Poseidon's Academy

by Sarah A Vogler

  ‘Yes and no. Dryads can commune with them, and yes, sometimes they listen, recognising us as the guardians and leaders of the woods. But they have the power to disregard our requests if they so choose.’

  So basically a monster can ignore a dryad and do whatever it wants—like eat a couple of humans. ‘Oh.’ Hailey hugged her knees to her chest.

  ‘You need…’ Aleta’s head jerked up, her gaze darting around the forest.

  Several twigs snapped nearby, accompanied by the thundering sound of hooves.

  Something’s coming!

  15

  An Unwelcome Visitor

  Aleta’s body un-tensed. ‘It’s all right,’ she told Hailey. ‘A friend is approaching.’

  A white horse galloped into the small clearing. Well, Hailey thought it was a horse, but quickly realised half a man was sticking out of where the horse’s head should have been, a bow and arrow strapped to his back.

  A centaur!

  Aleta glided towards him. ‘Galdor, what brings you here?’

  He opened his mouth to speak, but froze as a breeze whipped towards him. He sniffed the air and stiffened, his eyes shooting in Hailey’s direction. ‘Humans! Why are you harbouring humans?’

  ‘They’re children who lost their way,’ Aleta replied. ‘I promised to guard them until the sun is reborn.’

  Hailey could just make out Galdor’s features in the glow of the moon, and he didn’t look happy. She braced herself, thinking he might yell at them to get out. But he merely shook his head.

  His features softened when he turned back to Aleta. ‘Your compassion is why you own my heart.’ He stroked her cheek.

  Gross. Hailey averted her eyes and prayed they weren’t about to make out—if nymphs even did that kind of thing.

  ‘Hailey, you’re talking in your sleep,’ Demi grumbled, rolling over.

  The sound of hooves galloping away distracted Hailey from telling Demi it wasn’t her. She looked up and saw Galdor was gone, and that Aleta had disappeared back into the trees.

  Hailey was considering lying back down and attempting to sleep when her fingertips began tingling. At the same moment, Aleta reappeared in front of her. ‘Galdor came to warn me that there is a knoxen heading this way,’ she said, voice calm. ‘I’ll do my best to dissuade it from here should it approach. You must lie down and remain quiet until it leaves.’

  Hailey gulped. ‘What’s a knoxen?’

  Aleta’s head jerked up, just like it had when Galdor had come, but this time her concerned features didn’t relax. ‘Remember not to move,’ she told Hailey before darting into the clearing’s centre.

  Lying down was easy. Staying still wasn’t.

  The tingling in Hailey’s fingertips intensified with every beat of her racing heart. Her powers urged her to use them, to be ready for the approaching monster. She fought against her instincts and tried not to move. Aleta knows what she’s doing, she assured herself. She probably deals with monsters every night.

  She clutched her necklace, the heart pendant’s touch easing some of her panic as she stared unblinkingly towards Aleta and waited to find out what a knoxen was.

  She saw its eyes first. Great big glowing orbs the colour of a blood moon. Their hunger stiffened her body, but it was nothing compared to the fear that stole her breath when its body came into view.

  It was gigantic—double the size of a grizzly bear. Its skin was black and leathery, and its long claws looked as if they could slice through metal. Its teeth were the most terrifying thing of all, being the size of baby elephant tusks, with blood dripping from their points.

  Aleta stepped in front of it, speaking in a language Hailey didn’t recognise; the knoxen apparently did, though, keeping its bloodthirsty eyes on her.

  Hailey didn’t dare breathe, afraid the monster might hear. All she could think about was how excruciating it would be to have those teeth rip into her flesh.

  Aleta gestured for the monster to leave back the way it had come. Hailey relaxed slightly—very slightly—when it turned to go.

  That was the moment Demi chose to sit up. ‘Hailey, I said be quiet.’

  The knoxen reeled back around; a spine-chilling howl tore from its snout, waking Jayden and Kendra—and probably everything else that had been sleeping in the forest. They barely had a second to understand what was happening before the knoxen launched at them.

  A hand wrapped around Hailey’s arm and yanked her to her feet, dragging her from the knoxen’s path. The monster landed on the moss bed, sending leaves flying everywhere. To Hailey’s relief, the dryads had dragged away her friends, too, and were leading them off in different directions.

