Pegasus and the Fight for Olympus (26 page)

‘But, but—’

‘Child, listen to me,’ Jupiter said softly. ‘This is the price I must pay as leader. Making these difficult decisions is never easy. But I could not help you no matter how much I wanted to. You had to learn to help yourself. Until this moment, you have feared and dreaded your powers. Because of that, you could not control them. It made you a danger to yourself and everyone in Olympus. But here, today, you finally embraced them. You have faced your destiny and become the Flame’s master. Emily, you saved everyone and defeated the gorgons because you are finally the Flame of Olympus. It was more than I could have ever achieved.’

Emily sucked in her breath. ‘But-but-you’re Jupiter,’ she protested. ‘There’s nothing you can’t do.’

Jupiter chuckled and rose. He kissed her on the forehead. ‘I appreciate your faith in me, child. But I am nothing without the power of the Flame of Olympus behind me.’ He reached out his hand. ‘May I see the handkerchief Neptune gave to you? I need to check something.’

Emily handed over the green fabric with the white Pegasus embroidered on it. She watched him open the hidden pocket and peer inside.

‘It worked perfectly,’ he muttered. ‘I must tell my brother.’

‘Tell him what?’

Jupiter handed back the handkerchief. ‘Look inside, your tears are gone.’

Emily saw he was right. The small pocket was empty. ‘Where did they go?’

‘Back into you; they added fuel to your fire. When Neptune had his sirens weave this for you, he made certain when you needed your tears back, the fabric would return them. It appears it did.’ Jupiter wrapped his arm around her to support her on her leg. ‘Now, Emily, I would like to properly introduce you to Segan, the Queen of the Nirads.’

Emily put the handkerchief back in her pocket and looked at the young queen she had spent so much time with. She bowed her head. ‘Your Majesty.’

The queen smiled. She wrapped her four arms around her and embraced Emily tightly. She growled softly in her ear.

‘Segan says thank you for your bravery and for freeing her people from the terror of the gorgons,’ Jupiter explained.

Emily smiled back. ‘You’re welcome.’ She looked around the room at the countless stone statues. ‘But you’re not really free yet. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us to free everyone.’

Segan stepped over to the stone statue of her brother and grunted a few soft words to Jupiter. ‘She has asked a favour. Would you be kind enough to free her brother first?’

Emily nodded and was helped over to the pink Nirad. ‘I really hope this works,’ she said nervously as she reached out her hand and touched the prince’s stone arm.

The change started immediately. Where her hand grasped the Nirad’s arm, pink returned to the surface. It spread along his whole body until he took in a deep unsteady breath and staggered on his feet. Segan reached out to support him. Recovered, he looked at his sister and howled in joy.

Emily felt her throat constrict as she watched their noisy reunion. The queen turned to her and spoke softly.

‘Segan would like you to meet her brother, Toban,’ Jupiter explained.

Before Emily could speak, the young prince threw his four arms around her and embraced her while growling enthusiastically in her ear.

‘You’re very welcome,’ Emily choked when he finally released her. Leaving the pink Nirads free to continue their reunion, she looked up at Jupiter. ‘Will you help me get to my dad and Pegasus.’

‘With pleasure,’ Jupiter said. He lifted her easily in his arms and carried her carefully between the marble Nirad fighters and over to the stone statues of her father and Pegasus. Emily felt a biting pain in her chest as she stared into the pained expressions on both of their faces.

Jupiter lowered her to the floor. Emily put her arms around her father and stood on tiptoe to kiss his stone cheek. ‘Come back to me, Dad.’

Holding him close, Emily could feel the life flowing back into her father as the stone faded and his flesh returned. After an unsteady breath, her father opened his eyes and found her in his arms.

‘Em!’ he cried. He hoisted her in the air and gave her a hug equalling Jupiter’s. Tears rushed to his eyes as he buried his face in her long dark hair. ‘My Em, my beautiful Em!’

‘Daddy!’ Emily squealed, suddenly sounding like a child again. She stood clinging to her father. It had been the longest journey of her young life to get to this moment, and she didn’t want it to end.

Her father put her down and looked around the room. He wiped his teary eyes. ‘What happened in here?’

Jupiter offered his hand. ‘Your daughter saved all of us. You should be very proud.’

‘I am,’ he said happily.

