The Flame of Olympus

  Together they would return to the remains of Olympus.

  21

  As the carriage travelled slowly along 18th Street, Emily was grateful that no one was paying them much attention. Apart from the helicopters circling the city and the rotten way she was feeling, on any other day she would have enjoyed the ride. She struggled to keep her eyes open. She felt very hot and knew her fever was spiking. Diana still had her arm wrapped around her and was constantly checking her forehead.

  ‘Hold on, child,’ she coaxed. ‘It will not be much longer.’

  In her fevered state, Emily thought she heard her mother’s voice speaking gently to her, encouraging her to go on. ‘I will, Mom,’ she mumbled.

  Diana gave her a gentle squeeze. Dimly, Emily heard Diana speaking to her dad.

  ‘Steve, where is Emily’s mother?’

  ‘She died three months ago,’ he said sadly. ‘It hit Em really hard. She and her mother were very close.’

  Emily heard her father’s response and felt her throat tighten. Her mother would have loved Pegasus and would have been right there fighting alongside them.

  ‘So you are grieving,’ Diana said gently. She gave Emily a comforting squeeze. ‘My poor, poor child. Now I understand.’

  The carriage turned up 1st Avenue. Struggling to keep awake, Emily watched the streets going by. Soon they were passing the United Nations buildings. As each block past, Emily half expected to see Nirads charging at them. But so far, it had been a blissfully quiet trip.

  ‘Steve, do they allow carriages on the bridge?’ Joel asked quietly.

  ‘No,’ he answered. ‘But I’ve got my badge with me if anyone tries to stop us.’

  Soon they were on the entrance ramp to the 59th Street Bridge.

  ‘Here we go,’ Steve called. ‘Do we want to follow the route that goes under the framework of the bridge, or stay on the uncovered outside lane?’

  Pegasus nickered several times and snorted.

  Diana leaned forward to translate. ‘He says he much prefers to stay in the open in case something should go wrong. He says his wing is feeling much recovered and should be able to carry the carriage if needs be.’

  ‘If he’s sure,’ Steve said. ‘Pegasus, stay to the right. That will take us to the outside uncovered lane.’

  As the carriage moved into place, they found the traffic on the bridge was particularly heavy.

  ‘It seems like a lot of other people had the same thought about leaving the city,’ Joel said. ‘The outside lane is bumper to bumper. Nothing is moving.’

  ‘That area is moving over there,’ Diana suggested as she pointed to the centre lanes leading under the cover of the bridge. ‘We must go that way to keep moving.’

  ‘You heard the lady, Pegasus,’ Steve said. ‘Take us on to the bridge and away from Manhattan.’

  As the carriage joined the steady flow of traffic, they listened to the strange clip-clopping sound of the stallion’s sharp golden hooves on the steel grate of the bridge. The other cars slowed as they passed, but otherwise ignored the horse-drawn carriage.

  When they were just over halfway, Emily saw they were passing over Roosevelt Island. She tried to recall the last time she had been here. It had been when her mother was still alive, well over a year ago. They had taken a weekend trek out of the city. She recalled the excitement of going to Long Island and Wildwood State Park. Emily remembered how happy she’d been when they had gone swimming together and—

  ‘Uh-oh,’ Steve said. ‘This isn’t good.’

  Drawn from her fevered memories, Emily tried to focus her attention. The traffic was slowing down to a stop.

  ‘Look over there, it’s all stopped,’ Joel warned as he pointed to the other lanes going in the opposite direction.

  Pegasus let out a warning whinny and started to shake his head. His ears were pricked forward and he was baring his teeth.

  ‘What is happening?’ Diana asked as she sat forward and looked around.

  ‘I have a bad feeling about this,’ Joel warned.

  ‘So does Pegasus,’ Diana agreed.

  Emily sat up and gazed around the carriage. When she looked towards the back entrance of the bridge, her eyes flew wide in terror. Drawing to a stop several cars lengths back were multiple military trucks. Soldiers were pouring out of the trucks and drawing their weapons.

  ‘Dad—’

  Suddenly from both sides of the bridge, a number of armed helicopters flew down from the sky and hovered beside them. Their weapons were pointed directly at the carriage.

  ‘It’s a trap!’ her father cried.

