Pegasus and the Origins of Olympus (17 page)

Emily raised her hands and the Flame flashed.

Behind her, Paelen cried out as Brue dropped him to the ground. She rose up on her many legs. Suddenly the large, gentle creature threw back her two purple heads and howled in fury. Large deadly teeth filled her mouths and her eyes blazed red.

The Mother of the Jungle gave one last look at Paelen before charging the closest sea-serpent. As the serpent lunged forward to bite, one of Brue’s heads flashed to the side and caught hold of one the serpent’s necks, tearing its hideous head away from the body.

On the ground, Paelen helped Stella over to a pile of uncut marble. They hid behind it while Paelen called instructions to the group. ‘Do not just stand there, Emily, fire!’

Beside her, Agent B picked up a pole and was jamming it at one of the mouths of the nearest monster. But the heads were quicker and avoided the pole.

Sea-serpents were everywhere. Emily didn’t have time to think. Only react. She shot flames at the nearest, but they had little effect beyond irritating the creature further.

Emily concentrated harder and turned the raging flames into a laser-like beam. The creature attacking her rose up on its tentacles and prepared to lunge. She directed the laser beam and severed all the heads at once. In its dying rage, the sea-serpent collapsed against the newly built columns of the temple and knocked them all down.

There was no time to celebrate. No sooner had Emily killed one creature than another rose from the sea to attack.

‘Emily, behind you!’ Stella warned.

Emily turned in time to see sharp teeth plunging towards her. Reacting instantly, she cut the head off with her Flame and jumped to the side to avoid it as it hit the ground. She turned her powers on the body of the creature and it collapsed in a dead heap.

Pegasus was doing his best to fight, but the ageing stallion was no match for the giant sea-serpent. Tentacles caught hold of one of the stallion’s wings and hoisted him off the ground as sharp teeth bit deep into one of his rear legs.

Agent B charged and stabbed the neck of the monster holding Pegasus’s wing. The creature howled and dropped the stallion. Pegasus hit the ground a few metres from Emily and cried out in pain.

Seeing him hurt drove Emily to rage. But this time, knowing what was at stake, she focused her fury. The intensity of the Flame increased as she spun in a tight circle and fired everything she had at the attacking monsters. The air was filled with acrid smoke as their bodies burned. Howls and roars rose higher as all the sea-serpents were cut down.

Stella was still hiding with Paelen behind the pile of marble. She only emerged after all the serpents were dead. She wheeled herself towards Emily but stopped short.

‘Look!’ she screamed, pointing at the cliff.

More creatures were crawling over the top.

‘Em, stop them!’ Joel cried.

Emily changed her tactics. She raised her hands and used her powers to lift the creatures off the ground. Suspended high above the sea, they screamed and writhed as one. Emily used this opportunity to let loose a single blast of Flame that incinerated them all. A shower of ash was all that was left to drift back down into the sea.

Standing poised and ready for a third wave of sea-serpents, Emily waited. But when none came, she ran over to Pegasus. Blood was flowing from the stallion’s nose but much worse than that, his back leg looked as if it had nearly been bitten off – there was blood everywhere.

‘It’s all right, Pegs.’ Emily’s trembling hands reached out to heal the wounded stallion. ‘Just rest, it’s over. They’re all gone.’

Pegasus whined and laid his head down. His sides heaved as he panted heavily. Once healed, he calmed and rested.

Agent B knelt down beside her. ‘How is he?’

‘He’ll be fine.’ Emily sat back on her heels and looked at the agent with new eyes. He was covered in serpent’s blood from the fight, and hadn’t been afraid to take on the ferocious monsters. ‘Thank you for saving Pegasus.’

He nodded. ‘I told you, Emily. We’re in this together. If we are to survive, we must trust each other.’

Behind them Paelen cried, ‘Stop, please!’ Brue had returned to him and started to lick him all over. ‘Please, Brue, I am unhurt, I do not need another bath!’ He turned to Emily, ‘Help me, before she drowns me!’

Emily rose shakily to her feet and walked over to the large Mother of the Jungle. Her heads and purple fur were covered in serpent’s blood. ‘He is fine, Brue. You protected Paelen perfectly.’

Joel came up to her side. ‘Did you see what she became? She was just as ferocious as those monsters. I had no idea she could do that.’

