Pegasus and the Rise of the Titans (Pegasus #5) (16 page)

Emily heard Paelen start to stir. She leaned close to his face and his eyes fluttered open. Emily shook her head, warning him not to move. She nodded towards Mickey in the driver’s seat.

Paelen nodded and closed his eyes again. But though they were closed, she could feel his subtle movements as he tore through the tape binding his hands behind his back.

Once free, he slipped his hands beneath her and used his power to stretch out his arms. He reached for the tape binding her hands. With little effort, she was freed.

Just as Emily reached for Joel, they felt the van turn off the highway. It slowed and turned on to what sounded like a gravel road and then bumped on to a softer surface which Emily guessed was sand. She lifted her head to look out the window again, and gasped. The ocean was in front of them. A rowing boat was bobbing on the shore and a large Hawaiian man was standing beside it.

Mickey turned back and looked at her. ‘Remember,’ he said, showing her the gun, ‘you try anything and I’ll start shooting. Don’t move a muscle – I’ll be right back.’

As soon as he left the van, Emily turned back to Paelen. He reached forward and gently pulled the tape away from her face.

‘He’s working for Nā-maka,’ Emily quickly explained. ‘He’s going to hand us over to her to use against Pele.’

‘He is going to try,’ Paelen said darkly. ‘But he will fail. I do not think he understands who we are or what we can do.’

‘I can’t do anything now,’ Emily said.

‘Why do you say that when you know you can fight?’ Paelen said. ‘You are more than just your powers. Diana has trained you well. You just have to believe in yourself.’

‘But I’ve never put my training into practice. I hardly even paid attention!’

‘You did not have to. Now you do.’ Paelen gave her a crooked grin and his eyes sparkled. ‘You will be amazed at what you can accomplish. Look at me, I am small for an Olympian, but fighting humans is easy – they are so squishy.’ He reached past Emily and started to shake Joel. ‘Wake up, Joel, there is a fight coming!’

‘Whatever he gave us to drink, it’s really powerful. I don’t know if Joel will wake up any time soon. I’m just so glad you’re awake.’

Paelen grinned again. ‘So am I.’

They heard voices as Mickey and the other man returned to the van. ‘They’re all tied up in here, Kono.’

Emily and Paelen immediately lay back down. Emily remembered to put the tape back on her mouth. When the van door opened, she squinted at the bright sunshine pouring in.

Kono reached for Joel, roughly hauled him out of the van and carried him over to the boat. When he returned, Mickey caught hold of Emily. ‘Your turn – out you come. We don’t want to keep the lady waiting.’

In the same instant, Kono reached for Paelen. ‘What the—’

Paelen struck with a blow so fast and powerful, it knocked the Hawaiian against the inside of the van. Paelen leaped out and grabbed him. He lifted him easily over his head and slammed him down to the sand.

As Mickey looked on in shock, Emily used the opportunity to turn her anger on him. Pulling the tape from her mouth, she roared like Diana and kicked out at him with a surprise blow to his stomach that knocked him down to his knees. Emily tried to remember everything Diana had taught her, and tested out her fighting moves.

Before Mickey could land one punch on Emily, Paelen appeared and gave him a bone-crunching blow to the chin. ‘That is for Joel!’ The hit was hard enough to lift Mickey off the ground and send him flying several metres in the air before crashing down on a sand dune.

‘See, Emily?’ Paelen grinned. ‘Humans are squishy!’ After another punch, Mickey collapsed on to the sand, unconscious.

As Emily and Paelen crossed the beach to the rowing boat where Joel lay, the ocean stirred and started to swirl and a large waterspout rose high into the air. A beautiful woman emerged from the side of the spout. Her hair was as green as the clearest ocean waters and her face was pale like sea foam. She had webbing between her long fingers and wore a gown of seaweed that had tiny fish swimming in the air around her. Her eyes were as black as Pele’s. Around her neck was a lei of pearls and tiny colourful seashells.

She held out her arms to them. ‘Come to me!’

Paelen caught hold of Emily’s hand and held her back. ‘Who are you?’

‘I am Nā-maka-o-Kaha‘i! You, who wear the lei of my sister, will come with me now. Pele will know my wrath!’

Emily’s eyes flashed between the ocean goddess and Joel in the rowing boat, just a few metres away from her powerful waterspout. ‘Please, listen. I know about your rivalry with your sister, but we’re all in terrible danger. We need your help. You must command the waters in Diamond Head to recede so Pele can open the surface and I can retrieve what I need to save Earth.’