With her father at her side, Emily hopped over to Pegasus. The pain of transformation was etched on the stallion’s marble face, and revealed in his half-opened wings. Emily put her arms around his cold stone neck and pressed her cheek to the white marble. ‘Forgive me, Pegs,’ she whispered softly, ‘but I couldn’t kill Jupiter to save you. Please, please forgive me. Come back, I need you.’

Beneath her cheek, Emily felt the stone react. ‘That’s it,’ she coaxed, ‘keep coming.’

Soon the marble stallion warmed and became flesh again. His burns were healed and the feathers on his wings were restored. With one heaving breath, his eyes opened and he finished the screaming whinny he’d started when Euryale had turned him and her father to stone.

‘It’s all right, Pegs,’ Emily soothed as she stroked his quivering neck. ‘It’s over now, you’re all right!’

Pegasus jumped when he saw Emily standing beside him. She started to laugh at the confused expression on his face. Pegasus looked around at all the statues in the throne room. His frightened eyes went up to the queen’s cage and he neighed loudly to Jupiter.

‘The gorgons are gone, Pegasus,’ Jupiter said. ‘Queen Segan is safe. She is with her brother over there.’ He pointed at the two pink Nirads. ‘Soon we will heal the wounds of this world and return to Olympus.’

The confused expression remained as he nickered softly and pulled Emily closer. She put her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. ‘I couldn’t have done it without you, Pegs,’ she said softly.

When Pegasus neighed, Jupiter smiled and stroked his soft muzzle. ‘Emily did more than even I could have ever imagined. I am sure she will tell you all about it in time. For now, my nephew, we have a lot of work ahead of us.’

With Pegasus on one side and her father on the other, Emily hopped carefully through the throne room filled with statues. She would never admit it to Jupiter, but she was frightened she wouldn’t have enough power to heal everyone. But Pegasus understood. He helped her over to her best friends first.

Her father helped her down to the floor in front of Paelen. Emily stroked his head and kissed him lightly on the cheek. ‘Thanks for trying to save me from Stheno, Paelen,’ she whispered softly.

The stone beneath her lips began to warm as life quickly returned to Paelen. After a moment, he took in a deep breath and screamed.

‘It’s all right,’ Emily said as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. ‘Paelen, you’re safe. Calm down!’

Paelen looked wildly around the room and rose, preparing to fight again. ‘Where are they? What happened?’

‘Gone,’ Emily’s father said as he helped her rise on her good leg.

‘Gone where?’

‘Well,’ Emily said awkwardly, ‘Euryale sort of melted into a pile. As for Stheno, she just evaporated. That’s what is left of her over there.’ Emily pointed at the dark ashes littering the floor and blowing around the throne room.

Paelen looked from the ashes back to Emily. ‘Did you do that?’

She shrugged. ‘Kinda. They turned me to stone too and that made me
really
angry.’

Paelen looked at her in wonder. ‘They made you angry so you turned them to dust?’ When Emily nodded, he whistled lightly and his crooked grin appeared. He stepped up to Pegasus. ‘Pegasus, please warn me if you ever see me start to make Emily angry!’

Emily laughed and punched him lightly on the arm. ‘He will. Now c’mon. We’ve got to help Joel.’

Jupiter and her father were gathering pieces of Joel’s broken stone arm at the base of the dais. The leader of Olympus looked up at her, grim-faced. ‘I fear this may not work. Please, take this, we must see what happens.’ He handed Emily a small piece of stone.

The smile dropped from Emily’s face when she looked and saw it was one of Joel’s fingers. She enclosed it in her hand. Nothing happened. It remained a cold piece of marble. ‘What does this mean?’

Jupiter rose. ‘I am uncertain. But it may mean that once someone has been broken, not even your powers can restore them.’

‘Are you saying that Emily can’t heal Joel?’ her father asked.

Behind them, Pegasus whinnied loudly and pounded the floor. He snorted and shook his head.

‘No,’ Emily cried. ‘Not Joel. I
will
heal him!’

Before Jupiter could stop her, Emily knelt down and touched Joel’s face. It was then she noticed that part of his right ear was missing as well. ‘Please,’ she prayed as she closed her eyes. ‘Please Joel, wake up! I can’t go on without you here.’

Finally the stone beneath her hand started to warm. ‘It’s working!’

Paelen knelt down beside her and Pegasus pressed in closer. Together they all focused on the jagged edge of the break in the stone of his right arm.

‘Come on,’ Paelen coaxed. ‘Grow back!’

Joel was gradually coming back to himself. His flesh returned, but they watched as the rough edge of the break folded in on itself. The wound closed and covered with healed skin. But there was no new growth. As Joel took in his first unsteady breath, they realized that his right ear and arm were not going to grow back.

