Venus whipped around. ‘You’re dead!’ she snarled and lunged.
A soldier grabbed her arm and yanked her back before she could touch Demi. ‘Break it up.’
Venus tore her arm from his grip. ‘Whatever. The little traitors aren’t worth it anyway.’ She stalked off with the twins, melting ice cream dribbling from her curls.
The soldier’s eyes shot to Demi. ‘No throwing food,’ he barked before resuming his patrol.
Alec held his stomach, looking as though he were about to throw up. ‘Do you think that’s what people think? That we were involved too?’
Hailey only had to glance around to know the answer. Students were pointing at them and whispering, while others glared. ‘Yep. That’s exactly what people think now.’
***
Hailey’s eyes fluttered open when a letter materialised on her desk. She smiled as she settled on her clamshell chair and opened the letter addressed in her mum’s handwriting. It smelled of her vanilla perfume.
My sweet Hailey,
You’ve only been gone a week, but it feels like a month. I already miss you like crazy! I was thinking of getting a pet to keep me company. Maybe a cat? They’re self-sufficient, aren’t they? Or I heard you can buy miniature pegasi now. Wouldn’t that be cute? Although with my luck it would fly away. Maybe I shouldn’t get a pet?
Anyway, just wanted to let you know I’m bored, so write me back.
Love you, kiddo
xx Mum
Hailey picked up a pen and began scribbling a letter back.
Mum,
I miss you too! And something crazy has happened at school. The military has taken over. It sucks! They’ve cancelled classes and watch us everywhere we go. And they said they’re going to give the palace’s location to the government, so I don’t even know if Poseidon’s Academy will be a school for much longer. I wish they’d disappear! And Aaron too. Because this is all his fault. He’s been a spy this whole time, feeding his dad—the leader of the takeover—information about the palace. Can you believe that? I hate him so much for what he did!!!
Hailey sighed and scrunched up the letter, tossing it to the ground. Stupid PET had taken everyone’s stamps so that they could read the students’ letters before sending them—they didn’t want anyone outside of the Academy knowing about the takeover. Although it was probably a good thing her mum didn’t know about PET, since it’d just freak her out, and it wasn’t like her mum could do anything about it.
Hailey grabbed a clean piece of paper and began scribbling again.
Mum,
I miss you too! If you really want a pet, get one, but make sure you feed it TWICE a day—even if it’s a cat. School is really busy at the moment, so I might not be able to write you back as often. But I’ll try. I promise.
I love you.
Hailey shoved the letter into an envelope, scrawling down her home address before throwing on some clothes and tiptoeing past Demi’s bed, where her best friend was sleeping with a pillow half covering her face. She slipped into the hallway and prayed to the Tyches that PET would be gone. Her heart sank when she saw a female soldier standing by the common room door.
‘No loitering.’
Hailey rolled her eyes, sick of being treated like a prisoner, and marched towards the soldier. She held her letter out. ‘Can you post this… please?’ She had to force the last word out. It was ridiculous that she had to get permission to send a letter.
The soldier snatched it. ‘No loitering,’ she repeated.
‘Okay, I’m going.’
Hailey pushed into the common room, lowering her eyes when a few students shot her glares. It wasn’t me. It was Aaron, she muttered in her head, moving towards the stairs, where yet another soldier stood. He raised his hand to stop her.
‘Where are you going?’
‘To get breakfast, obviously.’
‘You better watch your tone or you won’t be going anywhere.’
Hailey ground her teeth, biting back the urge to call the soldier a power-tripping jerk. Seriously, what right did PET have to take over her school and then treat her and the rest of the students like criminals?
‘Okay, you can go. But watch your attitude.’
Hailey stomped down the stairs, rage boiling her blood. She couldn’t make a move anymore without a soldier swooping in and demanding where she was going—she couldn’t even stand around without being yelled at for loitering. They were everywhere. The Academy was nothing more than a prison now. The students had even been given an earlier curfew—8pm instead of 10pm. Things were getting ridiculous, and it had only been a week since PET’s takeover.
