by Aimee Carter
He shook her hand hesitantly. She wasn’t an enemy, not like the flock was, but she wasn’t exactly an ally right now, either. “We’re not going back to New York. We left for a reason.”
“I’m sure you did, kid, but you’re practically an infant. And infants shouldn’t be traveling the country alone.”
Simon bristled. “I’m twelve—”
“You’re not helping your case.” Zia began to climb a hill, but Simon refused to follow her. Beside him, his friends stood their ground, too.
“The flock’s gone,” said Simon firmly. “We can take it from here.”
Zia stopped halfway up the hill, her head tilted curiously as she studied them. “Bravery without brains doesn’t amount to much, kid. You do realize it’s dark out, you’re in the middle of nowhere, and you’re surrounded, right?”
Simon looked around. A dozen other mammals had rejoined them now, some human and others still in their Animalgam forms. The lights from the town glowed in the distance, too far away to be a beacon of escape now. “You can’t hold us hostage.”
“I’m not holding you hostage. I’m protecting you,” said Zia. “The Alpha wants you back safely, and we do our best not to upset him, so come on. You might be able to fly away, but I doubt your friends can.”
Simon scowled as he tried to come up with a way out of this. He wasn’t sure which was worse—being captured by Perrin and brought straight to Orion, where at least he’d have the chance to see his mother again, or being kidnapped by a group of mammals who had every intention of sending him back to Malcolm.
“Might as well,” said Ariana quietly. “Once the Alpha’s here, maybe he’ll help us.”
Getting his uncle involved was the last thing Simon wanted. But the mammals behind them pressed closer, and at last he wordlessly led his friends up the hill. Zia stopped at the very top, near a sloping rock face that was oddly smooth.
“Normally we don’t allow members of other kingdoms to join us, so consider yourselves lucky.” As she spoke, she pulled on a piece of vine, and a cleverly camouflaged door opened from the rock, revealing a well-lit tunnel.
“No way,” said Winter, taking a step backward. “I’ve heard about how disgusting mammal dens are. I’m not going in there.”
“Then don’t,” said Zia. “Spend the night up here instead. I’m sure the coyotes won’t bother you. Or the rattlesnakes. I can’t promise the vultures won’t keep you up, though. They enjoy live company more than you’d expect. The ones around here think they’re comedians.”
Simon gave Winter a beseeching look. “If you survived the theater, you’ll survive this,” he promised.
Her expression tightened, but she didn’t argue any further. With a grumble, she trailed after Jam as they entered the tunnel. Lights hung every few feet, making it brighter inside than it had been out in the open, and soon the tunnel opened up into a large cavern.
Simon had never seen anything like it in his life. Unlike the Den, which was an underground building surrounded by a moat, this looked like a small community. A secure staircase zigzagged down the cavern wall, and he spotted at least half a dozen levels of doors carved out of the rock itself. Below them, in the center of the atrium, was a garden with several picnic tables scattered around.
“What is this place?” he said to Zia as they descended to the third floor.
“It’s called Stonehaven, after my family,” she said. “It’s a safe place for mammal Animalgams. This town—it was built on the edge of the reptile territory to the south and the bird territory to the west. This is still mammal terrain, of course, but we get pushback from both sides regularly. They can’t get us down here, though,” she added as she stopped at a door that blended in with the rest of them. “Not without heavy losses on their side. We’ve won enough fights that they leave us alone now, for the most part.”
Pushing open the door, she gestured for them to enter. Simon went first. He wasn’t sure what he expected—a cave, maybe, with stalactites hanging from the ceiling and water trickling down the wall. Instead he walked into what could have been any living room in any home across the country, complete with a couch, wallpaper, carpet, and even—
“Hey, Felix, look,” he said, unzipping his backpack. “A TV.”
Felix crawled out faster than Simon had ever seen him move before. “It’s about time,” he said, and he leaped onto the arm of the sofa. “Where’s the remote?”
