by Kate O'Hearn
“Are you crazy!” Zephyr whinnied. “You’re saying you’d go to the Mimic world to rescue Jake? Jake the human, Jake the one who still smells funny? Jake the guy who really likes the snakes?”
“Are you saying that you don’t want to rescue him?” Astraea asked. “What about Angitia? You like her, don’t you?”
Zephyr paused. “Yes, I like her, and no, I’m not saying I wouldn’t go. I’m just checking on you.”
Tryn said nothing for a few minutes, then reached into his pack for his skateboard. “I’m going to go talk to Pegasus.”
“About what?” Astraea asked.
“To ask him if he wants to come with us to the Mimic home world to rescue everyone.”
40
“I’M COMING WITH YOU,” ASTRAEA said to Tryn.
“I guess you’ll want a ride,” Zephyr said.
Astraea stroked Zephyr’s muzzle. “Zeph, I know you’re still not comfortable around Pegasus. You don’t have to come. I can travel with Tryn on his skateboard.”
“Hey, if anyone is going to carry you, it’s going to be me,” Zephyr insisted. “Besides, he doesn’t bother me that much anymore.…”
“Oh really?” Astraea said.
Zephyr nodded. “I’ve never seen anyone stand up to Jupiter like that. Pegasus is a lot braver than I thought.”
Cylus approached Astraea. “If Pegasus agrees to go to the Mimic home world, promise me you’ll come back for us. We’re a team. We should stay that way.”
Astraea nodded. “We will, I promise.”
“Good,” Cylus said. “Now, get going. We’ll start to gather supplies here. If Jupiter asks where you are, I’ll tell him you had to go to the toilet or something.”
“Yeah, that will work,” Zephyr said, “telling him we all had to go together.…”
“Just go,” Cylus said.
* * *
Astraea walked beside Zephyr until they were away from the gathering. When they reached the side of the temple, Astraea climbed up onto her back. Zephyr entered a trot and then a gallop and took off into the sky.
Tryn flew up beside them and called down to his skateboard, “Take us to Pegasus.”
They traveled across the blazing sky, over the dense jungle. Xanadu was lusher and more beautiful than Astraea could imagine. The trees were dense and full like Zomos, but somehow so much prettier. Although she didn’t have time to appreciate it all. Her thoughts were only on finding Pegasus and rescuing Jake.
After a while the skateboard started to descend. They spied a small lake in a clearing. Pegasus was standing on the shore.
“Pegasus,” Astraea called as they touched down.
“Go back to the temple, Astraea,” Pegasus said sharply as he paced the area. “I need to be alone.”
Astraea could feel the anger and hurt coming from the stallion in thick waves. She looked at the water and noticed that it was rising. She realized it wasn’t a lake at all. Pegasus was drawing the water from the ground by slamming his hooves down in fury. He’d done it in Detroit, and now he was doing it here, too. The fast rate the water was rising showed just how angry he was.
“Jupiter was wrong,” Tryn called as he stepped off his board.
Pegasus stopped and turned to him.
“He was wrong, and you were right,” Astraea agreed. “We should be going after Jake and Emily, Riza and the others first.”
Pegasus lowered his head and pawed the ground. “How can I rescue Emily when I do not know where she is?”
“We know where she is,” Tryn said.
Pegasus’s ears pricked forward, and he charged at Tryn. “You know where she is?”
Tryn nodded. “We know the name of the Mimic’s home world. That is where the queen is. If she is trying to steal Emily’s and Riza’s powers, it’s logical to assume that they are there too.”
“Tell me the name,” Pegasus demanded. “I will go there now.”
“No,” Astraea said as she slid off Zephyr’s back.
“What?” Pegasus cried.
“We’re not telling you the name until you agree to let us come with you,” Astraea said.
“That is impossible,” Pegasus cried. “I cannot allow you to endanger yourselves. This is my mission.”
“Pegasus, listen to me,” Astraea said gently. “You are really powerful. I know, I’ve seen it. But, please forgive me for saying this, you don’t have hands. I’m sorry, but you don’t. How can you fire the slingshot or wield a sword? Even if we put venom on your hooves, you’d have to touch the Mimics to use them. Then you’d be hurt. Maybe even killed. Now that we have the slingshots, we can shoot more Mimics from farther away. There is no need to fight them with swords, daggers, or hooves. Cylus, Render, and Darek have already agreed to come with us to rescue Jake. The way Belis feels about Angitia, I’m sure he will come with us too. We’re going anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to go together?”
