Pegasus and the Origins of Olympus (22 page)

‘It was terrible,’ Seren started. ‘Vulcan’s workshop was destroyed. Theo tried to get Stella away, but there were too many dragons. When they attacked him, he shielded her with his body, but then crushed her when he died.’

Stella’s breathing returned to normal as Emily’s powers began to work. Colour returned to her face.

‘Hey, where’s Paelen?’ Joel looked around. ‘I thought he’d be here with Stella.’

The twin centaurs lowered their heads. ‘I am so sorry, Joel,’ Jasmine started. ‘Paelen and Brue were lost in the battle.’

‘What do you mean, “lost”?’ Emily gasped.

Seren told them of Paelen’s bravery against the dragons.

‘We tried to find his body after the fire, but there was nothing left,’ Jasmine added. ‘He and Brue were completely burned up.’

‘Paelen died saving us,’ Vulcan added gruffly, approaching Stella’s bed. ‘He drew the dragons away from the forge and gave us time to escape. He, Brue and Theo will be remembered always.’

‘Are you sure?’ Joel’s voice broke. ‘Maybe he got away.’

Vulcan patted him on the back. ‘I am so sorry, there is no mistake. He was killed by the dragons.’

‘Why?’ Joel cried. ‘Why did he do it?’

‘Joel, listen to me,’ Vulcan said. ‘Paelen was very old and fragile. He no longer had the strength of an Olympian. With the Titan weapon being developed, his ageing increased. He knew he would not last much longer so he chose his own time to die. Paelen may have been a notorious thief who liked to steal my tools, but he died a brave hero.’

Emily collapsed to the floor. She couldn’t speak and could barely breathe.

Joel fell beside her. ‘It’s my fault. I told him to stay here. I thought he and Stella would be safe away from the fighting.’

They clung to each other in disbelief.

How could this happen? They were a team. They were meant to be together always.

As night fell, a heavy silence filled the large encampment as they grieved over the many losses. No one spoke the words, but everyone feared that, even with Emily’s help, the war was lost.

A small campfire burned and cast embers into the sky as Joel fed another chunk of wood into the flames. ‘I really can’t believe he’s gone,’ he muttered.

Emily was too grief-stricken to speak. She had a special bond with Paelen and the cut ran deeper than she thought possible. Pegasus was on the ground behind her and nudged her gently.

Agent B spoke softly. ‘Listen to me,’ he said. ‘Yes, Paelen is gone. But if we win this war, if we destroy that damn weapon and hit the reset button, then when you go back to Xanadu, he will be there waiting for you. Just as young and strong and as much of a troublemaker as you remember him. Paelen’s sacrifice will not be in vain.’

Too filled with the loss of Paelen and Brue to sleep, Emily, Joel and Agent B spent the whole night sitting together.

At dawn Vulcan returned to their small camp. Everyone was surprised to see Stella with him. She was in a new golden wheelchair with a blanket covering her legs. The wheelchair was unlike anything they’d ever seen before. Stella did not have to use her arms to move it. There was no battery pack or motor to get it to go, it just moved on its own.

‘Stella,’ Joel called, ‘are you all right?’

Heaviness rested in her eyes. She looked like she hadn’t slept either. She nodded and smiled sadly at Vulcan. ‘Vulcan was up all night making this new chair for me. Her name is Maxine.’

‘Your wheelchair has a name?’ Joel asked.

Stella nodded. ‘She’s beautiful, isn’t she? Maxine will take me anywhere I ask her to. I still don’t know how he did it without his forge, but he did.’

Vulcan put his arm around Stella’s shoulders. ‘It is a special chair of wheels for a very special girl.’ He focused on Emily. ‘Up until now, Stella and Paelen would never tell me who they really were or where they came from. It was a secret they kept to themselves. But last night, Stella finally explained. She told me what happened to Olympus in the future, about Xanadu, who you all are and how you have come to destroy the Titan weapon. You have risked everything to be here for us.’

‘We had no choice,’ Emily said. ‘Not if Olympus is to survive.’

Agent B agreed. ‘This war must be won by the Olympians and that Titan weapon must be destroyed or there is no future for any of us.’

Vulcan nodded. ‘And so it will be. Now that I know what is at stake, I will do everything I can to see you all safely back home.’

Stella looked down at her hand. She pulled a ring off her finger and held it out to Emily. ‘Paelen asked me to give this to you right before he …’ her voice trailed off. She looked up at Emily. ‘He told me to tell you he loved you. He always has.’

