by Kate O'Hearn
Before Emily could speak, the young prince threw his four arms around her and embraced her while growling enthusiastically in her ear.
‘You’re very welcome,’ Emily choked when he finally released her. Leaving the pink Nirads free to continue their reunion, she looked up at Jupiter. ‘Will you help me get to my dad and Pegasus.’
‘With pleasure,’ Jupiter said. He lifted her easily in his arms and carried her carefully between the marble Nirad fighters and over to the stone statues of her father and Pegasus. Emily felt a biting pain in her chest as she stared into the pained expressions on both of their faces.
Jupiter lowered her to the floor. Emily put her arms around her father and stood on tiptoe to kiss his stone cheek. ‘Come back to me, Dad.’
Holding him close, Emily could feel the life flowing back into her father as the stone faded and his flesh returned. After an unsteady breath, her father opened his eyes and found her in his arms.
‘Em!’ he cried. He hoisted her in the air and gave her a hug equalling Jupiter’s. Tears rushed to his eyes as he buried his face in her long dark hair. ‘My Em, my beautiful Em!’
‘Daddy!’ Emily squealed, suddenly sounding like a child again. She stood clinging to her father. It had been the longest journey of her young life to get to this moment, and she didn’t want it to end.
Her father put her down and looked around the room. He wiped his teary eyes. ‘What happened in here?’
Jupiter offered his hand. ‘Your daughter saved all of us. You should be very proud.’
‘I am,’ he said happily.
With her father at her side, Emily hopped over to Pegasus. The pain of transformation was etched on the stallion’s marble face, and revealed in his half-opened wings. Emily put her arms around his cold stone neck and pressed her cheek to the white marble. ‘Forgive me, Pegs,’ she whispered softly, ‘but I couldn’t kill Jupiter to save you. Please, please forgive me. Come back, I need you.’
Beneath her cheek, Emily felt the stone react. ‘That’s it,’ she coaxed, ‘keep coming.’
Soon the marble stallion warmed and became flesh again. His burns were healed and the feathers on his wings were restored. With one heaving breath, his eyes opened and he finished the screaming whinny he’d started when Euryale had turned him and her father to stone.
‘It’s all right, Pegs,’ Emily soothed as she stroked his quivering neck. ‘It’s over now, you’re all right!’
Pegasus jumped when he saw Emily standing beside him. She started to laugh at the confused expression on his face. Pegasus looked around at all the statues in the throne room. His frightened eyes went up to the queen’s cage and he neighed loudly to Jupiter.
‘The gorgons are gone, Pegasus,’ Jupiter said. ‘Queen Segan is safe. She is with her brother over there.’ He pointed at the two pink Nirads. ‘Soon we will heal the wounds of this world and return to Olympus.’
The confused expression remained as he nickered softly and pulled Emily closer. She put her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. ‘I couldn’t have done it without you, Pegs,’ she said softly.
When Pegasus neighed, Jupiter smiled and stroked his soft muzzle. ‘Emily did more than even I could have ever imagined. I am sure she will tell you all about it in time. For now, my nephew, we have a lot of work ahead of us.’
With Pegasus on one side and her father on the other, Emily hopped carefully through the throne room filled with statues. She would never admit it to Jupiter, but she was frightened she wouldn’t have enough power to heal everyone. But Pegasus understood. He helped her over to her best friends first.
Her father helped her down to the floor in front of Paelen. Emily stroked his head and kissed him lightly on the cheek. ‘Thanks for trying to save me from Stheno, Paelen,’ she whispered softly.
The stone beneath her lips began to warm as life quickly returned to Paelen. After a moment, he took in a deep breath and screamed.
‘It’s all right,’ Emily said as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. ‘Paelen, you’re safe. Calm down!’
Paelen looked wildly around the room and rose, preparing to fight again. ‘Where are they? What happened?’
‘Gone,’ Emily’s father said as he helped her rise on her good leg.
‘Gone where?’
‘Well,’ Emily said awkwardly, ‘Euryale sort of melted into a pile. As for Stheno, she just evaporated. That’s what is left of her over there.’ Emily pointed at the dark ashes littering the floor and blowing around the throne room.
