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.
2
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.’
‘Oh, Emily.’ Diana pulled her into a tight embrace. ‘No one is going to imprison you. Your powers got away from you, that is all. It has happened to all of us. We just did not expect to find your tears quite so potent.’
‘My tears?’ Emily sniffed. ‘I don’t understand.’
Diana explained that the amphitheatre caretaker had watched her run to the stage and saw how the flick of her tears had caused an explosion that shook all of Olympus. He was far enough away to be hurt, but not killed. However, the blast did destroy the theatre and create a huge crater. Pegasus finally found her suspended high in a tree several kilometres away.
‘I-I don’t understand,’ Emily said. ‘My tears caused an explosion?’
Diana nodded. ‘We do not really understand either. When the Flame emerged from you, Vesta said their full powers would be released. But she never expected them to be this potent. Even your tears are filled with the power of the sun.’
She couldn’t even cry without hurting herself or everyone around her! Every day was getting worse and worse. She was no longer a person, a girl with a bright future ahead of her. She had become a nuclear bomb waiting to go off.
‘I don’t want it,’ she finally said in a whisper. ‘I don’t want any of these powers. I didn’t ask for them. I just want my old life back with my dad.’
‘I am sorry, but you do not have a choice,’ Diana said. ‘You were born with the Flame. It is part of you. But I promise, you can learn to control it. Do not fight your powers, Emily. Embrace them and accept them as your allies, not your enemy.’
‘And if I can’t learn?’ Emily asked.
‘You must,’ Diana said as she stood and crossed to the door. ‘Rest now. You will feel better soon.’
Emily doubted she would ever feel good again. She climbed stiffly from her bed and walked over to one of the windows. She sat on the ledge and quietly watched the activity below, just like she used to do from her apartment window in New York.
But this wasn’t Manhattan she was looking out over, with its heavy traffic, police sirens, crowds and shops. It was Olympus. The light breeze blowing through her hair was sweet and warm, not polluted like New York’s smoggy air. She watched winged Olympians and large birds soaring together in the clear blue sky. Butterflies the size of cars fluttered around, playing a kind of tag with some young children. Down in the square, centaurs and giants walked and talked together as casually as people would in her own world. Everywhere she looked, Emily saw amazing things. But watching the world below only added to the feeling that things would never be normal again.
‘Dad, where are you?’ she said miserably. Emily no longer grieved over the death of her mother. Somehow in this strange and wondrous world, she always felt her mother’s presence hovering near, as though all she needed to do was reach out to touch her. It was her father who occupied all her waking moments. His rescue now seemed impossible. How could she help him if she couldn’t even help herself? She was a dangerous monster – unable to cry without the fear of hurting or killing someone.
Lost in misery, Emily was unaware of time passing until she heard a gentle knock at her door.
‘Emily?’ a deep voice called. ‘May we enter?’
Emily reached for her robe. ‘Come in.’
She was surprised to see Jupiter enter her room. Although she, Joel and Paelen lived in his massive marble palace, she only ever saw him at mealtimes. But even then, those banquets were so big and noisy, she never got to speak with him. He had never been to her quarters and the one time she did manage to speak privately with him was when she’d begged him to let her return to New York to rescue her father. That request had been denied.
‘Jupiter.’ Emily bowed her head with respect for their supreme leader.
‘Emily, I was most disturbed to learn what happened at the theatre yesterday. It seems your tears are very powerful. I hope you are all right.’
‘I am fine, thank you,’ Emily said.
Behind Jupiter entered another man with the same commanding presence as the leader of Olympus. He was as tall and wide with the same long white hair and a full beard. But unlike the serious, sombre face of Jupiter, this new man had a warm, smiling face filled with joy and mischief. The difference between the two could be found in their eyes: Jupiter’s were dark and deep, and seemed to hold the knowledge of the ages, while this man’s eyes were so pale they were almost like pearls. In truth, to Emily he looked less like an Olympian and more like Santa Claus.
‘I do not believe you have met my brother,’ Jupiter said casually. ‘This is Neptune.’ He turned to his brother, ‘And this here is the Flame of Olympus. Although I have recently discovered she prefers to be called Emily.’
‘Emily,’ Neptune said as a huge smile appeared on his warm face. ‘My son told me what happened to you. How are you feeling?’
