Pegasus and the Fight for Olympus (3 page)

‘Oh, Emily.’ Diana pulled her into a tight embrace. ‘No one is going to imprison you. Your powers got away from you, that is all. It has happened to all of us. We just did not expect to find your tears quite so potent.’

‘My tears?’ Emily sniffed. ‘I don’t understand.’

Diana explained that the amphitheatre caretaker had watched her run to the stage and saw how the flick of her tears had caused an explosion that shook all of Olympus. He was far enough away to be hurt, but not killed. However, the blast did destroy the theatre and create a huge crater. Pegasus finally found her suspended high in a tree several kilometres away.

‘I-I don’t understand,’ Emily said. ‘My tears caused an explosion?’

Diana nodded. ‘We do not really understand either. When the Flame emerged from you, Vesta said their full powers would be released. But she never expected them to be this potent. Even your tears are filled with the power of the sun.’

She couldn’t even cry without hurting herself or everyone around her! Every day was getting worse and worse. She was no longer a person, a girl with a bright future ahead of her. She had become a nuclear bomb waiting to go off.

‘I don’t want it,’ she finally said in a whisper. ‘I don’t want any of these powers. I didn’t ask for them. I just want my old life back with my dad.’

‘I am sorry, but you do not have a choice,’ Diana said. ‘You were born with the Flame. It is part of you. But I promise, you can learn to control it. Do not fight your powers, Emily. Embrace them and accept them as your allies, not your enemy.’

‘And if I can’t learn?’ Emily asked.

‘You must,’ Diana said as she stood and crossed to the door. ‘Rest now. You will feel better soon.’

Emily doubted she would ever feel good again. She climbed stiffly from her bed and walked over to one of the windows. She sat on the ledge and quietly watched the activity below, just like she used to do from her apartment window in New York.

But this wasn’t Manhattan she was looking out over, with its heavy traffic, police sirens, crowds and shops. It was Olympus. The light breeze blowing through her hair was sweet and warm, not polluted like New York’s smoggy air. She watched winged Olympians and large birds soaring together in the clear blue sky. Butterflies the size of cars fluttered around, playing a kind of tag with some young children. Down in the square, centaurs and giants walked and talked together as casually as people would in her own world. Everywhere she looked, Emily saw amazing things. But watching the world below only added to the feeling that things would never be normal again.

‘Dad, where are you?’ she said miserably. Emily no longer grieved over the death of her mother. Somehow in this strange and wondrous world, she always felt her mother’s presence hovering near, as though all she needed to do was reach out to touch her. It was her father who occupied all her waking moments. His rescue now seemed impossible. How could she help him if she couldn’t even help herself? She was a dangerous monster – unable to cry without the fear of hurting or killing someone.

Lost in misery, Emily was unaware of time passing until she heard a gentle knock at her door.

‘Emily?’ a deep voice called. ‘May we enter?’

Emily reached for her robe. ‘Come in.’

She was surprised to see Jupiter enter her room. Although she, Joel and Paelen lived in his massive marble palace, she only ever saw him at mealtimes. But even then, those banquets were so big and noisy, she never got to speak with him. He had never been to her quarters and the one time she did manage to speak privately with him was when she’d begged him to let her return to New York to rescue her father. That request had been denied.

‘Jupiter.’ Emily bowed her head with respect for their supreme leader.

‘Emily, I was most disturbed to learn what happened at the theatre yesterday. It seems your tears are very powerful. I hope you are all right.’

‘I am fine, thank you,’ Emily said.

Behind Jupiter entered another man with the same commanding presence as the leader of Olympus. He was as tall and wide with the same long white hair and a full beard. But unlike the serious, sombre face of Jupiter, this new man had a warm, smiling face filled with joy and mischief. The difference between the two could be found in their eyes: Jupiter’s were dark and deep, and seemed to hold the knowledge of the ages, while this man’s eyes were so pale they were almost like pearls. In truth, to Emily he looked less like an Olympian and more like Santa Claus.

‘I do not believe you have met my brother,’ Jupiter said casually. ‘This is Neptune.’ He turned to his brother, ‘And this here is the Flame of Olympus. Although I have recently discovered she prefers to be called Emily.’

‘Emily,’ Neptune said as a huge smile appeared on his warm face. ‘My son told me what happened to you. How are you feeling?’

