by Kate O'Hearn
‘I thought I did, but this is beyond me.’ She looked at Emily. ‘What has Riza told you?’
‘Nothing,’ Emily said. ‘She’s gone silent. She’s done this once before. I just hope she comes back soon.’
The rest of the Olympians arrived, including Chiron, the Centaur. He welcomed Emily warmly. ‘I am pleased to see you up and about again.’
Emily had a particular soft spot for the Centaur. She had fought beside him when she time-travelled back to the ancient war with the Titans. They shared many memories that had created a special bond.
‘I am pleased that it has been decided that I will escort you to Xanadu,’ Chiron said.
‘I’m going too,’ Joel said quickly. Before Emily could say anything, he held up his hand. ‘Don’t try to stop me, Em, because I’m going. Don’t worry, I won’t touch you while we’re there. I’m not sure why I can’t, but I promise I won’t.’
‘Neither will I,’ Paelen agreed. ‘I too am going, whether you want me to or not.’
Emily looked at the concerned faces of her two best friends, and knew there was no one she would rather have with her. ‘We’re like the Three Musketeers, right? Of course we’re going together.’
Pegasus nickered loudly in protest and nudged her.
‘Sorry, Pegs. I meant to say we’re the Four Musketeers.’
Immediately Chrysaor squealed.
‘OK, Five Musketeers.’
When everyone had gathered around the plinth, Jupiter cleared his throat. ‘You all know I hate duplicity and have done my very best never to lie or even mislead our people. It seems the only time I have been forced into deception is when dealing with issues concerning the Flame and, though it pains me to do so again, I must.’
He approached Emily and took her hand. ‘We will let everyone think you are recovered. There is no point alarming them until we know the cause of your weakness.’
Neptune took over. ‘This means that even though we wish to journey with you, we must not.’ His eyes found Emily’s father. ‘This includes you.’
Steve shook his head. ‘Now, wait a minute. If you think I’m going to stay here, you’re crazy. You want things to look normal – me going with her would be normal.’
‘It’s OK, Dad,’ Emily said to reassure him. ‘Everyone is used to us disappearing. We’ll just go there and come right back. I promise not to do anything stupid or go anywhere without telling you. I’ve just got to know what’s happening with me.’
Despite her father’s protests, it was agreed that only Emily and her friends would journey to the ancient world of Xanadu. The only exception was Chiron. But with their shared past, his presence would not raise any eyebrows among the Olympians.
With plans to leave set for early the next morning, Emily, Pegasus and her friends returned to Jupiter’s palace. Fatigue was pressing down on Emily and she wanted nothing more than to return to her room to sleep. Instead she spent the day cheering at the sidelines as her friends played soccer.
Pegasus refused to leave Emily as she rested on a lounge chair, watching the game. Often she would catch the stallion staring at her, and not the events on the large field.
‘I’m OK, Pegs,’ Emily would say. But deep down, she knew it was a lie. He did too. But with everyone already stressed about her, she couldn’t let them know just how much trouble she was really in.
With the warm sun shining brightly overhead and feeling the security of Pegasus close at her side, Emily shut her eyes for just a moment, but then fell into a deep sleep.
Almost immediately she heard the sounds of dripping water, loud, unsettled voices and crying. She was blasted with the acrid smell of filth that nearly made her retch.
Emily was aware of herself and that she was still Emily. But somehow, she was also someone else. It was much clearer this time. She could feel a body moving, that wasn’t her own. See through eyes that weren’t hers and hear a voice speaking – a voice that was familiar to her now.
‘They cannot keep us here,’ the voice raged as it paced a small area.
‘Calm down, my child. You will do yourself harm if you continue to rant like this. We have no choice and must accept our fate. We are trapped here until that foul monster, Jupiter, decides to release us.’
‘When will that be?’
‘I do not know, my sweet.’
‘Perhaps you are prepared to accept your life here, Phoebe, but I am not. I have done nothing wrong and insist they let me out of here.’
