Pegasus and the Flame Read Online Free Page B

nodded.
    ‘I’m Doctor Bernstein,’ the doctor said, offering his hand. ‘This is Nurse Johnston. As for my patient, well, I don’t as yet know his name. But I was just about to ask.’
    Officer Jacobs opened his notebook. ‘Allow me.’ He turned his attention to Paelen. ‘So young man, can you give us your name?’
    Inhaling deeply, Paelen raised his hand in a flourish and bowed as best he could in the bed. ‘I am Paelen the Magnificent, at your service.’
    ‘Paelen the Magnificent?’ Doctor Bernstein repeated as his eyebrows rose. ‘Paelen the Lucky, more like.’ He turned to the police officer. ‘This young man was found in the middle of 26th Street and Broadway. The paramedics think he was at a costume party, stood too close to a window and was struck by lightning. They think he might have fallen out. We’ve been treating lightning burns and electrocutions like his all night. Though I must admit, most of the others haven’t been so lucky.’
    ‘Were you hit by lightning?’ Officer Jacobs asked Paelen.
    Paelen thought back to the last thing he remembered and frowned. ‘Perhaps, but I am uncertain.’
    Officer Jacobs started to write. ‘All right then, Paelen, can you give me your last name? Where do you come from? Where do you live so we can notify your family and tell them you are here?’
    Paelen looked at both men, then at the strange room again. Suddenly his thief’s instinct took over and told him not to say anything more about himself or where he came from. ‘I – I do not remember.’
    ‘Don’t remember?’ Dr. Bernstein repeated. ‘Well, you did have a rather nasty knock on your head. Though I’m sure the memory loss is only temporary. Maybe this will help …’ He crossed over to the small cupboard against the far wall. He pulled out a bag and poured out the contents on to the bed.
    ‘When you were found, this was all you were wearing: this small tunic and this pair of winged sandals. You were clutching this horse’s bridle. We had a nightmare of a time prying it out of your hands.’
    ‘Those are mine,’ Paelen protested as he tried to grab the items. ‘I want them back!’
    ‘Hey, that looks like real gold,’ the police officer said as he reached for the bridle. Feeling its heavy weight, he frowned. ‘Feels like real gold too.’
    ‘You cannot have that!’ Paelen cried as he snatched at the bridle. He winced when it pulled at his broken ribs. ‘I told you it is mine.’
    ‘Where did you get it?’ Officer Jacobs demanded.
    ‘Get it?’ Paelen repeated. ‘I, I,’ he paused as he tried to out-think these strange people. Finally a solution came to him. ‘It was a gift.’
    ‘A gift?’ the officer repeated curiously. ‘You’re telling me that you can’t remember your full name or where you came from, but you can remember that this was a gift?’
    ‘Yes,’ Paelen said confidently. ‘That is correct. It was a gift.’
    Officer Jacobs moved closer to the bed and frowned. ‘Well, Paelen, shall I tell you what I think?’ Not waiting for an answer he continued. ‘I don’t think this was a gift at all. In fact, I don’t believe you fell out any window. I think you were pushed.’ He held up the bridle. ‘If this is real gold, which I think it is, then it’s got to be worth a fortune. I’m sure someone of your age wouldn’t be getting it as a gift. Tell me, how old are you? Sixteen? Seventeen maybe? So I’ll ask you again, where did you get it?’
    Paelen wasn’t about to tell them how old he was or that he hadn’t been pushed out any window. He especially couldn’t tell them about the bridle or from whom he’d taken it. Instead he shrugged. ‘I cannot remember.’
    ‘That’s a very convenient memory of yours,’ suggested Officer Jacobs. ‘You say this was a gift, but you won’t say who gave it to you.’
    He next turned his attention to the beautifully tooled winged sandals. Fine, colourful feathers adorned the tiny wings and beautiful cut diamonds,