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  Darek released Zephyr and landed with a heavy thud on the narrow ledge.

  “You’re safe,” Astraea called as she steadied him.

  Zephyr started up again. “I’ll be back with Render in a moment.”

  Darek’s face would have been pale if it weren’t for the bright sunburn. His shoulders were starting to blister from the burns.

  “Get out of the sun,” Cylus ordered. “The cave is right here.”

  “I want to help with Render,” Darek said.

  “There’s no room out here,” Cylus said. “Astraea and I will take care of Render. Go inside—now.”

  Darek did as he was told and vanished into the darkened cave just as Zephyr appeared over the edge to repeat the same maneuvers with Render. Moments later, the centaur was on the ledge.

  “Everyone into the cave,” Zephyr called from the air. “My wings and legs are killing me. I’m not sure how well I’ll land!”

  Once everyone was safely inside, Astraea stood at the entrance and watched Zephyr fly out over the plateau, then turn in the sky and head back to the ledge. When she landed, Astraea ran out of the cave and threw her arms around her.

  “You’re amazing. I can’t believe you just did that! Come inside. It’s much cooler.”

  Zephyr was panting heavily, and her wings were drooping as she limped into the cave. “I—I deserve a medal for that,” she muttered as she followed Astraea inside.

  “Two medals,” Astraea said.

  “Three!” Cylus agreed. He approached Zephyr and patted her neck. “When this is over, you have your choice of anything I own.”

  “Me too,” Darek said.

  “Anything—or—or even all of it,” Render finished. “Thank you for saving us.”

  “I’ll just be happy to get back to Titus and soak in a lake,” Zephyr said tiredly. “Until then, I’m going to lie down. My back legs feel like they’ve been pulled off.”

  The centaurs stepped back and allowed Zephyr deeper into the narrow cave. With Astraea beside her, Zephyr settled down on the stone floor and heaved a great sigh. “Remind me to never do that again.”

  Astraea sat beside her and combed her fingers through Zephyr’s mane. “You were so amazing. I never knew you could hover like that.”

  “Neither did I,” Zephyr admitted. “But I couldn’t risk flying them out farther in case they fell.”

  “You realize you just saved their lives.”

  Zephyr nodded. “Guess so.” She turned her white head to Astraea. “You know, if you’d told me before Arcadia opened that I would be carrying two—no, three—centaurs to safety, I’d have said you were crazy.”

  “It makes you wonder what else is going to happen,” Cylus said as he walked past them and explored deeper into the cave.

  “Or what might be about to happen,” Astraea added.

  “Let’s hope that’s the last of the excitement,” Zephyr finished. “I’m too tired for more.”

  3

  JAKE AND TRYN SOARED THROUGH the jungle on the flying skateboards, heading toward Nesso.

  Jake lifted his baseball cap off his head and wiped away the sweat. California had nothing on the heat of this world. He looked over at Tryn and saw that his silver skin had a light sheen, but he showed no signs of suffering from the heat.

  “Aren’t you hot?” Jake called. “I’m baking!”

  Tryn shook his head. “Not really. I don’t like this humidity, but it’s better than Earth. I was freezing there.”

  After a while, they touched down on the ground in an area covered with leaves and undergrowth. If Nesso was here, he still couldn’t see her.

  “Nesso,” Jake called softly. “Are you here?”

  The jungle around them was alive with sound. There was light rustling from the undergrowth, and the sounds of insects calling one another, while the canopy of trees was filled with movement and birdcalls.

  “Jake,” a small voice sounded.

  Jake went down to his knees. “Nesso, I can hear you, but I can’t see you. Where are you?”

  “I am here.…”

  A moment later Nesso appeared from under some leaves and slithered up to Jake’s foot. He reached down, and she slid onto his outstretched hand, followed by two other snakes that looked just like her.

  “Well, hello there,” Jake said.

  The two snakes hissed, but Jake couldn’t understand what they said. “Nesso, did they just say something?”

  “Yesss,” Nesso answered. “They asssked if you were my big thing. I told them you were.”

  Jake looked at Tryn. “I thought I would be able to understand them all, but I can’t.”