‘Time on Xanadu has tamed her,’ Emily said, recalling what she’d received from Arious. ‘On her old world, she was a deadly predator. I just hope we get her back to Xanadu before she reverts fully to her previous self.’

‘I’m just glad she’s on our side.’

Emily agreed, but then noticed his metal arm. It had a deep gouge and large tooth marks running along it. ‘Joel, your arm!’

‘I know.’ Joel tried to fold back the metal over the exposed mechanisms. He flexed the arm and wiggled its fingers. Inside, they could see the pulleys and hydraulics working. ‘Well, it may not be pretty, but at least it still works. A sea-serpent got hold of me and its teeth cut through the silver like it was butter. It would have killed me if Brue hadn’t attacked it.’

Joel lifted Paelen back on to Brue’s neck. Emily was still shaking as she sat beside Pegasus. Mike lay down beside her and put his head in her lap.

‘What were those things?’ Joel asked.

Pegasus sat up and neighed.

‘He believes they belong to the Titans,’ Paelen translated.

‘The Titans?’ Joel asked.

‘Pegasus is right,’ Paelen said. ‘I am ashamed to say I could not fight. But Stella and I observed. All those serpents were trying to get at you, Emily. Everyone else was just in their way.’

‘Why me?’

‘Because you are the Flame of Olympus. Just as Olympians are drawn to you, the Titans are too. But their intentions are not as friendly. They will seek to control you. If that fails, they will try to destroy you.’

‘Everyone wants to control me!’ Emily stood and her eyes fell on Agent B. ‘First it’s you with the CRU and now the Titans. If this is true, we’ve got to go. It’s too dangerous to stay a moment longer. I’ll use my powers to send us further ahead in time. We’ll come back here after the war.’

‘That works for me,’ Joel said. ‘If those serpents were with the Titans, I don’t want to see what else they’ve got. Especially the Shadow Titans.’

‘I agree,’ Agent B said. ‘We must leave here now.’

Pegasus remained on the ground. He nudged Emily’s legs and invited her to sit again before trying to tell them something.

Paelen dropped his head. ‘No, Pegasus, please. You must be mistaken.’

‘What is it?’ Emily asked.

‘Pegasus says we must remain here. He believes it is our destiny to stay and fight. The pottery from the museum proves it. Today’s battle was depicted on the amphora you saw.’

Emily recalled the pot. A girl dressed as an Olympian was firing flames at monsters. Then she looked over at Joel’s torn-open arm, and Agent B, and finally to Mike lying beside her. His face was covered in blood from the monsters he’d fought. They were all depicted on the amphora.

‘I know what we saw at the museum, Pegs. But it’s too dangerous for us to stay. We’re not prepared to take on the Titans. That was never the plan.’

‘Pegasus is a very old Olympian,’ Paelen said. ‘He existed long before many of us. He knows a lot of the history of the Titanomachy.’

‘The what?’ Emily asked.

‘The war with the Titans,’ Agent B explained.

‘Yes,’ Paelen agreed. ‘Pegasus says his father spoke very little of the war. None of the Olympians who lived through it liked to talk about it. It was a dark time for us. But Neptune did once tell him of a power, more ancient than the Titans, who joined the battle at a critical moment. It tipped the balance of power and helped the Olympians defeat the Titans.’

Emily looked at the stallion. ‘Pegs, what are you saying? That it was us?’

The stallion nodded and neighed.

Paelen continued. ‘He says when you first mentioned travelling back in time, he considered the possibility that it was you. But then we planned to arrive after the war and he reconsidered. Now that we are here and have just defeated the Titan’s serpents, Pegasus believes it is our destiny to stay. You, Emily, the last Xan, are the ancient power that helps the Olympians defeat the Titans.’

After the battle, the villagers invited them to join in a feast of celebration. Emily tried to turn down the offer, but the locals insisted. This was the first battle they had witnessed where the Titans had lost and it was a joyous occasion.

A large banquet was prepared with an endless supply of luxurious delicacies. Loud, cheerful music was played by local musicians and everyone danced. Emily sat beside Pegasus, eating olives and watching Stella chat with a boy from the village. She was showing him how her wheelchair worked. The boy didn’t seem to understand much of what she was saying, but he smiled anyway.

Out on the dance floor Joel looked as if he was having a brilliant time. He’d covered his silver arm to hide the damage, but as he danced, the cover came free. But his pretty dance partner didn’t react with shock or fear. Stella was right. These ancient people accepted their differences and welcomed them into their village much quicker than the people of their own time would have.

