by Raine, Eliza
For a what seemed like an age, nothing happened, the enormous dome remaining exactly where it was. But then there was another rumble, and I felt the net tighten as the dome finally shifted. The weight was too much for some of the marine animals, the water ropes dissipating as they let them go slack, but the larger beasts kept pulling. Then I felt a massive presence, and hope filled me as I realised it was the whale I’d sensed earlier. He was almost as wide as the school itself, and he was moving, slowly, methodically, under the academy. Realizing that the coral garden would damage its back if the whale made contact with it, I sent my power deep, creating a solid cushion of water around the glowing garden. The whale rose slowly, until I felt it thwack into my cushion. It paused a moment, then began to move again, towards the surface. The dome heaved and creaked, the net going taught again as the hundreds of creatures it was attached to renewed their efforts. Between strengthening the net and holding the protective cushion in place, I had little power to spare, but what I did have I sent into the ocean itself, trying to lift the mammoth weight of the school.
It was working. First just by inches, but soon by feet, the academy was rising. And the further it moved, the more the momentum built and the faster it rose. With my eyes closed, I could feel Icarus’s arm supporting me, my breathing shallow as I strained, every moment unsure if I could hold on. Each time I felt like the power was becoming too large and starting to slip, I concentrated on the whirling bracelet, rhythmic and focused and stable. And each time I felt my control tighten again, my focus renewed. An almighty splash tested me to my limit, and I opened my eyes in time to see the top of the main temple burst from the now churning waves. I watched in wonder as the rest of the school erupted from the ocean, coming to a stop as soon as the top of the marble slab made contact with the cool open air. I kept my strength in the net for a moment, worried that the academy would plunge back into the water if we let go, but it bobbed precariously a moment, then stabilized, and all the weight left the water net. Olympus Academy was floating.
The dolphins began leaping in cresting arcs as the net disappeared, and I felt the sharks and predatory eels and snakes zooming off, back to their solitary stalking of the seas. I sent my thanks to the gargantuan whale, now drifting slowly away. I didn’t think he could hear me, but I sent them anyway. A jet of water burst up by the rails and deposited my mom and Zali on the deck. My mom landed gracefully on one knee but Zali stumbled. Thom leapt forwards to catch her and as she straightened I realized she was laughing.
‘That was the most incredible thing I’ve ever done in my whole life!’ she gasped.
‘It was freaking amazing,’ I agreed with her.
‘I want that staff!’
‘You have a natural aptitude. I will see if I can get you some time with my family, to hone your skills,’ said my mom, and Zali clapped her wet hands together in delight. I was about to step forward and congratulate her, when I felt a blast of heat, and the sky around us instantly started to darken.
‘So, the explorers have returned!’ Neos’s voice echoed around us, and Peto began to bray.
‘We need to get into the academy, quickly, before he finds another way to stop us,’ hissed Miss Alma.
‘We don’t have a longboat anymore,’ Arketa pointed out.
‘We can summon a wave to take us down,’ I said.
‘I’ll fly,’ said Icarus quickly. He wasn’t a big fan of getting his wings wet.
As the jet of water dropped us, not very gently, at the edge of the pool, a mess of emotions began to swirl through me. The pool had been my favorite place in the academy, other than the stables. It was empty now, the water presumably pouring back into the ocean when the dome had dissolved in the open air and the marble tiles around it were scorched. The grass between the pool and the elemental building was burned too. It was hot, unnaturally hot, and adrenaline was making my skin feel itchy and my palms sweat. This was my last chance to fix what I had done. My last chance to prove Titans weren’t all bad. My last chance to make sure Icarus and my friends were forgiven for helping me. This had to end, now.
‘Neos!’ I shouted, walking towards the elemental building, alert and tense. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Icarus, Arketa, my mom and Thom fanning out behind me. Thom shifted with a small roar, his wings extending menacingly. Vines curled form Arketa’s fingers, hovering around her, and my mom’s staff glowed bright against the still darkening sky. Whirlwinds sprang from Icarus’s fingertips and raced along the ground ahead of him. I stopped and drew Alifthoros, the little seahorses springing to life and the blade pulsing an angry blue. ‘I think we need to talk.’