Zia didn’t seem the least bit bothered by the fact that Simon had been keeping a mouse in his backpack. On the contrary, she found the remote and set it on the couch for him. “Don’t crank the volume up too high. It’s after midnight.”
With Felix content to watch reruns of an old sitcom, Simon and his friends followed Zia deeper into the apartment. She led them into a tiny kitchen. “Thirsty? Hungry?” she said. All four of them shook their heads. “If any of you change your mind, glasses are in the cabinet and food’s in the fridge. Bedrooms are through here,” she added. “There are only two, so you’ll have to share.”
“You mean this isn’t your home?” said Simon. He wasn’t sure why he’d assumed it was, but now that he’d guessed otherwise, it was obvious. There were no pictures hanging on the walls, no normal clutter lying around—if anything, it looked like a hotel room. A big hotel room, but still comfortable and welcoming without any personal touches.
“This is one of our transitory dwellings,” said Zia. “We get plenty of people who are traveling through and need a place to stay the night.”
“So you’re like a hotel for Animalgams,” said Ariana.
“More like a motel. What’s that smell?” muttered Winter, wrinkling her nose as she peered into one of the bedrooms. Simon elbowed her in the side, and she elbowed right back. “What? They’re the ones who kidnapped us.”
“Still not a kidnapping,” said Zia, pushing open the door to the second bedroom. Ariana waltzed inside, and Winter reluctantly followed. “Someone has to make sure you don’t get turned into bird feed.”
“We can look after ourselves,” said Simon.
“Yeah, I can see that.” Zia leaned against the wall in the hallway, arms crossed. Simon refused to look away. There was something about her he didn’t trust—something underneath the surface that made him think this was about more than babysitting them.
“How long until my uncle gets here?” he said.
“Keval’s calling him now. If he can catch an early flight, he’ll be here before noon.”
That didn’t give Simon a lot of time to figure out a way to escape. And as soon as he thought it, he realized that was exactly what he needed to do. Malcolm would return them to the safety of the Den as soon as possible, and if he was willing to risk sending someone to rescue Simon’s mother, it wouldn’t be a twelve-year-old who had only been shifting for a couple of months. It would be the pack.
Simon considered his options. He could shift into an ant and sneak back onto the surface. From there, he could fly to Paradise Valley on his own. It would take a while, and he didn’t know the way, but he could figure it out. Then, his friends would be safe, and he could still find his mother.
“Hot chocolate?” said Zia suddenly, and Simon blinked. He’d gotten so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t realized she’d moved back into the kitchen. Simon stood alone in the hallway.
“Uh, I should probably . . .” He glanced into the bedroom, where Jam was sorting through his own backpack.
“You’ll have plenty of time to sleep in,” said Zia, already pulling out two mugs. “Go join your mouse friend while I make this. I want to hear how you managed to get all the way to Colorado without getting caught.”
“Dumb luck,” he mumbled as he trudged past her and into the living room, where Felix was captivated by the television. Not wanting to disturb him, Simon sat in an armchair nearby and pulled off his shoes. His feet were sore from running so much, and he flexed his toes as he watched a man and woman argue about where to eat dinner. It didn’t sound very funny to Simon
, but Felix squeaked with laughter.
“Mice always have the strangest sense of humor,” said Zia as she joined them. Felix’s expression instantly darkened.
“Just because you don’t have the sophisticated tastes that come from living in a big city doesn’t mean I have to endure your insults,” he said.
“I’ve been to plenty of big cities,” said Zia as she handed a mug of hot chocolate to Simon and sat down on the edge of the sofa. “And I’ve met plenty of mice who wouldn’t know a good joke if it hit them over the head and left a lump.”
“Couldn’t be a very good joke if it hurts,” said Simon.
“Humor and pain aren’t mutually exclusive. Drink your hot chocolate. It’s good, I promise.”
Though he was growing more and more wary of Zia, he sipped his hot chocolate. It had a kick to it he hadn’t expected, and warmth spread through him as he drank more.
