by Kate O'Hearn
‘Yes, young Riza,’ Arious responded with a voice that was soft and gentle.
Emily felt a surge of emotion rise from the super-computer as it set to work. It cared. Arious actually cared! ‘Is Arious alive?’
‘In a manner, yes,’ Riza said. ‘For countless millennia, Arious has absorbed the psyche of the Xan. Every time we inserted ourselves into it, we left a part of ourselves behind.’
‘I am one of you, young Emily, but I have been alone too long,’ Arious said sadly. ‘I will not let you fade away – I will not be alone again. I will find that which you need to survive. The Xan will not end.’
And, as frightened as Emily was, she could feel Arious was even more so. The super-computer didn’t want to be alone. Moments later, Arious’s voice became shrill. ‘I have found one – I have found one!’
‘Tell us,’ Riza demanded. ‘Where must we go to find the shard? How far is it?’
‘It is far, but not beyond your reach. You have been there before.’
‘Us?’ Emily asked. ‘Where is it?’
‘A small, blue planet. You know it as Earth.’
13
Emily staggered and stepped clear of Arious.
‘Em!’ Joel supported her as she found her balance. ‘Are you all right? You’ve been in there two days!’
Emily frowned. ‘No way – it’s only been a few minutes.’
Pegasus snorted and shook his head.
She gazed around and saw the used bed rolls on the tile floor and leftover ambrosia cakes.
‘We are not lying,’ Paelen said. ‘You have been in there much longer than you think. What happened? Do you know what is wrong with you?’
Emily tried to remain calm as she explained the revelations of her time in Arious.
‘No!’ Joel punched the wall with his silver fist, leaving a large dent in the pristine metal. Paelen turned away and his shoulders slumped, and Chiron dropped his head in sorrow.
Joel shook his head. ‘Riza’s wrong – you’re not dying!’
Chrysaor trotted over to Joel and squealed softly, calming him down.
‘Joel, listen to me.’ Emily put her hand on his shoulder to turn him around. ‘I’m getting weaker, you know that. I’ve known something’s wrong for a while now.’
Joel turned to face her. ‘Why did she do it?’ he rasped. ‘Why did Riza have to turn Tom into a Sphinx?’
‘We both wanted to,’ Emily said softly. ‘We thought we had enough power to do it. Alexis was suffering because Juno was separating them. Tom would have been left alone – just a single willow tree stranded in the desert. It would have been too cruel to leave him there.’
‘But then you would have been safe!’ he spat.
‘It is no one’s fault, Joel,’ Chiron said. His hooves clopped on the tile floor as he drew near. ‘What Emily and Riza did was a kindness. I am certain neither of them could have foreseen this outcome.’
‘It’s not over yet, Joel,’ Emily said. ‘I’m still here. We just have to find that Flame-shard.’
‘Find the Flame-shard before you accidentally use your powers and die or Lorin finds you and kills you,’ he said bitterly.
‘Yes,’ Emily agreed. ‘I won’t use my powers, you will all see to that. Riza will warn me with a pounding headache if I even think about using my powers again. And we have time. Lorin is locked in Tartarus. We can leave for Earth the moment we get back to Olympus. We’ll retrieve the Flame-shard before she even knows about it and Riza and I will recover.’
Pegasus leaned into Emily. As she stroked his strong neck, Emily could feel him trembling. She hugged him tightly. ‘It’s OK, Pegs. I’ve told you before, nothing is ever going to separate us. Please help me find the shard, and then everything will be OK.’
‘We will find that shard, Emily,’ Paelen spoke softly. ‘You and Riza will be safe – even if I have to tear Earth apart to find it.’
They made their way back to the arch, anxious to return to Olympus. But when they got there, they were surprised to find a small figure draped in Pluto’s heavy cloak, sitting on a log beneath a leafy tree. It was definitely not Pluto.
‘Emily, thank the stars you are here! I knew you were in the temple, but I could not risk going in and getting lost.’
‘Fawn?’ Emily approached the figure. ‘Is that you under there?’
