Simon backed away. How was he supposed to sneak past hundreds of snakes? Even if he shifted and they thought he was one of them, he had no idea how to get Ariana and Jam to safety.
He shoved his hands in his pockets, his fingers brushing up against the pocket watch. The closer to the statue he moved, the warmer it became, and he paced around the base. There had to be something he was missing.
“Simon.” A female voice sent a chill down his spine, and a claw-like hand settled on the back of his neck. “What a delight.”
Celeste. The former Alpha of the mammal kingdom, and the woman who had held his brother captive for ten years while forcing his mother to collect the pieces of the Predator. Simon twisted around. Her icy blue eyes met his, and she smirked.
“I’ve been looking for you, my dear,” she murmured, her nails digging into his shirt. “Why don’t you come with me to speak with the council?”
“I know why you’re here,” he said through a clenched jaw. “I’ll tell them if you don’t let me go.”
“You’ll tell them what, exactly? That I’m here to protect my grandson from a tyrant bent on using him for his own evil ends?”
“That you want the reptiles’ piece,” he said. “That you’re trying to assemble the Predator and take over the Animalgam world.”
Her expression softened, and with her free hand, she patted his cheek. “Oh, darling. I’ve already taken great care to explain to them my only intention is to block our mutual enemy, Orion, from finding the pieces. If they called me here to protect you, surely they must be sympathetic to my side of the story.”
Simon’s mouth went dry. “You can’t do this.”
“Can’t do what? I’m not here for the piece, Simon. I’m here for you. Without you and your brother, the Predator will do your grandfather next to no good. But if he has to come to me to get you . . . well, that changes things, doesn’t it?” She smiled and smoothed her dark hair. “Come. Let’s greet the council.”
Celeste pushed Simon forward, and he stumbled, fighting her every step of the way. Despite her slight frame, however, she was much stronger than him, and across the glass bridge they went. When they reached the door to the council’s chambers, Celeste didn’t bother knocking. Instead she pushed it open as if she had every right to be there, and the murmur of voices inside stopped.
“Celeste?” Rivera stood from his place at the round table. “We weren’t expecting you so soon. And—” His brow furrowed. “You have the boy?”
“Was he missing?” said Celeste, feigning confusion, and she forced Simon into an empty seat at the table. “He does have a tendency to disappear from time to time, I’m afraid. Nothing a leash won’t solve.”
“You can’t trust her,” said Simon, wrenching his shoulder from her grip. “She wants the piece as much as Orion does—”
“So claims the heir to the bird kingdom’s throne.” Celeste lingered behind Simon, making no move to sit. The council members bent their heads together, whispering as she continued. “I have no interest in your piece, ladies and gentlemen of the council. I only ask for safe passage back to mammal territory. If Orion discovers I have his heir in protective custody, he will stop at nothing to kidnap him from me.”
As much as Simon hated Orion, he was pretty sure he would’ve been much safer stuck in Beak Peak than wherever Celeste intended on taking him. “I’m not going anywhere with her.”
“Hush, darling,” she murmured. “I am your Alpha, and like it or not, you will obey me.”
“I’m not a member of your kingdom,” said Simon fiercely. “I don’t have to listen to you. And anyway, in case you forgot, you’re not the Alpha anymore. Malcolm is.”
“Is that true?” Crocker leaned forward. “We heard there was a disturbance in the hierarchy of the L.A.I.R., but it seems reports of a new Alpha have failed to reach us.” He lowered his stare onto Rivera, who raised his chin defiantly.
“There was an—unfortunate incident between Celeste and her remaining son,” he admitted. “But I saw no need to bother the rest of the council with the details, not when it will certainly resolve itself once the unrest dies down.”
“So you are no longer the Alpha of the mammal kingdom,” said Crocker, and several of the other council members fidgeted uneasily. “That certainly changes things.”
“Does it?” Celeste sniffed. “Nearly the entire mammal kingdom continues to follow me. My son’s leadership is only recognized by the pack—”
“And what is an Alpha without a pack?” said Crocker. Celeste stiffened.
