The vendor shrugged and took back the toffee apple. ‘With that outfit, why doesn’t he enter the costume competition?’ He pointed at a large colourful tent with people pouring inside. ‘The prize is two hundred bucks. It’s just about to get started.’
‘Really?’ Emily looked at Cupid. ‘Did you hear that? Two hundred dollars!’
Excited, they returned to the group and Emily explained about the competition. ‘I know we’ve got to get out of here, but we need money. If Cupid won, we could buy a lot of food and more clothing.’
‘What would I have to do?’ Cupid asked.
‘Nothing,’ Joel said. ‘Just walk around the way I showed you. We could enter you as a zombie angel.’
‘But I am no angel.’
‘It’s pretending, Cupid,’ Emily said tiredly. ‘You would pretend to be a zombie angel, that’s all.’
Cupid looked around. ‘Just as these people are pretending to be dead creatures to scare the others?’
‘Exactly!’ Joel agreed. ‘It’s simple. Just walk in there and, with those wings, you’re guaranteed to win.’
‘He cannot do it,’ Paelen said sceptically. ‘He is a coward, too frightened to try.’
‘I am not!’ Cupid challenged.
‘Prove it,’ Paelen said. ‘Enter the competition. If you win, I will apologize.’
Cupid turned to Emily. ‘I will do it. I will prove to you that I am not a coward or selfish. I will win the money for all of us.’
Emily kept close to Pegasus as they made their way through the dense crowds towards the large, bright tent hosting the competition. Outside the entrance, costumed contestants gathered together.
‘Anyone else?’ called a man with a loudspeaker. ‘This is your last chance. Best costume wins two hundred dollars cash! Sign up here and enter!’
Emily stepped up to the registration table. ‘We’d like to enter please.’
The woman looked up at Emily, then over to Cupid. She eyed him up and down in his short, mud-covered tunic and smiled. ‘And what is your name, handsome?’
‘Cupid,’ Cupid answered softly, leaning closer and smiling back at her.
‘Hmmm, the God of Love,’ sighed the woman.
‘No,’ Emily said quickly, ‘not Cupid. This is Zombie Angel.’
The woman repeated the name dreamily and slowly handed over a card with a number on it. ‘Stand over there, Angel, and wait to be called forward. Good luck.’
Cupid reached forward and caught the woman’s hand. He gave it a soft kiss. ‘Thank you.’
Emily’s own heart fluttered as Cupid turned on his charm. ‘Um, come on, Angel,’ she stuttered. ‘It’s over here.’
Emily stood in line with Cupid waiting to be called forward while Joel and Paelen remained with Pegasus, well away from the tent. One by one they watched the contestants being called forward. There were chainsaw killers, mummies, grotesque aliens, ghouls and countless murder victims covered in fake blood, all climbing up on the stage to show off their costumes. When Cupid’s number was finally announced, he caught Emily by the hand. ‘Come, Flame, I want you with me for this. Remove your coat.’
‘Cupid, no,’ Emily quickly said. ‘I don’t want anyone to see my gold brace.’
‘If you wish to win this, you will do as I say.’
Emily looked helplessly over to Pegasus, but allowed Cupid to pull off her long coat and draw her into the crowded tent.
‘Here now, number thirty-one, Zombie Angel!’ the announcer called.
Cupid held on to Emily’s hand as he walked zombie-like up to the stage. He drew her up the steps with him.
Dressed only in her silk tunic and gold leg brace, Emily looked over the cheering crowds that greeted Cupid as he stepped on stage. It was as though she was invisible. Everyone’s eyes were locked only on the winged Olympian covered in drying mud.
‘It is I,’ Cupid announced theatrically, waving his hand in the air and bowing dramatically, ‘Zombie Angel!’ He smiled radiantly at the crowd and Emily could feel them reacting to his charm. ‘And here, now, the one who holds a zombie’s heart, the Flame of Olympus!’
Cupid went down on one knee and knelt before Emily. He bowed his head and slowly opened his beautiful wings and extended them fully. The crowd roared with excitement. Girls screamed and jumped up and down chanting, ‘Angel, Angel, Angel,’ as they reached across the stage to try to touch him.
