by Kate O'Hearn
The queen reached for Emily’s hands and motioned her to sit down and join them.
‘How much did you tell them?’ she asked.
‘Everything,’ Alexis said. ‘They know all about the clones. Though they do not understand fully what they are, they do understand how important this is and what it could mean for your world if Jupiter were to find out. They will help us.’
Prince Tobin started to growl softly.
‘He says he will come with us to rescue the children of Nirads.’
‘But they’re not children,’ Emily frowned. ‘They are big, fully grown grey Nirads.’
‘He understands,’ Alexis said. ‘But there is no word in their language for clone. The closest is child or children.’
‘I am so sorry this has happened to your people,’ Emily said sincerely. ‘I promise we will do all we can to stop the CRU from creating more.’
Prince Tobin made a long series of sounds.
‘The prince says he will go with you and gather the children together. He will bring them home where they belong. The children will be made welcome and cared for.’
‘Thank you, Tobin,’ Emily said. ‘But I have to warn you. I don’t know what the clones – I mean children – will be like. They could be very dangerous. They come from grey Nirads only. The child of Pegasus was wild and deadly. They may not know you as their prince and may try to hurt you.’
Once again Prince Tobin made a series of sounds.
‘They will know him,’ Alexis said. ‘He is convinced. He also said not to fear for his safety. He will not be coming alone.’
An orange Nirad approached. Emily immediately recognized him as the goalkeeper from Joel’s football team. Tirk bowed formally to the queen before moving to stand behind the prince.
‘Tirk is coming with us?’ Emily said, looking at the huge Nirad. Up close he was even bigger than Tange and twice as strong. His arm muscles seemed to pulse with barely contained strength.
The prince nodded and spoke softly.
Alexis translated. ‘Tirk will be Tobin’s royal guard. The prince will not go without him.’
A royal guard would definitely help. If he was anything like Tange, he alone should be able to control the grey Nirads. ‘That’s great,’ Emily said. She stood up and prepared to leave. ‘Can we go now, please?’
Alexis shook her head. ‘That would not be wise. We are all tired from the day’s events and must rest. We will leave in the morning.’
‘But what about Joel, Paelen and Chrysaor? We’ve got to get back to them!’
‘Yes we have,’ Alexis agreed. ‘In the morning. Now I will hear no more about it.’ The Sphinx stood and nodded respectfully to the queen and prince before trotting away.
18
Back at the black tower, Joel, Paelen and Chrysaor settled down for their first meal in a very long time.
Frankie took a sip of his drink and held the can out to Joel. ‘Do you drink soda on your planet?’
‘This is my planet!’ Joel insisted. ‘How many times do I have to tell you that? I’m human, just like you!’
Frankie shook his head. ‘Nah-uh, humans don’t have arms like yours. They can’t fly with shoes and their pet pigs don’t have wings.’
‘He’s a boar,’ Joel corrected. ‘And he’s not my pet. He’s my friend.’
‘Do you think he could be my friend?’ Frankie asked as he stroked Chrysaor’s wings.
‘Ask him yourself,’ Joel said irritably. ‘I’m going up to the roof to wait for Emily.’ He stormed out of the area and made his way to the stairs.
‘Why is Joel mad at me?’
Paelen looked at the little boy. Little Frankie seemed so lost and alone. ‘He is not mad at you. He is just very worried about our other friends.’
Frankie nodded his head and continued to pet Chrysaor.
‘Where is your family?’ Paelen pressed. ‘Do you not wish to go home?’
Frankie remained silent a very long time before looking up at Paelen. Tears rimmed his eyes. ‘This is my home. I never had a dad and my mom ran away. Now it’s just me and John.’
Paelen looked over to the pile of rags. The person under that pile hadn’t stirred since they arrived. It appeared that Frankie did more for the man than he did for the boy.
‘How long have you two been together?’
