Nemertes spat on the ground. ‘Do not mention that traitor’s name. And killing you will harm her, which is exactly what I want.’ She stepped towards them.
Rain neighed and smacked her hoof on the sand in warning.
‘She says don’t come any closer.’ Kendra backed up a step.
Nemertes smirked. ‘I’m not afraid of that thing. Sisters, you know what to do.’
Everything happened quickly from there. Two nereids shot forward with Hermes-like speed and grabbed Kendra. They dragged her behind Nemertes, while the other three formed a blockade in front of Rain.
Rain neighed and leapt into the air, flying over the line of nereids to get to Kendra.
That was all Hailey saw.
Someone slammed into her chest, throwing her to the wet sand. Hailey blinked up at Nemertes. How had she moved so fast?
‘You should have remained at the palace. I’m curious to know what your plan was though. Did you intend to kill me? No, you don’t have the heart for that.’
Hailey swallowed down the fear rising in her throat. She would not die here. She would not let Nemertes win. ‘Where are the students? What are you doing with them?’
Nemertes cackled. ‘The students? You sound like Amathia. I have done nothing. As you can see for yourself, there are no students on this desolate island that my dear sister banished me to. Except for you. But you will not be here for long.’
Hailey kicked her leg out, smashing her foot into Nemertes’s knee. ‘AHHHH!’ the nereid screeched, stumbling back and thumping to the sand.
Hailey leapt up. A circle of nereids had surrounded Kendra and Rain. Rain rose up on her hind legs, kicking her front legs in the air to scare away the nymphs. The nereids only tightened the circle.
‘Leave them alone!’ Hailey shouted, moving to run towards Kendra, but something slammed into her back, knocking her down. She jabbed her elbow back and felt a satisfying crack as it hit flesh, and the heavy weight pinning her down lifted.
Hailey scrambled to her knees, the sand cold and mushy against her skin. She stretched her arm out, her fingers pointed towards the sky, banishing away the pink and gold tones of the sunrise with blackness.
‘Your life is over!’ Nemertes was on her feet in front of Hailey, silver blood trickling from her nose. She lunged.
Thunder rumbled in the sky.
Nemertes knocked her backwards. The sea lapped around Hailey’s head as Nemertes latched her hands around Hailey’s throat. She kept her arm towards the sky, heat pouring from her fingertips towards the black cloud forming just above Nemertes. A few more seconds. That was all she needed, and then a streak of lightning would tear through the nymph.
‘Save your strength. It’s too late for you.’ Nemertes grinned and yanked Hailey into the sea. One second the sky was above her, and the next she was halfway to the bottom of the sea, icy water encasing her.
Nemertes floated in front of her, her dark wavy hair flowing around her in the water. ‘Poseidon will be most pleased I have dispatched of the only Zeus in the world.’ Her voice rang clear into the sea. ‘Farewell, human.’ Nemertes became a blur, shooting back up to the surface like a harpoon.
NO! Hailey wanted to scream. She would not die. Not today. But the surface looked miles away, and her lungs were already burning. You can do this. Swim! Hailey kicked her legs and clawed her way up, fighting to get to the surface before her lungs ran out of air.
The cold drilled into her bones like needles of ice.
You’re not in the middle of a freezing sea. You’re on a tropical beach with the sun beaming down on you. And you’re wearing a snowsuit. A nice warm snowsuit.
Cramps squeezed her legs and arms, and her lungs burned like fire. But the surface was still so far away.
You can make this. Just keep going.
Her lungs surrendered, forcing her to suck in the salty water as her head spun and her vision blurred. Kendra, where are you? was her last thought before everything went black.
20
Amathia’s Secret
‘Please, Hailey, breathe. Please!’
Hailey was vaguely aware of someone speaking. But they sounded so far away. And she was tired. So tired. She didn’t want to open her eyes.
‘Hailey, you need to wake up.’
Something pushed against her chest. No, leave me alone. Lips pressed against hers, and the burning in her lungs eased a little.
‘Hailey, wake up!’
Something slammed into her chest this time, forcing her eyes open as she rolled over to cough up lungfuls of water.
‘Thank the Tyches you’re okay.’ A hand smacked against her back, forcing out the last of the water.
