Poseidon's Academy Box Set

by Sarah A Vogler

  ‘Where are all soldiers?’ Aaron asked. ‘The ones in the entryway were missing.’

  Amathia’s features sagged. ‘You don’t know how dire things are, do you?’

  ‘Dire?’ Alec shifted nervously.

  ‘The illness has infected almost half the school. There are only a handful of soldiers left, who are spread throughout the floors to maintain quarantine.’

  ‘Half the school!’ Hailey gasped. It had only been a week. In another week would they all be sick?

  ‘My throat hurts.’ Alec’s voice came out as a squeak.

  Jayden ignored him. ‘Where are they all? The healing wing doesn’t have that many beds.’

  ‘The healing wing is now the entire fourth floor.’

  ‘So Demi’s back in our dorm?’

  ‘You cannot visit her,’ Amathia warned, sensing what Hailey was thinking. ‘It is too dangerous. As is being out of quarantine. Please return now and tell no one what I have told you.’

  ‘Okay,’ Jayden agreed.

  Hailey didn’t move. She didn’t think she could. It was all too much. The nereids were responsible, and now half the school was infected and there was no cure.

  ‘Come on, Hails.’ Jayden pulled her up by her arm.

  Hailey numbly followed her friends into the hallway, none of them speaking until they were back in the entryway.

  ‘Where to now?’ Aaron glanced up the stairs.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Alec frowned. ‘Back to quarantine. It’s not safe anywhere else, you heard Amathia. The whole school is practically infected.’

  ‘I want to see Demi.’ Hailey didn’t care about what Amathia had said. She needed to see her best friend, especially since she might never get another chance.

  ‘Hailey, that’s Plague Central.’ Alec gaped, looking at Hailey as if she’d just said she was heading for a swim with sea-serpents.

  ‘I don’t care. I’ve already been exposed to it over and over again. If I get it, I get it.’

  ‘Well, well, what do we have here?’

  Hailey’s fists clenched at her sides when Venus slithered from the main hall. ‘Aren’t you four meant to be in quarantine?’

  ‘Where are your cronies?’ Hailey asked.

  ‘The fourth floor,’ Venus said, her voice indifferent.

  ‘You should be in quarantine then too,’ Alec pointed out.

  Venus flicked a blonde curl behind her back. ‘I don’t do quarantine. And I can’t let you four wander around spreading the plague.’ She opened her mouth. ‘GUA—’ Venus only got half a shout out before Hailey grabbed the dust from her pocket and chucked it in Venus’s face. ‘Popsicles,’ she said before her eyes rolled back and she hit the ground, no one bothering to catch her.

  ‘I hope your head feels like it cracked open when you wake up.’ Hailey marched to the staircase.

  She was vaguely aware of Jayden saying something about how they couldn’t just leave Venus lying there, but she ignored him.

  Hailey made it onto the off-shoot staircase that led to their common room. A soldier wearing a black face mask stood at the top of the stairs, guarding against anyone trying to enter the fourth floor. She raised her hand. ‘Stop. This level is strictly off limits.’

  ‘Even to the sick?’ Hailey coughed into her hand.

  ‘Oh.’ The soldier took a step back. ‘I was told only one of you was coming from the third floor, not four.’

  ‘There is only one,’ Jayden said quickly. ‘We just wanted to make sure she got here all right.’

  ‘You three will have to go to quarantine now, since you’ve been in close contact with her,’ the soldier informed them, her voice slightly muffled by the face mask.

  ‘Okay,’ Aaron said. ‘We’ll go.’

  ‘Tell Demi we miss her,’ Jayden said.

  ‘I will.’ Hailey walked past the soldier into what used to be her common room but was now closer to a supply cupboard. Sofas and armchairs were piled high with clean sheets and blankets. Potion bottles covered the desks on the study side, the gleaming liquid inside them sparkling in the light.

  ‘If you wait here, someone will come and show you to a room,’ the soldier said.

  ‘No need,’ Hailey told her. ‘I live on this floor. I’ll check into my dorm.’

  She steered towards the girls’ dormitories and disappeared inside before the real sick student showed up and blew her cover. A few older-looking students patrolled the hallway, carrying potions and face washers as they disappeared into various rooms. If she had to guess, she’d say they were seniors who had some type of healing gift.

  A few spared her a bewildered glance. She coughed and they carried on. She wandered down to her dorm and hesitated, afraid of what she’d find when she opened the door. Demi is strong. She’ll be okay.

