Free Pegasus and the Rise of the Titans (Pegasus #5) by Kate O'Hearn Page A

to the steel bars that kept them trapped.
    She peered into the opposite cell and saw the three prisoners within watching her closely. They had enquired about the Flame, but Phoebe had no explanation.
    ‘Phoebe, come here.’
    When her guardian joined her, Lorin peered down the corridor as far as the bars would allow. ‘Can you feel any of the guards around us?’
    The effort of using powers she had not used in ages showed on Phoebe’s face as she felt for the presence of night dwellers. But, long ago, she had been renowned for her ability to read minds and influence people. ‘No, there are no guards on this level at the moment.’
    ‘Good,’ Lorin said. ‘I have an idea.’
    Lorin bent down to the floor where the bars joined the wall, and focused all her attention on the Flame. She was not sure how to do it, but what she lacked in experience, she made up for with determination.
    She closed her eyes and imagined what she wanted to do. She needed a small but intense Flame to melt the metal bars. As she pointed her finger and concentrated, her obsession to get out and find Emily fed her power. A small blue Flame emerged from the tip of her finger. Within moments, the metal of the bar started to smoke and then melt.
    Lorin was barely aware of her surroundings as she focused. But she soon became aware of sound. Or rather, lack of it. Word of her activities was spreading fast through the cells on this level and the prisoners hushed to wait and see what she could do.
    ‘Stop!’ a voice from across the corridor warned.
    Lorin looked up and saw a man of Phoebe’s age standing at the bars of his cell. His hair was long and filthy, but he held a commanding elegance. A spark of life was rising in his piercing brown eyes. ‘I have seen these powers once before – long ago, from a girl just like you. She was responsible for our defeat and imprisonment. If that girl locked us in here, then you, child – you , will be our salvation. But you must listen to me. Do no more. Saturn must be informed and we must plan this very carefully. Guards cannot learn of this until we are ready.’
    Lorin stopped. She and Phoebe blew on the small pool of molten steel to set it, and inspected the damage to the bar. It was almost burned right through. She looked into Phoebe’s shocked face. ‘When I am through here, no bars will ever lock us in again.’

12
    Xanadu. A lush, green jungle world that was once inhabited by a powerful, benevolent race known as the Xan. Highly intelligent, with powers greatly surpassing the Olympian’s, they were the creators of the Solar Stream and used it to visit countless worlds. If they encountered a dying planet, they would bring the survivors here. Xanadu was Sanctuary. But then, weary of their long existence, the Xan released themselves to the universe, leaving Xanadu to grow wild and untamed.
    In the time since her last visit, the jungle had reclaimed most of the clearing that had been built around the Solar Stream entrance. Although Olympians came here regularly, it was a constant battle to keep the jungle from obscuring the arch entrance.
    Within minutes of their arrival, they heard loud trumpeting and the sound of something tearing through the jungle towards them. All the wildlife around them hushed as the sound grew louder.
    ‘Someone knows we have arrived,’ Chiron said with a grin. ‘Paelen, I wonder who that could be?’
    ‘Oh, no!’ Paelen moaned as his eyes scanned the area.
    A huge animal, more than double the size of an elephant, with two heads, long purple fur and sharp, cutting claws, charged through the trees and ran straight over to Paelen. Like an excited puppy, the creature, known as the Mother of the Jungle, danced around him and started to lick him all over.
    ‘Emily, please,’ he begged. ‘Call her off! I do not need another bath!’
    Emily laughed. ‘Brue loves you more than anyone. No one can call her off, not even Riza.’
    Joel smiled up at Emily, who was still seated on