Hyperion led them down to the very lowest level of Tartarus. When it seemed as if they had reached the deepest layer of the prison, he kept walking and wound his way to a hidden set of narrow, downward stairs. Almost immediately the smells around them changed. Lorin was accustomed to the general stench of the prison. But the smells that assaulted her now were enough to make her nauseous.
Further and further, the steep, narrow staircase descended. It ended in a long, deep puddle of water with a stink so awful, she had to plug her nose to avoid being sick.
‘How far is it?’ she asked in a nasal voice, as she trudged through the foul water. There was no way she was going to unplug her nose. Not even for Saturn.
‘Just ahead,’ Hyperion answered.
They entered a vast cavern – so tall, she could barely see the ceiling in the darkness above them. Three massive cells lined one wall. The thick bars climbed up at least five levels and each bar was thicker than she was.
‘Who are these for?’
‘Saturn kept the Hundred-handers in these cells,’ Phoebe answered. ‘Until Emily released them.’
‘So Emily was in here?’
‘She was.’
Lorin looked around with renewed interest. Emily had been here. Her eyes had seen what she was now seeing and had smelled the same horrible things. It made an odd kind of connection between them.
‘This way,’ Hyperion ordered as he drew her towards the first cell.
Saturn was already there, facing the three prisoners. Peering inside the cell, Lorin saw Venus first. She was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, though her clothes were torn from fighting and her face was smudged with dirt. Beside her was a man even bigger than Saturn. He was covered in cuts and bruises, but his face was like thunder – it had to be Hercules, son of Jupiter. The third prisoner was lying unconscious on the floor.
‘Ah, Lorin,’ Saturn said. ‘I am glad you are here.’
‘Lorin?’ Venus dashed to the bars of her cell to get a better look. She frowned. ‘You are Lorin?’
Lorin swallowed back the bitter bile that rose in her throat as she unplugged her nose. She nodded.
‘Emily said you were young. You two could be sisters.’
‘You know Emily?’
Venus nodded. ‘She is a very dear friend of my son, Cupid. If you help us out of here, I will introduce you to her.’
‘Where is she?’ Lorin demanded as she dashed to the bars and caught hold of Venus’s hand. ‘Tell me – I must find her.’
‘Lorin, stop,’ Saturn shouted. ‘We will find Emily. Right now we need to concentrate on taking Olympus.’ His gaze fell on Venus. ‘Do not try to sway Lorin to your ways. She is a true Titan and serves only me. Now, tell me, what defences does Olympus possess these days?’
‘We will tell you nothing,’ Hercules spat. ‘We defeated you once, Saturn; we will do so again. You will not destroy Olympus like you tried to before. It has taken generations for Titus to be able to support life again after you destroyed it developing your weapon. Olympus will not suffer the same fate.’
Saturn shrugged. ‘You can make this easy on yourself, or difficult. The choice is yours. Just remember, while you have your Flame of Olympus, I possess the Flame of Titus. Lorin has all the powers that Emily has – perhaps even more. She is mine to wield as I choose.’
‘You would use this child as a weapon?’ Venus cried.
Saturn laughed. ‘Of course!’
‘Time here has driven you mad!’ Venus turned on Hyperion. ‘You are fools to follow him. Not long ago, Jupiter and the council agreed to return you and your people to Titus, now that it can sustain life again. It was going to happen. But after this, it will not. Saturn has ruined your chances for freedom. You will remain on this desolate world for all eternity.’
‘Empty words, Venus!’ Saturn barked. ‘Let us see how empty your words will be when I have shown you the power of my Flame!’
Saturn put his hand on Lorin’s shoulder. ‘If you wish to find Emily, this is what you must do.’ He walked with her to the neighbouring cell, which held the captured Olympian guards. Lorin looked at the strange people Phoebe had called night dwellers. Sensitive to light, they lived only in darkness.
‘Lorin, summon your Flame. Show Venus and Hercules what you can do. Burn the night dwellers.’
Phoebe gasped.
‘You wish me to hurt them?’ Lorin uttered.
