40

Turgoth lay on the lakeshore with Rebecca sleeping peacefully in his arms. When Pegasus landed a few yards away and Turgoth saw Julius jump off and run towards them, he gently lifted Rebecca out off his arms and stood up, puzzled at what might have caused such panic in a man usually so calm.

“Julius?” he said, “Is something wrong?”

Rebecca woke at the sound of her father’s name, a little embarrassed to have Julius find her in another man’s arms, even though Turgoth had already told her that her father knew everything about his feelings for her and about their soulmate connection and history.

“Dad?”

“Rebecca! Take Pegasus and leave immediately. Turgoth, she has to go now. At once. No delays! The Tartarus army is soon going to launch an attack in the Elysian Fields to seize the Flame! The Gods are already calling together a War Council in their palace.”

“What? We hadn’t expected that so soon.” Turgoth seemed as perturbed by the news as Julius. “Rebecca, your father is right. You need to go now. Pegasus will take you to Utopia. You’ll be safe there.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “I’ve just found both of you. I’m not going to leave you now.”

“I’m not going to argue about this with you, Rebecca,” Turgoth insisted. “I want you to leave right now. Things are going to become very dangerous here soon and we want you to be safe.”

“But I want to stay and help,” she argued. “You both know I’m capable in battle.”

“You don’t understand, Rebecca,” Julius intervened, seeing that Turgoth was torn between his desire for her safety and his desire to be with her. “If you are killed here, then... that’s it! Not even the Gods know if the soul will continue to exist.”

“Nothingness?” Rebecca asked.

“Probably, yes,” replied Julius.

“Then that’s one more reason for me to stay here. I’m not going anywhere! I won’t lose either of you again.”

“Rebecca, I’m begging you,” Turgoth said. “It is I who can’t afford to lose you again.”

“Come back to Utopia with me, then,” she suggested. “Both of you.”

“That would be impossible, darling,” her father explained. “Only those who have not yet died on Earth or in the Land of the White Sun can leave this place.”

At that moment, Pegasus interrupted. “It’s too late,” he said. “The Gods have shielded the Elysian Fields. Nobody gets in or out for now, unless via Tartarus.”

Both Turgoth and Julius looked horrified at this unforeseen turn of events, while the young Orizon seemed happy and relaxed.

“There you are,” she grinned at them. “It was obviously meant to be this way.”

“We need to go and see the Gods at once,” Turgoth said.

“At once!” Julius agreed with him.

A shadow in the sky became a black winged horse, which landed lightly beside Pegasus.

“Wow!” Rebecca was amazed. “There are more like you here. I had no idea.”

“Hundreds,” Pegasus said. “This is my brother, Lenus. I called him telepathically to come over and help us.”

While Julius rode on Lenus, Turgoth and Rebecca climbed up together onto Pegasus. Rebecca rode behind, with her arms around Turgoth’s waist, leaning her head against his broad back.

As they soared over the Elysian Fields, she saw other people flying on winged horses and puffy clouds, and still others flying by themselves, just like the Orizons in Utopia. Several people were walking across the landscape below wearing robes in the style of the ancient Greeks. She saw tree houses and other dwellings carved into the magnificent rocks of the mountains, which were thickly covered with luxuriant vegetation. She saw centaurs galloping across fields of brightly coloured flowers and other mythical creatures, including angels and tiny, delicate fairies. She even spotted a pair of beautiful unicorns playing together in the sunshine.

“The Gods created the Elysian Fields for themselves,” Turgoth shouted over his shoulder as they flew, “and also for the demigods, the ancient heroes, and all the mythical creatures. They are also for evolved beings who are killed - such as the Orizons and the Amazons.”

A few minutes later, both winged horses landed in the garden of the Palace of the Gods.