Her blood bubbled more furiously when she reached the entryway and saw the two soldiers posted in front of the left and right archway. I wish a sea-serpent would slither in here and eat them all, she thought, traipsing through the middle archway into the main hall. She scanned the tables to see if Jayden and Alec were there yet.
An older student rammed Hailey’s shoulder as he strode past her, and she had to grab a chair to keep from falling. ‘Traitor,’ he hissed under his breath.
The students closest to her glanced up from their breakfasts and glared at Hailey, shaking their heads in disgust.
It wasn’t me! she wanted to scream. I didn’t have anything to do with the takeover. But she doubted they’d listen. They needed someone to blame, and since Aaron had locked himself in his dorm, those someones were Hailey, Demi, Jayden, and Alec. She hated Aaron for this. For bringing PET here and then leaving her and her friends to take the blame.
‘Find a seat and sit down,’ a soldier ordered her.
‘No!’ Hailey snapped and stormed from the main hall. She’d had it. She couldn’t deal with this anymore. She needed answers. She needed to know what PET wanted, and why the teachers weren’t doing anything to get rid of them, and the only way she’d get those answers was if she spoke to Amathia.
‘This area is off limits,’ the soldier said the second Hailey advanced towards the left archway.
‘I only want to go to the stable. There’s a pegacorn in there that I have special permission to visit.’
‘Your special privileges ended when Colonel Wynton took over.’
‘I only need to see her for a minute to let her know I haven’t abandoned her.’
‘No,’ the soldier said firmly. ‘The nereids are taking care of the horses. They’re fine.’
‘They’re not riding them, are they?’
The soldier regarded her suspiciously, as if deciding whether she was trying to trick him into giving up some important piece of information. ‘No,’ he said after a long pause. ‘The nereids aren’t allowed to leave the palace.’
Hailey relaxed a little. At least she was still safe from them.
‘Move along now.’
‘Whatever,’ Hailey muttered, declaring Plan A a failure.
She headed into the grounds to figure out what to do next. Maybe she could start a fire to draw the soldiers out so she could dart through the archway. But how would she start a fire? And how would she get back out? She doubted the soldiers would let her waltz out without grabbing her and locking her away somewhere for breaking the rules or, worse, zap her with a stun gun. But how else could she get through?
Her eyes landed on Kallie and Elora sitting under a turquoise tree a dozen yards away, and the perfect plan popped into her head. She grinned and walked towards them.
‘Hey, Hailey,’ Elora said, her bright amber eyes glittering in the sunlight.
Kallie and Elora were one of the few second years smart enough not to believe Venus’s lies about Hailey and her friends helping Aaron with the takeover.
‘Hey. I was wondering if you’d be willing to do me a favour, Kallie.’
‘Sure,’ Kallie said with a smile, revealing a set of pink braces. ‘What do you need?’
‘I need to sneak down and see Amathia, but I can’t get past the soldiers. Do you think you could use your powers to help me?’
�
�Okay,’ Kallie agreed. ‘If I take us into a parallel world, then I’ll be able to create a portal back here to open right outside Amathia’s classroom. But we’ll need to go into a dorm so the soldiers don’t see.’
‘Have fun,’ Elora called after them as Hailey headed back into the palace with Kallie. They climbed up the stairs and snuck down to Hailey’s dorm, finding Demi lounging on her bed, reading the latest issue of Teen Goddess.
Demi narrowed her eyes at Kallie. ‘What’s going on?’
‘We’re heading to a parallel world,’ Hailey said.
‘I’m coming too.’ Demi tossed her magazine aside and jumped up.
‘Demi, it’s too—’
‘I’m coming! You left me behind last time, and I forgave you for it, but I’m not letting you get away with it a second time.’
‘Fine,’ Hailey said, figuring Demi coming along wouldn’t matter since they no longer needed to sneak past the soldiers.
‘Okay, everyone get ready.’ Kallie touched her palms together and blew out a long breath as she drew them apart.
‘Wow!’ Demi exclaimed, watching a white sphere of light form between Kallie’s hands.
Kallie threw the sphere forward and it exploded into a vortex of swirling lights the colour of a rainbow.
