by Kate O'Hearn
‘Joel,’ he answered softly, staring at the grotesque creature.
‘Well, Joel,’ the gorgon continued, ‘we brought you here because we know the Flame of Olympus cares for you. As long as she cooperates with us, you will be perfectly safe. But if she tries to use her powers against us, you will be the first to suffer.’ Her vicious eyes settled on Emily. ‘You would be wise to remember this. We used to feed on the flesh of young humans like Joel. It has been too long since I have savoured such a sweet, tempting morsel as him. Mind your manners, child, or you will see horrors beyond your imagination!’ As Stheno walked away, she stepped up to Tange and looked him up and down. She touched his burn and sniffed the dark-green paste. Finally she pointed to the stone Chrysaor. ‘Have that thing removed.’
Tange grunted once and came forward. As he hoisted the heavy statue in his four arms, he looked at Emily and Joel and gave them a quick, almost imperceptible nod.
All around them, Nirads started to clear the room. Several moved forward to carefully lift the stone children at the base of the dais.
‘No,’ Euryale ordered. ‘Leave them here. We must ensure your new queen understands the penalties of defiance.’ She looked back at the pink Nirad, ‘Segan, you know how many of your children we possess. Do not make us destroy them all.’
‘Queen!’ Joel whispered as his eyes went up to the pink Nirad. ‘She’s their queen.’
The final piece of the puzzle fell into place. Just like colonies of bees or ants, the queen controls her people – and by threatening violence against their children, the gorgons controlled the queen. As Emily watched, Segan dropped her head and nodded.
Emily and Joel sat back against the bars of the cage holding hands as the huge Nirads tidied the room. The four primary orange guards, which included Tange, went about gently picking up the pieces of broken stone statues. Emily wondered if the pieces were put back together, would she be able to heal the broken children?
Discovering that she had the power to free those turned to stone by the evil gorgons gave Emily some degree of hope. Somehow, they had to find a way to escape. And when they did, they would fight to free the enslaved Nirads and face down the gorgons once and for all.
23
Time stood still as Emily and Joel sat together in the cage. Across from them, Pegasus paced and kicked at his cage door, trying to escape. He whinnied loudly to the two gorgons seated on their thrones.
‘We will release you when Jupiter is dead,’ said Euryale as she rose from her throne and flew down from the dais, ‘but not a moment before. I will not have you trying to warn him.’
Pegasus whinnied furiously. Euryale flew closer to his cage and held up a hand in warning. ‘I grow tired of your constant complaints. Be silent or you shall join your brother in the stone garden.’
But the stallion did not stop. As her irritation increased, the gorgon fluttered her tiny gold wings and flew over to Emily. ‘For reasons beyond my comprehension, Pegasus is loyal to you. I would suggest you tell him to keep silent or I will turn him to stone.’
Emily’s eyes returned to the stallion. ‘Please, Pegs,’ she begged. ‘She’ll do it. Please stop, I couldn’t bear to lose you.’
‘Listen to the Flame, Pegasus,’ Euryale warned. ‘You know me, I will do it.’
Finally Pegasus became silent. He looked over at Emily and snorted lightly.
‘I believe I have underestimated your power over my nephew. I have never seen Pegasus surrender to anyone.’
Joel stood and defiantly faced the hideous gorgon. ‘It’s not power that connects them. It’s something you’ll never understand. They care for each other.’
‘Foolish words.’ Euryale waved her hand dismissively. She flew back to her sister on the throne. ‘We have much to prepare, it is time we rested.’
Stheno rose from her throne and turned to approach the Nirad queen. Her hand hovered threateningly before the delicate gold bars of the cage. ‘Take this warning, Queen. If any of these prisoners are not in this room in the morning, we will kill you and destroy what is left of your disgusting world. Make sure they do not escape.’
Segan lowered her head.
‘Come, sister. The time of our exile is swiftly drawing to a close. Soon we will be free to rule.’
When they were gone, Emily sat back, sighed heavily and dropped her head. ‘I’m really sorry, Joel.’
‘Sorry for what?’ he frowned.
She was unable to face him. ‘Sorry I got you involved in all of this. If I hadn’t come to your brownstone when Pegasus first crashed on my roof, you wouldn’t be here.’
