by Kate O'Hearn
Jake looked at Tryn. “That sucks. I thought it should at least take an hour. I’ve done a lot of cool stuff.”
Tryn nodded and returned Nesso to Jake. “My first time was quick too.”
Arious’s lights flash. “You have led an interesting life, Jake Reynolds, and are a credit to your family. Thank you for sharing.”
“No problem,” Jake said. “But I do want to come back and see what you’ve got stored in there.”
“You will be welcome,” Arious said.
“First we have to save Zephyr and stop the Mimics,” Tryn said. “Then maybe I can take you to meet my family as well.”
“Indeed,” Arious agreed. “There is plenty of ambrosia for Zephyr in the Olympian homes here. Take as much as you need. It would have been helpful if you had brought a sample of the infection that is endangering her life so I could produce medication. I do not even have a record of her physiology.”
“She’s the daughter of Pegasus’s clone, Tornado Warning. Isn’t that enough?” Tryn said.
“No. She has a Titan mother, Lampos. I do not know her, either, so I cannot produce anything to help her.”
“Then we’ve got to hope that the ambrosia is enough. Thank you, Arious. We’ll take the ambrosia to Zephyr and gather the snakes.” Tryn looked over to Jake. “We have to move. It’s a long journey back.”
“Tryn, wait,” Arious said. A drawer in the mainframe opened. “Here, take these.”
Tryn and Jake peered inside and saw several rings. “Are these…?”
“Solar Stream gems,” Arious answered. “Take two. They will open to Xanadu. Once you have collected enough snakes, gather everyone from Earth and bring them here. Then we can plan the rescue of Riza and Emily.”
Tryn reached into the drawer and pulled out two rings. He handed one to Jake. “In case we get separated, get to Earth and give this to Jupiter to bring everyone here.”
Jake nodded and put the ring on.
“We’ll be back as quickly as possible, Arious,” Tryn called as they ran out of the control room.
“I will be waiting.”
10
ASTRAEA WAS LYING ON THE ground leaning against Zephyr. As the minutes ticked by, her fever was rising. “She’s so hot.”
Render clopped closer. “She’s also changing color. Look, she’s going yellow, and her black blaze is fading.”
Astraea was lying too close to notice, but as she sat up and looked again, she saw Render was right. Zephyr was turning a sickly yellow, and the black blaze on her chest was now pale gray. There was also a rattle in her chest with each shallow breath she took.
“We have to do something,” Astraea said helplessly. “We can’t wait for Tryn and Jake.”
“What do you suggest?” Cylus said.
Astraea looked around. “How far back was the water?”
“You want to go swimming?” Darek said. “Now?”
“No!” Astraea said. “If there is any way we can get Zephyr there, I want to put her in the water to cool her down. Maybe if we wash her wounds, it will help.”
Astraea waited for Cylus to say some sharp retort or call her stupid. Instead he shoved Render. “You stay here with Zephyr. Darek and I are going to go gather some strong branches.”
“What are you planning?” Render asked.
“We’re going to make a sled to carry Zephyr back to the water.” Cylus approached Astraea and handed her his bow and quiver of arrows. “If that serpent comes for Zephyr, go for its eyes. They will be the weak spot. Use as many arrows as you need.”
“I will,” Astraea promised. “Cylus, thank you.”
Cylus nodded his head but didn’t say anything. He turned and, together with Darek, vanished into the trees.
Astraea settled down beside Zephyr again, stroking her friend’s hot head. “I can’t believe this is happening to you. Please hold on, Zephyr. I can’t lose you.”
Render bent down and touched her shoulder. “You won’t. She’s strong. She will recover.”
Astraea looked up at him, but she was too miserable to speak. Her throat was constricting, and her eyes were filling with tears as she stayed at Zephyr’s side listening to her struggling to breathe.
In all of Astraea’s life, no one she cared for had fallen ill, let alone been in such danger. Even though her parents had been weak when they were found in Tartarus, they weren’t going to die. But as she touched Zephyr, she could feel her friend slowly slipping away.
