Pegasus and the Flame (12 page)

‘He flies because he has wings,’ Paelen said sarcastically. ‘I would have thought even you could figure that out for yourself. Now, I have answered your questions. I do not know who they are. Please release me before the Nirads arrive.’

Paelen’s gaze followed Agent J as he walked over to a man in a white coat.

‘Give it to him,’ he heard him say. ‘He’s not telling us what we need to know.’

Moments later, the man in the white coat injected something into Paelen’s arm. As the drug took effect, Paelen started to feel what it must have been like to be Medusa. His head was full of writhing angry snakes; his veins were coursing with fire. He could no longer see clearly.

When Paelen felt at his worst, Agent J repeated all the same questions he’d asked moments before. Where did they come from? Who were the Nirads? Who were the kids on the flying horse? And why did the creatures want to kill everyone?

Despite the sensation of snakes squirming in his head, Paelen still had complete control over his thoughts. He wouldn’t answer their questions. He especially wouldn’t betray Pegasus. So as always, Paelen did what he did best. He lied. He told Agent J the most outrageous story he could think of.

This time, he claimed he was Hercules, son of Jupiter and hero of Olympus. Paelen went into long details of his achievements as Hercules. Telling one amazing story after another and claiming all the glory for himself.

The more he talked, the angrier Agent J became.

Driven to fury, the older man started to slap Paelen violently across the face. But instead of hurting, the blows helped to clear away the snakes and fire raging through him. Paelen silently took Agent J’s blows. As before, human strength was nothing compared to the pounding the real Hercules had once given Paelen for stealing from him.

As others crowded forward to pull Agent J off, Paelen slipped a hand into one of the orderly’s pockets and retrieved the keys to the handcuffs. With the keys clenched tightly in his fist, Paelen pretended to pass out.

He heard Agent J’s heavy panting as the older man was pulled away.

‘We’re done for the day,’ the agent spat. ‘Take him away before I kill him!’

Paelen remained perfectly still with his eyes closed. Two orderlies lifted him on to a stretcher and transported him back to his room. They transferred him to the bed and handcuffed him to the side bars.

‘Stupid idiot kid,’ Paelen heard one mutter. ‘If he keeps pressing Agent J like that, the man will have him sliced and diced and poured into Mason jars.’

‘Better him than us,’ the other orderly said. ‘Where do
you
think he comes from?’

‘Don’t know, don’t care.’

‘What do you think they’ll do to him?’

‘I guess they’ll wait till they catch all the other freaks out there. Then they’ll question the lot of them until they spill their guts. Then when there’s nothing left to say, they’ll do what they always do. Ice the lot of them.’

‘Shame,’ the second orderly said. ‘I kinda like this kid. He’s got a real fire in his belly. He’s the first one I ever saw get the better of Agent J. Let’s face it, the man needs an attitude adjustment. This kid’s just the one to do it.’

‘That’s if he lives long enough.’

When they’d finished securing him, Paelen heard both men cross to the door.

‘Well, that’s my shift over, I’m outta here,’ one of them said. ‘Want to join me and the boys for a beer later?’

Paelen heard the beeping of the sound lock. When the door closed after the men, he remained still for a moment more. Finally he opened his eyes and looked around. He was alone.

He still couldn’t believe there were Nirads in this world. Agent J had been right about one thing. The Nirads were after Pegasus, not him. As he tried to slow his racing heart, Paelen recalled the last thing he’d seen on Olympus. How the Nirads were specifically going after Pegasus. If Diana hadn’t come forward, they surely would have killed him.

But why did the Nirads want Pegasus dead? And why were there two humans with him?

Paelen realized the answers were not to be found in this strange and horrible place. He needed to get out.

He recalled Mercury’s last dying words, begging him to join the struggle for Olympus. Much to his own shame, Paelen had turned his back on his people and fled the fight. But now, the fight had followed him here. He could not turn his back again. He would escape from these humans and find Pegasus.

Then he would finally join the battle.

Emily felt terror building up inside her as she sat waiting for the others on Pegasus’s back. It seemed like hours since Joel and Eric left. But finally, there was movement in the trees around them and Emily heard Joel call out her name.

‘Over here,’ Emily called back. ‘Hurry.’

