‘You live in caves?’ Emily asked.
Fawn nodded. ‘That way there is no chance of the sun touching us. They are very nice and we have plenty of room.’
Up ahead the Flame that burned in the plinth at the top of the temple was glowing in the grey skies. This was Emily’s Flame. It came from her, was fed by her and powered the Olympians.
Beyond the Temple of the Flame rose a series of flat-topped mountains that reminded Emily of the mesas in New Mexico that they’d seen while flying out to California.
They touched down before the entrance of a deep cave. A steady stream of night dwellers was filing in.
‘We have our own space in a deep part of the cave,’ Fawn explained. ‘I would like to invite you in but, Pegasus, you would not fit in there.’
‘It’s all right. We’d better get home as well. My dad thinks I stayed home tonight and he’s going to be worried.’ Emily watched as a large group of night dwellers arrived back from the Rotation celebration. ‘What about Dax and Sapphire? Are they home yet?’
Fawn closed her eyes. A moment later she opened them and nodded. ‘They are safe underground. Sapphire is sleeping and Dax is waiting for me.’ She gazed up to the increasingly pale sky. ‘I must go.’
Emily reached out and embraced her new friend. ‘Don’t worry, Fawn. We’ll figure something out. I know Pegasus said rotation can’t be changed, but I’m going to talk to Jupiter anyway.’
‘Thank you, Emily.’ Fawn approached the winged stallion and stroked his neck. ‘And thank you for everything, Pegasus. This has been the very best night of my life.’
Pegasus leaned his head into Fawn. His soft pink tongue licked her pale cheek. With a final wave, Fawn joined the line of night dwellers descending into the deep caves.
As they started to walk away, Emily noticed the speed and urgency of the late arrivals. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon as the first, warming rays flooded over the land.
‘Hurry – it is coming!’ someone shouted from the entrance. This was the first time she’d heard a night dweller raise their voice. It was filled with genuine terror.
There were still a large number of night dwellers waiting to get into the caves before they were touched by the sunlight.
‘They’re not going to make it.’ Emily’s wild eyes looked around for anything that could shelter the remaining night dwellers, but there was nothing. Their normal quiet calm had been replaced with panic as they charged towards the narrow cave openings.
As the first rays of sun touched the exposed night dwellers, screams filled the air.
‘They’re going to burn up,’ Emily cried to Pegasus. ‘We’ve got to help them!’
Emily was desperate. She searched for something that could block the sun’s rays. But there were no trees or buildings nearby and the Temple of the Flame was too far away to offer shelter. More howls rose as the sun climbed higher in the sky.
She watched helplessly as the gentle people started to smoulder. Acrid smoke filled the air. Then an idea came to her and she prayed she had enough power to action it.
Emily reached out with her hands and focused on the nearest mountain. She imagined a huge blade cutting a thick slice right off the flat top to make a shield large enough to block out the sun. As soon as she instructed her powers to make the cut, intense pain hit her.
Emily winced as she commanded her powers to work through the pain. She could see the night dwellers starting to burn, and focused fully on slicing off the top of the mountain.
The ground beneath them rumbled as the ancient stone was cut away from the top. Tears rose in Emily’s eyes as the searing pain in her head intensified. Every instinct told her to stop. But stopping meant death to all those night dwellers being incinerated by the sun.
Screams filled the air and Emily barely recognized them as her own. Her nose started to bleed as her powers hoisted the massive slice of rock in the air.
Higher and higher she manoeuvred the rocky shield in the sky. When the slice of mountain moved into position above the night dwellers, it blocked out the sun’s rays and cast a large, protective shadow on the ground.
Those unharmed by the sun charged out of the caves to assist the wounded. ‘Hurry!’ Emily cried. ‘I can’t hold it much longer!’
Through her cries of pain, Emily heard the faint voice of Riza calling to her.
‘Emily, stop . . .’