A while later, Cylus and Darek returned with what looked like half the trees in the jungle. They were covered in deep, bleeding scratches.
“What happened?” Render said.
“We finally found some strong vines,” Darek said. “But they’ve got really sharp thorns.”
Astraea looked at the pile of thick branches and thorns. “What can I do?”
Cylus reached for the first branch. “You can keep that bow at the ready.” He looked at Render and Darek. “You two, with me. Let’s build a sled.”
None of them had ever constructed anything before. They’d never had to. But although the centaurs had a few false starts, Astraea marveled at their cleverness. She had never imagined that Cylus would have any idea what to do. He liked to hide his intelligence under an exterior of anger and brutality. But he worked with the other two, weaving the branches together and binding them with the thorny vines, and their makeshift sled was soon taking shape.
What especially surprised Astraea was how Cylus ensured the sled was covered in a thick layer of soft leaves so Zephyr wouldn’t feel the branches beneath her. Astraea feared Zephyr was too far gone to feel anything, but she was grateful for the consideration.
“Okay,” Cylus said as he brushed a long strand of chestnut hair out of his eyes. “We’re ready. Astraea, move away from Zephyr. We’re going to have to lift her.”
Astraea crawled out of the way as the three powerful centaurs approached. Cylus looked at the stricken Zephyr with an analytical eye. “All right, Render, you take the front legs. Darek, you take her rear legs. I’ll lift her back right behind her wings. Just be careful and don’t drop her!”
As the three centaurs took their positions, Astraea feared they wouldn’t be strong enough to lift Zephyr. She was stunned as they bent down and, with loud grunts of strain, heaved Zephyr into the air and carried her over to the sled.
“Easy,” Cylus said through clenched teeth. “Take her down easy.…”
If Astraea hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed it. In just a few moments, Zephyr was secured on the leaf-covered sled. The centaurs had made it look easy, but the heavy film of sweat on their bodies revealed that it was anything but.
Cylus approached Astraea and bent down to lift her.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Can you walk?” Cylus demanded.
“No, not yet, but—”
“Then you ride.” Cylus carried her over to Render and settled Astraea on the equine part of his body. “Keep the bow up,” he ordered as he moved over to the sled.
“Am I too heavy for you?” Astraea asked Render.
“Don’t be silly,” Render responded as he twisted his boy torso back to look at her. “I hardly feel you. Just grab hold of my shoulders if you feel you are going to fall.”
“I will,” Astraea promised.
Cylus and Darek then took a position at the front of the sled and reached for the long poles at the end. With a great heave, they lifted up the front where Zephyr’s head was, while the rear part of the sled remained on the ground.
“Let’s go,” Cylus said.
The trip back to the pond was a slow-but-steady trudge through the jungle. The sled got caught on trees or bushes several times, but the centaurs put their heads down and used their brute strength to push through. All the while, Astraea and Render kept their bows at the ready.
“There it is.” Cylus grunted as he strained to pull the sled through another dense cluster of overgrown of bushes.
When they burst through, Cylus and Darek reached the shore and kept walking into the water. They went out deeper and then turned the sled around, so Zephyr’s body was in water, while her head remained above the surface at the shallow shore.
Astraea slid off Render and crawled into the water. She looked back at him. “Would you hold Zephyr’s wing up so I can clean her wound?”
“I’ll do it,” Cylus said tiredly. “I’m already wet.”
“No,” Render said, facing Cylus. “You’ve worked hard enough. Sit and rest awhile. It’s Astraea’s and my turn to take care of Zephyr.”
There was a flash of anger on Cylus’s face at Render’s defiance of his orders. But then it faded, and he waded back into the water to cool down and relax.
Render entered the water and walked up to Astraea, lifting Zephyr’s wing out of the way to reveal her wounds. If anything, the stink was even worse than before. “Oh—oh, that’s bad,” Render said as he scrunched up his face and looked away.
