Hailey scooted back into the hallway before Venus and the twins could slam into her—something they loved to do every chance they got. She caught a brief glimpse of the dolled-up pictures of Venus lining the walls before Venus slammed the door shut. ‘Win any beauty pageants over the holidays?’ Hailey asked with a snicker.
Venus raised her head, her chest puffing out. ‘I always win.’
Hailey rolled her eyes and trailed behind the evil trio, following them into the common room and down the stairs. ‘So why were you having a secret meeting with Clarissa? Are you teaming up with the other bullies?’
‘I guess you’ll have to wait and see.’
She didn’t like that answer one bit. But if the bullies did team up, Hailey doubted they’d manage to torment too many students before the teachers caught them. Then they’d get expelled with any luck. Maybe the bullies teaming up would be a good thing.
‘Where have you three been?’ Madam Grayson demanded when Hailey stepped into her classroom with the evil trio. Demi, Alec, and Aaron were already gone.
‘Sorry, lost track of time,’ Venus replied simply.
‘Yes, we’re sorry,’ Nerissa said.
‘Very,’ Cleo agreed.
Madam Grayson tapped her fingers on the desk, her face less than impressed. ‘The three of you can have an extra day’s detention for your tardiness.’
‘Madam Grayson, that’s not—’
Madam Grayson raised a silencing hand. ‘Would you prefer an extra week?’
Venus pressed her lips together.
Hailey held back a smirk. At least some good was coming out of these detentions.
‘For your detentions, you will be putting the library back in order.’
Hailey frowned. ‘Library?’ They’d never had a library before. All the books they needed for school research were in the common rooms. ‘I didn’t know there was a library.’
Madam Grayson stood up, smoothing out her Grecian dress. ‘Because it’s been closed for the past seven years. The nereids were very protective of it and kept accosting students whenever they were in the library, so Amathia had to close it down. Now that they’re gone, she wants it reopened. That’s where you come in. Follow me.’
The library was nestled away through the entryway’s right archway, in a hallway not too far from the healing wing. To say it was big was an understatement. The long room reminded Hailey of the main hall, but was at least four times as big. Bookcases lined the walls, stretching a hundred feet into the air, almost touching the ceiling. Thousands of tomes crowded their shelves, making the room smell of ink and leather.
Two rows of polished-coral tables stretched down the length of the library, each one littered with abandoned books, giving the impression that studying students had had to suddenly flee. They probably had, based on what Madam Grayson said about the nereids—Nemertes probably ran in here throwing sea-urchin bombs.
‘Madam Grayson, this place will take forever to organise,’ Demi whined. She was sitting at the first table on the left, with five piles of books in front of her. Alec and Aaron sat at the table behind her, organising their own book piles.
‘You better hope not, or your detentions will never end,’ Madam Grayson replied. Demi’s eyes widened, and she returned to sorting through the stack of books in front of her. ‘Amathia wants the books organised into school subjects,’ she instructed Hailey, Venus, and the twins. ‘I’ll be back in an hour to check on your progress.’
Hailey gazed around at their impossible task. Demi was right about this place taking forever to clean. There had to be over five thousand books, and they’d need to organise every single one. They weren’t alone though—thirteen other students were spread around the tables.
‘This is ridiculous,’ Venus muttered behind her.
Hailey ignored her and dropped into the seat beside Demi. ‘So, what’s the plan?’
‘Basically find a pile of books, sort them into what subject you think they relate to, and then find the piles over there.’ She threw her thumb behind her, towards the back wall, where books had been divided into twelve piles that were slowly getting higher as students added to them.
‘Okay.’ Hailey picked up a tome, the rich smell of leather wafting around her as she ran a hand over the ancient book.
She was surprised at what good shape it was in, considering it was probably a few centuries old and had been abandoned down here. ‘You’d think they’d be dusty,’ Hailey remarked, scanning the book’s title: The Art of Victory: How to Win the Battle and the War.
Demi shrugged. ‘Guess the palace’s self-cleaning magic works on books too. Thank the Tyches, otherwise I bet Madam Grayson would be making us dust them,’ Demi said as Hailey placed the tome in the Powers pile Demi had created on the table, figuring it was something Areses or Nikes would read.