She wanted to obey. But the night dwellers weren’t safe yet. The healthy were still carrying the wounded into the shelter of the caves.
‘Another moment,’ Emily shouted. ‘Just one more moment . . .’
A sudden bolt of lightning seemed to tear through Emily’s brain and explode through the top of her skull. The pain was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before.
Paralysed by it, Emily could no longer control the massive sheet of rock suspended in the sky above them. Without her powers to hold it up, the slice started to tumble and fall.
The last thing she saw before the pain drove her into darkness was the sight of the massive slice of mountain crashing to the ground.
7
There was nothing. No light, no sound, no touch. But at least there was no pain. Emily was barely aware of anything as she rose to a kind of dark consciousness.
The last thing she recalled was a searing pain cutting through her head as she tried to protect the night dwellers. Then something bad had happened. ‘Am I dead? Is this all there is for me now?’ she groaned, aloud.
And then she started to hear sounds. Fragmented and confused. Voices raised in anger. Laughter mixed with the sounds of sobs.
‘It is not fair! We have done nothing wrong!’ A girl’s voice rose loud and shrill. It was almost familiar, but it was filled with anger. It came into her mind like Riza’s voice did, but it sounded different. Riza was calm and she could always feel her kind nature. This new voice was enraged. ‘You cannot keep us locked in here forever. We have committed no crime – why do you imprison us? Do not walk away from me! Listen, you must let us out!’
The anger in the voice was rising, and from deep within, Emily could sense a great power simmering, growing and waiting to be freed. She instantly recognized the power signature of the Flame, but it was rising within another. Had she done something so terrible, something so final, that all her powers had been transferred into someone else?
Had Riza abandoned her?
She could also sense the girl – whoever she was – did not yet know how to release them, just as Emily had felt in the early days with her own powers. The knowledge would come. And when it did, nothing would stop this girl from getting out from wherever she was being held.
The angry voice faded away, just like a radio station does when you drive out of range. Emily tried to tune the sounds back in. But the harder she tried, the more the sounds faded, until they were gone completely.
‘Riza?’ Emily called into the darkness. ‘Can you hear me? Please, I need you. Where are you?’
After an age, or perhaps an instant, Emily heard a sound. It was a single sound, repeating over and over. But it was so faint, so weak, that she could barely understand it. Then she realized it was a name.
Over and over again the name kept repeating. There was a desperate urgency to it as it called. ‘Arious.’
One by one, Emily’s senses returned. She could smell the sweet fragrance in the warm breeze and felt its welcome touch across her fevered skin. The sound of barking was the first to cut through the haze. Her dog, Mike, jumped up on the bed and started to whine above her.
‘Dad?’
‘I’m – I’m here, baby, I’m right here . . .’ His voice broke.
She felt her father’s hand slipping into hers. Emily opened her eyes. They felt dry and itchy and filled with sand. Her father’s face was red and puffy, his eyes s
wollen as though he’d been crying.
‘Are you all right?’ she asked.
He laughed with a strange, choked sound as he sat on the edge of her bed. ‘I’m fine now. We’re all fine now.’
Pegasus was on the other side of her bed and nickered loudly. He pressed his head close and licked her with his soft, pink tongue. Not an inch of her face went untouched. Emily hadn’t seen the stallion this excited in ages.
‘What is it, Pegs . . . ? What’s wrong?’ Emily lifted her hand to stroke the stallion’s muzzle but her arm felt like lead. ‘I feel so strange.’
Pegasus left her bed and trotted over to the open window. Poking his head out, he whinnied loudly and his wings fluttered.
Suddenly a roar of cheers rose up from below her window. It sounded as though there were thousands of people outside.
‘Dad, what’s happening?’
Her father pulled her hand up to his lips and closed his eyes. ‘They’re here for you, Em. They haven’t left the palace in days.’
‘Me? Why? I don’t understand.’
