Pegasus and the Origins of Olympus
Read Pegasus and the Origins of Olympus Online
Authors: Kate O'Hearn
Also by Kate O’Hearn
Pegasus and the Flame
Pegasus and the Fight for Olympus
Pegasus and the New Olympians
S
HADOW OF THE
D
RAGON
Part One: Kira
Part Two: Elspeth
Copyright © 2012 Kate O’Hearn
First published in Great Britain in 2012
by Hodder Children’s Books
This ebook edition published in 2012
The right of Kate O’Hearn to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form, or by any means with prior permission in writing from the publishers or in the case of reprographic production in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency and may not be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
A Catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 444 91095 7
Hodder Children’s Books
A Division of Hachette Children’s Books
338 Euston Road
London NW1 3BH
An Hachette UK company
For the abandoned dogs of Greece
The light of the Solar Stream pulsed and flashed as she tore through it as fast as she could. She had to get home! But the faster she travelled, the longer the journey became. Obstacles blocked her path, slowed her down. Other worlds called to her. Unseen hands reached for her and pulled her down.
‘No,’ she screamed. ‘I must return before it is too late. Leave me be!’
Breaking free of their grip, she raced through the Solar Stream until at last she made it home. She arrived in the temple and hurtled along its long stone corridors. Her heart roared and her terror grew as she felt the others gathering far from the temple. They were drawing together and merging their powers. She had to reach them. Join them. She couldn’t be left behind.
She emerged from the stone temple and dashed into the dense green jungle. She put on more speed as she moved along paths as old as time itself; rushing past the great statues of her people and dodging around the massive trees. This was her home. Her sanctuary. Her world. But they were all about to leave it. To go on.
They had said they would try to wait for her. But when the stars aligned, they would go with or without her.
‘Please don’t let me be too late …’ she begged.
‘Please! Please!’
Emily’s cry awoke her from the terrifying dream and she felt a warm tongue on her cheek. She looked up and saw the magnificent winged stallion, Pegasus, standing at the side of her bed. He was glowing brightly as he stared down at her and nickered softly.
Emily’s face was hot and flushed and she was panting heavily as if she’d been in a race. ‘I’m OK, Pegs,’ she said quietly as she looked up into his large, concerned eyes.
Pegasus nickered again and pressed his face to hers.
‘Em!’ Her father raced into the room. ‘What’s wrong? You were shouting and crying.’
She was shaking all over. ‘It’s just a dream,’ she said. ‘Ever since we got back from Area 51, I’ve had the same dream over and over again. It’s like I’m someone else and trying to get home before something huge happens. I’m so scared that I’m going to miss it. But as I go through the Solar Stream, things I can’t see block my path and something tries to hold me back.’ She looked up into his caring face. ‘What does it mean?’
Emily’s father sat on the bed and pulled her into a tight embrace. ‘I don’t know, honey. They say dreams come from our subconscious as it tries to work something out.’
‘Like what?’ Emily asked.
‘I’m not sure. But you’ve been through so much lately. Maybe your mind is trying to digest everything that’s happened. Look at how our life has changed. We live here in Olympus and you’ve got so many powers now. I know they scare you. Maybe that’s the cause of your nightmares.’
‘Not nightmares,’ Emily corrected. ‘It’s always the same. I’m desperate to get home to some kind of gathering. But I always wake up before I make it there.’
‘Home?’ he asked. ‘You mean New York? Do you want to go back?’
Emily frowned and shook her head. ‘No, not New York, and it’s not Olympus either. It’s a strange place with jungle all around. I’m in a complicated stone temple surrounded by tall statues.’
Pegasus snorted loudly and shook his head. He stepped closer to Emily and stared at her intently. As she gazed deep into his warm brown eyes, Emily saw a vision of a jungle world filled with tall stone statues.
‘That’s the jungle! Have you been dreaming of it too?’
The strong, white stallion shook his head, pawed the floor and whinnied several times. He turned his head to the door. Then he nudged Emily’s father and turned to the door again.
‘What is it?’ her father asked. ‘What are you trying to tell me?’
‘He wants you to go somewhere,’ Emily explained.
‘This time of night?’
