‘Hailey.’
Hailey gasped, almost dropping the potion. ‘Yes?’ She turned to Madam Norwood.
‘You’re meant to be cleaning the Hecate room, not snooping around. Hurry up.’
‘Sorry.’ Hailey went to put the vial back, but hesitated. If this vial really did contain a sleep spell, it could come in handy if she ever ran into trouble with the nereids. Sure they were under arrest now, but what would happen if they escaped and went on a murdering rampage? It would also come in handy to knock out PET and dump them into the sea.
Hailey glanced at the archway to make sure Madam Norwood and Scorpion weren’t looking before slipping the vial into her skirt pocket.
***
Hailey stood in the common room with the rest of the second years. Madam Grayson had called them together for an announcement. Hailey hoped it was that PET were leaving.
‘I asked you here to tell you some exciting news,’ Madam Grayson said, standing on a chair on the study side of the common room so everyone could see her. ‘In second year, I like to take my students on an excursion for Monsters and Creatures of the World so they can see one of the creatures they’ve been learning about. This year Amathia has organised for an excursion to meet dryads.’
Excited chatter broke out.
‘Awesome!’ Demi exclaimed.
Hailey shuddered, flashing back to her last encounter with dryads, where a knoxen had tried to eat her for dinner.
‘Be quiet, please,’ Madam Grayson called over the chatter. ‘I know I’m telling you this very last minute, but Colonel Wynton has only just agreed to let the excursion go ahead. Now not everyone will be coming today. Some groups will go tomorrow. Today’s excursion is for class groups one to three. If you’re in one of those, please change into your PE uniform and meet me in the grounds in twenty minutes.’
‘Yes! We get to go today,’ Demi cheered. ‘Group three rocks!’
‘But Venus is in group two,’ Jayden pointed out, ‘which means we’re stuck with her.’
‘Who cares, we get to meet dryads.’ Alec beamed for the first time since they’d returned from mid-semester break.
‘Let’s get dressed, Hails.’
Hailey let Demi drag her into their dorm, where Hailey dropped onto her bed. She didn’t want to go back into a forest—a real forest—that came complete with hungry monsters. She’d rather stay locked up in the palace with PET.
‘Why aren’t you getting changed, Hailey?’ Demi demanded, pulling on her trainers.
‘Because the last forest we went into we barely survived.’
Demi waved a dismissive hand. ‘That was because of extreme circumstances. This time we’ll be with a teacher, and probably an army of PET. And I doubt we’ll go into the deep part of the forest, so we’ll be safe from monsters.’
Hailey glanced towards her window, the blue sky outside easing her nerves a little as she thought about how different visiting a forest this time would be. ‘You’re right,’ Hailey told Demi. Madam Grayson had organised the excursion, and Hailey trusted her to keep them safe. ‘We’ll be fine. I’m just being stupid.’ I will not let my fears control me, Hailey repeated to herself again and again while she got dressed and headed down to the grounds with Demi.
Madam Grayson was waiting by the palace doors with Master Anderson and six PET members. For once Hailey actually felt grateful for the soldiers’ presence, especially their guns, which she assumed could take down any monster that came too close.
The hippocampi stood in the grounds as well, waiting patiently beside the teachers.
‘Everyone please listen. You’ll need to go across in separate groups,’ Madam Grayson called over the fifty gathered students. Please get into your class group numbers. Hailey, Demi, Jayden, Alec, and Aaron, come up and see me.’
‘She better not try and get us to befriend Aaron again,’ Alec muttered as they shuffled through the crowd towards Madam Grayson. Aaron was already standing with her; he caught their eye for a second before dropping his gaze.
‘Good, you’re all here,’ Madam Grayson said. ‘I wanted to tell you that Kendra spoke with Rain, and Rain wants to give the five of you a ride to the island.’
‘That’s awesome!’ Demi squealed.
‘Cool,’ Hailey said, eager to see what flying felt like.
‘I’d rather not go.’ Aaron kept his eyes on the ground, where a school of multi-coloured fish darted about beneath everyone’s feet.
‘What do you mean?’ Madam Grayson asked. ‘Do you want to go on a hippocampus instead?’
‘No. I don’t want to go at all. I’d rather stay here.’