Moments later, Joel and Eric reappeared. ‘We’ve got big trouble,’ Eric said as he put down the shopping bags and hugged his girlfriend. ‘All military leave has just been cancelled. I’ve been ordered to meet up with my unit not too far from here. It seems there is an emergency in the city.’

‘The emergency’s us,’ Emily said. ‘My dad called. The police know about Pegasus and our flight up 5th Avenue. They know about the creatures too. He said the CRU are after us.’

Eric nodded. ‘And they’re calling us in to help find you. I’m so sorry, but I’ve got to go.’

‘You’re not going to tell them where we are, are you?’ Emily asked fearfully.

‘Of course not!’ Eric answered. ‘I’ll do everything I can to lead them away from you. But it’s not just you they’re after. There are those creatures out there as well. Those I will try to stop.’

‘You can’t,’ Emily said. ‘My dad said bullets won’t even stop them.’

‘Yeah,’ Joel added. ‘When I hit one on the head with a baseball bat, it only stopped him for a moment. Even the fall from Pegasus didn’t slow it down.’

‘That being the case, the city has more to worry about than Pegasus,’ Eric said. He took Carol’s hand. ‘We’ve got to go. I want you out of the city as soon as possible.’

Carol smiled weakly. She turned to Emily and shrugged. ‘I’m so sorry you kids are in trouble. But I just don’t have the stomach for this.’

‘I understand,’ Emily said softly. If she had a choice, she’d love to run away too. But she couldn’t. Pegasus still needed her.

Eric jotted down two names and telephone numbers on a piece of paper he pulled out of his pocket. ‘Memorize these if you can,’ he said, handing the numbers to Emily. ‘They are to my brother in Brooklyn and my parents in New Jersey. Call either of them if you really get stuck. My dad is ex-military. You tell them I told you to call and they’ll help you. I wish I could do more. But all hell is breaking loose in the city and I’ve got to go.’

As he and Carol started to move away, Eric called back: ‘You’ve got bandages and antiseptic in the bags. Get that leg cleaned up as soon as you can. And remember, memorize those phone numbers. You might need them.’

‘I will,’ Emily promised softly. ‘Thank you so much for everything.’

‘Good luck, kids, and God bless,’ Eric said with a wave as he and Carol slipped away through the trees.

When they had gone, Emily started to shake.

‘What are we going to do, Joel? The CRU are after us.’

Joel shrugged. ‘I really don’t know. But we can’t do anything until it gets darker.’ He started going through the bags of shopping. ‘If we have any luck at all, the CRU and military will concentrate on finding the creatures before they come after us. In the meantime, let’s get Pegasus fed and that leg of yours cleaned up.’

As the sun started to set, Emily and Joel cleaned and treated the deep cuts on the stallion’s hind end. They had already cleaned and bandaged Emily’s leg. The painkillers were working and she was feeling much better.

‘At least we now know who stabbed Pegasus with the spear,’ Emily said as she gently rubbed antiseptic cream into a deep wound on the stallion’s hind leg.

‘The real question is why?’ Joel asked.

Emily gave Pegasus a soft kiss on the muzzle, then sat down on the ground and reached for an apple. But before the fruit reached her lips, her eyes flew open wide.

‘Robin!’ she cried.

‘What?’ Joel said, running to her side. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘The last thing my dad said to me was to remember Robin!’ Emily caught hold of Joel’s hands and climbed to her feet painfully. ‘I didn’t understand what he meant. He was talking in code in case the CRU were listening. But now I remember!’

‘Remember what? Emily, what are you talking about?’

As she spoke, Emily started to pack their supplies into Eric and Carol’s picnic basket. ‘When I was really young, my mom and dad used to bring me up to the park. We’d go to this really hidden area at the upper end. Dad would pretend to be the Sheriff of Nottingham. Mom would be Maid Marion and I’d be Robin Hood! Every Sunday we’d come and play sword fights.’

‘I still don’t understand,’ Joel said helplessly.

‘Before he hung up, my dad said “remember Robin”. He said he’d be there. Don’t you see, Joel? Dad told me to take you and Pegasus to where we used to play Robin Hood. It’s really private. No one will find us there. We could hide for a bit and plan our next move.’

‘Then what are we waiting for?’ Joel cried. ‘Let’s get you on Pegasus and get moving!’