Paelen looked from the ashes back to Emily. ‘Did you do that?’
She shrugged. ‘Kinda. They turned me to stone too and that made me really angry.’
Paelen looked at her in wonder. ‘They made you angry so you turned them to dust?’ When Emily nodded, he whistled lightly and his crooked grin appeared. He stepped up to Pegasus. ‘Pegasus, please warn me if you ever see me start to make Emily angry!’
Emily laughed and punched him lightly on the arm. ‘He will. Now c’mon. We’ve got to help Joel.’
Jupiter and her father were gathering pieces of Joel’s broken stone arm at the base of the dais. The leader of Olympus looked up at her, grim-faced. ‘I fear this may not work. Please, take this, we must see what happens.’ He handed Emily a small piece of stone.
The smile dropped from Emily’s face when she looked and saw it was one of Joel’s fingers. She enclosed it in her hand. Nothing happened. It remained a cold piece of marble. ‘What does this mean?’
Jupiter rose. ‘I am uncertain. But it may mean that once someone has been broken, not even your powers can restore them.’
‘Are you saying that Emily can’t heal Joel?’ her father asked.
Behind them, Pegasus whinnied loudly and pounded the floor. He snorted and shook his head.
‘No,’ Emily cried. ‘Not Joel. I will heal him!’
Before Jupiter could stop her, Emily knelt down and touched Joel’s face. It was then she noticed that part of his right ear was missing as well. ‘Please,’ she prayed as she closed her eyes. ‘Please Joel, wake up! I can’t go on without you here.’
Finally the stone beneath her hand started to warm. ‘It’s working!’
Paelen knelt down beside her and Pegasus pressed in closer. Together they all focused on the jagged edge of the break in the stone of his right arm.
‘Come on,’ Paelen coaxed. ‘Grow back!’
Joel was gradually coming back to himself. His flesh returned, but they watched as the rough edge of the break folded in on itself. The wound closed and covered with healed skin. But there was no new growth. As Joel took in his first unsteady breath, they realized that his right ear and arm were not going to grow back.
‘Joel?’ Emily said softly.
‘Em?’ Joel said as he opened his eyes. Just like Paelen, he looked wildly around the room. ‘The queen?’ he cried as he looked back up to the cage. The four stone guardians were still holding up the roof, but the cage was empty.
‘She is safe,’ Jupiter calmed, ‘thanks to your bravery.’
‘Joel, we’ve got something to tell you,’ Emily said.
Before she could warn him, Joel sat up and immediately noticed the change himself. ‘Where’s my arm?’ he asked in confusion. Fear rose on his face. His left hand reached up and felt the healed stump at his right shoulder. ‘Emily, where’s my arm?’
He looked desperately to Paelen and his eyes flew around the room. ‘Tell me, where’s my arm?’
Emily quickly embraced him. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she cried as tears filled her eyes. ‘The gorgons turned you to stone. You fell over and your arm broke. I tried to fix it, but it wouldn’t work. It’s gone, Joel.’
‘Gone?’ Joel said in a haunted whisper. ‘Gone where?’
Emily sniffed and let him go. She reached for her handkerchief to collect her tears. As she wiped them away, she watched Paelen hand over the stone finger to Joel.
‘It shattered,’ Paelen said. ‘Emily tried, but …’
Joel too
k it in his left hand. ‘Is this really mine?’
Paelen nodded. ‘Do not worry, Joel. I promise you, Vulcan can make you a new arm, and I will help. It will be a better one. Look at the legs he built for himself !’
‘And my brace,’ Emily added. ‘He can do it, Joel. I know he can.’
Emily’s heart broke as Joel’s haunted eyes lingered on his stump. He was in deep shock. ‘It doesn’t hurt a bit,’ he uttered softly. ‘It should, but it doesn’t.’
‘Emily’s powers have healed you as much as they possibly could,’ Jupiter said. ‘I too am sorry she could not restore your arm. You have my word, Joel. Vulcan will have everything he needs to build you a new one.’
Joel climbed awkwardly to his feet. His eyes scanned the room to all the statues. Several had been knocked over and broken in the battle. He saw a couple of Nirad statues without their heads. ‘What about them?’ he quietly asked.
