The final verdict on Hailey’s punishment, for almost getting killed, was a two-week grounding. Hailey thought her mum would have grounded her for the rest of her life, so she’d gladly submitted to two weeks of house arrest. Demi, however, hadn’t gotten off so easy and was still grounded, but, thankfully, her mum was letting her have visitors.
‘Hailey,’ Demi’s mum, Nicole, said with a bright smile, opening the door. ‘Come in. I’d hug you, but I can’t let go of Alice or she’ll run out the door.’
‘Another rescue?’ Hailey asked, reaching out to pet the fluffy white bunny tucked in Nicole’s arm.
‘Yes, and she’s settling in just fine with all the other animals—speaking of which, I better go feed the guinea pigs. Demi’s upstairs.’
Hailey made her way up the stairs, a tabby cat skittering away from her as she wandered down the hallway to a door with a hand-written sign reading, Demi’s Room. Keep Out! A snarling minotaur was drawn underneath it, followed by, that means you Annabelle!
Hailey knocked on the door.
‘Come in.’
She pushed into the room, the sweet scent of blooming flowers swarming her. Fuchsias, roses, and wisteria snaked along the walls and hung from the ceiling, and grass grew on the ground in place of carpet, making Demi’s room look like a vibrant garden.
Demi lay on her unmade double bed, watching the small television against the wall, where a news reporter was interviewing someone about the increasing prices of houses.
Hailey frowned. ‘Since when do you watch the news?’
‘Since I got locked in this house and discovered there isn’t much else on in the morning. Now shh, a report on the missing people is coming up.’ She pushed herself into a sitting position and used the TV remote to turn up the volume.
Hailey manoeuvred her way around scattered clothes and books, and plopped down next to Demi.
The screen changed to an anchor woman sitting behind a desk, shuffling papers. ‘Well, there you have it—if you want to afford a house, you need to give up eating smashed avocado,’ the anchor woman said. ‘Now, in other news. Another twenty-three people have gone missing this week from countries including France, Japan, Turkey, and New Zealand. Like the previous people to go missing, no clues have been left to explain what’s happened to them. This brings the total number of people to go missing in the past two months to 182. The police still have no leads on potential suspects, and are advising people not to leave their houses after dark until the parties responsible for the disappearances are apprehended.’
That’s weird, Hailey thought as the anchor woman moved on to a story about twin golden hinds being born at a zoo. She didn’t exactly watch the news, or follow missing-person reports, but something told her that 182 people going missing in a couple of months was a little out of the ordinary.
‘Hey all.’
Jayden, Alec, and Aaron piled into the room.
Jayden shook a packet of sour cream and onion crisps. ‘We brought food.’
‘And drinks,’ Alec added, showing off a 2-litre bottle of imitation ambrosia.
‘Awesome.’ Demi abandoned her bed to join the boys on the grass. Hailey sat down beside her, just under a vine of blooming wisteria that smelled like grapes.
‘So, what were you two watching?’ Aaron asked.
‘The news,’ Hailey said, filling a paper cup with ambrosia and taking a sip of the toffee-apple-tasting liquid.
Jayden cocked an eyebrow. ‘The news? What happened, Dems, did you hit the wrong button?’
Demi scrunched her face up at him. ‘No, Jayden. I was watching the report on those missing people.’
‘Oh, I’ve heard about that,’ Aaron said, pouring ambrosia into his cup. ‘Something like 300 people have gone missing in a month.’
‘It’s the last couple of months, actually,’ Alec corrected, popping open the packet of crisps, the scent of onion drifting up Hailey’s nostrils. ‘And it was 182 the last time I checked—most of which are criminals.’
‘As in prisoners?’ Jayden slurped his ambrosia.
Alec nodded.
‘No, the reporters haven’t said anything about mass prison break outs—the missing people can’t be criminals,’ Demi argued.
Hailey had a hard time believing that too. Prisons weren’t exactly easy places to break out of for a few criminals, let alone almost 200. ‘Whoever told you that is lying.’