  “This is fascinating,” Tryn said. “Because of the bite, you can understand Nesso, but not all her kind.” He looked at the other two snakes. “Can you understand me?”

  “Can you underssstand the other big thing?” Nesso asked the two snakes.

  Jake heard more hissing but had to wait for Nesso to translate.

  “No, they can’t underssstand you. But I have told them why we are here. They will help usss if we promissse to take them away with usss.”

  Jake checked the ground, but there were no other snakes. “Where are the others? I thought there would be more.”

  “They are gone,” Nesso explained. “It isss too dangerousss for them to ssstay. They are being hunted, ssso they have left.”

  “Who is hunting them?” Jake asked.

  Nesso stood higher on Jake’s hand. “Everything here isss changed. There are ssso few of usss now. The othersss don’t know who isss hunting them, only that it isss too dangerousss to ssstay. Everyone isss leaving. We mussst leave too.”

  Jake explained to Tryn what Nesso said.

  “Of course we’ll take them with us,” Tryn said to Nesso. “But we need more of your kind to help us. Do you know where the others have gone?”

  “They have gone far away. Far from the danger.”

  Jake again repeated the message and then asked, “Can they tell you anything about the hunters?”

  After a moment, Nesso said, “They don’t know. Only that it isss bad. They hear the othersss ssscream and then they are sssilent. They are gone-gone.”

  “Does gone-gone mean dead?” Jake asked.

  “Yesss.”

  Jake turned to Tryn. “Something is killing the snakes. There aren’t many left here now.”

  Tryn looked at Nesso. “Have you ever had this trouble before?”

  “No,” Nesso said. “But it’sss bad. I called and called but could find no more.”

  “Three aren’t enough,” Jake said. “We need to find more.” He looked at Nesso. “Can they tell you what direction the others traveled in?”

  “Yesss. They went toward the sssun when it goesss dark.”

  When Jake repeated the message, he added, “Let’s go get Astraea and the others and try to follow them.” He held Nesso up to his neck so she could take her place. When she did, the other two followed, and the three settled down together.

  Tryn looked at him and laughed. “I thought one snake around your neck was funny. You should see yourself now.”

  “Yeah, but at least it keeps my hands free.” He called down to Nesso. “You guys ready?”

  “Yesss,” she hissed in reply.

  Jake and Tryn climbed onto their skateboards and called down, “Take us back to Astraea and Zephyr.”

  The two skateboards rose in the air and carried them above the canopy. The plateau was some distance away, and it was only then that Jake realized just how far they’d traveled. In the opposite direction, Jake saw a herd of tall, long-necked dinosaurs grazing on the highest trees. “Tryn, look over there!”

  “They are amazing,” Tryn said. “I must tell my mother about this world.”

  As they flew closer to the plateau, Nesso called, “Where are we going?”

  “To that big flat rock,” Jake said.

  “No. You mussstn’t!”

  “Why not?” Jake asked. “We had to go there when t
he two dinosaurs were fighting. There’s nothing there.”

  “Lergo livesss there,” Nesso cried. “Lergo eatsss everything. Even thossse really big thingsss.”

  Jake called the message over to Tryn, and he maneuvered his skateboard closer. “We have to, Nesso,” he started. “Astraea and the others are there. What is Lergo?”

  Jake could feel the three snakes trembling around his neck. “Whatever it is, it has these guys freaked out.”

  “It isss like usss,” Nesso said. “But big. It livesss in a cave on that mountain. It huntsss and it eatsss. None of usss go near it.”

  “A cave, you say?” Jake said. “No problem. The others are on the top of the plateau. There wasn’t a cave there.”

  “There isss!” Nesso insisted.

  As they approached the top of the plateau, the skateboards skimmed over the surface but kept moving. When they reached the opposite side, they sailed over the edge and started to descend.

  “Tryn,” Jake called fearfully. “I see a cave.”

  “So do I.”

  “And the skateboards are taking us there.…”

  “That’s probably because Astraea and the others are inside.”

  “Yeah,” Jake cried. “So is Lergo!”