  ‘Hailey?’

  Hailey whirled to her right. Kora stood a few feet away, balancing tissue boxes in her hands. ‘Kora, it’s so good to see you.’

  The tissue boxes scattered on the floor as Kora pulled Hailey into a hug. ‘I’m so sorry you have Poseidon’s Plague.’

  ‘I don’t.’

  Kora stared at her, frowning. ‘What?’

  ‘I’m not sick. I snuck out of quarantine. I needed answers, and to see Demi.’

  Kora yanked Hailey into another hug. ‘Thank the Tyches. I don’t think I can handle seeing any more of my friends dying.’

  ‘Who else is sick?’

  Kora sniffed, tears glistening in her eyes. ‘Tanzy, Lexa, Brennan, and Elora. It feels like every day someone else I care about is admitted here. And I can’t do anything to help—except give them tissues and water.’

  Each name felt like a blow to her stomach. So many of her friends were sick. How many more will end up here. Jayden? Aaron? Alec? Hope? Tahlia? Me? All because of those evil nereids. She hoped they would suffer. She hoped they’d be in so much pain they blurted out where Poseidon’s Plague had come from and how to cure it. And she hoped Amathia dumped them into the sea, forbidding them from ever returning to the palace.

  Kora sniffed again and wiped at her eyes. ‘I need to get back to work. You should really go. You don’t want to get sick too.’ She bent down to collect her scattered tissue boxes saying, ‘Say hi to Tahlia for me,’ before disappearing into a dorm.

  Hailey didn’t care what Kora had said about leaving. She came here to see Demi, and that’s exactly what she planned to do. She turned back to her dorm, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.

  26

  Plague Central

  Hailey wrinkled her nose against the stale musty air that engulfed her. Demi lay cocooned in her duvet, surrounded by discarded tissues stained red. ‘Demi.’ Hailey dashed to her friend’s side. ‘Demi.’ She peeled away the duvet covering her face and leapt back with a gasp.

  ‘Do I look that bad?’ Demi croaked.

  ‘Your eyes.’ Hailey swallowed around the lump expanding in her throat and fought back tears as she stared at the stream of blood oozing from Demi’s eyes.

  ‘Yeah, eye blood is so not attractive.’ Her voice was weak, like every word was a struggle. ‘Jayden’s not with you, is he?’ She looked past Hailey.

  ‘No,’ Hailey said, stepping back to Demi’s side.

  ‘Good. I don’t want him seeing me like this.’

  ‘When did this happen?’ Hailey asked, voice cracking. Her friend looked a few breaths away from death.

  ‘The blood? Um, last night. Madam Mendem’s got the Hecates working on something to slow the bleeding.’ Demi’s eyes fluttered closed.

  Hailey’s heart lurched. ‘Demi.’

  Her eyes flicked back open. ‘Sorry, I have a habit of dozing off,’ she said, and smacked her lips together. ‘Thirsty.’

  A jug of water and glass sat on the floating clamshell by Demi’s bed. Hailey topped the glass up and offered it to her friend.

  ‘I can’t,’ Demi mumbled. ‘Arms don’t work so well anymore.’

  Hailey swallowed her tears and willed her hands not t
o shake as she lifted the cup to Demi’s cracked lips and let the water trickle into her mouth.

  ‘Thanks,’ she said after a few sips. ‘So what’s new?’

  Hailey returned the cup to the clamshell. ‘We found out the nereids created Poseidon’s Plague.’

  ‘I hate those nereids.’ Demi entered into a coughing fit, blood streaming down her face from her eyes and dripping onto her white sea-silk sheets.

  Stay strong. Do not let Demi see how scared you are, Hailey told herself, plucking a tissue from the box on the clamshell and wiping the blood off Demi’s face. ‘I just wanted you to know Amathia will make her sisters talk. They’ll find a cure. And when you’re feeling better, I’ll help you bash up the nereids.’

  Demi attempted a smile, but her cracked lips managed something more like a grimace. ‘That’d be nice.’

  ‘Hailey?’

  Hailey whirled around. Madam Mendem stood in the doorframe, holding a vial of purple liquid that shimmered with silver specks. She placed her free hand on her hip. ‘Hailey, you shouldn’t be here.’

  ‘I’ve been hearing a lot of that today.’