28
‘Well, well, well,’ came Neos’s voice, as a wall of fire burst from the ground in front of me. I schooled my face into the best impression of my mom’s indifferent expression that I could muster, as two giant red eyes glowed from the flames. ‘Look who got a new toy.’ His tone was mocking, childish.
‘Are you scared to face me in your old form, Crius?’ I called.
‘Scared? Of you?’ Laughter cackled around us. ‘I’ll admit I didn’t expect you to be able to pull the academy up out of the ocean, but you had quite a lot of help, little Titan. No, no, no, I’m not scared of you. I don’t need my old form anymore, because Professor Neos is dead.’
‘You mean he never existed,’ I spat.
‘Aww, poor Pandora. You quite liked him in the end, didn’t you? He was so good at teaching you tricks with fire...’ He was taunting me. He knew how strong the flames within me were. He knew that I couldn’t contain them.
‘I already know that the fire will destroy me. You can’t frighten me,’ I told him, and the red eyes flashed, then disappeared. Slowly, a human form walked through the wall of fire. A good-looking blonde man with red eyes. Neos.
‘It’s not the the fire that will destroy you, fool girl,’ he said, the playful tone gone from his voice. ‘It’s your weak human body. You have the power of a god in that pathetic form. Actually, you have the power of two gods! Do you have any idea how rare you are, Pandora? Of what you could be?’
My mind raced. Could I trick the trickster? Could I pretend to listen to him, to let him try to help me, then trap him? Zali was hidden behind one of the columns by the pool, with the box. All I needed to do was incapacitate him for a moment.
‘How do I get the body of a god?’ I asked him, hesitantly.
‘You ask a god.’
‘I thought they couldn’t make people immortal?’
Neos scoffed.
‘A stupid Olympian rule, that my idiot brother Oceanus will likely abide by until I can remind him who his true family are. I must thank you for freeing him by the way, he is invaluable to my plans.’
‘And they are?’ I asked casually. He was only five feet away from me now, his hands alight with dancing flames as he stroked his jaw thoughtfully. My heart hammered against my ribs and my mouth felt bone dry. He chuckled.
‘You know, the usual for a Titan. Overthrow Zeus, rule Olympus. That sort of thing.’
‘I thought Oceanus remained neutral in the war. He’s friends with the Olympians.’
‘That was before. I’ve got a few ideas about changing his mind,’ Neos grinned. ‘Starting with how Zeus is going to treat his new favorite descendant.’ A wicked smile lit up his eyes and I sensed the fire he was about to launch at me a split second before he moved. I threw a barrier of water up a half second too late, a lick of flame reaching me before I doused the rest out. I cried out as the fire lashed across my cheek, my skin burning. My body’s reaction to the pain was instant rage, my own fire magic roiling under my skin, almost painful in its desperation. I could feel it longing to be free, longing to destroy. But that was what he wanted. I wouldn’t let it out. I couldn’t.
‘I thought you wanted to help me!’ I shouted from behind my watery shield. ‘Why are you trying to kill me?’
‘I’m not trying to kill you, little Titan. I’m trying to immobilize you so that I can hand you over to Zeu
s!’
‘Just so that Oceanus gets angry with Zeus? Firstly, I don’t think Oceanus cares about me that much. And secondly, wouldn’t he just be mad at you for handing me over?’
‘You’d be surprised, Pandora. Only his wife, Tethys, was ever able to wield that sword. And he’ll never know it was me who gave you to Zeus.’
‘Help me with my fire magic,’ I said, in a last ditch attempt.
‘I’m not stupid, Pandora. I know you’re just trying to distract me. Actually, I have a distraction of my own I think you’ll quite enjoy.’ Part of me knew he wanted me to drop the shield, but a larger part of me had to know what he was talking about. I lowered the water barrier carefully. ‘I would like you to meet my friend, helper, and second-in-command. Well, I mean, you’ve already met but under a different title.’ My stomach muscles clenched. Who was he talking about? Vronti? ’Did you never wonder why your dear, dear tutor was so keen for you to start on this whole quest?’