Hailey sucked in air and rolled onto her back, her entire body shaking as cold burrowed into her bones. She expected to find Kendra staring down at her, but this person definitely wasn’t Kendra. Strawberry blonde hair fell to their waist, and flecks of gold gleamed in their blue eyes. Hailey frowned. She had to be hallucinating. ‘Pandora?’
Pandora nodded, and smiled as if she was relieved Hailey remembered her. ‘Yes, it’s me.’
Hailey blinked, expecting her face to change into someone else’s. Pandora was meant to be living in the real world, not in some… where am I? She glanced around the cavern of rock, where part of it had collapsed to allow in sunlight from the outside. She was in a cave. Well, Pandora definitely wasn’t meant to be living in a cave. But she was there, looking down at Hailey with a smile.
Hailey slowly sat up, her wet clothes clinging to her. ‘What-t ar-r-re you d-d-doing he-er-r-r-re?’
Pandora held out a vial with red liquid the colour of blood inside. ‘Drink this. It’s a warming potion.’
Hailey took the vial with a shaking hand and plucked out the cork lid before guzzling it down. The sweet earthy taste of roasted chestnuts swarmed her taste buds, and glorious warmth flowed through her body like a beaming sun, stilling her shivering muscles. ‘Thanks.’ She dropped the empty vial in her lap. ‘So why are you here?’
Pandora chewed her lip. ‘I’m not supposed to tell you that.’
‘Why?’
‘Amathia doesn’t want anyone to know.’
‘Amathia? Know what?’
Pandora hesitated. ‘Well, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore, since you now know that I’m not living with some family.’ She crossed her legs. ‘Okay, so, I did go and live with a family, for a little while. But I couldn’t stop thinking about you and everyone else back at the Academy. I knew Nemertes would be planning something else— banishment would only push her to try harder at killing everyone in the palace. So I wrote to Amathia and asked if I could come back to the Academy. I thought I could protect everyone if the nereids did try something.
‘Amathia said it wasn’t a good idea, and that I needed to learn to live for once. So I continued on with my life, and then, about a month later, she sent me a letter. She told me about how Nemertes had coerced sea-monsters to attack the palace. She said she couldn’t watch her sisters and run Poseidon’s Academy at the same time, and that if I still wanted to help I could. I agreed and met her by the sea. She brought me here, to this cave, and told me her sisters were living on this island. She wanted me to watch them, and tell her if they did anything suspicious. But she didn’t want anyone knowing about where I was, because she couldn’t risk the nereids finding out about me.’
Wow, talk about information overload. Pandora’s been here, spying on the nereids the entire time. Why didn’t Amathia just tell Hailey that? Especially after she’d admitted to how freaked out she was about the nereids being up to something. If Amathia had said Pandora was watching them, Hailey would have felt so much better. She wouldn’t have had to go venting to Rain, and then Rain wouldn’t have gone searching every night for the nereids… Rain! Kendra!
Hailey leapt to her feet, the empty potion vial landing on the sand. ‘I have to save Kendra and Rain.’
‘You can’t go out there.’ Pandora sprang up and grabbed Hailey’s arm
before she could bolt from the cave. ‘We can’t risk them finding out about me hiding in here.’
‘They’ll kill Kendra.’
Pandora shook her head. ‘Kendra and Rain are fine. After Nemertes took you into the sea, the nereids let Kendra go. Rain took her back to the Academy, I assume to get Amathia. Here, I’ll show you.’
Pandora released Hailey and edged towards the cave’s entrance. She braced her back against the wall and peered out. Hailey did the same, on the other side of the wall, and saw the nereids laughing on the shore. Hailey couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she guessed they were probably bragging about killing her. There was no sign of Kendra or Rain.
‘Don’t they ever come in here?’ Hailey asked, moving away from the entrance.
‘No. They prefer to laze in the sun.’
‘And have you learned anything?’ Like if the nereids have been kidnapping students, or maybe that they plan to freeze everyone in the school.
Pandora shook her head. ‘I can’t hear them. My job is more to make sure they don’t go anywhere. So far they haven’t. They spend their time lying on the beach and swimming in the sea.’
Medusa, it sounds like they’re telling the truth about not being responsible for the missing students. So where are the students vanishing to? Who’s taking them? ‘Hang on, how did you save me?’
