by Kate O'Hearn
Pegasus nickered and nodded toward Emily. Chiron frowned, but moved closer. He held out his left hand while still clutching his loaded bow with the other.
“It’s all right,” Emily said softly, “we’re friends. You just don’t know it yet.”
Emily took the centaur’s hand. Chiron bucked at her touch and turned to look back at the wounds on his flanks. In moments the deep burns faded and healed completely. The centaur lifted a rear hoof and flexed his leg. There was no pain.
Chiron nodded at Emily and Pegasus and turned to speak to his giants. The tall men responded by surrounding the group and raising their clubs and weapons. Chiron turned and started to lead them forward.
“What’s happening?” Emily asked.
Agent B looked around. “I think we’ve just been captured by the Olympians.”
25
FOR HALF THE NIGHT CHIRON led them over rough terrain and rubble. Emily was careful to keep her hand on Pegasus as they moved. The stallion was growing increasingly fatigued and was starting to stumble over the debris. When that happened, Emily used her powers to lift him off the ground and carry him.
As a dull and moody dawn arrived, they encountered more tired Olympians. Most Emily had never seen or met before. There were winged Olympians, snakelike Olympians, and many other war-weary and defeated creatures. Yet as she passed, they all stood and looked at her curiously. Those who could move started to follow.
“Pegs, look,” Emily said. “They don’t know me, but they must feel that I’m the Flame. They are drawn to me.”
“That could be a good thing or a bad thing,” Agent B said tightly.
A giant shoved the CRU agent in the back and grunted a few harsh words. “More likely a bad thing,” he finished.
Chiron held up his hand and they stopped. They were standing before the ruins of a building. Emily thought it could have been Jupiter’s palace, but it seemed to be in the wrong area.
Standing high above the entrance were three winged women. There were living snakes woven in their hair, and their faces had a pale green pallor. They snarled and threatened anyone who came near the ruins.
Emily gazed up at the angry women and was reminded of the Gorgons. “Who are they?”
Agent B shrugged. “I’d say by the looks of them they’re the Furies.”
“The what?”
“The three Furies,” Agent B explained. “They were known as the avengers of crime and levied cruel punishments on those who broke the law.”
“I’ve never heard of them.”
Agent B shook his head. “Honestly, Emily. If we somehow survive this, I am going to get you some books on mythology. For all your time with the Olympians, you know almost nothing of them!”
“How do you know so much?”
“Once the Olympians became known to the CRU, we were all ordered to study the mythology to familiarize ourselves with what we were up against.”
The first Fury flew down to the group and challenged Chiron.
While they argued, Emily lowered Pegasus to the ground. “How are you doing, Pegs?” she asked softly as she stroked his muzzle. “Are you okay?”
Pegasus neighed softly.
“He’s exhausted,” Agent B said, “and he hasn’t eaten in hours. None of us have.”
Emily pulled out her food pouch and waved her hand over the top to produce a large supply of ambrosia cakes for the stallion. “Go on and eat, Pegs.” She handed an ambrosia cake to Agent B. “You might as well also. Since you’ve already been exposed to it, there’s no point going hungry.”
A familiar voice called strange words from behind the giants. When they parted, Emily was stunned to see a young man walking between their legs. He was no more than eighteen or nineteen with dark wavy hair, smooth clear skin, and bright eyes. He was well built, with a strong, muscled chest. In his hand he carried a tall trident. But it was his eyes that Emily recognized first—they were as sparkly gray-blue as a stormy ocean.
“Neptune,” Emily called, “is that you?”
Pegasus nickered excitedly as recognition struck him. Painfully, he climbed to his feet as his old wings fluttered and shed feathers on the ground. There was no mistaking his joy at seeing his father alive again.
But the feelings were not returned. Neptune wore a dark, threatening expression. He pointed his trident at Emily and spoke the language of the Olympians. Though Emily couldn’t understand his words, the message was clear. He had no clue who they were.
