‘You heard the lady, Pegasus,’ Steve said. ‘Take us on to the bridge and away from Manhattan.’
As the carriage joined the steady flow of traffic, they listened to the strange clip-clopping sound of the stallion’s sharp golden hooves on the steel grate of the bridge. The other cars slowed as they passed, but otherwise ignored the horse-drawn carriage.
When they were just over halfway, Emily saw they were passing over Roosevelt Island. She tried to recall the last time she had been here. It had been when her mother was still alive, well over a year ago. They had taken a weekend trek out of the city. She recalled the excitement of going to Long Island and Wildwood State Park. Emily remembered how happy she’d been when they had gone swimming together and—
‘Uh-oh,’ Steve said. ‘This isn’t good.’
Drawn from her fevered memories, Emily tried to focus her attention. The traffic was slowing down to a stop.
‘Look over there, it’s all stopped,’ Joel warned as he pointed to the other lanes going in the opposite direction.
Pegasus let out a warning whinny and started to shake his head. His ears were pricked forward and he was baring his teeth.
‘What is happening?’ Diana asked as she sat forward and looked around.
‘I have a bad feeling about this,’ Joel warned.
‘So does Pegasus,’ Diana agreed.
Emily sat up and gazed around the carriage. When she looked towards the back entrance of the bridge, her eyes flew wide in terror. Drawing to a stop several cars lengths back were multiple military trucks. Soldiers were pouring out of the trucks and drawing their weapons.
‘Dad—’
Suddenly from both sides of the bridge, a number of armed helicopters flew down from the sky and hovered beside them. Their weapons were pointed directly at the carriage.
‘It’s a trap!’ her father cried.
‘And we’re in it!’ Joel shouted.
‘DON’T MOVE! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!’ warned a voice from one of the helicopter’s loudspeakers. ‘YOU ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED. STAY WHERE YOU ARE!’
Without pausing, Steve jumped down from the carriage. ‘Joel, help me. We’ve got to free Pegasus!’
Emily tried to stand, but her infected leg wouldn’t support her weight. She fell back down to the seat. She could no longer move. All she could do was watch as Diana stood above her and raised her spear in the air. She was preparing to take on the military.
‘No, Diana!’ Emily weakly reached up to catch the end of the spear. ‘They’ll kill you. Go with Pegs. Please, get away. Save Olympus!’
‘Do not speak nonsense,’ Diana shot back at her. ‘I will not allow these foolish men to hurt you. If they wish to fight, I am happy to oblige.’
Everybody heard the pounding of many feet on the bridge as soldiers charged at them from all directions.
‘He’s free!’ Steve shouted as he pulled the last of the leather straps away from Pegasus. Joel tore the blanket from his wings and smacked the stallion’s rump.
‘Go on, Pegasus, go!’ Joel roared. ‘Get out of here! Find the Flame and save both our worlds!’
Free of the harness, Pegasus turned and ran back to the carriage. He whinnied loudly at Emily, reached forward and tried to catch her by the shirt to lift her up.
‘No, Pegs, I can’t move,’ Emily cried as she weakly reached for the stallion. ‘Please, go. Take Diana and leave here. You can’t let them catch you.’ Tears sprang to her eyes as she weakly shoved the stallion’s head away. ‘Please … just go!’
‘Stop!’ Several soldiers had drawn near and raised their weapons. ‘Put your hands in the air and don’t make a move!’
‘Go, Pegs!’ Emily shouted with all her remaining strength.
The air filled with strange popping sounds. At first Emily thought the soldiers were shooting bullets at them. But then she saw countless feathered darts strike Pegasus. Within moments, his hind quarters looked like a pin-cushion filled with the colourful darts.
‘What is this insanity?’ Diana called in fury as she too was struck by the tranquilizer darts. She angrily pulled them from her arms and tossed them away.
Steve and Joel were both hit by the darts. Instantly they fell to the ground, unconscious.
Because of her position, Emily hadn’t been hit. But as more men descended on them, Pegasus opened his wing to cover her, taking the brunt of the darts meant for her.
‘Don’t worry about me, Pegs,’ Emily cried. ‘Please just go!’
But Pegasus refused to leave. He reared on his hind legs, threw back his head and shrieked in rage. His front legs cut through the air furiously and promised a violent death to any of the soldiers who tried to come closer. Diana joined in the battle cry, raising her spear and preparing to take on the soldiers.
Then Emily felt a sharp sting in her neck as a dart found its mark. She heard Pegasus’s enraged cry and saw him lunging forward to attack the soldiers just as everything went black.
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