Pegasus and the Origins of Olympus (21 page)

Pegasus nickered, but turned away, refusing to look at her.

‘Pegs?’ Emily said in concern. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘Em, what’s wrong?’ Joel joined her by the stallion.

‘I don’t know.’

She grasped the stallion’s muzzle and physically turned his head. When they looked into his eyes, they both gasped.

Agent B knelt down. ‘What is it?’

‘Look at his eyes,’ Emily cried. ‘They’re solid white!’

‘Pegasus, can you see?’ Joel asked.

The stallion snorted and tried to turn away.

Agent B called a satyr away from his meal. ‘Talk to Pegasus, ask him what’s wrong.’

Like all the fighters on the battlefield, the satyr now spoke English. Jupiter insisted it become the Olympian language of war. It was new and none of the Titans could understand it.

‘Tell us, Pegasus, what is wrong?’ the satyr asked.

Pegasus neighed softly. He turned his head to Emily and invited a stroke.

‘Well?’ she demanded. ‘What did he say?’

The satyr dropped his head. ‘He says the war is nearly over.’

‘How does he know?’ Agent B asked.

‘Because Saturn has started to develop the weapon. Pegasus is ageing again.’

‘Pegasus, no!’ Emily now understood. Pegasus was blind.

How could she not have noticed? He had been moving slower. She’d had to stay close at his side to protect him from the attacking Shadow Titans.

Agent B rose. He caught the satyr’s arm. ‘Find Jupiter and his brothers. Tell them what has happened. Tell him we’re out of time. We’ve got to make our move against Saturn now!’

Stella pushed her wheelchair closer to the workbench. Theo, a giant, was at her side, waiting for his instructions. He’d been assigned to stay with her as her personal assistant and was very attentive.

Vulcan was mixing metals in a deep cauldron to help with her new flame-sword design. ‘This formula should be more stable. Those other metals melted too quickly. But if we get this right, your idea may just work.’ He grinned at her. ‘You do have a unique talent for this, Stella. Perhaps when the war is over, you will stay with me. We could do amazing things together.’

Stella’s heart swelled with excitement. To be invited to stay and work with Vulcan was a dream come true. She knew him from the Greek myths as Hephaestus: the most talented craftsman and engineer in all mythology.

Vulcan didn’t care if her hair was an uncombed mess or if her hands and fingernails were filthy from working in the forge. He didn’t nag her to wash the soot off her face. He let her try new ideas and encouraged her to keep designing.

It had taken her some time to get used to him – just as it had taken time for him to get used to her and her wheelchair. Unlike the other Olympians, Vulcan was not known for his beauty. In fact, some would say he was grotesque. His face was scarred and pockmarked from the molten metals he worked with. He was hunched over and had artificial legs just like Joel’s arm. His voice was gruff and his manner rude. Vulcan said what he thought. Good or bad.

‘The mould is ready when you are,’ Stella called to Vulcan as she wheeled her chair away from the bench. ‘The central channel should be deep enough to allow the flame to keep burning while the weapon is in its sheath.’

‘Very good,’ Vulcan said. He lifted the cauldron of molten metal. ‘This is ready to go.’

He carried it over to her workbench and poured the enriched liquid gold into the mould she had created. Until now, most of the Olympian’s weapons had been pieces of metal pounded into shape. This was a new design and Stella was anxious for it to work.

Acrid smoke filled the forge as the metal met the mould. When he finished pouring, Vulcan inspected the cooling weapon with a critical eye. ‘There is no reason this should not work. Not if the mix is correct.’

The cooling mould was lowered into a tray of cold water. Steam shot up and covered them all in a damp film. ‘That should temper it nicely,’ Vulcan said. ‘With a bit of luck, we should be able to test it tomorrow. But we need Emily here to charge it with her powers.’

‘Have you heard from them?’ Stella asked.

Vulcan wiped a grimy cloth across his sweaty brow. ‘Chiron sent word today. They are moving. We have agreed to meet up so that Emily can enrich the weapon. We must tear down the forge and prepare to go later today.’

Stella hated moving. It was such a lot of effort to break down an entire forge and workshop. But with Shadow Titans still in Olympus, they couldn’t remain in one place very long.

While they waited for the sword to cool, they started to pack up. But with the work only just beginning, shouts came from outside the workshop and a moment later Seren and Jasmine charged in. The twin centaurs were Stella’s age and they had become firm friends.