Pegasus whinnied and stepped forward, but Neptune wouldn’t listen. He flicked the end of his trident. Pegasus was lifted off the ground and tossed several yards away. The aging stallion crashed down into a broken pile of marble pillars, landing on his wings. He cried out in deep pain.
“Pegasus!” Emily turned on Neptune. “He is your son, you idiot!” she shouted in a tone that she would never have dared use with the Neptune from her time. Emily fired a quick blast of power that tossed Neptune backward violently. He struck a giant and knocked the legs out from under him. They both fell to the ground in a confused heap.
“Emily, no!” Agent B cried. “Don’t kill him, or Pegasus will never exist!”
“I’m not going to kill him,” Emily shouted, “but no one hurts Pegasus, not even his father!”
Neptune rose and pointed his trident at Emily. It was well known that the weapon could shoot a lethal blast of water that was powerful enough to cut an opponent in half. Emily realized Neptune wasn’t playing or waiting for explanations.
As the first blast of water shot toward her, Emily raised her hands and easily deflected the water away. It struck the giants around her and knocked them to the ground.
Emily reached forward with her powers and hoisted Neptune off the ground. “Stop it!” she shouted at him. “We’re here to help you!”
But Neptune wasn’t giving up. Once again he turned his trident on Emily. But Emily was faster. Her powers wrenched the trident from his hands. The weapon shot down to Agent B.
“Hold this while Neptune and I have a little chat!” Emily rose in the air and met Neptune high above the heads of the giants.
“Emily, no!” Agent B shouted. “You could change the future!”
“Would you trust me, please?” she cried.
Suddenly, from the pile of rubble, Pegasus screamed.
A teenager stood before him with his hands pressed tightly on the stallion’s head.
“No!” Emily yelled. “Leave him alone!”
Emily dropped Neptune and flew directly over to the boy who was hurting Pegasus. She tackled him away from the suffering stallion. They tumbled together and fell into a deep, open pit of rubble.
Before they struck the bottom, the boy put his arms around Emily and hugged her tightly. He spun them both around so that only he took the impact of hitting the floor of the pit. “Emily, it is me!” he cried. “Jupiter!”
Emily lay on top of the boy. His dark eyes were bright and filled with mischief, and he had a devastating smile that revealed deep dimples in each cheek. There was no mistaking that he was very handsome, but she could see no traces of the Olympian leader in his face.
“Jupiter?” Emily frowned. “Is it really you?”
“How many other Jupiters do you know?” he teased. “Of course it is me.”
“And you speak English?”
Jupiter rose and offered his hand to help her up. His grin broadened. “I do now. My nephew, Pegasus, just taught me.”
Emily couldn’t understand what was happening. “How?”
“When I touched him,” Jupiter explained, “I saw who he was and where he came from. You have certainly come a long way. I am deeply grateful for your help. Pegasus is correct. We must stop my father’s weapon before it destroys us all.”
Emily was almost too stunned to speak. “You—you know everything?”
&nbs
p; “Yes.” He grinned. Then his teasing eyes sparkled. “I also know everything about you.”
“Such as?”
“Well, let me see,” he said lightly. “You started your life as a human and then became known as the Flame of Olympus. But the truth is, you are the last Xan, an ancient race of myth and legend. It is you who will help us end this brutal war with the Titans. Am I correct?”
Emily was still too shocked to move. The joy at seeing Jupiter alive again was too much. She had hoped to find him here in the past, but had never expected him to look like he did. The sparkle in his young, teasing eyes was making her heart flutter, and the way he spoke reminded her so much of Paelen.
Jupiter put his arm around her waist and grinned as he levitated them both out of the pit to where Neptune was standing, once again holding his trident on Agent B and Pegasus. Jupiter released her and ran over to his brother. He placed his hands on Neptune’s head.
As Jupiter transferred the information, Neptune staggered. When he recovered, he knelt down before Emily. The blue in his eyes softened to the color of a calm, warm sea—the color she knew and loved.
