by Kate O'Hearn
“If we plan this right, it will work,” Tryn said.
“What?” Astraea begged. “Please tell me what you’re thinking.”
Tryn walked over to the ledge and pointed. “If I go down to the street—I’ll pull down my hat and bring up my collar so no one notices me—I’ll get as close to Aurora as I can. After that, you two swoop in. I’ll run forward, grab Aurora, and throw her high in the air. We must time this perfectly, and you must be ready to catch her. Then I can ride Pegasus out of there.”
“That’s not much of a plan,” Zephyr said.
“Do you have a better one?” Tryn asked.
“No, I guess not,” Zephyr said. “But is sounds dangerous. Those humans have weapons.”
“Yes, but you’re a Titan. My father told me that it takes a lot of bullets to really hurt you.”
“Why doesn’t that make me feel any better?” Zephyr said.
“Come on. Every moment we waste could bring the military, and then no one gets out. Let’s go.” Tryn looked around the roof. Then he jogged over to a door. It was locked. But he pulled out his lockpick kit and had it open in no time.
“Keep an eye on the street and watch for me. When I wave, I need you to fly down. Then I’ll go for Aurora.”
“Be careful,” Astraea said.
“You too,” Tryn agreed. “And be prepared for Aurora’s weight when you catch her. Don’t let her pull you off Zephyr. Remember what happened with Cylus on Zomos.”
Astraea did remember how Cylus holding on to her leg had nearly pulled her off Zephyr. It was only Tryn gripping her from the other side that had kept her from falling. “I will.”
Tryn vanished into the stairwell.
Astraea and Zephyr went back to the ledge and waited. A few minutes later Tryn appeared out the front doors. He looked up to the roof and nodded. Pulling up the collar on his tattered winter coat, he entered the crowds that were watching Pegasus.
“This is a weak plan,” Zephyr said.
“I know, but look at it down there. If we just barge in, they’ll start shooting. Tryn was right; it takes a lot of bullets to stop us. But I’ve heard that getting shot really hurts.”
“Who told you that?”
“Diana,” Astraea said. “When she was here on Earth with Pegasus, they were both shot many times.”
“Great, so now I’ve got that to look forward to.”
“Not if we’re fast,” Astraea said.
She kept her eyes on Tryn as he wove his way through the crowds. A couple of times she lost him, but then she saw him turn and nod back to her.
As Tryn made his way closer, there was a line of police officers blocking access to Pegasus. Tryn tried to get through without lifting his head, but an officer pushed him back. When he tried again, he was knocked to the ground.
“This isn’t going to work,” Zephyr said. “Tryn can’t get close to Aurora.” She looked at Astraea. “I’ve got an idea. Get on my back.”
“What are you planning?” Astraea asked as she climbed up on Zephyr.
“We’re going to cause a distraction. Everyone says I look like Pegasus. Well, let’s confuse them and show them two Pegasuses! Hold on tight to my mane; this is going to get crazy.”
“You’re not going to land down there, are you?”
“Heavens no. We’ll do a low flyby, just enough to distract the humans and let Pegasus know we’re here. Then Tryn can run forward and grab Aurora.” Zephyr looked back at her. “Are you ready?”
“Absolutely. Let’s go get Mom!”
Zephyr trotted deeper onto the roof and then charged forward. She spread her wings wide and then leaped over the ledge. “Here we go!”
Astraea felt the exhilaration of soaring with Zephyr again. As they flew lower over the crowds, Zephyr started to shriek. “Pegasus, we’re here! Tryn is going to grab Aurora and throw her to us!”
On the ground, Pegasus looked up and whinnied, “Get out of here! They have weapons. It is too dangerous!”
But it was too late do to anything other than stick to their plan. The crowds and police officers turned and gasped at the sight of Zephyr and Astraea gliding above their heads. The officers turned their weapons away from Pegasus and were now pointing at them.
Astraea couldn’t see which officer fired first, but soon they all opened fire. Astraea felt the bullet strike her arm. It stung like nothing she had ever felt before. Zephyr was struck several times and shrieked in pain and anger. “I’ll stomp all of you!”