  4

  ASTRAEA LEANED AGAINST ZEPHYR, FANNING herself with the hem of her tunic. Even in the shade of the dark cave, it was still hot. “I hope they come back soon,” she commented. “I want to leave here.”

  “Me too,” Zephyr agreed.

  Cylus, Render, and Darek were lying down across from them with their hooves tucked neatly beneath. Their bows were leaning against the wall and their arms were crossed over their chests as they rested. Render and Darek were both dozing, but Cylus kept looking deeper into the cave.

  “If you’re so curious, why don’t you go explore?” Astraea said to the centaur.

  Cylus looked at her and shook his head. “It’s not that. I think I hear something. I’ve been hearing it for a while.”

  At those words, both Darek and Render became alert. Darek climbed to his hooves and looked deeper into the cave. “Now that you mention it, I do hear something, but I’m not sure what it is. It’s like hissing.” He reached for his bow.

  “I don’t hear anything,” Astraea said. She looked at Zephyr. “How about you?”

  Her head was down, and her eyes shut. “I’m too tired and sore to hear anything.”

  Render rose and stood beside Darek. “It is hissing.” He took two steps deeper into the cave just as Tryn and Jake arrived at the entrance and started to shout.

  “Get outta there!” Jake cried.

  “Hurry,” Tryn shouted. “There’s a serpent in there!”

  Render looked back at Jake just as two blazing red eyes appeared from the darkness. Then a red tongue flicked in and out of an unseen mouth and the hissing became louder.

  “Run!” Jake howled.

  Cylus was on his feet in a flash and reaching for his bow. Astraea rose and helped Zephyr up.

  “Don’t waste your arrows. Just run!” Tryn cried.

  “Where?” Darek called. “We’re too high.”

  “We’ll carry you,” Tryn called. “Just like before. Hurry. Its moving!”

  The hissing intensified as the huge serpent slithered out of the darkness and into the light. It opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp teeth, including two very long fangs.

  “C’mon!” Jake shouted. “Jump. We’ll catch you!”

  The serpent snapped at Darek and missed the centaur by a hair. Then it opened its mouth wide and tried to snatch Cylus.

  There was no time to think. Astraea ran beside Zephyr and leaped up onto her back.

  Zephyr called back to Cylus, “Run and get ready to grab my legs again!”

  The entrance to the cave was right in front of them, but it felt like the longest run in Astraea’s life as the deadly serpent slithered quickly behind them.

  “Faster!” Astraea shouted.

  Render was the first out of the cave, and he leaped straight off the ledge. He cried in terror as he flew out over the vast openness high above the jungle canopy and started to fall.

  “I’m coming,” Jake shouted, then commanded his skateboard to follow Render down and scoop him up.

  Tryn did the same the moment Darek made it out of the cave and jumped off the ledge.

  Cylus reached the ledge first, then turned and waited for Zephyr. His eyes were huge as he pointed. “Zephyr, it’s right behind you!”

  Astraea stole a glance back and gasped. All she saw was a wide gaping mouth and rows and rows of sharp teeth and fangs.

  “Get ready!” Zephyr shouted.

  They were just reaching the cave entrance when Zephyr shrieked and fell to the floor. Astraea was still seated on her back and cried out when Zephyr’s full weight came crashing down on her right leg.

  They slid together out of the cave, across the ledge, and right over the side. After that, everything started moving too quickly for Astraea to follow accurately. All she knew was that her right leg was in agony, while a great heavy weight was pulling on her left.

  Astraea screamed as she started to slip off Zephyr’s back. She reached for her best friend’s mane and tried to hang on, but it wasn’t working. She was still being pulled off. It was only then that she understood what was happening. When she and Zephyr fell off the ledge, Cylus leaped into the air and caught hold of Astraea’s left leg and was now hanging from it.

  Somehow, Zephyr managed to right herself in the sky. But with Cylus’s heavy weight pulling down on her leg, Astraea was sliding off Zephyr’s back.

  “I’ve got you!” Tryn shouted as he caught hold of Astraea’s right arm and pulled her back onto Zephyr. “Zephyr, take us down!”

  “No,” Nesso hissed to Jake. “Don’t land yet. Lergo will follow usss. Fly for asss long asss posssible.”