‘From the Titans?’ Nā-maka-o-Kaha‘i laughed. ‘Pele told me, but I know it’s a trick – a foolish trap designed by my sister to contain me within the Olympian spring waters filling the Diamond Head crater. Without me to oppose her, Pele will have free rein over these Islands and the oceans. I don’t know what she promised the Olympians in exchange for their help, but they will never see their reward.’

‘I swear it’s no trick,’ Emily said. ‘If Saturn isn’t stopped, he’ll invade Earth.’

‘The Titans do not frighten me.’

‘They should,’ Paelen said. ‘They frighten all of us.’

Nā-maka shook her head. ‘The Titans tried to subdue the Earth many thousands of years ago and failed—’

‘They failed because I went back there and helped stop them,’ Emily cut in. ‘But my powers have been trapped in Diamond Head. If I do not free them, the Titans will succeed.’

‘You overestimate their abilities – and your own. This fight is between them; it means nothing to me.’

The ocean goddess raised her hand and a large wave of water shot out towards Emily and Paelen. Paelen immediately wrapped his arm around Emily’s waist.

‘Up! Now!’ he ordered his winged sandals and they lifted into the air, missing the attacking wave by centimetres.

‘Come back here!’ Nā-maka-o-Kaha‘i commanded. Her waterspout spun furiously close to shore, but did not touch the dry sand.

Paelen ordered his sandals to lift them higher, away from her reaching ocean hands. ‘You cannot follow us on to land, can you?’ Paelen challenged.

‘There is no need. I already have one of you and I see by the red lei, he is under my sister’s protection. He will do nicely.’

Before Paelen could make a move, the ocean goddess used her water hands to catch hold of Joel. Still unconscious, Joel was lifted out of the rowing boat by the swirling ocean water and carried over to Nā-maka-o-Kaha‘i.

‘Joel!’ Emily howled. ‘Let him go or I swear you’ll regret it!’

‘Are you threatening me, child?’

‘Yes!’ Emily shouted. ‘These may be your Islands, but if you don’t release Joel right now, I promise you, the moment I get my powers back, you’ll pay for what you’ve done to him!’

‘No one threatens me!’ Pounding waves of fury rose up around Nā-maka-o-Kaha‘i and crashed noisily to the beach, crushing the rowing boat into splinters and throwing wet sand in the air. The small fish swimming around her ducked into the protection of her seaweed dress.

Nā-maka-o-Kaha‘i moved as close to the shore as she dared and spat at Emily with ocean foam. ‘You listen to me, you insolent child. Tell Pele she will surrender to me or I will drown this boy in my depths and let the ocean life feed on his bones! You have one day!’

She rose higher above her waterspout before diving down into the swirling centre. Joel was sucked in after her as the waterspout spun across the ocean surface before disappearing into its depths.

‘Joel!’ Emily cried.

Paelen landed on the beach and they watched the ocean where Nā-maka-o-Kaha‘i had vanished.

‘How can she be so blind?’ Emily raged.

‘Her hatred of Pele has obscured everything else. If we hoped to reason with her and get her help, we must forget it. Our only chance now is the Big Three. Come, we must find Fawn to get the message to Jupiter to meet us at Diamond Head.’

But Emily remained still at the shore, staring at the sea.

‘You cannot help him by staying here,’ Paelen sighed, gently drawing her away. ‘Only when your powers are restored will you be strong enough to face her. Joel is safe for now.’

‘Safe? How can you be so sure?’ Emily raged. ‘You saw her, she’s insane!’ Emily kicked sand in the air and collapsed to the ground, punching it with both fists. ‘If she hurts him, I swear she’ll regret it.’

‘Emily, please,’ Paelen cried as he knelt beside her. ‘You will not do Joel or the others any good if you lose your temper and accidentally use your powers. You could hurt yourself. Do you not understand that? You could die if you do not control yourself!’

Emily was so tired of it all. Her increasing weakness, her aching body and the constant need to sleep. And now when she needed her powers the most, they were gone.

She sighed heavily and sat back. ‘You’re right, I know, it’s just that . . .’

‘I understand,’ Paelen said, as he drew her up. ‘I feel the same.’ They walked back up the beach to where Mickey and Kono still lay unconscious. Paelen lifted Kono away from the van and threw him down on the sand beside Mickey. He started to shake the men. ‘Wake up!’

‘What are you planning?’ Emily asked.

‘They must tell us where the others are.’