Emily took the ring. It was a blue sapphire set in a beautiful silver band. Paelen knew her favourite stone was sapphire. ‘Where did he get it?’

Vulcan chuckled softly. ‘He stole it from Minerva. I made it for her ages ago.’

Emily offered him the ring. ‘Here, please give it back to her.’

Vulcan shook his head. ‘No, you keep it. Paelen wanted you to have it. I am sure Minerva will understand.’

Emily put the ring on her finger. She always knew Paelen cared for her, but she never realized just how much. ‘Oh Paelen …’

Stella nodded to Vulcan. ‘I think you should show them.’

Vulcan produced a sword. It was elegant in design and made of gold. A deep channel ran down the centre of the blade.

‘This is it,’ he said softly. ‘This is what Paelen died for. Stella’s sword. Even in the heat of battle, she kept it with her and protected it. If this works, we may stand a chance against the Shadow Titans.’

‘But the forge is gone,’ Stella said. ‘Even if it does work, we can’t make any more.’

‘We can build a new forge,’ Vulcan said. ‘I know the formula to this metal and we have your mould. If it works, we can start producing swords immediately.’

‘We still need to test it,’ Stella said.

‘Indeed we do.’ Vulcan approached Emily. ‘I understand you are grieving. But we need your help.’

Emily stood, but without enthusiasm. She felt like something inside her had died with Paelen.

‘Come on, Em,’ Joel put his arm around her. ‘Paelen wouldn’t want us to be defeated by this. We’ve got to keep going.’

Emily nodded. ‘I’ll try. What do you need me to do?’

After some failed attempts, Emily found a way to use her powers to keep Stella’s sword design burning. She discovered if she cut her finger and wiped a tiny amount of blood down the central channel, it would fuel the sword.

‘OK, so it’s burning,’ Emily said softly. ‘Now what?’

Vulcan grinned triumphantly. ‘We use it to burn up the Shadow Titans.’

Joel shook his head. ‘Fire doesn’t destroy them. We’ve already tried. It’s only Emily’s Flame that can do it. So even though your sword is burning, it’s still just fire.’

‘This is not simply a fiery sword, Joel,’ Vulcan said. ‘It is very special. Tell me, what do you need to destroy a shadow?’

Joel frowned. ‘I’m not sure.’

‘To remove a shadow, you need light,’ Agent B answered.

‘Exactly,’ Vulcan agreed. ‘Not fire, but light. The Shadow Titans are created from the shadows of the original Four Warriors. Vesta tells us that Emily contains the power of the sun. You are the only one who has been able to destroy the Shadow Titans with ease because you use your sun’s power. You use
light
.’

‘We thought this sword could contain some of your sun power,’ Stella explained. ‘If it works, it should be able to destroy a Shadow Titan as easily as you do.’

Agent B took the burning sword from Vulcan’s hand and inspected it closely. The flames along the shaft continued to burn brightly without destroying Emily’s blood. ‘You think this could win the war?’

‘It could help,’ Vulcan said.

Agent B swiped the sword in the air. No matter what he did or how he tried, the flames would not extinguish. ‘All we need now is to capture a Shadow Titan to test it.’

‘Already done,’ Vulcan said. ‘Stella and I wish to invite you to the test.’

As they walked to the test site, Joel pulled Emily aside and told the others to go on without them. He held up Emily’s hand and looked at the ring Paelen had given her.

‘I knew how Paelen felt about you. I’ve always known.’

Emily shook her head. ‘Why didn’t he ever say anything?’

‘Because Paelen was my best friend,’ Joel choked. ‘He knew my feelings for you, so he said nothing.’

‘Paelen knew?’

Joel nodded. ‘He said we both came from the same world so we were meant to be together. He said he would have to be content just being your friend.’

‘Oh, Paelen,’ Emily whispered. ‘I should have told him how I felt.’

‘What do you mean,“how you felt”?’ Joel’s voice sounded strained.

‘No, Joel, it’s not like that. I wasn’t in love with Paelen. I cared for him as a friend. It’s you I …’ she paused.

‘What?’

Emily dropped her head. The war was taking so many people away from her. She couldn’t let this moment pass without Joel knowing how she really felt. Finally she lifted her eyes. ‘I love you, Joel.’

Joel pulled Emily close. ‘I love you too.’

And he kissed her.

It was long and tender and filled with many promises.

When they arrived at the test site, they were surprised to see the Big Three. Emily heard that Venus had just returned from Tartarus to look for the Hundred-handers, but didn’t know if she had found them or not.