  The knoxen fixed its red eyes on Hailey and growled like a rabid dog—only a hundred times louder. Fear paralysed her.

  The hand on her arm tugged her, and she remembered she had legs and ran, only to realise the dryad gripping her was heading straight for an oak tree. Hailey tried to pull away, but the dryad tightened her grasp and continued running towards it. She’s going to knock me out so I’ll be easy pickings for the knoxen! Hailey thought, right before she smacked into the tree.

  In her experience, slamming into solid objects equalled pain. But when she hit the tree, her body floated with airiness. Is this what being knocked out feels like? It’s nice. At least it was better than her being awake when the knoxen ate her.

  With a jolt, Hailey realised she wasn’t unconscious. She could still see everything.

  And the knoxen was charging towards her!

  She tried to run, but her body was stuck in place. She glanced down to see what was wrong with her legs and sucked in a breath. Her legs weren’t there. All she could see was the trunk of a tree. The same tree the dryad had smashed her into.

  But Hailey wasn’t lying on the ground lifeless or in pain, which meant the dryad had taken her inside the tree. She knew nymphs could pass in and out of the parts of nature they protected—like the naiads at the stream—but she hadn’t thought they could take humans with them.

  The knoxen halted in front of the tree Hailey hid in. Its enormous claws swiped out, slashing the bark. Pain seared Hailey’s skin and she cried out; at least she tried to, but it came out as a creaking moan.

  The knoxen bayed, pumping fresh terror through Hailey’s body, and pressed one of its mammoth paws on the tree trunk. The tips of its claws resting on the bark, poised to tear through it again.

  The monster sniffed the tree, its hot rancid breath brushing against Hailey’s skin and reminding her of rotting meat. She expected it to smell her inside and start clawing at the bark in an attempt to get at her. Instead, the knoxen howled in frustration and ran off.

  A few seconds passed before hands pushed her gently from behind, and she slipped out of the tree, a dryad coming out behind her. Hailey opened her mouth to ask what had just happened—and thank her for saving her life—when Demi pulled her into a tight hug.

  ‘You’re all right!’ her best friend said with an exclamation of relief.

  ‘Did you get changed into a tree as well?’ Jayden asked, jogging over to them with Kendra, who was clutching a trembling Rain in her arms.

  Hailey nodded. ‘I’d be dead otherwise.’

  Kendra ran her hand down Rain’s back, trying to calm her. ‘I didn’t know nymphs could do that kind of thing.’

  ‘That makes me feel better,’ Demi said. ‘I thought I must have dozed off during Madam Grayson’s lesson on nymphs’ powers, but I guess she didn’t bother mentioning this little trick.’

  ‘We like to keep it a secret,’ Aleta said, appearing beside them. ‘If humans learned that we could share our gifts with them, they might seek us more fervently than they already do.’

  ‘Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone,’ Jayden assured her. ‘It’s the least we can do to thank you for saving our lives.’

  Aleta bowed her head, as if what she had done was no big deal. But being alive was a pretty big deal to Hailey. She turned around to thank the dryad who had saved her. S
he frowned, watching the nymph stroke the deep gashes the knoxen had clawed into the tree.

  ‘She is healing it,’ Aleta explained. ‘You felt the tree’s anguish, yes?’

  Hailey remembered the searing pain. ‘It’s gone now. Why did I feel it?’

  ‘Your spirit was merged with the tree—you were one in the same. Its pain was your pain,’ Aleta said, sounding a lot like the naiad they’d met at the stream. ‘The threat is gone now. You can return to your slumber with peace of mind.’

  Hailey held back a laugh. How do you go back to sleep with peace of mind after almost becoming dinner?

  Hailey and her friends were up and ready to go the second the first ray of sunlight stretched into the forest. None of them had dared fall back asleep after the knoxen’s attack. They’d spent the rest of the night jumping at every sound they’d heard. Thankfully, no other monsters had bothered them.

  Aleta led them from the clearing and back to where they’d first met so they could follow Kora’s marked trees out of the forest. ‘Thanks again for everything,’ Hailey said.

