The furious sounds coming from the fighting stallions was deafening in the large stable. No one heard the workers from the ranch arriving. A blast from a shot gun fired at Pegasus alerted the group.
‘No!’ Emily howled as a man raised his gun to fire a second time. Even before Alexis could move, Emily reacted. She raised her hands in the air. No Flame emerged, but the man was lifted over the heads of the fighting stallions and thrown to the opposite side of the stable.
A second armed man followed the first. Emily suddenly realized her powers were reacting without her command or control. She looked desperately back to her friends, who were staring at her in shock. ‘Stop the men,’ she cried, ‘before my powers kill them!’
With the deadly stallion fight continuing in the centre ring, Joel and the others took on the men entering the stable. The ranch workers were quickly overpowered and their weapons taken away.
Tears filled Emily’s eyes as she watched her beloved stallion attacking Tornado Warning.
As the minutes passed, Pegasus was steadily gaining over Tornado. Despite the racing stallion’s strength, he was no match for the full, enraged Olympian. As Pegasus drove the rearing Tornado back, the grey stallion lost his footing. Falling backwards, he hit the ground hard.
Before he could get up, Pegasus used the opportunity to finish the fight. He reared up and came crashing down on Tornado with his lethal golden hooves. Screaming in fury, Pegasus did it again.
‘Pegasus, no!’ Emily howled. Unable to stop herself, she ran forward. Pegasus was rearing to come down on Tornado a third time when Emily placed herself between him and the fallen racehorse. She summoned the power of the Flame in both her hands and raised them against Pegasus.
‘Stop it, Pegasus!’ she commanded. ‘Don’t make me burn you!’ She raised her hands higher. ‘Just stop!’
Pegasus’s eyes were white and wild with rage. He reared above her with his deadly golden hooves hovering mere centimetres from her face.
‘It’s over!’ Emily cried. ‘You won!’
Finally something changed in Pegasus’s eyes. He suddenly realized what he was doing and to whom. Lowering himself to the ground, he neighed softly.
‘Get back!’ Emily yelled, still unsure of what he would do next. ‘Go on, get back!’
Pegasus pawed the sawdust floor. Finally he turned and walked to the other side of the stable.
With her heart still pounding painfully in her chest, Emily looked at the other horses in the stable as they continued to scream and kick their stall doors. ‘All of you be quiet!’ she shouted.
Alexis and Chrysaor approached the stalls. Their presence seemed to calm the frightened horses. Finally they all fell silent.
Earl flicked the switch that turned on the stable lights. Agent T was holding a gun on the ranch workers and ordered them deeper into the stable. In the bright light, their frightened eyes followed Alexis and Chrysaor as they made their way around the stalls. Finally they went back to Pegasus as he stood away from the others. His head was down and wings drooped.
‘Em,’ Joel called softly. He and Paelen knelt on the floor beside Tornado Warning.
Emily looked down on the fallen racehorse. Tornado Warning was covered in blood from the deep cuts caused by Pegasus’s hooves. His eyes were closed and he wasn’t breathing.
‘He’s dead,’ Joel said. ‘Pegasus killed him.’
10
For the first time ever, Emily was furious with Pegasus. She didn’t think it was possible. But Pegasus knew how important this was, and yet it didn’t stop him from killing Tornado Warning. She remembered his blazing eyes when he was rearing above her. If she hadn’t used the Flame, would he have attacked her too?
Pegasus hung back, away from her. He neighed softly to her.
Emily looked at him but raised a warning hand. ‘Stay back, Pegasus. You’ve done enough damage already.’
The stallion stopped and quietly left the stable.
‘That was unfair,’ Alexis said.
‘Unfair?’ Emily shot. ‘You saw what he did. Pegasus knew how important it was for us to learn the truth about Tornado Warning. But does he let us see the horse? No, he kills him.’
‘But we did learn the truth,’ Alexis said. ‘The fact that each was driven to kill the other says so. Is it not obvious? Tornado Warning does come from Pegasus. They have the same fiery blood. Neither could tolerate the other’s existence.’
‘Em, look,’ Joel said softly. ‘It’s true. Here’s where they cut off Tornado’s wings.’
