by Kate O'Hearn
The effort of using powers she had not used in ages showed on Phoebe’s face as she felt for the presence of night dwellers. But, long ago, she had been renowned for her ability to read minds and influence people. ‘No, there are no guards on this level at the moment.’
‘Good,’ Lorin said. ‘I have an idea.’
Lorin bent down to the floor where the bars joined the wall, and focused all her attention on the Flame. She was not sure how to do it, but what she lacked in experience, she made up for with determination.
She closed her eyes and imagined what she wanted to do. She needed a small but intense Flame to melt the metal bars. As she pointed her finger and concentrated, her obsession to get out and find Emily fed her power. A small blue Flame emerged from the tip of her finger. Within moments, the metal of the bar started to smoke and then melt.
Lorin was barely aware of her surroundings as she focused. But she soon became aware of sound. Or rather, lack of it. Word of her activities was spreading fast through the cells on this level and the prisoners hushed to wait and see what she could do.
‘Stop!’ a voice from across the corridor warned.
Lorin looked up and saw a man of Phoebe’s age standing at the bars of his cell. His hair was long and filthy, but he held a commanding elegance. A spark of life was rising in his piercing brown eyes. ‘I have seen these powers once before – long ago, from a girl just like you. She was responsible for our defeat and imprisonment. If that girl locked us in here, then you, child – you, will be our salvation. But you must listen to me. Do no more. Saturn must be informed and we must plan this very carefully. Guards cannot learn of this until we are ready.’
Lorin stopped. She and Phoebe blew on the small pool of molten steel to set it, and inspected the damage to the bar. It was almost burned right through. She looked into Phoebe’s shocked face. ‘When I am through here, no bars will ever lock us in again.’
12
Xanadu. A lush, green jungle world that was once inhabited by a powerful, benevolent race known as the Xan. Highly intelligent, with powers greatly surpassing the Olympian’s, they were the creators of the Solar Stream and used it to visit countless worlds. If they encountered a dying planet, they would bring the survivors here. Xanadu was Sanctuary. But then, weary of their long existence, the Xan released themselves to the universe, leaving Xanadu to grow wild and untamed.
In the time since her last visit, the jungle had reclaimed most of the clearing that had been built around the Solar Stream entrance. Although Olympians came here regularly, it was a constant battle to keep the jungle from obscuring the arch entrance.
Within minutes of their arrival, they heard loud trumpeting and the sound of something tearing through the jungle towards them. All the wildlife around them hushed as the sound grew louder.
‘Someone knows we have arrived,’ Chiron said with a grin. ‘Paelen, I wonder who that could be?’
‘Oh, no!’ Paelen moaned as his eyes scanned the area.
A huge animal, more than double the size of an elephant, with two heads, long purple fur and sharp, cutting claws, charged through the trees and ran straight over to Paelen. Like an excited puppy, the creature, known as the Mother of the Jungle, danced around him and started to lick him all over.
‘Emily, please,’ he begged. ‘Call her off! I do not need another bath!’
Emily laughed. ‘Brue loves you more than anyone. No one can call her off, not even Riza.’
Joel smiled up at Emily, who was still seated on Pegasus. ‘It’s good to see you laughing again.’
Emily’s eyes sparkled as she gazed down on him. She inhaled the sweet, humid aroma of the jungle. ‘It is good to be back here. I didn’t realize how much I missed it.’
‘Xanadu is part of you,’ Joel said. ‘It’s like your second home.’
News of their arrival must have got out. With each passing moment, more wildlife entered the clearing to visit Emily. Before long, she was covered in colourful butterflies and exotic insects while beautifully plumed birds landed on the stallion’s neck, desperate to be close to the last Xan.
‘We have explored very little here,’ Chiron explained. ‘There is just so much to see, so many other continents to visit, where the Xan set up sanctuaries for the species of dying worlds.’
‘I still want to see them,’ Joel said. He looked at Emily. ‘Don’t you?’
‘I do,’ Emily agreed. ‘When we’re finished we’ll come back here and have a good look around.’