After several more failed attempts to get Emily and her father to understand, Pegasus gave up and left the room. He returned moments later with a very sleepy Paelen and Joel.
‘You OK, Em?’ Joel asked groggily as he stepped closer to her bed. He was just wearing pyjama bottoms so she could see where his new silver arm joined his broad body. It looked exactly like the old one that Vulcan had created for him after he lost his real arm in the fight against the Gorgons. She was amazed at how quickly Vulcan had been able to build it after the Central Research Unit scientists at Area 51 had surgically removed the old one.
Emily nodded. ‘I’m fine. I’ve had that dream again. But then Pegs showed me a place exactly like in my dream.’
Paelen yawned loudly. His hair stood at all angles and his night clothes were twisted and unkempt. He looked at Pegasus and frowned. ‘You woke me because Emily was having a dream? What about me? I was having my own amazing dream featuring several water nymphs.’
Pegasus whinnied and shoved Paelen.
‘What!’ Paelen cried. ‘Am I not allowed to dream?’
‘Paelen, please,’ Emily said. ‘Pegasus is trying to tell me something, but I can’t understand him. I think it’s important.’
Paelen concentrated on Pegasus. ‘What is it?’
The stallion nickered several times and shook his head.
‘This is very strange,’ Paelen said. ‘Pegasus says the world you have been describing from your dream is the world you sent him to when you were shot at the CRU facility in the Nevada desert.’
Emily frowned. ‘How? I’ve never been there or even heard about it. Why would I dream of a place I’ve never seen? And why is it always the same dream?’
Pegasus pawed the floor and whinnied softly.
Paelen looked shocked. ‘Really? Why have we not heard about this when it concerns Emily?’
‘What concerns me?’ Emily asked.
‘Apparently after we returned from Earth, Jupiter had some of his people go to the jungle world to explore it. He was curious why your powers would send things there.’
Emily looked at Pegasus. ‘You knew about this and didn’t tell me?’
The stallion dropped his head, looking very guilty.
‘Pegasus only just found out. Jupiter told him to say nothing as he feared it might upset you. After everything that happened on Earth, he wanted you to spend some quiet time in Olympus and not worry about the jungle world.’
‘Not telling me is what upsets me!’ Emily shot back. ‘Jupiter promised we were going to figure that out together. He shouldn’t have sent people there without me.’
Emily’s father nodded. ‘I agree. There must be some reason why Emily’s powers sent you and Alexis, the Sphinx, there. We have a right to be involved in the investigation. I’ll have a chat with Jupiter in the morning and find out what’s going on.’
‘I’m coming with you,’ Emily said.
‘Me too,’ Joel added.
‘And me,’ Paelen said.
Pegasus nickered and nodded his head. Emily didn’t need Paelen to translate. The stallion would be there too.
Sleep would not return to Emily. After her latest dream she didn’t really want it to. Instead she and Pegasus slipped silently out of the palace and flew high in the night skies over Olympus.
The stars were shining brightly overhead and cast enough light for them to see. Emily looked down on the night dwellers as they went about their silent lives, working, living and playing only by starlight.
Pegasus landed on their private silver beach surrounding the calm lake. No wind disturbed its surface and it was like a giant mirror reflecting the stars from above.
Emily climbed off Pegasus and walked knee-deep into the cool, still water. She no longer needed her leg brace as her powers had healed her damaged leg back at Area 51. The revelations from her time at the CRU facility still troubled her. She had only confided in Pegasus about what the scientists had said about her. She hadn’t even told Joel or Paelen for fear of what they might think of her.
Was she really not alive? They claimed she didn’t have physical matter the same way all living organisms do – including the Olympians. And although she had blood and a heart that pumped it around her body, it wasn’t needed to keep her going. The scientists believed it was all there because Emily thought it should be.
In her quiet moments, or when she was alone with Pegasus, Emily asked herself the same question time and time again. ‘What am I?’ But despite his love and support of her, Pegasus had no answers.
‘It’s so beautiful here,’ she sighed as Pegasus joined her in the water. ‘Sometimes I wish we could stay here for ever and not worry about all the other stuff. Just you and me and this silver lake.’