by Trevor Pryce
“You should’ve seen him attack the scorpion lord,” Darel said. “Gee’s all muscle and gristle. With maybe a tiny layer of insulation.”
Everyone laughed. After snatching a last sugar-fly from the bowl with his tongue, Darel leaned back in his seat, and his mother put her hand on his arm. She didn’t say anything, but he saw the pride in her eyes.
Then Chief Olba stood from her chair and called, “Darel! Where’s Darel? Oh, there you are. Stand up, son.”
Darel stood, his nostrils narrowing in embarrassment when everyone looked at him.
“We’re here today,” Olba said, “because of one stubborn young frog who refused to quit. The Amphibilands is safe because of him. When Darel—” The rest of her words were lost in applause and whistles. Finally, when the crowd quieted, she said, “Care to say a few words, Darel?”
He took a deep breath. “Before the turtle king died, he said that the Amphibilands has a secret weapon.” Darel looked into the crowd. “Us. Ordinary frogs. There’s still a rip in the Veil, and one day soon our enemies will attack again. But we can stand against them if we stand together. In this fight, we’re all Kulipari.”
A croaking cheer rose above the village, above the nursery pool and the banyan tree. It echoed from the coast to the hills, and Darel caught Gee’s eye and smiled.
EEP IN THE OUTBACK, A JAGGED black plateau rose from the desert. Spiders and scorpions swarmed over the nearby dunes, and Commander Pigo paced anxiously among them, his mouthparts drawn into a worried frown.
Far above, in the moonlight, Queen Jarrah circled a shimmering white shape on the top of the plateau. She wrapped it tighter in her web, then paused and eyed the silken cocoon.
It was larger than the spider herself, a huge mass of glossy webbing. And completely motionless … for now.
Jarrah extended her fangs. Poison glistened on the needle-sharp tips, then dropped onto strands of silk that she had wrapped around the cocoon. She started nightcasting, and her eyes turned completely black. The night air shimmered with power.
Then, in a flash, she sank her fangs into the silken cocoon, pumping poison through the webbing until she had nothing left. She staggered backward, weak and exhausted, and stood with her head bowed as a chill breeze whipped around her.
The cocoon twitched. The silk rippled and bulged. Then a dark rip tore down one side. A moment later, a glossy black pincer appeared through the rip.
A scorpion claw.
REVOR PRYCE is an All-Pro, fourteen-year veteran of the NFL who played defensive end for the Denver Broncos, the Baltimore Ravens, and the New York Jets. He helped lead the Broncos to a Super Bowl victory in 1999. He lives in Maryland.
OEL NAFTALI is the author of many books, several written with his wife, Lee. He lives in California.
ANFORD GREENE is an accomplished comics illustrator whose work has been published by DC Comics, Disney, Nickelodeon, Dark Horse, and more. He lives in South Carolina.
This book was designed by Sara Corbett and art-directed by Susan Van Metre and Chad W. Beckerman.
The book was illustrated by Sanford Greene. Its production was overseen by Alison Gervais.