Pandora shifted nervously and fidgeted with a piece of her hair. ‘Oh, well, I was watching. I saw Nemertes use her powers to take you somewhere in the sea. I assumed it wouldn’t be far—just deep enough that you couldn’t swim up. So I jumped through there.’ She pointed a hand at the opening facing the sea. ‘By the time I found you and dragged you out of the water, you weren’t breathing, so I gave you CPR.’ She dropped her eyes to the ground, her shoulders slumping. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t save you sooner. I didn’t want to ruin my cover unless I had to. But I promise I would have if I’d needed to.’
‘It’s okay. I—’
‘Hailey.’
Hailey whipped around. ‘Amathia?’ She was climbing into the cave from the sea.
‘Hailey, I’m so relieved to see you are unharmed,’ she said, straightening as she pulled herself into the cave. ‘I had hoped you would save her,’ she added to Pandora. ‘I apologise for not divulging the truth of where Pandora was to you. But this is the only way to ensure my sisters do not devise anything. I didn’t want to risk you coming to find Pandora, thinking you could help.’
‘I wouldn’t have done that,’ Hailey said, but deep down she knew she probably would have.
‘It was a chance I couldn’t take. Now, I should get you back to Poseidon’s Academy. Kendra and Rain are both very worried about you.’
‘Thanks again, Pandora.’
‘Say hi to the others for me—if you’re allowed to tell them about me, that is,’ she added with an unsure look at Amathia.
‘I’m sure Hailey will inform them, regardless of what I say.’
Oh, she was definitely telling them.
‘I’ll be back to see my sisters. Nemertes will be suspicious if I do not come seeking retribution for her drowning one of my students.’ Amathia took Hailey’s hand. ‘Jump.’
The second Hailey hit the water, Amathia torpedoed through the sea, dragging Hailey with her. And then her head was breaking through the surface as everything stilled. She blinked up at the palace floating before her, feeling as if she’d just been flung across the sea. Travelling via nereid felt a lot like travelling via rainbow.
‘Please only inform Demi and the others of Pandora,’ Amathia said as Hailey climbed into the grounds, near the stable. ‘No one else can know.’ She vanished back into the water, blurring through it like a sea-monster zooming towards its prey.
Hailey smirked as she imagined Amathia shooting out of the water to land on the beach. With any luck, she’d strangle Nemertes.
‘Hailey!’
Hailey whirled around in time to see Kendra before she flung her arms around her. ‘I’m okay.’
Kendra pulled back, tears in her eyes. ‘I thought you were dead. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t see you in the water, and Rain isn’t exactly a sea-horse. I thought about jumping in, but I didn’t know where Nemertes took you, and I didn’t want to waste time. So I went to get Amathia. I’m sorry I left you.’
‘You did the right thing.’
Kendra wiped at her tears. ‘But I don’t understand what happened. Why did Nemertes try to kill you? Why did the other nereids let me and Rain go?’
Because for two years in a row I have ruined their plans to kill everyone in the palace and resurrect the gods. Hailey shrugged. ‘I guess it’s because of the prophecy,’ she said, not exactly lying. ‘They think the gods will return, and I’m a Zeus, so they don’t want me around in case I suddenly manifest the power to shoot lightning.’
‘But the gods are dead.’
A loud neigh shot Hailey’s eyes to the open stable doors. ‘I better see Rain.’ A trail of water followed Hailey as she walked towards the stable. The warming potion pulsing through her blood kept her from even thinking about the cold damp clothes clinging to her skin.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Rain’s hooves slammed against her stall’s gate, the pegacorn trying to escape.
‘It’s okay. I’m here,’ Hailey said, throwing the gate open and hugging her arms around Rain’s neck.
Rain licked the side of her face, her tongue warm against Hailey’s skin.
‘She said she’s so sorry.’ Kendra lingered behind her. ‘She thought she was helping you by finding the nereids. She didn’t know they would hurt you—hurt us.’
Hailey stared into Rain’s gold eyes. ‘It wasn’t your fault. You did help me. Now I know they’re not up to anything. So thank you.’
Rain whinnied.
Hailey scratched her behind the ears. ‘Please don’t go after them again though.’
