Pegasus and the Fight for Olympus (21 page)

‘Pegasus, can you really understand her?’ Joel asked.

The stallion nodded and then whinnied in pain as he moved his stone leg.

Hearing his suffering plunged a dagger in Emily’s heart. ‘I wish I could help you, Pegs,’ she called softly.

As the queen continued to make soft sounds, Tange left the throne room.

Joel helped Emily settle back against the bars of the cage. ‘Em, we’ve got to ask Tange to let us out. You can’t be here when Jupiter arrives. The gorgons will force you to kill him.’

‘I won’t use my powers again,’ Emily said firmly. ‘No matter what they do to any of us. The next time I try, I may not be able to stop it.’

When Tange returned, he was carrying the stone body of Chrysaor. He placed the statue before their cage and unlocked the door and motioned for Joel to help Emily get out.

From his cage, Pegasus neighed to Emily. She glanced from Pegasus, to Tange and then finally to the queen. They were all looking at her hopefully and she understood exactly what they wanted. They needed to reach Jupiter. Chrysaor was their only hope. But after everything he had done, could they trust him?

Joel saw her hesitation and shrugged. ‘Em, we don’t have much choice. Do it.’

He helped Emily settle on the floor beside the stone Chrysaor. She reached up and rested her hand on his snout. Beneath her fingers the temperature began to rise. Moment by moment, the stone melted away as the dark brown hair and feathers of the winged boar returned.

Soon the brown spread throughout his entire body. She jumped when she saw one of Chrysaor’s whiskers start to twitch. After a few minutes, the colour poured back into his dark brown eyes. The boar suddenly took a very deep, unsteady breath and woke up.

Chrysaor jumped when he saw Emily sitting beside him. He gazed around the throne room in confusion. Behind him, Pegasus started to neigh and he trotted over to him. The stallion lowered his head and poked as much of his face through the bars as he could to touch him.

Watching their reunion nearly brought tears to Emily’s eyes as she remembered how they had tried to kill each other back at the Red Apple. Now it appeared Chrysaor had changed and everything was forgiven. Chrysaor squealed lightly and trotted over to Emily. She looked into the boar’s large brown eyes and saw so much of Pegasus there. She only hoped he had changed enough to share in his brother’s compassion and sympathy for others.

‘We desperately need your help, Chrysaor,’ she explained softly. ‘We can’t let the gorgons kill Jupiter. Look at what they’ve done to the Nirads and what they did to you. Do you really think they won’t do that to everyone else? All they want is power and destruction. They don’t care who they kill to get it.’

She reached out her hand and lightly stroked the coarse hairs on Chrysaor’s snout. ‘The gorgons are asleep. You’ve got to fly back to Olympus and find Jupiter. Warn him that they are planning to make me kill him. Explain to him how they’ve imprisoned the Nirad queen in a fragile cage of Olympian gold. Any attempt to rescue her will kill her. And tell him how they’re killing Nirad children to control her. Please, Chrysaor, you are our only hope. You must tell Jupiter to bring all his warriors here to fight the gorgons.’

Chrysaor shook his head.

‘Look at him, Em, he won’t do it,’ Joel shot. ‘Even after you saved him, he won’t help us!’

Chrysaor looked at Tange and squealed softly. Obeying him, Tange suddenly wrapped his four arms around Joel and hoisted him in the air.

‘Tange, no!’ Emily cried. ‘Let him go!’

Across from them, Pegasus whinnied softly. He was bobbing his head up and down.

‘Please, Tange,’ Emily begged, ‘please don’t hurt him.’

The huge Nirad lifted Joel higher and grunted. Chrysaor moved and stood beneath Joel’s dangling legs and opened his wings so that Tange could lower Joel on to his bare back.

It was Emily who understood first. ‘Joel wait, they want you to go with them.’

‘What?’ Joel said. ‘No, they don’t …’ Tange released him and took a step back. Joel was now seated on Chrysaor with his legs hanging down under the boar’s brown wings. When he looked back up to the huge Nirad, Tange pointed to him, then the boar, and finally to the entrance.

‘Yes he does,’ Emily said. ‘And they’re right. You must go.’

‘There’s no way I’m leaving you!’ Joel tried to climb off, but Chrysaor clamped his wings tightly over Joel’s legs, pinning him in place.

‘You must!’ Emily insisted. ‘Chrysaor betrayed Olympus. They won’t believe him. But they’ll believe you. Tell them everything you’ve seen here. Tell them about Diana and Apollo and how they expect me to kill Jupiter.’

‘I can’t leave you here,’ Joel said. ‘If the gorgons find out, they’ll kill you and the queen!’

