Pegasus and the Fight for Olympus (2 page)

‘You’re kidding, right?’ Joel smirked. ‘Paelen, we look like rejects from a gladiator movie! Look at me, I’m wearing a dress!’

‘It’s a tunic,’ Emily corrected him, ‘and I think it suits you.’ She looked down at her own beautiful tunic made from fine white embroidered silk with an intricate braided gold belt at her waist. The material ended halfway up her thighs and above the golden brace on her damaged left leg, leaving it exposed. Emily had never felt embarrassed to show the deep, angry scars from the Nirad wounds she received in New York while she was on Olympus. The Olympians regarded them as a badge of honour. She had earned them in the service of Olympus and they had taught her to be proud of them. But as she gazed down at her leg now, she realized that the deep scars and leg brace wouldn’t be viewed as positively in her world.

‘Joel’s right,’ she agreed. ‘I can’t go back there like this either. We’ve got to hide this valuable gold brace.’

Pegasus started to neigh and Paelen translated. ‘If anyone should try to steal it from you, Pegasus would defend you, as would Joel and I.’ A playful twinkle returned to his eyes. ‘Of course, should that fail, you could always set yourself on fire again. That would surely scare off any attackers!’

‘Thanks, Paelen,’ Emily teased as she shoved him lightly. Then she patted Pegasus on the neck. ‘And thank you, Pegs. But I still think we will need to find other clothing.’

‘Other clothing for what?’

Emily looked up at the owner of the new voice. Despite all the time they’d been in Olympus, she still couldn’t get over the sight of Cupid. Seeing Pegasus’s wings had been strange at the beginning. But somehow they suited him. She couldn’t imagine him without them. But looking at this teenager with colourful, pheasant-like feathered wings on his back was something else.

Cupid pulled in his wings and landed neatly in the maze before them. ‘So where are you going that you need new clothing?’ he asked.

‘None of your business,’ Joel shot. ‘Didn’t your mother ever teach you any manners? It’s not polite to listen in on other people’s conversation.’

‘Of course,’ Cupid said. ‘But she also taught me that whenever humans and Olympians mix, there is always trouble. And what do I see before my curious eyes? A
human
mixing with Olympians.’

Cupid smiled radiantly at Emily and it set her heart fluttering. She had a terrible crush on him, and he knew it. He was the most beautiful Olympian she had ever met, with his strong, lean figure. He had fine features, light sandy blond hair, and sculpted sapphire blue eyes that sparkled and teased. His skin was like polished marble without any of the blemishes of acne or birthmarks that plague most teenagers. Though Cupid was very old, he looked no more than sixteen or seventeen.

Emily stole a glance at Joel and saw his temper starting to flare. The way Cupid pronounced the word ‘human’ was always meant as an insult. ‘Get out of here, Cupid,’ Joel warned. ‘This is a private conversation and you are not welcome.’

‘Is this true?’ Cupid said slyly to Emily. ‘Do you really wish me to go?’

The intensity of his stare kept the words from forming on her lips. Everything about him was trouble. Joel had told her some of the myths concerning Cupid. She knew that, like a coward, he had fled the area when the Nirads first attacked and had stayed away until the danger had gone. Yet despite all this, she couldn’t tell him to go.

Before the moment became awkward, Pegasus stepped forward and snorted loudly.

‘Trouble?’ Cupid repeated as he turned and feigned innocence to the stallion. ‘I am not causing trouble. I just wanted to speak with the Flame.’

‘Her name is Emily,’ Paelen said defensively. He moved to stand in front of Emily to block her from Cupid. ‘Do not call her Flame.’

‘And I told you to leave,’ Joel added, taking position beside Paelen and crossing his arms over his chest.

‘Or what?’ Cupid challenged. ‘What will you do to me,
human
?’

Once again Pegasus snorted and pounded the ground with a golden hoof. There was no mistaking the warning. Emily saw fear rise in Cupid’s eyes. Even Paelen took a cautious step back from the stallion.

‘There is no need to lose your temper, Pegasus.’ Cupid held up his hands in surrender. ‘I shall go.’

His wings opened as he prepared to fly. But before turning from Emily, Cupid plucked a colourful feather from under his right wing and placed it in her hair. ‘Something to put under your pillow to remember me by,’ he teased as he jumped into the air and flapped his large wings. ‘See you later, Flame!’

