by Kate O'Hearn
32
JAKE WAS FROZEN IN FEAR as the mimics advanced on them. Any minute now they would send out their tendrils of death. He looked over at Triana and saw the fear on her face.
They had made it so close, but not close enough.
With a rock in his hand, Jake pulled back his arm. This might be the end, but he was going to take a Mimic or two with him.
Just before he released the rock, the Mimics paused and started to howl. He looked at them in confusion, and then back into the window. The scene inside was pure chaos.
“Look,” Jake cried. “The queens are killing each other.”
The others peered in and gasped at the terrible fight. “What’s happening?” Triana asked.
“My mother just died,” Melissa explained, “and my sisters are fighting to select the next First Queen. The winner will stay here; the others will have to leave to start their own colonies.”
“You did this!” one of the Mimics howled. “You killed our queen!”
They started to charge again.
Melissa rose to her full height and flapped her wing covers. She screeched louder than Jake imagined possible. It halted the Mimic attack as they looked up at her and then lay down on the ground. “I’ll take care of all these creeps,” she shouted. “Get inside and save Astraea!”
Zephyr charged at the Shadow Titans and started stomping. “You heard her—go!”
Tryn hauled back his arm and used all his force to punch through the window. The glass shattered and rained down. “Get inside!”
Jake, Tryn, Triana, and Vulturnus crawled into the palace. The sights and sounds were horrifying as the fight escalated. The floor was becoming littered with limbs and even some wings and heads cut from the battling queens.
They moved between tall insect legs as they made their way toward the front of the room. Just ahead, they came face-to-face with a young queen. She bent down, hissed, and opened her forelegs to catch Tryn and Triana, but before she could strike, she was cut down by one of her sisters.
“This is insane!” Jake cried.
“Let’s hope it lasts long enough for us to get Astraea out of here!” Vulturnus called.
Pressing on, they reached the dead First Queen. Jake figured she would be large, but he’d never imagined she would be this monstrous.
A queen’s legs stomped down in front of Jake. He looked up at her as she loomed above him. She opened her pincerlike mouth and came down to bite him.
Jake jumped onto his board and darted between her legs. He flew up behind her and started throwing venom-covered rocks at her. Most bounced off the insect exoskeleton without doing any harm. But when the queen turned, a rock struck her in the soft eye. Despite her size, the venom on the rock started to work, and she thrashed around the room, hitting her sisters, before she collapsed to the ground and became still.
“They work!” Jake shouted to the others. “The rocks kill queens! Aim for their eyes!”
The group started to use their rocks as they pressed on. But for each queen that went down, another replaced it.
“There are too many,” Jake cried. “Let’s get Astraea and go!”
“Jake?” Astraea shouted.
“Astraea?” Jake called. “Where are you?”
“I’m back here. I’ve got Riza!”
The group darted around the body of the First Queen and found Astraea huddled against the back wall, cradling Riza in her arms.
Tryn charged forward and embraced her. “I was so scared when Zephyr told me what happened.” He looked at the blood on her tunic. “You’re hurt!”
“I’ll be fine.”
“What happened to you?” Vulturnus said as he hugged his sister.
“It was awful,” Astraea said. “The queen hurt Riza. We have to get her out of here.”
Vulturnus reached for Riza and lifted her out of Astraea’s arms. “Come on, before it is too late!”
Astraea climbed to her feet and they started to move. They had gone only a few steps when the sounds in the room changed. The fighting slowed and then stopped. The floor was littered with the bodies of dead queens, but there were at least twenty survivors. Some had horrendous injuries. But among them was one queen with no injuries at all. She rose tall above the others, and her insect legs clicked on the floor as she approached.
She hissed and lowered her head as she peered at them. Turning back to the other surviving queens, she screeched. They lowered their heads and backed away.
The new First Queen faced Jake and the others. She opened her spined praying mantis forelegs, drew them back, and prepared to strike.