Frankie shrugged. ‘I’m not sure – longer than a year. John found me on the street when I was looking for my mom. He tried to help me find her, but we couldn’t. Then we moved in here. He says when we make enough money with gambling, we’re going to buy a real house. But …’
‘But what?’ Paelen asked.
‘But John keeps drinking so we can’t go out to gamble much.’
Paelen looked around at the home of the young boy. He felt great sympathy for him. His life was so much harder than Paelen’s had ever been. Harder even than Joel’s after his parents had died.
‘Perhaps we can help you.’
Paelen heard himself make the comment and shivered. Had he really just offered to help a human boy? He’d spent too much time with Emily and Joel. He would have never offered to help before. He had always lived only for himself. Now he was offering help to a stranger?
He stood up and stepped over to Chrysaor. ‘I am going up to check on Joel. Would you keep an eye on things here?’
Chrysaor grunted and remained with Frankie.
Paelen found Joel standing at the edge of the roof looking up into the sky. ‘Are you all right?’
Joel shrugged. ‘I’m worried about Em, and what’s going to happen when she gets back. What are we supposed to do? That facility is the most guarded of all of them. We can’t exactly sneak in like we did last time.’
‘I do not know,’ Paelen agreed. His eyes looked out over the strip. The ground below was teeming with people despite the late hour. ‘But until they get back here, I suggest you and I go down there and see what is happening.’
‘You want to go out tonight?’
Paelen nodded. ‘Why not? It could be a few days before Emily returns. We don’t know what horrors we will face with the CRU. This might be our last opportunity to have some fun.’
Joel shook his head. ‘But won’t she be back soon?’
‘Time moves differently along the Solar Stream. A day there could be several here. We could be sitting up here for some time waiting for Emily to return. And I for one do not want to miss this chance to go exploring this strange and amazing place. Especially if it’s about to be destroyed. I want to see as much of it as I can before that happens.’
Joel looked longingly back down to the strip. ‘Well, I’ve never been to Las Vegas before.’
‘Exactly! We will not be out for long, so what can go wrong?’
19
It was early the next morning in the Nirad world. After another large meal of ambrosia, nectar and black Nirad moss, extra supplies were packed up for the other Olympians on earth. Soon a crowd gathered outside the cave of the Solar Stream. The crowd had no idea where their prince was going or the danger he faced. They just knew he was leaving, and offered their farewells and good wishes.
Emily watched the masses of Nirad people in amazement. For all their size and fierceness, they were a gentle and caring race, bound together by Queen Segan and Prince Tobin. She worried what would happen to these people if something were to go wrong and they lost Tobin. Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea after all. These people needed their prince.
As if reading her mind, Alexis padded up to Emily. ‘It will be all right. Tirk will not let anything happen to Tobin.’ The Sphinx looked at the young prince and his sister as they embraced and said their goodbyes. ‘Even if we changed our minds about him coming, we could not stop him. He is bound by blood to protect his people; even if they are just clones.’
After the two royals parted, Emily approached the queen. ‘I promise to use all my powers to protect your brother. I know what he means to you and your people. I won’t let anyone hurt him or Tirk.’
Small dark tears were forming in the young queen’s eyes. She growled softly and embraced Emily. She then stroked Pegasus and kissed him softly on the muzzle. Emily didn’t need an interpreter to understand the messages between the two.
20
The night air was cool as Frankie led Joel and Paelen on a tour of Las Vegas. Despite his young age, Frankie was very familiar with Las Vegas at night and knew all the interesting places to visit.
As they walked along the famous strip, Paelen’s eyes were bright and his mouth hung open as he tried to take in all the sights and sounds around him.
‘That’s Circus Circus,’ Frankie explained as he pointed at the large red casino across the street. ‘They allow kids in there. But John and me never go in.’
Joel added, ‘I’ve seen it on TV. Let’s go in.’
Paelen put his hand on Joel’s arm. ‘Not there.’
‘Why?’
Paelen looked up to the black building beside them. ‘It is too close to where we are staying. You never steal where you are living. It may lead people back to you. Trust me. I know what I am talking about.’