  Jake repeated the warning, but he knew they couldn’t stay airborne for long. The skateboards were never intended to carry the weight of the centaurs. And now Tryn’s was carrying even more as Darek hung beneath him while he held on to Astraea to keep Cylus from pulling her off Zephyr.

  Astraea tried to hold on, but it was getting harder. Her left leg felt like it was being pulled out of the socket by Cylus hanging on for dear life.

  “I know where we are,” Nesso called to Jake. “Hold out your hand and I will direct you to sssafety!”

  Jake did as Nesso suggested, and the snake left his neck and crawled out onto his hand. “You’d better hurry, Nesso. We aren’t going to last long!” He stole a glance down and saw the tiny wings on his skateboard starting to fail.

  “Go thisss way,” Nesso called as she faced left.

  “This way!” Jake shouted. “Zephyr, follow us if you can.”

  Astraea heard Zephyr’s strained voice but couldn’t understand what she said over the sound of her own screams. She did however feel Zephyr change direction.

  Astraea’s right arm was being wrenched by Tryn to keep her on Zephyr and her left hand was tangled in Zephyr’s mane. She could feel her friend’s hair being pulled out. “Faster, Zeph!”

  “Over there. I see it!” Tryn called. “Come on, Zephyr. Just a bit farther. You can do it!”

  Astraea felt like she was being split in half. Her head was spinning and every part of her hurt. She could no longer see where they were going. All she knew was pain.

  Then Tryn released her arm and Astraea was pulled off Zephyr’s back by Cylus. Before she could scream again, she splashed down into cool water and slipped beneath the surface.

  5

  ASTRAEA TRIED TO SWIM, BUT her legs were like stone and wouldn’t move. As she drifted down into the depths, she felt arms wrap around her waist and draw her back up. She broke the surface and gratefully gulped a mouthful of air.

  “I gotcha,” Jake said calmly. “Just relax and breathe.”

  Astraea coughed up water and floated on her back as Jake drew her to the shore. But when they reached the shallow edge an
d her right leg touched the ground, she howled again.

  Tryn came forward. “Lift her up. That leg looks really bad.”

  Jake and Tryn slid their arms beneath Astraea and made a kind of cradle to carry her out of the water. She winced with each movement. When she was settled on the ground, she looked down and saw the mess the cave’s rocky floor had done to her leg. Her skin was peeled and bleeding.

  Zephyr limped up to her and pressed her muzzle to her. “I’m sorry, Astraea. It’s my fault you were hurt.”

  “No it isn’t,” Astraea said as she reached up to stroke her friend. “It was an accident. I’m all right, just a little bruised. But that was some fall. What happened?”

  “I’m not sure,” Zephyr said. “I was running and then I was down. I don’t remember what happened between the two.”

  “That serpent was right behind you. I think it knocked you down.” Cylus was standing at Zephyr’s rump and inspecting her side. He started to brush off bits of rock and debris. “There are some deep cuts here from sliding on the floor.”

  “Trust me, I know,” Zephyr said tiredly. She lifted her head and looked around. “I really hate this place. There are too many things wanting to eat us. The sooner we get out of here, the better.” She looked down at Astraea. “Do you think you can walk?”

  Astraea tried to stand up, but when her leg moved a bit, she cried out and fell down.

  Jake knelt beside her and looked at her leg. “Yep, that’s what I was afraid of. It’s broken, all right. One of my friends broke her leg when we were boarding, and it looked all bent and funny just like yours does. Only she had a bone sticking out.”

  Tryn frowned. “I’ve never heard of a Titan breaking a bone before. You’re usually too strong.” He rubbed his chin. “However, it has been some time since you last ate ambrosia.”

  Astraea tried to think of the last time she’d eaten anything, let alone ambrosia. She couldn’t remember. “True, but I did have some nectar back on Earth—wait, I also had one of those doughnut things.”

  “That’s not enough,” Tryn said. He looked at all the Titans. “You must all be on your guard. You need ambrosia to keep up your strength and we don’t have any. You may not feel it, but you’re all getting weaker. So be extra careful. You can get seriously hurt now.”