“Please forgive me. I did not know.”
“It’s not me you should apologize to!” Emily dashed over to where Pegasus lay. Agent B was with him and struggling to help him to rise.
“I’ve got you now, Pegs,” Emily said gently as she lifted him out of the rubble and healed his damaged wings. “This is happening to you too often. I wish everyone would just leave you alone.”
“Pegasus, my son,” Neptune cried, “please forgive me! I sincerely believed you were Titans here to destroy us.” He put his arms around Pegasus’s neck and embraced him tightly.
“You told him!” Agent B accused. “Are you insane? No one should know their own future, especially the Olympians!”
Emily shook her head. “It wasn’t me; it was Jupiter. When he touched Pegasus, he read his mind. Now he knows everything about us and learned our language. He’s just shown it all to Neptune.”
“Jupiter? Where is he?”
“Here,” Jupiter said. He approached Agent B and offered his hand. “After what Pegasus has shown me, I am surprised that a CRU agent would wish to help. But my nephew has faith in you.”
“You’re Jupiter?” Agent B said incredulously. “How? You’re just a kid.”
“A kid? I am much more than just a kid. I am Jupiter!”
“I don’t understand any of this,” Agent B said. “How could you learn our language so quickly?”
“We are Olympian,” Jupiter said, as if that explained everything.
Emily watched Jupiter speaking with the CRU agent and was painfully conflicted. She had known him for ages. Her Jupiter—old Jupiter. He was powerful, but more like a sweet, elderly grandfather. But this Jupiter was an even more powerful young man of Joel’s age. Cupid, who was considered the most beautiful Olympian, had nothing on him. Despite the grime of battle, Jupiter’s skin was smooth and golden. His eyes were sparkling, and his muscled body was stronger than Joel’s.
Pegasus nudged Emily and nickered softly.
Emily could see the stallion was laughing at her sudden reaction to young Jupiter. “Stop it, Pegs.” She blushed.
Jupiter stroked Pegasus’s face and grinned at Emily. “What have I missed?”
Emily blushed again and shook her head. “Nothing important. But we do need to talk. Can we go somewhere quiet?”
Jupiter nodded and motioned to Neptune. “Call Pluto, Juno, Vesta, and Ceres; they must hear this too. Then we can make our plans.” He returned to Emily and took her hand. “Come, there is not much left of the palace, but there is still a council chamber where we can speak privately.”
Before they entered the damaged palace, Jupiter paused to address his people and gave a short speech. When he finished, he called one of the giants forward and gave him instructions. The others bowed to Jupiter and returned to their duties, and the Furies took their position at the entrance again.
“You didn’t tell them everything, did you?” Agent B asked.
Jupiter tilted his head to the side. “I am young, Agent B, not stupid,” he said. “You are correct. No one should know their own future. It is best if no one other than the first Olympians know who you really are. I just sent the giants to alert my people. Your friends are out there somewhere in the middle of this battle. They must be found and delivered here unharmed.”
When Vesta arrived, with Juno and Ceres, Emily’s heart thrilled to see her teacher so young and alive. She ached to throw her arms around her, but Vesta looked at Emily with deep suspicion. It was only after Jupiter shared his knowledge that the three women warmed to her and spoke English.
“You are the last Xan,” Vesta said in shock, “and you are part of the Flame that arrived here a short while ago. It burned across our sky in a brilliant ball of light and crashed to the ground in a large crater.”
“Riza is already here?” Emily cried. She looked around at the ragtag team of fighters and through a hole in the palace wall to the barren, burned lands outside. “But I thought the Flame gave you all more powers. It helped you win the war. You once told me the Flame was the source of your powers.”
“It is true we have become much more powerful since it arrived,” Jupiter explained. “But so have the Titans. They seek to steal the Flame from us and take it to Titus. This is the battle we fight and the cause of the war. If the Titans succeed in controlling it, they will enslave us and all the worlds around us.”