‘Well, I overheard my dad telling my mum, and he heard it from my uncle, who’s a police officer in Dublin,’ Alec said, taking a sip of his ambrosia. ‘They’re not going to say that on the news though. They don’t want to create a mass panic by telling the public that criminals are going missing from high security prisons all over the world, especially when they have no leads to find them with, and no idea how they escaped.’
‘How can they not know how they escaped?’ Aaron asked. ‘Are the prison guards really so slow they haven’t found the dugout tunnels yet? I’d think they’d be pretty obvious.’
Jayden threw a crisp at him. ‘You watch too many movies.’
‘There are no holes or any other signs of escape,’ Alec explained. ‘It’s like they just disappeared from their locked cells overnight, which is another reason why they’re not saying prisoners have escaped, because they’re starting to think that maybe they didn’t escape. That maybe something else happened to them.’
The whole conversation made Hailey uneasy. Criminals being on the loose was freaky enough, but it was even worse knowing that they seemed to be disappearing. What’s happening to them? Has someone with the power of Hermes found a way to break through the power-neutralising barriers that surround the prisons? And if so, why are they breaking out so many criminals?
The only thing that gave Hailey comfort was knowing all prisoners had to wear neutralising bracelets, so if they were on the loose, their powers wouldn’t work.
Demi’s door flung open. ‘Annabelle, get out!’ Demi ordered the freckle-faced girl standing in its frame.
Annabelle smirked, flicking a strand of blonde hair from her face. ‘I’m not in your room, Demi. I’m standing outside.’
‘If you don’t close the door and leave right now, I’m calling mum,’ she threatened.
‘Fine. But here’s a little present before I go.’ A plump red water balloon materialised in her outstretched palm.
Hailey was so impressed by Annabelle’s conjuring skills that it didn’t register with her what was about to happen. The water balloon flew from Annabelle’s hand and exploded on the ground with a pop, water spraying over everyone—even the crisps weren’t spared.
Demi lunged to her feet. ‘You’re dead!’ Annabelle bolted from the doorway. ‘Fine, I’ll kill you later,’ she shouted after her, slamming the door before turning back to everyone, her hair dripping. ‘Sorry about that.’
‘Was that your sister?’ Aaron asked, picking pieces of red balloon out of his drink.
Demi plunked herself back on the damp grass. ‘Unfortunately.’
‘She looks nothing like you,’ Alec remarked, wiping at the water dripping down his face.
‘Um, that’s because we’re not technically blood relatives,’ Demi said, focusing her attention on scooping up pieces of red balloon. ‘My parents, ah, died when I was four. There was a robbery… wrong place, wrong time. My aunt didn’t want me, so she put me up for adoption, and that’s how I ended up here.’ She dropped the balloon pieces into an empty paper cup. ‘Now, can we please talk about something not so morbid, like plotting Venus and the twins’ downfall.’
25
Trapped
Hailey found herself trapped in a familiar nightmare.
Demi stared vacantly at the sea, which stretched up in front of her like a wall of fluorescent blue water. Coral and sea-anemones in the gardens around her glowed pink, blue, green, and purple, casting the grounds in a dull light. ‘They’re here now, and they’re getting stronger.’
Hailey gulped and glanced at the sea, seeing nothing but em
pty water. ‘Who’s here?’
Demi whipped around. ‘You can still stop them.’
The wand appeared in her friend’s hand, its moonstone tip shimmering. Hailey frowned. ‘With the wand?’
‘The wand did this.’
Suddenly, they weren’t alone anymore. Hundreds of adults crowded the grounds, pressing up against Hailey and Demi and the force field. Most wore orange jumpsuits and neutralising bracelets, but some wore casual clothes. The only thing they shared in common was a look of misery, like they’d lost all hope.
Hailey knew instantly they were the missing people and escaped criminals. Why are they at Poseidon’s Academy? And what do they have to do with the wand? She stared back at Demi. ‘I don’t understand.’