‘No,’ I breathed, feeling sick. No, it couldn’t be... I shook my head, refusing to believe my eyes as Dasko stepped around the elemental building, walking slowly towards me.
‘I’m sorry, Pandora, Icarus,’ he said. ‘Really, I am sorry.’
‘Did you know what was in the box?’ I asked him, my voice catching in my throat. ‘You told me you knew I’d open it... Did you know that the demons were in there?’ Dasko stared at me, then dropped his gaze to the ground. A fresh wave of heat rolled across me but my skin felt numb and cold.
‘Crius offered me an extended life, many, many centuries ago, in exchange for helping him out of the box when the time was right.’
‘All those souls the Keres demon took, the damage the sea demon nearly did to the school and the students...’ I stared at him in horror. ‘I trusted you.’ My throat constricted as my head pounded. This couldn’t be true. The hours and hours Dasko had spent with me, helping me learn and control my magic, teaching me about the world I’d been thrust into. It was all just to help Crius.
‘You still can trust me!’
I let out a scream of frustration as I looked into his beseeching eyes, the pain of his betrayal snapping my control.
‘Trust you?’ I roared, and water shot from Alifthoros, so fast and hard he had no time to block it or move. It hit him square in the chest, powering him backwards until he crashed into the wall of the elemental building. ‘I’d sooner die than trust you,’ I shouted, and fire leapt from my left palm, streaking across the ground towards him.
‘Please, please Pandora,’ he whimpered as I advanced on him. ‘You will die if you don’t trust me.’
‘And I’d deserve it,’ I hissed, ‘for the part I played in the near death of innocent students. At least I tried to fix it! You... you make me sick! You knew what you were doing, you knowingly endangered everyone! And then you just hid here, cowering, waiting for your master?’ My fire had traveled up the side of the building and was inches from his face, and I was close enough to see the sweat trickling down his temples.
‘You’re right,’ he breathed, and I paused. ‘But I can’t fix it if you kill me.’
‘Fix it? It’s too late for that.’
There was a scream, and a voice shouted my name at the same time an almighty clap of thunder sounded. I span, and nausea rolled back though me. Neos’s distraction had worked. While I had been so caught up with Dasko, Neos had found Zali, and the box. Icarus was forcing back an evil looking cloud of black smoke sparking with fire with a huge tornado, and my mom was firing water from her staff at hundreds of fireballs. Arketa and Zali were crouched behind them with the box, Thom guarding them with his massive manticore body.
‘Pandora, I mean it! I made a massive mistake, please let me make it right,’ gabbled Dasko suddenly. I bared my teeth at him, my blind rage subsiding but my hatred for him no less.
‘You’re pathetic,’ I growled, then released him from the jet that pinned him to the wall. I turned and ran as fast as I could, throwing all my power into the same jet and smashing it into the cloud of smoke. Icarus’s tornado swirled into my water, and together we formed a whirlpool ten feet high, churning through the smoky substance with ease.
‘Time for me to try a new approach then,’ boomed Neos’s bodiless voice, and the smoke and fire surrounding us all rushed away, coagulating into something solid. Within seconds we were gaping up at something that would haunt anybody’s nightmares. The monster was as tall as the main temple, with enormously powerful looking arms and legs, and one massive central eye, burning red. Its skin looked like black cracked earth, molten lava glowing beneath it as he took a pounding step towards us. ‘You seem to have forgotten,’ he boomed, ‘that I am a Titan! An ancient god!’
Icarus and I glanced at each other, then together we launched the whirlpool at him with everything we had. It grew as it moved, hitting him with so much force that he stumbled sideways, towards the pool. But he regained his footing fast, clapping his monstrous hands together and bellowing. When he pulled them apart a fireball the size of a house burned between them, and his ugly mouth twisted into a snarl.