The hood nodded and stood up. ‘Pluto warned me of the sunlight on Xanadu and gave me his cloak to wear.’
‘Child, what are you doing here?’ Chiron asked. He looked up to the bright sunshine filtering down through the trees. ‘You should be sleeping deep underground, far away from the dangers of the sun. You’re too exposed here.’
‘I had to come to warn you. It is terrible,’ Fawn said. ‘You must not return to Olympus. It is under attack!’
‘What?’ Chiron cried.
Joel charged forward. ‘By who?’
‘The Titans . . .’
14
Shock tore through the group.
‘Tell us everything,’ Chiron demanded.
Fawn started to speak. ‘You know my brother can speak with Sapphire and me, even though he’s in Tartarus?’
‘Yes, and . . .’ Emily prodded.
‘Not long after he arrived there, they discovered a girl with powers just like yours. By the time the guards learned what she could do, she had freed the most powerful and dangerous Titans. They took control of Tartarus. My brother and all the guards have been taken captive. The Titans are using the Solar Stream to enter Olympus and attack it.’
She turned to Emily. ‘Dax says they are looking for you. You have something the girl wants.’
‘It’s Lorin,’ Emily said. ‘She’s learned to use her powers to break out and now she wants me.’ A sudden sharp pain in her head let Emily know that Riza was reacting to the news.
‘Why did they send you here?’ Joel asked.
Chiron answered for her. ‘It is because of the night dwellers’ unique ability to communicate with family members across vast distances. With Fawn here, Sapphire on Olympus and Dax on Tartarus, they are our only means of communication between the three worlds.’
‘Yes,’ Fawn agreed. ‘Jupiter is with my sister right now. He is waiting to speak with you.’
‘Not here,’ Chiron said. ‘Let us take you into shelter. You must not remain exposed to the sun. Pluto’s cloak may protect you, but only for so long.’
Fawn walked under the shade of Pegasus’s wing as they made their way back to the temple. When they were safely inside, she removed the cloak. Her skin was still pale, but showed the first signs of blush, like a mild sunburn.
‘Wow,’ Joel said, inspecting her arm. ‘Even covered, you still burn. How long have you been out there waiting for us?’
‘I arrived yesterday and stayed under the trees. But do not worry about me. I am not burned, only singed.’ Fawn paused and closed her eyes. ‘Yes, Sapphire, we are together. Please tell Jupiter that Emily is here.’
With her eyes closed, Fawn worked as a communicator between Xanadu and Olympus. Emily told Jupiter what she knew.
‘Emily,’ Fawn repeated Jupiter’s words to Sapphire. ‘I have given Fawn the blue jewel that will open the Solar Stream. You must use it as your means of transport. We have dismantled the arch here in the Artefact Chamber as a precaution to stop the Titans from finding Xanadu.’
‘Jupiter, shall I come back and join the fight?’ Chiron offered.
Fawn repeated the Centaur’s message.
‘No, we have things under control here,’ was the reply. ‘Saturn will not take Olympus. Even with Lorin under his command, we have the means to stop him. Chiron, I am counting on you to get Emily to Earth. She must merge with the Flame-shard there and be restored to health.’
Fawn paused and inhaled
sharply as the message continued. ‘The Flame here is still faltering. It rallied for a bit, but then lost its strength. It has not affected our powers yet, but if you fail to find that Flame-shard, we will lose our strength and Olympus will fall to the Titans.’
‘Emily, your father is speaking now,’ Fawn said. ‘I wish I could go with you, but there’s no time for me to get there. You must leave immediately. Head straight to Earth, don’t come back to Olympus – it’s too dangerous. And for heaven’s sake, don’t use your powers. You have a good team with you – trust each other, stick together and find that shard. We’ve given Fawn your food pouch, so you’ll have plenty to eat. Don’t worry about us, it will only distract you. Em, you’re all I’ve got left. Please, baby, please be careful and stay safe. You know I love you more than anything. I love all you guys, so don’t delay. Get going right now. Find that shard and keep away from the CRU!’
‘We will,’ Emily said softly to her father. ‘I love you too.’