‘I’m afraid that’s not possible. Unless you are deathly ill, which you are not, it is compulsory to go across. In fact, your father made it very clear he wants you on this excursion.’
‘Why? No one else wants me.’
‘It’s compulsory, Aaron. I’m sorry.’
Aaron’s shoulders slumped, and guilt clenched Hailey’s stomach. She opened her mouth to say it wasn’t true, that she wanted him to come. But then bit her tongue, reminding herself of what he’d done.
‘You can go across with me,’ Jayden offered.
Aaron regarded him suspiciously. ‘Really?’
Jayden shrugged. ‘Sure.’
‘Well now that that’s settled, Kendra is waiting with Rain outside the stable, so go ahead and take off when ready.’
‘Aye aye, Captain.’ Demi saluted Madam Grayson.
Jayden rolled his eyes. ‘We’re flying, Demi, not sailing.’
‘Pilots are still called captains, Jayden,’ Demi retorted before bounding towards Rain.
Hailey followed behind with Alec and Jayden; she didn’t bother looking back to see if Aaron was coming. ‘This will be fun.’
‘I don’t know,’ Alec said, his cheeks losing a little colour. ‘No one ever taught Rain how to fly. What if she crashes into the sea?’
Hailey hadn’t thought about the fact that Rain’s mother had abandoned her before she’d taught Rain how to fly. She gulped, her excitement fizzling back into nerves as she imagined the pegacorn taking off into the sky and then plummeting back down with Hailey on her back.
‘Hey, guys,’ Kendra greeted them, waiting with Rain outside the stable’s double doors.
Rain whinnied a greeting and laid down on her stomach, tucking her legs underneath her so that Hailey and Demi could climb on.
Demi threw a leg over Rain’s back and wrapped her fingers in the pegacorn’s gold mane before shooting Hailey an impatient glance. ‘Hurry up, I wanna go.’
‘Just one question first,’ Hailey said, looking at Kendra. ‘Does Rain know how to fly?’
‘Amathia taught her. She takes her for rides every week.’
‘Come on, Hails,’ Demi whined.
‘Okay, okay.’ Hailey hopped on behind Demi, feeling Rain’s muscles tense and shift beneath her as the pegacorn pushed back up to her hooves.
Demi pumped a fist into the air. ‘Giddy-up, let’s go.’
In Hailey’s head, she imagined Rain taking off gracefully into the air. But in reality, Rain took off at a gallop across the grounds. The surprise almost knocked Hailey off. She threw her arms around Demi’s waist and tried to hold down the scream building in her as they drew closer to the grounds’ edge.
She’s going to jump into the air, right? Hailey asked, well, she thought she did, but when Demi didn’t answer, she realised she’d said it in her head. Rain leapt at the water, and Hailey squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the icy sea to encase her.
‘Can’t. Breathe,’ Demi gasped.
‘What?’ Hailey flicked her eyes open. They weren’t in the sea. Rain was gliding above the water, her gold hooves skimming the surface.
‘Hailey – let – go.’
‘Oh, sorry.’ Hailey loosened her grip around Demi’s waist.
Demi gulped in air. ‘Ah, that’s better. Jeez, you’d think you’d be a lot braver considering the stuff we’ve been through.’
‘I didn’t want to drown,’ Hailey said simply, swatting away Demi’s hair as it whipped against her face in the breeze.
‘Rain flies. She doesn’t swim. Come on, Rain, let’s go higher.’
Rain whinnied and soared upwards, the feathers on her wings ruffling. Hailey swallowed down another scream when she slipped backwards slightly. She tightened her grip around Demi’s waist again, careful not to crush her lungs this time, and prayed to the Tyches she wouldn’t plummet to her death as Rain soared higher.
Hailey exhaled, her entire body relaxing once Rain levelled off. She glanced down at the blue and green sea, spotting students riding the sea-horses—they looked so small, like fish darting across the water.
‘Woo!’ Demi hollered, throwing her arms out to the sides.
‘Hold on, Demi,’ Hailey shouted in a panic. If Demi fell then she’d fall off with her.
‘This is way more fun,’ Demi said, keeping her arms out. ‘I feel like I’m the one flying now.’