Emily felt fury grow within the girl. The Flame was starting to rumble from her core. The girl charged forward and started to pound on hard steel bars and scream.
As her shrill voice hurt Emily’s head, she became aware that the girl had stopped and was now becoming aware of her.
‘Who are you?’ the girl demanded. ‘You cannot hide from me – I can feel you in me. Tell me, who are you?’
Something warned Emily to stay silent. There was too much rage in this girl and the Flame within her rumbled violently.
And as Emily was somehow inside her, suddenly she could feel the girl entering her.
‘I know you are there,’ she called. ‘Who are you? Why are you here?’
Emily tried to drive the girl out of her head, but wasn’t strong enough. Had she been up to full power, it would have been easy. Instead she was helpless to stop the girl from probing deeper into her mind.
‘You!’ the girl gasped, as her powers surged forth. ‘You are Emily. You stole part of me. I want it back!’
‘Stop,’ Emily cried, breaking her silence. ‘You’re hurting me.’
‘Give it back. Give back what you took.’
The girl’s rage was terrible; the Flame rose from her core and burned Emily’s mind.
‘Please stop!’ Emily begged. ‘Who are you? Why are you so angry?’
‘I am Lorin,’ the voice shouted as her Flame rose. ‘Now, give it back!’
‘What?’ Emily shouted. ‘I have taken nothing from you. I don’t even know you!’
‘You have it! I can feel it in you!’
Lorin reached deeper inside her mind and Emily was helpless to stop her. She felt Lorin find the part of her mind that controlled the Flame and all her powers.
There was a sharp intake of breath. ‘There it is. Give it back!’
‘Lorin, stop, please, you’re hurting me. Stop!’ Emily started to scream.
Pain across her face broke the connection. Emily opened her eyes and saw her father and Joel hovering over her.
‘I’m so sorry, Em, I had to do it,’ her father apologized for slapping her. ‘You were screaming and your nose was bleeding. We had to wake you up.’
Emily sat up, feeling dizzy and disorientated. The soccer game had stopped and all the players were gathered around her. Pegasus was pressing in close and Paelen took her hand.
‘That was awful,’ Emily said, regaining her breath.
‘What happened?’ Paelen asked. ‘Your temperature shot up and your clothes started to smoulder. We thought you were about to burst into flames.’
Emily looked down at her tunic and saw scorch marks and tendrils of smoke curling in the air. ‘I’ve – I’ve got to see Jupiter immediately.’
‘I think you should go lie down and get some rest,’ her dad said.
‘No!’ Emily cried. ‘I can’t go to sleep again. She’ll get back in me. Promise me you won’t let me sleep. Hit me, kick me and bite me if you must, but I can’t sleep.’
‘Emily, you are not making sense. Who will get back in?’ Paelen asked.
She rose to her feet and started to run towards the palace. ‘Lorin!’
Emily’s headache was back and much worse than before, as she ran to the palace to see Jupiter.
‘We have a big problem,’ Emily said breathlessly as
she burst into Jupiter’s meeting chamber. He was in a session with his main advisors.
Jupiter nodded to his guests respectfully and asked for them to leave – but requested his brothers and Chiron remain.
‘What is it, child?’ he asked. ‘What has happened?’
‘I’m not sure how to explain it.’ Emily looked to all the ancient Olympians in the room. ‘Does anyone here remember someone called Phoebe? She’s about my height; has blondish hair. Her eyes are bright blue and she speaks very calmly. She seems to know Jupiter and calls him a foul monster.’
‘Phoebe?’ Jupiter repeated. ‘I seem to recall that name . . .’
‘You should,’ Chiron said. ‘Phoebe was the chief advisor to Saturn before the war. You sentenced her to Tartarus with the others.’
Jupiter looked alarmed. ‘Do you mean that Phoebe?’
‘I don’t know – maybe,’ Emily said. ‘There is a girl with her, Lorin. She’s the other Flame I told you about.’
‘How do you know these people?’ Jupiter asked.