‘I’m first.’ Demi rushed through the portal before Hailey could say a word.
Hailey followed after her. Wisps of red, green, yellow, and blue swirled around her like smoke, and then vanished. She stood in front of a mother-of-pearl door that no longer had the words Ancient History etched into it. They were in a world where Poseidon’s Academy didn’t exist, just Poseidon’s deserted palace.
A hand latched around Hailey’s wrist and yanked her to the side. ‘That was incredible!’ Demi bounced on her toes. ‘Where should we go?’
‘Back to our world,’ Kallie said, stepping through the vortex, its light dimming back to white before it disappeared altogether.
‘What? We just got here.’
‘Kallie’s only using her powers so I can sneak into Amathia’s classroom and talk to her,’ Hailey explained. ‘Once we’re in a parallel world, Kallie can use her powers to open another portal anywhere in the palace.’
Demi crossed her arms. ‘Fine. We’ll go back. But I want a real trip to a parallel world—soon.’
‘Okay,’ Kallie agreed, opening the portal again.
The three of them jumped back into their own world, appearing to the right of the Ancient History door, which was wide open. Voices drifted from inside; Hailey leaned forward to listen.
‘The students need to attend classes. They are here for an education,’ Amathia said.
‘If you tell me how to get past the barrier, I’ll let classes resume,’ Jake’s voice replied. ‘Me and my team will leave the palace then—once we get what we came for. Isn’t that what you want?’
‘Of course it is.’
‘Then tell me how to get past it.’
‘As you have learned from countless attempts, it is impassable. No power can deactivate it or pass through—not even a dematerialiser can materialise on the other side. Hephaestus built it to be impenetrable. Even if I wanted to let you through, I wouldn’t know how.’
‘You’re lying,’ Jake growled. ‘If you don’t want me going to the other side, then you can go and get me what I want.’
‘There is nothing there. Just a painting collection Poseidon didn’t want stolen. There is no trident. He died with it on Olympus.’
‘I want to see for myself.’
‘You can’t. Now let classes resume. It would make controlling the students easier. Stop them wandering about. Your soldiers wouldn’t have to watch them so closely then.’
‘Fine,’ Jake conceded. ‘Classes can resume—on the condition Aaron attends.’
‘The other students won’t welcome him.’
‘If anyone attacks him, they’ll deal with me.’
‘Very well, he can attend classes. I will inform the teachers and students.’
‘No. I will. You’re not in charge anymore, Amathia. Remember that.’
GO! Hailey mouthed to Kallie. She didn’t want Jake catching them. Kallie threw a sphere of light forward, and they leapt through the portal together, landing in a pile on the other end. Kallie sprang back up and threw another sphere of light forward, and the three of them jumped back through to Hailey and Demi’s dorm.
‘What was that all about?’ Kallie asked.
‘We get to start classes again, that’s what,’ Demi cheered. ‘I’ve enjoyed the sleep-ins, but I’m so bored. I can’t wait for Ancient History.’
‘I was talking about the barrier,’ Kallie reiterated.
‘I have no idea.’ Hailey had never come across an impenetrable barrier in the palace before. ‘It must be in one of the forbidden parts.’
She wondered if Amathia was telling the truth about it only hiding a painting collection, or if Poseidon’s trident really was on the other side. At least now Hailey actually knew what PET wanted. She shuddered to think what they’d do with the trident if they found it. Use earthquakes to control the entire world? She hoped it wasn’t here, that it was on Olympus, safe from power-tripping people like Jake.
11
Excursion
A male soldier with a scorpion tattoo on his neck was waiting by the door in the Powers classroom when Hailey and her friends walked in.
‘How many of these PET people are there?’ Demi said quietly as they settled into the front row.
‘They seem to be multiplying,’ Hailey mumbled, unpacking her book bag.
‘I don’t think he’ll come,’ Jayden told Alec, who kept shooting a glance towards the door every time someone shuffled in.
‘Good.’ Alec lined up the spines of the books on his desk. ‘I don’t need him ruining classes for me.’