‘Demi, if you fall I’ll kill you.’
‘Fine.’ Demi curled her fingers into Rain’s golden mane. ‘I think we’re landing.’
The island loomed before them. From up here, Hailey could see how the forest encroached on most of the island and seemed to go on forever. She shivered, thinking about what lived inside—hydras, chimeras, sphinxes… On the plus side, she couldn’t see any giants, so there was that.
Lower and lower they descended, until Rain touched down on the beach, sand puffing into the air from her galloping hooves.
‘That was so much fun!’ Demi said as Rain slowed to a stop. ‘Thanks, Rain.’ She slid from the pegacorn’s back and scratched her behind the ears.
Hailey jumped down, her shoes sinking slightly into the soft sand, and petted Rain. ‘Yeah, thanks. You better get the others.’
Rain snorted and turned around. She galloped down the beach and soared into the air as the hippocampi trotted onto the sand, their gills vanishing and their fins and tails transforming back into legs. Kora and Tahlia were among the first group. They rushed over to Demi and Hailey.
‘That was incredible!’ Kora’s cheeks were flushed with excitement. ‘It’s so much more fun when you’re not heading on a deadly mission.’
‘Definitely,’ Tahlia agreed.
‘You should try riding Rain, now that’s fun,’ Demi said. ‘Look, she’s about to take off from the school again.’
Hailey gazed towards the distant palace, spotting Rain rising into the sky with Jayden and Aaron on her back. Feel free to dump Aaron in the sea, she thought, wishing he’d stayed hidden in his dorm so she wouldn’t have to be constantly reminded of what he’d done. Or fear what he might reveal. She felt so stupid for telling him about the Underworld and how the potion hadn’t worked on her. What if he tells the others? She didn’t want them to look at her with pitying eyes.
The second Rain touched down on the beach, Aaron stalked away to stand alone, not daring to make eye contact with any of the students arriving on the hippocampi.
‘So what’s the deal with you and Aaron?’ Demi demanded when Jayden came over to her and Hailey. ‘Because I’m so not ready to forgive him. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to forgive him if he gets Poseidon’s Academy shut down.’
‘He doesn’t deserve to be treated like a leper. I know what he did was wrong, but I think there might be more to it.’
Demi crossed her arms. ‘I doubt it.’
Hailey wanted to believe there was some logical explanation for why Aaron had done what he’d done. But in the stable he’d had his chance to explain, and he hadn’t offered up anything in his defence. He was a traitor, plain and simple, and there was nothing he could say or do that would convince her to forgive him.
About half an hour passed before everyone arrived on the beach.
‘All right, now that we’re all here, I want to set some rules before we head into the forest,’ Madam Grayson said, standing a few feet away from the waves lapping the shore.
Demi sighed beside Hailey. ‘Will we ever meet the dryads?’ she mumbled under her breath.
‘Firstly, we must stay together at all times—there will be no separating from the group.’ Madam Grayson’s eyes fell on Hailey and her friends; she was acting as if them getting lost in a forest last year had been by choice. ‘If we stay together then everyone will be safe. Secondly, you will not harass any creatures we come into contact with. Follow me.’
Hailey fidgeted with her necklace as she trailed towards the forest twenty yards up from the beach. I will not let my fears control me. I will not let my fears control me. A chill crept down her spine the second she entered the greenery, but nothing bad happened. No monsters swooped out of the trees. Nothing howled in the distance. The forest was still, and the only sound she could hear was chirping birds—and chattering students.
Madam Grayson trekked through the forest for five minutes before stopping. ‘We’re here,’ she announced.
Hailey’s eyes searched the bushes and trees around her, but she couldn’t see any dryads.
‘Azaria,’ Madam Grayson called out. ‘My name is Guinevere Grayson. Amathia sent me.’
The trees creaked and moaned, right before eight youthful women stepped out of their trunks.
The second years gasped, and one student even screamed, as they gazed at the dryads, with their green-tinged skin and their “hair”, which ranged from twigs to flowers.
A dryad with hanging moss for hair stepped forward. ‘I am Azaria.’ She bowed her head to Madam Grayson before extending her arms outwards. ‘And these are my sister dryads.’
‘It’s lovely to meet you.’ Madam Grayson bowed. ‘Amathia told us you’d be happy to speak with the students.’