  ‘My sisters and I were happy to help,’ Aleta replied. ‘Your passage back through the woods should be unhindered now that the sun has been reborn.’ Aleta placed a hand on Rain’s head. ‘Be well, creature of the woods. May you find happiness in your new home.’

  Kendra held Rain out. Her eyes were hesitant and sad as she asked, ‘Do you want to keep her?’

  No words could describe the horror on Demi’s face. ‘No! We’re taking her.’ She reached out to snatch Rain.

  Jayden grabbed her arms. ‘Demi, she’s not ours.’

  ‘Do not fear, I won’t take her from you,’ Aleta said. ‘The choice is hers to leave.’

  Kendra clutched Rain back against her chest, and Jayden let go of Demi, who rushed to the pegacorn, patting her while she told her how much she’d like living at the palace.

  ‘Be well,’ Aleta bid them and vanished into the trees.

  ‘Let’s get going,’ Jayden said, taking the lead.

  Aside from Demi, who kept talking about how incredible their time in the forest had been—she seemed to think terrifying and exciting were the same thing—they walked in silence, the only sound the snap of branches and crinkle of leaves beneath their feet.

  Hailey was positive a search party was looking for them now, and she kept expecting to hear someone shout her name or a teacher to appear from the foliage. But the forest was silent, and they were alone.

  They’re probably searching a different part of the forest, Hailey thought. Or maybe they’re getting organised on the beach—it’s still pretty early. Either way, Hailey was glad they hadn’t been found yet. She had no objection to delaying the expulsion that would no doubt be her punishment for running off.

  She wouldn’t argue with Amathia’s decision. She deserved to be expelled after almost getting her friends, and herself, killed—twice. But she would argue that her friends be allowed to stay at the Academy. She’d make sure Amathia knew coming out here was all her idea.

  ‘Sweet land!’ Demi exclaimed when they exited the forest. She collapsed to her knees and cupped the sand in her hands, gazing at it as though she had never seen anything so wonderful.

  ‘We were always on land, Dems,’ Jayden told her with a roll of his eyes.

  The sand slipped through Demi’s fingers. ‘You know what I mean.’

  ‘Oh Medusa!’

  Kendra’s exclamation told Hailey that her second theory about the search party being on the beach was right. She shuffled past her, expecting to see teachers sprinting towards them. But, aside from the sleeping horses, the beach was deserted.

  ‘Kendra, why did…’ Hailey’s jaw dropped.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Jayden asked.

  ‘The palace is gone.’

  16

  Rain’s Dash

  ‘That’s not possible,’ Demi said, leaping to her feet. ‘The palace isn’t meant to descend until tonight.’

  Demi was right about the palace not being scheduled to descend until tonight, but it didn’t change the fact that all Hailey could see when she looked at the sea was miles and miles of open water—not a palace in sight.

  Hailey fought the urge to collapse. She’d thought once they’d escaped the forest everything would be all right, that they’d get rescued and taken back to the palace. But there was no rescue party—and there definitely wasn’t a palace.

  ‘Medusa! The palace is gone!’ Demi shrieked. ‘We’ve been marooned!’

  ‘Everyone needs to calm down,’ Jayden said. ‘We’re jumping to conclusions thinking the palace left without us. Aaron and the others would never have allowed it. It’s probably moved around the island.’

  Hailey’s stomach dropped as realisation settled over her. ‘Jayden’s right, the others wouldn’t have abandoned us.’ She’d been assuming the entire time that her friends had made it back to the palace. What if they didn’t? ‘They’re still in the forest. We have to go back.’

  ‘Hailey, why would you think tha—’ Jayden began.

  ‘You made it,’ someone called out.

  Hailey’s eyes darted down the beach, her body un-tensing when she spotted Alec jogging towards them.

  ‘Alec?’ Demi said in surprise. ‘Where did you come from?’ she asked when he reached them.

  ‘I was lying beside the horses,’ he explained, tossing a hand in their direction. ‘I’m glad you’re all okay. We were starting to think Scylla had tracked you down.’

  We? Hailey glanced back at the dozing horses, thinking if she’d missed Alec, she’d probably missed the others too. But the horses were alone.

  Alec’s eyes glistened with curiosity when he spotted Rain. ‘Oh, what’s that?’