Emily’s eyes grew wide as she remembered that Neptune was Pegasus’s father. ‘I’m fine, thank you,’ she stuttered. She looked down to Neptune’s strong, muscular legs that emerged beneath the tunic.

‘Perhaps you expected a fish’s tail?’ Neptune started to chuckle.

Emily flushed and nodded. ‘I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to be rude and stare, but I’d always heard you lived in the sea.’

Neptune’s face wrinkled with booming laughter that seemed to fill the whole palace. ‘No doubt you thought I rode a chariot of shells drawn by a team of seahorses, carrying a trident in my hand as I stir the seas into rage.’

Emily’s face turned redder and she nodded.

It was Jupiter’s turn to chuckle. ‘Do not let him fool you, Emily, he does just that and more.’

‘But not when I am on land,’ Neptune finished, growing serious. As he stepped further in the room, he turned back to the door. ‘Son, come in here.’

Emily heard familiar and welcome clopping sounds coming from the corridor, and in moments Pegasus entered her bedroom. He was as blazing white as ever without a feather out of place on his neatly folded wings. There was no evidence of the burns she had caused. Emily was grateful to find there was no trace of hesitation when he stepped up to her.

‘Pegasus,’ she said softly as she stroked his soft muzzle. ‘Are you all right?’

‘He is fine,’ Neptune said. ‘But he is very worried about you. After the incident at the amphitheatre, he asked if I might be able to help. So I went to my most talented sirens and asked them to weave their finest silk from the grasses that grow in the deepest part of the sea. It is my hope that this will help.’

Emily watched Neptune produce a shimmering sea-green handkerchief from his tunic. It seemed to change colour when it caught the light and reminded her of iridescent fish scales. He handed it to her and Emily saw an embroidered picture of her riding Pegasus in the centre of the fine fabric as she turned it in her hands.

‘Pegasus gave the sirens strands of hair from his tail for the embroidery,’ Neptune explained. ‘This is their best work.’

‘I just hope it works for the Flame’s tears as well,’ Jupiter added. He stepped closer to Emily. ‘This was made with all the powers of the sirens and the sea. Please keep it with you at all times. We believe it may be strong enough to collect and store your tears without causing any more damage to Olympus or yourself.’

Emily looked at the beautiful, weightless handkerchief with the embroidered Pegasus. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen in her life.

‘All we need to do now is to test it,’ Neptune said.

‘Test it?’ Emily said fearfully. ‘I’m not sure about that.’

‘Not today, child,’ Jupiter reassured her, as he put his arm lightly around her shoulders. ‘When you are feeling better. In the meantime, I want you to rest. That was a rather nasty surprise you had yesterday. When you are more recovered, ask Pegasus to take you to the new arena we are building for you. It will work as a much better training ground for your powers. Now that we have seen their extent, we need to ensure everyone’s safety until you have better control of them.’

Emily looked up at Jupiter and nodded. She thanked Neptune again for the beautiful gift and stood beside Pegasus as they left the room. When they had gone, Emily threw her arms around the stallion’s thick neck.

‘I’m so sorry I hurt you!’ she cried. ‘It got away from me and I couldn’t stop it.’

Pegasus nickered softly and reached back to her.

‘Pegasus, what am I going to do? One more mistake like that and I could kill someone. I might do more damage to Olympus than the Nirads did.’

Pegasus gently nudged her, to let her know he understood. He then invited her to stare into his eyes. As Emily locked into his gaze a clear vision filled her mind. She was sitting on Pegasus’s back, flying away from the palace – her fears and worries eased in that glorious moment.

‘Can we?’ she asked hopefully. Of all the wonderful things to do and see in Olympus, Emily’s favourite was riding Pegasus and discovering new places she’d never been before.

Emily quickly changed and tied her new handkerchief to her braided belt. She climbed on to the stallion’s back. When she was settled comfortably behind his large wings, Pegasus stepped up to one of the wide windows and confidently leaped through it.

Emily clung to the stallion’s mane as they soared in the skies over Olympus. Riding Pegasus was better than all the roller-coaster rides she’d ever been on in her life! She felt safe with him, but at the same time, there was the wild exhilaration of flying high in the air with no safety harness. It was just her on the bare back of Pegasus.