‘Cupid, no!’ Emily cried. ‘Don’t show your wings!’
Her eyes were wild with fear as she looked into the audience. But they were all fooled. They loved Cupid without realizing his wasn’t a costume. Cheers and roars filled the tent for several minutes until the announcer came on stage. He held up his hands, trying to calm down the frantic crowd.
‘Close your wings,’ Emily quietly ordered as she continued to scan the audience nervously.
Cupid rose and wrapped his arm and one wing around Emily. ‘I believe we have won,’ he whispered softly into her ear.
‘All right,’ the announcer roared, ‘all right, calm down everyone! I can see by your reaction we have our winner!’
Once again the cheers reached fever pitch as the announcer pulled an envelope from his pocket. ‘Tonight’s first prize for best costumes goes to Zombie Angel and his Flame of Olympus!’
The announcer handed an envelope to Cupid. As he struggled to gain control of the screaming crowds, he pushed the microphone to Emily’s face. ‘What’s your name, sweetheart?’
‘Um, Emily,’ she answered nervously. Her heart pounded fiercely and she was certain the announcer was about to discover the truth about Cupid.
‘And you?’ he asked moving the microphone over to the Olympian.
‘I am Cupid.’
Once again the girls in the tent roared with excitement in response to Cupid. Emily had never seen anything like it before. She looked across the masses in the tent as everyone worshipped and adored him. But then Emily locked on one particular pair of eyes that weren’t cheering or screaming at Cupid. They were staring only at her.
‘No, it can’t be!’ she uttered. ‘What’s he doing here?’
‘What is it?’ Cupid asked.
Emily pointed at the man as he spoke urgently to some young, costumed men around him. She watched him shout into his mobile phone. When he hung up, he and his men started to shove their way through the hysterical crowds. His eyes were locked on to Emily and there was no mistaking the recognition.
‘The CRU!’
5
As the crowd surged and tried to get closer to Cupid, Emily’s eyes searched madly for Agent O. There was no mistaking him – Emily would remember his cruel eyes anywhere. He was one of the agents who tortured her at the Governors Island facility and was going to let Pegasus die when he was hurt.
‘We must go,’ Cupid cried.
He passed Emily her coat and took her by the hand. But as they descended the stage steps, the crowd of girls swarmed around him. Emily was pushed and shoved until her hand was torn free of Cupid’s.
‘Cupid!’ she cried.
‘Flame!’ he called back. But it was from the rear of the tent. The mass of girls had forced Cupid against the tent’s canvas wall. Emily struggled to reach him, but the crowd was too dense. As she turned to head out, she walked straight into a nightmare.
‘Emily Jacobs, what a questionable surprise to see you back here,’ said Agent O as he and two men dressed as aliens blocked her path. His hand closed on her arm with a vice-like grip. ‘Or should I call you Flame of Olympus?’
‘No, you can’t be here,’ she cried as she tried to pull away. ‘I saw Pegasus kill you!’
Agent O shook his head. ‘He killed Agent J, but he left me with this.’ He opened his shirt to reveal a deep, angry hoof-shaped scar. ‘Because of you and that horse, I was transferred upstate to this boring, hick town. My only escape from the monotony has been coming to this Haunted Forest Festival with some friends. But now that I’ve found you, I’ll get my promotion and out of this place. Yo
u are my ticket back to New York City.’
‘Let me go!’ Emily demanded as she struggled to pull away.
‘Let you go?’ Agent O repeated. ‘Never! You owe me, Emily. I had a life back in the City before you stole it from me. Now I’m going to steal something from you: your freedom!’ He started to haul her away.
Emily looked back towards Cupid.
‘Don’t worry about your winged friend back there. My men will take care of him soon enough.’
As he dragged her towards the exit, Emily spotted the four costumed performers that Paelen and Cupid had attacked. They entered the tent with a group of police and security guards. ‘There she is,’ called Frankenstein as he pointed at her. ‘She was with the others!’
Emily was losing control. The CRU, the police – it was all happening too fast. Her inner Flame started to rumble and come to life as she began to tremble.
