‘I’m all right,’ Emily insisted as she forced herself to move.
‘No, you are not.’ Paelen said as he caught hold of her shoulders and gently made her lie down again. ‘You need a bit more time to recover. I still need to find the others before we do anything. If Pegasus truly has been shot, then he too may need time to recover.’
Emily surrendered. Paelen was right. She really wasn’t up to moving around just yet. ‘He’ll need sugar,’ Emily said. ‘Pegs won’t eat food for horses. He needs sweet things.’
‘I know.’ A charming, crooked smile crossed Paelen’s face. ‘I am exactly the same. I do rather like chocolate.’
‘Me too,’ Emily agreed. ‘But the people here think Pegs is a horse. They won’t give him what he needs.’
‘Then I will,’ Paelen said. ‘I promise you, Emily, Pegasus will have everything he needs to recover his strength. But what we all need right now is for you to rest. Then we can make our move.’
Emily nodded and lay back into the pillows. ‘I guess you’re right. But there is one thing that may change all our plans,’ she said.
‘What is that?’ Paelen asked.
‘The Nirads. They are tracking Pegasus and me. Diana says it’s because they’ve tasted our blood. They’ve been able to follow us everywhere we go,’ Emily explained. ‘If we’ve been here four days already, they might be getting really close. Because I don’t know where we are, I don’t know how far away they could be.’
Paelen nodded and seemed to consider her words. He rubbed his chin, thinking. ‘When I was at the place they called Belleview Hospital,’ he said, ‘the men came to get me. They chained me down to a narrow bed and then carried me in a strange flying machine. We journeyed a short distance, to a tiny island across the water from where we were. This place is deep beneath the ground of that island. But I do not know how deep.’
‘A tiny island?’ Emily repeated. ‘We’re on an island just off Manhattan?’
Paelen shrugged. ‘I guess. There was a tall statue in the water of a green woman holding a torch,’ Paelen went on. ‘She was looking at us.’
‘A statue of a green woman?’ Emily mused. Then she snapped her fingers. ‘Wait, you’re talking about the Statue of Liberty! So where could we be? Roosevelt Island maybe?’ Then she shook her head. ‘No, wait, that’s on the other side of Manhattan. Maybe Ellis Island? But does the Statue of Liberty face Ellis Island?’
Paelen looked confused. ‘This is your world, not mine,’ he said.
Emily nodded. ‘Yes it is. But from what I can remember, I don’t think Lady Liberty faces Ellis Island.’ Then finally it struck Emily. Governors Island. When she was younger, the coastguard kids at her school had lived there until they were all moved off and relocated. As far as anyone knew, Governors Island was now empty. What better place to hide a secret Government facility than on an empty Government island?
‘Paelen, I know where we are.’
‘That is good.’
‘No, it’s not!’ Emily reached out to take Paelen’s hand. ‘You don’t understand. We’re on Governors Island. It’s too close to Manhattan. If the Nirads can swim, it’s just a quick trip across the water and they’re here.’ She looked intently at him. ‘Can Nirads swim?’
Paelen shook his head. ‘No. They sink in water. In Olympus, it was the rivers that slowed them down until they discovered other ways of getting across.’
‘Can they use boats?’ Emily anxiously asked.
Paelen shrugged. ‘I do not know. The truth is, I know very little about the Nirads. Until they attacked Olympus, I had never heard of them.’
‘We have got to get out of here as quickly as possible. We’re so close to the city. I’ve counted at least fourteen Nirads after us. If they steal boats at the harbour, they could sail over here. Even if we are deep beneath the ground, they are strong enough to reach us.’
‘I must tell Pegasus,’ Paelen said. ‘And you must concentrate on getting better. If it is as you say and the Nirads are close, we must leave here soon.
‘I will,’ Emily agreed. ‘Just find Pegs and tell him what you know,’ said Emily. ‘Then please find my father and Joel. They’ve got to know too.’
‘Yes of course.’ Paelen stepped back from the bed. Emily watched in gruesome fascination as he started to manipulate his body again.
‘Does that hurt?’ she asked, cringing at the sounds of his cracking bones.
‘Yes, actually it does. Rather a lot,’ Paelen answered as he finished stretching himself out. ‘But it allows me to fit through tiny spaces that no one else can get past. It infuriated Jupiter when I got away from his prison.’
‘Jupiter put you in prison?’ Emily asked.
Paelen’s snake-like head nodded. ‘He caught me in his palace stealing and had me put in prison, but I got away. Perhaps if we survive this, he will forgive me and let me remain free.’