Emily looked to where Joel pointed. She knelt down and traced her fingers along the long deep scars at the horse’s shoulders.
‘I’m so sorry, Tornado,’ she said softly. ‘You shouldn’t have had to die.’
‘He should never have existed,’ Paelen said angrily.
As Emily’s hand rested on Tornado’s side, she felt a flicker of movement. Looking down on the fallen stallion, she placed her second hand on his wounded side.
‘Joel, check his eyes,’ Emily said. ‘I just felt something.’
Just when Emily thought she was mistaken, she felt another movement from Tornado.
‘He is Olympian,’ Joel breathed. ‘Em, you’re healing him!’
As the moments ticked by, more and more life returned to Tornado Warning. It happened slower than with other Olympians, but it was happening just the same. Suddenly Tornado took in a deep, unsteady breath.
Pegasus appeared at the entrance to the stables and called over to her.
‘Remain where you are, Pegasus,’ Alexis ordered. ‘Emily is healing Tornado Warning. There will be no more fighting today.’
Emily sucked in her breath as Tornado Warning’s old wing scars faded and stubs appeared. Then those stubs grew. Wings began to take shape. They filled in and grew feathers. The grey dye that had covered his body faded and all of his wounds were healed.
Everyone was shocked into silence. Tornado Warning was truly identical to Pegasus – including the large wings and golden hooves.
‘He’s a perfect clone,’ Joel whispered.
Tornado Warning opened his eyes. He screeched when he saw Joel and Paelen right beside him. In a move too quick to follow, he bit Paelen viciously in the leg.
Paelen howled in pain and jumped away from the stallion.
‘Everyone get back!’ Alexis warned as she opened her wings, drew her fangs and claws and faced Tornado Warning. ‘He may come from Pegasus, but he is nothing like him.’
With his eyes wide and wild, Tornado Warning climbed to his feet. He looked back at his wings and for a moment paused with confusion. When they fluttered, he whinnied in fear.
‘It’s all right,’ Emily cried. ‘Tornado, calm down!’
Tornado looked at Emily and stopped. He tilted his head to the side and nickered softly.
At the entrance of the stable, Pegasus neighed back.
Tornado faced Pegasus. He reared, opened his wings and prepared to charge again.
‘Tornado, stop!’ Emily shouted. ‘No more fighting!’
Once again, the stallion’s eyes came to rest on her. He dropped to the ground and took a step forward.
‘Em, get back,’ Joel warned.
Emily matched Tornado’s stare. She knew immediately he was nothing like Pegasus. But something told her he wouldn’t attack her.
‘It’s all right, Joel,’ she said softly as she approached the stallion.
Pegasus whinnied loudly from across the stable.
‘He says don’t touch him,’ Paelen warned as he rubbed his leg where Tornado had bitten him. ‘He says Tornado Warning is dangerously insane. He is unnatural and must be destroyed.’
Emily turned back to Pegasus. His eyes were bright and his nostrils flared. He was preparing to fight again. ‘Trust me, Pegasus. He won’t hurt me.’
She didn’t know how she knew, but she did. Emily concentrated on Tornado Warning and stepped up to the stallion. ‘Easy, boy,’ she said softly. ‘You don’t want to hurt anyone, do
you?’
‘Yes he does!’ Paelen shot. ‘Look what he did to me!’
Tornado took another step forward and reached out to Emily. His eyes were calmer and he showed no signs of aggression towards her.
‘That’s a good boy,’ Emily said as she gently stroked his soft muzzle. Standing before the stallion, physically, his face was identical to Pegasus. But there was something profoundly different in his eyes and what she felt from him.
Whenever she was with Pegasus, Emily always felt a sense of peace, calm and intense intelligence. But with Tornado Warning, it was a mix of confusion, fear and anger. There was no intelligence or sense of peace. She could feel that although he wouldn’t hurt her, it wasn’t the same for others. It was true, Tornado Warning was dangerously unstable.
With the tension easing, Emily looked back at Pegasus. He was still bleeding from his wounds caused by the fight and shotgun blast. But his head was high and proud and his eyes were bright.
‘Go to him,’ Alexis said softly. ‘He needs you.’