On the ground beneath them, people and creatures waved greetings to the Flame. In the sky around them, other winged citizens flew in formation beside them.

After some distance, their escorts drifted away and Emily and Pegasus were flying alone. In no time her troubles were put aside and she savoured the freedom she always felt when riding the magnificent winged stallion. As they gently glided in the thermal winds over the mountain range in Olympus, Emily could feel Pegasus’s wings beating confidently.

Soon Pegasus started to descend down the side of the mountain. Emily recognized the place they had gone on the very first day after she emerged from the Temple. It was a private, secluded beach with shimmering silver sands beside a beautiful sparkling lake.

After he touched down, Pegasus moved smoothly along the diamond-dust shore, his hooves splashing lightly in the water. Birds sang in the trees just back from the beach and the air was rich with the smell of the lush green forest. Spending time with the stallion always made her feel better and cleared the cobwebs from her troubled mind.

Emily wasn’t sure how long they’d been there when the peaceful tranquility was shattered by loud urgent shouts from Paelen and Joel. She looked up in the sky and saw Joel clinging to Paelen’s back as Mercury’s winged sandals struggled to carry their combined weight.

‘Emily, are you all right?’ Joel said as he climbed off Paelen’s back. ‘Diana wouldn’t let us see you. She said you needed to rest after you went nuclear and blew up the theatre.’

‘I’m much better,’ Emily answered, grateful to see her friends. She reached forward and patted Pegasus’s neck. ‘We both are.’

‘Good,’ Paelen said, ‘because we have a big problem. Nirads are back in Olympus.’

‘
What?
’ Her feelings of peace ended with one word. Nirads. The four-armed savage fighters who’d nearly killed her and Pegasus in New York and who had damaged her left leg.

‘Where are they?’ she demanded. ‘Is this another invasion?’

‘I don’t think so,’ Joel said. ‘We’ve heard there aren’t that many.’

‘
One
Nirad is too many,’ Paelen added.

Emily looked at Pegasus and then her two friends. They had all thought the war with the Nirads was over. After the Flame was relit and the Olympians’ powers restored, the huge warrior race had fled Olympus. No one imagined they would return. ‘So, what do we do? Get ready to fight?’

Paelen shook his head. ‘No. Jupiter is raising the army again. He, Neptune and Hercules have gone out to where they were spotted to find out how many there are and how they are getting here. While they are gone, Mars and Vulcan are arming everyone with the same gold as your brace and Pegasus’s bridle.’ Paelen held up a golden dagger and pointed to the one on Joel’s belt. ‘Apollo and Diana are organizing the remaining fighters. They’ve ordered us to find you and bring you back to the palace. They don’t want us to fight. We are to remain there with you until this is over.’

Emily felt fear constricting her throat. The Nirads were back. She knew this time that she, as the living Flame of Olympus, was their target. If she were to somehow be killed or even severely wounded, the Flame at the Temple could be extinguished and then there would be no hope for anyone’s survival. She couldn’t let that happen.

‘We’re not going back to the palace,’ she said, deciding. ‘It’s too dangerous and the Nirads are too big and strong. We’d be sitting ducks! I think we should go to New York. We were planning to anyway. When we get my dad free, I’m sure he could help.’ Emily looked at the stallion. ‘Pegs, what do you think we should do?’

Pegasus pawed the sand and whinnied loudly and nodded his head.

Emily patted the stallion’s neck. ‘It’s settled then, we go back to New York right now.’

As they prepared to leave, Emily’s fears and doubts rose. She didn’t want to stay at the palace and await the Nirads. But deep down she felt like she was abandoning the Olympians in their moment of need.

Joel settled on Pegasus’s back behind her. Emily looked over to Paelen. ‘You ready?’

Paelen nodded. ‘Let us go.’

Pegasus started to trot along the silver sands, moved straight into a gallop and leaped into the air. Both Emily and Joel felt the thick strong muscles in his shoulders and back flex as the stallion flapped his huge wings. As they climbed higher in the sky, Joel’s arms wrapped tighter around Emily’s waist as she wove her fingers through the stallion’s thick mane for a stronger grip.

‘We’re ready, Pegs!’ Emily called.

The last time they had flown like this, they were fleeing the Nirads at Governors Island. This time they were fleeing Olympus for the same reason.