Joel put his arm around her and pulled her closer. ‘Don’t be silly. You saved me that day. If it weren’t for you, I probably would have ended up in prison! And even if we die here, which I know we won’t, I would never regret a single moment of any of this. Don’t you know what you mean to me?’
Emily looked up into his warm brown eyes.
‘Emily, you’re the sister I never had. Don’t you know I’d do anything for you? I’d fight those gorgons bare-handed if I had to.’
Emily felt tears rising to her eyes.
He gave her a light squeeze. ‘Now, dry those tears before you blow us all up and ruin my plans for escape.’
Emily sniffed and dabbed away her tears with Neptune’s handkerchief. She looked over to Pegasus and realized Joel was right. She didn’t regret a moment of her life since the stallion had entered it. She just wished she could have seen her father again. Was he safe? Was Paelen still with him? Did he know how much she really loved and missed him? Those questions haunted her as she slowly drifted off to sleep in Joel’s arms.
A short time later, Emily awoke. Joel was snoring softly with his arm wrapped protectively around her. Pegasus was leaning against the bars of his cage and dozing lightly. The queen was curled in her chair soundly asleep in the golden cage. Emily looked at Tange and the other throne room guards. They were still standing erect at their posts. They never seemed to leave or sleep. They just kept watch over their queen.
Just as Emily was about to settle back against Joel, sounds of roaring shattered the stillness of the throne room.
Tange and the three guards stood at full attention. The guard closest to the door called out into the hall. A quick short answer barked back.
Up in the golden cage, Segan awoke instantly and sat up in her chair. She lifted her head and closed her eyes. To Emily, it looked like she was concentrating very hard on listening.
‘What is it?’ Joel was startled and looked around wildly.
‘I don’t know,’ Emily said. ‘Something is up.’
‘Maybe Jupiter is here.’
Pegasus nickered to the queen, who responded with a soft answer. Emily saw the stallion’s reaction. He began to pace the confines of the tight cage and paw at the floor. Whatever she had said to him it upset him greatly.
‘What is it, Pegs?’ Emily called. ‘Is it Jupiter? Is he here?’
Pegasus stopped pacing and stared at her. He shook his head and snorted.
‘Not Jupiter,’ Joel remarked. ‘What then?’
The sound of the screeching gorgons silenced Emily and everyone else in the throne room. But it didn’t keep Pegasus from pacing in his cage.
The gorgons entered and flew to the queen’s cage. ‘Segan, command your men deliver the prisoners to us at once!’
‘Prisoners? ’ Joel said.
Emily’s mind instantly flashed to her father, Paelen and Cupid. Had they managed to find the Nirad world and been captured?
Moments ticked by slowly as they waited to see whom the Nirads had caught. Finally there were stirrings in the hall outside the throne room. Emily and Joel held their breaths. Their hearts sank when they saw the twins, Diana and Apollo, being dragged into the throne room by several grey Nirads. Deep cuts and bruises covered their arms and faces, showing signs of a terrible fight.
Diana’s eyes flew wide when she spotted them. ‘Emily, Joel, what are you doing here? Are you
all right?’
‘They are quite unharmed,’ said Euryale. ‘Do you think we would harm children?’
‘Do not tempt me to answer you, Euryale!’ Diana spat as her furious eyes landed on the gorgon. ‘I know all about your hideous appetites.’
Apollo struggled to pull free of the Nirads holding him. ‘Release us, gorgon, before I lose my temper!’
‘You are not in Olympus now, Apollo,’ said Stheno as she flapped her tiny golden wings and flew off the dais. She landed before the Olympians. ‘You cannot order us around ever again. This is our world now. We rule here. Not you, nor your twin sister nor Jupiter! If we say bow, you will bow to us. You have no power here.’
‘Nor can you do anything to stop us,’ Euryale added. ‘We have waited a very long time for our vengeance. Jupiter will know our wrath for what Perseus did to our beloved sister, Medusa—’
‘And for what all of you have done to us throughout the ages,’ Stheno finished.
‘Anything we have done, you have deserved!’ Apollo shouted. ‘You are vile, filthy creatures who have destroyed countless lives. You bring death and misery with you wherever you go. It is only through our father’s generosity that he has allowed you to continue to live. But when he learns what you have done to this world and its people, there will be no escape for you.’