Rain snorted and nodded.
***
‘I’m going to kill her!’ Demi declared, leaping up from her bed.
‘Whoa, wait.’ Aaron grabbed Demi’s arm; he was sitting on the bed beside her.
Hailey was on her own bed with Alec, and had just finished telling them about Nemertes dragging her into the sea.
Demi yanked her arm free. ‘So you’re okay with Nemertes almost killing Hailey?’
‘Of course not,’ Aaron said. ‘I want to hunt her down, too, and use her as bait to catch a kraken, but charging into battle without a plan only leads to failure.’
‘And the nereids will kill us if we go near them—like they tried to do last year when they chased us into a maze.’ Alec shivered.
‘Fine.’ Demi dropped back onto the bed and crossed her arms. ‘How’d you get away? I hope you kicked Nemertes in the face.’
Hailey smirked. ‘I wish. No, um… Pandora actually saved me.’
Demi’s jaw dropped. ‘As in Hope?’
‘Yeah. She’s been spying for Amathia. Keeping an eye on the nereids to make sure they don’t get up to anything.’
Alec scratched his head and frowned. ‘Why didn’t Amathia tell us?’
‘She didn’t want to risk us going after Pandora to find out what she knew,’ Hailey explained.
‘And,’ Aaron prompted, ‘what has she learned? Does she know where the missing students are?’
Hailey shook her head. ‘They didn’t have anything to do with that. Pandora said they haven’t left the island.’
‘So they really are missing,’ Aaron said. ‘Where could they be? I wonder if Amathia has blueprints of the palace that I could look at, and if she’d let me organise a search and rescue mission,’ he mused.
‘I can’t believe Pandora has been living on an island this whole time and never told us,’ Demi said, sounding offended. ‘Can we visit?’
‘No,’ Hailey told her. ‘The nereids can’t know she’s there.’
‘But didn’t they work that out when Pandora saved you?’ Aaron asked.
‘They didn’t see her save me. A
s far as the nereids know, I’m dead.’
‘I guess that’s a good thing.’ Demi grinned. ‘Can you imagine what Nemertes’s face will look like when she finds out you’re alive? I hope I’m there.’
‘I hope I never have to see Nemertes again,’ Hailey declared.
A knock at the door had Hailey frowning. It was 7am, who would want to see them this early? ‘Come in.’
Amathia glided into the dorm.
Alec’s eyes widened and he leapt off the bed, staring at Amathia like she was a hydra who’d just slithered in. ‘We were… we were… just… um… helping. We…’
‘It’s all right,’ Amathia said. ‘I will pretend I didn’t discover you and Aaron in the girls’ dormitories. I thought I would find you all here anyway… I wanted to ensure that Hailey was all right.’
Hailey nodded. ‘I feel fine.’
‘Good. As far as my sisters are aware, you’re dead.’
‘And they don’t know anything about Pandora?’ Hailey asked.
‘No, and I would like it to remain that way, so I implore all of you not to seek her out.’
‘We won’t blow her cover,’ Aaron promised.
‘Can we at least send her letters?’ Demi asked.
Amathia hesitated. ‘I suppose—but no travelling stamps. If you give me the letters, I will deliver them.’
‘Awesome.’ Demi clapped her hands together. ‘So did you beat Nemertes up for killing Hailey?’
Amathia smirked. ‘No, I did not. I did, however, make it very clear that if she ever harms another student or comes near the palace again, I will send her and my other sisters to the Underworld to rot.’
Aaron cocked an eyebrow. ‘Why can’t we put them down there now? I think they’ve broken enough laws to be imprisoned.’
‘Because they would die.’ Amathia sighed as though she had the weight of the sea on her shoulders. ‘They may be misguided, but they are still my sisters. As long as they are not conniving any plans, I am happy for them to stay banished.’
Misguided? The nereids had used Hailey and her friends to wake up Hades and Persephone, and they’d tried to wipe out the entire school with a plague. They were clearly psychotic. Hailey didn’t bother saying that to Amathia. The nereids are her family, and that little fact seems to be blinding her to how truly poisonous they are. Instead she said, ‘So if the nereids didn’t take the missing students, then what happened to them?’
Poseidon's Academy Box Set Page 79