When Rebecca had first laid eyes on Utopia, she had assumed she would never see anything more beautiful - that, at that precise moment, she had seen it all. But the beauty of the Gods’ palace was beyond her powers of description. No man, no architect, no writer could describe such beauty. Its shape resembled the ancient Greek style of architecture, with elegant columns and ornate pediments, while the materials they had used could be found nowhere on Earth, or even in the Land of the White Sun. The whole palace was shining like the sun while at the same time being as smooth as rare white marble. The next moment, as they walked closer, it seemed to transform into a more metallic material, then turned to stone, no - to wood. Rebecca couldn’t tell what it was. It changed depending on the angle at which you were looking at it. It was confusing, but thrilling and exciting at the same time. The biggest surprise was that the entire palace was hovering in the air above a green blue lake. Under it, flowed a waterfall that sparkled with all the colours of the rainbow.

Glory the Sphinx now sat quietly guarding the Blue Sacred Flame, which burned in a huge crystal plate. The plate and the Flame were both at least ten times larger than the ones in Utopia.

Turgoth took Rebecca’s hand and they flew together up to the palace’s main gate, with Julius flying behind them. Lady Danae was waiting for them outside the gate and hugged Rebecca tightly.

“The War Council will begin soon,” she told them. “General Foster is inside. You’re needed in there too, Turgoth. The Gods have been waiting for you.”

“I’m taking Rebecca in with me,” Turgoth told her. “I need to ask them to send her back to Utopia.”

The others nodded their agreement with this plan and Rebecca said nothing as they entered the palace through a corridor which looked very much like the Parthenon and was lined with towering columns of glowing white marble. At the end of the corridor they entered the Great Hall, in the middle of which the King of the Gods sat on a crystal throne. Even while seated, Rebecca could see that he was taller than Turgoth and strongly built, with long grey hair, a short matching beard and sparkling blue eyes. He was wearing a long white robe and, in his hands, he was holding something shiny that resembled a bolt.

“Zeus!” Rebecca whispered excitedly.

“They have given him several names on Earth,” Turgoth said.

On Zeus’s right sat his daughter, Athena, a beautiful, slim woman with long brown hair tumbling over her shoulders, and eyes the colour of chocolate. On his left, sat his son, the blond Apollo, his young face and blue eyes creased with worry. Behind them stood Poseidon, Zeus’s brother and Lord of the Waters, with his long white hair and beard, and the mighty Hercules, Leiko’s father.

Before Turgoth could stop her, Rebecca took a step forward, approached the throne, and bowed low. Taking her crystal sword out, she held it between her hands, staring up at the Gods.

“I am Rebecca Newton. I want to fight for you and for the Flame. I have sworn to fight against Evil. My sword and my life are at your disposal.”

“We know who you are,” Zeus replied. “But we can also sense that King Turgoth would like for you to return to Utopia, isn’t that right, Turgoth?”

“Yes, oh mighty Zeus. Rebecca is a great warrior, but she’s still not ready for such a battle.”

“General Foster, you are the one who trained this young Orizon, am I right?” asked the King of the Gods.

“That is indeed correct, oh mighty Zeus,” said Field Marshal Foster.

“And what do you think? Is she ready to fight in a battle even more fierce than the Lomani? A battle against the Titan army?”

Turgoth looked at Foster with pleading eyes.

“She’s one of the finest warriors in the history of the Orizons,” Foster said. “She’s better than me and probably as good as Princess Felicia.”

“Then it’s settled,” Zeus said. “She’s staying here and will fight on our side.”

“But, mighty Zeus...” Turgoth attempted once more to be heard.

“No ‘buts,’ King Turgoth. We need her here, along with our best warriors. Even if she had been in Utopia, we would have still brought her over. That is why we shall soon remove the shield for a while - so that Pegasus, Lenus and a couple more winged horses can go to the Land of the White Sun and bring over Lord Life with his daughter and Leiko and, of course, Bull the Minotaur and General Hunter.”

Zeus then turned to Rebecca. “OK, Orizon, you can go out now to your father and Lady Danae.”

“Thank you,” Rebecca said, bowing. As she walked away, she threw Turgoth an apologetic look.

“Take a seat, King Turgoth,” Zeus commanded. “The War Council must begin!”