‘But where?’ Emily said. ‘And why? What are they doing to him?’
‘I am sorry, I do not know,’ Paelen said softly. ‘But the rest of us can get still get away. Then perhaps we can find your father and free him.’
Emily sniffed back her tears and wiped her nose. ‘We still need that bridle first.’
‘Then I shall go get it,’ Paelen promised. ‘I will bring it back here and then we can plan our escape.’
30
When Paelen was gone, Emily lay back and tried not to let fear for her father overwhelm her. But it was impossible. She had yet to meet one nice or decent CRU agent. They were all just as cruel and evil as her father had told her.
Were they torturing him right now? What were they doing? Paelen had said that they had already tortured Joel to get him to speak. What had they done to him?
As she settled, she tried to calm herself. It wasn’t completely hopeless. Paelen was free to wander the facility. He was clever and agile. But more than that, he cared. With his help, they would get back down to Pegasus. Then they could free Diana and Joel and start to look for her father.
Emily replayed the events of the day in her mind. Not the questions and not the frightening faces of the agents, she thought about Pegasus. At first, he had seemed so vulnerable. But as the day progressed, she definitely felt him growing stronger. She knew he was pretending to be weaker than he was. Pegasus understood that if he made a move, he would put all of them in danger. So he did as she asked and played along.
But would Pegasus be strong enough to rise and escape with them? If he couldn’t get up, would the four of them be strong enough to lift and carry him?
Emily was just starting to calm herself when loud, shrieking sirens burst through the silence of the facility. She sat up and listened to the sudden pounding of heavy footsteps and shouting in the hall outside her door. It seemed like countless people were running up and down the halls in a panic.
Paelen! she thought as fear gripped her heart. He’s been caught! The thought tore through her brain like a bullet. All their plans for escape vanished in an instant. Paelen had been their only hope to get away. Now that was gone.
But just as despair threatened to crush her completely, Emily heard Paelen’s voice calling her name urgently above the din of the angry alarms.
‘Emily!’ he cried through the vent.
Emily looked up and saw him shove the vent open. He cried out in pain as he stretched out his body faster than she’d ever seen before and poured himself through the vent. She saw the light glinting off the golden bridle he clutched in his hand.
‘Paelen, they know you’ve escaped!’ Emily cried. ‘You must get out of here! Get the bridle to Diana and then go to Pegs. You can’t get caught now.’
‘It is not I who has caused this mayhem. It is the Nirads. They are here! They have come for you and Pegasus!’
‘Nirads!’ Emily cried. ‘I thought they couldn’t cross water.’
‘It now appears they found a way,’ Paelen said. ‘I must get you out of here.’ He was bending down to put on a beautiful pair of sandals. They had tiny wings and were covered in jewels. Emily gasped. Mercury’s sandals!
‘Paelen, look at my leg,’ she said. ‘I can’t walk. Leave me here. You’ve got to free Diana and Pegs. You’re their only hope. Please save them.’
‘I will,’ Paelen promised. ‘But I just saw Pegasus. He is up and moving around. He said he would kill me if I did not bring you to him. I have betrayed him once. I will not do so again.’
Paelen threw back her covers and went to undo the support on her leg. ‘I am sorry, but this may hurt.’
‘I don’t care about that,’ Emily said. ‘Just get me free.’ She winced while her leg was undone from the support straps. ‘Have you seen the Nirads? How many are there?’
‘I have not seen them,’ Paelen admitted. ‘But I can smell them. There are more than a few. The men of the facility are gathering to fight them. But they will fail. We do not have a lot of time before they reach us.’
Paelen handed the golden bridle to Emily. ‘Here, keep hold of this. If a Nirad comes near us, hit him with it,’ he said. ‘But do not throw it at him. We will need it.’ He turned and offered her his back. ‘Climb on. These sandals can carry both faster than I can run.’
Emily held the bridle carefully and climbed on to Paelen’s back. ‘Am I too heavy for you?’ she asked.
He turned to give her a crooked grin. ‘Hardly! Now hold on.’
Paelen carried Emily over to the door and pressed the code to open the lock. As they entered the hall, the sounds of the alarms reached a terrifying pitch. Emily was shocked to see a mass of armed soldiers charging through the long corridor.
‘You two, get back into your room,’ ordered one of the men as he charged past.
Paelen ignored the order. ‘Are you ready?’ he shouted above the sirens.