Hailey picked up another book. This one was already open. On the page was a picture of a birthmark shaped like a swirl; it reminded Hailey of the symbol for air. Beneath it was a drawing of a normal-looking woman, and beside it was another picture of her with black wings sprouting from her back and talons for feet. Harpies are winged creatures who possess the ability to look like ordinary humans, when they choose to, Hailey read. The only way to determine if someone is a harpy is by the above swirl-shaped birthmark on their shoulder—all harpies are born with it.
‘Look, it’s Venus.’ Hailey smirked, showing Demi the picture.
Demi chuckled and grabbed the book. She held it towards Venus and the twins, who were sulking by the arched doors a few feet away. ‘Do you have this birthmark?’
Venus glared. ‘Oh, ha ha.’
Demi chucked the book at her. The tome hit the wall beside Venus and tumbled to the floor. ‘Start helping.’
‘Why? I don’t deserve to be here. What happened is all your fault.’
‘Seriously?’ Anger flared in Demi’s voice.
‘Be careful what you say, Venus,’ Aaron warned from the table behind Demi. ‘I didn’t get involved in the last fight, but if you start another one, I make no promises.’
‘Stop it,’ Alec begged. ‘We don’t want to get into even more trouble. I’m already missing out on my study time.’
‘Trouble for what?’ a gangly boy with a mischievous grin asked, strolling into the room with his twin and nine other students from the years above Hailey’s.
‘Riley? Charlie?’ Hailey recognised the twins instantly; although technically Charlie was Riley’s duplicate rather than his twin. ‘What are you two doing here?’
Riley shrugged. ‘We’re always in detention for something or other.’
‘It’s always his fault,’ Charlie added with a grin.
Riley rolled his eyes and stared around the room while the other students he’d come in with dragged their feet towards the empty tables. ‘Jeez, what a mess.’
‘We need to organise the books,’ Alec instructed from behind Hailey.
‘In a minute.’ Charlie waved a dismissive hand. ‘I want to look around first.’ He gave a sideways glance to Venus and the twins, who hadn’t moved yet, and then veered to the other side of the doors. A sea-serpent head with emerald eyes was engraved on the wall, its mouth open in a snarl. Hailey hadn’t realised before, but a sea-serpent head was engraved between each bookcase.
‘Ooh, scary.’ Charlie chuckled and flicked the sea-serpent with his hand.
A translucent bubble the size of an exercise ball squeezed from the serpent’s snarling mouth, and floated beside Charlie.
Riley’s eyes glistened with curiosity. ‘Ooh, what’s that?’
‘Don’t touch it, it—’
Riley poked the bubble before Alec could finish his sentence. Hailey expected it to pop like a normal bubble, but nothing happened. It merely floated beside Charlie, as if waiting for a breeze to push it into the air.
‘What is that?’ Demi asked, her and Hailey wandering away from their work along with everyone else—even Alec abandoned his post to stare at the unmoving bubble.
‘I wonder,’ Alec mused, rubbing his chin.
‘Wonder what?’ one of the older students prompted.
Alec looked back at the bookcases. ‘Well, there’s no ladders to reach the top shelves. But as far as I know, Poseidon couldn’t fly, so he’d need some way to get up there.’ He shifted his attention back to the bubble. ‘Maybe this is spelled to carry a person up to the top shelves.’
‘Cool.’ Demi clapped her hands together. ‘Let’s try it.’
‘No, it might—’
Riley jumped on the bubble before Demi could. It floated him into the air like he weighed nothing. ‘Woo!’ he hollered.
Charlie crossed his arms. ‘That was my bubble.’
Hailey gaped. ‘Incredible.’ Poseidon’s Academy never ceased to amaze her.
‘How do I steer this thing?’ Riley called down, hovering a few feet beneath the ceiling. ‘I want to go over there.’ He flicked his hand at the bookcases as he leaned forward a little. The bubble floated towards the books, as if a breeze had blown it forward. ‘Cool.’ He leaned to the left, the bubble veering in that direction.
‘Wait for me!’ Charlie waved his hand at the sea-serpent. Nothing happened. He bent down to look at its gaping mouth. ‘Hey, where’s my bubble?’