“I believe we are getting off track, gentlemen. Regardless of my temporary status, Simon is still my grandson, and I am here to take him home, where it is safe. Once we have arrived, I will send my best fighters to help you eradicate the pestilence of feathers from your territory. All I ask in return is for assistance getting my grandson across the desert.”
The council began to whisper to one another again, and dread coiled in the pit of Simon’s stomach. “I said I’m not going with her,” he repeated, louder this time.
“She is your family. We must respect that,” said Rivera, and others nodded in agreement. He looked around the room. “Does anyone oppose the Alpha’s most generous offer?”
“She is not the Alpha anymore,” said Crocker, staring directly at Simon. “The boy does not want to go with her. Whatever his reasons may be, I will not force him into the custody of someone he does not trust.”
“If we were to play that game, no child in the country would want to stay with their guardian at some point in their lives,” said Celeste. “Particularly at Simon’s age.”
The murmur from the council grew louder, and Rivera said sharply, “All in favor of granting the Alpha and her grandson safe passage in return for her assistance ridding our territory of the flock?”
“Aye,” the council chorused. Simon felt his face grow hot with frustration.
“All opposed?”
Crocker raised a single finger, never taking his eyes off Simon.
“Then it’s settled. We will escort them to mammal territory and assist them with any defense against the flock.” Rivera nodded to Celeste. “I will see you to the lobby myself.”
Feeling like he was walking to his execution, Simon stood at Celeste’s urging and let her nudge him toward the door. Rivera followed them, along with half the council, though Crocker remained seated, clutching his cane.
“I’ll send my best soldiers to aid you as soon as we reach safety,” said Celeste to Rivera. As they walked across the moat of snakes, Simon eyed the glass bridge. He wanted to yell for Jam and Ariana, to let them know he was all right and they weren’t alone, but he couldn’t help them now. Not with Celeste and nearly the entire council surrounding him.
He would escape the first chance he got. If Orion had let him slip through his fingers with the entire flock standing guard, surely he could shake Celeste. He only had to wait for the right opportunity. But how long would that take? Hours? Days? Weeks?
As they marched through the corridor and into the lobby, Simon racked his brain, trying to think how he could alert his uncle to their location. But when they exited the hotel and stepped beneath the early-morning sunlight, Simon stopped suddenly.
Malcolm stood in the middle of the path, his face twisted with fury. Zia leaned against the wall, inspecting her nails, while half a dozen other mammals from Colorado lurked nearby, several lounging at the edge of the fountain. Allies, Simon assumed. Or hoped.
Celeste’s grip on Simon’s arm tightened painfully, and she took several steps backward until they were once again inside the empty lobby. “Hello, son. I’m afraid you’re too late for the meeting,” she murmured in her icy voice.
“The only one who’s too late is you, Mother,” said Malcolm as he and the other mammals moved forward, cutting off Celeste’s intended route. “Are you all right, Simon?”
“I’m fine. How did you find us?” said Simon, torn between relief and fear. Rivera had called Celeste, af
ter all, not his uncle.
“I followed you here. We’ve been watching the hotel all night, trying to figure out what you four are up to,” said Malcolm.
“Thought you might need backup if things got out of hand,” added Zia, who didn’t look the least bit bothered by any of this. “We saw you go into the lobby earlier, but storming the hotel without good reason didn’t seem practical. You’ve got your provocation now, though, don’t you?” she added, glancing at Malcolm. Clearly this was something they’d been arguing about.
“This is absurd,” said Rivera, his voice booming but a note higher than normal. “You can’t attack the council—”
“I would be very, very careful about telling me what I can and cannot do right now, Rivera.” Malcolm advanced on his mother. “Hand over Simon. If you don’t, I have no problem taking him from you. What will it be?”
The rest of the mammals filtered into the lobby, forming a barrier between Celeste and the door. They may have been misfits and a ragtag collection of fighters at best, but Simon had seen them in action. Individually they weren’t all that threatening, but together, he didn’t doubt they could take on a fully grown wolf. With Malcolm’s help, Celeste didn’t stand a chance.