They soared over the line of police and past Pegasus. Astraea looked back and saw Tryn break through their line and run up to the stallion. Just as he scooped Aurora up, one of the officers trained his weapon on Tryn.
Before he could fire the weapon, a great explosion sounded at the end of the street. Astraea looked back and saw Jupiter and Pluto standing in the middle of the wet road. Jupiter held both his hands high above his head as lightning sparked between his fingertips. As he clapped his two hands together, a massive peal of thunder sounded and shattered windows. This was followed by a lightning bolt that shot forward and struck a building with an explosive force that sent bricks and mortar flying everywhere.
“Astraea, get ready. I’m turning around,” Zephyr called.
Holding tight to Zephyr’s mane, Astraea could feel her friend’s powerful muscles work as she did a tight turn in the narrow street. Ahead, Tryn was crouched on the ground and holding on to Aurora. He was looking at them.
“Get ready,” Zephyr called.
Astraea was already prepared. She tucked her feet under Zephyr’s wings where they joined her body and braced to catch her mother. Closer… closer…
“Tryn, now!” Astraea shouted.
As the police split their attention between Jupiter, Zephyr, and Pegasus, only a few weapons opened fire on them. Astraea was struck again, this time in the chest. She cried out, but she didn’t move or let the pain distract her. Zephyr flew lower to the ground just as Tryn hoisted Aurora higher and leaped up. Then, as Zephyr and Aurora zoomed past, Tryn threw Aurora high in the air.
Astraea reached out and caught hold of her mother by one of her limp arms. Locking her hand around her mother’s wrist, she pulled her up onto Zephyr. “Got her!” she cried. “Zephyr, go!”
Astraea settled her unconscious mother across Zephyr and held on to her tightly. She felt for any signs of life and cried with joy when she felt her mother’s heart pounding.
“She’s alive!” Astraea cried. “Zeph, she’s alive!”
“We won’t be if we don’t get out of here!” Zephyr shouted as she zoomed over Jupiter’s head and climbed higher into the sky.
Astraea stole a look back and saw Tryn was already on Pegasus. Just before the stallion took off, Pegasus reared and then slammed his hooves to the ground. The force knocked everyone down and cut huge, spreading cracks in the road. Soon water burst from the cracks and rained down on the fleeing crowds. Astraea had heard he had the power to draw water from the ground, but she’d never seen it before.
“That’s amazing,” Zephyr called. “I’ve got to learn how to do that!”
“Ask Pegasus to teach you when this is over.”
“I might just do that,” Zephyr agreed as she climbed higher in the snowy sky and headed back to the plant.
Zephyr and Pegasus landed together outside the loading doors and charged into the building. Once they were safely inside, Astraea handed her mother down into her father’s waiting arms. “Dad, she’s really hurt. Her wing is broken, and she won’t wake up. She needs ambrosia.”
“We’re out of it—and nectar, too,” her father said as he held on to Aurora. There was pain on his face as he looked at her. Finally he turned back to Astraea. “I am so proud of you both and grateful. Thank you, Astraea. Thank you, Zephyr.…”
“Astraea, you are bleeding!” Darek cried when he clopped up to her.
She looked down at her chest and to her arm. There was blood trickling from her bullet wounds. “I’ll be all right.”
“You�
��re injured too,” Cylus said to Zephyr. “What happened out there?”
“They shot us!” Zephyr complained. She looked up at Astraea. “Diana wasn’t kidding about being shot. It stings!”
Astraea slid off Zephyr’s back and looked over at Pegasus. She hadn’t had time to notice before, but Pegasus was covered in wounds. From bullet holes to large scrapes. There was even a black tread mark on his chest.
Astraea looked back at Zephyr, whose own black blaze had gone. Now Pegasus had one right were Zephyr’s once was. She wondered how long it would be before Zephyr noticed. She also saw just how many times Zephyr had been struck by bullets. Her friend had taken many more than she had.
“Are you all right?” Astraea said to her.
“I will be,” Zephyr said. “Once I eat a bucketful of ambrosia. How is Aurora?”
“I’m not sure,” Astraea said. “I think she’s really hurt.”
