by Kate O'Hearn
Her mother turned from the front. The expression on her face showed that she was growing tired of the argument. “I told you before, Stella, we’ll be working long hours. Your father will be too tired to drive all the way back to Athens each night.” She sat forward in her seat. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you. You used to love coming on digs and camping on site.”
“That was when I was a kid. Before the accident, when I could get around on my own without help,” Stella said. “This is your dream, not mine. I don’t want to be an archaeologist.”
“Well, what do you want to be?” her mother demanded.
“An engineer,” Stella fired back. “I want to design new things to make people’s lives easier, not spend my time digging in the dirt and finding old junk. It’s boring!”
A heavy silence filled the car as it drove steadily toward the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio. It was only yesterday they’d received the phone call saying part of the rock face at the temple had collapsed into the sea and some items had been revealed. That one phone call had ruined Stella’s school vacation.
Rain started to fall as the car made its way along the narrow, winding roads of Cape Sounio. Finally her father turned along a path leading up a tall hill and drove toward the temple’s parking area. The site was closed due to the find, and red-and-white tape covered the entrance area. A warning sign was posted in the parking lot saying that the ground around the temple was unstable and that the ancient site would be closed until further notice.
“Let’s get up there and see what’s happening before we unload,” her father suggested as he opened the door.
Stella could see the growing excitement in his sparkling dark eyes. He may have had graying hair and beard, but suddenly her father looked very young. He always did when there was something new to discover.
Saying nothing, Stella lagged behind her parents as they made their way to the top of the hill that overlooked the sea. It was at the very top that they would find the Temple of Poseidon. Stella had been a young girl the first time she’d been here and had marveled at the stories surrounding it. The Athenian hero, Theseus, had gone to Crete to fight the Minotaur in the Labyrinth of King Minos. And when his father, King Aegeus, thought his son had died, he came to the temple and threw himself into the sea far below. That was why the sea was now called the Aegean.
Those stories had always interested Stella. But now, as she made her way to the temple, all she would see was a bunch of old, broken-down columns and the echoes of an ancient people who had spent years building the temple to a sea god that didn’t exist.
Her mother turned back to look at her and sighed. “Would you try to show some interest?”
“But it’s boring. . . .”
“Just try.”
Up ahead was the small wooden booth where tourists would normally buy their tickets to go to the temple. It had now been turned into a meeting place. Other archaeologists were gathered there. These were all people her parents knew, and most worked with them in the Acropolis Museum. In fact Stella knew most of them as well.
“What did you find?” her mother asked a museum colleague.
“We’re not sure,” George Tsoukatou answered. “At this point we can only see a small portion. But we did find this. . . .” George handed over a clear plastic bag containing a delicate silver-bladed dagger. It looked almost new, not like it had been in the ground for thousands of years. The blade still looked sharp, and the marble of the handle was unpitted. There was a beautiful green jewel on the pommel.
“This is beautiful,” Stella’s father said, taking the dagger from his wife.
“That’s just the appetizer,” George answered. “Wait till you see the main course.” He led them the rest of the way up the hill. As they walked, the rain came down more heavily.
“It’s this weather,” George explained. “All the rain is breaking away the rock face. It’s still quite far from the temple itself, but in the next few years we may have a problem.”
Farther up the high hill, they rounded a bend. Despite her anger, seeing the Temple of Poseidon rising high in the stormy sky stirred something deep within Stella. She couldn’t deny that the tall, mottled marble pillars on the smooth base were still awe-inspiring.
It wasn’t quite as amazing as the Acropolis or the Temple of Zeus in Athens, but here, with the Aegean Sea crashing on all three sides of the rock face hundreds of meters below, it did have its own enchantment.
Staring at the temple, Stella hadn’t been aware that her parents had moved away. Finally her mother’s voice woke her from her reverie.
“Stella, come over here. See what else has been found.”
Her parents and George were standing away from the temple and closer to the edge of the cliff. She saw the fresh break in the solid rock and knew if she dared to approach the steep edge, she would see the broken pieces far below.
Where the rock face had broken away, a pit had opened. There, with the rain pouring down, her anger at her parents fled. Stella could see the sharp corner of what looked like a large golden box poking out of a sheet of solid rock.
“How did they do it?” her father was asking. “Look at the sides. That box is embedded in solid rock. How did they get that thing in there?”
George shrugged. “I have no idea. But I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.”
4
PREPARATIONS WERE WELL UNDER WAY for the permanent portal to Xanadu. When Emily and Pegasus arrived in the artifact chamber, they stood back, watching the activity. Jupiter and his brothers were supervising the construction of an archway that would keep the direct Solar Stream access to Xanadu open.
Chiron was chatting with other centaurs and handing out instructions for the investigations of the Temple of Xanadu.
Emily saw her father walking with Diana, carefully inspecting items retrieved from the jungle world. Joel, Paelen, and Chrysaor were at another table, going through other artifacts and trying to guess their use.
