Uh oh, Hailey thought, right before her eyes closed and she fell backwards.
‘Hailey. Demi.’
Someone called Hailey’s name through the darkness. They sounded so far away. ‘Yeah?’ she managed to mumble as she battled to open her eyelids, which were as heavy as iron doors. ‘Tahlia?’ Hailey said when her eyes finally opened and she found her friend standing over her.
‘Thank the Tyches.’ White air puffed from Tahlia’s mouth. ‘I was starting to think you’d sleep forever.’
Hailey blinked. Where was she? She sat up and winced at the pulse of pain that shot through her head. ‘Ow,’ she said, her fingers finding a bump on the back of her head. ‘What happened?’ White air puffed from her mouth as well. She hugged her legs and tried not to think about how much the temperature had dropped.
‘From what I can guess, another Hypnos used their powers on you—a really powerful one,’ Tahlia added. ‘I couldn’t wake you up with my powers. Demi’s still sleeping.’
Demi was lying beside Hailey, a pillow tucked under her head. ‘Did you give us pillows?’
‘No, I’m guessing the person who knocked you out did. She probably felt bad about letting your heads slam against the ground.’
Well that explains the headache. Hailey glanced at the window and gasped. It was dark. ‘How long have we been asleep for?’
Tahlia shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I thought it was weird that you didn’t come to dinner in the main hall, so I came to check on you. I’ve been trying to wake you for about an hour. It’s almost eight.’
‘Medusa! We’ve been asleep for four hours.’
‘Shh, sleeping,’ Demi mumbled, turning over.
‘Demi, you need to get up.’ Hailey shook her shoulder. ‘We’re supposed to be going after the nereids.’
Tahlia frowned. ‘What?’
Demi’s eyes flickered open. ‘Why am on the floor? Ouch,’ she yelped as she sat up. ‘Why does my head hurt?’
‘That stupid fourth year was a Hypnos,’ Hailey explained, ignoring the burst of pain in her skull as she lurched to her feet. ‘She knocked us out. It’s been four hours.’
‘Four hours!’ Demi leapt up and cringed, pressing a hand to her head. ‘We need to get those stupid nereids. Half the school could be frozen by morning.’
‘The nereids are dangerous,’ Tahlia argued. ‘They’ll kill you.’
‘They’ll try,’ Demi corrected.
‘I’m coming with you,’ Tahlia declared. ‘I can knock out any teachers or fourth years on patrol.’
‘Okay,’ Hailey agreed. Having a Hypnos around will be helpful, since their powers work on nereids and monsters—well, small monsters. ‘Let’s get the boys. We’ll need Aaron’s force field.’
The hallway was empty when they walked into it. Maybe Sir Bliss decided to call off his fourth year. Or maybe he’s not around anymore. Maybe all the teachers are gone now.
‘It’s curfew, back to your dorms,’ a boy’s voice snapped when they opened the door into the common room. To Hailey’s relief, it wasn’t the Hypnos. She probably could have hit them with a sleep cloud before Tahlia could get close enough to use her own powers.
Tahlia didn’t hesitate. She leapt forward and blew a puff of sleep dust at the fourth year. ‘Hey—’ the fourth year’s words cut off as his eyes snapped closed. He sagged backwards, collapsing onto a floor cushion.
‘Good job.’ Demi patted Tahlia on the back. ‘Let’s get the bo—’
The boys’ dormitory door banged open.
Hailey couldn’t help but smile when she saw Alec and Aaron frozen in the doorway, staring at the three of them, surprised.
‘We were just coming to get you,’ Aaron said.
‘Well, we beat you to it,’ Demi replied. ‘Now, let’s go.’
‘Okay, but I’m going first. I’ll keep my force field up. That way we’ll be protected if we cross paths with whatever has been taking people.’
Hailey followed Aaron down the stairs, her mind scrambling for answers about what this thing kidnapping people was. Stetho? What kind of a name is Stetho? It sounds like a name from the gods’ time. Could it be a super evil nereid? Is it possible for a nereid to be eviller than Nemertes? Nah. Perhaps a monster then? A sea-monster? Maybe one of Poseidon’s children? It could have the power to turn into a monster in the water and a human on land. It could snatch people and take them into the sea. No, that wouldn’t be good. That would mean it would drown them. And that also doesn’t explain why Brennan didn’t shout out when he’d been attacked—or how all the fifth years disappeared. What could take that many power-equipped students? Well, whatever it is, it’s not getting past Aaron’s force field.
