With a great crack, a lightning bolt blazed through the sky. For a moment, all the horses and riders, Pippa included, remained frozen, until Bellerophon cried, ‘Go! Go!’
The horses lunged forwards. And Kerauno was fastest. He shot off the mountain like an arrow, and it was all Pippa could do to hang on. Bas’s helmet rocked back and forth on her head as they took the lead, so she wasn’t sure if it was her imagination or real, the voice that rang out, ‘And they’re off, off, off!’
She couldn’t listen; she had to concentrate to stay on Kerauno. It took all her strength to hold the reins tight to his neck and keep her legs clenched to his sides. The voice faded, lost in the mighty draught from the beast’s wings.
Kerauno tried to throw her more than once, but she managed to stay on. Her legs throbbed, her arms too, as they sped on, like a hurricane, to the far side of the mountaintop.
Only clouds lay ahead of them and behind them the spectators had disappeared from view. The rocks below were sharp and craggy, like the teeth of a manticore.
Except … were those three old women she saw, sitting together on the rocks, waving flags? Were they the Fates? Pippa glanced back for another look, but the helmet blocked her view. She tried again, and though she did not see the old women, she glimpsed the horses behind her: Khrys on Khruse, Timon on Skotos and behind them, Sophia on Ajax. She couldn’t see Bas and Zeph.
Soon Pippa and Kerauno were rounding the mountain, approaching the stands again, and the sounds of cheering and singing greeted them: ‘Aloft wings beat and feathers fly, hark the horses of the sky!’
The chant grew louder as the crowd came back into sight. ‘HARK THE HORSES OF THE SKY!’
‘Kerauno remains in the lead, lead, lead!’ cried the mythic maiden Echo, living up to her name. ‘Set to win, win, win.’
The words filled Pippa with fire, and seemingly Kerauno too, for he flew even faster as he began his second lap. The clouds ahead were still wispy and white. Perhaps Zeus was not intending to play with the weather. Perhaps her plan would work, now that she had Kerauno under control. As she neared the spot where she thought she’d seen the Fates, she looked for them again, a feeling of self-satisfaction growing in her chest. She’d show them …
Whish! Snap!
Kerauno reared up without warning. Pippa slipped, and for a moment she was airborne, connected to the horse only by her grip on his reins. Then thud! She landed back on the golden saddlecloth and struggled to regain her focus. She looked over her shoulder to try to see her attacker. It was Khrys, a whip in his hand.
‘Stop!’ cried Pippa, not thinking to disguise her voice.
‘Pippa!’ came Khrys’s reply. He sounded both disgusted and impressed.
Snap! He cracked the whip again.
This time it struck Kerauno and he reared straight up, then lurched back down and began to buck. The reins jerked from Pippa’s hands and she was tossed off Kerauno’s back, on to the horse’s wing.
Bas’s helmet covered her eyes; she could see nothing. The cape tangled around her body. She could hardly move.
Pippa clutched blindly at the feathers but couldn’t grab hold. Kerauno was beating his wings furiously, trying to shake her off.
She felt herself slip …