Felix huffed and turned back to the television, while Zia focused on Simon, her gaze settling over him heavily. Simon was growing used to people staring at him, especially when he and Nolan were together, but the way she watched him made him feel like she could see through his skin to all the secrets underneath. He fidgeted uncomfortably.
“Is there something else in here?” he said, glancing into his drink. “Cinnamon or something?”
“Secret family recipe,” she said, her fingertips drumming against her porcelain mug. “The Alpha didn’t say why you’d run off. Care to enlighten me?”
“No,” said Simon before he could stop himself, and Zia snorted with laughter.
“I like you, Simon. It takes a whole lot of something to lead your friends out here without any backup. Whatever it is you’re after, it must be important.”
He fell silent. It was important. It was the most important thing in the world to him.
“I get why you don’t want to tell me,” she said, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. “I wouldn’t trust me, either. But it’s okay to ask for help sometimes, especially for the important stuff. We need each other, and it isn’t a bad thing. Like this community, for instance. The birds would’ve taken out countless mammals if this place didn’t exist. Refugees need us in order to make it through to the other side, and there’s no shame in that. There’s no shame in not being able to do everything by ourselves.”
“And you’re going to help me?” said Simon. “Just because I’m here and you have nothing better to do?”
“Like I said, whatever you’re doing must be important. The instant the Alpha arrives tomorrow, he’s going to take you back to New York, and I’m pretty sure whatever you’re after isn’t in the city.” Zia’s eyes locked on his, and Simon had to fight the urge to look away. “Tell me what’s going on, and I will do everything I can to help you.”
Simon faltered. He wanted to believe her, but what was she going to do, come to Arizona with him? In the back of his mind, a voice that sounded an awful lot like Darryl’s whispered a warning. Trust no one.
Even if his mission in Arizona worked out perfectly, he wasn’t just after his mother and the reptile kingdom’s piece of the Predator. Destroying the weapon was the only way to make sure Orion and Celeste didn’t use it to try to kill his brother and gain the Beast King’s powers, and Simon had learned months ago that the Predator could only be damaged when it was fully assembled. That meant if Simon wanted any chance of protecting Nolan, he had to track down all five pieces before Orion could find them first. And no matter what help Zia thought she could offer, he couldn’t risk telling her. He had to keep his mouth shut.
“Simon? Is everything okay?” Jam stood in the archway between the living room and the kitchen, already dressed in pajamas.
Relieved to have an excuse to break away from Zia, Simon set his hot chocolate on an end table and scooped Felix up. “Yeah, everything’s fine. I’m tired. We should go to bed now.”
“I’m not tired,” said Felix indignantly, trying to leap back onto the sofa, but Simon caught him.
“You can watch as much TV as you want in the morning,” he said as he joined Jam. The last thing he needed was Zia trying to interrogate Felix while he was absorbed in an episode and not paying attention to what he was telling her.
“I’ll be out here if you need anything,” said Zia easily, but once again, there was an undercurrent to her words Simon didn’t entirely trust. “Get some rest. Busy day tomorrow. You’ll be back in the city before you know it.”
Jam gave her a weak wave good night, but Simon marched down the hallway without a word. She was wrong. He didn’t need her help, and no one—not Malcolm, not Zia, not even a town full of Animalgams—was going to stop him from getting to Paradise Valley and finding his mother.
Fox in the Henhouse
Simon had every intention of staying awake and sneaking out once Jam fell asleep, but as soon as he lay down in that soft bed, he couldn’t resist the heavy drowsiness that spread through him. As he drifted off into a deep sleep, his last thought was of the hot chocolate on his tongue, and how it hadn’t tasted quite right.
He woke up confused and feeling as if his head were stuffed with cotton. Though the illuminated numbers on the clock said it was well after ten in the morning, without any windows, the bedroom was as dark as ever.
“Jam?” he said, rubbing his eyes. The other bed was empty, and there was no sign of Felix, either. But a low, rumbling voice through the wall caught his attention, and Simon sat straight up.
Malcolm was there.