‘Shadow Titans have found us,’ Seren cried.

‘They have fiery dragons with them,’ Jasmine added. ‘We must go now!’

Paelen was seated on Brue at the back of the workshop. He and the large Mother of the Jungle spent every day there, despite the intense heat. Paelen was now almost completely deaf and could no longer walk on his own. At the excitement, he and Brue came forward. ‘What is it?’ he shouted. ‘What is happening?’

‘Dragons!’ Vulcan yelled up to him. ‘We must flee!’

‘But the sword isn’t ready. We can’t leave it,’ Stella cried.

‘Take it with you,’ the twin centaurs shouted together.

Stella reached for the sword, still in its mould, and laid it across her wheelchair’s armrests. ‘I’ve got it, let’s go.’

Vulcan peered out of the workshop doors and cursed. ‘There are Shadow Titans coming this way.’ He pointed at the giant. ‘Theo, leave everything else. Just get Stella and Paelen out of here. Meet us at the appointed place.’

The giant nodded, but as he reached for Stella roaring filled the area.

‘The dragons are here!’ the giant cried. ‘It is too late to run!’

At the sound of the rampaging monsters, Brue growled. Over time she had proved to be a valuable member of their group as elements of the ferocious creature she had once been were now always present. Long sharp teeth protruded from her mouth. Her many legs had tearing claws on them and she could call up a fighting aggression at moments of danger. She was devoted to Paelen, but lethal to any Shadow Titans or monsters that came near.

Paelen had also been trained to use a sword and, together, seated on Brue’s shoulder, they were a lethal team.

As Brue’s two wild heads thrashed the air, snarling and biting, Paelen drew his weapon.

‘Brue, Paelen, no!’ Stella cried. ‘Stay here!’

Paelen looked at Vulcan and raised his sword. It was almost too heavy for his withered arm to lift. ‘We will slow them down,’ he shouted. ‘Get Stella and the sword away from here. Win the war!’

Before moving through the door, Paelen turned back to Stella and shot her a beaming, crooked grin. Suddenly he no longer looked like a weak, little old man. There was something in his eyes – something very young and wonderful. ‘It was an honour to know you, Stella,’ he shouted, bowing as best he could. He tossed her a small ring. ‘Please give that to Emily. Tell her that I have loved her – always.’

And with that, the Mother of the Jungle ran into the open and straight at the nearest dragon.

‘Stop!’ Stella wheeled herself to the entrance of the forge. In the bright sunshine, Brue was tearing after the dragon. The monster was more than triple her size, but that didn’t stop the fearsome Mother of the Jungle.

‘Paelen, jump!’ Stella warned. ‘Get away from there!’

But Paelen was deaf to Stella’s cries. He stabbed his sword deep into the dragon’s lower leg. Brue’s two heads attacked higher up, tearing huge chunks from the dragon and bringing the beast down.

The monster howled in pain. Its distress calls drew the other dragons away from the workshop. When they arrived at the fallen dragon, they drew in tremendous breaths.

‘Paelen, get out of there!’ Stella shrieked.

But it was too late. A deadly stream of flame shot from the dragons.

‘Paelen!’ Stella cried as grief tore through her. ‘Paelen, no!’

She could not see her friend for all the flames. All she saw was fire and the outline of the wounded dragon also being incinerated in the attack.

Theo was standing behind her, watching. ‘Paelen is dead,’ he said, ‘but he has given us time to escape. We must not waste it.’ He lifted Stella in her wheelchair and carried her away from the forge. But as he ran, his movements caught the dragons’ attention. They charged after him and struck Theo in the centre of his back with a force that knocked Stella from his grip.

Stella cradled the sword as she screamed and fell several metres to the ground. Her wheelchair took the brunt of the impact as its wheels buckled and frame shattered. Keeping hold of the prototype weapon, she started to drag herself away.

Behind her, Theo fought one of the dragons. The monster was taller, but the giant was stronger. He wrapped his hands around the creature’s neck and squeezed. A terrible cracking sound filled the air as the bones snapped.

As the dead beast collapsed to the ground, the others attacked Theo. The giant was overwhelmed and driven down to the ground. He fell just a few metres from Stella. Above him, the dragons stood together and were inhaling deeply.