  ‘And we’re in it!’ Joel shouted.

  ‘DON’T MOVE! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!’ warned a voice from one of the helicopter’s loudspeakers. ‘YOU ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED. STAY WHERE YOU ARE!’

  Without pausing, Steve jumped down from the carriage. ‘Joel, help me. We’ve got to free Pegasus!’

  Emily tried to stand, but her infected leg wouldn’t support her weight. She fell back down to the seat. She could no longer move. All she could do was watch as Diana stood above her and raised her spear in the air. She was preparing to take on the military.

  ‘No, Diana!’ Emily weakly reached up to catch the end of the spear. ‘They’ll kill you. Go with Pegs. Please, get away. Save Olympus!’

  ‘Do not speak nonsense,’ Diana shot back at her. ‘I will not allow these foolish men to hurt you. If they wish to fight, I am happy to oblige.’

  Everybody heard the pounding of many feet on the bridge as soldiers charged at them from all directions.

  ‘He’s free!’ Steve shouted as he pulled the last of the leather straps away from Pegasus. Joel tore the blanket from his wings and smacked the stallion’s rump.

  ‘Go on, Pegasus, go!’ Joel roared. ‘Get out of here! Find the Flame and save both our worlds!’

  Free of the harness, Pegasus turned and ran back to the carriage. He whinnied loudly at Emily, reached forward and tried to catch her by the shirt to lift her up.

  ‘No, Pegs, I can’t move,’ Emily cried as she weakly reached for the stallion. ‘Please, go. Take Diana and leave here. You can’t let them catch you.’ Tears sprang to her eyes as she weakly shoved the stallion’s head away. ‘Please … just go!’

  ‘Stop!’ Several soldiers had drawn near and raised their weapons. ‘Put your hands in the air and don’t make a move!’

  ‘Go, Pegs!’ Emily shouted with all her remaining strength.

  The air filled with strange popping sounds. At first Emily thought the soldiers were shooting bullets at them. But then she saw countless feathered darts strike Pegasus. Within moments, his hind quarters looked like a pin-cushion filled with the colourful darts.

  ‘What is this insanity?’ Diana called in fury as she too was struck by the tranquilizer darts. She angrily pulled them from her arms and tossed them away.

  Steve and Joel were both hit by the darts. Instantly they fell to the ground, unconscious.

  Because of her position, Emily hadn’t been hit. But as more men descended on them, Pegasus opened his wing to cover her, taking the brunt of the darts meant for her.

  ‘Don’t worry about me, Pegs,’ Emily cried. ‘Please just go!’

  But Pegasus refused to leave. He reared on his hind legs, threw back his head and shrieked in rage. His front legs cut through the air furiously and promised a violent death to any of the soldiers who tried to come closer. Diana joined in the battle cry, raising her spear and preparing to take on the soldiers.

  Then Emily felt a sharp sting in her neck as a dart found its mark. She heard Pegasus’s enraged cry and saw him lunging forward to attack the soldiers just as everything went black.

  22

  Emily opened her eyes. She was lying in a hospital bed in a clean white room. There was an IV in her arm, and countless bags of liquid feeding down tubes. Beside the bed was a lot of equipment that had wires attached to her head and chest. They beeped to the steady beating of her heart.

  Her wounded
leg was suspended in the air, wrapped in a thick layer of bandages. Despite the care, it was still pounding painfully.

  ‘Good morning, Emily.’

  A nurse rose from a chair beside the bed. ‘Please don’t try to move,’ she said. ‘I’ll go get the doctor.’

  Emily struggled to remember the last thing that happened. Then it all came flooding back. The bridge. Pegasus screaming. Diana holding a spear and preparing to fight. She remembered the dart hitting her in the neck and blotting out the rest of the world. The final realization put a cold shiver down her spine. The CRU.

  Emily tried to rise from the bed. But pain and the fact that her leg was suspended stopped her. Panting heavily, she lay back down. She was in no condition to fight.

  The nurse returned with two men. One was dressed as a doctor, but the other wore a dark suit and had a stern expression on his face. Both were middle-aged.

  ‘Good morning, Emily,’ said the doctor in a friendly tone that didn’t match the coldness of his eyes. ‘How are we feeling this morning?’

