‘No.’ Aaron crossed his arms. ‘You can tell me what a disappointment I am in front of them.’
Jake cringed as if Aaron had punched him. ‘You’re not a disappointment to me.’ His eyes flicked to Amathia and Hailey.
‘I will wait in the hallway.’ Amathia glided from the room.
‘I’ll wait outside too,’ Hailey said, eager to escape the building tension. She joined Amathia in the hallway, listening to Aaron and Jake’s voices drifting from the room.
‘Aaron, I know you’re angry with me. You are not a disappointment to me. I am so proud of you. You solved this whole thing when I couldn’t. And you made the takeover possible.’
‘Don’t remind me,’ Aaron bit back. ‘You manipulated me into giving up all that information.’
‘I know. And I’m sorry, but it was a mission. I didn’t have a choice.’
‘A mission? I’m your son and you treated me like a tool. Which is all I probably am to you, since I was born an Other instead of an Ares like you.’
‘That has nothing to do with it.’
‘So you’ve honestly never once been disappointed about me being an Other? Not even a little bit?’
Hailey heard Jake sigh. Her stomach clenched in anticipation of his answer and the pain it would cause Aaron. ‘Fine. Yes. When you developed your powers, I was disappointed you didn’t have a god power. But I always loved you. And you’ve shown me that I was a fool for ever thinking you being an Other made you weaker. You’ve proven yourself over and over again, and are braver and more powerful than half the soldiers on my team.’
‘Why are you telling me this now? You’ve made me feel nothing but inadequate my entire life. What do you want? Because I’m not helping you take over this school again. I won’t follow in your footsteps.’
‘Please, Aaron. Just wait,’ Jake begged.
‘You’ve got about two seconds and then I’m gone.’
‘I thought I was going to die.’
‘Oh here we go. And you thought about your regrets. What a cliché.’
‘Yes, I thought about my regrets. I regretted how much you hated me, and how I never let you know how proud of you I was,’ Jake said. ‘Don’t roll your eyes—it’s true. I’m sorry for forcing you to take over this school for me. And to prove it to you, I’ll leave with my team and not reveal the palace’s location to my superiors.’
Hailey’s jaw dropped. Did Jake just say he was abandoning Poseidon’s Academy?
‘What are you talking about? You would never leave this school until your mission was complete. You are a loyal soldier until the end, that much I know.’
‘I’d do it for you. To show you how sorry I am.’
‘But they’d make you talk,’ Aaron countered. ‘And you think your team would go along with this plan? There’d be a mutiny.’
‘Not if they didn’t remember. We need a powerful Hecate to brew a potion to erase my and my team’s memories of the palace.’
‘But you’d never remember this conversation,’ Aaron pointed out. ‘You’d forget that you agreed to leave Poseidon’s Academy. Which means you’d never stop looking for it. You’d try and use me again.’
‘Give me this and I’ll know to never come back here.’ Hailey heard the scribble of a pen followed by paper tearing.
‘Golden Goose? What does that even mean?’
Jake blew out a long slow breath. ‘Golden Goose was a mission I went on about eight years ago. PET was instructed to retrieve an object that could show where anything in the world was—like Poseidon’s trident, or Mount Olympus. We obtained the location of the home it was hidden in. I was only a captain at the time, so I secured the perimeter. I caught a woman fleeing from the back of the house. I told her to give me the object and I’d let her go. She threw her cloak back, revealing a toddler strapped to her chest. She told me he was a boy not an object, and she would die before handing over her son.
‘I’d never imagined the object was a child. I thought about you, and what if you’d been born with a special power the government wanted to use. They would have locked you up in some deep underground facility for the rest of your life. I never would have seen you again. I couldn’t condemn that boy to a life in prison. So I let his mother go,’ Jake said. ‘If you show me that piece of paper, I’ll recognise my handwriting and know it’s a message from myself not to follow orders. To abandon the mission.’
‘I can’t believe you did that—gave up something so valuable.’
‘Sometimes the price is just too high,’ Jake replied. ‘Amathia, you can come back in now.’
Amathia swept into the room, Hailey trailing behind her. Aaron was standing beside his dad, looking bemused, as if deciding whether to forgive his dad or continue being angry at him.
