‘Do they know what I am?’ Emily asked.
‘I do not think so,’ Diana answered. ‘Because you were wounded before, they will think you are important enough to kill. They will chase you as much as they do Pegasus.’
‘We’ll be careful,’ Joel said. ‘If we have to fight, we fight.’
‘I too am ready,’ Paelen said.
Emily looked back to him and could see his deep wounds and the odd angles of his arms and legs. More than just a few of his bones were broken.
Soon Pegasus landed. Emily was shocked by the stillness of the air around them.
‘Is it always this quiet?’
Diana shook her head as she climbed off the stallion’s back and helped Joel down. ‘No, every animal, bird and insect has fled the onslaught of the Nirads.’
As Paelen touched down, Diana directed him closer to Emily. ‘Take her hand. She can help you heal.’
Emily reached down and took Paelen’s hand. As she closed her fingers lightly around his wrist, she felt the bones shift and slide, slotting back together. After a few moments, Paelen could stand better and didn’t look to be in as much pain.
‘I do not understand,’ he said as he looked at Emily in awe. ‘How are you doing this to me?’
Joel put his arm around Paelen’s shoulders. ‘It’s a long story and we just don’t have the time,’ he said. ‘Are you feeling well enough to fight?’
Paelen gave Emily his crooked grin. ‘I could take on Jupiter!’ he said.
Diana actually chuckled, ‘Do not let my father hear you say that.’ Then she looked around. ‘We must move on. The Temple is some distance away. Does everyone still have their gold?’
Emily and Joel held up their pieces of gold from Pegasus’s bridle.
Paelen shook his head. ‘Mine is still lodged in the head of a Nirad back on Governors Island.’
Diana reached up and took Emily’s piece. She tore it in two, handing one part back to Emily and the other to Paelen. ‘Do not lose this one. We need every bit of it.’
Emily remained on Pegasus as the group slowly made their way through the rubble that once was Olympus. Many times she had to avert her eyes from the horrible casualties that lay on the ground. With every nerve on edge, she strained her eyes and ears for fresh signs of the Nirads. She saw nothing but destruction and heard only the soft, empty wind. ‘Where are the Nirads?’
‘I do not know,’ Diana answered, looking around. ‘But it worries me. There were thousands here not long ago. We must be on our guard. I do not believe they have left already.’
Pressing on, they reached the spot where the worst fighting had taken place. Amongst all the ruins, Emily saw tall steps leading up to the remains of a temple. The heavy metal gates at the top were torn from their hinges and cast down on the steps.
Instinctively, Emily recognized this place.
‘That is the Temple of the Flame, isn’t it?’ she asked, pointing to the ruins.
Diana nodded but said nothing. She was kneeling before the body of a fallen Olympian. She reached out and gently stroked dark hair from a bruised and bloodied face, silent tears trickling down her cheeks. Seeing this strong and confident woman brought to her knees weeping made Emily realize all the sacrifices that had been made already.
‘Is that your brother?’ Joel asked softly.
Diana sniffed, and nodded. ‘It is Apollo. He was a brave and honourable fighter. I loved him dearly.’ She looked around at the other dead fighters. ‘They were all brave.’
‘He will be avenged,’ Paelen said, determined. ‘I promise you, Diana, they all will.’
The horrible cries of Nirads shattered the stillness of the area. Emily looked back and her eyes went wide at the sight of hundreds of Nirads bearing down on them from nowhere.
‘We must go!’ Diana cried as she rose and left her dead brother. She ran to Pegasus and Emily. ‘Child, it is up to you now. You are this world’s only hope. Your sacrifice could save us all. I grieve at what you must now face. But I swear your name and your gift to us will not be forgotten by any Olympian!’
She pulled Emily’s face closer to her and kissed her on the cheek. ‘Your mother will be very proud of you when she meets you in Elysium.’
Tears filled Emily’s eyes as she realized the time of her death had come. After only thirteen short years of life, it was going to end in the agony of flames in this shattered world.