  Madam Mendem tsked in disapproval and moved towards Demi. ‘Here, dearie, drink this. It’ll help with the bleeding.’ She pressed the vial to Demi’s lips.

  ‘Yuck, that tastes disgusting.’ Demi dragged the back of her hand over her mouth, the sleeve of her pyjama top coming away with purple stains.

  ‘Sorry, dearie, the Hecates have given up on making their potions taste nice.’

  ‘I guess I can’t complain.’ Demi yawned. ‘I think I’ll take a nap. Night, night, Hails.’

  ‘It’s morning,’ Hailey said, but Demi’s eyes were already closed.

  Madam Mendem’s face softened with sympathy. ‘It’ll be okay, Hailey.’

  ‘I’m sick of everyone saying that when things are clearly getting worse. My friend is lying here dying. Blood is pouring from her eyes. Blood! I’m not a nurse or whatever, but even I know that’s a bad thing. Now I want the truth!’ Hailey was hyperventilating by the time she finished. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, willing herself to calm down, because none of this was Madam Mendem’s fault. She was helping, and Hailey had just yelled at her. ‘I’m sorry,’ Hailey said, opening her eyes.

  ‘It’s okay, dearie. I know it’s been hard for you. But the truth isn’t good.’

  ‘I want to know what’s happening.’

  Madam Mendem hesitated. ‘At this stage, Poseidon’s Plague is terminal.’

  The lump in Hailey’s throat pulsed, and tears slipped from her eyes as her chest tightened with crushing pain, like a serpent was trying to squeeze the life out of her.

  ‘But we’ve managed to slow it down. Hopefully we’ll find a cure soon. Otherwise, these potions won’t stop the inevitable, only make the end more comfortable.’

  ‘How long?’ Hailey’s voice was thick. ‘How long before Demi dies?’

  Madam Mendem glanced at her sleeping form, Demi’s breaths shallow. ‘It’s hard to say. Judging by the advancement and severity of her symptoms, I’d guess a week.’

  The floor fell out from under Hailey, and she slipped into darkness.

  ‘Hailey. Hailey.’ A voice broke through the darkness, but Hailey couldn’t hold on to it. The darkness was too heavy and it wouldn’t let her go.

  A warm tingle caressed her head. It faded away and someone called her name again. This time she managed to open her eyes. Madam Mendem sat beside her. ‘Are you all right, dearie? I healed your head, so it shouldn’t hurt.’

  Hailey slowly sat up and touched the back of her head—there wasn’t so much as a bump. ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘Good. Up we go,’ Madam Mendem said, climbing to her own legs before reaching down to help Hailey up.

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘Shock,’ Madam Mendem said simply. ‘The news was too much for your brain.’

  News? And then Hailey remembered. Demi only had a week to live. She glanced at her best friend, who had slept through the whole commotion. The nereids did this to her. They’d condemned Demi and half the school to a slow painful death. And they could also stop it.

  Fury pumped through Hailey’s veins, and she stormed from the dorm. She’d make the nereids talk, no matter what it took.

  ‘Hailey,’ Madam Mendem called after her, but Hailey didn’t stop.

  She marched out of the girls’ dormitories and towards the stairs, where the soldier grabbed her arm. Hailey whirled on her. ‘Let me go.’

  ‘You can’t leave. You’re infected.’

  Hailey tried to tear her arm away, but the soldier tightened her grasp. ‘I was faking it so I could see my friend.’

  ‘That was stupid. You’re heading to quarantine.’ The soldier’s grip remained firm on Hailey’s arm as she lifted her watch. ‘Got another one coming to quarantine.’

  ‘Copy that,’ a voice came back. ‘The other three you reported haven’t arrived yet.’

  ‘They’re probably waiting for this one. Give them five minutes before conducting a search.’

  ‘Copy that.’

  The soldier released Hailey and pointed at her like she was a misbehaving child. ‘Now make sure you go to quarantine with your friends. Otherwise, I’ll drag you there.’

  ‘Whatever.’ Hailey stomped down the stairs with no intention of returning to the second floor.

  She was going back to the nereids’ room. She wasn’t sure what she’d do when she got there. Strangle Nemertes? Punch her? Whatever it took for her to give up the cure.

  ‘How’d it go?’ Jayden asked when Hailey reached the stairs to the second floor, where the boys waited.

