‘Nirads,’ Paelen repeated. He was in shock and unable to draw his eyes away from the sight of the rampaging invaders.
‘Who are they? Did they come on your starship?’
Paelen ignored the question and looked at Agent J fearfully. ‘Are they really here in this world?’
‘Yes,’ Agent J answered, ‘and they are wreaking havoc with the city. We’ve counted at least twenty, but there are reports of even more being seen. They appear to be practically unstoppable. We’ve only managed to capture a couple of the creatures. But they are ferociously strong and can’t be sedated. We’ve got them stored at another high security facility. Now tell me. What are they? Can you control them?’
‘Control them? Me?’ Paelen cried. He shook his head. ‘No one can control the Nirads. They are feral creatures with killer instincts. They are indestructible! Please, you must let me go. They have followed me from Olympus. I must get away. They will kill me if they find me here.’ Paelen struggled in the chair, desperate to flee. ‘They will kill all of you as well.’
‘What are they?’ Agent J demanded.
‘They are the destroyers of Olympus!’ Paelen cried.
‘Enough!’ Agent J howled. ‘We are in the middle of the worst security crisis this country has ever known and you are still talking about Olympus!’ He leaned down until his face was just inches from Paelen’s. ‘Olympus doesn’t exist! It’s a myth! It was created by weak minds in a time of need. Now tell me. Where are you from? Where is your starship?’
‘I do not understand what you want from me,’ Paelen cried. ‘I tell you I am from Olympus. But you claim it is just a myth. Why do you keep insisting I am from the stars?’
‘Because aliens exist, Olympians don’t,’ Agent J snapped.
Paelen regained control of himself. ‘Of course Olympus exists,’ he challenged indignantly. ‘It is where I am from. And I resent you calling it a myth. We are not myths! As for the Nirads, all I know of them is they have destroyed my home. Olympus is in ruins. Now they have followed me here, but I do not know why.’
Agent J straightened up again and turned furiously to the screen. ‘All right, you say they are after you? If that is true, why have they left you untouched and are pursuing them?’
On the screen, Paelen saw the picture of Pegasus soaring through the canyons of buildings. The image was not as clear as the Nirads. But Paelen could see two young humans were with the stallion. Pegasus appeared to have fresh wounds on his hind quarters. And even though the image was unclear, Paelen knew Pegasus well enough to see the terror on his face.
‘Why were they attacking that horse and those two kids?’ Agent J demanded.
Paelen almost shouted, ‘Pegasus is not a horse! ’ but he bit back the comment. He realized he’d already made a terrible mistake by telling them as much as he had. Shock at seeing the Nirads in this world had made him drop his guard. He would not make that mistake again. ‘I do not know.’
‘You’re lying!’ Agent J shot at him. ‘I saw your face. You recognized them. Those kids, are they friends of yours? Are you from the same planet? What about that winged horse? How is it possible for him to fly?’
‘He flies because he has wings,’ Paelen said sarcastically. ‘I would have thought even you could figure that out for yourself. Now, I have answered your questions. I do not know who they are. Please release me before the Nirads arrive.’
Paelen’s gaze followed Agent J as he walked over to a man in a white coat.
‘Give it to him,’ he heard him say. ‘He’s not telling us what we need to know.’
Moments later, the man in the white coat injected something into Paelen’s arm. As the drug took effect, Paelen started to feel what it must have been like to be Medusa. His head was full of writhing angry snakes; his veins were coursing with fire. He could no longer see clearly.
When Paelen felt at his worst, Agent J repeated all the same questions he’d asked moments before. Where did they come from? Who were the Nirads? Who were the kids on the flying horse? And why did the creatures want to kill everyone?
Despite the sensation of snakes squirming in his head, Paelen still had complete control over his thoughts. He wouldn’t answer their questions. He especially wouldn’t betray Pegasus. So as always, Paelen did what he did best. He lied. He told Agent J the most outrageous story he could think of.
This time, he claimed he was Hercules, son of Jupiter and hero of Olympus. Paelen went into long details of his achievements as Hercules. Telling one amazing story after another and claiming all the glory for himself.
The more he talked, the angrier Agent J became.