“She will live,” Themis said as she approached. “Thanks to you.” She looked back and included Tryn. “That was very brave of you.”
“Or foolish,” Cylus said. “You should have waited for us.”
“I’m sorry,” Astraea said. “But there was no time.”
“Where’s Jake?” Cylus asked, looking past them.
Astraea turned to Pegasus. “Please, tell us what happened to Jake. Where is he? Do the humans have him?”
Pegasus clopped forward. “Aurora and I tried to stop the Mimics from taking him. We pursued them through the city and even damaged their vehicle. But when Aurora nearly had Jake out the back window of their vehicle, the Mimics touched her, and she fell. She was then struck by a police vehicle. I was so torn.” Pegasus dropped his head. “Do I stay with Aurora or try to reach Jake? I had hoped to achieve both. But when I was about to disable the Mimics’ car, they opened the Solar Stream and drove right into it. I dared not follow them—Aurora needed me.” He sighed heavily. “I am sorry. I failed Jake the same way I failed Emily when the Mimics came to Xanadu.”
“You did not fail them,” Jupiter called as he entered the plant. He turned back and waved at the police car that had dropped him and Pluto off.
“Jupiter, you’re all right!” Astraea cried. “I was so scared they would capture you.”
“Pluto and I are quite unharmed.” He looked at the gathering. “That kind policewoman who was here helped us escape and brought us back. She said she was going to try to stop the others from coming after us, but now that they know we are here, they will find us. We must leave here, now. Everyone gather your things. We don’t have a moment to waste.”
35
WITH THE FEAR OF THE military’s or the Mimics’ possible arrival, everyone set to work preparing to leave as quickly as they could. All the snakes were put back in their containers and carried downstairs. Astraea looked at the snakes and felt a great weight resting on her chest that had nothing to do with her wound. Jake and Nesso were gone. Her mind was spinning with all the terrible things the Mimics could be doing to them right now. She was hardly able to function through the fear she felt.
Zephyr tried to help by suggesting that the Mimics might have taken him to Titus or even Xanadu and that when they took it back, they would find him. This was the thought that kept Astraea moving.
In the center of the main floor, Jupiter, Juno, Hyperion and his team, along with Pegasus and Cylus’s mother and several others, were gathered together to plan their next move. A large map of the area around the Temple of Arious had been drawn on the floor.
“So, this is the Xan lake, where we’ll land,” Jupiter said as he pointed to the circle drawn in the center of the map. “From there, we can break up into teams and take different routes toward the Arious encampment.”
Tryn cleared his throat and approached the gathering. “Forgive me for interrupting, Jupiter, but you must know, right before we left Xanadu, the Mimics were surrounding the lake and sending Shadow Titans onto it to get us. They couldn’t walk on it and were lying down so others could crawl on them. If they know that we know it’s a safe place to land, they may have posted sentries there.”
Jupiter rubbed his beard. “A very good point, but I do not believe we have much choice. Though Themis gave us hope for Aurora, her recovery will be quickened by getting her to Arious for treatment.”
Astraea frowned. “So why don’t we just order the Solar Stream to take us inside the temple to Arious directly? That way we can get my mother there quicker. Even if the Mimics are in there, we have enough weapons and fighters to defeat them.”
Jupiter looked at the map and then to Astraea. “Because…” He paused and scratched his head, looking at the others. “Why don’t we?”
“Because,” Themis said as she joined them. “It does not take a seer to know the Mimics will have attempted the same thing. Arious would be a great prize for them. I have no doubt that she has protected herself against a Solar Stream incursion.”
“The same way we fortified the Titus prison against such break-ins,” Hyperion added.
“Perhaps the main area that holds Arious,” Pegasus offered. “But the first time Emily and I ventured there, the Solar Stream deposited us on the lowest level of the temple. It is vast chamber and has many areas around it for us to hide in and start our assault against the Mimics.”
Cylus’s mother looked at the map. “Landing within the temple itself is the best option. We can arrive with our bows, swords, and daggers ready. The Mimics will not be prepared. We should be able to clear the temple before anyone outside knows about it.”