Jupiter inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. ‘I am sorry to say, but most of the broken ones are dead. Perhaps some of those with lesser breaks may survive, but if Emily could not restore your arm, it is doubtful she can do anything for those who have suffered major breaks to their bodies or heads. We must all grieve their loss.’
‘Joel, are you all right?’ Emily asked as she reached out to him.
He looked down on her. Tears were rimming his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He shook his head. ‘Not really.’ He embraced her tightly and whispered in her ear. ‘But I will be.’
Emily next approached Diana and Apollo. She felt a great sense of relief at the joyful and heated reunion between the twins and their father. Seeing their shining faces lightened the mood as Diana cursed and complained at not being the one to destroy the gorgons. While his sister ranted, Apollo took Joel quietly aside and promised to teach him to fight one-armed.
The throne room was still crowded with statues. Emily’s father lifted her on to Pegasus’s back, who took her round to heal the Nirads one by one. The queen and prince were at her side, ready to reassure each Nirad as they came back to themselves.
‘Hey, do not forget fly-boy over here,’ Paelen called as he stood beside the Cupid statue. ‘Personally, I believe he looks good just as he is. But Venus may not be too pleased if we leave him like this.’
Emily leaned forward on Pegasus. ‘Pegs, I forgot all about him!’
Pegasus turned his head back to her and nickered softly. There was a twinkle shining in his big brown eyes. Emily was certain the stallion was laughing at her.
‘It’s not funny, Pegs. How could I forget about Cupid? Please don’t tell him. He’ll never forgive me!’
Pegasus carried Emily over to Cupid. She reached down and touched the top of the winged Olympian’s head. As Cupid returned to flesh, he started to panic and cry out in terror.
‘Calm down!’ Paelen said. ‘You are safe. Emily saved you and the gorgons are dust.’
Cupid looked up at Emily on Pegasus. He gave the room a final check to be certain, then cleared his throat, fluttered his healed wings and adjusted his tunic in embarrassment. ‘I was not panicking, Paelen,’ he corrected abruptly. ‘I was concerned for the Flame that she may be in danger.’
Paelen started to laugh and slapped Cupid playfully on his wings. ‘Do not worry about my Emily, she can take care of herself!’
32
The task of restoring the stone Nirads in the throne room seemed to take for ever.
‘Come on, Pegs,’ Emily said softly. ‘Let’s go get Tange and the others back.’ She went to move towards Tange and the three others supporting the top of the gold cage. Segan and Toban were standing beside Tange, their heads lowered. The queen was lightly stroking Tange’s back.
‘Emily, stop,’ Jupiter called. He was standing with Diana, Apollo and several large Nirads.
‘I’m just going up to help Tange.’
‘You cannot help him,’ Jupiter said. ‘Leave him be, as he is.’
Emily frowned and slid off Pegasus’s back. She clung to his wing as she hopped over to Jupiter. ‘But I can bring him back. If you and a few Nirads support the cage, no one should get hurt.’
Jupiter sadly shook his head. ‘You must not do it.’
Emily’s heart started to race. ‘Why? Tange was the first Nirad to be kind to me! He showed me there was more to them than the monsters I thought they were. Please, Jupiter, I’ve got to help him!’
Diana stepped closer and put her arm around Emily. ‘Listen to Father, Emily. He knows what he is talking about.’
Emily shook her head and pulled away. ‘No, he doesn’t.’ She looked at Jupiter. ‘Tange is good, he really helped us. Why won’t you let me help him?’
‘I am not forbidding you to help him,’ Jupiter said kindly. ‘I am asking you not to. Let me explain, I think you will agree with me.’
Jupiter moved closer to Emily and started to support her. With Pegasus on one side and her father on the other, he led her up to the dais. ‘Take a good look up there and tell me what you see?’
‘I see Tange,’ Emily said, looking up to the stone statue of the Nirad.
‘Yes, and what is Tange holding?’
‘The top of the cage.’
‘That is correct,’ Jupiter said patiently. ‘What is the cage made of?’
‘Gold.’
‘Not just any gold,’ Diana added. ‘That is the same gold as your leg brace and our weapons.’