‘Yes,’ Azaria replied. ‘We are happy to share our knowledge with these children.’
‘I thought it would be a good idea if the students separated into groups and a dryad joined each one,’ Madam Grayson said, sounding unsure. ‘Would that be okay?’
Azaria bowed her head. ‘As you wish.’
‘Okay,’ Madam Grayson said to the second years. ‘I want everyone to break into groups of six.’
‘We should be a group,’ Kendra suggested. Aaron lingered beside her, staring at the ground as usual.
‘We’re joining with Kora and Tahlia,’ Hailey said, not wanting anything to do with Aaron.
Kendra peered past her. ‘Too late, they’ve got a group.’
Hailey glanced back, finding Kora and Tahlia teaming up with Lexa, Tanzy, Brennan, and some other boy. Argh. ‘I guess we’re a group then.’
‘Yay,’ Demi said sarcastically, shuffling a few steps away from Aaron.
The six of them stood silently for an awkward minute before a dryad wearing a flowing dress made of green and yellow leaves glided over to them. Daisies bloomed in her twig hair. ‘I am Calista. Do I have permission to join you?’
‘Uh huh.’ Demi nodded profusely.
‘Thank you. Let us sit.’ Calista lowered herself to the ground, her leaf dress spreading out around her, blending perfectly with the forest floor. ‘What questions do you wish to ask?’
‘Were you alive when the gods were?’ Demi asked.
‘No, the gods ruling was three centuries before my time.’
‘Oh.’ Demi’s face fell.
Hailey glanced at Alec, surprised he wasn’t asking a million questions. He sat with his shoulders slumped, and his eyes focused on a dead leaf. Why did Aaron have to be in their group? Why?
‘Have you always lived here?’ Kendra asked. ‘Or do you travel to different forests?’
‘I have always resided here. Some of my sisters moved here, though, many centuries ago.’
‘So what exactly do you do?’ Demi asked. ‘Like to pass the time? It must be pretty boring living in a forest.’
Jayden pinched her arm, and she slapped his hand away.
‘We travel the forest, healing damaged trees and aiding saplings to grow. We commune with animals a
s well.’
Kendra perked up. ‘Like an Artemis?’
‘Yes, very similar.’
Hailey heard a twig snap somewhere, and her head snapped around; she half expected to find a knoxen sneaking up on them. She frowned when she spotted a tree with markings that resembled a face. Weird. The trees beside it had similar markings. Okay, that’s creepy. ‘Why do the trees look like they have faces?’
‘There is…’ Calista trailed off, her eyes shooting towards the trees with faces.
‘What’s wrong?’ Jayden asked.
Calista rose. ‘Danger is coming. You must leave the forest.’ She vanished into the nearest tree, along with the rest of the dryads, just as Hailey’s fingertips started tingling.
12
Stampede
The second years sprang into full-blown panic mode, vaulting to their feet and shooting anxious glances into the trees, searching for what threat had made the dryads run. A few students even ran, but they didn’t get far before Master Anderson boomed, ‘Stop!’ The fleeing students froze. ‘This is like a fire drill. We leave calmly and orderly. Now, move out.’ Master Anderson took the lead back the way they’d come.
PET fanned out around the students, five of them holding their guns at the ready, while the sixth member ignited a fireball in his hand.
Everything will be fine, Hailey reassured herself, pushing the images of a monster stampede from her mind. The teachers and PET have everything under control. We’re getting out of this forest.
And then she heard it.
The whooshing of wings flapping through the air. Ordinarily, that sound wouldn’t have scared Hailey; she would have thought it was just a flock of birds. But the wing beats didn’t sound normal. They sounded screechy, like a creaky gate that needed oil.
‘What is that?’ Demi stopped walking and stared around.
‘I know that sound.’ Aaron gulped.
‘Us too,’ Kora and Tahlia echoed, both looking as pale and terrified as Aaron.
‘RUN!’ Madam Grayson shouted.
Hailey bolted forward with the other students, their group turning into a fleeing stampede. She had no idea what she was running from, but whatever it was had to be pretty dangerous for Madam Grayson to shatter the calmness Master Anderson had reassured everyone with.
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