“Em, are you all right?” Her father put down a strangely shaped object when he noticed her. “You left here so quickly, I couldn’t find you.”
“I know, but I had to get away. I went to speak with Tom.”
“Did it help?”
Emily nodded. She looked back to where Jupiter was supervising the final stone in the archway. “But I’m still a bit freaked out by everything.”
“Me too, hon,” he said. “But, Emily, whatever we discover, it doesn’t change a thing. Maybe part of you does come from the Xan. But no matter what, we’ll get through this together, just like we always have.”
She thought those were the best words in the world. “You bet we will,” she said gratefully as she put her arms around him.
Never one to be too sentimental, Diana cleared her throat loudly. “Emily, now that you are feeling better, would you take a look at some of these artifacts?”
“Hey, Emily,” Paelen called. He was putting an odd-shaped leathery garment on his head. “I think this is a hat. How do I look?”
Emily took one look at Paelen with his silly, crooked grin and the ridiculous makeshift hat and she burst out laughing. She walked over and pulled down the brim. “That’s better. Now I’m sure the water nymphs will love you in that!”
Emily pulled the hat down farther on Paelen’s head. But as she touched the item, sudden images shot across her mind. She gripped the brim tighter and closed her eyes.
Emily stopped laughing. She pulled the hat from Paelen’s head and walked over to one of the tables, where she placed it upside down. Emily waved her hand over the top. Moments later it filled with fresh, sweet ambrosia cakes.
“Ambrosia cakes, my favorite!” Paelen cried as he reached into the hat for a cake and stuffed it whole into his mouth. “Delicious! Thank you, Emily,” he said, spraying crumbs all over her.
“Wow!” Joel said. “How’d yo
u do that?”
“I don’t know.” Emily looked at the odd hat. “But when I touched it, I knew it could produce food.”
She poured the ambrosia cakes on the table and inspected the hat. The inside was clean, with no trace of the sticky Olympian food. She carried it over to Pegasus.
“What would you like most, Pegs?”
Pegasus touched the hatlike thing and then nickered. Emily put it back on the table and waved her hand over it. Like before, it filled with food. This time it was the stallion’s favorite: chocolate ice cream with bits of sugary breakfast cereal.
“This is so cool!” Joel cried. He caught hold of the hat and poured the ice cream into a bowl for Pegasus. “My turn.” He held the hat before him and said, “I would like some cheese ravioli in tomato sauce, smothered in grated Parmesan, with thick garlic bread on the side.” He then held it out to Emily.
Emily waved her hand over the opening. Once again it filled, this time with a portion of Joel’s order, including the garlic bread.
“What is this?” Diana asked as Joel placed his piping-hot lunch on a plate. “How does it work?”
“I really don’t know,” Emily admitted. “I just knew it was for food. So the bearer would never go hungry when they traveled.”
“We sure could have used that in Las Vegas!” Paelen said as he devoured his third ambrosia cake.
Emily looked around at all the other items on the tables and frowned. “It’s so strange. I kind of know what these things are, but I really can’t remember.”
Jupiter, Pluto, and Neptune looked at the odd assortment of food. Jupiter reached for an ambrosia cake and tasted it. He nodded approvingly. “This is ambrosia. Very fresh and very pure.”
Neptune stuck a finger in Pegasus’s ice cream and sampled his first chocolate. “This is very good indeed,” he said, grinning at his son. “What a wonderful device.”
Diana neatly folded the hat until it was no bigger than a deck of cards. “It was written that the Xan crossed the cosmos. This would be the most efficient way of transporting food supplies. Very simple and very neat.”
She handed it to Emily. “This, my child, is yours.” Emily took the food hat and slipped it into her tunic pocket as Joel leaned closer to her and whispered, “Now we can have all our favorites from back home.” He flicked her playfully on the tip of her nose. “Including all the marshmallows you can eat!”
“And chocolate bars,” said Paelen.
“And potato chips,” Joel suggested.
Emily smiled at her friends and turned to Pegasus. “Pegs, you can have all the chocolate ice cream that you want.”
The stallion whinnied excitedly and nodded. He nudged Emily playfully.
“And vegetables,” her father added. “You kids are going to eat well if it kills me!”
In the front of the chamber Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto were standing before the completed archway. “Everyone, stand back. We are about to redirect the Solar Stream.”
Jupiter addressed his brothers. “All together!” Pegasus escorted Emily to the back of the chamber as everyone gathered to watch. The Big Three joined hands and raised them in the air. Suddenly the entire room burst into life with the blazing light of the Solar Stream. The air around them crackled and whooshed with roaring energy. Fierce winds whipped Emily’s hair as she tried to see the Olympians, but all she saw was blinding light and the faintest trace of the three large outlines standing before the new marble archway.
Moments later the bright light and roaring energy pulsed and pulled back as though it was being sucked into the arch and contained by it.
Then it was gone.