Astraea hadn’t seen the wounds the first time, but now, as she lay in the water and inspected them, she wondered how Zephyr had made it this long. The deep fang punctures were red, swollen, and angry. The skin around the marks was turning black and festering.
“Oh, Zeph,” Astraea wept. She gently brushed water over the wounds. “Please hold on.”
Cylus swam over to Zephyr and touched her head. “She’s not as hot as she was.” He looked at Astraea. “The water was a good idea.”
Astraea glanced at him in misery. “But are we too late? She’s so sick and weak.” She leaned against her best friend and didn’t try to hide her tears.
At her neck, the two snakes moved. They slid down Astraea’s arm and crawled onto Zephyr. They approached the nearest tooth mark, and their forked tongues flicked in and out of their mouths.
“That is disgusting!” Cylus cried. “If we didn’t need them so much, I’d squish them for that. Get them away from her.”
Astraea went to reach for the snakes, but they slid off Zephyr’s side and into the water. Before she could catch them, they swam smoothly to shore and slid up onto dry land. Moments later they vanished in the undergrowth.
“Where are they going?” Darek cried. “We need them!”
“I—I don’t know,” Astraea said. “Nesso said they would stay behind to look for more snakes. Maybe while we’re here, they’ve gone looking for them.”
“That’s just perfect,” Cylus complained. “Not only is Zephyr getting worse, but we’ve lost the snakes.”
“They’ll be back,” Astraea promised. “Nesso said they would help. We must believe her.”
* * *
Nightfall arrived with a whole new set of sounds in the jungle. Even with the sun down, it was still just as hot as during the day. Everyone was in the water trying to stay cool. Astraea sat beside Zephyr, stroking her and trying her best to keep the wounds flushed.
Above them the sky was filled with bright stars. None of the them looked at all familiar, and Astraea wondered just how far they were from Titus. It felt like it had been a lifetime since she’d seen her home sky.
“Hey, they’re back,” Cylus called.
The two snakes slithered back into the water and approached Astraea. Each had a red berry in its mouth.
“They just went to get some food,” Astraea said. “Remember, Nesso said she would eat anything.”
Astraea held out her hands in the water, and the two snakes slid up onto them. But instead of going up to Astraea’s neck, they crawled back onto Zephyr. They approached the nearest wound.
“What are they doing now?” Cylus asked.
“I’m not sure,” Astraea said.
Everyone gathered and watched the two snakes sitting on Zephyr. They rose up high, and then each bit down on the berry they were holding. Bright red juice trickled out of their mouths and onto Zephyr’s puncture wounds. Immediately the infected area started to smoke and sizzle.
“Hey!” Cylus cried. “They’re trying to kill her!”
The centaur raised his hand to swat the two snakes away, but Astraea caught it as it came down. “No, Cylus, stop. Look!”
Where the juice touched the wounds, the swollen skin was going down. The snakes were spreading out the juice as far as they could. When they finished, they slipped back into the water and swam ashore.
“I think they’re trying to help her,” Astraea said.
“Why would they?” Cylus demanded.
“Because Nesso told them we were going to save them. So they are trying to save Zephyr.”
On the shore, the two snakes stopped and turned back to the water. They hissed before they started moving again. After a few feet, they stopped and looked back at them.
“I think they want us to follow them,” Astraea said.
“Oh, so now you speak snake?” Cylus said.
“No, but I don’t have to. Look.”
Once again, the snakes moved and then stopped and turned back.
“I’ll go,” Render offered as he swam toward the shore. He clambered out of the water and started to follow the snakes. “If I don’t come back, don’t look for me. Just save Zephyr and get out of here.”
Darek followed him to shore. “I’ll help too.”
When they were gone, Cylus stayed at Zephyr’s head. “She’s going to be fine.”
Astraea could hear the doubt in his voice and knew he said it as much for himself as for her.
“She has to be,” Astraea said.
Little more was said as they sat in the water and waited for the others to return. After a while, they heard movement in the trees, and the two centaurs returned.