Joel frowned. ‘What do you mean, steal? I thought we were playing tourist tonight.’
‘We are,’ Paelen agreed. ‘But we also need money for food.’ He looked down at little Frankie beside them. ‘And we promised to return what we took from you. I never break a promise.’ He glanced back to Joel. ‘To get money, we will need to steal it.’
‘We could always find another bank machine?’
Paelen shook his head wildly. ‘I did that once – never again! Those machines eat people. I will not be their next meal! No, we will find some other way.’
As they continued, Paelen felt his thief ’s senses taking over. He hadn’t used them much since he met Emily and Joel. But now he needed them more than ever. Down the strip they walked past casino after casino. The road was jammed with slow-moving traffic and the pavement was crowded with people. Men handed out discount vouchers offering cheap tickets to shows while casino doormen tried to attract the attention of passers-by and invite them inside.
A man handed a voucher to Paelen and said, ‘Cool shoes, dude!’
Paelen frowned. ‘They are sandals, but thank you,’ he corrected the man as they continued walking. He looked at the voucher in his hand. On it were several showgirls in brightly coloured, glittering costumes with tall feather headdresses. Paelen raised his eyebrows in appreciation. ‘Look at this!’
Joel studied the card and smiled brightly. ‘Welcome to Las Vegas! I’d love to see a show.’
‘Then we will,’ Paelen agreed.
Joel shook his head. ‘We can’t. One, we need money to get in, and two, we are all underage.’
Paelen laughed and put his arm around his tall friend. ‘Joel, do you forget who you are with? There is not a door, wall or lock that can stop me. If you wish to see a show, we shall all see a show.’
They continued strolling along the strip and came upon a free outdoor show.
‘See.’ Paelen directed them towards the entrance. ‘I never break a promise.’
They found seats and watched a husband and wife team working with their performing parrots.
The intelligent birds did tricks and talked to the glamorous wife. Frankie was the youngest person in the audience. When the wife spied him, she called him up to the stage to help with a trick. Paelen smiled as their young friend participated in the bird show.
At the end of the trick, the audience applauded and a beaming Frankie returned to his seat. ‘This is the best night ever! Did you see me with that big red bird? It was awesome!’
At the end of the show, the woman offered to take a free photograph of Frankie with the birds. Frankie insisted that Paelen and Joel joined him. Frankie proudly clutched the souvenir photograph of the three of them and the parrots as they walked away.
They continued down the strip and came upon a huge, dominating hotel casino. They couldn’t help but stop and stare in awe, taking in its grandeur. Its white marble facade glowed against the dark night sky, oozing glamour and luxury and a promise of excitement within. At its entrance they spotted several familiar figures lit up under bright spotlights.
‘Joel, look, it is Alexis!’
Before them was a set of Olympian Sphinxs cast in bronze. They looked remarkably like Alexis, with a naked upper torso, wings and lion-body.
‘This is Caesar’s Palace,’ Frankie explained. ‘There’s lots of statues inside. There’s even a big fountain with flying horses just like Emily’s horse. Want to see?’
Paelen grinned at Joel. ‘Well, if they have flying horses, we must go in!’
When they entered the casino, Paelen’s attention was captured by more beautiful statues, all familiar faces from Olympus. They encountered a giant griffin near the staircases and, deeper in the casino, Frankie led them to the magnificent fountain where a marble Pegasus flew out of each side. At the very top of the fountain stood Jupiter. Holding his lightning bolts in hand, he looked powerful and majestic as he gazed down at the crowds below. A Diana statue with a hawk on one arm and her bow in the other stood at one side of the fountain, as did Neptune with his large trident.
‘Jupiter would love this,’ Paelen said, admiring the large fountain.
‘But let’s hope he never sees it,’ Joel finished.
When they entered the main casino they were immediately struck by the sights and sounds. Frankie warned Paelen and Joel to keep a watch for security. If they were spotted, they could be ordered to leave.