‘Let go of me,’ she warned Agent O. ‘You don’t understand. I’ve changed. Please, I might hurt you!’
‘Shut up!’ Agent O ordered, forcing her through the crowds.
As the performers, festival security and police rushed forward, Agent O and his men pulled out their ID badges. ‘Back off ! This is my prisoner.’
‘No, stop it, Em! ’ Emily cried to herself, fighting back the flames. ‘Don’t do it. Hold it back! ’
But the tingling in the pit of her stomach rose. It flowed along her arms and finally down to her hands. ‘Everyone, get away from me!’ she screamed. ‘The Flame is coming and I can’t stop it!’
‘I said shut up!’ Agent O shouted furiously as he wrenched her forward. ‘I don’t want to hear it.’
Emily’s powers let go.
Uncontrolled flames shot out of her fingertips and hit Agent O in the legs. He fell to the ground rolling and screaming in pain as his trousers caught fire.
Emily pointed her hands away from the people around her and aimed the powerful flames down so that they burned deep holes into the grass and earth.
Agent O continued screaming and writhing in pain as his men tried to put out the flames on his legs. Those closest to Emily cried out in terror and ran for the exit. But the rest of the audience, those who couldn’t see its origins, cheered at the unexpected fire show.
‘Stop it! ’ Emily roared at herself. She was growing close to panic as the flames intensified. No matter how hard she tried, she could not pull them back.
Suddenly a screaming whinny came from the tent entrance. Emily looked up and saw Pegasus rearing and spreading his massive wings. Police gathered around the stallion trying to catch him while the crowds roared and cheered in hysterical delight. Pegasus whinnied again and charged forward into the tent.
‘Pegasus!’ Emily cried gratefully. Seeing the stallion coming for her calmed her somewhat. The flames slowed and she was able to regain control. Finally, Emily stopped them completely.
She looked down at Agent O. ‘I’m so sorry! Please don’t come after us. I don’t have any control of my powers.’
‘You freak!’ he howled as he clutched his burned legs. ‘I’m going to lock you so far underground you’ll forget what daylight looks like!’
But when Agent O saw Pegasus arrive at Emily’s side, his voice broke and he was paralyzed with fear. ‘Keep him away from me!’ he squealed at his men, pointing a shaking finger at Pegasus. ‘Keep him back!’
As the crowd surged forward to get a better look and actually touch the stallion, Emily caught hold of Pegasus’s wing and climbed up on to his back. When he started to trot towards the exit, she heard Agent O’s cutting words.
‘You can’t escape me, Emily,’ he howled. ‘No matter where you go, I’ll never stop looking for you. I’ll find you and make you pay for this …’
She turned back and saw the hatred blazing in his wild, frightened eyes.
From the back of the tent, girls were still chanting, ‘Zombie Angel, Zombie Angel!’
‘Enough! ’ Cupid shouted and leaped high into the air. His tunic was shredded and barely covered his muscular form. He was bleeding from deep scratches on his chest, arms and face.
Cupid opened his wings. With several beats, he flew unsteadily over the heads of the cheering crowd and out of the tent. Pegasus followed closely behind. Once outside, the stallion galloped full speed along the crowded festival ground before launching himself into the air.
Emily looked back down and saw hundreds of flashes from camera phones as the crowd waved and called to them while they flew up into the night sky. Just outside the fence in the parking area, she watched several black cars and military trucks arrive and the soldiers pour out.
‘Em, are you all right?’ Joel was clinging to Paelen’s back as the tiny winged sandals carried them up to the stallion. ‘The performers broke free and called security. We had to fight the police to get away. Then we saw them going into the tent!’
‘Joel,’ Emily shouted, ‘Agent O and some of his men were down there!’
‘What!’ Joel and Paelen cried together. ‘Where? In the tent? Did they see you?’
‘Yes,’ she replied. Emily pointed back to the military trucks and soldiers gathering at the festival. ‘They caught me but I lost control of my powers and set Agent O on fire.’
Joel punched the air in celebration. ‘Yes! Serves him right!’
‘It was awful!’ Emily cried. ‘He threatened me! Said he’d never stop looking for us. What are we going to do?’