  ‘Badly. She’s got a week to live, so I’m heading off to beat the cure out of the nereids.’ She moved to go down the stairs, but Aaron’s hand snaked around her wrist. ‘Let me go.’

  ‘No, you’re not thinking straight. For one thing, my dad is watching the nereids and he won’t let you anywhere near them. And for another, the nereids are pure evil and wouldn’t hesitate to kill you. I don’t think they’ll stand by and let you beat up Nemertes.’

  ‘I have to do something,’ Hailey snapped back. ‘I don’t care if I get hurt. I need to save Demi.’

  ‘Amathia will save Demi,’ Jayden said. ‘Her plan is the best thing right now.’

  ‘Demi has a week to live. What if the nereids don’t give up the information before then?’

  ‘How about this,’ Aaron said, still gripping Hailey’s wrist, ‘we give Amathia’s plan four days to work, and if the nereids haven’t said anything by then, we pay them a visit and make sure they talk?’

  Hailey wanted to say no. She wanted to march down those steps and attack the nereids right now. But she’d only get one chance to interrogate Nemertes, and she didn’t want to mess that up by letting her anger control her. ‘Fine.’ She gave in. ‘We’ll do it your way. Four days.’

  ‘Four days,’ Aaron agreed, releasing her wrist.

  ‘But how will we make them talk?’ Alec asked.

  ‘Hopefully Amathia’s plan will work and we won’t have to get involved,’ Jayden said. ‘Come on, back to quarantine.’

  ‘What do you think they’ll do to us?’ Alec rubbed the backs of his hands as they started down the stairs. ‘We did set a fire and break out.’

  ‘Who cares.’ Hailey pushed past him, stepping onto the second floor. ‘It was worth it.’

  They marched all the way down to the gym, where Slater stood on guard in front of the closed doors. His mouth shifted into a smile when he spotted them. ‘Well, well, look who we have here.’

  ‘Oh no.’ Alec froze.

  ‘Let us in,’ Hailey growled.

  ‘I don’t think so. You’re all alone out here. There’s no one to protect you or stop me from getting answers out of you.’

  Aaron took a step towards Slater. ‘You’re not hurting anyone this time.’ Slater threw his arm out, tossing Aaron aside like he weighed nothing. ‘Kick him!’ Aaron shouted to Alec a
s he hit the pearl floor.

  ‘Me first.’ Hailey forced all of her anger into her leg and rammed her foot into Slater’s knee, ignoring the pain that shot up her ankle.

  ‘AHHH!’ Slater howled, collapsing to the ground.

  ‘You should have left us alone.’ Hailey leapt over him and threw open the gym doors, coming face to face with Madam Grayson.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Madam Grayson demanded, the students in the gym behind her staring towards the commotion. ‘What’s all that shouting? And what are you doing out here? When did you leave?’

  ‘Slater had a little accident,’ Aaron said, standing up. ‘As for when we left, we might have snuck out during the fire.’

  Madam Grayson’s eyes clouded with disapproval. ‘Come inside.’

  ‘Ah,’ Alec cried. Slater had him by the ankle.

  ‘Tell me where the necklaces are or I’ll break your leg,’ he snarled.

  ‘Unhand him!’ Madam Grayson ordered. ‘Now!’

  ‘Not until they tell me where the necklaces are.’ Alec whimpered as Slater clenched tighter, digging his nails into Alec’s skin.

  Hailey was about to stomp on his hand when Slater suddenly coughed.

  ‘Oh no, don’t infect me!’ Alec scrambled away as Slater pressed his hands against his mouth.

  ‘No.’ Slater shook his head. ‘I can’t have it.’ He coughed again.

  ‘You’re infected, Captain Slater,’ Madam Grayson said. ‘Go to the fourth floor before you spread Poseidon’s Plague to everyone else.’ She ushered the five of them inside and closed the doors on Slater, who wore a mask of absolute horror.

  Madam Grayson put her hands on her hips. ‘What did you do?’

  Alec blurted about them using the fire as a distraction to escape so they could see Madam Norwood and find out what was happening. He also mentioned Hailey’s visit to Demi but, to her relief, he didn’t say anything about what Amathia had told them. If Madam Grayson knew about the nereids being involved, she’d probably put Hailey and her friends under lock and key, not trusting them to stay out of it.

  ‘Well, that was all very stupid,’ Madam Grayson said when Alec apologised for the fiftieth time. ‘This disease is highly contagious and you waltzed right into Plague Central.’