Pegasus and the Flame (16 page)

‘Then you are failing in your attempt!’ Diana spat. She pointed at the dead horse. ‘I have been away far too long. When this is over and my world is restored, I will return. This will not be allowed to happen again. Such places as this will know my wrath.’

She looked at Joel. ‘You said you knew of me from your books?’ she said. ‘Then you know I feel about animals. I will not tolerate this kind of abuse.’ She crossed to another stall and started to open the door. ‘These horses must be set free. This is no life for them.’

‘I agree with you completely,’ Steve said. He stepped over to Diana and put his hand over hers. ‘But we don’t have time to help them all. Diana, listen to me. We don’t have long before those two guys wake up or someone else notices we’re here. We may have already tripped some alarms. Who do you think will be interested to hear of a break-in at a livery stable? A LIVERY STABLE, Diana. The CRU, that’s who. And who will they think of?’ Without waiting for an answer, he pointed at Pegasus. ‘They’ll think of him. We must get out of here as quickly as possible.’

Pegasus stomped his foot and started to whinny. Diana paused. Finally she calmed as she walked over to the stallion and patted his neck.

‘Of course, my dear friend, you are correct.’

She looked at the others. ‘We must get the carriage and go. I will come back to free these horses later.’

Emily looked at the other sad horses in their tiny stalls anxiously waiting for Diana to open their doors. Her heart went out to them. When this was over, she promised she would join Diana in freeing them all.

On the way down the ramp, Emily saw one of the unconscious men starting to stir. It wouldn’t be long before he woke up.

When they made it back down to the main floor, Joel led the way towards the back of the building.

‘We found this in their storage area,’ Joel explained as he pointed at a broken-down white carriage. It was resting on its side. The top canopy was torn, but its wheels and frame looked sturdy enough. ‘They won’t notice it missing as quickly as they would one of the better ones.’

‘I also found us these.’ Steve held up two sets of overalls. ‘I can’t exactly go out dressed like this.’ He indicated his police uniform. ‘And Diana? You certainly can’t go out in those rags.’

Diana nodded. Without a word, she took the overalls and went to another area to change.

Emily stood wearily by Pegasus’s head as her father, Diana and Joel did their best to hook the stallion up to the carriage. As they fought and argued how best to get the harnesses on him, Emily realized just how different the stallion was to horses. His entire frame was much bigger and none of the harnesses came close to fitting. The huge set of wings didn’t help.

In the end, they had to piece together several parts of multiple harnesses to get the stallion roughly hooked up to the carriage. Pegasus refused to allow the leather straps to go over the top of his wings, which would bind them down to his body. He insisted that they remain unrestricted. In order to achieve this, they had to try to attach everything under his massive wings, and hoped that the blanket would cover them enough not to look too suspicious in daylight.

‘Forgive me for doing this to you, my old friend,’ Diana said softly. ‘You deserve better.’

Emily looked at Pegasus, dyed a poor mottled dark brown and black, as he stood tethered to the tatty old white carriage. He was covered in harnesses that didn’t fit and wearing a full heavy bridle that rested uncomfortably on his face. He looked nothing like the majestic winged stallion that had crashed on her roof a few nights ago. Emily felt terrible for having to do this to him.

‘I’m sorry too, Pegs,’ she mumbled, leaning heavily against him. ‘We just have to get out of the city and then we can take it all off you again.’

Pegasus let out a soft nicker and licked Emily’s face. His tongue lingered on her cheek for a moment. He neighed to Diana.

‘Fever?’ Diana looked at Emily. She raised her hand to Emily’s forehead and frowned. ‘You do have a fever.’

‘What?’ Steve also felt Emily’s forehead and face. ‘Em, you’re burning up!’

Emily knew Pegasus had done it for her. But his timing couldn’t have been worse. ‘I don’t feel very well,’ she finally admitted. ‘I think it’s my leg.’

‘Let me see it,’ her father insisted.

Emily was helped up into the carriage. Her father started to undo the bandages covering her wounded leg. ‘My God,’ he cried when he saw the raging infection caused by the Nirad’s claws. ‘Why didn’t you say something?’

‘I couldn’t. We’ve got to worry about keeping Pegasus safe from the CRU and the Nirads. He’s got to find the Daughter of Vesta and get her back to Olympus to relight the Flame.’