‘Wait.’ Aaron stopped when they were halfway down the stairs to the entryway. His palms were still stretched in front of him.
Hailey peered over his shoulder. A girl was lying on the entryway floor, just in front of the doors. It looked like she’d escaped from the freezing cold outside only to die of hypothermia. ‘We need to help her.’
‘No. It could be a trap,’ Aaron warned. ‘At least one student is involved, remember? Maybe playing dead is how they’ve been luring people into a trap.’
‘We still have to check,’ Demi argued.
‘Slowly,’ Aaron said, palms still out.
They crept down the stairs. The unconscious girl didn’t so much as shiver.
‘Hailey, you go,’ Aaron said as he stopped at the bottom of the stairs. ‘Everyone else stay behind me.’
Hailey edged around Aaron’s force field, a tiny prickle of fear stroking her spine. Please don’t suddenly jump up and dematerialise with me, Hailey thought as she dropped to her knees beside the unmoving figure. Although if that did happen, she’d at least know where everyone had disappeared to.
She pressed her fingers to the girl’s wrist, feeling for a pulse. Her skin was as cold as a glacier. ‘I can’t find a pulse,’ Hailey said, her voice wavering a bit. Please don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead, she begged as she shifted the girl’s strawberry blonde hair from her face. ‘It’s Pandora!’
28
Time for Answers
‘Pandora?’ Demi bolted to Hailey’s side, sinking to her knees. ‘It is Pandora. She looks… dead.’ Demi gulped.
‘Who’s Pandora?’ Tahlia asked, remaining by the staircase.
‘Hope,’ Demi said. ‘We, uh, call her Pandora sometimes as a nickname.’
Tahlia cocked an eyebrow. ‘Um, okay. But why is she here? I thought she left the Academy.’
‘It’s a long story,’ Hailey said, and then spotted Pandora’s bare wrist. Thank the Tyches she’s not wearing her neutralising bracelet. ‘She won’t be dead for long.’
‘Let’s get her to the healing wing,’ Aaron suggested, his hands still extended out. Alec, you carry her so I can keep my force field up.’
Alec slid his hands under Pandora and scooped her up. ‘It’s like holding an ice sculpture.’ Alec shivered. ‘I might freeze to death from carrying her.’
‘Would you prefer I carry her and we walk around without my force field protecting us?’
Alec shook his head, his lips tingeing blue. ‘No. It’s okay. I can do it.’
They moved as quickly as they dared, keeping an eye out around them, just in case the nereids suddenly appeared, or Stetho snuck up on them.
When they finally made it to the healing wing, Madam Mendem was fluffing up a pillow on one of the beds. ‘Oh my. Is she… dead?’ She pointed to Pandora as Alec lowered her onto a bed. Hailey caught a brief glimpse of Pandora’s sword strapped to her back.
‘Yes.’ Aaron dropped his hands, allowing Madam Mendem past his force field. ‘But she’s an immortal. It’s Pa—Hope.’
Madam Mendem sighed with relief and touched Pandora’s blue-tinged skin. ‘She feels as frozen as the Arctic Sea. I think she might need a little help coming back from this one, given how cold the palace is now. I have a few warming potions stashed away.’ She scurried towards the other end of the healing w
ing.
‘I still don’t understand why Hope, Pandora—whatever—is here,’ Tahlia said.
Hailey was too tired for lies. ‘Hope is really Pandora—the actual Pandora from history. She was the one who spread Poseidon’s Plague last year. But the nereids made her do it. She’s a good person. And she saved everyone in the end. She’s been acting as a spy for Amathia this year, checking to make sure the nereids don’t get up to anything.’
‘Hailey,’ Alec rebuked her. ‘We promised Amathia we wouldn’t tell anyone.’
‘I’m pretty sure my whole Pandora-is-a-nickname thing didn’t work on Tahlia,’ Demi argued. ‘And Tahlia won’t tell anyone.’
‘No, I promise,’ she said, sounding a little dazed, like she was trying to work out if this was all real or a dream. ‘I can’t believe that is actually Pandora.’
‘Got it.’ Madam Mendem shuffled to Pandora’s side and poured the blood red liquid into Pandora’s mouth. ‘This way she’ll be toasty warm when she wakes up and won’t die from hypothermia again.’ She focused her attention on Hailey and her friends, a stern look on her face. ‘Now, would you like to explain why you’re wandering around the palace after curfew?’