‘You heard me. I command you to summon your powers and burn them.’
Lorin’s eyes landed on the youngest night dweller in the cell. He was a boy not much older than her. His hair was white and his eyes dark. He was shaking his head and pleading softly. ‘No . . .’
‘I am to kill them?’
‘If necessary, yes,’ Saturn said. ‘You will stop when I tell you to.’
Hercules started to shout. ‘Saturn, do not do this. She is just a child! You must not force her to kill!’
‘Then tell me what I want to know.’
‘Phoebe,’ Venus pleaded. ‘You cannot want this. You have known motherhood. Think of your grandchildren – Diana and Apollo, in Olympus. Do not let Saturn use Lorin this way. It is wrong and you know it!’
Phoebe was shaking as she turned to Venus. ‘He is my leader. Just as you serve Jupiter, I must do as he commands.’
‘Lorin, listen to me,’ Venus called. ‘You do not have to do this. There is another life for you, far away from here, where you can know the sun and true freedom. Come to Olympus with us. You will be welcomed there.’
‘She has everything she needs here,’ Saturn spat. He caught Lorin roughly by the shoulders. ‘Do not listen to Venus. That is her power. She will seduce you into thinking she cares. It is a lie. I am the only one who truly cares for you, as if you are my own child. Not Phoebe, not them. Just me. I want you to find Emily and finally gather all your powers together. But to do that, we need information – information that they hold. You must do this if you ever hope to be made complete again.’
Complete. That was all that Lorin wanted to be. Needed to be. She had to reclaim her powers from Emily. She had promised to do anything necessary for that to happen. But she never imagined it would mean torturing or killing people.
‘Please tell him,’ Lorin said to Venus. ‘Do not make me hurt these people. Tell him what he wants to know.’
‘Do not speak!’ the night dwellers shouted to Venus and Hercules. ‘Olympus must be protected. Do not think of us.’
Lorin’s eyes passed from Venus and Hercules to the night dwellers. ‘You must tell Saturn what he wants to know . . .’ She inhaled deeply and raised her hands. They both burst into Flame.
‘Please!’ Venus begged. ‘Stop – they are innocent!’
Lorin closed her eyes and released her powers.
19
‘No! Dax!’
The camp was awakened by Fawn’s cries. She writhed on the ground beneath Pegasus’s wing and howled in pain. ‘It burns. Stop! Please, it burns!’
With a final cry, Fawn curled into a tight ball and wept.
‘What is it?’ Joel pulled her from beneath the stallion’s wing and helped her to her feet. ‘Fawn, talk to us. What’s happening?’
Fawn threw her arms around his neck and started to cry. ‘I think Dax is dead . . .’
‘What!’ Emily cried. ‘How?’
The night dweller clung to Joel. Her shoulders shook as grief overcame her. ‘L-L – Lorin killed him. She, she, k-killed all the guards.’
Chiron prised Fawn’s arms away from Joel and caught hold of her hands. ‘I am sorry, child, I do not mean to be harsh. But you must tell us everything. What has happened on Tartarus?’
Fawn gulped down air, trying to regain control. After several deep breaths, she repeated what she had heard from her brother, down to h
is final, agonizing moments, when Lorin unleashed the Flame on all the night dwellers trapped in the cell.
‘She – she did it to force Venus and Hercules to talk,’ Fawn finished. ‘But they would not. So she killed them.’
Chiron released Fawn’s hands and walked away, rubbing his chin. ‘This is very bad indeed.’ He turned to Emily. ‘She is just a child – how could she do this to those innocent people? I cannot conceive of such horrors. What kind of monster is she?’
‘The kind who’s not afraid to use her powers for evil,’ Joel said.
Chiron shook his head. ‘If Lorin can do that, there is no telling what else she will do for Saturn. Olympus is in very grave danger.’
‘Lorin does not want Olympus,’ Fawn said weakly. ‘She only wants Emily.’
‘Not Emily,’ Paelen corrected, ‘just her powers. If she is prepared to kill to gain information for Saturn, there is nothing she will not do to get Emily.’