Stheno cackled loudly. ‘No escape? Foolish boy! When Jupiter arrives here, he will die. Then all Olympus will be ours!’
‘You can not defeat us, gorgons,’ Diana spat furiously. ‘That was Medusa’s arrogance and fatal mistake. She tried to take us on and underestimated Jupiter’s power. Remember what happened to her! You have no powers against our father.’
Stheno hissed at Diana. ‘Your father is a coward. He did not have the courage to face Medusa himself! So he sent Perseus to murder her.’
‘He sent Perseus to offer Medusa a choice,’ Diana responded. ‘She refused to listen and received the justice she so richly deserved.’
‘The only justice will be when Jupiter dies.’
‘You cannot kill our father,’ Apollo spat. ‘You do not have the power.’
‘True,’ Euryale acknowledged as she stalked over to Emily’s cage. ‘But I am not going to be the one who kills him.’ She pointed at Emily, ‘She is. It has taken us time and great effort to draw out the Flame of Olympus. But now she is ours. Emily has more than enough power to destroy Jupiter. She will do the deed, and then she will hand Olympus over to us.’
Emily felt sick. The gorgons expected her to turn her powers against Jupiter? They were insane. There was no way she would ever do it.
‘But enough chatter! Jupiter is going to die!’ Euryale screeched.
‘We will stop you,’ Apollo challenged, struggling against the Nirads’ restraint. ‘You will not destroy Olympus.’
Euryale moved towards him. Her eyes glowed a brilliant gold. ‘We will do whatever we please, Apollo. Our Nirad warriors are much stronger than Olympians. However, you may rejoice in the knowledge that you and your sister will be the first of Jupiter’s children to decorate our new stone garden.’
Emily watched in horror as Apollo began to turn to stone. The Nirads released him and stood back as Apollo screamed in agony. In moments the spreading stone had cut off his screams and an expression of agony sealed his smooth marble face.
‘Apollo!’ Diana howled. She turned desperately to the second gorgon. ‘Stheno, stop your sister before it is too late.’
Stheno cackled with laughter. ‘Too late for what, Diana? You can not stop us. However, if you care so much for your twin brother, you will join him!’
Emily and Joel screamed helplessly as the gorgons turned their deadly powers against Diana. Pegasus was going mad in his cage. He reared and started kicking at the door again. When it was over, the gorgons’ eyes returned to normal and they roared with laughter as they inspected the two new stone statues.
‘You there,’ Stheno screeched as she pointed to Tange. Have your people set these two up beside our thrones. I want Jupiter to see what we have done to his children when he gets here.’
Emily collapsed to the floor of her cage as heaving sobs escaped her. ‘I’ll never do it,’ she wept as she pulled out her handkerchief and gathered her tears. ‘I won’t kill Jupiter and give you Olympus.’
‘Oh yes you will,’ Euryale shouted as she stormed up to the cage. ‘If you wish to keep Pegasus and Joel alive, you will. The choice is simple. You will kill Jupiter and serve us – and they will live. But if you refuse, we will kill them both and then you. With the Flame of Olympus extinguished, Jupiter will lose his powers anyway. He will be easy prey for us then. We will feast on the bones of Olympus and then your world.’
‘If you doubt our words, child, believe this!’ Stheno crossed over to Pegasus’s cage. Her eyes glowed golden as she focused her attention on the stallion’s hind end.
Pegasus started screaming as his lower hind leg started to change colour from glowing white to a cold stone marble.
‘Stop it!’ Emily screamed, banging her fists against the bars of her cage.
Joel was at her side. ‘Kill me if you must, but leave Pegasus alone!’
Stheno released Pegasus. The stallion had one marble back leg. Every time he tried to put it down it caused him so much pain, he was forced to lift the heavy stone limb in the air again. His deep whines of misery cut through Emily like a knife.
‘Each time you defy us, more of your precious Pegasus will be turned to stone,’ Euryale laughed.
‘You’re sick!’ Emily cried.
‘No,’ Euryale said. ‘We are gorgons!’
As soon as the gorgons left the throne room, Emily fell to the floor, weak and defeated. She missed her father more than ever and wished he was here to guide her. They were in so much danger she just didn’t know what to do.