  The other man wasn’t even pretending to be nice. Suddenly Emily understood everything her father had ever told her about the secret Government agency. She was in a lot of trouble.

  ‘We?’ Emily repeated. ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling awful.’ She looked at the other man. ‘Are you the CRU?’

  ‘I work for the Central Research Unit, yes,’ he said coldly. ‘You may call me Agent J. I have a lot of important questions for you.’ He looked at the doctor. ‘You may leave us now. Emily and I are going to have a chat.’

  ‘I really should check on my patient,’ the doctor said.

  ‘And you will, later,’ Agent J said.

  His tone suggested there would be no discussion, no argument. His orders were to be obeyed. Without another word, the doctor left the room.

  ‘Where is my father?’ Emily nervously asked. ‘Please, may I see him?’

  ‘I’m afraid you aren’t well enough for visitors,’ Agent J said. ‘You’ve still got a very bad infection and have suffered a lot of muscle damage. Actually, you are quite fortunate the surgeons here were able to save your leg. Though I’m sorry to say you will have trouble walking from now on.’

  Emily didn’t feel particularly fortunate. She felt dreadful. More than that, she was terrified. Where was she? What were they doing to her father and Joel? Were they hurting Pegasus? What about Diana?

  ‘Please tell me. Where is my father?’

  ‘He’s around.’ The agent moved closer to the bed. ‘Our first concern is taking care of you. Perhaps in time, if you cooperate, I will let him come in and see you.’

  Emily saw the coldness of his pale eyes. ‘Cooperate?’

  ‘Yes, cooperate,’ Agent J said as he sat down in the chair beside the bed. ‘I have a lot of questions that need answers. And you are just the young lady to give them to me.’

  ‘Me? But I don’t know anything,’ Emily said. ‘I just want to see my dad.’

  ‘First you will answer my questions. Then maybe we’ll see about your father.’

  Agent J pulled a small recorder from his pocket. He flicked the switch to turn it on. ‘Now, I would like you to tell me what happened. Where did you find the flying horse? Where does it come from?’

  ‘His name is Pegasus,’ Emily corrected. ‘And he’s not a horse. He comes from Olympus. He was struck by lightning and crashed on my roof. That’s all I know.’

  ‘I’m sure you know a bit more than that,’ Agent J coaxed.

  ‘No I don’t,’ Emily insisted. ‘Where is Pegasus? Please, I must see him. He won’t understand what’s happening to him. He’s going to be so frightened of you.’

  ‘The stallion is fine,’ the man said. ‘He gave us a great deal of trouble in the beginning and killed several of my men on the bridge. But we’ve managed to calm him down since then.’

  Emily was puzzled by his answer. But more than that, she was frightened for Pegasus. She remembered seeing the soldiers with their guns raised on the bridge. ‘You didn’t shoot him, did you?’

  ‘We had to,’ Agent J said. ‘He was killing my men.’

  ‘You shot Pegasus!’ Emily cried. ‘Why? All he was doing was protecting us. How is he? Is he alive?’

  ‘I told you, Emily, he is fine. His wounds have been treated and he is a lot calmer than he was.’

  ‘Why couldn’t you leave us alone?’ Tears rose in Emily’s eyes. ‘We weren’t hurting anyone. Pegasus just wants to go home.’

  ‘Where is his home?’ Agent J asked, looking alert.

  ‘I told you already,’ Emily said, sniffing. ‘Olympus.’

  ‘Yes, you told me. But where exactly is Olympus?’ the agent pressed. ‘How do you get there?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Emily cried. ‘Please, can I see him?’

  ‘Not yet. You are still too ill to move.’

  Emily hated to agree with him, but he was right. She really was feeling awful.

  ‘How long have we been here?’

  ‘Four days.’

  ‘What?’ she cried as she sucked in her breath.

  ‘I told you, Emily, you have been a very sick girl.’ Agent J went on, ‘You’ve got a raging infection. We actually thought we were going to lose you. But you’ve managed to come back from the brink of death. You’re a very determined young lady. So now, I’ll ask you again. What do you know of the flying horse? Why is he here?’