Brue ambled up to Pegasus and grunted. She lowered her two heads to Emily’s level. The purple fur on the gentle giant was soft and sun warmed. Her four eyes revealed nothing but devotion.
‘Hello, Brue,’ Emily said. As she stroked the Mother of the Jungle, she couldn’t help remembering how much Brue changed when she left Xanadu. The Mother of the Jungle had grown sharp, tearing teeth, coarse hair and blazing, predatory eyes. Brue had fought loyally at their side against the Titans, and though her devotion to Paelen never wavered, she had become a terrifying monster.
But the Brue mewing for attention from Emily was anything but! She sighed with pleasure as Emily scratched behind her ears. ‘I’ve really missed you,’ said Emily.
‘It is obvious that everyone here has missed you,’ Paelen said.
Pegasus nickered softly and turned his neck to look up at her.
‘He says,’ Paelen translated, ‘that when we make you well again, he will bring you back and we will spend time here. He knows that you retain painful memories of the other time-line, but now you must put that behind you and see the beauty in this time-line.’
Emily nodded and patted Pegasus’s strong neck. ‘You’re right.’
Chiron clapped and rubbed his hands together. ‘Let us get to Arious so we can solve this mystery once and for all.’
Still on Pegasus, Emily led her friends deep into the chambers of the Temple of Arious. Down many stairs and round multiple bends, they made their way towards the secret chamber that housed the super-computer.
The door to the chamber was shut.
Chiron turned to Joel. ‘Emily discovered how dangerous Arious is to non-Xan. We must not risk what happened to you last time ever happening again.’
‘What did happen?’ Joel asked. He grabbed Emily’s foot as it hung down from Pegasus. ‘C’mon, Em, isn’t it about time you told me?’
‘All right, I’ll tell you – if only to warn you,’ Emily said. ‘In the other time-line we came down here looking for a way to help the Olympians who were ageing and dying. Riza told me about this place and said if Arious could not offer a solution, there was none to be had.’
‘Was I there?’ Paelen asked.
Emily shook her head. ‘No, only Joel came down here with me.’ She stopped short of saying Paelen had been too old and frail to make the journey into the depths of the Temple.
‘And . . . ?’ Joel prodded.
‘And, when I hooked myself up to Arious, I started to scream. You tried to pull me away and when you touched me, you got zapped.’
‘Zapped?’
‘Information meant for me also went into you. It kinda blew your brains out. You collapsed and went into a coma . . .’ Emily stopped speaking as she slid down from Pegasus’s back. ‘We all thought you were going to die.’
She dropped her head as the memories pressed down on her. She vividly saw Joel lying so still he looked dead.
‘But I didn’t die, did I?’ Joel said. ‘I was fine. No brain damage, no lasting effects.’
Paelen came forward and knocked on Joel’s head, laughing. ‘That is because you are too bullheaded! Not even Arious could break through this thick skull of yours!’
‘Exactly!’ Joel agreed. ‘Nothing is getting in or out of here! Who needs a football helmet when you’ve got this noggin?’ He laughed again. ‘Right, Em
?’
Emily watched Joel and Paelen laugh at one of the scariest moments of her life. It helped lift a great weight off her.
‘Note to self,’ Joel commented. ‘When you go into Arious, it’s a “no touchy, no zappy” situation!’
Paelen tapped Emily. ‘I suggest we try it again, just so I can see Joel’s face when he gets zapped!’
‘Let’s not, but say we did,’ Emily said, lightening up. She approached the old stone wall and pressed the hidden spot that would open the door to Arious.
It whooshed open and Paelen peered in with wonder. ‘Wow. Hey, Joel, can you imagine what the CRU would do if they saw this place?’
‘They already did,’ Emily said, feeling better about sharing the darker memories of the past. ‘Agent B and his men came in here. But when one of them tried to enter Arious, it killed them. After that, they stayed away.’
‘Serves them right,’ Joel said. ‘I wish it had killed them all!’
Chiron looked at Emily and they shared a secret moment of understanding, remembering how Agent B had changed and helped them.