‘Olympian gold!’ Paelen cried, suddenly understanding. He climbed up to the cage and pointed at the roof. ‘Emily, look, Tange and the others are holding the gold roof with their four bare hands. It is poisoning them.’
‘That is correct,’ Jupiter said sadly. ‘If you were to touch Tange or any of the others, you will certainly bring them back to life. But even your powers can not stop the gold’s poison from coursing through their systems. They will die in agony. Believe me, child, the kindest thing you could do for them now would be to leave them as they are.’
Emily was too stunned to speak. She looked up at Tange and saw that the marble of his four hands was black with the poison from the gold. Pain was etched on his orange marble face. That expression was there long before the gorgons turned him to stone. Tange knew he was dying.
‘They knew it would kill them, but they lifted the roof anyway,’ she said.
‘What father would not do the same for his daughter?’ Jupiter asked.
‘Daughter?’
Jupiter nodded. ‘Tange was Segan’s father. He sacrificed himself for her. The three other Nirads with him are his brothers. They were devoted to their niece. They refused to leave the throne room after Tange was ordered to come to your world to get you.’
Emily felt her throat constrict as she looked up at the four stone guardians. ‘Tange is really … dead?’ she whispered. She looked at her own father. ‘Dad?’
Her father pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her on the top of her head. ‘I’d do the same for you, Em, any day.’
Segan and Toban left their father and came off the dais. Emily saw dark trails of tears flowing down the queen’s young face. She approached Emily and uttered a few soft words.
Diana stroked Emily’s hair. ‘Tange told her how much you reminded him of her. You share the same spirit and bravery. She says he would have died to protect you too.’
Emily felt her heart breaking. As deep sobs wracked her, the pink Nirad queen put her arms around her and held her tight. Standing together, the two shared the one grief.
It took several long and exhausting days to restore the lives of several thousand stone Nirads throughout the land. The gorgons attack had been brutal and extended far beyond the palace limits.
Though still very quiet, Joel was slowly getting used to life with one arm. As Emily rode on the back of Pegasus, she watched him, her father, Paelen and Chrysaor playing a form of football with a group of Nirad children and Prince Toban. On opposite sides, Chrysaor sneaked up behind Joel and tackled him down to the ground. The winged boar invited a
ll the Nirad children on his team to join in the pile-on. Emily smiled as she heard Joel’s shouts and, finally, laughter coming from the bottom of the pile.
‘He’ll be fine, Pegs,’ Emily said softly as she patted his neck and got back to work restoring more Nirads to life.
Jupiter, Diana, Apollo and Cupid entered the Solar Stream to gather the other Olympians home. With so many worlds to search, they knew it would take some time to get everyone back to Olympus.
At the end of yet another seemingly endless day, Emily was relieved to restore the final Nirad victim of the gorgons. She slipped off Pegasus’s back and hopped up to the lilac Nirad. With the queen at her side, she reached out and touched his arm.
With the knowledge that this was the last statue, exhaustion pressed down on her. She had lost track of just how many there were, but it was more than she imagined possible. She was grateful that her power to heal had been enough. As the last statue started to warm, she knew that every Nirad that could be saved, had been. A sharp stab of pain pierced through her when she thought of Tange. Like the loss of her mother, his death was a pain she knew she would carry with her for the rest of her life.
The final Nirad came back to life, screaming. After Segan spoke reassuringly to him, he bowed his head and knelt before his queen. Emily shared the Nirad’s joy when his young children came rushing up to him and threw their four tiny arms around him.
Queen Segan looked at Emily and nodded. They didn’t need to speak the same language to understand. It was done. Emily smiled back. She hopped up to Pegasus’s head and kissed him on the muzzle.
‘We did it, Pegs,’ she said softly.
Emily stroked the stallion’s face and looked at the strange land around her. The Nirad world was slowly coming back to life. The skies were still as dark and cloudy as ever, with the strange bat-like creatures circling high overhead. There were still no trees or plant life in sight. The earth was as black and dusty as the day she arrived. And yet, to Emily, it was beautiful.
‘Em!’ Joel called.
Emily looked up and saw Joel and Toban riding Chrysaor. Joel was holding on to the boar’s ear with his left hand and he was smiling. Paelen was flying beside them, using his winged sandals. They touched down beside her.