Pegasus reared on his hind legs, opened his own huge wings and shrieked after him.

As Cupid escaped he turned and waved back at her, laughing as he went.

‘I came this close to hitting him!’ Joel said, balling his hands into fists.

‘Me too,’ Paelen agreed.

Returning back beside her, Pegasus gently nudged Emily and nickered softly.

‘You must stay away from Cupid,’ Paelen explained. ‘Pegasus says he is trouble. Even more than … what?’ Paelen turned sharply to the stallion. ‘Me? Pegasus, how can you compare Cupid to me? We are nothing alike. I may have been a thief, but Cupid is a trouble-making coward and I resent being compared to him. And what about you?’ Paelen turned to Emily. He pulled the feather from her hair and tossed it to the ground. ‘You should have told him to go. Cupid would think nothing of handing you over to the Nirads if it meant saving his own skin and feathers. Stay away from him!’

Emily watched in complete confusion as Paelen stormed off into the maze and disappeared. Paelen had never raised his voice to her before, or shown any traces of anger. ‘What did I do?’

Joel looked at her in surprise. ‘You really don’t know?’

When she shook her head, he continued, ‘Never mind, we’ve got bigger things to worry about. You must learn to control those powers of yours before we leave. You’ve got your training session with Vesta. Keep it and learn as much as you can.’

As Joel walked away, Emily turned to Pegasus and shook her head. ‘You know something, Pegs? The older I get, the more confused I am. Can you please tell me what just happened here?’

Pegasus gently nudged her and led her back towards Jupiter’s palace to find Vesta.

Emily spent a long afternoon back in the Temple of the Flame struggling to learn how to master her powers.

Vesta patiently explained how to pull back the flame, to control it. But every time Emily summoned the powers, they became uncontrollable, and flames shot wildly from her hands and around the Temple.

‘I can’t do it,’ Emily complained, defeated.

‘Child, you must focus,’ Vesta scolded. ‘I can see your mind is elsewhere. If you are not careful, you will lose control of your powers completely and hurt yourself as you did earlier today.’

Emily’s eyes shot over to where Pegasus stood at the entrance of the Temple. He lowered his head guiltily. He must have told Vesta about her burning her own foot.

‘Thanks, Pegs,’ she muttered.

‘Do not blame Pegasus for telling me what happened,’ Vesta said. ‘He cares about you and does not wish to see you harmed.’ Vesta rested her hands on Emily’s shoulders. ‘Emily, you must understand. You are the living Flame of Olympus. Your power feeds the flame here in this Temple and it keeps us alive. Countless generations ago, I took the heart of the Flame to your world and hid it in a child. It has passed from girl to girl throughout the ages until it finally reached you. You were born with this power. I am sorry that we have had to summon it from within you to save Olympus. But the moment you sacrificed yourself in this Temple you changed. Emily, you carry the power of the sun deep within you. If you do not harness these powers soon, you may do yourself and everyone around you a great harm.’

Emily looked down at her burned sandal. She already knew how dangerous her powers were. She had accidentally burned up enough items in her quarters to prove it. It was reaching the point where she was running out of secret hiding places for the singed victims of her powers.

‘I’m sorry,’ she finally said. ‘I’ll try harder.’

Turning back to the plinth, she looked into the brightly burning flames. They were fed by her and were the only things in Olympus her powers couldn’t damage.

‘All right,’ Vesta said patiently. ‘Look into the flames. I want you to focus on what you intend to do. Visualize yourself doing it. Then concentrate and carefully release the power within yourself.’

Emily lifted both her hands and concentrated. She imagined that she was a giant blowtorch and turning on the gas. She felt prickles start in her stomach and flow up her spine and flood down her raised arms towards her hands. ‘Come on, Em,’ she muttered to herself. ‘You can do it.’

Suddenly a wide, wild stream of fire shot out of her fingertips.

‘Very good. Now concentrate,’ Vesta instructed. ‘Control the stream, Emily. Make it tighter.’

Emily held her breath as the raging flames shot out of her hands. Concentrating as Vesta taught her, she pulled back and refined them until they became a narrow beam of red light. But the tighter she pulled back, the more intense it became.

The beam of light shot through the flames in the plinth and across the Temple until it hit the far wall. It did not stop. It burned a narrow hole right through the thick white marble and continued out into the sky over Olympus.