33
A TREMENDOUS CRASH SOUNDED BESIDE them as Melissa broke through the palace wall. “Back off, bug-face! These are my friends!”
The new First Queen screeched and charged at Melissa.
Melissa tore through the debris of the wall and started to fight with her sister. The sound was sickening as the two queens battled. Melissa was at a distinct disadvantage because of her deformed limb. But somehow she was moving in ways the other queen didn’t.
Melissa rose on one back leg and kicked her sister with the other. Then, as her sister fell back, Melissa spun around quickly and struck the First Queen with her long abdomen and wings, tossing her across the room.
Jake watched the incredible fight and realized he knew what Melissa was doing. “She’s using kung fu!”
“What?” Vulturnus called.
“Kung fu. It’s a kind of martial art from back home!” Jake shook his head in disbelief. “Melissa must have learned it from me during our mind-link.”
“You fight like that?” Tryn asked.
“No,” Jake cried. “I just watch a lot of kung fu movies!”
The fight was the strangest thing Jake had ever seen. The new First Queen was losing ground against Melissa’s unfamiliar fighting style. It wasn’t long before the vicious queen was driven to the ground.
Facing defeat, the new First Queen screeched, and the other queens in the room responded. They started to charge, but not toward Melissa—they clicked and ran at Jake and the others.
34
“RUN!” MELISSA SHOUTED. “GET OUT now!”
Astraea felt Tryn’s hand slip into hers as they faced the queens. “Everyone, separate!”
Tryn hauled Astraea forward as the group ran in different directions. They tried to reach the doors, but they were blocked by queens. Turning quickly, they saw that the only other way out, through the broken wall, was also blocked.
“We’re trapped!” Tryn cried.
Whichever way Tryn and Astraea ran, there were queens after them with slicing forelegs and snapping mouths.
The friends found each other and huddled together, fearing the worst as they faced the room of queens. Suddenly the building started to shudder. Sounds of crashing rose louder and louder. Everyone looked toward the doors as Lergo broke into the chamber. The queens hesitated for a moment and looked back at Astraea and the others. But then they charged at the massive snake.
Watching the monsters fight was surreal. Lergo caught two in his mouth at once and bit down. The dose of venom must have been massive, as the queens were dead before he cast them aside.
A queen struck Lergo across the snout with her sharp forelegs, cutting deeply into his scales. The snake rose higher and his head smashed down on her.
Angie could barely be seen on the snake’s wide back, but she was there, holding on tightly and encouraging him to go on.
“Angie, be careful!” Jake shouted.
“I am,” her small voice called back.
“Everyone, use your rocks!” Astraea cried.
While the queens focused on Lergo, those with rocks started to hurl them at the distracted queens. Most of the rocks hit their outer shells and bounced off. But a few struck their eyes and brought them down.
As the fight continued, a tremendous boom sounded outside the palace. This was followed by another and then another.
Astraea thought she reco
gnized the sound but didn’t dare to hope. Could it be?
“Jupiter?” Tryn called. “Is that Jupiter?”
The queens were oblivious to the sounds outside and continued their attack on the snake. One opened its wings and flew up and landed on Lergo’s back. It moved forward, going for Angie.
“Angie, look out!” Jake swooped up on his skateboard to Lergo’s head and scooped Angie up in his arms moments before the vicious queen could strike.
With Angie safely away, Lergo started to spin. He knocked the queen off his back and crushed her before she could rise and get away.
Jake flew back to the group. “Let’s get out of here before they kill us!”
“I have to stay with Lergo,” Angie cried as she tried to pull away from Jake. “He needs me.”
“He needs you to live,” Jake said, struggling to hold on to the strong Titan. “Please, come with me!”
Angie stopped resisting and reluctantly went with Jake as they ran toward the hole in the wall.
Right before they crawled through, Astraea looked back and saw Lergo coiled tightly around two queens while fighting several more.
Across the room, Melissa was still fighting with the First Queen.
“Melissa, come on!” Jake called as he helped Angie through the rubble.