‘Emily is correct,’ Diana said. ‘Relighting the Flame of Olympus is the only hope for both our worlds.’

‘We have to get her to a hospital!’ Steve insisted. ‘Look at her. She isn’t well!’

Pegasus started to whinny and pound the floor.

‘Pegasus does not agree with you,’ Diana said. ‘He knows very well she is ill. But the Nirads have tasted her blood also. They can track her. If you were to take her somewhere for care, I assure you, the Nirads will follow. She must stay with us so we can protect her.’

Joel held up the picnic hamper. ‘We’ve got more medicated cream and fresh bandages in here,’ he assured Steve. ‘We can clean up her leg and get it wrapped again. Then when we find the Daughter of Vesta and Pegasus takes her back to Olympus, we’ll get Emily to the hospital.’

‘Dad, it’s the only way,’ Emily added weakly. ‘Keeping Pegasus safe is much more important than me. If he fails his quest, the Nirads will destroy our world. Then whether I’m sick or not won’t matter.’

Steve sighed. He reluctantly lifted Emily out of the carriage and carried her over to a slop sink to thoroughly clean her wounds. He applied the last of the medicated cream and bandaged her leg again.

‘That won’t last long,’ he said as he finished.

‘It won’t have to,’ Emily said. ‘Just long enough for us to get Pegs out of the city—’

Suddenly Pegasus started to shriek.

‘Nirads!’ Diana cried as she sniffed the air. ‘They are coming.’

‘From where?’ Steve asked.

‘That way!’ Diana picked up her spear and pointed at the tall grey metal roller door.

‘That’s the only way out. We’re trapped!’ Joel cried.

From above they heard the sound of the horses reacting to the approach of the Nirads. They were shrieking in their stalls and pounding wildly against the doors.

‘I’ve got an idea!’ Steve cried. ‘Joel, Diana, come with me. Em, you stay here with Pegasus. If they break down the door, make a run for it. You’ve got to get away.’

‘What are you going to do?’ Emily cried.

‘We’re going to release the horses.’

Pegasus was pawing the ground and snorting angrily as the sickening growling sounds of the Nirads approached the large grey metal door.

‘What’s going on here?’

Emily saw the two men Diana had attacked come stumbling down the ramp. Their faces were bruised and bloodied and they were limping from their encounter with the enraged Olympian.

‘You attacked us!’ shouted one of the men. ‘Who are you?’ His eyes fell on Pegasus, harnessed to the old white carriage. ‘Where did that horse come from? He’s not one of ours.’

‘But that carriage is!’ said the other man angrily.

‘Please listen to me,’ Emily pointed at the roller door. ‘There are four-armed creatures out there that are after us. They’ll kill you if they see you. They don’t know you’re here. Just hide until we’re gone!’

The men went pale as they heard the awful sounds coming from outside the stable.

‘Four-armed what?’ one of them said weakly.

‘Creatures, monsters, demons,’ Emily said. ‘Whatever you want to call them. We’re going to free the horses to distract them so we can get away. Please listen to me, you have to hide!’

From above came more sounds of shrieking horses, kicking at their doors. They were becoming frantic in their stalls.

‘You aren’t freeing my horses,’ one of the men shouted. They both turned and started back up the ramp. ‘Just stay where you are. We’re calling the cops!’

Everyone heard the sound of pounding on the floors above, then the rush of hooves racing down the ramp. Both men jumped aside as the first of the horses arrived. They wildly charged the carriage, panic in their eyes.

Emily was certain they would stampede and knock it over. But Pegasus opened both his wings just in time and reared up on his hind legs. Still in the carriage, Emily was lifted high in the air. The stallion let out a shrieking whinny that stopped the terrified horses in their tracks.

‘What the heck is going on here!’ One of the men cried as his eyes went wide at the sight of the stallion’s huge white wings. He looked back at Emily. ‘Who are you?’

‘What are you?’ demanded the other.

The Nirads began to pound at the grey door. Their snarling, growling roars promised a terrible death to everyone if they managed to get in.

‘Dad!’ Emily screamed up the ramp as the carriage crashed down again. ‘They’re here!’

‘We’re coming!’ Joel called down as more horses arrived from above. Emily could see the flared nostrils and wild terror in their eyes as the frightened animals gathered around Pegasus. The stallion was back down on all fours, but his wings were quivering and he was shaking his head with rage.