Theo threw himself over Stella, keeping her protected in the crook of his arm. Lying beneath him, she heard the roaring flames of the attacking dragons and then the giant’s terrible, pain-filled screams. Theo was being burned up. But still he would not move and expose her to the dragon’s fury.

Theo took it all so that she might live.

Emily fired a blast of flames at the legions of attacking Shadow Titans. They were instantly destroyed. But right behind them was another wave. This was the biggest assault yet. Joel was on one side of her while Agent B stood strong on the other. Their swords were drawn and they were cutting down anything that came near.

Pegasus was behind Emily. He was screaming and struggling to rise. Emily kept her protective powers around him. But Pegasus didn’t like that. He wanted to join the fight.

Mike was running wild and attacking the Shadow Titans. For reasons none of them understood, the fearsome creatures ignored the dog, and so Mike was able to tear pieces of armour from countless Shadow Titans while Joel finished them off.

All across the battlefield, Olympians fought the Shadow Titans. Monsters that, in later myths, would be portrayed as enemies, fought side by side with Jupiter’s forces. Giant crabs caught Shadow Warriors in their massive claws and cut them in half. They scurried across the battlefield, taking down many warriors.

The deadly Harpies, daughters of a Titan, filled the skies with their screeching battle cries. The terrifying winged fighters swooped down on the Shadow Titans. With their clawed feet, they tore them to pieces.

The Hydra was also fighting on the side of the Olympians. The many-headed serpent slithered through the battle, catching hold of the Shadow Titans and bashing them together until there was nothing left.

But still, the Olympians were losing.

Chiron charged breathlessly up to Emily. A deep gash ran across his sweat-covered chest. ‘We are surrounded,’ he gulped. ‘There are too many and we are overwhelmed. Please, Emily, use your powers, get us away from here before they capture us all.’

Joel had a deep wound on his leg while Agent B had been struck across the back. Both were bleeding and looked on the verge of collapse.

Chiron was right. This battle was lost. Emily stood still and closed her eyes. She cast her powers out over the immense battlefield and caught hold of any ally that lived. Concentrating as hard as she could, she sent everyone to the meeting point.

One moment they were on a vicious battlefield surrounded by Shadow Titans, the next they were in a peaceful open meadow. Beautiful wildflowers covered the ground and a gentle, fragrant breeze filled the air.

This was a part of Olympus that had never seen the war. It was the Olympus Emily and Joel remembered. Not the devastated areas ravaged by war.

Emily healed Joel first and then Agent B. Then she made her way through the resting warriors, healing all she found who needed her. Before long, she was able to return and was sad to discover there was nothing she could do to ease Pegasus’s suffering. The stallion’s ageing was accelerating.

As Emily lay down beside him, Nike, the winged Victory, landed on the ground before her.

‘We are so glad you have arrived,’ Nike said. ‘Please come, we need you. Stella has been badly wounded. Vulcan fears the human child is dying.’

‘Please stay here with Agent B, Pegs. I promise I’ll be right back.’ She gave him a quick pat on the neck before lifting herself and Joel into the air to follow Nike.

Wounded Olympians were everywhere. But these were not fighters. They were the workers that supported the war effort by preparing food, making clothing and manufacturing weapons to be used on the battlefield.

‘What happened?’ Joel asked. ‘These people were supposed to stay safe and away from the fighting.’

‘The Titans attacked Vulcan’s forge,’ Nike explained. ‘We captured one of their spies. Under interrogation, he told us that Saturn knew of Stella’s sword design. Fearing it might work, he sent monsters to kill her and destroy the sword before it could be tested.’

A pair of young centaurs ran up to Emily. They were both limping badly and had deep burns across their backs.

‘Please hurry,’ Seren begged.

‘Stella is fading,’ Jasmine finished. ‘You must save her.’

They entered a tent filled with the worst wounded. Not far from the opening, Vulcan was being tended by his assistants. He was burned and had a deep head wound.

‘Vulcan,’ Joel cried. ‘Em – you’ve got to help him.’

Emily approached Vulcan, but he waved her off. ‘Not me, save Stella first.’

‘Come,’ the twins beckoned, ‘she is this way.’

Emily and Joel walked among the wounded. At the end, they approached a bed where Stella lay. She was deathly pale and barely breathing.

Emily immediately crouched at her side and touched her. ‘What happened to her?’