She must have known it, too, because she remained silent for several moments, seemingly assessing the situation. “It isn’t up to me, son. The council has already made its decision, and as you are standing on reptile territory, you must respect their authority.”
“They have none over Simon,” said Malcolm, and the muscles in his arms twitched.
“They have Ariana and Jam locked up with the snakes,” said Simon suddenly. “The council’s been interrogating them—”
“Enough,” barked Celeste. “If you try to take Simon from me, the force of the entire reptile kingdom will rise against you. Is that what you want, Malcolm?”
“If that’s what it takes,” he said, and with a growl, he shifted into a hulking wolf. “This is your last warning, Mother.”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” said Rivera. His body elongated and thinned, with his arms disappearing into his trunk while his legs fused together. Scales grew from his skin, and his face flattened and pupils sharpened until the largest cottonmouth snake Simon had ever seen lay on the lobby floor, his forked tongue tasting the air.
One by one, the other members of the council shifted. Lizards, crocodiles, alligators, vipers, iguanas—suddenly the lobby was full of reptiles.
“Have you ever been bitten by a venomous creature?” said Rivera, slithering toward the wolf that was Malcolm.
“I’ve put up with my mother for over thirty years. If I can survive her venom, I’m sure I can survive yours.” Malcolm bared his teeth. “This is how it’s going to be?”
“We have every right to defend our territory,” said Rivera.
“And I have every right to defend my family,” said Malcolm. “Now!”
In a flurry of howls and growls, the mammals shifted and launched themselves at the reptiles. Adrenaline flooded Simon’s body as his uncle tore through the council, fur and claws flying. “Watch out!” he shouted as Rivera shot toward Malcolm, and the massive wolf turned in time to grab the cottonmouth in his jaws and fling him against the wall.
“That’s enough of that,” said Celeste, yanking Simon backward toward the elevators. He stumbled and tried to grab hold of a nearby couch to resist, but Celeste dragged him to the doors and jabbed a button.
“Going down?” said a familiar voice, and a cloud of orange fur tackled Celeste. Zia the fox.
Celeste shrieked, and as she tried to claw Zia off her, she released Simon. He sprang away, hesitating as Celeste shifted into a wolf. Zia clung to the back of her neck, holding on for dear life, but Simon could have sworn he saw a grin form on her muzzle.
“I’ve got this flea bag,” said Zia. “You do what you came here to do.”
There was something about the way she said it that made him think she wasn’t talking about rescuing his friends. Either way, Simon couldn’t bring himself to leave her alone with Celeste, and he shouted into the brawl. “Someone—over here!”
An armadillo and a badger raced toward them, and they too jumped onto the wolf’s back. Celeste screamed, and Simon darted past her and down the corridor, running as fast as he could. Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted Zia on the ground, snarling and snapping at Celeste’s hind legs, and he forced himself to keep going. The mammals could take care of themselves. His friends needed him, and he would only have one chance to help them. Even if it meant he wouldn’t have time to find the reptiles’ piece, he wasn’t going to waste it. His mother might have been willing to give up everything to find the Predator, but he wasn’t. Some things were too important.
The Viper Pit
Simon burst into the antechamber and rushed past the statue, stopping only when he reached the glass bridge. Dozens of snakes curled underneath, and Simon couldn’t see any sign of Ariana and Jam.
“Hey—my friends are down there,” he said, trying to lift the bridge, but it didn’t budge.
“And?” said a rattlesnake with a shake of its tail. “You are not permitted to enter.”
Simon searched for a button or lever he could push that would make the bridge open up, but he saw nothing. Frustrated, he stood and looked around. Even if he shifted into a viper and slipped past the snakes, he still had no way of getting his friends out of there. Ariana might be able to cling to his back as a spider, but Jam was a dolphin. He would still be stuck.