‘I was sorry to hear about Paelen.’ Jupiter walked towards Emily. ‘His was a great loss for all of us.’

Neptune nodded. ‘I think when this war ends, we should build a statue to him and Brue. I believe he would like that.’

Emily swallowed and nodded. ‘He would.’

Beside Emily, Pegasus nickered softly.

‘Pegasus says he is ageing faster,’ Neptune translated. ‘Saturn must be nearing completion of the weapon.’

‘We’ve got to destroy it before you all get older,’ Joel cried.

‘Have you not noticed?’ Neptune said. ‘We are already ageing.’

Jupiter gave Emily a wide grin that deepened his dimples. ‘Yes, I am losing my youthful glow! Do I not look older to you? More mature?’ He flexed his arms and puffed out his broad chest. ‘I am not as handsome as before.’

Emily chuckled at what he was trying to do to cheer her up. There was something about him that so much reminded her of Paelen. A cheekiness that constantly surprised her. ‘You look fine, Jupiter.’

‘Stop it, Jupe,’ Neptune said. ‘Leave the poor girl alone.’ He looked at the others. ‘This is why we have gathered together here. The time has come to make our final move on Titus before Father launches that weapon on us.’

Vulcan held up the flame-sword. ‘This is the weapon we spoke of. Emily worked out a way to light it. We are about to test it on the Shadow Titans you brought in.’

‘This should be fun,’ Jupiter said, rubbing his hands together. ‘Bring them forward.’

A gigantic crab ambled sideways on multiple legs towards them. Two large nets were suspended high in the crab’s front claws. Trapped inside the nets were Shadow Titans. The warriors were silent as they tried to fight and cut their way free.

‘These represent the four types of warriors,’ Jupiter said. ‘Vulcan, test your sword.’

Inside the nearest net were a Minotaur Shadow and a Turtle Shadow. They were thrashing and struggling to get out. When they saw Vulcan approach, they tried to reach through the net to grab him.

‘They’re just like zombies,’ Joel whispered to Emily. ‘Not frightened for themselves. All they want to do is kill.’

‘I hope this works.’ Emily was standing with Pegasus and could feel him shivering as though he were cold. But it was a warm day. ‘Are you OK, Pegs?’

The stallion nodded and leaned in closer to her. There was something about the way he moved that frightened her. She was reminded of old Chiron right before he … Emily stopped the thought. Paelen’s loss was too fresh and painful. Instead she focused on the test.

With the flaming sword held high, Vulcan slashed at the net. The ropes gave way and the two Shadow Titans crashed to the ground. The crowd gasped as the Shadow Warriors advanced on him.

With the skills of working with weapons all his life, Vulcan dodged the Shadow Titans’ attacks. With a single, quick slash, he cut the Minotaur Shadow in half. The hollow armour collapsed to the ground in pieces and became still. With a second swipe, the Turtle Shadow followed the first.

The Olympians went wild. They clapped their hands and roared as Vulcan made quick work of the Blackbird and Dragon Shadows.

‘Pegasus, it worked!’ Emily cried as she threw her arms around his neck. ‘I wish you could see. The Shadow Titans fell apart when Vulcan touched them with the sword.’

Pegasus whinnied and nodded his head.

Vulcan waved the flame-sword in the air triumphantly. He called Stella forward and ensured that everyone knew it was her design that defeated the Shadow Titans. While Stella’s name was being chanted by the crowd, Vulcan called to his workers. ‘Build me a forge, we have weapons to make!’

Vulcan’s new forge burned night and day as the workshop produced flame-swords. Stella worked closely with Vulcan, supervising the construction of more moulds. Soon they were being produced in their thousands.

Emily charged each blade with a small amount of her blood. As soon as a sword was finished and lit, it was given to an Olympian and they were sent back out on to the battlefield.

While the main battle continued, Jupiter and his war chamber gathered together, and requested that Emily, Pegasus, Joel and Agent B join them. First to speak were Venus and Minerva as they gave their full reports on what they had learned on their spy missions.

The good news was they had found where the Hundred-handers were being held on Tartarus. It would be difficult and dangerous to free them, but not impossible. Thousands of Shadow Titans guarded the prison, but with the new flame-swords, and enough fighters, they stood a chance of breaking in.

An unexpected bonus was that they had discovered the Four Warriors were also in Tartarus. They were kept locked in the deep underground prison. It was from this location that Shadow Titans emerged in a steady stream of fighters.