Demi looked at her with such sadness that Hailey wanted to cry for disappointing her. ‘You never do.’ She jumped through the force field.
‘Demi!’ Hailey shrieked, reaching to pull her best friend from the water.
She snatched her hand back as the people crowding the grounds materialised in the sea. They were only in her sight for a second before barbed tentacles wrapped around their legs and dragged them into the darkened depths below, a silent scream etched on each of their faces.
Demi was the only one left untouched, floating before Hailey like a shade. She met Hailey’s eyes and mouthed the words you’re next before she, too, was yanked away.
Hailey woke up, gasping in a breath. It had been so long since she’d had one of those nightmares that she’d thought they were over with. It still felt as if they were trying to tell her something. But what? All she could think was that it had something to do with the nereids. That the dreams were her subconscious’s way of warning her to be careful because they just might set a sea-monster on her or something.
And, honestly, the nereids were really starting to worry her. October was almost here, and she still had no idea what they were up to. Her and her friends’ spying seemed pointless. It was impossible to know when the sisters would be in their room.
Hailey thought it odd that the nereids hadn’t done anything yet, especially when they’d said whatever they were up to would take a few full moons—which Hailey was pretty sure meant months in nymph speak. She liked to think Amathia had worked out what they were up to and foiled their plans before they could do anything. But she wasn’t willing to take that chance and stop spying on them.
She glanced at the clock, which showed her it was 7am. Another ruined sleep-in, she thought with a sigh, rolling out of bed. Well, she might as well use this extra time to visit the stable, she decided, pulling on some clothes before sneaking into the hallway.
She hadn’t been down there since Madam Grayson had made her and her friends clean it out all those months ago. At first she’d avoided going back because she was afraid of getting caught and into more trouble, but then it had been because she was too busy spying and trying to keep up with her school work to think about her hiding spot.
She was making time for it now though. It was the one place where she could forget about everything else going on in her life.
At least that’s what she’d thought until she stepped inside and found the stable empty.
Hailey’s first thought was that Kendra had run off again. No, she wouldn’t be that stupid. And, if she was, she would have taken one horse not eight.
The more plausible theory was that the nereids had taken them for a ride, which meant they could be back at any second, and Hailey figured it could be a great opportunity to learn something about what they’ve been up to. But that would only work if she was invisible, and she’d left the wand in her dorm.
She turned to run back upstairs to get the wand, but paused when she heard a whinny. ‘Rain?’ she called, heading to the end stall on the right and peering over the gate. Rain stared up at her with gold doe eyes. ‘Look how big you are,’ Hailey said, astounded. When they’d brought Rain back, she’d been small enough to fit in her arms, and now she was the size of a pony.
Hailey unlatched the gate and slipped into the stall, clicking the gate closed behind her. She could spare a minute before getting the wand—the nereids probably wouldn’t be back for a little while, at least that’s what she was hoping.
She plopped down on the ground, the dried seaweed on the floor scratching against the back of her legs. ‘I’m sorry I haven’t visited you,’ she told Rain, stroking her gold mane. ‘I’ve been a little busy.’
Rain rubbed her head against Hailey’s shoulder, as if telling her she was forgiven. Hailey smiled and continued stroking her while she told Rain about everything that had happened over the past months.
By the time Hailey finished telling Rain about why she couldn’t sleep, a lot more than a minute had passed. She moved to stand up, freezing when she heard hoof falls approaching.
The nereids!
Hailey dropped back down and listened with a pounding heart as the horses trotted into the stable. Her body screamed at her to flee, but the nereids would catch her if she tried, and she shuddered to think what they’d do to her.
The only thing she could do was sit soundlessly in Rain’s stall until they left.
‘At least Poseidon will be pleased we have taken care of his hippocampi,’ one of the nereids remarked as gates clicked open.
Hooves clopped against the ground.
‘Let’s hope we have expelled these humans for him as well when he returns,’ another said with distaste.
The gates clicked again.
