Chapter 2
"Come with us," the third boy who'd spoken said. He led me around to the thick grove of trees behind the bookstore, the rest of them following me. Once they had made sure there was no one around, he turned to me. "Who are you, and what do you know about us?"
"I'm Annie." I told them my last name as well. "I know a lot," I said slowly. "You met an Andalite prince named Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul in the abandoned construction site. He gave you the power to morph and was killed by Visser Three." I pointed at the boy who seemed to be the boss. "You're Jake, the leader. Your older brother, Tom, is one of them."
I turned to the short black girl, dressed in a muddy T-shirt and too-small jeans. "You're Cassie, animal expert and peacemaker. Your mom is a vet at the Gardens and your dad works at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Cent, AKA your barn.
"Marco." I pointed at the first boy. "The jokester. Your dad is an engineer and your mom is the host body for Visser One.
"Rachel." I turned to the pretty blonde girl. "Xena: Warrior Princess and Jake's cousin. Your two little sisters are Jordan and Sara, your mom is a lawyer and your dad is a television anchor.
"Tobias." The expressionless boy with the dirty-blonde hair. " You were trapped in red-tailed hawk morph on the first mission to the Yeerk pool, but the Ellimist gave you back your morphing powers in exchange for helping some free Hork-Bajir. Elfangor's son.
"And Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill." The last boy, who up to this point had remained silent. "Elfangor's little brother, and an Andalite aristh, or warrior cadet. Ax for short."
They stared at me in stunned disbelief.
Ax was the one to break the silence. "Prince Jake, shall I demorph? She may be a Controller. Ler. ER." Ax plays with sounds when he's in his human morph. A lot.
"Yes," Jake replied, still watching me intently. "Marco, make sure there's no one around, then find Erek. Tobias, go hawk."
My wide eyes flitted back and forth between Tobias and Ax, who were each returning to their normal forms. Tobias's pale skin and blonde hair swirled into reddish-brown feathers. His lips hardened into a beak and he shrank until he was only about two feet tall.
Meanwhile, Ax's feet changed to hooves, his mouth melted into smooth blue skin, vivid green eyes sprouted on stalks from the top of his head. Last of all came the thick, muscular tail, with the sharp, deadly accurate blade at the end. He held it an inch away from my throat. One wrong move and my head would be on the ground.
Jake opened his mouth, but I interrupted him.
"I understand. You're going to hold me for three days to make sure I'm not a Controller. And Erek or one of the other Chee is going to pretend to be me. And I won't resist, I swear."
He stared at me for a moment, his mouth half open, then closed it again. "Uh... all right, then, guess you know the basics. As soon as Marco comes back we'll take you to the shack in the woods."
"You'll bring me food and everything, right? I mean, you wouldn't starve me, would you?"
"No, of course not," Cassie piped up, although the look in Jake's eyes said something like, If you're a Yeerk, yes we will.