‘Fawn, did your sister feel what you felt?’ Joel asked. ‘Does Sapphire know about Dax? Has she told Jupiter?’
Fawn sniffed and nodded. ‘She heard and felt everything. Diana is with her, but she is crying too much to tell them what has happened.’
‘Talk to her,’ Chiron said. ‘Tell her you will be back with her soon, but she must tell Diana everything. Jupiter must be informed that Venus, Mars and Hercules have been captured and are in grave danger.’
‘You don’t think they’ll torture them?’ Emily asked.
Pegasus was on his feet and standing beside Emily. He nickered softly.
‘I agree, Pegasus,’ Chiron said. ‘Saturn is insane. He will stop at nothing to get his revenge against Jupiter – including torturing his own sister.’
‘Sister?’ Emily asked.
Chiron nodded. ‘Venus is Saturn’s sister. She is a Titan. They share the same father. But Saturn does not perceive family the way we do. He locked his children in Tartarus, after all, fearing that they might one day overthrow him.’
‘And that’s what they did,’ Joel said.
Pegasus gazed up through the canopy of trees and the sunlight flickered down. He nickered and Paelen translated. ‘The sun will be setting soon. We must be ready to leave the moment it is dark. Please get the harnesses ready.’
A heavy silence fell on the camp as Emily, Joel and Paelen helped get Pegasus and then Chiron into the vine harness. Lost in grief, Fawn was settled in the cover of the thick trees to avoid the sun’s rays.
‘I wonder if we have time to go into town to get a better harness, or at least some cushioning,’ Joel offered as he inspected the vines. ‘These vines are strong, but they’re cutting into the both of you. Another solid night of flying will be agony.’
‘A bit of pain is a small price to pay to help recover that Flame-shard,’ Chiron said. His eyes landed on Emily. ‘I fear that, very soon, you will have to go up against Lorin. That will not be a battle easily won. You must have all the power you can before you face her.’
Emily nodded. ‘I know. I can feel it coming too. I just hope we find the shard before she finds us.’
Pegasus nickered again and pressed his head to her. She welcomed his support but, as she stroked his thick neck, Emily knew it would not be enough when she finally faced Lorin.
Getting into the air proved more difficult than it had on Xanadu. For one, the clearing was small and offered less room for take-off. But the second, bigger problem was how stiff and tired Pegasus was. They were just starting the night’s long journey, but the moment the vine harness settled into his back, he whinnied in pain.
Chiron gritted his teeth as the harness settled into his cuts. Emily prayed they wouldn’t have far to fly.
They followed a straight north-western line, but by dawn they were still no closer to the shard. With Olympus in increasing danger, they risked flying through the day. Emily shielded Fawn from the sun with her body, and with only the jungle beneath them, there was, hopefully, little chance of being seen.
On and on they travelled, over the dense, tree-filled rainforest. Halfway through another long night of flying, Emily saw starlight sparkling on another large body of water, lying just ahead of them.
‘Pegasus, everyone – we have to land!’ Emily called.
‘What is wrong?’ Joel called.
‘Look, there’s water ahead. We know the shard is that way, but we don’t know how far over water we have to go. Pegasus and Chiron are exhausted. I think we should land and rest one more day before we take on another ocean.’
Pegasus whinnied and Chiron called from beneath them. ‘No, we must keep going! We do not know what is happening on Tartarus. We must not waste a precious moment.’
‘No, Em’s right. The sun will be up soon anyway,’ Joel offered. ‘I think we should land. You need to rest.’
Under protest, Pegasus chose a place to land. It was a sandy beach with sharp, rocky mountains rising up behind it. After a quick search, they found a cave cut deep into the mountain face.
As they freed the stallion and Chiron from the harness, Joel said, ‘When the sun is up, Paelen and I will head into the village we saw on the way in.’
‘Why?’ Emily asked. ‘We don’t need food or water – my pouch can supply that.’
‘Don’t you think it’s more important to find out where we are?’ Joel snapped at her. ‘It’s not like the pouch can tell us that. For all we know we’re in the middle of Mexico or just about anywhere else! You say Riza’s telling us to go over another ocean – don’t you think we should find out how far that could be?’