Remaining in the safe cover of trees, they travelled north. The sun finally set, and they walked for much of the way in complete darkness. As they travelled, they heard the sound of multiple helicopters arriving in the sky over Central Park. Peering up through the trees, they saw the bright searchlights shining down to the ground.

‘They’re looking for us,’ Joel said darkly.

Emily looked down at Pegasus and saw that in the dark, he appeared even whiter than before. He no longer looked like an ordinary horse. There was no mistaking that he was different. If the beam of a searchlight were to touch him, there would be no escape.

‘Joel, wait, we’ve got to stop. Please help me down.’

‘We can’t. We’re meeting your dad at the play area—’ Joel stopped when he saw Emily struggling to get down off Pegasus. ‘What is it?’ he said, helping her. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Pegs, you are just so brilliant white! We’ve got to do something about your colour,’ Emily turned to Joel. ‘He wasn’t like this when I first found him on the roof. Even last night he wasn’t this white. But look at him now! It’s like he’s becoming brighter by the minute.’

‘You’re right. He’s really starting to glow.’

Joel put the picnic hamper down on the ground and started to dig through their supplies. ‘While we were out shopping, I had an idea. We bought all we could.’

‘What did you get?’ Emily asked.

Joel held up a package, but in the dark, Emily couldn’t see what it was.

‘What is that?’

‘Hair dye,’ Joel explained. ‘We got ten packages. But there was one little problem: they aren’t all the same colour. We got dark brown and black.’ He paused and added, ‘They’re not the same brands either. Do you think that could cause a problem?’

Emily shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I used to help my mom colour her hair, but she always used the same kind. I don’t even know if this will work on a horse.’

Once again, Pegasus complained at the ‘H’ word.

‘I’m sorry, Pegs.’ Emily reached out to stroke his face. ‘But you know what I mean. This is meant for people. I just hope it doesn’t hurt you.’

‘We’ve got to try,’ Joel said. ‘He’s shining like a star. It won’t take long for the CRU to find us if he stays like that. It’s not so bad in daylight, but now he’s glowing like a beacon.’

The decision was made to use the hair dye before they went much further. They picked their way through the trees until they came to one of Central Park’s many ponds. The major work would be done under the cover of the trees, and they would only risk exposing themselves once it was time to rinse Pegasus off.

‘If you work with his head and mane, I’ll start with his tail and back end. We can meet in the middle,’ Joel suggested. ‘It’s too dark to read the instructions. Do you know what to do?’

Emily explained to Joel how her mother used to mix the chemicals together before applying it to her hair. They both put on the latex gloves that came with the packages and started to work.

‘I’m so sorry, Pegs,’ Emily apologized as she applied the dark, smelly liquid to his beautiful white face, ‘but this is to help hide you. We are going to try to make you look like a regular dark horse. That way, if anyone sees you, they’ll never know the truth.’

Covering the entire stallion seemed to take ages and used all of the dye that they had. They were careful not to get any on the feathers of his wings. When they finished applying the last of it, Emily pulled off her latex gloves.

‘Now we wait,’ she said as she sat down tiredly. Her leg was really starting to hurt. ‘It used to take my mother thirty minutes to set the colour.’

‘How about we give him thirty-five,’ Joel said, setting his digital watch and sitting beside her.

As they waited, they listened to the sounds of the helicopters endlessly searching the park. More than once, a helicopter passed directly over their heads, but the cover of trees kept them from being seen.

‘Time’s up,’ Joel finally said, helping Emily up.

‘Let’s get you rinsed off, Pegs,’ Emily said as she put on a fresh pair of gloves.

Leaving the protection of the trees, they looked up to check the position of the helicopters. The military were concentrating their efforts at the lower end of the park. Pegasus entered the dark water of the pond. Emily started to follow him in.

‘Emily, stop,’ Joel held up a warning hand.

‘But I can help,’ she protested.

‘Yeah, and your leg can get really infected by this filthy water,’ Joel argued. ‘Stay on the shore and keep watch. Let me know if anyone is coming.’

Emily resented being told what do to. She could do as much as he could. But deep down, she knew Joel was right. Her leg was throbbing badly. There was something seriously wrong with it. Adding dirty water would only make things worse.

‘All right,’ she agreed. ‘But be as quick as you can.’

Standing on the edge, Emily nervously watched the searching helicopters overhead as Joel led Pegasus into deeper water. The stallion submerged himself and Joel rubbed him down quickly.