Steve, Joel and Diana reappeared, pushing through the horses on the ramp to make it to the carriage. When Diana saw the two men, she charged forward furiously.

‘You deserve the fate awaiting you behind that door for what you have done to these horses. Do not expect any help from me. You are at the mercy of the Nirads!’

‘Diana, we don’t have time,’ Steve warned. ‘Get upstairs and hide,’ he advised the terrified men. ‘The Nirads want us, not you. Keep hidden and you might just survive!’

Without waiting to be told twice, the men pushed through the panicked horses and dashed up the ramp.

‘We’re still calling the cops!’

‘Go ahead,’ Steve called. ‘I
am
a cop!’

‘Dad,’ Emily shouted, pointing at the roller door. ‘They’re trying to tear the door down.’

The heavy metal was starting to buckle under the brutal impact of the Nirads’ fists.

‘That door isn’t going to hold for long.’ Steve raced to Pegasus and snatched up the blanket from where it lay on the ground. ‘The moment the door goes, the horses should charge forward. With luck they’ll cut a way through the Nirads for us. Pegasus, it will be up to you to get us away from here as quickly as possible.’

Pegasus snorted and shook his head. His sharp hooves pounded the concrete beneath him as his wild eyes watched the roller door starting to give.

Steve leaped into the carriage and snatched up the reins. Joel and Diana vaulted in behind him.

‘Hold on tight everyone,’ Steve warned as he took the driver’s seat. He snatched up the reins. ‘This is going to be bumpy.’

More dents were forming in the heavy metal of the grey roller door. It started to give at the top. The long sharp claws of multiple Nirad fingers appeared and ripped at it.

The door finally tore free of its rails and gave way. It crashed backward on to the street, trapping two Nirads beneath it.

Pegasus shrieked. The horses panicked. Wild with terror, they started to stampede. They raced over the collapsed door and crushed the Nirads beneath. Without concern for their fallen warriors, other Nirads sprang forward and tried to force their way past the charging horses.

‘Pegasus, go!’ Steve shouted. ‘Go now!’

Emily felt the carriage jerk forward as Pegasus started to run. Several Nirads fought to climb over the terrified horses and charge towards them. One of them leaped in the air, passed over the top of the panicking horses and landed on the side of the carriage. While two arms clung to the carriage, the other two reached for Emily and started to pull at her hair. Emily screamed clawing at the heavy muscled arms as the Nirad drew her closer.

Joel reacted instantly. He went for the Nirad’s eyes. But the Nirad fought back. It released one of its arms holding on to the carriage and swung at Joel, knocking him back with a brutal blow just as Diana raised her spear and lunged forward.

When the golden tip struck the Nirad’s exposed chest, it released Emily and howled in agony, then fell away from the carriage.

‘Hang on!’ Emily’s father cried as they approached the collapsed door.

Pegasus charged up the metal door. The carriage immediately followed. With the two Nirads still trapped beneath it, the broken door worked as a ramp. The carriage sailed off the end and flew several metres into the air.

Everyone screamed.

The carriage crashed down to the ground. Although the occupants were tossed down to the floor, somehow the carriage remained upright. Without pausing, Pegasus sprang forward at full speed along 50th Street.

Emily struggled to climb back up in the seat. She peered back to the livery stable and gasped. More Nirads were charging forward, raising their four arms in threat and howling with rage at losing them. They ignored the panicked horses as they concentrated on chasing the carriage.

‘Go, Pegs, go!’ Emily screamed.

Emily was only able to count to twelve before she lost track of how many Nirads were following them. With the two still under the door, that made at least fourteen Nirads in New York City, all hunting them.

‘Emily, are you all right?’ Diana anxiously checked Emily for fresh cuts. ‘Did they wound you?’

Emily shook her head and gingerly prodded her painful scalp. ‘No, I’m fine. But I think I’m going to have a bald patch where that thing ripped out my hair.’

‘That’s nothing,’ Joel complained, clutching his side. ‘I think I’ve got broken ribs! Those Nirads really pack a punch.’

‘They bested Hercules,’ Diana explained. ‘It is no surprise that they should defeat you.’

After several more blocks, Pegasus slowed to a trot. A few blocks later and he stopped completely. Everyone climbed shakily out of the carriage.

Emily limped up to Pegasus and stroked his muzzle. ‘Are you all right, Pegs?’