During the course of the evening, Emily had been invited to dance by several boys, but she wasn’t in the mood. Her eyes kept darting around, waiting for the next attack. Agent B was doing the same. He was attempting to chat with the locals, but Emily could see that his wary eyes never stopped moving.

At the end of the celebrations they were invited to stay at the houses of the village leaders. As they walked back together, loud warning cries filled the air.

‘What’s all the shouting about?’ Joel asked.

‘I think the Titans have found us!’ Emily cried. ‘Look!’

The stars had been blotted out by a dark, moving cloud. As it got closer, they could see it wasn’t a cloud at all. The sky was filled with flying warriors. They made no sound, but the sheer number of them was overwhelming.

Screaming filled the air as frightened villagers took up whatever weapons they had. The sound of clashing metal mixed with their cries as sword met sword.

‘They’re attacking the village!’ Stella cried.

As more winged fighters arrived, Brue reverted back to her vicious self.

‘Not again!’ Paelen cried as Brue dropped him to the ground. Sharp, deadly teeth filled her two mouths and long sharp claws extended on her many feet. Her lips pulled back as both heads snarled in rage.

The ferocious Mother of the Jungle knocked Stella from her wheelchair and rose protectively above her and Paelen, roaring with deafening sounds they had never heard her make before.

‘Emily look, Ninja Turtles!’ Joel yelled.

Behind them, the narrow village streets were filled with monstrous-looking warriors. They weren’t overly tall, but they were stocky and wore dark green helmets and armour. Joel was right. They did look like Ninja Turtles. But these were no pizza-loving movie heroes. They carried swords and were attacking anyone in their way.

‘We’ve led them here,’ Agent B said. ‘Emily, get your Flame ready, this is going to be nasty.’

‘We’re surrounded!’ Stella cried.

Pegasus shrieked and pawed the ground.

‘We cannot fight them all. We must flee!’ Paelen shouted.

Emily called fire from her hands and shot her laser- flame at the nearest attacking ninjas. As the laser touched their green armour, pieces fell away and they collapsed to the ground.

‘Turn around, Emily,’ Agent B cried.

Just ahead, the winged warriors were landing and they were able to get a closer look. These were blackbird-like things. They were tall, with leathery black armour and dark wings on their backs. Their heads were covered in helmets with beaks and black feathers.

‘Joel,’ Agent B called, ‘get Stella, Paelen and Brue out of here. Emily and I will try to hold them back. Use that jewel of yours. Find Jupiter. Tell him what’s happening.’

‘I’m not leaving you!’ Joel cried.

‘Joel, go!’ Emily shouted. ‘You don’t have any weapons. Tell Jupiter about the Titan weapon. Go now, while I try to stop them!’

The turtle warriors were now charging their way.

‘Go!’ Emily ordered.

Joel pulled the jewel from his tunic and commanded it to take them to Olympus. ‘Follow behind us!’ he cried.

Pausing only to get Stella back in her chair, Joel ran into the Solar Stream followed closely by the roaring Brue, who was carrying Paelen in one of her large mouths.

Agent B stood behind Emily. ‘Just keep firing,’ he yelled. ‘No matter what, don’t stop. We can’t let them get hold of you.’

As Emily cut down fighters, it seemed that more and more were appearing from nowhere. ‘There are too many,’ she cried. ‘I can’t stop them all.’

Agent B screamed. Emily turned and saw that two turtles had caught hold of the CRU agent and were pulling his arms in opposite directions.

‘Agent B!’ she cried.

‘Go!’ the CRU agent howled. ‘Forget me, just go!’

Pegasus reared and kicked one of the warriors attacking Agent B. The creature’s helmet was knocked off – but Emily was shocked to see that there was no head inside. The turtle was hollow. But even without its head, it was still holding on to Agent B and pulling his arm in a gruesome tug-of-war with the other turtle.

Mike was at the warrior’s feet, biting into the thick leather armour and growling viciously as he tore pieces away from it. Emily fired at the headless turtle and cut off the arms holding Agent B. Then she burned the arms off the second turtle. Agent B collapsed to the ground, moaning in pain.

Emily looked around desperately. They were surrounded. It was only a matter of moments before the winged warriors reached them. Even with all her powers, she didn’t think she could get them all before she was cut down.