  ‘I told you he’s not a horse!’ Emily shot as she sat up angrily. But just as quickly she had to lie down again as the movement threatened to make her sick. ‘He is Pegasus,’ she said softly. ‘And he shouldn’t be here. You’ve got to let him and Diana go.’

  ‘Ah yes, Diana,’ Agent J said. ‘A very interesting woman indeed. Remarkably strong. She has managed to resist all our questions. Our scientists are still trying to figure out what she is.’

  ‘She’s the daughter of Jupiter,’ Emily said, growing angry. ‘That’s who she is. When he finds out what you’ve done to her and Pegasus, he’s going to be really mad!’

  ‘Jupiter, eh?’ Agent J said. ‘Well, if they really do come from Olympus as you claim, why hasn’t Jupiter come to see us already? What’s he waiting for? I would be more than happy to discuss his daughter with him.’

  Emily stared into his cold, prying eyes. Something inside warned her to say nothing more. If after four days he still wanted questions answered, it meant her father and Joel hadn’t cooperated either. She quickly realized the more she said, the worse it would be for the others. She closed her eyes. ‘I don’t feel well. I’m so tired. Please, let me sleep.’

  ‘In a moment,’ Agent J said. ‘Just tell me why Pegasus and Diana are here.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Emily insisted. ‘Why don’t you ask them yourself?’

  Agent J shook his head angrily. ‘I did. Diana won’t speak to me and I would look like a fool if I tried talking to that horse.’

  ‘Pegasus isn’t a horse!’ Emily shouted. Her father had always taught her that violence wasn’t a solution. But at that moment, she really wanted to smack Agent J right in the mouth. ‘He’s an Olympian.’

  ‘Horse or not,’ Agent J said, ‘I want to know why they are here! You are going to tell me.’

  ‘I already told you, I don’t know why they are here. Just that you’ve got to let them go. They don’t belong in our world.’

  ‘What about Mercury?’ Agent J asked.

  ‘Mercury?’ Emily repeated, puzzled. ‘The planet?’

  Agent J shook his head. ‘No, not the planet,’ he said irritably. ‘Mercury, the messenger of Olympus. He’s here as well. If their story is true, that makes at least three Olympians in my city. That doesn’t even take into consideration those creatures, whatever they are called.’

  ‘Nirads,’ Emily answered without thinking.

  She realized her mistake at once. Agent J had tricked her into telling him more than she wanted.

  ‘Nirads,’ he repeated. ‘Why are they here?’

>   Emily didn’t want to answer any more of his questions. She was feeling too ill and making too many mistakes. Instead, she closed her eyes and lay back.

  ‘I want to see my father.’

  ‘Answer my question,’ Agent J pressed.

  Emily said nothing. With her eyes still closed, Emily could hear his breathing. He was getting angry. Suddenly she felt a searing pain in her wounded leg. Howling in agony, she opened her eyes. A cruel smile hovered on Agent J’s lips as his hand pressed down on her raised leg. He was squeezing her wounds in a brutal grip.

  ‘Why are they here?’ he demanded. ‘Tell me!’

  The pain was blinding. Emily had never known such agony. It stole the scream from her throat and drove the wind from her lungs. Stars appeared before her eyes as the sound of water rushed in her ears. A moment later she passed out.

  23

  Paelen kept his hand over his mouth as he peered through the vent above the girl’s bed. He knew the agent could be ruthless by his own interrogations. But he would never have imagined that Agent J could do that to a child.

  As he travelled back through the vent, he was grateful that she had passed out. He doubted even he could have withstood that kind of pressure on a new wound. When this was over, Paelen promised himself that Agent J would discover that hurting the girl had been a grave mistake.

  Since the others had arrived at the facility, Agents J and O seemed to have lost interest in him. They were spending less and less time trying to get him to talk. He could go a full day without seeing anyone. This gave him the time to slip out of his room to go searching for Diana and Pegasus.

  But as Paelen made his way through the long maze of ventilation ducts, he still had no clue where they were keeping the others from Olympus. He only managed to find Emily’s room because it was just down the hall from his own and he’d heard the doctors speaking about her though the air vent.

  In the tunnel leading to his own room, Paelen saw Mercury’s sandals lying just ahead of him. He pushed them aside to get past and muttered, ‘Diana, where are you? I have to find you.’