by Kate O'Hearn
“Jake, I know you wanna help me,” the queen said. “But you can’t. It’s my duty to die.”
“Stop saying that,” Jake said. “You’re just a baby; you shouldn’t die. No babies should.”
“My mother, the First Queen, says only winners can live. I’m a loser.”
“What’s your name?” Jake asked.
“Fallen.”
“That’s not a name.”
“That’s all there is for me.”
Jake thought a moment and then said, “All right. So, you say you are a Fallen Queen that must die.”
“Yes.”
“I agree, as a Fallen Queen you should die—”
“Jake, no,” Nesso cried.
“What?” Angie said. “You said—”
“Wait, let me finish,” Jake cut in. “The Fallen Queen can die. But this isn’t a queen anymore; she lost the fight. So now she is reborn, and I give her the name Melissa. She is who we’ll save.”
“I don’t understand,” the Fallen Queen said. “I saw Melissa in your mind. She’s your boarding buddy.”
“That’s right. You’ve seen her, and Melissa is cool. So I’m going to call you Melissa because I think it’s really awesome what you did earlier today. Even though your sister was tearing you apart, you refused to fight. I don’t think I could have done that.”
“I don’t understand. Why would you want to save me?” the queen asked. “We both know what my kind are doing to your people. My mother is spawning. There will be many more queens. You can’t stop them.”
“Maybe not,” Jake said. “But we’re going to try. And you can help us. You owe your mother and the Mimics nothing. They hurt and betrayed you and wanted you to die. But I don’t. Don’t you get it? You’re the first Mimic I’ve ever wanted to save because of who you are. You’re amazing.”
“I am nobody.”
“No, you’re not. You are Melissa,” Jake said. “And that changes everything.”
12
ASTRAEA AND THE OTHERS EMERGED from the Solar Stream in the middle of the jungle. She was once again struck by the heat of the world. It was one thing to remember it being hot; it was another to be back and feel the pressure on her chest. Each breath was like inhaling fire.
There were calls of wildlife all around them, just like on Xanadu. But unlike Xanadu, here most of those came from creatures that wanted to eat them. The sounds of scurrying and hunting filled the air.
Zephyr was nodding and snorting. “All right, I remember now just how much I hate this place. This was a bad idea. I think we should leave.”
“Not yet,” Cylus said. “Let’s just find Lergo, and then we can go.”
Astraea looked around, wondering if they were in the same area where they’d landed the first time they’d come. Zomos was a big world—what if they’d landed on the other side from where Lergo lived? It all looked the same. How were they to tell?
Tryn seemed to have the same thought and put his skateboard down on the ground. “I’m going up to see where we are and if there are any of those dinosaur things coming our way.”
The centaurs’ eyes were wide and searching as they held their bows high. Astraea kept a close watch on Cylus. He seemed to feel when danger was coming much sooner than the others.
Tryn was hovering above them and looking around. Finally he nodded and ordered his skateboard down again. “Well, the good news is, I can see the plateau. The bad news is, it’s much farther away than last time. At least a day or two’s walk from here.”
“Or we could fly,” Render offered hopefully. “I mean if Pegasus and Zephyr don’t mind carrying us again.”
“Fly?” Cylus gasped. “Not again!”
Zephyr snorted and shook her head. “Just when my legs were feeling better.”
Pegasus considered a moment, then said, “Having heard what you all went through here and the dangers that lurk all around us, I agree that flying would be the best course of action.”
Zephyr looked back at Astraea. “Now, how did I know he was going to say that?”
Astraea patted her friend. “It won’t be a long flight.”
Zephyr nickered. “If we’re going to do this, let’s do it now before I change my mind. Come on, Cylus, just like before.”
“Feel free to change your mind,” Cylus said. “I’m happier on the ground. It might be slower, but it’s safer.”
The words were just out of his mouth when a roar rose above all the other wild jungle sounds. It was close and sounded like it was getting closer.
“On the other hand,” Cylus said, “the sooner we get out of here, the better.”