‘I think Venus already did that,’ Demi muttered, nudging her head towards the glaring students sitting behind them.
‘Traitors,’ one of them hissed.
‘Stop talking,’ Madam Norwood snapped, striding towards her desk. ‘We have a lot to catch up on—thanks to recent intrusions.’ Her glance flicked to the soldier standing at the back of the room. ‘Now, I’m sure you’ve all been wise enough to spend the past week studying, so I think we’ll focus on power practice today.’
‘Yes,’ Demi cheered under her breath.
‘That’s not possible.’
Madam Norwood’s face hardened as she met Scorpion’s gaze. ‘Why not? I was under the impression classes were to resume as usual—with the addition of a spectator.’
‘They are, but I can’t monitor all those rooms.’
‘That’s your problem. This class is called Powers. These students are here to learn how to use their abilities, and that requires practise.’ Madam Norwood’s gaze shifted to the students. ‘What are you waiting for? Get to the other side of the room, and if you can’t use your powers in here, help someone else.’
The second years leapt up and dashed towards the archways, disappearing into various rooms. Hailey waited for Scorpion to protest and yell at everyone to come back. Instead, he began patrolling up and down the archways, glancing from room to room.
‘Hailey, come on.’ Demi grabbed her hand and dragged her into the rainforest, the rich earthy scent of soil swarming her nostrils.
‘I want to learn how to grow a plant without a seed,’ Demi announced, fighting her way through the ferns and bushes to get to the middle of the room.
Hailey planted herself in front of an oak tree and leaned her back against its scratchy bark. ‘Okay, go on.’
Demi pressed her hand on a patch of soil beside a raspberry bush. ‘Grow a daisy. Grow a daisy. Grow a daisy.’ She lifted her hand, revealing the bare patch of soil. ‘It didn’t work. Let me try again.’
Hailey gazed up at the green canopy, which completely concealed the ceiling, and smiled when she spotted a red king parrot hiding in the tree branches. She finally felt some freedom again. She wonde
red what would happen… If PET would make it through the barrier and what they would find. Or if Amathia would work out a way to get rid of Jake and his team. Surely she won’t just sit around and let them take her school from her. Maybe she’s busy rallying up her other forty-something sisters. They can’t all be evil like Nemertes and her posse—some of them have to be good like Amathia.
‘Hailey, did you hear anything I said?’
‘Huh?’
Demi was perched on a giant red toadstool that was about the size of a beach umbrella. ‘I said look how big I grew this mushroom.’
‘I thought you were trying to grow a daisy.’
Demi waved a hand. ‘I got bored of that.’
‘Hailey Woods.’
Hailey leapt to her feet, her stomach twisting when she saw the disapproving look on Madam Norwood’s face. ‘Yes, Madam Norwood?’
‘I said to help another student practise, not sit around doing nothing. If you don’t want to participate, then you can clean the Hecate room.’
‘But I—’ Hailey began.
‘Would you prefer to read through your textbook for the next hour?’
‘No,’ Hailey said quickly. ‘I’ll clean the Hecate room.’ She waved goodbye to Demi and left the rainforest, dragging her feet to the last archway on the right.
Two long tables ran across the room, dotted with beakers, empty vials, small cauldrons, and a mess of flowers, various powders, coloured liquids, and a bunch of other ingredients the Hecates hadn’t bothered putting away.
A bookcase rested against the left wall, crammed with leather-bound tomes. Hailey glimpsed a few of the titles: Forgotten Spells of Hecate, Goddess of Witchcraft; Potion Brewing for Beginners; Casting Spells with the Moon…
Shelves ran across the back wall, crowded with various labelled jars: devils claw, goldenseal, phoenix ashes, ground unicorn horn, hydra venom... Hydra venom? Hailey wondered what good could come from using hydra venom in a potion and veered to the cabinet against the right wall, where potion bottles lined the shelves. She read a few of the labels: sweet dreams, courage, agility, healing, sleep spell. Sleep spell? You can cast a spell with a potion? She picked up the vial and stared at the gold-tinged liquid inside.
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