Joel’s sudden change in mood felt like a slap in the face. They were all under stress, they were all tired. There was no need for him to snap at her. She walked over to Pegasus and stroked his neck. In the darkness, she could barely see the stallion. Pain and fatigue had removed his bright healthy glow. Only the stars sparkling on the water and the sound of the light waves brushing the shore told her where the ocean was.
‘Come on, Pegs, let’s go cool you off in the water. It’ll clean out those cuts from the harness. Joel and Paelen can do whatever they want.’
‘Emily, wait . . .’ Joel called after her. ‘I’m sorry . . .’
Chiron trotted up to them and carefully entered the water with Emily and Pegasus. ‘Do not be too hard on Joel,’ the Centaur said. ‘He is terrified of losing you.’
‘He has a funny way of showing it,’ Emily said. ‘He didn’t have to bite my head off!’
‘That is very true. But you must understand, Joel is a very strong young man. Right now, however, he feels powerless and it is frustrating him. He has found something very special with you and fears it is slipping away. He does not know how to tell you what he is feeling. Give him time. I am sure it will work out.’
Emily nodded. Chiron was right. Joel was frightened. She just wished he would talk to her.
The healing waters of the ocean did wonders for Pegasus. They swam into deeper water until their bodies were submerged.
‘Ahhh . . .’ Chiron sighed, enjoying the cool water. ‘I needed this, though I doubt the scars on my flanks will ever heal.’
Emily stayed in the water with Pegasus and Chiron until daybreak. When the sun slowly appeared, they made their way into the dark sea-cave. Joel, Paelen and Fawn were clearing away debris and gathering up seaweed to form a soft bed for Pegasus.
‘Em,’ Joel said softly when she approached the entrance. ‘Can I talk to you for a minute?’
Emily nodded and let Joel lead her out of the cave and closer to the water.
‘I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you.’
‘I know,’ Emily sighed. ‘We’re all stressed. And you’re right. We should know where we are.’ She gazed out over the ocean. ‘There’s a lot of water out there, Joel. What if the shard is in the ocean?’
; ‘I really don’t know,’ he said. ‘But if what Riza says is true, you can’t drown. It would be up to you to go get it.’
The sound of barking shattered the stillness. They looked down the beach and saw two black Labradors running in the surf. Their owner was a short, stocky, middle-aged man, jogging along the shoreline. When the dogs saw Emily and Joel, they came charging over.
‘Hi there,’ Emily said, scratching the closest dog.
The man followed and Emily felt self-conscious as she noticed him take in their Olympian tunics and Joel’s silver arm.
He started to speak to them in Spanish and Joel managed to answer him, gesturing with his real arm and keeping his silver one very still. He was pointing at the water and then the area around the cliffs. Whatever he was saying, the man seemed very interested and offered his own comments as he too pointed out over the water. Eventually the man smiled, nodded at Emily and jogged away with his dogs.
Joel caught her arm. ‘We’ve got a problem. Let’s get back to the others.’
Back at the cave Joel explained what the man had said. ‘The guy was a bit freaked at first, but I told him our parents brought us here on holiday after I lost my arm in a car wreck. He seemed to believe me. I’m just glad he didn’t ask where we were staying!’
‘Did he give you any idea where we are?’ Paelen asked.
Joel nodded. ‘We’re in Ecuador.’
This announcement was met with blank expressions from the Olympians. ‘Ecuador,’ Joel repeated. ‘Don’t you get it? This is the last bit of land for a thousand miles. That’s the Pacific Ocean out there. If we follow the same north-west course, we’ll hit the Galápagos Islands. After that, it’s just open water until we find the Hawaiian Islands and after that, Japan.’
‘How do you know this?’ Paelen asked.
‘It’s called geography. It was my favourite subject at school. The Galápagos were first on my list of places I wanted to run away to. Then Japan. I researched where they were and saw they were in a straight line. The Galápagos are in the middle of the ocean.’