Emily didn’t need to be told. Her anger with Pegasus was gone and she could feel her connection to him calling her. Pegasus was in pain and she couldn’t bear it. He was her first priority. She looked back at Tornado Warning and held up her hand. ‘Stay.’
But as she walked towards Pegasus, Tornado Warning started to follow. ‘No, Tornado.’ Emily stopped and held up her hand again. ‘I said stay.’
‘He cannot understand you,’ Paelen said as his wary eyes watched the racehorse. ‘He is nothing like Pegasus. He is just a flying horse that can not communicate and lives only by confused emotion.’ Paelen took a cautious step towards the stallion. ‘You cannot understand me, can you?’
Tornado’s eyes went wild again as he looked at Paelen. His ears went back, his nostrils flared and breathing changed. He started to quiver and paw the ground. He looked ready to attack.
‘Em, you’re the only one who can get near him,’ Joel observed, as he and Paelen took a cautious step back.
Emily looked at Tornado and frowned. ‘Why will he let me touch him?’
‘Silly child, do you really not know?’ Alexis approached. ‘You are the Flame of Olympus. Your powers call to him as much as they do to all of us. He is drawn to you as we all are. He does not understand his need for you, but it is there nonetheless. He will not harm you.’
‘Are all Olympians drawn to my power?’
Alexis nodded. ‘But do not think it is only your power that draws us. We are drawn to you. Though some of us may not show it, we all care for you.’
Pegasus approached Emily, but his eyes remained locked on Tornado Warning. Tornado opened his wings threateningly.
‘Stop it,’ Emily said sharply to the racehorse. ‘Pegasus needs help and I’m going to give it to him. Stay there and behave yourself.’
The tone of her voice stopped further protests from Tornado Warning as Emily crossed the distance to Pegasus. ‘Oh, Pegs, what am I going to do with you?’ She stroked his neck. ‘You know I’ll always love you best. But you can’t blame Tornado for being what he is. You should pity him, not try to kill him. Promise me you won’t attack him again.’
Pegasus reached back to Emily. He nickered softly and drew her to his head. Emily hugged his face and let her powers heal his many wounds. When it was finished, she kissed him softly on the muzzle. ‘There, all better.’
Across the stable, Agent T called, ‘Not that this love fest isn’t touching but we’re wasting precious time.’ He held up his weapon at one of the stable workers they had captured. ‘You there, tell me, where is Rip Russell?’
The man said nothing as he kept his eyes locked on the Olympians. Alexis walked over to him. She rose on her hind legs and rested her paws on his shoulder. ‘I do not have patience for your silence. Answer the man.’
‘Diablo,’ he muttered as he tried to cross himself.
‘Not diablo,’ Alexis corrected. ‘Sphinx. And I would suggest you not call me that again.’
The worker’s eyes went large with terror as he looked into the face of the Sphinx. ‘He is there,’ he stuttered fearfully and pointed at one of the men Emily’s powers had tossed across the stable. ‘The one with the gun.’
Agent T nodded. ‘Fine. Alexis, would you please escort him and the others to one of the empty stalls? We don’t want any heroes here.’
The Sphinx nodded and directed her attention to all the workers. ‘You heard him,’ she said loudly. ‘All of you, into that stall. Now!’
An elderly Mexican man stepped away from the others. ‘Where do you come from? What magic do you do to Tornado Warning? I have trained him all his life.’ The little old man touched his head. ‘He is loco – crazy. How can that girl touch him? He has killed two riders already.’
Emily turned to the worker. ‘What did you say?’
The elderly man nodded. ‘Tornado Warning is loco. He has killed two riders. No one can touch him unless he is drugged.’
‘You keep him drugged?’ Joel was shocked.
The worker nodded. ‘Sí. It is the only way to keep him calm.’
‘What do you give him?’ Agent T demanded.
‘Sedatives and sugar,’ the little man said. ‘Lots and lots of sugar. It make him more better.’
Emily suddenly understood. ‘No wonder he’s so vicious. He’s starving. He needs ambrosia.’
‘What is ambrosia?’ the little man asked.
‘Never mind,’ Alexis said as she directed him to join the others in the stall. ‘Just count yourselves fortunate that I do not kill you for what you have done here. Tornado Warning should not exist.’ She closed and locked the stall door.