“But Saturn is your father,” Emily said. “Can’t you talk to him and get him to stop?”
Neptune shook his head. “Our father is insane. He was once told that his children would overthrow him. He is so desperate to keep control that he had us imprisoned in Tartarus until Jupiter managed to escape and set us free.”
Agent B shook his head. “The myths said that he ate all of you. But when Jupiter was born, your mother, Rhea, fed Saturn a rock instead of the baby. Jupiter was raised on Crete and finally freed his brothers and sisters by making Saturn throw them up.”
Jupiter started to laugh. His laugh was soft and deep and made Emily blush.
“Do you always believe everything you read?” He laughed. “That story is madness. We were all born on Titus, a sister world to Olympus. Our father did not eat us. Nor did he disgorge us. What he did was imprison us until I was able to escape. I went back and freed my brothers and sisters. It is true that we have spent a great deal of time on Earth. But then we came to live permanently on Olympus. We hoped to remain here free from Titus and our father.”
“But when that Flame arrived, everything changed,” Neptune continued. “Our father and some of his brothers attacked us, trying to take it for themselves. To end the war we have considered extinguishing it.”
Pegasus whinnied loudly as Emily cried, “No, you can’t do that!”
Emily caught hold of Vesta’s hands. “If you extinguish the Flame, everything in the future will change. I will not be here and I will never know Pegasus.”
“I do not understand,” Vesta said. “I was confused by what Jupiter has shown me.”
“It’s very simple,” Emily began. “Not long from now you will take the heart of that Flame and hide it in a girl on Earth. It will live within her, unknown, for her whole life. Then when she dies, it will pass to another girl, and then another, for countless generations, until the time comes when I will be born with the heart of the Flame. I will live in a place called New York City, and it is there that Pegasus will find me. He will take me to Olympus to enter the Temple of the Flame, and it will be brought forth in me.”
“But there is no temple built to the Flame,” Vesta said. “It burns deep in a crater in the ground.”
“If Emily says there is a temple built to the Flame—and as I have seen it in my nephew’s mind—it must be made so,” Jupiter insisted. “If
we win the war, we will build the Temple of the Flame.”
Agent B looked at Emily in confusion. “I never knew that was how you came to have all these powers.”
“No one in the CRU knows,” Emily said. “It was my destiny.”
“And now that destiny is in grave danger,” Agent B said. He looked at the Olympians. “Listen to me, all of you. It is critically important that you follow through on what you have learned from Pegasus. If anyone deviates from what was meant to happen, it will change the future. That could be devastating for Earth as well as Olympus.”
“Of course,” Vesta said. “We will act on what we have learned.”
Emily approached Jupiter. “Have your people heard anything of Joel and Paelen yet? They’ve been out there alone with no weapons for too long.”
“I have seen who they are in my nephew’s mind. Joel is resourceful. I am sure they are fine. But I will order more giants to look for them.”
When Pluto arrived, he was as young and attractive as his brothers. As the Big Three stood before Emily, she smiled to herself—they looked more like a boy band than the leaders of Olympus.
Pluto took the news of their arrival with his usual calm. It was decided that one more Olympian should be invited in on the secret. Chiron was called to the meeting and introduced properly to Emily. The centaur bowed deeply and apologized for his rudeness earlier and thanked Emily for healing his wounds.
“So what can we do to help find Saturn’s weapon?” Emily asked. “If we don’t destroy it now, there is no future for any of us.”
“Of course,” Jupiter said. “I am sickened to think that our father could create such a thing. Could he really hate us so much?”
“Father is insane,” Vesta said. “Nothing he does surprises me anymore.”
“But where would he build it?” Agent B asked. “Can we go there and stop him?”
Jupiter shook his head. “If this weapon is as powerful as that, he will keep it well hidden and protected while it is being developed. It could be anywhere: Titus, Tartarus, or any of a hundred worlds. We will send out our spies, but it will take time.”