Simon bolted out of bed and rushed to get dressed. He had been an idiot lying down the night before. He should’ve waited until everyone else was asleep, and then he should’ve taken his only remaining chance to leave on his own. Malcolm would never let him out of his sight again. Simon had to get out of there before—
“I see you’re finally awake.”
Malcolm stood in the doorway. Simon froze in the middle of pulling on his sweatshirt, but before he could say anything, his uncle crossed the room in three long strides and pulled Simon into a tight hug.
“Don’t you ever do that to me again,” he said, his voice breaking. Simon stood perfectly still, stunned. He’d expected anger and rage, not this. “Are you all right? Stone told me what happened. Did the flock hurt you?”
It took Simon a full five seconds to remember that Stone was Zia. “I’m fine. Everyone’s fine.” He tightened his jaw. “I can’t go back, Malcolm. Not yet.”
Malcolm pulled away, his hands on Simon’s shoulders as if he were afraid Simon would disappear if he let go. “What’s going on? Why did you leave in the first place?”
“I—didn’t the others tell you?”
His uncle shook his head. “I wanted to hear it from you.”
Simon hesitated. He couldn’t tell him, not when it meant Malcolm might risk his life to go after Orion himself. “I just . . . I was worried about Winter. She isn’t happy in New York, and we decided to bring her to her family instead.”
Even as Simon said it, he knew it was an obvious lie, and the skeptical look on Malcolm’s face made it clear his uncle hadn’t bought it, either. But what was he supposed to do? Admit he was trying to save his mother from one of the most vicious rulers in the Animalgam kingdoms, with only his friends to help?
“We’ll talk about how to help Winter when we get back to the L.A.I.R.,” said Malcolm. “But that isn’t your job, Simon. It’s mine. If Winter wanted to see her family, you should’ve asked me. I would’ve helped her. I will help her, any way I can.”
Simon averted his eyes. “I can’t go back, Malcolm, not before—”
“I know you’re miserable.” Malcolm’s voice was quiet, but the heaviness in his words drew Simon up short. “It’s been hard for you lately, probably harder than I can understand. But I do know Nolan hasn’t been the best brother he could be. I know you miss your mom, I know you miss Darryl, and I know your life now is never going to live up to your memories of how everything used to be no matter how much all of us try. But sometimes .
. . sometimes that’s just how it goes. Life is hard, and it changes in ways we don’t want or expect. Running away isn’t the answer. We have to find the good in what we have, and we have to appreciate it. Otherwise you’re never going to be happy no matter where you are, Simon. And that goes for Winter, too.”
Simon said nothing. Maybe finding his mother wouldn’t bring back Darryl or his old life, but at least they would be a family again. Maybe Nolan wouldn’t hate him so much then. Maybe Malcolm wouldn’t be so disappointed in him. But no matter how tempting it was, he still couldn’t tell his uncle what was really going on.
When it became clear Simon wasn’t going to reply, Malcolm leaned in closer, his grip on Simon’s shoulders tightening. “I’m sorry I’m not Darryl. I wish he were here, too. More than I can say.” Malcolm cleared his throat. “But he isn’t anymore, and we’re both going to have to find a way to accept that. He would want you to be happy, Simon. Him and your mom.”
“I know,” mumbled Simon.
“Then let’s try this, all right? You and me and Nolan, when he isn’t being—Nolan.”
That got a ghost of a smile out of Simon, which seemed to encourage his uncle. He patted Simon on the back and straightened, finally letting him go.
“Our flight leaves in a couple of hours,” he said, checking his watch. “We should get moving if we’re going to make it.”
That was the last thing Simon wanted to do, but arguing wouldn’t help, so he reluctantly packed his things and followed his uncle into the living room. Jam and Ariana sat together, and both of them glanced nervously at Simon when he arrived. Winter was curled up in an armchair as far away from them as she could get, while Zia leaned against the couch. Naturally, Felix was absorbed in another television show, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the air. Simon hadn’t seen him this happy since before they’d arrived at the L.A.I.R. months ago.
“Do you want to stay here?” he said to the mouse, who was perched on his hind legs, clutching his tail.