Joel paced the confines of the cage. ‘We can’t let them do it. We’ve got to get out of here and warn them.’
‘How?’ Emily asked. ‘Even if Tange let us out, the moment the gorgons find out they’ll kill the queen.’
‘Then we’ll take the queen with us. We’ll get her back to Olympus where we can protect her.’
Tange left his post and approached them. He pointed to the lock on their cage, then up to Segan’s cage and shook his head.
‘There is no lock on her cage?’ Joel asked as he peered up to the queen’s cage.
Tange nodded.
‘Then all we have to do is break her out of there,’ Emily said.
Once again, Tange shook his head. He used his large monstrous hands to explain that the bars of the cage were very weak. Then he clapped his hands together. With all of the gold weight on the top roof, it would take very little for the thin bars to collapse and the massive weight come crushing down on their queen.
‘Then we can’t take her with us,’ Emily mused. ‘But we’ve got to do something.’ Emily was certain the gorgons would kill the queen even if she did as they ordered and killed Jupiter. They were far too conniving to let any of them live.
In her cage, Segan started to make strange sounds. Pegasus whinnied painfully and nodded his head. The queen seemed to reply.
‘Pegasus, can you really understand her?’ Joel asked.
The stallion nodded and then whinnied in pain as he moved his stone leg.
Hearing his suffering plunged a dagger in Emily’s heart. ‘I wish I could help you, Pegs,’ she called softly.
As the queen continued to make soft sounds, Tange left the throne room.
Joel helped Emily settle back against the bars of the cage. ‘Em, we’ve got to ask Tange to let us out. You can’t be here when Jupiter arrives. The gorgons will force you to kill him.’
‘I won’t use my powers again,’ Emily said firmly. ‘No matter what they do to any of us. The next time I try, I may not be able to stop it.’
When Tange returned, he was carrying the stone body of Chrysaor. He placed the statue before their cage and unlocked the door and motioned for Joel to help
Emily get out.
From his cage, Pegasus neighed to Emily. She glanced from Pegasus, to Tange and then finally to the queen. They were all looking at her hopefully and she understood exactly what they wanted. They needed to reach Jupiter. Chrysaor was their only hope. But after everything he had done, could they trust him?
Joel saw her hesitation and shrugged. ‘Em, we don’t have much choice. Do it.’
He helped Emily settle on the floor beside the stone Chrysaor. She reached up and rested her hand on his snout. Beneath her fingers the temperature began to rise. Moment by moment, the stone melted away as the dark brown hair and feathers of the winged boar returned.
Soon the brown spread throughout his entire body. She jumped when she saw one of Chrysaor’s whiskers start to twitch. After a few minutes, the colour poured back into his dark brown eyes. The boar suddenly took a very deep, unsteady breath and woke up.
Chrysaor jumped when he saw Emily sitting beside him. He gazed around the throne room in confusion. Behind him, Pegasus started to neigh and he trotted over to him. The stallion lowered his head and poked as much of his face through the bars as he could to touch him.
Watching their reunion nearly brought tears to Emily’s eyes as she remembered how they had tried to kill each other back at the Red Apple. Now it appeared Chrysaor had changed and everything was forgiven. Chrysaor squealed lightly and trotted over to Emily. She looked into the boar’s large brown eyes and saw so much of Pegasus there. She only hoped he had changed enough to share in his brother’s compassion and sympathy for others.
‘We desperately need your help, Chrysaor,’ she explained softly. ‘We can’t let the gorgons kill Jupiter. Look at what they’ve done to the Nirads and what they did to you. Do you really think they won’t do that to everyone else? All they want is power and destruction. They don’t care who they kill to get it.’
She reached out her hand and lightly stroked the coarse hairs on Chrysaor’s snout. ‘The gorgons are asleep. You’ve got to fly back to Olympus and find Jupiter. Warn him that they are planning to make me kill him. Explain to him how they’ve imprisoned the Nirad queen in a fragile cage of Olympian gold. Any attempt to rescue her will kill her. And tell him how they’re killing Nirad children to control her. Please, Chrysaor, you are our only hope. You must tell Jupiter to bring all his warriors here to fight the gorgons.’