‘Maybe it’s one bubble per sea-serpent,’ Demi suggested, and lunged to the next one. A few of the other students did the same, flicking their hands at the serpents. Two out of the five serpents burped out a bubble, and those students took to the air.
‘Mine’s not working.’ Demi pouted.
‘I think you have to do more than flick it.’ Alec leaned down, staring at the sea-serpent. ‘I’m guessing Charlie got lucky and hit a button.’ He touched one of the sea-serpent’s emerald eyes; it pushed in, and a bubble floated from the monster’s mouth.
‘Press its eyes,’ Charlie yelled out, and leapt onto the bubble, zooming into the air after Riley, who had floated to the other end of the library.
‘Come on, guys,’ Demi prompted, already on a bubble.
‘Coming.’ Hailey hit a sea-serpent’s eye. A bubble drifted to her side, swirls of rainbow shimmering in the translucent material. Gingerly, she sat down, bracing herself for the bubble to pop. But instead it floated her into the air like a giant rising balloon. Please, don’t pop, was all she could think as she gently placed her hands on either side of the bubble to keep her balance. There wasn’t exactly a sky in here for her to create a gust of wind to catch her if she fell. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.
Demi steered her bubble beside Hailey’s. ‘Isn’t this awesome?’
‘It’s a little scary,’ Hailey admitted, glancing down to Aaron, who mounted a bubble of his own. If she fell off, it’d be at least three storeys.
‘This is incredible.’ Aaron grinned, floating up to them.
‘Is Alec coming?’ Demi looked at Alec, who stood with his arms crossed and a disapproving look on his face, like he wanted to drag them all down and force them to get back to sorting books.
‘Nah, he said someone’s gotta be the responsible one.’
Demi rolled her eyes. ‘Whatever. Let’s join the others.’
Hailey’s hands pressed a little firmer into the bubble as she leaned forward, drifting towards Riley and Charlie, who were zooming around with the other students.
Riley zipped over to them and touched Demi on the shoulder. ‘Tag, you’re it,’ he said before shooting off again.
‘You’re dead,’ Demi called, and steered her bubble into the chaos, along with Aaron.
Hailey was about to follow them when she caught a glimpse of Venus. She was still standing by the doors with the twins. Venus shifted towards the sea-serpent closest to her and hit one of its eyes.
What looked like a sea-urchin dropped from its mouth. Hailey frowned and then understanding hit her. ‘WAT—’
The sea-urchin exploded. Spikes shooting out in every direction.
7
Boom
Something stung Hailey’s leg. Pop. She dropped through the air, barely registering the echoing pops around the library, or the other students’ laughter turned to screaming. She was too focused on the approaching ground. Please, Tyches, let me only break an arm. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the pain.
Instead of pain, she felt her body freeze in place, like time had stopped. She peeked one eye open and gasped. The floor was a few feet beneath her, an invisible force holding her in place. Smack. She hit the ground.
Alec ran over. ‘Are you okay?’
Hailey stumbled up, her head woozy. She managed to nod, trying to comprehend what had just happened. One second they’d been having fun, and the next a sea-urchin bomb was exploding… and Venus and the twins had been standing right next to it.
Hailey whipped around. The evil trio lay unconscious by the doors, spikes jutting from their skin like porcupine needles.
‘Medusa!’ Demi gasped as she, Aaron, and Hailey sprinted over to them. ‘We better pull out the spikes.’
‘No!’ Hailey, Alec, and Aaron said as Demi reached her hand down.
‘They’re poisonous,’ Hailey explained, remembering to last year when the nereids had used a sea-urchin bomb on Madam Grayson and Aaron.
‘I’ll get Madam Mendem.’ Aaron flew through the doors.
‘Riley! Riley, wake up!’
Hailey whirled around. A few tables away, Charlie was bent over Riley’s unconscious body. Other unmoving students lay around them, some on the floor, some on tables, with their friends shaking them and calling their names to try and wake them.
‘Don’t touch the spikes!’ Hailey yelled out. ‘They’re poisonous.’ She moved to run towards Charlie and stop him from yanking the spike out of Riley’s arm, but her left leg turned to jelly, and she toppled forward.
‘Hailey!’ Demi cried, dropping to her side. ‘What happened?’