Paelen walked across the ring to where the two men lay unconscious. He rolled over the one they knew to be the owner of Tornado Warning. He started to shake him.
‘Time to wake up,’ he said. ‘We need to speak with you.’
The man started to stir and come around. He gasped in shock as his eyes found Emily standing between Pegasus and Tornado Warning.
‘What the hell?’ he said.
‘Hell has nothing to do with this,’ Agent T said sharply. ‘Are you Rip Russell, the owner of Tornado Warning?’
The man climbed shakily to his feet and he looked around the stable in complete disbelief. ‘What are you?’ he fearfully asked. ‘Where do you come from?’
‘We ask the questions,’ Agent T said. ‘Where did you get Tornado Warning?’
His frightened eyes lingered on Pegasus and then went over to Tornado. ‘Those horses got wings!’
‘Yes,’ Agent T said. ‘Now answer my question.’
Rip looked wildly around the ring. ‘Where is that devil horse? He was fighting with the winged one.’
‘This is Tornado Warning,’ Emily answered as she stroked the winged stallion.
‘No it isn’t!’ Rip insisted. ‘Tornado doesn’t have wings. But they do …’
‘Yes, we have established that,’ Agent T said calmly. ‘This is Pegasus and that is Tornado. Now I won’t ask you again. Where did you get Tornado Warning?
‘I won’t tell you a thing,’ Rip said, ‘until you tell me how those horses can have wings.’
‘Wrong answer.’ Agent T slapped Rip across the face. ‘That is me playing nice. One more wrong answer and I will gladly introduce you to Alexis. She’s not so patient.’
‘Who’s Alexis?’ Rip demanded.
‘I am.’ The Sphinx opened her wings and flew the short distance to where the group was standing. She narrowed her green eyes and stalked up to the man. ‘I am Alexis. You will answer our questions or you will not live to see the sunrise.’
Fear rose on Rip’s face. ‘You’re a lion woman! And you got wings too!’
‘You do not miss much,’ Alexis said sarcastically. ‘But did you also notice these?’ She held up her paw to show her sharp claws.
Rip held up his hands and looked over to Agent T. ‘All right, all right, I’ll tell you anything. Just keep that thing away from me!’
‘Thing? ’ Alexis roared.
Emily saw only the quickest flash of movement from the Sphinx. Moments later, Rip Russell was on the ground crying in pain and grasping his lower legs. His jeans were torn from Alexis’s claws and blood was rising to the surface.
‘You were lucky it was only your legs,’ Agent T warned. ‘One more remark like that and I won’t stop her.’ The ex-CRU agent knelt down beside him. ‘Now tell us. Where did you get Tornado Warning?’
‘My cousin,’ Rip gasped between gritted teeth. He was clutching his bleeding legs. ‘My cousin gave him to me.’
‘Where did he get him?’ Emily asked.
Rip cursed and sat up. ‘I just knew it! I knew this would come back to haunt me!’
‘Explain,’ Agent T ordered.
Still grasping his legs, Rip Russell started to speak. ‘Ten months ago, I was living on a broken-down farm in northern California. I had a couple of racehorses, but could never catch a break and win anything. One day outta nowhere, my cousin calls me. He says he’s got a sure thing. All I had to do was raise a foal and then race him. He said we would split the winnings.’
‘And you agreed?’ Agent T asked.
‘Wouldn’t you?’ Rip answered. ‘So a month later, he brings this tiny white foal to me. It had bandages all over it. But even with the bandages, I could see it was quality horse flesh. So I took it. I was given instructions to keep if fed on sugars and other sweet foods. I was also told to dye the foal grey for racing since no one races white horses.’
Agent T frowned. ‘How could you race him? He had no papers to prove his pedigree.’
‘That part was easy,’ Rip said. ‘All I had to do was find a registered grey horse that we could substitute for him. It took some time, but we found one that looked a lot like him with the same cowlicks and everything – he was called Tornado Warning. Then all I had to do was wait for the foal to grow up. Which he did super fast. So we switched him for the real Tornado Warning and by six months of age, he was winning every race we entered him in.’