Emily’s eyes grew wide as she remembered that Neptune was Pegasus’s father. ‘I’m fine, thank you,’ she stuttered. She looked down to Neptune’s strong, muscular legs that emerged beneath the tunic.
‘Perhaps you expected a fish’s tail?’ Neptune started to chuckle.
Emily flushed and nodded. ‘I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to be rude and stare, but I’d always heard you lived in the sea.’
Neptune’s face wrinkled with booming laughter that seemed to fill the whole palace. ‘No doubt you thought I rode a chariot of shells drawn by a team of seahorses, carrying a trident in my hand as I stir the seas into rage.’
Emily’s face turned redder and she nodded.
It was Jupiter’s turn to chuckle. ‘Do not let him fool you, Emily, he does just that and more.’
‘But not when I am on land,’ Neptune finished, growing serious. As he stepped further in the room, he turned back to the door. ‘Son, come in here.’
Emily heard familiar and welcome clopping sounds coming from the corridor, and in moments Pegasus entered her bedroom. He was as blazing white as ever without a feather out of place on his neatly folded wings. There was no evidence of the burns she had caused. Emily was grateful to find there was no trace of hesitation when he stepped up to her.
‘Pegasus,’ she said softly as she stroked his soft muzzle. ‘Are you all right?’
‘He is fine,’ Neptune said. ‘But he is very worried about you. After the incident at the amphitheatre, he asked if I might be able to help. So I went to my most talented sirens and asked them to weave their finest silk from the grasses that grow in the deepest part of the sea. It is my hope that this will help.’
Emily watched Neptune produce a shimmering sea-green handkerchief from his tunic. It seemed to change colour when it caught the light and reminded her of iridescent fish scales. He handed it to her and Emily saw an embroidered picture of her riding Pegasus in the centre of the fine fabric as she turned it in her hands.
‘Pegasus gave the sirens strands of hair from his tail for the embroidery,’ Neptune explained. ‘This is their best work.’
‘I just hope it works for the Flame’s tears as well,’ Jupiter added. He stepped closer to Emily. ‘This was made with all the powers of the sirens and the sea. Please keep it with you at all times. We believe it may be strong enough to collect and store your tears without causing any more damage to Olympus or yourself.’
Emily looked at the beautiful, weightless handkerchief with the embroidered Pegasus. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen in her life.
‘All we need to do now is to test it,?
?? Neptune said.
‘Test it?’ Emily said fearfully. ‘I’m not sure about that.’
‘Not today, child,’ Jupiter reassured her, as he put his arm lightly around her shoulders. ‘When you are feeling better. In the meantime, I want you to rest. That was a rather nasty surprise you had yesterday. When you are more recovered, ask Pegasus to take you to the new arena we are building for you. It will work as a much better training ground for your powers. Now that we have seen their extent, we need to ensure everyone’s safety until you have better control of them.’
Emily looked up at Jupiter and nodded. She thanked Neptune again for the beautiful gift and stood beside Pegasus as they left the room. When they had gone, Emily threw her arms around the stallion’s thick neck.
‘I’m so sorry I hurt you!’ she cried. ‘It got away from me and I couldn’t stop it.’
Pegasus nickered softly and reached back to her.
‘Pegasus, what am I going to do? One more mistake like that and I could kill someone. I might do more damage to Olympus than the Nirads did.’
Pegasus gently nudged her, to let her know he understood. He then invited her to stare into his eyes. As Emily locked into his gaze a clear vision filled her mind. She was sitting on Pegasus’s back, flying away from the palace – her fears and worries eased in that glorious moment.
‘Can we?’ she asked hopefully. Of all the wonderful things to do and see in Olympus, Emily’s favourite was riding Pegasus and discovering new places she’d never been before.
Emily quickly changed and tied her new handkerchief to her braided belt. She climbed on to the stallion’s back. When she was settled comfortably behind his large wings, Pegasus stepped up to one of the wide windows and confidently leaped through it.
Emily clung to the stallion’s mane as they soared in the skies over Olympus. Riding Pegasus was better than all the roller-coaster rides she’d ever been on in her life! She felt safe with him, but at the same time, there was the wild exhilaration of flying high in the air with no safety harness. It was just her on the bare back of Pegasus.