‘I’ve tried not to talk,’ Joel said in a hushed whisper. ‘I don’t think I told them about the war in Olympus but I can’t be sure. I’m so used to fighting, when they hit me, I just laughed at them. But then they used the drugs …’
Joel started to shake. The haunted expression was back in his eyes. Whatever they had done to him, it would have a lasting effect.
‘It is going to be all right, Joel,’ Paelen said softly. ‘We will get out of here.’
‘How?’ Joel asked. ‘I don’t even know where we are.’
‘Emily does. She said we are on Governors Island. We are deep underground, but I am free to go wherever I choose. There are serpents’ eyes watching everything in the corridors, but not in the tunnels I use or in our rooms.’
‘Serpents’ eyes?’ Joel asked.
Paelen nodded. ‘Agent J says they can see everywhere in here. That is how they knew when I escaped my room. I was in the corridor and they saw me.’
‘You mean cameras,’ Joel said, finally understanding. He looked around his room. ‘You’re right. There aren’t any. I guess they don’t want them in the rooms in case someone made a record of the tortures they do to their prisoners.’
‘Perhaps,’ Paelen agreed, wondering what horrors they would have witnessed being done to Joel. ‘But that leaves me free to visit all of you as long as I use the tunnels. And when Pegasus is well enough to move, we shall escape.’
‘What’s wrong with Pegasus?’ Joel asked. ‘Is it his wing again?’
Paelen dropped his eyes in shame. He explained about the stallion being shot. ‘I have taken him all the food he needs, but it may be too late. He is gravely ill. I fear Pegasus might be dying.’
Joel’s hands shot out and gripped Paelen’s arms. ‘He can’t!’ he cried. ‘If he does, we’re all dead. Pegasus is the only one who can find the Daughter of Vesta!’
Paelen frowned. ‘What does Vesta have to do with Pegasus?’
‘Hasn’t Emily told you why Pegasus came here?’
When Paelen shook his head, Joel told him what he knew of the Daughter of Vesta and the Flame of Olympus.
Paelen started to pace. ‘So this is why we were not destroyed when the Nirads extinguished the Flame in the temple,’ he said. ‘We must get out of this place. Pegasus must complete his mission and get the Flame back to Olympus!’
‘No kidding,’ Joel said sarcastically. ‘What do you think we’ve been trying to do all this time? But now that we’re here—’
‘We can get out,’ Paelen insisted. ‘We just have to ensure that Pegasus lives.’
‘You’re an Olympian, right?’ said Joel after a moment.
‘I am.’
‘Are you strong like Diana? Can you break me out of this room so we can get to Emily?’
‘I am very strong,’ Paelen agreed. ‘And I can break down this door if needed. But now is not the time to make our move. Pegasus needs time to recover, and so do you.’
‘I’m fine.’ Joel rubbed his bruised chin thoughtfully. ‘OK then, here’s the plan. Keep feeding Pegasus sugar, lots of it. The moment he is up again, come back here and break me out. We’ll free Emily and then Diana and Steve. There should be enough of us to fight our way out of here. Then we’ll go get the Daughter of Vesta and Pegasus can take her back to Olympus.’
Paelen moved back to the vent. He decided not to tell the boy that Emily’s father was not at this facility. Instead, he nodded. ‘Very good. I will see Emily later today and tell her how you are. If they come back for you, do your best to avoid their questions. It will not be long, Joel. You will be free soon.’
28
Emily was feeling better. The antibiotics they were using were driving away the infection from the Nirad wounds, while the painkillers took the edge off the throbbing pain from her leg. Lying in her bed, she watched the nurse changing the dressing on her wound.
The nurse kept blocking her view of the actual wound.
‘How bad is it?’ Emily asked.
‘Bad enough,’ the nurse answered. ‘I’m afraid there was a lot of damage. The surgeons did what they could, but the infection went very deep.’
Emily was almost afraid to ask, but had no choice. ‘Will I be able to walk again?’
The nurse stopped what she was doing and turned to Emily. ‘I really don’t know. Possibly, but you’ll need help; perhaps a cane or even a brace. But don’t think about that right now. Your job is to concentrate on getting better.’
‘Then what?’
The nurse stared at Emily a moment longer but then returned to the task of changing the dressing on her leg. Her silence told Emily more than she really wanted to know. The answer was simple. She had no future. When the CRU had finished with her, she would simply disappear.
‘Have you seen Pegasus?’ Emily finally asked.
‘Your winged horse?’
Emily was fed up with correcting the people here. If they wanted to call Pegasus a horse, let them. She knew the truth, and that was enough.