‘Then someone who loves him will be the last person with him and not you!’ Emily said fiercely. ‘But if you try to take me back to my room, I swear I’ll never speak another word, no matter what you do to me.’
Anger flashed in the agent’s eyes. ‘Fine,’ he said at last. ‘You want to stay with the dying horse while we talk, you can stay.’ He loomed over her. ‘I hope you appreciate how I am bending the rules for you, young lady. I will expect the same consideration from you. You will answer all my questions without hesitation and with the truth. Do you understand me?’
Emily lay pressed against the stallion’s neck and continued to stroke his face. ‘I understand perfectly.’
A blanket and two chairs were brought into the room. When the blanket was brought over to her, Emily felt Pegasus tense. He wasn’t so far gone that he wasn’t aware of what was happening around him. He didn’t like the man coming near.
As the CRU agents settled in their chairs, Emily made herself comfortable in the straw. She was as close to Pegasus as she could get, curling neatly in the circle of his neck and head while she stroked his face and scratched his ears. Just being close to him was enough to make her feel better.
‘All right, Emily,’ Agent J said as he switched on his recording device. ‘Let’s take it from the very beginning. How is it you came to be with Pegasus?’
Emily took a deep breath. She knew she could never tell them why Pegasus and Diana were in New York; about the Flame or the war in Olympus. But she wanted to spend as much time as she could with the stallion. Taking Paelen’s advice, Emily lied.
She began with the truth, talking about the huge storm in the city and how Pegasus was struck by lightning and crashed on her roof. But from there, the truth faded into an outrageous story that equalled the best of the Greek or Roman myths.
Agent J sat forward in his chair. ‘And why were they coming here?’
‘Well,’ she started. ‘Diana told me that back in Olympus, a thief had stolen Pegasus’s golden bridle. He escaped by using the messenger’s sandals.’
‘So it isn’t Mercury we have locked away here?’
Emily shook her head. ‘He’s just a thief. Diana said she and Pegasus had been chasing him across the cosmos, going from world to world and through city after city. They finally ended up here in New York. She said they were hit by lightning and got separated. Pegasus crashed on my roof and Diana fell in Central Park.’
‘This thief,’ Agent J asked. ‘Do you know his name?’
‘I can’t remember,’ Emily said, scratching her head. ‘But I think Diana said it began with the letter P.’
‘Paelen?’ Agent O asked. ‘Was his name Paelen?’
‘Yes!’ Emily agreed. ‘That’s it. Diana said that Paelen had also stolen a sack of gold coins from her father, Jupiter. And that she and Pegasus had come here to get it back before her father found out and lost his temper. She said when Jupiter got mad, entire worlds were destroyed.’
‘If he already had the coins, why did Paelen go after Pegasus’s bridle?’ Agent J mused.
Emily shrugged. ‘I guess he’s greedy. Diana said Jupiter wouldn’t care too much about the coins, but he would be furious if he found out about the bridle. So they were hoping to get it back before he noticed.’
‘Gold is gold,’ Agent J said lightly. ‘He had enough, but wanted more.’
‘Wait,’ Agent O said. ‘There’s more to this. The myths say that whoever possesses the bridle of Pegasus can control the stallion.’ He concentrated on Emily. ‘Paelen wanted Pegasus, didn’t he?’
This was the first Emily had heard of the myth. She shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Diana never said. She just told me they needed to get everything back before her father found out. But now the bridle and coins are lost, there’s no telling what he’ll do.’
‘The bridle isn’t lost,’ Agent O said. ‘We have it here.’
‘You do?’ Emily said. ‘Really? Do you have the coins too?’
Agent O shook his head. ‘No coins, but we had the sandals.’
‘Had?’ Emily said, as she continued to stroke Pegasus.
Agent J nodded. ‘But it seems someone has taken them.’
Emily shrugged. ‘Maybe they flew away. Diana told me the sandals have a mind of their own. Maybe they flew back to Olympus.’
‘Maybe,’ Agent J said, not sounding convinced. ‘Or we could have a thief in our midst. So, tell me, where is Olympus?’
Emily shook her head and answered with the truth. ‘I swear I don’t know.’ She looked down on Pegasus’s closed eyes. ‘Diana told me that Pegasus was her only way home. If he dies, she’s going to be trapped here.’
‘No, that’s not right either,’ Agent O said. ‘The ancient myths said the Gods were always coming to Earth. There was never anything written about Diana riding Pegasus. Whenever she came here, she came of her own power. What has changed?’