From outside her room Emily heard the pounding of footsteps on marble floors. Her door burst open and Joel and Paelen charged in. They looked as though they hadn’t slept in days. Paelen’s hair was even messier than usual, as though it hadn’t been combed in weeks.
‘Em!’ Joel raced to her side and threw his arms around her.
She felt smothered in his tight embrace. ‘It’s all right, Joel, I’m fine.’
As soon as Joel released her, Paelen took his place and nearly squeezed the life out of her. ‘You must never do that to us again!’ he chastised. ‘Do you hear me? I nearly went insane with worry.’
‘Do what? Will someone please tell me what’s happening?’
Jupiter entered her room, followed by Pluto and Neptune. Before long, it seemed like half of Olympus was crowded around her bed. Diana gave Emily a kiss and then hugged her father in relief.
In fact, the relief from everyone in the room was palpable.
All eyes rested on her and their expressions were the same. Fear mixed with hope.
‘Please,’ she begged. ‘Tell me what’s happened?’
Her father returned to the side of her bed and took her hand. Joel was crowded in close and Paelen glued to her other side. He would only make room for Pegasus to stand by her.
‘Pegasus told us you were trying to save some night dwellers by shearing off a piece of mountain to block the sun. He said it was working, but he could feel you were in pain. Then you started to heat up. So much so, you burned him. Not long after that, lightning exploded from your head and you crumpled to the ground. You’ve been unconscious for weeks.’ His voice dropped. ‘You were barely breathing. We really thought we were going to lose you.’
Emily frowned. Heating up and lightning? She looked at Pegasus. ‘I burned you?’
‘He has recovered,’ Neptune said. ‘It is you we worry about.’
‘I’m fine.’ Emily tried to reassure them. ‘Even my headache is gone. Yes, I’m tired, but other than that, I feel normal.’
‘But you were not fine,’ Jupiter said grimly. ‘And I am still unconvinced that you are recovered. Emily, you were very close to death.’
Pluto, leader of the underworld, stepped forward. ‘Not even my powers could halt death’s approach. The Flame at the Temple all but went out. All that remained was a tiny ember that Vesta guarded with her life. There was nothing we could do to support it.’
‘I have just sent Cupid to the temple to see what is happening with the Flame,’ Diana added. ‘Now that you are awake, we are hopeful that it has been fully restored.’
None of this made any sense to her. All she could recall was seeing the night dwellers starting to burn. Then she cut the slice off the mountain to shade them, but doing that made her headache worse. Anything after that was blank, except . . .
‘Wait,’ Emily said. ‘I remember.’ She looked at her father. ‘I have to go to Xanadu right away.’
‘What?’ he cried. ‘Em, you’ve only just woken up. What you need to do now is rest.’
‘No!’ Emily insisted. ‘You don’t understand. I didn’t pass out, not really. I went to this strange place. It was dark – like the Energy Void Saturn trapped me in. But very different.’
‘It was a dream,’ Diana offered.
Emily shook her head. ‘No, it wasn’t. I know the difference. I went somewhere. And while I was there, I heard voices. But more than that, there was a girl. She was angry and demanding to be released.’
‘Em, you didn’t go anywhere,’ Joel said. ‘You were right here. We’ve been here all this time watching you, waiting for you to wake up.’
‘It wasn’t a dream!’ Emily insisted. She turned to Jupiter. ‘This girl, she has powers like mine. I could feel them. It was just like me when my powers were first awakened. She was starting to get angry, and then her powers started to rumble. It was the Flame, I know it was. Whoever this girl is, I think she might have taken my powers from me. She is the Flame now.’
‘That’s impossible,’ Joel said. ‘You’re the only Flame of Olympus.’
‘He is right, child,’ Jupiter said. ‘If there were another, I am sure we would have discovered her by now.’
Emily shook her head. ‘No, you’re wrong. There is another and she is very angry.’
‘All right.’ Joel took her hand in his. ‘Let’s say it wasn’t a dream. Who is this girl? Where is she?’