‘Amathia,’ Jake began, ‘I agree to leave your school on the condition that the nereids are not permitted to reside here anymore. They are a nefarious foe and should be incarcerated.’
‘I agree. They should not be allowed to reside here, but incarceration is far too severe. My sisters would die if they were removed from the sea.’
‘They tried to kill a school of students,’ Jake protested. ‘And I know they’re trying to resurrect the gods. They can’t be allowed to roam free.’
‘It is too late,’ Amathia said. ‘I have already banished them.’
‘The nereids are gone?’ Hailey couldn’t believe it. They were finally free of the evil nymphs. Blue skies!
‘I don’t like it.’ Jake shook his head. ‘But I suppose I will have to trust you. Okay, time to find a Hecate.’
‘I have another idea.’ Amathia turned to Hailey. ‘Could you please bring Alec up here? But not Demi or Jayden. I fear if you are all together when Colonel Wynton’s team arrives, they may sense a trap.’
‘What do you need Alec for?’ Aaron asked.
Amathia smiled. ‘You will see.’
34
Departures
‘Incredible.’ Alaric was by Amathia’s desk, peering at the memory ball. ‘I’ve read about these devices but never seen one.’
‘Don’t touch anything, Dad.’ Alec grabbed Alaric’s hand before he could lay a finger on the memory ball.
Amathia smiled from where she stood behind her desk. ‘It’s all right. Your father is merely curious.’
Hailey waited a few feet away with Aaron. She stared at the spot on the floor where Pandora had died. Her body was gone now. Hailey hadn’t asked to where— probably back to the island to recommence her life of exile. Her chest tightened at the thought of Pandora all alone again, surrounded by monsters that wanted her dead. That’s what she deserves, isn’t it?
‘Let’s do this,’ Jake said, marching into the room with the rest of his team.
Slater glared at Hailey, Alec, and Aaron. Hailey was grateful that he soon wouldn’t remember them or how much he wanted to kill them.
‘Oh hello, Jake.’ Alaric waved. ‘It’s nice to finally meet you.’
‘Why are we here, sir?’ Hart asked. ‘We should be reporting back to headquarters.’
‘That’s a little hard to do when we have no means of leaving,’ Jake retorted.
‘He got here.’ She aimed an accusatory finger at Alaric. ‘Which means the travelling necklaces are in the palace.’ She shot a glower at Hailey, who played innocent. Yes, Hailey had gotten Kallie to retrieve the necklaces, but that was only because she knew PET wouldn’t get a chance to find them.
‘Let me remove that bracelet for you,’ Amathia offered, holding her slender fingers out.
Reluctantly, Hart extended her arm, a look of disgust on her face, acting as if Amathia were diseased.
Amathia touched her fingertips to the bracelet. ‘Release.’ The bracelet clicked open, gliding from Hart’s wrist to the floor; she stomped on it before kicking it across the room.
‘That wasn’t necessary,’ Jake admonished.
‘Sorry, sir. But I did not appreciate having my powers taken.’
‘Or having my shin
broken,’ Slater added with a growl.
‘I think now would be a good time to proceed,’ Amathia suggested, gliding to Alaric’s side.
‘Yes, of course,’ Alaric said. ‘Come now, Hailey, Alec, and Aaron, you need to touch the device.’
The device—or memory extractor—was an orb identical to the memory ball, except the clear crystal was streaked with gold and silver.
‘What is happening, sir?’ Slater demanded.
‘We are seeing one of the gods’ trinkets in action.’
‘Hands on the glass.’ Alaric pressed his fingers to the memory extractor.
The glass was warm beneath Hailey’s fingertips, and she wondered if it’d be like the memory ball where she’d be transported into PET’s heads. Although she wasn’t sure how that would work, since they were having their memories taken away.
‘What kind of trinket?’ Hart’s finger hovered over her gun’s trigger. ‘And why is it getting used on us? I do not like this, sir. It feels like a trap.’
‘Trust me,’ Jake said, and shared a look with Aaron.
‘Erase all memories of Poseidon’s palace,’ Alaric spoke the words in Goldarin.
