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

Pegasus. ‘It’s good to see you laughing again.’
    Emily’s eyes sparkled as she gazed down on him. She inhaled the sweet, humid aroma of the jungle. ‘It is good to be back here. I didn’t realize how much I missed it.’
    ‘Xanadu is part of you,’ Joel said. ‘It’s like your second home.’
    News of their arrival must have got out. With each passing moment, more wildlife entered the clearing to visit Emily. Before long, she was covered in colourful butterflies and exotic insects while beautifully plumed birds landed on the stallion’s neck, desperate to be close to the last Xan.
    ‘We have explored very little here,’ Chiron explained. ‘There is just so much to see, so many other continents to visit, where the Xan set up sanctuaries for the species of dying worlds.’
    ‘I still want to see them,’ Joel said. He looked at Emily. ‘Don’t you?’
    ‘I do,’ Emily agreed. ‘When we’re finished we’ll come back here and have a good look around.’
    Brue ambled up to Pegasus and grunted. She lowered her two heads to Emily’s level. The purple fur on the gentle giant was soft and sun warmed. Her four eyes revealed nothing but devotion.
    ‘Hello, Brue,’ Emily said. As she stroked the Mother of the Jungle, she couldn’t help remembering how much Brue changed when she left Xanadu. The Mother of the Jungle had grown sharp, tearing teeth, coarse hair and blazing, predatory eyes. Brue had fought loyally at their side against the Titans, and though her devotion to Paelen never wavered, she had become a terrifying monster.
    But the Brue mewing for attention from Emily was anything but! She sighed with pleasure as Emily scratched behind her ears. ‘I’ve really missed you,’ said Emily.
    ‘It is obvious that everyone here has missed you ,’ Paelen said.
    Pegasus nickered softly and turned his neck to look up at her.
    ‘He says,’ Paelen translated, ‘that when we make you well again, he will bring you back and we will spend time here. He knows that you retain painful memories of the other time-line, but now you must put that behind you and see the beauty in this time-line.’
    Emily nodded and patted Pegasus’s strong neck. ‘You’re right.’
    Chiron clapped and rubbed his hands together. ‘Let us get to Arious so we can solve this mystery once and for all.’
    Still on Pegasus, Emily led her friends deep into the chambers of the Temple of Arious. Down many stairs and round multiple bends, they made their way towards the secret chamber that housed the super-computer.
    The door to the chamber was shut.
    Chiron turned to Joel. ‘Emily discovered how dangerous Arious is to non-Xan. We must not risk what happened to you last time ever happening again.’
    ‘What did happen?’ Joel asked. He grabbed Emily’s foot as it hung down from Pegasus. ‘C’mon, Em, isn’t it about time you told me?’
    ‘All right, I’ll tell you – if only to warn you,’ Emily said. ‘In the other time-line we came down here looking for a way to help the Olympians who were ageing and dying. Riza told me about this place and said if Arious could not offer a solution, there was none to be had.’
    ‘Was I there?’ Paelen asked.
    Emily shook her head. ‘No, only Joel came down here with me.’ She stopped short of saying Paelen had been too old and frail to make the journey into the depths of the Temple.
    ‘And . . . ?’ Joel prodded.
    ‘And, when I hooked myself up to Arious, I started to scream. You tried to pull me away and when you touched me, you got zapped.’
    ‘Zapped?’
    ‘Information meant for me also went into you. It kinda blew your brains out. You collapsed and went into a coma . . .’ Emily stopped speaking as she slid down from Pegasus’s back. ‘We all thought you were going to die.’
    She dropped her head as the memories pressed down on her. She vividly saw Joel lying so still he looked dead.
    ‘But I didn’t die, did I?’ Joel said. ‘I was fine. No brain damage, no