‘They are empty threats, Emily,’ Paelen called. ‘But we do need to find somewhere to stop and gather our thoughts.’
‘Let’s go back to the Red Apple,’ Joel suggested. ‘It’s abandoned. We could hide there and plan our next move.’
Several minutes later they were landing in the dark parking lot of the abandoned rest stop. There were large heavy boards on all the windows and the area was completely locked up. Very little traffic was on the road and there were no neighbours to worry about. They were alone.
‘This should be perfect,’ Joel said scanning the area. ‘No one has been here for ages.’
Emily was still trembling as she slid off Pegasus and approached the rear door. ‘But how do we get in? We don’t want anyone to know we’re here.’
‘Leave that to me,’ Paelen offered. He stepped back to use his one Olympian power. Paelen had the ability to stretch and manipulate his body to fit into any space – even the tiniest of areas. It was very painful and noisy as his bones elongated and cracked while his body thinned. But it had saved his life on more than one occasion. He ordered the winged sandals to take him up to the roof and they watched him squeeze into a painfully narrow kitchen exhaust chimney.
‘I’ll never get used to seeing him do that,’ Joel commented as he shivered and shook his head uncomfortably.
Moments later, they heard stirring from behind the door and the sound of the locks being turned. Finally the door opened and Paelen bowed graciously and grinned. ‘Come in, welcome to my home. It is not perfect, but I like it.’
Pegasus led the way in followed by Emily, Joel and finally Cupid. They were in the gutted kitchen of the restaurant.
‘I don’t suppose there are any lights?’ Joel asked. ‘I can’t see a thing.’
‘Me neither,’ Emily agreed.
Pegasus gently nudged her. He nickered softly.
‘Hold on to Pegasus’s wings, he will lead you,’ Paelen said. He closed and locked the kitchen door as Pegasus led Emily and Joel into the main seating area of the closed rest stop. It was pitch black and cold.
‘Em, do you think you could do something about the temperature in here?’ Joel asked. ‘I’m freezing.’
‘Like what?’
‘Like start a fire so we can see and maybe finally get warm.’
‘I-I don’t think I should,’ Emily said nervously. ‘I set fire to Agent O’s legs and nearly burned the tent down. You know I don’t have any control.’
Pegasus was still at her side and neighed softly. ‘You were frightened back in the tent,’ P
aelen translated. ‘This is different. Pegasus says you can control it if you are calm.’
Emily strained her eyes but she couldn’t see a thing. Finally she accepted that they needed light. But more than that, they needed heat. ‘All right,’ she agreed hesitantly. ‘But we need somewhere safe for me to do it otherwise I could burn this whole place down.’
‘Come, Cupid,’ Paelen said as he started to move, ‘help me find something to start a fire in.’
Emily and Joel stood together in the dark and listened to the sounds of Paelen and Cupid going through the restaurant. They heard smashing wood coming from the kitchen and then something heavy being dragged into their area, followed by the sounds of smashing old tables and counter tops.
‘All right, Emily,’ Paelen said as he took her by the hand and led her forward carefully. ‘Just a few steps and you are at the pile of wood. It is waist high. If you start with a very small flame, it should catch easily.’
Emily felt the reassuring presence of Pegasus directly behind her. She tried to imagine herself back on Olympus and the lessons that Vesta had given her. She held out her hands and envisioned a small flame flowing from her fingertips down into the pile of wood.
The tingling in her stomach started and flowed up into her arms. Suddenly light and flames sprang from her fingers and shot into the pile.
‘Easy,’ Joel warned. ‘That’s it. Just keep it nice and small.’
When the pile was burning brightly, Emily pulled back on the flames. This time her powers obeyed and the flames stopped. She saw that the pile had been built on top of an old steel stove and there was no risk of the fire spreading.
‘Well done!’ Paelen said as he patted her on the back. ‘I knew you could do it.’
Emily grinned as she looked at the controlled fire. This was the very first time her powers had actually done what she asked of them. The flames drove away the darkness and were giving off much-welcomed heat. She held her hands over the fire and was starting to feel warm for the first time since they left Olympus. Joel was beside her, also enjoying the heat.