“Well done!” Jupiter cheered, patting his brothers on the back. He combed his tousled gray hair with his fingers and turned to the others. Emily could see that his face was bathed in sweat, as were the faces of Neptune and Pluto.
“That does clean out the cobwebs!” Neptune laughed, shaking his head.
Everyone in the room applauded, while Pegasus nickered loudly and trotted up to his father. Emily stood back with her friends. She asked Paelen, “Is that how they would have destroyed Earth?”
Paelen nodded. “There are none more powerful than the Big Three when they unite their powers.”
“Wow,” Joel said. “It’s one thing to hear about it, another to actually see it.”
“It’s terrifying,” Emily muttered.
Together they walked toward the arch. Now that the Solar Stream was closed, it looked exactly the same as it had before.
“How does it work?” Emily’s father asked.
“It’s very easy,” Jupiter said. “And you do not have to be Olympian to use it, Steve.” The leader of Olympus waved his hand closer to the arch and the Solar Stream opened again, only now the light was contained within the marble ring.
“All you need do is step close to it and it will open. This is a direct route to Xanadu only. It will not take you anywhere else.”
“But what about from there to here? How do we get back?” Joel asked.
“A good question,” Neptune said. “We will shortly go to Xanadu to build the same thing and link them together. It will be a permanent tunnel between the two worlds.”
Jupiter clapped his hands together. “First our builders will take their supplies through and build the arch at the other end.” He pointed to his brothers. “Then we shall go to seal the Solar Stream in place.”
He turned to Emily. “After that, my dear child, it will be time for us to take you home.”
“But Olympus is my home!” Emily cried.
At her alarm Pegasus nickered and came closer to her.
“Of course it is,” Jupiter corrected. “Nephew, calm down,” he said to Pegasus. “I was speaking historically. Of course Olympus will always be Emily’s home, you know that. But if she is indeed Xan, that must be part of her home too. We cannot deny her her origins.”
That calmed the stallion as he pressed his head to Emily.
“Thanks, Pegs,” she whispered gratefully, putting her arms around his neck. She turned to Jupiter. “When will it be ready for all of us to go?”
“First thing tomorrow,” Jupiter said. “We will summon you when we are ready.”
As Emily, Pegasus, and her friends filed out of the room, Emily looked back at the arch. That portal might hold the answers to the source of her powers. But as she looked at all the odd items in the room, a good part of her really didn’t want to know.
5
IT WAS LATE THE NEXT morning when Jupiter called everyone back to the artifact chamber. Pluto and Neptune were already on Xanadu waiting for them.
Jupiter instructed everyone to bring extra clothing and bedding. The journey to Xanadu was a long one, and they would be spending several nights there.
They gathered before the arch in excitement. Jupiter stepped forward and raised his hand to the portal. When it burst to life, everyone filed into the Solar Stream.
The journey was longer than Emily could have imagined. Traveling within the power of the Solar Stream, time could not be measured, but she was sure it had to be well over a full day.
Pegasus was beating his wings as they moved, but it wasn’t really necessary. To her left Diana, Apollo, and her father traveled without the use of wings or any other flying method. She smiled as she watched her father with his arms outstretched, looking like Superman.
Speaking and being heard within the roaring of the Solar Stream was next to impossible. With nothing to do, and unable to talk to anyone, Emily leaned forward on Pegasus’s strong neck and let the rhythmic beating of his wings lull her into a deep sleep.
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 sanctua
ry. 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!” Around her the jungle was alive. All the creatures she knew and loved wished her well and offered their heartfelt farewells.
“Not much farther,” she cried. “Please wait for me. I am almost there.”
But even as she forced more speed, she could feel the power of the others building. They had waited as long as they could. But the stars above were aligned. They could wait no longer.
“No!” she howled as she felt their energy converging. “Wait for me! I’m coming with you!”
She pressed on, struggling to reach the gathering. As she burst through the trees, she arrived at the appointed place. Before her stood her people, arms raised, their powers merged, until they finally released themselves into the cosmos.
“No!” she cried. “Please don’t leave me. . . .”
“No!” Emily roared.
She awoke to the urgent, frightened whinnies of Pegasus and could feel the stallion nudging her. She was lying on a cool damp floor in a dark place. The only light came from Pegasus glowing brilliantly in the darkness. All around, the sound of dripping water echoed, as if she was in a large, hollow chamber.
She was panting heavily as the residue of the dream remained with her. “Dad? Joel?”
There was no answer. The only noise came from Pegasus anxiously pawing the stone floor.
“Pegs.” Emily reached up to him. “What happened?” Emily climbed to her feet and gazed around. Even with the stallion’s glow, she couldn’t see much beyond where they stood. “Where are we?”
Pegasus snorted and shook his head. Once again Emily wished she could speak his language. “I don’t understand.”
The stallion caught hold of her hand in his mouth. His grip was light despite his powerful bite as he led her forward. After a few meters he stopped before a wall. In the glow of the stallion she could see words carved in a stone slab mounted there.