The world didn’t flash white. It just changed. One second Hailey was staring at PET, and the next she was in a memory. She wasn’t sure whose, because all of PET were there, sitting around a table while a man with an ugly scar running across his neck debriefed them on their latest mission: finding and seizing control of Poseidon’s palace.
The memory faded as it continued, growing paler and paler until there was nothing left but wisps of colour. And then Hailey was in another memory. This time Slater was talking to Hart about the mission right before they started making out. Hailey fought the urge to vomit. Gross. And then that one evanesced too.
It was like that for a long time. Memories appeared in front of Hailey from PET’s minds, and then they faded to nothing. She only paid attention to the one’s she knew belonged to Jake. She watched Aaron’s excitement when Jake told him he could help with a mission. She saw Jake receive reports back from Aaron, and the sessions where an Athena took memories from Aaron’s head. And the moment when Aaron told his dad he didn’t want to help anymore, followed by Jake telling him he didn’t have a choice.
Then came the memories of the takeover. Of PET turning the palace into a prison, and of them exploring and trying to break through the impenetrable force field with exploding potions and spells.
And then it was over.
No more memories came, only the room swirled back. PET stood before them, their hostile glares replaced with bemusement. They raised their guns at Hailey and the others.
‘Where are we? Who are you?’ Jake demanded.
Aaron took a step towards him. ‘Dad, it’s me.’
Jake’s eyes widened. ‘Aaron? Lower your guns. That’s my son,’ he ordered his team, dropping his gun. ‘Aaron, what are you doing here?’ Jake gazed around. ‘Where is here?’
‘It doesn’t matter. You need to leave. She’—Aaron pointed to Hart—‘needs to open a portal back to headquarters.’
‘Why?’ Jake pressed. ‘I’m not doing anything until you explain.’
‘Here.’ Aaron held out a piece of torn paper.
Jake snatched it, his brow furrowing. ‘How did you get this?’
‘You gave it to me. You said you’d understand.’
‘Yes… Why can’t I remember?’
‘You need to go,’ Aaron said. ‘Now.’
Jake hesitated, as if deciding whether to scrunch up the note and bombard the school, or whether to listen to his son and go home.
‘Trust me, Dad,’ Aaron said.
Slowly, Jake nodded his head and handed the paper back to Aaron. ‘Okay.’ He turned to Hart. ‘Open a portal to headquarters.’
‘Yes, sir.’ She clapped her hands together before shooting them forward. The air in front of her flared with white light, a boardroom slowly appearing as the light faded.
‘Disembark, team,’ Jake ordered.
PET began vanishing through the portal.
‘Sir, I do not like this.’ Slater gave Amathia and the others a suspicious glance. ‘I can’t remember anything. This could be a trick.’
‘Captain Slater, I ordered you to disembark. I will not tolerate your insubordination.’
Slater lowered his head. ‘Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.’ He stomped through the portal.
Jake stared at Aaron. ‘I don’t understand what happened here.’
Aaron threw his arms around his dad, who stiffened. ‘You did the right thing. That’s all you need to know.’
Jake cleared his throat when Aaron released him. ‘Um, I guess I’ll see you at some point?’
‘Yeah.’ Aaron nodded.
‘Okay then. This is very strange,’ he muttered, and walked into the boardroom. Hart followed behind him, the portal blinking out of existence.
Hailey smiled, relief washing over her. PET was finally gone, and they were never coming back. Poseidon’s Academy was no longer a prison. They were free again. Blue skies!
Alaric clapped his hands together. ‘Well, now that that’s over, how about a tour?’
‘Dad, this isn’t a museum, there are no tours.’ Alec slapped a hand on his face, looking extremely embarrassed.
‘I think a tour is the least I can offer for your assistance, Alaric,’ Amathia said.
Alaric beamed. ‘I can’t wait to see the force field that holds the sea back. How exactly did Hephaestus create it? I am assuming it was Hephaestus, but I suppose Poseidon could have created something to repel water as well. And maybe even Zeus—’
‘It was Hephaestus.’ Amathia interrupted his rant. ‘Come, I will show you.’
