Pegasus and the Flame (24 page)

‘Emily, you spent several days with the stallion,’ Agent O pointed out. ‘And more than enough time with Diana to know what’s going on and why they are really here.’

As Emily started to protest, Paelen saw Agent J hold up a warning finger. ‘Don’t bother. I know you are still holding back on us. Rest tonight, because tomorrow we are going to discuss everything again.’

Without another word, they left the room. While the orderly set up her dinner tray and rolled it closer to the bed, the nurse helped Emily get her leg settled in the support strapping.

‘If I were you, I’d tell them what they want to know,’ the nurse warned. ‘Those agents are not nice men.’

‘I’ve already told them everything,’ Emily cried. ‘What more do they want?’

‘They want the truth. And one way or another, they are going to get it. But how they get it is up to you.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You can give them what they want. Or believe me, they know ways you’ve never imagined to get everything out of you.’

Emily threw up her arms in the air. ‘How can I tell them what I don’t know?’

‘I don’t know, dear. But by morning, you’d better have more to say or tomorrow could very well be the worst day of your life.’

When she finished, the nurse and orderly left the room. Emily angrily shoved the tray table away from the bed.

‘I would eat if I were you,’ Paelen called softly down from the vent. ‘You do not know when you might be fed again.’

Emily’s eyes shot up to the vent. ‘Paelen!’

The thief ’s fingers gently pushed the grill away from the wall. After seeing him do it yesterday, watching him stretch out his body wasn’t quite as horrifying; though the sounds of his cracking bones still set her nerves on edge.

‘I’m so glad you’re here,’ Emily said. ‘Did you hear what the nurse said to me? They’re going to torture me tomorrow.’

Paelen nodded. ‘I also heard what you told them today when you were with Pegasus.’

‘You were there?’ Emily said incredulously. ‘How? I didn’t hear you in the vent. Don’t they miss you when you leave your room?’

‘You forget I am a thief,’ said Paelen. ‘Keeping silent is one of my special skills. They gave up checking on me once they discovered that they can not make me speak. They leave me alone for most of the day and all night. They seem to have concentrated all their efforts on you. Though I must admit Joel has not had it easy either.’

‘You’ve seen Joel?’ Emily asked anxiously. ‘How is he? How is my father?’

‘Joel is relatively unharmed,’ Paelen said. ‘But I am sorry to say they have used violent force on him to get him to speak. Much to his credit, so far, like you, he has told them very little. But I do not know how much longer he can hold out against their torture. He is angry, but also very determined. He attacked me the first time he heard my name.’

‘Sorry, that was my fault,’ Emily said sheepishly. ‘I told him what you’d done to Pegasus with his bridle. But Joel is really nice once you get to know him. He’s angry on the outside, but really gentle on the inside.’

‘He has calmed somewhat.’ Paelen pushed the dinner tray back to Emily. ‘Now, please eat. You will need your strength for what you are facing.’ Paelen saw the fear rising in her eyes. ‘Whatever happens, Emily, I will be there with you. Please don’t give up.’

‘I won’t,’ Emily said as she picked at her food. She reached for the bowl of chocolate pudding and handed it to him. ‘Here, you need this more than me.’

Paelen gratefully accepted the pudding. He had been back to the kitchens several times, but most of the sugary foods he’d stolen had gone to Pegasus and Diana to build up their strength. He had kept very little for himself.

‘How do you think Pegasus is doing?’ Emily asked as she ate without interest.

‘Recovering,’ Paelen said. ‘He is eating well and his strength is returning.’

‘He looked dead when I first saw him today,’ Emily said. Her voice shook. ‘It really scared me. But then his breathing became steadier and he moved a bit.’

‘Pegasus really cares about you,’ Paelen told her. ‘I have no doubt that seeing you today did more to help him than all the ice cream I have been taking to him.’

Emily smiled and it brightened her whole face.

‘He sure does love his ice cream,’ she said. Then her expression dropped. ‘We’ve got to get him out of here. You and Diana too. You don’t belong in this world. If we don’t go soon, I’m afraid they will kill Pegasus just to see how he works.’

‘I have a similar fear,’ Paelen admitted. ‘I have pushed my luck to the limit. They are furious at me for not cooperating. If I am not careful, I am sure they will try to kill me too.’

‘OK,’ Emily said. ‘So when do we go?’