While Triana climbed up onto Pegasus, Astraea settled onto Zephyr’s back and tucked her legs beneath Zephyr’s wings as they prepared to fly.
Tryn ordered his skateboard into the air and looked down on Render. “Just like before. Grab on and don’t let go.”
Render grinned and reached up to hold on to the skateboard. “I love this!”
Cylus shot him a look but said nothing. Instead he stood behind Zephyr. “I’m ready when you are.”
Zephyr flapped her wings hard and lifted off the ground. Astraea looked back and saw Cylus catch hold of her back legs.
“Go!” the centaur cried.
It was a repeat of the last time they were on this world, Zephyr flapping her wings hard to support the weight of the heavy centaur. Beside them, Pegasus was doing the same with Darek, though he appeared to be straining less than Zephyr.
“Lead us,” Pegasus called to Tryn.
“And hurry!” Zephyr added. “It isn’t any easier than before.”
They climbed above the canopy of trees and saw the rise of the plateau in the distance. It was much farther away than last time, and Astraea worried whether Zephyr would be able to make it.
Her best friend was already straining under the weight of the centaur hanging from her back legs and the heat of the air. Above the trees, the merciless sun was pounding down on all of them.
“Keep going,” Astraea coaxed. “You’re doing great!”
“We weren’t sup-supposed to be doing this again,” Zephyr panted as she strained to fly. “Ju-just get in, get the snake, and go…”
“I don’t like it either,” Cylus complained.
Astraea gazed down on the centaur and saw that his eyes were shut tightly. Cylus’s bow and quiver were over his shoulder, and the bag of smelly Mimic food was still tied around his torso where it joined his equine body. The poor centaur had to endure the stink of the food as well as the terrifying flight.
Ahead of them, Render was just the opposite. He was hanging beneath Tryn’s skateboard and whooping and laughing with joy.
Each moment brought them closer to the plateau. Despite the heat, Astraea shivered at the memory of what had happened there. How they were badly sunburned and then nearly killed by Lergo. As it was, they still had no plan for how they would catch the deadly snake.
The sound of screeching brought Astraea instantly back. She looked around and gasped. Directly behind them and moving fast was a flock of large, bat-like birds. Their wingspan was wider than Zephyr’s, and they were moving much faster. Their long beaks were open, revealing rows of sharp teeth.
“Zephyr…,” Astraea warned.
“Don’t tell me; there are monsters coming toward us.”
“There are monsters coming toward us,” Astraea repeated. “Big ones!”
“Not again!” Cylus cried. “I hate this world!”
Astraea leaned forward on Zephyr and called to Pegasus and Tryn, “We’re being hunted!” She looked back and screamed. A dark blue, leathery bird was snapping at Zephyr’s tail. Another was moving down to go after Cylus.
“Zeph, they’re right behind us!” Astraea cried. She pulled out her slingshot and loaded a stone. Clenching her legs tightly beneath Zephyr’s wings, she turned back and aimed for the head of the nearest bird.
She let loose the stone, and it bounced off the bird’s long beak. The creature squ
awked in protest but snapped at Zephyr again.
“Take us down!” Astraea cried. “Hurry!”
Zephyr tilted to go down into the canopy, but with the density of the trees, there was nowhere to land. “I can’t!”
While Astraea loaded another rock to fire at the birds, Pegasus dipped down low into the canopy and ordered Darek to let go. The centaur released the stallion’s legs and fell, screaming, into the trees.
“Take me down,” Cylus called. “I’ll go with Darek.”
Before Zephyr could do anything, one of the birds flew faster and swooped down to Cylus. It caught hold of one of the centaur’s front legs and started to pull.
“Cylus, hold on!” Astraea cried.
Astraea raised her slingshot again and fired at the predator. The rock struck the bird’s wing, but it had no effect. The bird held fast to Cylus’s legs.
Cylus screamed and tried to kick his leg free, but the bird’s grip on him was solid and wouldn’t budge. Despite his best efforts, one of Cylus’s hands slipped away from Zephyr’s back legs.