‘Mickey already told me. They’re at the zoo. He said it’s a trap for us. They’re using Pegasus as bait.’

‘Trap or not,’ Paelen said, ‘we do not have much choice. We cannot leave them to the mercy of the CRU. We must do what we can to free them.’

‘You’re right. We’ve got to rescue them.’ Emily gazed towards the ocean a final time, knowing that Joel was out there somewhere. ‘If she hurts him . . .’

Paelen put his arms around her and held her tight. ‘She would not dare.’

Emily gazed up into his eyes and she could see a trace of sadness there.

‘I know how you feel about Joel and how he feels about you,’ Paelen said softly. ‘I have known for some time and I accept it. Please know this. If she does hurt him, she will answer to me as well.’

Emily clung to him, grateful to have such a precious friend.

When he released her, he bent down and searched through Mickey’s pockets and pulled out the van keys. Then he reached for the Hawaiian’s baseball cap and pulled it on. ‘We must not be seen using my sandals in daylight, but we cannot wait until dark.’

‘Are you thinking about taking the van to the zoo?’ Emily cried. ‘Paelen, we don’t have a licence!’

‘We do not have much choice.’

Emily reached for the van keys. ‘I think I should drive.’

‘I will drive,’ Paelen said.

‘You? You’ve never driven a car. I have. My mom used to let me drive around a parking lot when we drove out of the city.’

‘I have watched Joel closely – I know what I am doing. And I have the baseball cap. That is all I need.’

‘Hats don’t make you able to drive!’ Emily argued.

‘Of course they do,’ Paelen said. ‘I have watched humans closely. Most drivers here wear these hats.’

‘No, Paelen, practice makes you a good driver. Now, give me the keys.’

Paelen grinned and climbed in behind the wheel. ‘Do you wish to keep arguing, or are we going to the zoo to free our friends?’

Emily huffed, but climbed into the passenger seat. Almost from the start, she regretted it. Within minutes, Paelen had driven into a palm tree, knocked over a fence, crushed rubbish bins and got the van trapped in a sand dune. He had to physically lift the van out of the sand trap.

When he sat behind the wheel again he shook his head. ‘Joel makes it look so easy!’

‘Now can I try?’ Emily asked.

When they switched seats, Emily sat behind the wheel. She checked her mirrors as her mother taught her and then put the van in gear.

At first the van lurched forward and then stopped. But after a couple of false starts, Emily managed to pull the vehicle away.

Paelen cheered and pulled the cap off his head and put it on Emily. ‘Here, you have earned it. Now, get us to the zoo!’

Emily stopped the van and looked at him. ‘Where is the zoo?’

Paelen shrugged. ‘You are Flame of Olympus, the last Xan. You should know.’

‘How?’

‘I do not know,’ Paelen insisted. ‘I thought you could feel Pegasus, with or without your powers.’

‘I always have a connection with him,’ she said, ‘but not enough to tell me where he is.’

With little idea where they were going, Emily inched the van down the road. When they came upon a petrol station she carefully pulled in. ‘Stay here. I’m going to find out where we are.’

She returned with a map showing the whole island. ‘The guy said we are here on this side of the island and that this circle over here is the Honolulu Zoo . . .’ She traced her finger on the map. ‘It doesn’t look too difficult. If we just follow the coastline, we’ll go around the bottom of the island and come up the other side where the zoo is. Simple.’

Paelen looked up at her, raised his eyebrows and grinned. ‘Oh, really?’

Emily punched him. ‘Cut me some slack. My powers are gone, a crazy mermaid has kidnapped Joel and I’m freaked that I’m going to get caught driving this stolen van.’

Paelen’s grin grew. ‘Then drive carefully and do not get caught.’

Within minutes they plotted their route and Emily pulled the van back out into traffic. The sun was starting to set on the horizon, casting a beautiful golden glow on the Hawaiian mountains.

‘I would like to visit this place again when we are finished.’ Paelen held his hand out of the window, feeling the warm wind between his fingers.

‘You mean if Saturn doesn’t conquer it?’

The crooked grin on his face always made her feel better. ‘Exactly!’

Emily followed the coastline around Oahu. She was glad that they were far enough from the shore that Nā-maka-o-Kaha‘i couldn’t reach them. When they arrived at the southern tip of the island and started the journey north, Emily saw a familiar sight rising in the distance.

‘There’s Diamond Head! The guy at the petrol station said the zoo isn’t far from it. We’re almost there.’