Fawn opened her eyes. ‘They are gone.’
‘Tell me, child,’ Chiron asked the night dweller. ‘When did the Titans attack?’
‘The day after you left for Xanadu. I heard the sirens going. Just like when the Nirads first attacked. Vulcan has turned the forge over to weapons-making again.’
‘Has there been any fighting on Olympus yet?’ Joel asked.
Fawn nodded her head. ‘There has been some. Saturn is sending his fighters from Tartarus. He is commanding them from there. Venus is going to lead Hercules and Mars to Tartarus as she knows it so well. They are gathering a team together to capture Saturn and end the attacks on Olympus.’
Chiron shook his head. ‘Mars is orchestrating that plan, I know it! He is too hot-headed for his own good. This is a foolish idea and I am surprised Venus is supporting him. They should stay on Olympus to defend it. Not go on the offensive into Saturn’s stronghold. They will never get near him!’
‘And we should get going to Earth right now,’ Joel said impatiently. ‘If Lorin makes it to Olympus, she may find out where we’ve gone.’
‘I agree,’ Chiron said. ‘But we do have another problem.’
‘What’s that?’ Emily said.
‘When we go to Earth, we will need to arrive high in the sky so that no one sees us from the ground.’
Joel nodded. ‘You’re right. So what’s the problem?’
‘Me,’ Chiron said. ‘Without being boastful, I am a rather large Centaur – and I cannot fly.’
15
Despite the urgency, they had to delay their departure long enough to make a sling large enough to carry Chiron. His horse body was not quite as big as Pegasus, but he was much heavier. Using the strongest vines in the jungle, they braided lengths together to create a harness to hold him. This was then secured around Pegasus’s deep chest, in front of his wings, then around his waist.
It was decided that Fawn would fly on Pegasus with Emily, to keep her awake, while Emily could shade the night dweller with her body. When they were settled on the stallion, Emily turned back to Chiron, who was adjusting the last of the harnesses around his torso. ‘Are you ready?’
The Centaur gave the thumbs-up. ‘Whenever you are. Remember, Pegasus, take us up as high as you can. We don’t want any surprises when we get to Earth.’
Pegasus whinnied in agreement and started to flap his large white wings. Entering a trot, he moved into a gallop. Chiron raced behind him, careful to keep the harness from tangling. There was barely room in the small clearing for Pegasus to gain enough speed to take off.
As the winged stallion rose in the air, Emily turned back and cringed. They were not climbing fast enough. Chiron shielded his face with his arms as he struck the dense jungle wall with explosive force. The Centaur’s loud curses mixed with the sounds of breaking branches, torn leaves and fleeing birds as he was dragged through the trees.
‘Higher, Pegs,’ Emily called. ‘Chiron’s hitting the trees!’
Pegasus whinnied again and Emily could feel his muscles straining to lift the heavy Centaur above the tree line. When Chiron finally burst free of the jungle, his chest was covered in scratches and he was pulling leaves and branches from his hair.
‘Are you OK?’ Emily called down to him.
Chiron coughed and spat out leaves. ‘Not something I wish to repeat any time soon!’
Paelen laughed hysterically at the sight of the elegant Centaur trying to rub the green leaf stains off his chest. ‘Thank you, Chiron,’ he gasped. ‘I needed a good laugh!’
Even Joel had a smile on his face, while Pegasus nickered with humour.
‘Perhaps we shall try that with you next time, Pegasus!’ Chiron called. Then he faced Paelen. ‘And you too!’
Paelen shook his head. ‘No need – I have wings.’
‘No,’ Chiron corrected. ‘What you have are sandals with wings. Take them away and you are as grounded as me.’ When the laughter settled, he looked up at Emily. ‘Use the jewel to open the Solar Stream. With my weight, Pegasus will not be able to gain enough speed to enter it on his own.’
Emily nodded and looked over to Joel on Chrysaor and then Paelen. ‘I’m going to open it. Are you ready?’ When they nodded, Emily held up the blue jewel. ‘Take us to Earth!’
As they entered the Solar Stream, Emily felt the heavy drawing of sleep. She was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open.
