The computer spoke softly. “Riza has great power, but she is a single Xan. Attempting this alone was beyond her abilities.”
Paelen watched the pain rising on Joel’s face and shared in it. He didn’t think he could ever feel any worse after losing Lorin. He was wrong. His heart clenched with pain and fear for Emily.
“What can we do?” Paelen asked. “There must be something.”
“There is little any of us can . . .” All of the lights on the Arious consul started to flash. “No, no, it’s not possible . . . ,” the computer cried. “Keep trying. You must wake her up!”
“What is it?” Paelen demanded.
“The strain is too much for Riza. She has fallen unconscious. She can’t stop Rhean or free it from the pull of the Solar Stream!”
Just as Arious finished speaking, there was a peal of thunder so loud, it shook the whole temple, perhaps even Xanadu. Everyone in the computer room was knocked down to the floor with the violence of it.
“What was that?” Paelen cried.
“They are here,” Arious cried. “Emily did it!” The computer consul started to hum even louder, and then a high-pitched siren sounded.
Paelen put his hands over his ears. “What is happening?”
Arious shouted back, “I am settling them in a safe orbit and sending out a gravitational field to protect the planet and give it an atmosphere.”
The pitch and volume rose and drove everyone from the control room. They ran full speed through the immense temple and climbed the stairs two at a time. When they reached the clearing outside, the siren was still blaring but it no longer hurt. The all looked up and gasped.
A planet much bigger and closer than the three moons of Xanadu was now in orbit high above them. The setting sun’s rays reflected on the surface, making the planet appear like a brilliant red ruby in the sky.
Moments later, a blazing beam of light shot up from the temple toward the planet. When it reached the surface, they saw the light beam split apart like a giant spiderweb and completely envelop Rhean in a protective field.
Joel collapsed to his knees. “I’m seeing it, but I just can’t believe it. They moved a whole planet!”
“Look, Joel. Look at what Emily and Riza have achieved,” Paelen said. “You must not let your own insecurities diminish her. They have saved a world. Who else but our Emily would attempt something so foolish and make it work?”
They gazed at the new addition to the Xanadu sky, hardly believing it was possible. As the night slowly descended, Rhean passed into shadow. They could no longer see its details, just the large black outline it cast, blocking the stars behind it.
Soon the sounds of the jungle around them changed. Gone were the birdsong and insects, replaced by the stranger calls of night animals as they started to wake. Not long after dark, the noisy sound of crashing through the trees started. Paelen recognized it and rose to his feet.
“Brue,” he called as the large, two-headed, purple-furred Mother of the Jungle arrived. She trumpeted excitedly and started to dance on her feet like an excited puppy at the sight of Paelen.
After seeing the images of an older version of himself seated on her back, Paelen’s feelings toward Brue had changed. He realized they had a bond that ran deeper than he imagined possible. Paelen opened his arms and embraced the massive animal. “I have missed you, my friend,” he said into her long fur.
Brue responded by licking him all over with her two black tongues. For once, Paelen did not fight or protest the obvious show of affection.
Frankie looked up in stunned wonder at the Mother of the Jungle. “Wow. Is that really Brue?”
“It is, but you’re safe. She won’t hurt you,” Joel said. “She lives here and is guardian of the jungle. As you can see, she really loves Paelen.” He also climbed to his feet and greeted the large creature.
After everyone came forward to meet Brue, Earl looked back up at the world now in darkness. “So, you boys got any suggestions on how we get up there?” Earl asked.
“I was hoping they’d come down here,” Joel answered.
The sound of urgent whinnies came from just inside the temple.
“That’s Pegasus!” Paelen turned back to the temple entrance. “They have found a way to return.”
Across the clearing, the two winged stallions reared and called a challenge to Pegasus.
“Oh no, not again!” Joel cried. “Everyone get inside now. We can’t let Pegasus out here to fight those two.”
Paelen stopped to listen to Pegasus calling. “He is not coming out,” Paelen shouted as he started to run. “He is calling us in. He says we must hurry. Riza and Emily have collapsed.”
• • •
Pegasus was already back inside by the time Paelen and the others entered the temple. They followed him down the stairs and deeper into the bowels of the ancient building and to the control room.
Cupid and a CRU agent were kneeling down on the floor, cradling Emily and Riza. A girl was seated beside them. When she saw them, she pointed. “I remember you—you are Paelen and Joel!”
Paelen’s eyes flew open as the memories from the Titans returned. “And you are Stella.” He looked at the agent. “And you are Agent B!”
“Boys, get over here!” Agent B said. He was cradling Riza’s head. “They’re both alive, but moving the planet was too much for them.”
A small dot hovered over Riza’s face and spoke in a high-pitched voice. “Riza used too much of herself to save Rhean.”
Paelen approached the dot. “Who are you?”
“That’s Arious Minor,” Agent B said. “He’s part of Arious here, like a satellite.”
The dot started to buzz. “She is in grave danger and must be supported.”
Behind them a wall panel opened and a bed slid out. “Agent B,” Arious Major said. “Please place Riza on the bed. I will take care of her.”