‘Cut it off now, Emily,’ Vesta warned. ‘Just think
stop
!’

In her head, Emily imagined shutting off the gas to the blowtorch. But nothing happened. She mentally turned all the dials and flicked all the switches that controlled her powers. But once again, the beam would not stop.

‘Cut it off, Emily,’ Vesta cried. ‘You must make it obey you!’

Emily tried again and again, but nothing happened. As her panic increased, so did the intensity of the laser-like flame. It pulsated as it tore through the skies over Olympus.

‘I CAN’T STOP IT!’

A sudden blow from behind sent her tumbling forward and she fell to the floor. With her concentration broken, the red beam stopped. She panted heavily and studied her hands. There were no burns, blemishes or pain. She looked up and what she saw made her suck in her breath. Pegasus’s whole face and neck was a burned bright red. Worst of all, his soft white muzzle was burned black and blistering. It was Pegasus who had knocked her over and stopped the flames. But in touching her, her power had singed his beautiful skin.

‘Pegasus!’ Emily ran over to him. ‘I’m so sorry. I swear I didn’t mean to do it!’

She felt sick as she inspected his wounds. Her powers had done this to him. ‘Please, forgive me!’ Without thinking, Emily reached forward and gently stroked his burned face. At her touch, the black and blistered skin started to heal. Soon, Pegasus was completely restored.

‘I can’t do this, Pegs,’ Emily sobbed as she stepped away from him. ‘I just can’t. I hurt you. What if I’d killed you? I’m just too dangerous to be around.’

Emily hated herself as she dashed out of the Temple. Tears rose to her eyes as she ran down the tall steps. She cringed as she replayed what happened and worse still, what
could
have happened.

At the base of the steps, she looked up and saw Pegasus and Vesta emerging from the Temple.

‘Emily, stop!’ Vesta called.

Emily turned and ran further away. She couldn’t face Pegasus again, knowing she had almost killed him. She ran past other Olympians on the street, ignoring their curious stares and concerned queries. She had to get away. Away from Pegasus and anyone else her powers could hurt. She was just too dangerous to be allowed in public.

Emily finally ran into an open amphitheatre. The Muses weren’t performing today so the thousands of seats sat empty and alone. The perfect place for someone as dangerous as her. She ran down the steps towards the centre stage, and threw herself to the ground. It was over. Her life was over. There would be no trip back to New York, no rescue of her father.

All there was now was pain.

Heaving sobs escaped her as she finally realized all the things she’d lost. She wished she’d never emerged from the flames at the Temple. Olympus and Pegasus would have been better off without her.

Tears blinded Emily as she looked around in misery at the beautiful marble theatre encircling her. She wiped them furiously away. As she flicked the tears off her fingers, there was a blinding flash and terrible explosion.

Her world went black.

Emily awoke in her bed. For an instant, she feared she was back at the CRU facility on Governors Island. But as her eyes slowly focused, she saw that she was in her beautiful room at Jupiter’s palace. All the windows were open and the sheer curtains were blowing gently in the sweet, warm breeze.

‘Welcome back.’

The Great Hunter, Diana, was standing beside her bed. The two had formed a tight bond after their time together in New York. She was the daughter of Jupiter and everything Emily hoped to grow up to be like. Diana was strong, brave and caring. She came to New York and risked her life to save Pegasus. When they entered a stable to get a carriage to help hide Pegasus, Diana had shown great compassion for the suffering horses there.

The tall woman took a seat on the edge of the bed and lightly stroked Emily’s forehead. ‘That was quite a shock for us.’

Emily frowned and tried to remember what had happened. She was stiff and sore, with a pounding headache. She knew that it was something big, she just couldn’t remember what. Finally she recalled the events at the Temple. ‘I hurt Pegasus,’ she whispered miserably. ‘I burned him.’

‘Pegasus is fine,’ Diana assured her. ‘You are the one we are all worried about.’

Emily raised her head and looked around the room. They were alone. No Joel, no Paelen – and no Pegasus. Her friends were staying away from her because she was dangerous. Her powers were uncontrollable and now she had to be locked up.

‘What happens now?’ she asked softly, unable to face Diana. ‘Where are you going to lock me away?’

Diana frowned. ‘Lock you away? Child, why would we do that?’

Emily’s emotions started to well up. ‘Because I’m dangerous and I hurt Pegasus.’