‘Emily, do not sleep!’
Emily’s eyes flashed open. Fawn was twisted around on the stallion’s back and shaking her.
‘I – I’m awake. Thanks. I’m just so tired.’
‘Hey, Em,’ Joel called, struggling to be heard over the whooshing of the Solar Stream. ‘Sing along with me.’ His deep voice rose clear and loud: ‘Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer. If one of those bottles should happen to fall, there’d be ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall . . .’
Joel looked back at Paelen. ‘C’mon, it’s easy. Sing to keep Emily awake!’
‘Wait,’ Paelen cried. He flew closer to Joel to be heard. ‘Why are there ninety-nine bottles of beer on a wall? What wall? And what caused one to fall?’
‘It doesn’t matter – just shut up and sing!’ Joel ordered.
Their voices were nearly hoarse from singing as they burst free of the blinding white light of the Solar Stream and into a clear, blue, cloudless sky. A vast and seemingly endless ocean spread out beneath them, with no trace of land in sight.
Emily gazed around quickly and found the sun shining brightly behind them. Her body was working as a shelter for the night dweller. ‘Fawn, are you all right? Can you feel the sun?’
Pluto’s hood shook. ‘No, I am all right.’
‘OK, Em,’ Joel called from Chrysaor, soaring close at their side. ‘It’s up to you. Can you feel where we have to go?’
Emily sat taller on Pegasus and gazed over the horizon in all directions. As the moments passed, she felt . . . nothing.
The first flutters of fear settled in the pit of her stomach. What if she couldn’t do it? What if Arious had been wrong and there was no shard on Earth? Everyone was watching her, waiting for her to tell them where they were going, and she couldn’t feel a thing. They hadn’t factored this into the plan. Earth was so big. They should have realized it wouldn’t be this easy.
‘Well?’ Joel called.
‘I don’t know,’ Emily cried. ‘Riza said I would feel it pulling me, but I don’t feel anything!’
‘Emily, calm down,’ Chiron called from beneath them. ‘Fear is blocking you. Relax, we have plenty of time. Just focus on what you must do. Let your powers call to each other.’
Pegasus strained to look back at her and whinnied. ‘He says “close your eyes”,’ Fawn translated.
Emily closed her eyes and tried to calm down. But she still coul
dn’t feel the shard. Suddenly there was a sharp pain in her head.
‘Riza, is that you?’ Emily called. ‘Can you hear me?’
The pain repeated, letting Emily know the ancient Xan could hear her, even if she couldn’t respond in words. ‘Riza, I can’t feel the shard. Can you?’
Once again the pain returned and Emily had never been so grateful for it. Riza knew where the shard was, she could feel it. ‘I am going to look around slowly. Please pound when we are facing the direction we need to go.’
Emily closed her eyes and turned to look directly behind them. She opened them again and saw the stallion’s tail fluttering out behind them as he flew in the sky. ‘Here we go.’
Ever so slowly, Emily started to turn her head to the left. Before long she was facing directly ahead of them. Still there was nothing from Riza. But as she made her way towards the right, she started to feel a light pounding in her temples that became steadily stronger until Emily’s hand shot up to her head and she squinted with the pain. ‘Ouch! OK, Riza, I get it. Please stop!’
The pain subsided and Emily sighed in relief. She called forward to Pegasus. ‘Go to the right, Pegs.’ She called to the others. ‘We’re going to be OK. I can’t feel the shard, but Riza can. C’mon, it’s this way!’
16
Lorin stood before the leader of the Titans. They were in a large chamber near the surface of Tartarus. She had been up to the surface with Phoebe and they had tasted their first few moments of pure freedom.
What Lorin discovered was that Tartarus was a terrible place cloaked in dark, scudding clouds. Heavy, freezing winds battered her and the rain quickly soaked her to the skin. Mud was everywhere, as though it never stopped raining. Even though it appeared to be day, there was very little light. Tartarus was, in a word, miserable. In fact, she preferred being inside the cells on the lower levels of the prison. At least they were warmer and dryer than up on the surface.