Chiron cleared his throat. ‘Enough talk about the past – we are here to protect our future. Emily, Arious awaits you.’
The room was just as bright and shiny as Emily remembered it. Polished silver walls, white tile floor and the consul to Arious, the super-computer, resting in the very centre. Within the consul was an insertion area where the ancient Xan would enter the computer to upload all the things they had encountered on their explorations. This knowledge would then be shared among the people.
Joel stepped up to the insertion area. ‘Were the Xan a tall people?’
Emily smiled as a memory flashed. Joel had asked that exact same question the last time.
‘Yes, they were. Very tall.’
‘As tall as the giants?’ Paelen asked, also repeating a question from before.
‘Not quite,’ Emily answered. ‘They were very thin with super-long arms. Their skin was iridescent like mother-of-pearl and their eyes seemed to glow pearly white.’
‘They sound scary,’ Joel said.
Emily shook her head. ‘Oh no, just the opposite. They were almost too beautiful to look at. I have never felt such peace as when I was in Arious. The Xan were the closest thing I can imagine to angels.’ Emily stepped up to the insertion area. She looked back at her friends.
‘Remember, whatever happens, you must not touch me.’ Her eyes passed between Pegasus and Chrysaor. ‘Promise me you’ll stop them from trying anything if I start screaming.’
‘You don’t have to say that, Em,’ Joel said seriously. ‘If this computer zapped me once, I don’t want it to happen again.’
Emily nodded. Everything told her she had to do this, but as she stepped closer and raised her hands to touch the two receivers, she felt the first waves of fear. As the fear rose, so did the pounding in her head.
She gave one last smile back to Joel and then grasped the two receivers.
The headache vanished instantly as Arious reached into her mind to link with her. The super-computer seemed to remember that she had been here before.
‘Emily?’
Emily looked back inside herself and inhaled sharply. ‘Riza, is that you?’
Riza smiled radiantly. This was the first time Emily had ever seen the Xan with whom she shared her life. Her beauty stole Emily’s breath. She had stunning elliptical eyes that sparkled with her love of life. Her skin was like a glowing pearl. Up close, she was even taller than Emily had imagined and had fine, long, elegant arms that ended in delicate hands. Her smile was bright and filled with mischief.
‘Are you all right?’ Riza asked.
Emily nodded. ‘I just never dreamed you’d be so beautiful.’
Riza glowed with the compliment. ‘You have always been beautiful to me.’
‘Are you kidding?’ Emily said. ‘Beside you, I’m a mud puddle!’
Riza laughed easily in her high voice. ‘A very lovely mud puddle.’
‘Where have you been?’ Emily said, growing serious. ‘I’ve really needed you, but you were gone. And how can I see you now?’
‘It is Arious. She has given us the power to see each other. Emily, you must listen to me. We are in grave danger.’
‘From whom?’
‘From us,’ Riza said. ‘Do you remember when we turned Tom into a Sphinx?’
When Emily nodded, she continued. ‘You were right. I was using too much power to change him. More power than we had. I was certain there was enough of me within us to do it. But I was wrong, and now I have endangered our lives.’
‘Is that why I’ve got this terrible headache?’
Riza’s head dipped down. ‘I am sorry, but that was not a headache – it was me. It was the only way I could communicate with you. I had to warn you not to use our powers again. But I failed in that too. You used them to save the night dwellers, but at such a terrible cost to us both.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Emily insisted. ‘What’s wrong with us?’
Riza sighed and the pain it held cut through Emily like the sharpest knife. ‘We are dying.’
‘What? How?’
‘Emily, when you sacrificed yourself to the Temple of the Flame, your heart opened and I was freed. I felt such joy being with you. And then, when we could finally speak, I knew I had found a treasured sister. Time spent with you has been the happiest of my life. But you already know I am not complete. So much of me is still missing. More powers, my personal memories . . . they’re all gone.’
‘You mean the Flame-shards?’