‘Please don’t tell Sir Bliss or anyone else we’re here,’ Hailey begged. ‘We’re trying to save the school, and we don’t think Sir Bliss knows what he’s doing.’ It was harsh, but true.
‘I really should send a letter to Sir Bliss,’ Madam Mendem said. ‘But I think you’re right about him having no idea what he’s doing. And you four’—she nodded at Hailey, Demi, Alec, and Aaron—‘always seem to find a way to solve the unsolvable problems.’
‘So you won’t tell Sir Bliss we’re here?’ Demi asked.
‘Not for the moment.’
‘Hailey?’
Hailey spun back to Pandora, who was sitting up and frowning. ‘Pandora, you’re back.’
‘What happened to you?’ Demi asked. ‘You were frozen when we found you in the entryway.’
‘I…’ Pandora’s eyes fell on Tahlia standing beside Alec. ‘Should we speak in private?’
‘She knows,’ Hailey said. ‘We can trust Tahlia.’
‘Okay.’ Pandora nodded. ‘Well, I was on the island and I saw the nereids leave. I sent Amathia a letter straight away to tell her. After not hearing anything back from her for a few hours, I started to worry. I sent Amathia another letter and waited again. When she didn’t reply, I knew something was wrong. I had a vague idea of where the palace would be so I started swimming.’
‘The water would have been below zero!’ Alec gasped.
Pandora hugged her arms as if feeling the freezing water wrap around her again. ‘I took off my neutralising bracelet before I went in. I died a few times getting here, but I had to know what was happening. So?’ she prompted Hailey. ‘Where’s Amathia and the nereids?’
Hailey swallowed, not sure how to tell Pandora how messed up everything was. ‘Amathia is gone. She vanished along with most of the teachers. And the nereids are back. They stopped the palace and lowered the force field to freeze us to death.’
Pandora gulped. ‘That’s bad. Do you have any idea what’s been happening to the people going missing?’
Hailey shrugged. ‘Kind of. Sir Bliss had a premonition about someone named Stetho. Amathia knew who it was and she said she’d take care of it, and that’s when she disappeared. I don’t suppose you know who Stetho is?’
Pandora shook her head. ‘Sorry. No.’
‘That’s okay,’ Demi told her. ‘We were on our way to interrogate the nereids when we found you. We’ll find out from them—can we borrow your sword?’
‘No, no, no,’ Madam Mendem said, reminding Hailey that the school nurse was still standing next to them. ‘I cannot let you go to the nereids’ chamber. They are too dangerous.’
‘It’s the only way to end this,’ Aaron argued. ‘The Academy’s top priority right now is getting the palace’s force field back up, but that requires Amathia, and only the nereids know where she is. You said we have a way of fixing things when no one else can. You have to trust us.’
Madam Mendem shook her head. ‘No, I can’t let you go alone. I’ll tell Sir Bliss and ask him and the other teachers to take you with them.’
‘Sir Bliss doesn’t know what he’s doing,’ Demi protested. ‘You agreed with that. We know how to deal with the nereids. He’ll just mess it up.’
‘I can’t let you go alone.’ Madam Mendem was obstinate. ‘They could kill you. I’ll send a letter to Sir Bliss.’
‘Madam Mendem.’ Tahlia stepped towards the nurse as she moved to walk away.
‘You won’t change my mind,’ Madam Mendem said as she turned back towards them.
‘I know,’ Tahlia admitted. ‘I’m sorry.’ She blew out a breath of white air that sparkled with gold dust.
Aaron rushed forward as Madam Mendem slumped, pushing her just slightly enough that she fell back on a bed. ‘Good thinking, Tahlia.’
Tahlia chewed her lip. ‘Do you think I’ll get expelled for this?’
‘Not if we save the school,’ Demi said.
‘Maybe we should have let Madam Mendem get Sir Bliss.’ Alec rubbed his arms, shivering. ‘It’d be nice to have some extra protection.’
‘Sir Bliss’s only Apollo powers are being good at creative stuff and getting premonitions,’ Aaron pointed out. ‘He doesn’t have any defensive abilities. We’re better off without him getting in the way.’