‘I don’t know them,’ Emily insisted. ‘But they know you.’
‘Tell them about your dream,’ Joel prodded. He faced the Big Three. ‘It gave her a nosebleed and nearly set her on fire.’
Emily told them what she had experienced. ‘But these aren’t dreams, I’m certain of that now. Somehow, I am linked to this girl, Lorin. When I sleep, I seem to enter her mind. Only now, she can enter mine. She insists I’ve stolen something from her.’
‘What’s that?’ Joel asked.
Emily shrugged. ‘I’m not sure. But when she was in me, she said she’d found it and was trying to take it back. It really hurt.’
Jupiter rubbed his chin thoughtfully and looked at his brothers. ‘I wonder if Phoebe has a young daughter.’
Neptune shook his head. ‘If it is the same Phoebe I am thinking of, she has two daughters – Leto and Asteria. There was no Lorin.’
‘Phoebe’s not the problem,’ Emily insisted. ‘Lorin is. She has a lot of power. I think the powers she possesses were mine, but she’s the one accusing me of stealing. She is so angry; I know she’s dangerous.’
Jupiter frowned at his brothers. ‘Who is this Lorin?’
They shrugged.
Chiron said, ‘I do not know. But if she is with Phoebe, she must be important.’ The Centaur approached Emily. ‘You told us about the other things you saw and heard. Do you think Lorin is in Tartarus?’
Emily nodded. ‘I’m certain that’s where she is.’ She looked once more at Jupiter. ‘Lorin has powers. Maybe they are mine, maybe they are her own, I don’t know. But I could feel them growing. She is easily strong enough to burn her way out of Tartarus.’
9
Lorin woke to find Phoebe’s face floating just above her. She was lying in the middle of the floor of their small prison cell.
‘Thank the stars,’ Phoebe said. ‘You collapsed. I was so frightened that I had lost you once again to that terrible sleep.’
Lorin shook her head. ‘No, no, I am fine. But it was so strange.’ She gazed around the cell. ‘Where is she?’
‘Who?’
‘Emily.’
‘Who?’
‘I told you about her. She is the girl I have been dreaming about – the one who stole from me. But it was no dream. She was right here. I am certain she is trying to take me over and control me. But I fought back and drove her out.’
‘I do not understand,’ Phoebe said as she helped Lorin to her feet. She directed her over to one of the beds. ‘No one was here. It is just us and the other prisoners on this level. Sit, tell me everything.’
Lorin sat on the edge of the bed. She shook her head. ‘There is not a lot to tell. While I was in that deep sleep, I dreamed of Emily. I could not see her, but I could feel her. Now that I am awake, I can still feel her. She came here and was inside my mind. But then, I was inside her and I learned how to do this.’
Lorin held out her hand and a small Flame burst to life. It flickered and danced in her palm. ‘There was more I needed to learn, but the connection was broken.’
Phoebe stared into the Flame with wide, shocked eyes. She tried to touch it, but flinched when her finger burned. ‘Does this hurt you?’
Lorin shook her head. ‘No, it just tickles.’ She focused on increasing the size of the Flame and it grew in her palm. Holding up her other hand, she repeated the command and soon, both of her palms contained a pain-free Flame.
‘How are you doing this?’ Phoebe demanded. ‘Only Saturn and a few others can command the elements like this. Your parents did not have these powers.’
‘I do not know,’ Lorin said. ‘But I know there is more I should be able to do, but I cannot because she stole it from me. I tried to find it, but Emily, she shut me down.’
‘What has Emily taken from you?’
Lorin gazed into the Flames and felt them surge. Finally she looked back at Phoebe. ‘Power. That is what she has stolen from me. My power.’
10
‘This is not good.’ Jupiter was pacing the length of the meeting chamber. ‘We need to understand this connection you have to Tartarus. What else do you know about this Lorin?’
‘Not much,’ Emily said. ‘But whoever she is, she is growing stronger.’
Jupiter looked at her with eyes that bored into her very soul. ‘Just as you are growing weaker?’