‘They’ll never know. It’s still early. If you go now, you can still come back before they return. Just be as fast as you can and get back here before dawn.’

Joel looked uncertain. But Tange and Pegasus were nodding in encouragement. Up in the cage, the pink queen also nodded her head. ‘See,’ Emily said. ‘Everyone agrees. I’ll be all right. Pegasus is here, so is Tange.’ Emily struggled to gain her feet. Tange helped her up and led her over to Joel. She gave him a fierce hug. ‘Please be careful. My dad should be in Olympus by now. Find him and tell him what’s happened and that I’m waiting for him.’

‘I will,’ Joel said. ‘And I’ll be right back, I promise.’

Emily reached forward and lightly stroked the boar’s head. ‘Please take good care of him, Chrysaor, and come back quick.’

Now that she was out of the cage, Emily looked over to Pegasus and was tempted to heal his leg, but knew that she couldn’t. Leaving him in pain was one of the hardest things she’d had to do, but it would be too dangerous to leave any evidence that she’d been out of the cage. Tange carried her back into her prison and locked the door. With a final wave goodbye, she watched as the large orange Nirad escorted Joel and Chrysaor safely out of the throne room to help them escape the palace.

Olympus was far too quiet. Paelen knew instantly something was terribly wrong. Flying down into the back gardens of Jupiter’s palace, he heard and saw no one. There were birds, small animals and insects, but not one Olympian.

The palace itself was standing silent and untouched. If the Nirads had conquered Olympus, he felt certain there would have been more signs of damage. But as he searched there were no traces of Nirads at all.

Olympus was completely empty.

Ordering the sandals to take him into the air, Paelen flew over the top of the palace and looked around. Nothing moved and he could hear no sound.

‘Hello!’ Paelen shouted. ‘Is there anyone here? Please answer me!’

The gentle breeze was all he heard back. As panic started to settle in on him, Paelen ordered the sandals to search for any Olympians in the area. They carried him higher. For the first time, they seemed uncertain of where to go.

But then they seemed to catch the scent of something. They turned sharply and darted forward. Paelen strained his eyes, searching for movement below. Every building, theatre and roadway was eerily quiet and free from Olympians.

The sandals carried him away from the palace and towards the Temple of the Flame. As he approached, Paelen caught movement on the ground beneath him. His eyes shot open when he saw who was there.

‘Chrysaor!’ Paelen shouted as he flew at the winged boar. ‘Where is she?’ he demanded. ‘What have you done with Emily?’

Paelen’s anger took over as he attacked the winged boar. Chrysaor was more than twice his weight, and much larger than him, but Paelen didn’t care. Chrysaor had sided with the Nirads and taken Emily and Pegasus away.

‘Where are they?’ he demanded as he struck the boar. Wrapping his arms around its thick neck, he fought to tackle the large animal to the ground. But despite his best efforts, Paelen was no match for Chrysaor’s strength. He couldn’t move him. He jumped on his back, punched down on his wings, his head, and his face.

Yet despite the pounding, Chrysaor did nothing to defend himself. He stood perfectly still and let Paelen do his worst.

‘Paelen, stop!’ Arms wrapped around his waist and hauled him off the boar’s back. ‘Stop it, please!’

That voice!

‘Joel!’ Paelen turned and screamed when he saw Joel trying to hold him back. Tears rushed to his eyes at the sight of his best friend. He threw his arms around Joel and gave him a ferocious hug. ‘I thought you were dead!’

‘Can’t breathe …’ Joel gasped. ‘Paelen, stop … can’t breathe!’

Paelen released him quickly. He was shaking all over and could hardly believe what he was seeing. ‘How?’ he rasped. ‘That Nirad killed you!’

Regaining his breath, Joel rubbed his crushed ribs. ‘No, he just knocked me out. But listen – I can’t stay here long. I’ve got to get back to Emily. Where are Jupiter and the others?’

‘I do not know. I just arrived here.’

‘So did we,’ Joel said. ‘Emily’s in terrible danger. We came here to raise an army, but everyone is gone.’

‘Where is she?’ Paelen said. ‘What happened? Is Pegasus with her?’ Finally his eyes settled back to the winged boar and his rage resurfaced. He pointed an accusing finger at Chrysaor. ‘And what are you doing with him? He betrayed us!’

‘Yes he did, at first,’ Joel explained. ‘But now he’s helping us. But we don’t have a lot of time. If the gorgons find out I’m gone, they’ll kill the Nirad queen and all their children.’

‘Gorgons?’ Paelen asked. ‘Are they involved in this?’

