Read Online Pegasus and the Flame by Kate O'Hearn - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kate O'Hearn
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soft and distant voice.
‘Are you all right?’
‘I’m, I’m fine, I think,’ Emily’s head started to clear. She concentrated on Joel, now looking anxiously at her. ‘I just saw the strangest thing,’ she said.
‘What?’
Emily looked back to the stallion. ‘Pegasus, what I just saw? It was true, wasn’t it? Paelen took the bridle from you. It was because of him you were hit by lightning.’
Pegasus snorted and butted Emily gently. Yes .
‘Please tell me,’ Joel pressed. ‘What did you see?’
‘I don’t know how to explain it,’ she said. ‘But it was kind of like watching television, only much more intense. When Paelen got the golden bridle off Pegasus, it attracted lightning and they were both hit.’
‘So now we’ve got to find this Paelen and get it back,’ Joel suggested.
‘That’s going to be impossible,’ Emily said. Stroking Pegasus, she explained about the conversation with her father and how Paelen had been taken by the secret government agency, the CRU.
‘I’ve never heard of the crew,’ Joel said, bewildered. ‘And my dad worked for the United Nations.’
‘Not crew,’ Emily corrected. ‘C-R-U. Central Research Unit. They just pronounce it like the word “crew”. Not a lot of people know about them. These guys deal with weird science stuff and anything to do with aliens. My dad says, when the CRU come to get you, you’re never seen or heard from again. He’s had to deal with them a couple of times in his career, and each time, he was threatened and ordered to stay quiet or there’d be trouble. If the CRU ever learned about Pegasus, they would take him away and we’d never see him again.’
‘If they’re as bad as you say,’ Joel said, ‘we’d probably disappear too, just because we’ve seen him.’
‘Exactly,’ Emily said, ‘which is why we have to be extra careful until Pegasus’s wing heals. He’s got to get safely away to finish whatever it is he came here for.’
‘Did he show you what that was?’
‘No,’ Emily said. ‘All I saw was Paelen stealing the bridle and then both of them getting hit by lightning. But it felt like life and death kind of stuff.’ She turned back to the stallion, ‘Isn’t it Pegasus?’
The stallion nodded and pounded the floorboards.
‘So if we can’t go after Paelen to get the bridle, what do we do?’ Joel asked.
Emily shrugged. ‘I guess we just keep Pegasus safe and warm until he heals.’
Joel nodded. ‘And to do that, he needs plenty of good food and care. Did you find any honey?’
Emily started to go through the bags she’d carried up from her kitchen. ‘I’ve got some honey, corn syrup, brown sugar and white sugar and more sweet cereal. But I still can’t believe a horse should be eating all this stuff.’
Pegasus protested loudly.
‘Sorry Pegs,’ she said. She looked at Joel with a half-smile. ‘He really hates being called a horse, doesn’t he?’
‘Wouldn’t you, if you were him?’ said Joel.
As Emily poured half the box of sweet cereal into a huge plastic bowl, Joel opened the can of corn syrup and poured it on top. He added several spoonfuls of brown sugar.
‘Yuck!’ Emily said as the stallion started to eat hungrily. ‘How can you do that, Pegs? After this, I don’t think I’ll ever eat that cereal again.’
After Pegasus was fed, Joel sat down to eat the sandwiches Emily had prepared for him.
‘What time do you need to get home?’ she asked. Checking her watch, it was just past six in the evening. The sun was still up, but had already crossed the city and would soon start to set.
‘I’m not going back,’ Joel said casually after taking a long drink of milk right from the carton.
‘Not going back?’ Emily said in alarm. ‘Won’t your parents worry?’
Joel looked away. ‘My parents are dead. I’m living in a foster home. The people there hardly ever notice me, so probably not.’ He tried to sound indifferent but Emily could hear the quiver in his tone
‘Are you all right?’
‘I’m, I’m fine, I think,’ Emily’s head started to clear. She concentrated on Joel, now looking anxiously at her. ‘I just saw the strangest thing,’ she said.
‘What?’
Emily looked back to the stallion. ‘Pegasus, what I just saw? It was true, wasn’t it? Paelen took the bridle from you. It was because of him you were hit by lightning.’
Pegasus snorted and butted Emily gently. Yes .
‘Please tell me,’ Joel pressed. ‘What did you see?’
‘I don’t know how to explain it,’ she said. ‘But it was kind of like watching television, only much more intense. When Paelen got the golden bridle off Pegasus, it attracted lightning and they were both hit.’
‘So now we’ve got to find this Paelen and get it back,’ Joel suggested.
‘That’s going to be impossible,’ Emily said. Stroking Pegasus, she explained about the conversation with her father and how Paelen had been taken by the secret government agency, the CRU.
‘I’ve never heard of the crew,’ Joel said, bewildered. ‘And my dad worked for the United Nations.’
‘Not crew,’ Emily corrected. ‘C-R-U. Central Research Unit. They just pronounce it like the word “crew”. Not a lot of people know about them. These guys deal with weird science stuff and anything to do with aliens. My dad says, when the CRU come to get you, you’re never seen or heard from again. He’s had to deal with them a couple of times in his career, and each time, he was threatened and ordered to stay quiet or there’d be trouble. If the CRU ever learned about Pegasus, they would take him away and we’d never see him again.’
‘If they’re as bad as you say,’ Joel said, ‘we’d probably disappear too, just because we’ve seen him.’
‘Exactly,’ Emily said, ‘which is why we have to be extra careful until Pegasus’s wing heals. He’s got to get safely away to finish whatever it is he came here for.’
‘Did he show you what that was?’
‘No,’ Emily said. ‘All I saw was Paelen stealing the bridle and then both of them getting hit by lightning. But it felt like life and death kind of stuff.’ She turned back to the stallion, ‘Isn’t it Pegasus?’
The stallion nodded and pounded the floorboards.
‘So if we can’t go after Paelen to get the bridle, what do we do?’ Joel asked.
Emily shrugged. ‘I guess we just keep Pegasus safe and warm until he heals.’
Joel nodded. ‘And to do that, he needs plenty of good food and care. Did you find any honey?’
Emily started to go through the bags she’d carried up from her kitchen. ‘I’ve got some honey, corn syrup, brown sugar and white sugar and more sweet cereal. But I still can’t believe a horse should be eating all this stuff.’
Pegasus protested loudly.
‘Sorry Pegs,’ she said. She looked at Joel with a half-smile. ‘He really hates being called a horse, doesn’t he?’
‘Wouldn’t you, if you were him?’ said Joel.
As Emily poured half the box of sweet cereal into a huge plastic bowl, Joel opened the can of corn syrup and poured it on top. He added several spoonfuls of brown sugar.
‘Yuck!’ Emily said as the stallion started to eat hungrily. ‘How can you do that, Pegs? After this, I don’t think I’ll ever eat that cereal again.’
After Pegasus was fed, Joel sat down to eat the sandwiches Emily had prepared for him.
‘What time do you need to get home?’ she asked. Checking her watch, it was just past six in the evening. The sun was still up, but had already crossed the city and would soon start to set.
‘I’m not going back,’ Joel said casually after taking a long drink of milk right from the carton.
‘Not going back?’ Emily said in alarm. ‘Won’t your parents worry?’
Joel looked away. ‘My parents are dead. I’m living in a foster home. The people there hardly ever notice me, so probably not.’ He tried to sound indifferent but Emily could hear the quiver in his tone
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