“Yes! Yes! It’s me!” Eva wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “I’m okay. Besteel’s not even here. He put me in a cell. I am trapped in a weird place where they prepare poor captured animals for display for the queen. It’s horrible.”

There was no reply for a beat, then a vivid circular image of Rovender’s head appeared—as if the Omnipod were seeing through Muthr’s eyes. “Hello, Eva Nine. I am happy to see you are alive,” he said.

“Oh, Rovee!” Eva cried. “You have to get me out of here!”

“Listen carefully, Eva.” Rovender’s voice was firm. “Otto is transporting us across the lake to Solas, where we will come get you. But we likely won’t arrive for at least another hour.”

Eva gulped. “I—I don’t think I’ll be here in another hour.” Her mind flickered once more to the skinned water bear. “You have to help me. What do I do?”

“Look around your cell,” Rovender replied. “Is there any way that you can escape?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so.” Eva set the Omnipod down and stood, banging the cell wall with her fist. “I can’t even break this!” Frustrated, she slid back down to the bottom of her container. “Can’t they just let me go? They have no right to hold me.”

“I am not sure why they’d keep you, Eva.” Rovender sounded puzzled. “But if asking for your release doesn’t work, you are going to have to try another method. Think. Do you see any clues that may aid in your escape?”

Eva leaned over to the glass wall and wiped away the heavy oily condensation. She panned the Omnipod around the white room. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. Please hurry!”

There was no response. Eva returned her attention to the Omnipod. “Hey, are you guys still there?”

“Sheesa! Look! He’s right there!” Eva could see Rovender pointing over Muthr’s shoulder. Through the robot’s eyes the view turned to a glider swooping down from the sky.

“Besteel! NO!” Eva cried, watching the hologram in horror. The camera’s point of view from Muthr scrambled a bit as the huntsman hopped off the glider onto Otto’s back, throwing Rovender off into the lake. Pointing his charging boomrod at Muthr, he snarled, “Goody for Besteel. Goody for my brozeel. Twoz of you in one day.”

The hologram disappeared. “Connection terminated,” the Omnipod announced.

Eva screamed, “No! Try reconnecting! Hurry!”

“Attempting voice reconnection to Multi-Utility Task Help Robot zero-six . . .” The device’s lights flickered.

Eva gulped. That cold, jittery feeling snaked from her stomach to every vein, artery, and capillary within her.

“I am sorry, Eva Nine. I am not receiving a reply. Would you like to leave a message?”

Eva shut her eyes tightly and curled up into a ball.