‘Amathia,’ Hailey said, suddenly remembering she hadn’t explained why she’d lied to Jake about what had caused Poseidon’s Plague. ‘I wanted to ask you something.’
‘Alec, why don’t you take your father to the entryway. I will join you there soon.’
Alec nodded and chased after his dad, who’d already wandered from the classroom.
‘Is it about what happened to Pandora?’ Amathia asked.
Hailey opened her mouth to ask where she was, and then snapped it shut. She didn’t care. Pandora was gone and wasn’t making anyone sick anymore, that’s all that mattered. ‘No, I want to know why you didn’t tell Jake the truth about Poseidon’s Plague. Why did you say Hecate’s potion caused it?’
‘Because the sole purpose of Colonel Wynton’s team is to procure powerful objects, preferably ones that can be used as weapons,’ Amathia began. ‘I cannot think of a deadlier weapon than Pandora, an immortal with the power to spread an incurable disease, can you?’
Hailey shook her head.
‘My dad would have handed her over to his superiors,’ Aaron agreed. ‘They would have locked her up—experimented on her—before using her to attack their enemies.’
‘It is safer for the world to remain oblivious to Pandora’s existence,’ Amathia said. ‘Well, I have a tour to conduct. I would appreciate it if both of you, Demi, Jayden, and Alec met me in the entryway in an hour. There is something I wish to show you.’
‘What do you think she wants to show us?’ Alec was pacing in front of the glass statue of Poseidon. ‘Do you think she’ll take us back into that maze?’
Hailey raised an eyebrow. ‘Why would she do that?’
Alec shrugged and kept pacing.
‘Can we please go outside?’ Demi was peering into the grounds, where what looked like the entire school was lounging under the sun—thanks to Amathia re-raising the palace.
‘I promise I will not keep you long.’ The five of them whirled around to face Amathia, who glided from the left archway. ‘Follow me.’ She led them through the right archway.
Hailey assumed they were heading to the healing wing. Maybe because Madam Mendem and Madam Norwood wanted to thank them or something… or maybe something was wrong with Madam Mendem. Maybe continuously absorbing Poseidon’s Pl
ague was too much and her powers stopped healing her. Maybe she’s lying in a bed dying.
They reached the stairs to the healing wing and followed Amathia up, Hailey’s heart pumping faster and faster. Please let Madam Mendem be okay. Please let this be something else.
Amathia pushed open the healing wing’s doors.
Hailey hesitantly strode in and froze.
On the left side of the room, lying on the third bed from the door, was Pandora, the dagger she’d plunged into her heart still protruding from her chest.
‘Hope?’ Demi frowned. ‘Why is she still here? She tried to kill me?’
‘And the entire school,’ Alec added.
‘I know,’ Amathia said. ‘But she was manipulated, like Aaron was by his father.’
‘Hey, I didn’t try and kill anyone,’ Aaron retorted.
‘No, but you, like Pandora, were tricked into doing something you did not wish to do. She may have attempted to kill everyone, but she saved everyone in the end, and hindered my sisters.’
Demi crossed her arms. ‘If she hadn’t tried to kill us, we wouldn’t have needed saving.’
‘Regardless, I would like to hear what she has to say.’ Before anyone could protest, Amathia glided to Pandora and gently tugged the dagger from her heart.
Hailey and her friends strode to the bedside; since they couldn’t stop Amathia, Hailey figured they might as well hear what the traitor had to say.
A minute passed before Pandora’s fingers twitched.
‘She’s coming back,’ Alec said, right before Pandora inhaled a gasping breath and shot up.
‘Where am I?’
‘Relax, you’re at Poseidon’s palace,’ Amathia said, voice soothing. ‘We managed to reverse your disease.’
Understanding washed away Pandora’s confusion. ‘Yes, that’s right. Good. Everyone was saved?’
‘Everyone,’ Amathia confirmed.
Pandora looked at Demi, her eyes pleading. ‘Demi, I’m—’
‘Save it.’ Demi raised a silencing hand. ‘I’m not interested in your excuses.’
‘But—’
‘We have more important things to discuss,’ Amathia interrupted. ‘Such as taking your powers away.’
Poseidon's Academy and the Deadly Disease Page 33