  ‘Where are Aaron, Kora, and Tahlia?’ Jayden asked before Kendra could reply.

  ‘And why aren’t you back at the Academy?’ Hailey added.

  ‘When we came out of the forest the palace was gone,’ he said, answering Hailey’s question first.

  That meant the palace descended right after they left. But why?

  ‘Aaron wanted to go back into the forest after you,’ Alec continued, ‘especially when the sun started to set. He wouldn’t listen to any of us when we told him it was suicide, so Tahlia had to knock him out with sleep dust to stop him from running off. We made camp on the beach, and as soon as the sun rose, the others went looking for you, while I waited here, just in case you came back.’

  ‘But we didn’t see them on our way out,’ Hailey said, her stomach twisting into knots. ‘If they were following the nail polish, we should have run into them.’

  ‘They might have wandered off course to hide from something,’ Jayden said before anyone could freak out.

  ‘We need to go back into the…’ Hailey’s words fell away as tingles swept into her fingertips.

  Rain snorted and squirmed, fighting to get free of Kendra’s arms. ‘What’s wrong, Rain?’ Kendra’s jaw dropped at whatever the pegacorn’s response was.

  ‘What is it?’ Alec asked.

  A shrill cry pierced the sky, freezing Hailey’s blood. Her gaze shot up, her heart stumbling a beat.

  A monstrous creature circled the sky. Brown and white feathers coated its top half, ruffling as it soared through the air on powerful wings. Its front two feet were black talons that matched the creature’s beak in sharpness. Its lower half was lean and muscular, covered in short brown fur, with a long spiked tail trailing behind two encyclopaedia-sized paws.

  A griffin!

  Hailey’s first instinct was to run. But then she remembered Madam Grayson telling them in Monsters and Creatures that griffins are treasure guardians and only attack if you go near their nest. And Hailey couldn’t see any signs of a nest nearby.

  The griffin’s eagle eyes lingered on her and her friends, studying them. ‘It’s just curious,’ Hailey said, more to reassure herself than anyone else.

  The monster released them from its gaze and flew back towards the trees.
/>   ‘I can’t believe we saw a griffin!’ Demi practically shrieked with glee, bouncing on her toes. ‘I don’t even think Madam Grayson’s seen one.’

  ‘It’s incredibly rare to sight one,’ Alec agreed, his face awestruck. ‘It must have heard our voices and come to make sure we weren’t heading for its nest. My dad will be so jealous when I tell him.’

  ‘It’s okay, Rain,’ Kendra said in a soothing voice to the pegacorn, who continued to struggle in her arms. ‘Rain, no.’ Rain squeezed from her grasp, falling spread-eagled on the sand before galloping down the shore. ‘Stop, Rain!’ Kendra cried, bolting after her.

  Everything slowed down. A shadow swept over them, and the griffin zoomed towards Kendra and the fleeing Rain.

  ‘Watch out!’ Hailey yelled.

  Kendra whipped around and sprang to the side as the griffin dove. But it wasn’t interested in her. Its claws closed around Rain, whose squealing ripped through Hailey’s soul as she watched the griffin fly away.

  ‘RAIN!’ Kendra screamed and sprinted after her.

  ‘Kendra, wait!’ Hailey yelled, taking off down the beach. The adrenaline pumping through her body wiping away her exhaustion, allowing her to run as fast as possible as she tried to stop her friend from taking on a monster.

  This is insane, was all Hailey could think as she raced across the sand after Kendra, who was getting further and further ahead of her. The griffin was already at the end of the beach—about 300 yards ahead—swooping down to land in a giant nest perched on one of the rocky cliff’s ledges. Hailey’s aching legs urged her to run in the opposite direction. To get as far away from the monster as she could. But she kept running towards it, and didn’t stop until she reached the cliff, which Kendra was currently staring up at, her eyes locked on the giant nest 400 feet above them.

  Hailey clutched at the stabbing pain near her ribs, and leaned over to catch her breath, her vision blurring slightly as her lungs burned for air.

  ‘Kendra – don’t!’ Jayden’s voice warned from behind her.

  Hailey glanced back up to find Kendra starting to climb the cliff, which looked more than happy to help someone to a deathly fall. ‘No – Kendra,’ Hailey puffed out. ‘The – griffin…’