Paelen studied her in fascination. He could see the ideas spinning around in her head. ‘Soon,’ he answered.

‘You must get Pegasus’s bridle to Diana so she can make weapons with it to take back to Olympus,’ Emily said. ‘That’s the only thing that can kill the Nirads. Then we’ve got to get my dad and Joel out of their rooms.’

Paelen sucked in his breath and held it. Finally he let it out slowly. ‘Emily, there is something I must tell you. Your father is not here.’

A frown creased the smooth skin between her brows. ‘What do you mean he’s not here?’ she asked. ‘He has to be here.’

Paelen shook his head. ‘Mercury’s sandals will take me anywhere I tell them to,’ he told her. ‘Last night I instructed them to take me to your father. They carried me out of this place and high up into the night sky. We crossed over the water and were moving away from this small island.’

‘Where is he? Where did the sandals take you?’

‘I do not know,’ Paelen admitted. ‘I told the sandals to stop. I had them bring me back so I could help all of you.’

‘Wait,’ Emily said puzzled, ‘so you were out of here? You were free?’

Paelen nodded.

‘Why didn’t you go? Diana said you were a thief that only thought of yourself. I don’t understand.’

‘I could have left,’ Paelen said. ‘I must admit, I did consider it for a moment. But then I thought of Pegasus and Diana. What would happen to them? And then I thought of you. I realized I could not leave you to the mercy of these people.’

‘So you came back for us?’

‘Yes,’ Paelen admitted. ‘I am the only one who can reach everyone. It is me who can help free all of us from this wretched place.’

Paelen saw the deepening confusion in her face. Could she really think so ill of him that she couldn’t imagine he could change?

‘I am so sorry I could not find your father.’

Tears were rimming Emily’s eyes. ‘Do you think he’s dead?’

‘I do not think so. The sandals were taking me to him,’ Paelen pointed out. ‘I doubt that they would have done so if he had died. For reasons I do not know, they are holding your father elsewhere.’

‘But where?’ Emily said. ‘And why? What are they doing to him?’

‘I am sorry, I do not know,’ Paelen said softly. ‘But the rest of us can get still get away. Then perhaps we can find your father and free him.’

Emily sniffed back her tears and wiped her nose. ‘We still need that bridle first.’

‘Then I shall go get it,’ Paelen promised. ‘I will bring it back here and then we can plan our escape.’

When Paelen was gone, Emily lay back and tried not to let fear for her father overwhelm her. But it was impossible. She had yet to meet one nice or decent CRU agent. They were all just as cruel and evil as her father had told her.

Were they torturing him right now? What were they doing? Paelen had said that they had already tortured Joel to get him to speak. What had they done to him?

As she settled, she tried to calm herself. It wasn’t completely hopeless. Paelen was free to wander the facility. He was clever and agile. But more than that, he cared. With his help, they would get back down to Pegasus. Then they could free Diana and Joel and start to look for her father.

Emily replayed the events of the day in her mind. Not the questions and not the frightening faces of the agents, she thought about Pegasus. At first, he had seemed so vulnerable. But as the day progressed, she definitely felt him growing stronger. She knew he was pretending to be weaker than he was. Pegasus understood that if he made a move, he would put all of them in danger. So he did as she asked and played along.

But would Pegasus be strong enough to rise and escape with them? If he couldn’t get up, would the four of them be strong enough to lift and carry him?

Emily was just starting to calm herself when loud, shrieking sirens burst through the silence of the facility. She sat up and listened to the sudden pounding of heavy footsteps and shouting in the hall outside her door. It seemed like countless people were running up and down the halls in a panic.

Paelen!
she thought as fear gripped her heart.
He’s been caught!
The thought tore through her brain like a bullet. All their plans for escape vanished in an instant. Paelen had been their only hope to get away. Now that was gone.

But just as despair threatened to crush her completely, Emily heard Paelen’s voice calling her name urgently above the din of the angry alarms.

‘Emily!’ he cried through the vent.

Emily looked up and saw him shove the vent open. He cried out in pain as he stretched out his body faster than she’d ever seen before and poured himself through the vent. She saw the light glinting off the golden bridle he clutched in his hand.

‘Paelen, they know you’ve escaped!’ Emily cried. ‘You must get out of here! Get the bridle to Diana and then go to Pegs. You can’t get caught now.’

