‘What did they do to you?’ Emily cried.
‘They tried to tear me apart,’ Paelen called back. ‘But I was able to change my body so they could not do it. Though I have broken a lot of bones.’
‘Your bravery will not go unrewarded, Paelen,’ Diana promised. ‘My father will know what you did for us.’
Before Paelen could respond, Pegasus whinnied to Diana.
‘Emily, Joel,’ she called, ‘hold on. We are about to enter the Solar Stream to Olympus.’
‘The Solar what?’ Joel started to ask.
Suddenly they were moving at an impossible speed. The starlight around them became a blur of white light. To Emily, it looked like special effects from a science fiction movie. But this was no movie. It was very, very real.
Looking back, she saw Paelen was almost surfing the light as he struggled to cling to Pegasus’s tail while the one sandal flapped its tiny wings to keep up, his terrified cries filled the air behind them.
What really surprised her was Pegasus. He was still beating his large wings. What would happen if he stopped? Emily wondered hazily. And how did Diana manage to get to Earth without wings?
As these thoughts spun through her head, Emily forgot her dark destiny for a moment. But when Pegasus slowed down and the white light faded back into simple starlight, she felt her fear return.
Not far ahead, Emily saw what looked like the top of a mountain rising in bright sunshine. They emerged from the starlight and passed into a beautiful sunny day. The sky was brilliant blue – bluer somehow than on Earth – and around them, the sky was dotted with thick fluffy white clouds. As Pegasus flew amongst them, Emily could taste their rich sweetness on her lips.
Lower and lower they went. Soon they could see lush green fields beneath them. The mountain rose from the green. Emily realized that they were heading towards it.
‘Is that Mount Olympus?’ Emily asked Diana.
‘This is all Olympus, not just that mountain,’ Diana replied. ‘Though we do live at the top.’
‘Just like in the myths,’ Joel added, gazing around in wonder. ‘Is there a Mount Helicon here where the Muses live?’
‘There is,’ Diana said. ‘That is where the Nirads first entered our world. The Muses were the first to be captured and Helicon the first to fall.’
As they approached the mountain, Emily tried to take in all the sights. There were huge structures of glowing white marble. But as they drew near, she could see they had been knocked over, broken and destroyed.
‘Did the Nirads do this?’ she asked.
‘Yes, and much worse,’ Diana answered.
Emily and Joel looked down on the ruins of Olympus and at last understood what they were fighting for. Before it had been destroyed by the Nirads, this world would have been the most beautiful place imaginable.
Beneath them, the amount of rubble grew in density as they entered what must have been a heavily populated area. But more than that, much to her horror, Emily started to see bodies of the dead Olympians. For as bad as seeing the men in the facility on Governors Island had been, this was so much worse. There were people of all ages, even children and strange looking animals, lying dead on the ground.
‘This is all my fault,’ Emily choked.
‘No it’s not,’ Joel said, horrified. ‘That’s crazy talk!’
‘It’s not crazy, Joel. If I am the Flame, then when it became weaker in me, it became weaker here. I allowed the Nirads to attack and kill all these people.’
‘No, you’re wrong,’ he protested. ‘I won’t let you blame yourself for this. The Nirads did it, not you.’
‘I am sorry, Joel,’ Diana corrected, ‘Emily is not entirely wrong. She is the Flame of Olympus.’ Diana looked at Emily. ‘But she did not cause this intentionally. I now understand what did.’
‘What?’ Emily asked weakly.
‘Love,’ Diana answered. ‘The deep love you had for your mother. When she died, grief overwhelmed you. It diminished the Flame. It was not illness as I first suspected. It was grief.’
‘What about now?’ Emily asked in a whisper. ‘Is there enough Flame left in me to save Olympus and our world?’
Diana nodded. ‘Oh yes, child. Even I can feel it burning brightly in you now. You are recovering. I believe Pegasus had a great deal to do with it.’
Pegasus snorted softly. Emily felt her heart fill with emotion for the stallion. Diana was right. Meeting Pegasus and caring for him had finally dimmed the searing pain of her mother’s loss.
She looked back to Diana, ‘When the Temple of the Flame is lit again will you be able to save these people. Will your brother live again?’
‘I hope so,’ Diana said. ‘Without its people, there is no Olympus.’
Pegasus started to glide in the clear air over the ruins.
‘We are going down,’ Diana said. ‘We must all be on our guard. We are still in grave danger. Pegasus has taken us as close to the Temple as he dares. But legions of Nirads remain here. Their one goal will be to kill Pegasus and Emily.’