“It’s going to get him!” Zephyr cried.
Everything started moving in slow motion as Astraea watched the blue bird trying to tear Cylus away. Farther back, Pegasus was in an aerial battle with two more birds as they snapped and nipped at the stallion’s wings and legs. In a move Astraea never imagined possible, Pegasus did a flying circle in the sky until he was directly above one of the birds. He dipped down low and with his sharp hooves tore a large hole in the bird’s wing.
The bird squawked in pain as it lost flight integrity and started to spin, spraying blue blood in the air. Within moments, the other birds attacking Pegasus gave up and started chasing the wounded bird. They caught it just above the canopy of trees and tore it to pieces.
Seeing that gave Astraea an idea.
“Zeph, stay close. I’m going to try to save Cylus.”
“What are you going to do?” Zephyr cried.
“No time to tell you; just follow my lead!” Astraea pulled her legs up beneath her until she was crouching on Zephyr’s back. She looked down at the large bird pulling Cylus by the leg. Drawing her dagger, she prepared to jump.
“Astraea, don’t do it!” Zephyr cried. “It’s too dangerous.”
“I know!”
Astraea opened her tiny wings and leaped off Zephyr’s back. She flew as best she could at the attacking bird. Her wings were not large enough to support her in flight, but they were big enough to slow her descent and direct her. She landed with a heavy thud on the bird’s back, between its leathery wings.
Using her dagger, Astraea sliced into the skin of both wings the same way Pegasus had done. The bird released Cylus and screeched. It turned its head back and tried to bite her. But the more it tried, the more Astraea sliced into the leathery skin of the wings.
With its wings rendered useless, the bird lost control. It screeched and squawked, and started to spin in the sky.
“Astraea!” Zephyr shouted.
It was only then that Astraea realized her big mistake. Yes, Cylus was free, but she was now stuck on the back of a large bird that could no longer fly. The other predator birds saw the blood coming from the wounds and gave up their attack on Tryn and the others.
They squawked as they dove toward Astraea and the wounded bird.
13
“MELISSA,” ANGIE REPEATED. “THAT’S A pretty name.”
“It is,” Jake agreed. “She’s a really great skateboarder. She’s fearless.”
“I can’t be Melissa,” the queen said. “I’m not fearless; I’m afraid.”
“Having to fight your sister would be very frightening, but you handled it great. We just have to figure out how to help you,” Jake said, then turned to Angie. “What if we gave her ambrosia? That seems to heal everything.”
“She’s not a Titan.”
“Neither am I, but it helps me. That guy in the prison yard from Earth, Joel—it helped him, too. Maybe we should try some.” He said to Melissa, “Do you need some of those flat, stinky animals that your kind eat?”
“Yuck, I don’t eat dead things.”
“Whoa,” Jake said. “A vegetarian Mimic? No wonder they hate her.”
“They hate me because I am fallen,” Melissa said.
“Their loss will be our gain,” Jake said. “I’m going to try ambrosia. So please hold on. We have to go for a while, but we’ll be back.”
“Please don’t go,” Melissa whined.
The pain in her voice tore at Jake’s heart, and it surprised him how much he cared. Perhaps it was residue from the mind-link they’d shared. Did it bind them together just like Nesso’s bite had?
“We have to go,” he said. “But we won’t be long, I promise. And when we come back, we’ll bring something that might help you, so you won’t hurt anymore.”
Melissa made a sound that was like a whimper of pain and fear. “Don’t forget me, Jake,” she said softly.
“We won’t,” Jake promised.
* * *
Jake and Angie walked away from the cage and started back on the path to the prison yard.
“I’m not sure we should help her,” Angie said. “She is still a Mimic.”
Jake stopped. “Yes, she is. But you have to trust me, she isn’t going to turn on us.”
“I do trust you; it’s the Mimics I don’t like or trust. What if they heard what she said because they’re all linked. What if they know about us?”