The CRU agent lifted Riza off the floor and carried her to the bed. When she was settled, the bed slid back into the panel.
“What about Emily?” Joel demanded. “How is she?”
“She is just unconscious and will recover,” Arious Major said.
Joel knelt down and reached for Emily. “I’ve got her,” he said to Cupid.
Cupid’s eyes turned hard, and he refused to surrender Emily to him. “Now you have her? After ignoring her and leaving her alone? You are no friend, Joel. You proclaimed your love for her, but when Emily needed you, you abandoned her. She felt she had to go on this quest alone. Now look at her. She used herself up to pull us out of the Solar Stream.”
He shoved Joel away. “You do not deserve the love she holds for you. My only hope is when she wakes, she sees you for what you really are—a selfish, weak human.”
Rage rose on Joel’s face, but it soon faded. He sighed and lowered his head. “You’re right. I’ve been a mega idiot. But why did she face the Titans without us? Why didn’t she come to me?”
Pegasus nickered softly and shook his head.
Paelen also lowered his head as he translated. “Pegasus says she felt she couldn’t ask us. I was too busy with Lorin, and you hid yourself away in Vulcan’s forge. She knows you do not love her anymore.”
Joel looked at Emily and reached for her hand. “But I do love her. I love her more than anything.”
“Why did you not tell her?” Cupid asked.
“Because I was stupid, all right?” Joel said, almost shouting. “Look at her. She’s beautiful, wonderful, and does all these amazing things. Why would she ever choose someone like me, just a dumb human who works in a forge, when she could have anyone?”
“Because she loves you,” Agent B said.
“But she’s changed completely. She doesn’t need me.”
“Emily has changed yet again,” Arious Minor said. “Will you walk away when you discover how?”
Paelen and Joel looked closely at Emily as she lay in Cupid’s arms.
“I do not see any changes,” Paelen said.
&
nbsp; “Not all changes are on the outside,” Arious Minor said.
“What has happened to her?” Agent B asked.
“It is not for me to tell. When she wakes, I will inform her. After that, she may decide to share this knowledge with you or not.”
Once again, Arious Major made an electronic sound, and the room hummed. A second panel opened and a bed slid out. “Put her on it. She needs to rest and recover from the strain.”
Cupid lifted Emily and carried her over to the bed. He lay her down and kissed her softly. “I will be waiting for you outside,” he said.
“All of you will leave now,” Arious Major said, “except Pegasus.”
“Why does he get to stay when I have to go?” Joel protested.
Paelen put his arm around him. “Come, Joel. Leave her to rest. We will all wait outside.”
Paelen, Joel, and the others watched as the bed slipped into the panel, taking Emily away with it.
16
EMILY WOKE IN DARKNESS AND instantly panicked. She reached up and felt the tight walls that confined her. She had no idea where she was or how she’d gotten there. Had she been buried alive? Was she trapped in a box and being taken somewhere? The last thing she remembered was holding Riza’s hand and fighting to slow Rhean down enough to escape the Solar Stream. What had happened?
“Welcome back, Emily,” a voice said.
“Arious? Is that you?”
She heard a soft hum and was relieved to see the light pouring into the tight cubicle as the door at her feet swished open. The bed beneath her started to move, and she was freed from the dark enclosure. Emily sat up and gazed around, realizing she was on a recovery bed in the chamber of Arious.
Pegasus whinnied excitedly and pressed his head in closer to her.
“I’m all right,” she said softly as she stroked his soft muzzle. “Just a little dizzy. I’m sure it will pass.”
Emily climbed off the bed and leaned against Pegasus. She gazed around and saw they were the only ones in the chamber. “Where is Riza? Is she all right? What about the Rheans? Did we save them?”
Arious didn’t answer for some time. Finally he said, “Riza is in stasis.”
“What’s stasis?”
“It is a kind of suspended animation. She hurt herself badly when she moved Rhean. It was too big for her.”
Fear gripped Emily. “Is she going to be all right?”
“I do not know,” Arious answered softly. “She is within me, and I am doing all I can to support her. But it will take time for her to recover—if she recovers.”
“She has to,” Emily said. “I need her. We all do.”
“She knows how much you care. I am sure if she can recover, she will. In the meantime, Emily, there is something important you must do.”
“Is it about the Rheans? Did we fail?”
“No. Just the opposite. Because of you and Riza, they are in a safe and stable orbit above Xanadu. I have set up an artificial atmosphere and gravity. Initial scans suggest that this may work. Before long, they will not need my support and their environment will recover naturally. You both did well.”
“So they’ll live?”
“Yes, Emily, they will, and I am certain they will thrive.”
Emily rested her head against Pegasus, grateful for the good news. With everything else going wrong, it was a relief to know that at least one thing they’d tried had worked.
“Emily, please step onto the platform. There is a message waiting for you.”
“Can it wait? I want find out how the Rheans are and the latest on the mutant Titans.”
“No, it cannot wait. Please step up on the platform.”
There was something in Arious’s voice that left little doubt that this was important. Emily gave Pegasus a gentle pat. “I need to do this. Remember not to touch me when I’m inside. I don’t want you hurt.”