“No, you go!” Melissa shouted back.
Astraea helped her brother pass Riza out to Tryn and Triana. Then she climbed through, and Jake and Angie followed behind her.
After making it outside the building, they were faced with a full-on war, as thousands of Titans and Olympians were taking on the Mimics. The sky was filled with fliers using slingshots to shoot venom-covered rocks, while on the ground, others used spears, arrows, and slingshots.
Somehow Jupiter had managed to get hold of his chariot and winged horses and was soaring across the dawn sky, shooting lightning bolts at the queens that flew up to attack him.
Pluto had his own chariot with skeletal horses, peeling across the sky and firing rocks at the Mimics.
There were more sounds of crashing, and Astraea looked over to the left to see Brutus and several other giants storming through the area and stomping on Mimics with their thick black boots.
“Astraea!”
Astraea looked up and saw Zephyr in the sky. She was covered in cuts and signs of battle but looked magnificent. Zephyr landed on the ground before her. The two embraced like they hadn’t seen each other in eons.
“Are you all right? You’re bleeding,” Zephyr cried.
“Me? What about you? What happened?” They both laughed and cried as they embraced again.
Zephyr finally said, “I’ve stomped so many Shadow Titans!” She looked at the building. “What happened in there?”
“Astraea killed the First Queen,” Tryn said. “You should have seen her; she was enormous.”
“Are you calling Astraea enormous?” Zephyr demanded. Then she laughed. “Only I can say that!”
“No,” Tryn said. “The First Queen was enormous. But Astraea defeated her anyway.”
“I didn’t do it; Frick and Frack did,” Astraea corrected. “We owe them so much.”
“We owe them everything!” Zephyr said.
Jupiter soared across the sky just above them, still using his best weapons, the lightning and thunderbolts.
“Oh, and guess what. Jupiter’s here,” Zephyr said. Then she laughed again. “Actually, I think half of Titus is here. Diana and her fighters arrived just after the others went in to get you. There are Titans, Olympians, and even Nirads! Plus some kinds of beings I’ve never even seen before—all fighting. Get on my back. You need to see this.”
Astraea shook her head. “We have to take care of Riza.”
“Go on,” Tryn said. “The fighting has moved away from here. We’ll keep Riza safe.”
Astraea was thrilled to climb back up on Zephyr. Even before she was settled, Zephyr was taking off. She soared over the battle, ducking and dodging the queens that were escaping the palace. Astraea saw her mother holding a spear and chasing a queen across the sky.
Astraea had only ever known her mother to be gentle and accepting. But the woman she saw in the sky, Aurora, daughter of Hyperion, was a masterful flier and powerful warrior. She darted and dove at the queen while masterfully keeping clear of her deadly forelegs. Holding her spear high, Aurora swooped in on the queen and struck her at the base of her skull. The queen fell to the ground, and Astraea’s mother flew away, ready to take on another.
“I can’t believe this,” Astraea cried. “They actually came.”
“Look who else is here,” Zephyr called.
Farther ahead Astraea saw Emily Jacobs seated on Pegasus. The two were soaring elegantly together. Emily’s long hair was billowing out behind her, and her eyes blazed with excitement as she used a slingshot to shoot at Mimics on the ground. When Emily saw Astraea, she waved excitedly.
Astraea could see the pure joy on Pegasus’s face as he carried Emily into battle. “Why isn’t she using her powers?” Astraea asked Zephyr. “She’s a Xan; she could end all this in a moment.”
“Diana told me her powers are gone,” Zephyr said. “The queens drained her like all the other Xan. Emily is just like an Olympian now.”
Cupid was also in the sky using his slingshot against Mimics.
Astraea sat up higher on Zephyr, peering down on a battle she’d never imagined would happen. Tears rose to her eyes as she watched her people fighting for their freedom and the freedom of so many more.
“Are you all right?” Zephyr asked.
Astraea sniffed and leaned forward on Zephyr’s neck, holding her tightly. “I am now.”