‘It was never the Nirads. It is the gorgons who are waging war on Olympus.’ Joel explained about how the Nirads had been enslaved by the gorgons. How they had just turned Diana and Apollo to stone and how they discovered that Emily had the ability to restore those turned to stone by the gorgons.

‘Why are they doing this?’ Paelen asked.

‘They say it is revenge for Medusa’s death, but I think it is more than that. They’re after power. Their plan is to force Emily to kill Jupiter. When she does, they will take over.’ Joel started to walk away, ‘C’mon, we’ve got to find everyone so we can tell them what’s happened.’

‘Joel, stop. There is no one here,’ Paelen insisted. ‘I asked the sandals to find any Olympians and they only brought me to you. The others must be using the Solar Stream to search all the other worlds for Emily.’

‘Then it’s just us,’ Joel said. ‘We’ve got to stop the gorgons.’ He paused and looked around. ‘Where are Steve and Cupid?’

‘Cupid!’ Paelen cried. ‘I almost forgot! He is still in your world and has been badly wounded. I need to take ambrosia and nectar to him!’

Together they flew back to Jupiter’s palace. The banquet table was still laid out with untouched bowls of ambrosia, golden plates heaving with ambrosia cakes and urns filled with nectar. They gathered as much as they could carry and raced into the back gardens of the palace.

‘I will deliver this to the cabin and will meet you at the Nirad world,’ Paelen said.

Joel shook his head. ‘No, I’m coming with you.’

‘You must not,’ Paelen insisted. ‘Joel, you must get back to Emily before the gorgons awake. There is no telling what they will do if they discover you have gone. Go back to her, and I will take ambrosia to Cupid and then find you.’

‘How will you find the Nirad world?’ Joel asked. ‘Can your sandals track us through the Solar Stream?’

Paelen paused. ‘I am uncertain.’

Joel caught him by the arm. ‘Then let’s not waste any more precious time. We’ll get Cupid and Steve and then we can all go to the Nirad world together.’

‘All right.’ Paelen surrendered. ‘If we move quickly, we may still get you back before you are missed.’

They arrived at the cottage. Agent T had bandaged Cupid’s wounds, but the winged Olympian was dangerously pale and remained unconscious.

Within moments of nectar being poured into Cupid’s mouth, he started to come around. When his eyes fluttered open, Paelen and Agent T helped him to eat the ambrosia. The winged Olympian feasted as though he’d never eaten before. With each bite, his strength returned.

Joel helped feed nectar to Steve and Earl. The effect was slower for the humans, but it worked. Steve soon awoke and was able to move. Before long, he was able to sit up and feed himself. It took longer for Earl to react to the healing properties of the nectar and ambrosia, but finally his breathing steadied and his burns started to fade.

‘Wow, this is powerful stuff,’ Joel said in awe. ‘The myths say if a mortal eats ambrosia, they become immortal. I don’t know if that’s true, but it’s sure working wonders on Steve and Earl.’

Cupid rose slowly from the coffee table. His eyes settled on Joel in shock. ‘I thought you were dead!’

‘I could say the same about you,’ Joel said as he stepped closer. The Olympian was covered in bandages.

Agent T was fussing with Cupid to help him to his feet and hand him another ambrosia cake. Cupid took a big bite and then a long draught of nectar. He held the glass up to Paelen. ‘You brought this?’

Paelen nodded. ‘It was the only way to help you. Unfortunately we do not have time to set your wing properly as we must get moving.’

While Cupid and Steve continued to eat, Paelen and Joel brought them up to date with everything that had happened. ‘The gorgons have Emily in the Nirad world and will force her to kill Jupiter when he arrives.’

Paelen saw a flash of fear in the winged Olympian’s face. Cupid was still terrified at the mention of Nirads.

‘Surely you are not suggesting I go with you to the Nirad world?’ Cupid cried.

‘You don’t have to come, but I’ve got to go,’ Joel insisted. ‘The Nirads are on our side. It was the gorgons who forced them to attack. It’s not their fault. They want to help.’

‘And what if the gorgons order them to kill us?’ Cupid challenged.

‘I don’t think the Nirads would do it,’ Joel said. ‘They now know Emily can restore their dead, so they won’t do anything against us. And it was a Nirad called Tange that helped Chrysaor and me escape to warn Jupiter. But Olympus is empty.’ Joel reached for a coat. ‘Now, you can stay here if you want. But I’ve got to get back to Emily before I’m missed.’

As he moved to the door, Chrysaor moved with him. He squealed lightly and Paelen translated. ‘He says climb on his back. He will take you to the Nirad world.’