‘Joel?’ Emily said softly.

‘Em?’ Joel said as he opened his eyes. Just like Paelen, he looked wildly around the room. ‘The queen?’ he cried as he looked back up to the cage. The four stone guardians were still holding up the roof, but the cage was empty.

‘She is safe,’ Jupiter calmed, ‘thanks to your bravery.’

‘Joel, we’ve got something to tell you,’ Emily said.

Before she could warn him, Joel sat up and immediately noticed the change himself. ‘Where’s my arm?’ he asked in confusion. Fear rose on his face. His left hand reached up and felt the healed stump at his right shoulder. ‘Emily, where’s my arm?’

He looked desperately to Paelen and his eyes flew around the room. ‘Tell me, where’s my arm?’

Emily quickly embraced him. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she cried as tears filled her eyes. ‘The gorgons turned you to stone. You fell over and your arm broke. I tried to fix it, but it wouldn’t work. It’s gone, Joel.’

‘Gone?’ Joel said in a haunted whisper. ‘Gone where?’

Emily sniffed and let him go. She reached for her handkerchief to collect her tears. As she wiped them away, she watched Paelen hand over the stone finger to Joel.

‘It shattered,’ Paelen said. ‘Emily tried, but …’

Joel took it in his left hand. ‘Is this really mine?’

Paelen nodded. ‘Do not worry, Joel. I promise you, Vulcan can make you a new arm, and I will help. It will be a better one. Look at the legs he built for himself !’

‘And my brace,’ Emily added. ‘He can do it, Joel. I know he can.’

Emily’s heart broke as Joel’s haunted eyes lingered on his stump. He was in deep shock. ‘It doesn’t hurt a bit,’ he uttered softly. ‘It should, but it doesn’t.’

‘Emily’s powers have healed you as much as they possibly could,’ Jupiter said. ‘I too am sorry she could not restore your arm. You have my word, Joel. Vulcan will have everything he needs to build you a new one.’

Joel climbed awkwardly to his feet. His eyes scanned the room to all the statues. Several had been knocked over and broken in the battle. He saw a couple of Nirad statues without their heads. ‘What about them?’ he quietly asked.

Jupiter inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. ‘I am sorry to say, but most of the broken ones are dead. Perhaps some of those with lesser breaks may survive, but if Emily could not restore your arm, it is doubtful she can do anything for those who have suffered major breaks to their bodies or heads. We must all grieve their loss.’

‘Joel, are you all right?’ Emily asked as she reached out to him.

He looked down on her. Tears were rimming his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He shook his head. ‘Not really.’ He embraced her tightly and whispered in her ear. ‘But I will be.’

Emily next approached Diana and Apollo. She felt a great sense of relief at the joyful and heated reunion between the twins and their father. Seeing their shining faces lightened the mood as Diana cursed and complained at not being the one to destroy the gorgons. While his sister ranted, Apollo took Joel quietly aside and promised to teach him to fight one-armed.

The throne room was still crowded with statues. Emily’s father lifted her on to Pegasus’s back, who took her round to heal the Nirads one by one. The queen and prince were at her side, ready to reassure each Nirad as they came back to themselves.

‘Hey, do not forget fly-boy over here,’ Paelen called as he stood beside the Cupid statue. ‘Personally, I believe he looks good just as he is. But Venus may not be too pleased if we leave him like this.’

Emily leaned forward on Pegasus. ‘Pegs, I forgot all about him!’

Pegasus turned his head back to her and nickered softly. There was a twinkle shining in his big brown eyes. Emily was certain the stallion was laughing at her.

‘It’s not funny, Pegs. How could I forget about Cupid? Please don’t tell him. He’ll never forgive me!’

Pegasus carried Emily over to Cupid. She reached down and touched the top of the winged Olympian’s head. As Cupid returned to flesh, he started to panic and cry out in terror.

‘Calm down!’ Paelen said. ‘You are safe. Emily saved you and the gorgons are dust.’

Cupid looked up at Emily on Pegasus. He gave the room a final check to be certain, then cleared his throat, fluttered his healed wings and adjusted his tunic in embarrassment. ‘I was not panicking, Paelen,’ he corrected abruptly. ‘I was concerned for the Flame that she may be in danger.’

Paelen started to laugh and slapped Cupid playfully on his wings. ‘Do not worry about my Emily, she can take care of herself!’