‘Icarus was right when he told you not to trust me, little Titan,’ he said, then threw the fireball at us.
I had no chance of getting a water shield up in time, and I screamed as I was suddenly lifted off my feet. Disorientation obliterated my senses for an agonizing few seconds, until I realized that we were crashing back down to the ground. Icarus had picked me up and flown us out of the way of the fireball. But his grip on me was awkward and I could feel myself slipping out of his hold. As I kicked my feet wildly I felt the heat of the ball as it rounded on us. I summoned my water, and saw mom’s staff glow in my peripheral vision. With her help, I threw up a bubble around us all, beating the fireball back instantly.
‘How long can we hold it?’ I shouted, as Icarus touched down us down mercifully smoothly. I felt the bubble shudder as the fireball hit it again.
‘A few minutes at most,’ mom said.
‘How are we going to get him into the box?’
‘We tackle him. Drag him into it,’ said Arketa, standing up.
‘He’s thirty feet tall!’ I exclaimed.
‘Do you have any other ideas?’ I searched my brain desperately for any inspiration at all, but came up with nothing.
‘OK, we all attack together. Zali, freeze my water, he’s hot so cold shouldn’t do him any good. Arketa use your vines, Icarus, see if you can get a tornado around his whole body to move him. Thom, do whatever you can to force him towards the box. Mom, same thing with your water.’ Everyone nodded at me and the bubble shook again as the fireball beat against it.
‘Everybody ready? Now!’
29
I dropped the bubble and charged, my sword raised high above my head and a roar tearing from my throat. Water blasted past me on my right, smashing into the huge fireball. I added my strength to it as I ran, smothering the angry flames. Vines shot past me next, wrapping themselves fast around Neos as he clapped his hands together again.
‘Stop him opening his hands!’ The vines coiled around his palms, and I shot my own ropes of water after them, wrapping around and reinforcing the vines. I felt my water freeze as Zali sent out her power, and Neos let out a snarl of frustration. I had been right, he didn’t like the cold.
‘More, Zali!’ I shouted, calling the ocean to me. A swell began to rise from the ocean behind Neos and the pool, a massive wave growing as I skidded to a stop, concentrating. A tornado blasted across my path, almost as tall as Neos. I raised Alifthoros high and pulled on the ocean with all the strength I had. The tidal wave teetered for a moment, then crashed towards Neos. He staggered, his hands still bound, and Icarus swooped over my head and pushed his hand out. His tornado bareled into Neos, and within seconds it had completely surrounded him. I felt the water of my huge wave catching in the wind, swirling and spinning, making an impenetrable wall around the Titan, who was stamping and bellowing inside the tremendous whirlpool.
‘The box!
’ I shouted, as I felt the temperature drop sharply, Zali’s power working. A shadow appeared over me, and I looked up to see Thom in manticore form, flying overhead with the box dangling from his massive jaws. He dove at the last minute, dropping it with a clatter at the foot of the whirlpool. Hope swelled inside me. We were really going to do this!
‘Pull!’ yelled Arketa, and everybody did. The freezing whirlpool dragged Neos towards the box, the icy water impossible for him to break through and Arketa’s vines tugging him hard. He began to shrink as he got closer to the box, and Icarus, beating his wings hard above us, shrank the tornado with him.
‘It’s working!’ I heard Zali say, my heart pounding. She was right, it was. Then I felt a stabbing pain in my chest and I stumbled, lowering my sword arm. The tornado wobbled in front of me and I blinked in confusion. The stabbing pain came again, sharper this time, and I cried out.
‘Dora!’ Icarus shouted, at the same time my mom said,
‘I can’t hold the water without you!’ Tears began streaming from my eyes, the pain spreading through my chest, squeezing my ribs, my lungs. I gasped for breath, trying desperately to keep the ocean water swirling around in Icarus’s tornado under control, but it was getting harder and harder to breathe. I dropped to one knee as the pain began to pulse out from my core, my skin searing in agony, like a thousand needles were piercing it.