‘Yes,’ Riza said. ‘I truly believed we had enough power to turn Tom into a Sphinx. Had I been a whole Xan, the change would have been simple. But I am far from whole. Only now do I realize how much of my old self is missing.’
‘And . . .’ Emily prodded.
‘And then when you used our powers to slice through that mountain and save the night dwellers, there was a fatal tear in our union. Now it is taking all my strength just to keep us coalesced – which is why I have become silent. I do not have the energy to speak with you and hold us together. Were I to stop for one moment, just one, we would fracture and break apart. Emily, we will both fade into nothingness. But I am growing weary and the strain is taking a terrible toll on me. I can’t last much longer.’
Terror clutched Emily’s heart like she had never known before. It wasn’t just her life at stake. If anything happened to Riza and her, the Olympians would lose their Flame – their powers. ‘What can we do?’
‘We need to find more Flame-shards. I need to be restored. Only then can we survive. But time is growing short, we are both weakening – and we are facing a greater danger.’
‘You mean Lorin, don’t you?’ Emily said. ‘She has the power of the Flame.’
Riza nodded her pale head. ‘As you know, when I surrendered myself to the cosmos and broke apart, a large chunk of me crashed to Olympus and became their Flame. But what we didn’t know is that at the same time an even larger piece struck Titus. It must have entered Lorin. Now that we are weakening, she is strengthening and has become aware of us.’
‘But that’s good, isn’t it?’ Emily said. ‘If we find Lorin, maybe we can get the power back.’
Riza shook her head. ‘The shard that crashed to Olympus contained my heart, my spirit. To keep it safe, Vesta took it and inserted it within a human girl. It has passed from one girl to another over the ages until I reached you and we were merged together in the Temple. All that I am, my emotions, my intellect, all that made me Riza, a benevolent Xan, went into you. We are two, but we are one.’
‘What did Lorin get?’
‘What I felt from her was my power core. It is stronger than what you received – but it doesn’t have Xan benevolence to govern or control it. Lorin
is like a wild fire burning out of control. She knows a big part of herself is missing but doesn’t understand that the missing part is my consciousness. But her powers do – they recognized me in you, and they yearn to be joined. They are driving her to find us, to reunite.’
‘Then we’ve got to get the shard back from her.’
‘No! We must never meet her,’ Riza warned. ‘Emily, right now we are more vulnerable than we have ever been before. We are fighting for our very existence. Any use of power could fracture us beyond repair. But Lorin has all her powers intact. More than you ever had. Should you two meet, Lorin would draw from us our remaining energy and destroy us. She would become even more powerful, but we would cease to exist. Lorin could become Olympus’s greatest threat – perhaps even a threat to the fabric of the universe!’
Emily couldn’t imagine a greater danger. ‘So you think if we found another Flame-shard, it could save us?’
‘It is the only way,’ Riza agreed. ‘But there is still a risk. Even if we find a shard – we may not have enough strength left to absorb it.’
‘We have to try,’ Emily insisted. ‘I’m not ready to die yet. Not now, when we have so much to live for: Dad, Pegs and everyone who loves us. We can’t leave them to Lorin’s mercy. I’ve felt her. All she knows is rage.’
‘You forgot someone,’ Riza teased as her pearl eyes twinkled with mischief. ‘I think on purpose. You forgot to mention Joel. He is one of the biggest reasons you are prepared to fight, is he not?’
‘Yes.’ Emily blushed. ‘You already knew that.’
Riza chuckled and it was like a welcome breeze on a hot summer day. ‘Of course I knew,’ she said playfully. ‘I love him just as much as you do. I just wanted to hear you say it out loud.’
Emily smiled. In the middle of the greatest threat to their lives, Riza was teasing her. ‘You’ve been living in humans too long – you’ve developed a real wicked streak. So, what do we do now? How do we find another shard?’
Riza closed her luminous eyes. ‘Arious,’ she said to the computer directly. ‘You know the danger we now face. Would you run a full cosmic scan? Search for anything resembling the energy signature of the Xan. Please, help us find another piece of the “me” that once was.’