His gaze landed on the monstrous statue of the Kingsnake, and he sucked in a breath. It was crazy, but Rivera himself had said the reptiles worshipped the Kingsnake. It was the only shot he had.
Closing his eyes, Simon pictured the red, black, and white bands of the snake, and he felt his body slowly shift. It felt strange, losing his arms and legs, and his sense of smell grew sharper, but once the transformation was complete, he raised his head experimentally, and he could feel the strength in his new form. Even more so than the wolf, the Kingsnake was all muscle, and Simon felt as if he could take on a bear and win.
A gasp ran through the serpents close enough to see him, and several shrank back. “It can’t be!” said the rattlesnake who had warned him off. Others rose from the pit, craning to get a better look as shock permeated the room.
“I need to see my friends. Open the bridge,” said Simon in the most authoritative voice he could muster. Without hesitation, the rattlesnake pressed its nose against a well-camouflaged rock, and the glass bridge rose. The snakes melted back, revealing an opening at the base of the moat.
“I’m going inside for my friends,” he said. “You’re going to let them out without getting in their way or attacking, got it? And you will tell no one that the Kingsnake was here. Not even Rivera.”
The rattlesnake bobbed its head, while dozens of other cobras and vipers clambered on top of one another in an attempt to get as far from Simon as possible. A sense of power and control surged through him, and he briefly wondered how far he could take this charade. When would they start to refuse him?
No. That wasn’t why he was here. Taking a deep breath, he slid on his belly over the smooth rocks that led into the moat. The ground sloped downward, and in the low light, Simon saw countless other snakes slither out of his way. No wonder the council thought this was the safest place in their kingdom. Simon couldn’t imagine anyone else getting this far alive.
The tunnel opened up into a small chamber beneath what must have been the very center of the room, and Simon spotted two figures huddled together near the edge of a square pit. He hissed, and the snakes surrounding them scattered, murmuring their apologies.
“Hello?” said Jam, his voice trembling. A thin sheen of sweat covered his face, and he wiped his forehead with his sleeve.
Ariana spotted Simon first, and she sucked in a breath. “Is that a Kingsnake?” she said. Jam squinted.
“I can’t see. Are those bands red or orange?”
&n
bsp; Now that he was down here, Simon knew he had no choice but to reveal his secret to his friends. He could have slithered away and left them wondering, and part of him was tempted to do that, but Jam and Ariana had risked everything to help him. He trusted them with his life.
“Red,” he said, and Jam’s mouth dropped open.
“You sound exactly like our friend,” he said, while Ariana froze, her gaze transfixed.
“It can’t be,” she said, and she leaned closer, her purple hair falling in her eyes. “Simon?”
Simon shifted back, winding up on his hands and knees near the edge of the dark pit. His human body felt oddly weak after the Kingsnake’s, and he shook out his arms. “Right. So. I can do that, too.”
“You—” Jam gaped at him and blinked several times. “How—”
“You’re the heir,” said Ariana, stunned. “Not Nolan.”
“We both are,” said Simon sheepishly, keeping his voice low. “I don’t know how or why, but we can both shift into anything we want.”
“That’s—that’s incredible,” said Jam, adjusting his glasses. “How long—”
Something creaked above them, and Simon shook his head. “I’ll explain everything later. Right now, you have to leave. The snakes will let you out.”
“You’re coming with us, right?” said Jam.
“There’s one thing I have to do first.”
“What could possibly be more important?” said Ariana, and Simon slid his hand into his pocket. The closer he inched toward the square pit, the hotter his father’s pocket watch burned, and though he had no idea how, Simon was sure it was trying to tell him the piece was nearby.
“Just trust me, okay?” said Simon. “Go. I’ll be right behind you.”
Ariana hesitated, but Jam grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the exit. Simon watched them go, and as soon as they disappeared into the light, he shifted back into the Kingsnake and slithered to the edge of the pit.
It was deep—ten feet at least, and filled with more vipers and cobras than Simon could count. He shuddered inwardly, but in the same strong voice he’d used before, he said, “Show me the piece of the Predator.”