“You have discussed this?” Pegasus asked.
Astraea nodded. “Briefly, right after your argument with Jupiter, when we realized he wasn’t going to go after Jake.”
Tryn stood before Pegasus. “Jake is my friend. So are Emily and Riza. A friend doesn’t abandon another friend just because it’s dangerous. I’m not a fool. I know what could happen to us, and I know I will have to fight again. I am ready for that. But what I’m not ready for is finding out that something bad had happened to Jake while I could have saved him.”
“Besides,” Zephyr added, “we’re going whether or not you join us.”
Pegasus tilted his head to the side and looked at Zephyr. “I thought you did not like Jake because he was human.”
“Yeah, well, he’s kind of like a fungus. He’s grown on me.”
Pegasus looked at the three of them. “And you are all set on this course?”
They all nodded.
Pegasus turned and looked at the water again. “This is madness. What am I doing, considering taking you with me? It is suicide.”
“Look at it this way if it helps,” Zephyr said. “You aren’t taking us. We’re letting you come with us.”
Pegasus looked back at her and shook his head. “You may not be my daughter, but you are more like me than you realize.”
“Hey,” Zephyr cried. “There’s no need to insult me!”
The stallion chuckled. “All right, let us go.”
“Where?” Tryn asked.
Pegasus opened his wings to fly. “Back to the temple to collect the three crazy centaurs and that giant snake. Then we rescue my Emily, Riza, and Jake.”
Astraea climbed back on Zephyr. She leaned forward and put her arms around her best friend’s neck. “You know, you and I are just like Pegasus and Emily. I would do anything to find you again. Promise me we’ll always be together.”
Zephyr looked back at her and nodded. “We will be. Even if we go to the Mimic world and face unimaginable horrors. If we go together, we’ll be just fine.”
“Are you two finished?” Tryn said as he climbed up on his skateboard.
Astraea nodded. “Yes. Now, let’s go save our friends!”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I know I say this all the time, but if it weren’t for the help and talents of a lot of people, my books would never see the light of day. In the case of this book, there have been so many strange things happening—sorry, dear friends, that I can’t go into details—but, trust me, this one has been a doozy!
So I am especially grateful that it has made it out of the abyss.
The ones who do deserve special thanks are my agent, Veronique Baxter, and my editor and very dear friend, Fiona Simpson. It’s been quite a ride, hasn’t it, Fiona?
For everyone else deserving thanks, you know who you are, and you do have my gratitude!
And finally, I know I’m repeating myself, but you, dear reader, are the future. Please treat our beloved Earth gently and with great love. It’s the only home we have; we must protect her. Also, care for all the other nonhuman inhabitants of the world. I mean, wouldn’t Eart
h be boring without all this wonderful wildlife?
More from this Series
Titans
Book 1
More from the Author
War of the Realms
The Runaway
The End of Olympus
Valkyrie
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KATE O’HEARN was born in Canada, was raised in New York City, and has traveled all over the United States. She currently resides in England. Kate is the author of the Pegasus series, the Shadow of the Dragon series, and the Valkyrie series. Visit her at KateOHearn.com.
Aladdin
Simon & Schuster, New York
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Kate-O’Hearn
ALSO BY KATE O’HEARN
Titans
THE PEGASUS SERIES
The Flame of Olympus
Olympus at War
The New Olympians
Origins of Olympus
Rise of the Titans
The End of Olympus
THE VALKYRIE SERIES
Valkyrie
The Runaway
War of the Realms
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALADDIN
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First Aladdin hardcover edition July 2020
Text copyright © 2020 by Kate O’Hearn
Jacket illustration copyright © 2020 by Clint Cearley
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: O’Hearn, Kate, author.
Title: The missing / Kate O’Hearn.
Description: First Aladdin hardcover edition. | New York : Aladdin, 2020. | Series: Titans ; book 2 | Audience: Ages 8-12. | Summary: “Astraea, Zephyr, and their friends travel to a dangerous jungle world in this second book of the Titans series”— Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020009724 (print) | LCCN 2020009725 (eBook) | ISBN 9781534417076 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781534417090 (eBook)
Subjects: CYAC: Titans (Mythology)—Fiction. | Animals, Mythical—Fiction. | Mythology, Greek—Fiction. | Jungles—Fiction. | Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. | Fantasy.
Classification: LCC PZ7.O4137 Mis 2020 (print) | LCC PZ7.O4137 (eBook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020009724
LC eBook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020009725