Pegasus nickered and nodded. He walked beside her as she made her way to the docking consul.
“I’ll be right back.”
Emily stepped forward and placed her two hands on the receiving ports. It was here that she could connect directly with Arious and the archives of the ancient Xan. Almost immediately she felt the tight link setting up. Images of the past flashed through her head. She closed her eyes and waited to receive the message.
“Emily,” a voice called. “Open your eyes, please.”
Emily did as she was told and looked around. She was on the surface of Xanadu. The jungle looked as it always had but was strangely silent. When she turned to look back at the temple, she saw Riza’s father.
“Emily, my child,” he said, coming forward.
When he stopped, he stood above her, almost nine feet in height. His beautiful Xan face was pearly white and shone with iridescence. It was filled with peace. His eyes, just like Riza’s, were like living pearls. He reached out his long, fine-boned hands to her.
Emily took hold of his hands. “Sir.”
He actually smiled, and it brightened his serene face even more. “Of course, I never did tell you my name. And I doubt my daughter would have either. I am Yird.”
“Yird,” Emily repeated. “Am I dreaming, or are you really here?”
This time Yird actually chuckled. “Neither. But I doubt you would understand. I am here, but I am not. However, I do know that you have completed the next stage of your metamorphosis. I must tell you what is to come.”
Emily knew the word “metamorphosis” meant “change.” A caterpillar went through metamorphosis to become a butterfly, but she had no idea what it meant in regard to her. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”
“Child, you and Lorin were never meant to exist. That you did was an accident caused by Riza when she tried to follow us into the cosmos. In her failure, everything changed. She destroyed herself, and pieces of her remains were cast out into space. The heart of the Flame, as you knew it, crashed on Olympus and fed its powers to the Olympians. The core was then hidden in a human child and passed through the ages. But along the way it changed. It changed and it became you.”
This was what Emily understood about her powers and how she’d come to be the Flame of Olympus.
“But it was more than that,” he said, reading her mind. “Riza’s spirit entered you as well. Another large part of my daughter crashed on Titus and entered Lorin—though she remained unconscious until you summoned her.”
“I didn’t summon her.”
“You did,” he said. “You just didn’t know it. You two were tightly connected from the very beginning because you came from the same source. That connection sealed when you touched on Diamond Head.”
“Yes, but it kinda destroyed us. That’s why you had to give me this new body.”
His lovely head nodded. “Yes, I did. But there was something I failed to tell you, because knowing would serve no one.”
Emily felt the first tremors of fear. “Yes . . . ,” she said softly.
Yird smiled again. “Do not fear. You are safe—now.”
“Now?”
He nodded. “When I removed most of the powers of the Xan from you and Lorin, I knew I was condemning you both to death. You were born with it and needed it to survive. But I had to remove it. You were both too young to handle such power.”
Emily could barely breathe. “So, I’m dying?”
He shook his head. “Not anymore. My daughter saved you when she slipped some of herself into you. She thinks I didn’t see, but I did. However, Lorin received no such gift. Had the mutant Titans not killed her, she would have died soon anyway.”
“Did she know?”
“Yes. When she started to feel unwell, Riza told her the truth and suggested she savor each day she had left. But she gave up her remaining time to save the others. Her sacrifice must be remembered.”
“I will tell everyone,” Emily said. “But it may not help. If you know what happened to Lorin, you know the mutants are free. They will destroy us all.”
“They may, but then again, they
may not.”
“How can we stop it? I don’t have that kind of power anymore. Lorin is dead, and Riza is very sick. I’m frightened she’s going to die too.”
He smiled gently. “She will not die—she cannot die. But she does need time to recover.”
“Then will you stop the Titans?”
“I cannot. I no longer possess the power.”
Emily lowered her head in shame. “I caused all of this. I should never have used my powers against the Titans in Tartarus. You said my actions had consequences, and you were right. Now the Olympians and Titans will die because of me.”
Yird’s brows came together in a light frown. “I do not understand something. You knew the Olympians were in danger, yet you offered what little power you had to Riza to save the Rheans. Why would you do that?”
“Their sun was dying.”
“True. But you were prepared to use yourself up to save them instead of waiting to save the Olympians. Why did you choose one over the other?”
“I didn’t choose one over the other. Their need was more immediate. I couldn’t let their sun kill them if I had the power to help stop it. It was the only thing to do. They deserved a chance to live like everyone else.”
“Even though they are nothing like you and there was nothing to be gained by doing so?”
“You’re wrong. There was everything to gain—their whole world, their cultures, and all the wildlife. All of that would have been destroyed if we didn’t try.”
“What about the Olympians? What will you do now?”
Emily shrugged. “I don’t know. But I must try something. The Titans were turned into those monsters because of me. I did that. So if I have any power left, I’ll use it to stop them from destroying Olympus and Titus.”
“You wish to save both worlds even though Saturn tried to kill you?”
“Well, yeah. I can’t let those monsters kill the Titans any more than I’d let them kill the Olympians.”
“Why?”
“The truth is I always hoped that one day they would make peace with each other. I mean, they are all one family.”