Emily nodded.
He looked to Chiron. ‘When was the Tartarus Rotation?’
‘A while ago,’ the Centaur responded. ‘The guards have returned and been rewarded for their service.’
Jupiter rubbed his chin. ‘Pluto, when the sun goes down, I want you to bring the most senior of the returned guards to me. Perhaps they can help solve this mystery.’
Pegasus came forward and nickered softly.
‘Good idea,’ Jupiter said. ‘I will speak with them when they rise. We need Fawn to reach her brother. We must know what is happening at Tartarus.’
Emily was standing beside Pegasus and frowned. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Fawn and Sapphire,’ Paelen translated. ‘After the incident with the night dwellers when you collapsed, Pegasus knew you were concerned about them. So he arranged for both girls to be moved here. Their quarters are actually beneath the palace and they work in the gardens at night.’
‘You did that for them?’ Emily asked the stallion.
Pegasus nickered and nodded his head.
Touched by his gesture, Emily put her arms around his strong neck and hugged him. ‘Thank you, Pegs, you’re the best. We’ll speak with them tonight.’
‘Not you,’ Neptune said. ‘After today’s revelations, the sooner you get to Arious, the better. I believe we should not delay. You must leave today.’
‘I agree,’ Chiron said. ‘It will take us a short time to prepare for our journey. We shall meet back here at the Xanadu Arch before sundown.’
Emily nodded to Joel and Paelen. ‘Let’s go get ready.’
‘Now, you promise you’ll just go there and come right back,’ Steve said as he drew Emily’s backpack up her arms. ‘No secret journeys anywhere else.’
‘I promise,’ Emily said.
Her father went up to the stallion. ‘I’m counting on you, Pegasus. I know how strong-willed my girl can be. But this is too serious for games. Bring her right back, no matter what you learn or what she says. We can take it from there.’
Pegasus nickered and nodded his head.
They were gathered in the Artefact Chamber where they could travel to Xanadu directly through the stone arch that had been created to contain the Solar Stream.
Standing before the arch, Emily shivered, remembering how she had destroyed it to protect Xanadu from being discovered by the CRU when they occupied Olymp
us. But in doing so, Jupiter’s palace and all of Olympus was torn apart and crashed through the Solar Stream right behind them.
‘Hey,’ Joel called, catching hold of her hand. ‘You OK? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’
Emily nodded. ‘Just a few bad memories.’
‘I wish you would tell us everything that happened back then,’ Joel said. ‘Why all the secrecy?’
‘There’s no point in telling you,’ Emily said. ‘When we destroyed the Titan weapon, time was reset and the disaster never happened. That’s why you don’t remember it.’
‘But it did happen,’ Chiron said sympathetically. ‘I was not here for it, but I saw it through your mind. What happened to our beloved Olympus in that other time-line was unforgiveable.’
Her father put his hands on her shoulders. ‘Em, when this is over and you are back to your old self, we are going to have a long chat about everything that happened in the other time-line. And I mean everything!’
Emily finally nodded. ‘All right, but let’s just see what Arious has to say first.’
Her father helped her up on to Pegasus. Joel sat behind her to ensure she stayed awake during the long journey to Xanadu.
As they drew near the stone arch, Emily looked back to the Big Three. She could see the concern resting heavily on their faces.
‘Journey well,’ Jupiter called, raising his hand to her.
‘And do not take any foolish risks,’ Neptune added.
‘I will keep them safe,’ Chiron promised, taking the lead. ‘We will return shortly.’
11
Lorin played with the small Flame dancing on the palm of her hand. With each moment that passed, she was growing stronger and more confident. Pulling the Flame back into herself, she rose from her bed and walked over to the steel bars that kept them trapped.
She peered into the opposite cell and saw the three prisoners within watching her closely. They had enquired about the Flame, but Phoebe had no explanation.
‘Phoebe, come here.’
When her guardian joined her, Lorin peered down the corridor as far as the bars would allow. ‘Can you feel any of the guards around us?’