Everywhere they looked, were people sitting at slot machines pressing buttons. Their faces were grim as they concentrated on their games.
‘Is this supposed to be fun?’ Paelen asked.
Joel nodded. ‘That’s what they say. But it doesn’t look much fun to me.’
As they moved deeper into the casino and entered a different area, the slot machines were replaced by several gaming tables surrounded by groups of people seated around them. There was a soft murmur in the air as they played cards. Paelen stopped and watched a woman behind one of the tables dealing the cards.
Frankie leaned closer to Paelen. ‘They’re playing blackjack. That’s the game that John and I play. The aim is to get cards adding up to twenty-one. When you do, you win.’
Paelen continued to watch the dealer. When she flipped her own cards, she said, ‘Twenty.’ The other people around the table shook their heads. Their cards and chips in front of them were taken away. ‘Does everyone count cards?’
Frankie shook his head. ‘No, and the casinos don’t like people doing it. If John and me were caught, we’d be banned from the casino.’
Further along was a long rectangular table with tall sides and rounded corners. There were number markings on the table’s soft covered surface. At the end a man was shaking dice in his hands. He threw the dice along the table.
‘I know this game,’ Paelen said excitedly. ‘We play something like this in Olympus.’
They watched the players put down their chips on numbers before the dice were thrown. When the dice stopped some of the people earned more chips, while others were taken away.
‘What are those strange coins they are putting on the numbers?’ Paelen asked.
‘Chips,’ Joel explained. ‘They’re like money. The numbers on them are their value. So if you have the number twenty on a chip, they are worth twenty dollars.’
‘You mean, all around us, those little pieces are worth money?’ Paelen asked in shock.
‘Yep,’ Joel said.
‘But look how much that man has over there!’
Joel followed Paelen’s eyes to a card dealer. There were countless piles of chips in front of him ‘That’s the dealer,’ Joel explained. ‘They always have a lot of chips.’
‘And that means they have a lot of money?’
‘I guess you could say that,’ Joel said.
‘And the same with that man?’ Paelen pointed to a player sitting at the roulett
e wheel. Before him were several large stacks of chips.
‘That’s right,’ Joel said. ‘Why?’
Paelen felt his heart fluttering with excitement. His fingers itched the way they always did when he was on the hunt. ‘Joel, you and Frankie wait for me over there.’ He pointed to a group of slot machines several metres away.
‘Paelen, what are you planning to do?’ Joel nervously asked.
‘What I do best!’ Paelen grinned.
Paelen turned on all his thieving skills. He could see, hear, smell and taste everything going on around him. It was as though the world had slowed to a standstill and he was the only one moving. His keen Olympian eyes scanned the gambling tables. He looked for weaknesses in either the dealers or players; someone who wasn’t concentrating as sharply as they should.
Then his eyes found their mark. There! He saw a drunk player who spent more time chatting up a waitress than concentrating on the game or his many stacks of chips. Taking a deep breath, Paelen made his move.
With the stealth of a lifetime spent living only by his senses, Paelen walked soundlessly towards the player. Without changing the expression on his face, he stretched out the bones in his right arm to extend it and walked smoothly past the drunk player. His long arm flashed out so quickly, no one saw the long fingers wrap around a stack of chips and pull away instantly.
Paelen moved on to his next victim. And then another. And then another! No one noticed a thing. He walked back to Joel and Frankie and without pausing, whispered, ‘Follow me.’
When they’d reached the other side of the casino Paelen stopped and burst out laughing. ‘That was just too easy! I must do it again!’
Joel was frowning. ‘Paelen, I was watching you. You didn’t do anything.’
Paelen laughed harder and held out his right hand. Opening his fingers, he showed Joel the stack of fifty-dollar and one-hundred-dollar chips resting inside.
‘Wow!’ Frankie cried. ‘You’re rich!’
Joel’s eyes went wide as he counted the chips. ‘There’s over a thousand dollars here. How did you do it? I didn’t see a thing.’