‘I don’t know,’ Emily said. ‘I couldn’t see her. I could just hear and feel her. But this wasn’t the first time I felt her. It was as if she was waking up from a deep sleep. There was a woman with her. I almost caught her name, but then everything faded before I could get it. But this time the girl was much clearer – maybe because she was so angry.’
‘What does that have to do with going to Xanadu?’ her father asked.
‘I don’t know,’ Emily said. ‘The last thing I heard before I woke up was the name Arious, and Arious is the super-computer on Xanadu. I think it was Riza trying to warn me. But I can’t be sure. I won’t know until I get there.’
‘Em, we still don’t understand what that computer is. It might be dangerous for you to go,’ her father argued.
‘Arious will not hurt me. As long as I go in alone and you all stay away from me.’ She looked at Joel. ‘Especially you.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Joel looked hurt.
Emily had never told Joel or the others about her experience with Arious from the other time-line. Because of the reset button, they didn’t remember, and there didn’t seem to be any point explaining that Joel had almost been killed by the super-computer. ‘It doesn’t matter. Just know that no one must touch me while I’m in there.’
‘I’m sorry, Em,’ her father said sternly. ‘Until we understand what’s happening to you, I don’t want you going anywhere.’
‘But, Dad—’
‘No, Em. I’m sorry. And there will be no sneaking away either. You will stay here, if I have to tie you down myself.’
Something inside Emily told her that her life depended on going to Arious. But when her father was like this, it was impossible to change his mind.
Just as she was about to argue back, Cupid flew through the window. He folded his wings and landed on the floor. ‘We have a big problem.’ His face was pale as he reported back. ‘The Flame is there, but it is sputtering and weak. Whatever is wrong with Emily is still happening. Vesta fears the Flame may go out at any moment.’
There was a collective intake of breath in the room.
‘Now do you understand?’ Emily said to her father. ‘I don’t want to go to Xanadu, I need to.’
8
With the decision made to return to Xanadu, Jupiter called a meeting of those closest to Emily to
be held at the top of the Temple of the Flame. Emily was still weak and had to hold on extra tight to Pegasus’s mane to keep from falling off. Joel, Paelen and Chrysaor flew close beside her for support.
They landed at the top of the temple and Pegasus trotted over to the plinth. Vesta stood beside it, wringing her hands. ‘Oh, Emily,’ she cried as she ran over to help her down from Pegasus. ‘How are you feeling?’
Emily shrugged. ‘Fine, I guess. But I’m really tired. I can barely keep my eyes open.’
‘She keeps falling asleep,’ Joel said. ‘This morning, she actually dozed off in the middle of breakfast. Her head landed in her bowl of ambrosia and she was covered in it.’
‘It’s not that bad,’ Emily said.
‘Um, yeah, Em, it is. You fell asleep in your ambrosia, admit it.’
‘You did,’ Paelen agreed. ‘I saw it too.’
Pegasus nodded beside her and neighed.
Emily looked sheepishly at her teacher. ‘Well, maybe I did. But it’s not my fault. I just can’t seem to stay awake.’
‘Of course it is not your fault.’ Vesta wrapped her arm around Emily and led her over to the plinth that held the Flame. Cupid was right. The Flame was there, but it was floundering. It would flash brightly, then shrink down to a very small ember, and then sputter to life again.
‘It has not stopped doing that since your collapse. I just do not know what I can do to support it.’
Seeing the Flame so weak struck a chord of fear in Emily because, deep down inside, she felt even weaker. She held her hand out over the fire. In the past, it would tickle, and never cause her any pain. But when her hand entered the Flame, she felt nothing. No heat, no power, no tickle. Nothing.
‘Well?’ Joel asked.
Emily shook her head and turned to her teacher. ‘Why can’t I feel anything?’
‘I do not know. Something is happening within you and whatever it is – it is reflected here in the Flame.’
‘But what could it be?’ Paelen asked. ‘You are Vesta, you know all about the Flame.’