She tried to lift her head, but it was spinning; the library swirled around her like she was dematerialising. She blinked to clear her vision, but the world kept turning.
‘Uh oh,’ she heard Alec say. ‘She has a cut on her leg.’
Hailey remembered the sting she’d felt before her bubble popped. One of the spikes must have grazed her. ‘I’m ’kay,’ she said, her words slurring together. She tried to lift her head again, but it was as heavy as a crystal ball. She glimpsed Demi’s terrified face right before darkness claimed her.
‘Hailey. Hailey.’
Hailey opened her eyes. Demi, Alec, and Aaron were peering down at her, their anxious faces softening with relief. ‘What happened?’ she asked, slowly sitting up. ‘Madam Mendem?’ The school nurse was sitting by Hailey’s leg, looking paler than Hailey had ever seen her before.
‘I’m fine, dearie,’ Madam Mendem mumbled, sounding as if she were half-asleep.
Hailey scratched her head. ‘I don’t understand. What happened?’ The last thing she remembered was seeing Venus and the twins covered in sea-urchin spikes.
‘One of the spikes grazed you,’ Aaron explained.
‘Madam Mendem got rid of the poison, so you’re okay now,’ Demi added.
‘Thankfully everyone is,’ Alec said.
Hailey glanced around the library. The other students were gone. Hailey must have been the last one to get healed, which she figured was fair since the spike had only grazed her, so she wouldn’t have had nearly as much poison in her system as everyone else. Amathia was standing at the far end of the library with Madam Grayson, Madam Norwood, and five older-looking students, talking.
‘Well, I better get back to the healing wing.’ Madam Mendem lurched to her feet, swaying slightly, like she’d had one too many glasses of ambrosia wine.
‘Will you be okay?’ Aaron asked. ‘I can help you walk back.’
‘Oh, that’s very sweet of you, dearie. I’ll be fine. Thankfully the poison in the sea-urchin bomb wasn’t very potent. Just need a good nap.’
‘Thank you,’ Hailey said as Madam Mendem pottered away. Thank the
Tyches for Asclepiuses.
‘Hailey, how are you feeling?’
Hailey hadn’t heard Madam Grayson walk over. Amathia, Madam Norwood, and the older students were still talking at the other end of the library. ‘I’m fine.’ She stood up. ‘Are Venus and the twins okay?’ She might hate them, but that didn’t mean she wanted them dead.
‘Resting back in their dorms,’ Madam Grayson said. ‘Detention is, of course, over for today.’
‘What happened?’ Aaron demanded. ‘Why did a sea-urchin bomb fall out of that serpent’s mouth?’
Demi crossed her arms. ‘Yeah, why not one of those cool floating bubbles?’
‘It was the nereids.’
Hailey’s heart skipped a beat. ‘The nereids?! They came back?’ No, they can’t be back. Amathia promised they’d stay away.
‘No,’ Madam Grayson said quickly. ‘They booby trapped the library. I told you how they hated students coming in here. It looks as if they decided to leave behind a few weapons in case the library was ever reopened.’
Aaron cocked an eyebrow. ‘A few weapons? It was only one bomb.’
‘Amathia thinks they’ll be more,’ Madam Grayson explained. ‘We have to search the entire library to make sure everything is safe.’
‘So does that mean we don’t have to organise it? We get out of all of our detentions?’ Demi asked.
Madam Grayson shot her a censorious look. ‘No. Amathia and Madam Norwood are discussing how to use a Hecate spell to locate any more booby traps. The library will be cleared by tomorrow afternoon, so you’ll be right back here for detention.’
‘Oh.’ Demi’s shoulders slumped.
‘Can I help?’ Aaron’s posture straightened, and his arms tucked behind his back, making him look like a soldier waiting for orders. ‘I have training in bomb retrieval. I’d be happy to dispose of the sea-urchin bombs or any other booby traps the Hecates find.’
‘Thank you but that won’t be necessary, Aaron.’
His shoulders slumped a little.
‘How exactly will the spell work?’ Alec asked.
‘I don’t know,’ Madam Grayson said. ‘You’d need to ask a Hecate.’
Poseidon's Academy Box Set Page 69