‘Do not fear the plan…’ Nemertes trailed off.
‘What is it?’
‘There is someone here.’
Hailey stiffened. Her hand shot to her jeans pocket, where she expected to find the wand. Medusa! I should have gone back for the wand before visiting Rain, she cursed her stupidity.
Hailey held her breath and prayed to the Tyches that the nereids would assume they were imagining things and leave—or that she’d gain the power to turn invisible.
Rain neighed and the tiny hope Hailey had had of the nereids not peering into her stall vanished with it. Rain might as well have said, ‘The person you’re looking for is in here.’
Hailey glared at her. Traitor. The pegacorn nodded her head, as if trying to tell Hailey something, or maybe she was laughing, thinking this was all a fun game of hide and seek.
‘It’s merely that pegasus-unicorn creature,’ one of the nereids said.
Silence followed.
Hailey didn’t dare move a single muscle or take a breath. She crouched, frozen, waiting for the nereids’ heads to pop over the gate. What would she do if that happened? Run? Scream? Wound anyone even hear her down here?
‘So it is,’ Nemertes finally said. ‘Let’s return to our chamber.’
Hailey’s breath came out in a gush as the stable’s doors closed.
Rain nudged Hailey’s shoulder, and she looked at the pegacorn with as much apology and gratitude as she could muster. ‘I’m sorry I ever doubted you,’ she said, scratching Rain under the chin.
Hailey wanted to run and tell her friends what had happened. But for all she knew, Nemertes and the other nereids were waiting outside to see if anyone had been hiding in the stable after all. Safer to wait ten minutes, she thought.
Besides, she needed to work out what to tell Demi, Jayden, Alec, and Aaron. Nemertes had mentioned Poseidon coming back again. Maybe it was time to tell her friends about that part of the nereids’ plans. She still believed the gods were dead, and that the nereids just hadn’t realised it yet.
But what if she was wrong? What if there was a way to resurrect them? That was something Hailey couldn’t risk. No way would she let the prophecy come true. Her friends needed to know the truth so they could make sure whatever the nereids were planning wouldn’t happen.
Fifteen minutes later, Hailey was sitting on Jayden’s dorm floor with Demi, Jayden, Alec, and Aaron.
‘So what’s this about?’ Demi yawned, leaning her head against Jayden’s desk. Hailey had had to d
rag her out of bed.
‘The nereids,’ Hailey said. ‘I got trapped in the stable with them.’
Aaron’s eyes widened. ‘Are you okay? Did they hurt you?’
‘They didn’t know I was there. I was in Rain’s stall and they came back from riding the horses. They didn’t say much, but they did mention a plan and getting rid of the students again.’ Hailey paused, wondering if telling her friends about the gods potentially being alive was a good idea, since they’d probably be angry that she’d kept that part of the story a secret. They need to know, just in case it’s true. ‘And there’s something else. They mentioned Poseidon coming back… And it wasn’t the first time they’ve said it either.’
Hailey took a breath. She needed to tell them everything and hope they didn’t hate her for keeping the truth from them. ‘At the beginning of the year, I got sucked into one of Nemertes’s memories. Poseidon was there and he was dying. He told Nemertes that Zeus was going to save the Olympians, but Nemertes needed to find a way to get to Olympus to bring them back when humans were weak enough for them to enslave again.’
No one said anything. They just stared. And stared. And stared.
Jayden cleared his throat. ‘Um, why didn’t you tell us this before?’
‘Because I think the gods are dead. I mean, you have Poseidon’s powers. Demi has Demeter’s, and I have Zeus’s. How would we have Olympian powers if they were still alive? I assumed that Poseidon and the other Olympians died before the plan could work. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to worry you about something I didn’t believe would happen.’
‘Hailey, that wasn’t for you to decide,’ Aaron said, his eyes full of reproach. ‘You should have told us the truth from the start. The nereids being tasked with bringing the gods back is pretty essential information to know.’
Poseidon's Academy Box Set Page 20