35
ASTRAEA WAS EAGER TO JOIN the battle, but Zephyr refused to carry her farther until she agreed to have her wounds tended.
As a healer applied potions to the cuts on her abdomen from the queen’s spines, Astraea saw a young Titan satyr she recognized from Xanadu being treated for a head wound. When the healer left to gather more bandages, Astraea leaned closer to the satyr. “What happened on Xanadu?”
“Yeah,” Zephyr said. “Was Jupiter really angry at us?”
The satyr nodded. “Jupiter was furious when Arious told him where you went—his face turned bright red, and I thought for sure his head was going to explode.” She grinned impishly. “But he was set on his plan to free Titus, and we left Xanadu for home. We took a load of snakes with us, and using our slingshots, we were able to drive back the Mimics. We went into the prison and found it had been refilled with more Titans. Once they were free, the main battle for Titus started. The Mimics could not stand against the snake venom, and in two days, it was mostly over. Then Pegasus arrived and told Jupiter what was happening. He insisted the Mimics could only be defeated here, and Jupiter agreed. While some fighters remained on Titus, the rest of us came here and…” The satyr paused, and terror rose on her face when Melissa was escorted into the treatment area.
“Don’t worry,” Astraea said to her. “She’s on our side.”
Melissa had several deep wounds from the fight with her sister. Despite the handicap of her useless foreleg, her strange battle style had seen her defeat the new First Queen.
Two healers came forward and started to work on her, but their movements were cautious and fearful until Melissa spoke in her strange, Jake-like style and thanked them for their help.
“You are all done,” the healer said to Astraea as he returned and finished bandaging her abdomen. “Just lie back and let the potions and ambrosia work.”
The moment he left to treat others, Astraea threw back her covers. “I have to get up.”
“You aren’t going anywhere,” Zephyr said, tossing the blanket back over her. “You are still healing.”
“I’m fine.” Astraea got up despite Zephyr’s warning. “Besides, they need us out there. Tryn and Triana are fighting; so are Jake and Angie; I have to help them.”
Melissa also rose, knocking over several treatment trays as she stoo
d. “I have to help them too.”
“I thought you didn’t want to fight,” Astraea said to her as she pulled on a clean tunic.
“I don’t,” Melissa said. “But this isn’t about me. We are in an especially dangerous time. There is only one Risen Queen left. She will be looking to defeat me to become the true First Queen and gain complete control. The best way to do that is to go after those I love. Jake and Angie are targets. So are you. Until my sister is stopped, this war won’t end.”
As they left the treatment area, several of the healers shook their heads in disappointment. But nothing could stop Astraea from joining the battle.
On their way to the weapons store, Zephyr stopped. “Let me just say, I am doing this under protest. You should be resting, not fighting. And to be honest, I’m a bit of a wreck too.”
“I know, and I’m sorry,” Astraea agreed. “But we haven’t won this fight yet.” She picked up a slingshot and two large bags of venom-covered rocks, which she draped over Zephyr’s neck.
Astraea climbed up gingerly onto Zephyr’s back. “Let’s end this, Zeph, and then we can finally go home.”
“Fine… let’s do this.” Zephyr galloped and then launched into the air.
The fighting was a short flight away. Titan and Olympian warriors fought the Mimics and the Shadow Titans they controlled. Jupiter and his brothers were still flying across the sky, using their powers to blast the Shadow Titans.
“Don’t they ever sleep?” Zephyr commented.
Astraea shrugged. “I guess that’s why they’re called the Big Three. They just keep fighting.”
Melissa joined them in the sky. She looked over at Astraea and Zephyr. “If my sister shows up, things will get really freaky really quickly. I don’t want you to hang around. Leave her to me. Do you understand?”
Astraea nodded and continued to fire rocks at the Mimics. Farther ahead, they spied Pegasus and Emily soaring across the sky.
Zephyr changed direction and joined them.
“How are you?” Emily called.
“Better,” Astraea answered. “And you?”
“Fantastic!”