Jake stopped. “During our link, I didn’t feel any other Mimics. Like she was completely alone in her mind. Maybe because she’s a queen, she’s different. We have to trust her.”
“I don’t think I can.”
“Please try,” Jake said. “Don’t think of her as a Mimic or even a queen. Think of her as Melissa and that she’s hurt. You wouldn’t want to abandon anyone that’s hurt, would you?”
In the dark, her long pause was telling. “Well?”
“All right, I’ll try,” Angie finally said.
“Thank you. Now, I wonder if she can eat ambrosia. I’ve never seen Mimics eat it, just those stinky animals.”
“I guess we’ll find out.”
They made their way to the prison. Like the previous night, they could see the glow from the community yard. Once again, the prisoners were lying down or moving slowly around, looking half-dead. This time, Jake was sure it was a performance for the cameras, if indeed those boxes were cameras. This world was almost a twin to Earth. But did it have the same kind of technology?
“There are a lot of people in there,” Jake said. “Is there enough ambrosia to feed them all once they escape?”
“There were a ton of containers in the cabin. I’m sure it will last a long time.”
As they neared the cage, Jake looked around for any signs of change—anything to suggest that the Mimics knew they’d been there. But everything looked the same.
“I wonder why there aren’t any Shadow Titans,” Jake mused aloud. “You’d think they’d keep some posted here.”
“I’m just glad there aren’t any. They really scare me,” Angie said.
“Me too,” Jake agreed. But not seeing them disturbed him almost as much as if there had been some posted. Was this a trap? Or were the Mimics arrogant enough to think the Shadow Titans weren’t needed?
After making their way around the prison yard, they arrived back at the place where they were the previous night when they entered the bushes.
“Paelen, Joel, and Chiron are there,” Angie said softly.
She started to move, but Jake caught her arm. “Stop. We don’t know if it’s really them or Mimics in disguise. We’ve been tricked before.”
Angie gasped. “How can we tell? We don’t want to be touched.”
Jake stroked Nesso. “True, but here’s our professional Mimic detector. She can smell them.”
“Jake, pleassse don’t rely on me too much,” Nesso said. “Thisss whole area ssstinksss of Mimicsss.”
Jake reached u
p and stroked her. “Just try your best.”
“I will.”
As they had before, they darted over to the bushes. Crawling beside the cabin, they neared the cage.
“Well?” Jake whispered to Nesso.
“I am sssure they are not Mimicsss.”
Jake looked back at Angie and whispered, “They’re not Mimics.”
Paelen raised his arms and stretched, then lay down, facing the bars. “You could have asked us if we were Mimics.”
“You heard that?” Jake asked.
“Of course,” Paelen replied.
“Yeah, well, I’m sorry to suspect you. But we have to be careful.”
“That is wise of you,” Chiron said. “We are glad you have returned.”
“Us too,” Jake said. “Did the Mimics notice the missing food?”
“The Mimics did not return today,” Paelen said. “We have seen no one.”
Jake looked at Angie and then said, “I think we know why.” He explained about their day and the terrible sounds. Then they told of finding the Fallen Queen in the cage and Jake’s mind-link with her.
“Do you believe you can trust her?” Chiron asked.
“Absolutely,” Jake answered. “When she touched me, it was like I was her. I could share her memories and learn everything about her. She is peaceful. That’s why she refused to fight. She could have killed both of us at any time with her tendrils, but she didn’t.”
Chiron looked at Angie. “Do you feel the same?”
Angie hesitated. “She didn’t touch me, so I didn’t experience what Jake did. But she sounds like she means it.”
“But is it enough for us to risk our lives to save her?” Chiron said.
“Yes!” Jake said emphatically. “I promised, and I never go back on a promise.”
“And she was hurt,” Angie added. “She wasn’t faking that.”
“You can trussst her,” Nesso said.
“Nesso agrees with me that we can trust her,” Jake said. “Please, Chiron, we have to help her.”
“We will,” Chiron said. “There may be much we can learn from her. We will take her with us tonight.”
“We will?” Paelen gasped. “We are leaving tonight?”