Jake was shaking his head. “We’re going to save you.”
“But, Jake,” Angie said hesitantly. “She’s really hurt. Maybe we should leave her here. The others are waiting for us.”
“Yes, Jake,” the queen said. “Go ahead and leave me. It won’t be long anyway.”
“No. We’re getting you out of here,” Jake said.
“It’s impossible,” Angie said. “Trust me, you haven’t seen her.”
“You don’t understand,” Jake insisted. “I felt and heard what happened to her. We gotta help her.” Jake turned back toward the queen and wished he could show her that he knew she wasn’t a failure, that to him, she was extra special. “That Mimic said you were young, but I didn’t feel how young. How old are you?”
The queen whined, “I hatched four days ago.”
“What?” Jake cried. “You’re just a baby. Not even a week old, and they expected you to fight?”
“It was my duty,” the queen said. “Just like it’s my duty to die in this cage, frightened and alone.”
“Nope,” Jake said. “You are not alone and you’re not gonna die. We’
re going to save you.”
Angie leaned closer and said softly to him, “I don’t think you realize what you’re saying.”
“Angie, you didn’t experience what I did. If you won’t help me, fine. But you can’t stop me.”
“How can you want to help a Mimic when they want to destroy us?” Angie asked.
“You don’t get it. They want to destroy her, too,” Jake said. “There is a saying on Earth, ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’ The Mimics wanted her dead, so if we help her, it will really bother them.” He turned back to the cage. “How could you touch me and not hurt me?”
“I don’t want to hurt you, Jake. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
Jake frowned. “Does that mean the other Mimics can choose whether they are deadly to us or not? Like they can control it or something?”
“I dunno,” the Fallen Queen responded. Then she moaned again. “Oh, this really hurts.”
Jake leaned closer to Angie. “Watch this.…” He moved forward and touched the cage bars. Then he reached inside. “Please take my hand.”
“Jake, no, don’t.” Angie caught his arm and pulled it away.
“Let go. I have to make you understand she’s not like the others.” He pulled his arm free and reached into the cage. “It’s all right; please take my hand.”
A moment later, he felt a cold wet hand take hold of him. There was no pain or drawing like with Mimics. It was definitely strange, but not harmful. He looked back toward Angie. “See what I mean? She’s not dangerous. We gotta help her.”
“Sorry, dude…,” the queen sighed. “It’s too late for me.”
“Dude?” Angie repeated. “Why does she talk like you?”
“Because she learned English from me,” Jake said. “She’s kinda like a California girl.” He turned to the queen. “Do you really wanna die?”
“No,” she said softly. “I am scared of what lies beyond. But the choice isn’t mine.”
“ ’Course it is,” Jake said. “You just have to let us save you.”
“Jake, we can’t,” Angie said. “It would take several Titans to move her.”
“Then we’ll go get some Titans. They’re getting stronger.”