‘And we’ve got Tahlia’s powers too—and Pandora has kicked their arses before.’ Demi paused and frowned at Pandora. ‘Hang on. You took off your neutralising bracelet. Does that mean we’ll all get Poseidon’s Plague again? Because I’d rather not start bleeding from the eyes. That was really gross.’
‘No.’ Pandora pushed to her feet. ‘I can control my powers for now, and if I feel them start to take over, I’ll put the neutralising bracelet back on.’
‘Are you sure you have your powers under control?’ Alec swallowed. ‘My throat feels a little sore.’
Aaron rolled his eyes. ‘Let’s go.’ He raised his palms in front of him and took the lead from the healing wing.
‘So what’s the plan when we get to the nereids’ room?’ Tahlia asked as they reached the bottom of the healing wing stairs.
‘We ask them what in Tartarus they’ve done with Amathia and everyone else,’ Demi said simply as they followed the long hallway towards the entryway. ‘And when they say they’re not going to tell us, we’ll use our powers on them and make them talk.’
‘I hope they don’t have any sea-urchin bombs.’ Alec was still rubbing his arms, looking as if he wanted to run upstairs to his dorm and hide under his bed until this was all over. ‘Madam Mendem isn’t exactly around to heal us.’
‘I’ll protect you if they do,’ Pandora promised. ‘It doesn’t matter if I die.’
Tahlia narrowed her eyes at Pandora, sceptical. ‘So how exactly are you Pandora? I thought she was—you were—human.’
‘Technically I’m a demi-god,’ Pandora explained. ‘But I was mortal, until the gods died. When their powers fell from the sky, I absorbed immortality.’
Tahlia tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. ‘So what god is your parent?’
‘Zeus,’ Pandora ground out the word.
‘Wow,’ Tahlia gasped. ‘I was not expecting that.’
‘Okay, we’re at the point of no return,’ Aaron said as they emerged in the entryway. ‘If anyone doesn’t want to come, now’s your chance to go back upstairs.’
Alec’s gaze drifted up the staircase. Hailey waited for him to step towards it. To declare they were all mad and he was getting Sir Bliss. Instead he sucked in a breath and puffed up his chest, seeming to come to the realisation that they were the Academy’s only hope.
‘Let’s go.’ Aaron didn’t even take one step before someone came from the left archway. Hailey froze, thinking it was a teacher, but relaxed when she recognised Cady’s surprised face.
‘Cady?’ Aaron dropped his hands before she could run into his force field.
‘I… What are you doing here?’
‘Us?’ Demi crossed her arms. ‘You’re the one sneaking back from wherever you were. And where exactly was that?’
‘I was… I couldn’t sleep. It was so cold. I went to the stable thinking it might be warmer in there—that maybe Hephaestus had installed warming lamps for the horses.’
‘Why are you walking around alone?’ Hailey asked. ‘You’re lucky whatever is taking people didn’t get you.’
‘Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. It might be warmer wherever the others are.’ Cady rubbed her arms. ‘Why are you out here?’
‘We’re about to solve the palace issue,’ Demi said. ‘We’re going to get the nereids to reverse what they did and bring back Amathia and everyone else. So you just go back to bed, and when you wake up in the morning, we’ll have saved the school.’
Cady’s eyes widened. ‘The nereids? You shouldn’t go after them.’
‘We’ve dealt with them before, we know how dangerous they are,’ Hailey said.
Cady’s gaze settled on Pandora and she frowned. ‘You, um. You’re Hope, aren’t you? I thought you left.’
‘I came back for a visit before all of this happened. Amathia told me to stay out of sight, though, since I’m not technically a student here anymore.’
‘You really should go back upstairs.’ Aaron’s fingers tapped impatiently against his leg. ‘Jayden wouldn’t want you out here alone.’
Terror seized Cady’s features. ‘You didn’t ask him to go with you, did you?’
‘No,’ Aaron said.
‘Good. I, um, wouldn’t want anything happening to him.’
Demi cocked an eyebrow. ‘But you’re okay with something happening to us?’
‘No, that’s not what I meant. I… I…’
‘Go back to bed, Cady,’ Aaron said. ‘And please don’t tell anyone you saw us down here.’
‘I won’t.’ Cady skittered past them and up the stairs.
‘I can’t believe Cady is brave enough to walk around the palace alone at night,’ Tahlia remarked as they drifted through the left archway.
Poseidon's Academy Box Set Page 86