‘It is not I who has caused this mayhem. It is the Nirads. They are here! They have come for you and Pegasus!’

‘Nirads!’ Emily cried. ‘I thought they couldn’t cross water.’

‘It now appears they found a way,’ Paelen said. ‘I must get you out of here.’ He was bending down to put on a beautiful pair of sandals. They had tiny wings and were covered in jewels. Emily gasped. Mercury’s sandals!

‘Paelen, look at my leg,’ she said. ‘I can’t walk. Leave me here. You’ve got to free Diana and Pegs. You’re their only hope. Please save them.’

‘I will,’ Paelen promised. ‘But I just saw Pegasus. He is up and moving around. He said he would kill me if I did not bring you to him. I have betrayed him once. I will not do so again.’

Paelen threw back her covers and went to undo the support on her leg. ‘I am sorry, but this may hurt.’

‘I don’t care about that,’ Emily said. ‘Just get me free.’ She winced while her leg was undone from the support straps. ‘Have you seen the Nirads? How many are there?’

‘I have not seen them,’ Paelen admitted. ‘But I can smell them. There are more than a few. The men of the facility are gathering to fight them. But they will fail. We do not have a lot of time before they reach us.’

Paelen handed the golden bridle to Emily. ‘Here, keep hold of this. If a Nirad comes near us, hit him with it,’ he said. ‘But do not throw it at him. We will need it.’ He turned and offered her his back. ‘Climb on. These sandals can carry both faster than I can run.’

Emily held the bridle carefully and climbed on to Paelen’s back. ‘Am I too heavy for you?’ she asked.

He turned to give her a crooked grin. ‘Hardly! Now hold on.’

Paelen carried Emily over to the door and pressed the code to open the lock. As they entered the hall, the sounds of the alarms reached a terrifying pitch. Emily was shocked to see a mass of armed soldiers charging through the long corridor.

‘You two, get back into your room,’ ordered one of the men as he charged past.

Paelen ignored the order. ‘Are you ready?’ he shouted above the sirens.

‘Go!’ Emily shouted.

She clutched Pegasus’s bridle and wrapped her arms tightly around Paelen as he shouted a string of strange words. Suddenly they were jerked up into the air.

‘Get me to Diana as quickly as possible!’ Paelen ordered.

When Paelen said the sandals could move faster than he could run, Emily had no idea just how fast that could be. She held on for dear life as the sandals darted them forward through the crowds of soldiers in the corridor. When they approached the stairwell, Paelen barely had time to hold out an arm to push the door open before the sandals drove them through.

They flew down the stairs at a terrifying pace, knocking soldiers out of the way as they went. When they reached Diana’s level, the terrifying grunts and roars of Nirads could be heard from above.

‘They’re in the stairwell!’ Emily called into Paelen’s ear.

Paelen cursed. ‘Hold on tighter, I am going to order the sandals to move faster.’

‘Faster?’ Emily shrieked.

In the time it would have taken for Emily to scream in terror, the sandals tore through the stairwell doors on Diana’s level and flew down the corridor, coming to an abrupt stop outside a locked door.

As the area emptied of soldiers heading towards the stairwell, Paelen lowered Emily to the floor. ‘Stay well back, I am going to break it down.’

Standing on her good leg, Emily watched Paelen approach the door. ‘Diana, it is I, Paelen!’ he shouted through the door over the alarms. ‘Get out of your chains if you can. The Nirads are here. We must go!’

He stood away from the door and looked down at the sandals. ‘Lift me up,’ he cried, ‘and break down the door!’

Obeying the order, the sandals lifted Paelen in the air. Then as their tiny wings flapped at a speed too fast to see, Paelen let out a short cry. Emily wasn’t sure whether it was a battle cry, or the sheer terror of flying feet first into a heavily secured door. Whatever it was, it rose well above the screaming alarms as he was carried forward and used as a battering ram to smash down the door like it was made of popsicle sticks.

The door exploded under the impact of Paelen’s body. Emily hopped over to the threshold and peered in. Paelen was lying in an unconscious heap in the corner.

‘Emily!’ Diana cried, tearing away the last of the chains restraining her. ‘I am so pleased to see you!’ She knelt and checked Paelen for serious wounds. ‘Foolish little thief,’ she said gently. ‘There must have been a better way for you to open the door without knocking yourself silly.’