“There’s a big bush full of these berries,” Darek said. “There were actually three snakes there too. I think your two told them what’s happening. One left, but these two wanted to come with us.” He pointed to his neck and Render’s. They each had a snake coiled around them. “Now we’ve got new friends too.”
The centaurs entered the water and approached Zephyr. Astraea received her two snakes back and then started to work with the berries. She squeezed them in her hands and let the juice run into Zephyr’s wounds. Like before, the wounds sizzled where the juice hit them. But with each drop, the stink lessened.
Over the course of the night, Render and Darek made several journeys back to the bush. Astraea worked tirelessly to crush the berries and spread the juice over Zephyr’s wounds. Her hands were dyed scarlet, but she didn’t care even if the color was permanent.
Just before the centaurs started on another berry run, Cylus held up his hand. “Everyone, stop—quiet!”
Astraea had now spent enough time with Cylus to know that he had fantastic hearing. Much better than everyone else. He heard things long before they did.
Cylus waved at Darek and Render and motioned them back into the water. They gathered around Zephyr. “Something’s moving out there,” Cylus whispered.
“Is it Lergo?” Astraea whispered.
Cylus shrugged. “Could be.” He reached for one of the poles to the sled and indicated to Darek to grab the other. They turned Zephyr around and pulled her into deeper water while keeping her head above the surface. They swam across the pond to the opposite shore and ducked beneath some large overhanging branches.
Just as they closed the curtain of branches behind them, Astraea slapped her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. In the darkness, her keen vision saw an all-too-familiar shape appear on the shore where they had just been.
“It’s not Lergo,” Render uttered. “It’s a Shadow Titan!”
11
THE SHADOW TITAN WAS CHASING snakes to the water’s edge. Before the unfortunate snakes could make it, the Shadow’s large, black foot came crashing down on them, killing them instantly.
Astraea didn’t think she could ever be more horrified than watching the brutal murder of the gentle snakes. In that same instant, Lergo crashed through the trees and arrived on the shore. Its massive body slithered past the Shadow Tita
n as though it didn’t see it. It sniffed the same route they had dragged Zephyr along on the sled, stopping at the water’s edge where Zephyr had spent most of the day.
This was the first time Astraea and the others saw all of Lergo. In the confines of the cave, they had seen only its eyes and mouth. Even though it was dark, everyone could clearly see the truth.
“Look at the colors,” Cylus whispered. “Lergo is just an overgrown Nesso.”
Lergo’s head panned along the surface of the water, and its forked tongue flicked in and out, as though tasting the air.
“It’s looking for Zephyr,” Astraea whispered. She was crouched in the water beside her unconscious friend. She looked at Zephyr and saw her wounded rear flank was floating above the surface on the sled. Struggling with her broken leg and hoping to be as quiet as possible, Astraea grabbed the bottom edge of the sled and pushed down until Zephyr’s haunches were beneath the surface.
On the opposite shore, the Shadow Titan was standing beside the immense snake. Its armored head peered down at the dead snakes at its feet, and then it studied the massive snake beside it, back to the dead snakes, and finally back to Lergo. It drew its sword and started to hack at the snake, but each blade swipe only bounced off Lergo’s thick scales.
The immense snake looked back at the Shadow Titan and changed color. Instead of the multicolored rings like Nesso, the snake was now black. It hissed at the Shadow Titan, but the Shadow didn’t stop whacking it with the sword.
Moments later, a second and then a third Shadow Titan appeared on the shore. The newcomers also drew their weapons and attacked Lergo. Despite their combined efforts, they were causing little damage to the snake.
“How many Shadows are here?” Astraea said softly.
“Too many,” Darek said. He motioned everyone closer and dropped his voice. “I think the Mimics sent them here to kill all the snakes because they’re the only things that can stop them.”
Astraea realized Darek was right. Nesso said the snakes had fled the area because they were being hunted. They were trying to get away from the Shadow Titans and Mimics who were killing them.