“I can shoot,” Cylus called.
“And me,” Darek and Render said as one.
Jupiter turned and raised his eyebrows at everyone who had gathered behind them to hear the council’s discussion. “Normally these discussions are private,” he started. “But in this case, it is only fair that you should all hear this, as it involves all of us. Our next move against the Mimics will be crucial.”
“I agree that we land in the temple,” an older night dweller called. “Might I also suggest that we land at night in case we chase them out of the temple? I for one want to fight all the way but can only do so at night.”
Astraea nodded. “Nighttime would be best because the Mimics don’t see well in the dark. It helped us in Titus.”
“I agree. We will land at night.” Jupiter drew the discussion to a close. “Now we must hurry. Take up your arms. The time has come to move.”
By the time they were ready to leave, the sun was up and glistening on the thick layer of snow. So far, they hadn’t been found by the authorities, but they were all feeling the pressure of time.
Astraea stood with Zephyr, watching Vulcan with his team. They were shutting down the forge and extinguishing the flames. There was a look of sadness on Vulcan’s face as he patted the old machine. “You have served us well,” he said softly.
Weapons were being distributed, but despite the large number Vulcan had made, with the newly released prisoners from Titus, there wasn’t enough to go around. Those who didn’t get swords were given daggers. As the centaurs were the best archers, they were given all the bows and arrows.
When Vulcan handed Astraea a dagger, she thanked him and said she already had one. But he ruffled her hair. “Take it anyway, in case you lose your other one. You’ve earned it.”
Astraea stored her second dagger under her belt just as Tryn and her father arrived with two night dwellers who were carrying her mother on a cot. Since arriving back, she had yet to regain consciousness.
“Dad, has there been any change?”
He put his arm around her. “Not yet. But your mother is strong. Once we get her to Arious, she will recover in no time.”
“What if we can’t get her to Arious?” Astraea asked as she watched her mother’s still face covered in cuts and bruises. “What if there are too many Mimics there?”
“If there are, we will get her ambrosia. Do not fear. Your mother will be fine.”
Two night dwellers smiled warml
y at Astraea. One said, “We are getting ready to leave. Do not fret, Astraea. We will take special care of your mother.”
Jupiter approached one of the plant walls. He looked back at his people with a grim expression on his face. “It is time to move. Forward teams to the ready?”
“Yes,” Hyperion called. He was standing before a large group of his security team.
“Secondary team?”
“Ready,” called a tall, midnight-black centaur who was leading all the centaurs forward.
When all the advance teams were ready, Jupiter looked around the plant one more time. “Are the Shadow Titans ready?”
“They are,” called a Titan. She and her group all had the controllers that worked the Shadow Titans.
“Excellent,” Jupiter said. He turned to the wall and held up his hand with a Solar Stream gem. “Take us to Xanadu, lowest level inside the Temple of Arious, nighttime.”
The wall exploded in a swirling vortex of light. “For Titus!” Jupiter called as he raised his sword and charged into the light.
36
ASTRAEA WAS BESIDE ZEPHYR AND holding on to her wing as they took the long journey through the Solar Stream. Tryn was standing on the opposite side of her, and her father was beside him with his sword drawn. On the other side of Zephyr were Cylus, Render, and Darek. Astraea looked back and saw Belis behind her. Once again, Angitia was on his back. She had been given a dagger and was holding it ready.
Astraea and her team had been positioned at the very back of the large group, working as escorts for all the snakes. Around them were some of the Shadow Titans, carrying the containers.
Just ahead were the night dwellers with her mother. Themis had said that she was going to recover, but so far there had been no signs of it. Her mother hadn’t moved once during the seemingly endless journey.
Finally, the masses in front of the group stepped clear of the Solar Stream. When it was Astraea’s turn, she emerged into a raging battle. Titans and Olympians were engaged in fights against many Mimics.
They were in an immense, high-ceilinged chamber in the lowest level of the Temple of Arious. The same containers they’d seen beneath Arcadia Two were stacked along the walls. Astraea realized the Mimics were using the chamber to store all their food. They arrived just as a large number of Mimics were eating.