by Eliza Raine
Olympus Academy
The Demon Demigod
Eliza Raine
Copyright © 2019 by Eliza Raine
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Editors: Kyra Wilson, Brittany Smith
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Thanks for Reading!
1
‘Oh Gods, I’m so sorry!’ I squealed as the tidal wave crashed over Dasko, then whirled away noisily down the drain in the middle of the room. Dasko kept his eyes closed a moment, standing still as water dripped from his sodden clothes. Snickers rang out behind me and I felt my face heat.
‘Pandora, please stay after class,’ the professor said eventually. I nodded, stomach sinking. ‘You’re not in trouble,’ he added, looking at me as he shook out his wet sleeves. ‘But we need to put in some extra time to practice your water powers.’
‘Yes, professor,’ I mumbled. I headed to the back of the room and leaned against the cool stone wall, watching as the other students took it turns to create little whirlpools in their palms or small waves that danced out of the water wall at the back of the room, then dissipated harmlessly at their feet. Arketa shrieked and leaped backwards as Kiko’s wave got too close to her pretty heeled shoes. I looked down at my own soggy, stained red Converse. Dad and Mandy’s faces flashed in my mind. It had been four months since I had seen my family. Four months since I had joined Olympus Academy. And although I now had power, I didn’t know what to do with it. The restless feeling that had dominated my life before coming to Olympus hadn’t lessened with the unlocking of my Titan powers. It had grown.
Dasko said that being a descendant of Oceanus and having epic water powers was always going to be tricky when living in an underwater school. I was constantly aware of the ocean around us, its churning, changing, enormous power bubbling under my skin all the time. I dreamed of it at night - dreamed that I was the water, racing free around an endless globe, giving life to everything I passed. Some of the creatures I saw I couldn’t even describe - and never saw again. Some were just like the ones I’d grown up seeing in aquariums back home, like the turtle family that Zali and I swam with every day now. I couldn’t communicate with them like Zali could, with actual words, but I could sense their mood and their intent. I knew if they were unsettled, happy or in danger.
The gong sounded and the students began filing out of the water elemental classroom. I stayed where I was, ignoring Arketa’s nasty comment as she strolled past.
‘With any luck you’ll drown yourself, Titan scum,’ she sneered. ‘Titan girl’ had been upgraded to ‘Titan scum’ for a little while now. I didn’t want her words to her affect me, but I still just couldn’t understand why she hated me so much. Icarus said it was best to ignore her, so that’s what I was trying to do. He wasn’t in my water classes anymore though, he just worked with air element now, so I had to put up with her on my own.
‘Pandora, you need to work harder on this. If it gets back to Zeus that you can’t control your powers-’ Dasko started, but I cut him off, rolling my eyes.
‘I’ll get thrown out of the academy. I know, I know. I am trying.’
‘Then try harder. Now, make a small wave from the wall. No higher than three feet,’ he instructed me. I stared at waterfall wall, easily slipping my conscious into the flowing water. I pulled out a wave, slowly, cautiously. I drew it from the wall towards me, feeling the gentle flowing power growing. The press of the ocean around me grew, the heaving mass of energy calling to me. I shouted a curse as the wave leapt, drenching me from head to foot.
‘I can’t do it with the sea all around me!’ I yelled, my frustration turning to anger.
‘Yes, you can Pandora. You just need to practice controlling the feeling. Practice not letting it overtake you.’ Dasko’s voice was calm and his dark eyes settled on mine.
‘Fine,’ I said through gritted teeth after a pause. I tried again. And again, and again. I lost control of the wave every time. Eventually Dasko sighed and told me to stop.
‘It’s nearly dinner time. I’ll see you tomorrow,’ he said.
‘I’m sorry,’ I mumbled. ‘I really am trying.’
‘I know, Pandora. You’ll get there,’ he said with a smile.
I hoped he was right.
I told my friends about drenching Dasko in front of the whole class as soon as we sat down in our usual spot for dinner.
‘Practice makes perfect. I’m sure you’ll get there,’ said my roommate Zali, characteristically optimistic. I gave her a warm smile.
‘How are your fire classes going?’ Tak asked me as we piled mashed potato onto our plates at dinner. I looked sideways at Icarus.
‘Umm, alright, I guess,’ I answered vaguely.
‘I really like the new professor. He’s helping me loads with Telekinesis.’
‘Do you not think there’s anything… off about him?’ I asked carefully.
‘Like what?’ Tak asked, his eyebrows drawing together in a frown.
Like being a dangerous red-eyed demon, I thought but I just shrugged.
‘I agree with Dora,’ said Icarus. ‘There’s something strange about him.’
‘Coming from you, that’s quite an accusation,’ said Gida, the satyr. I watched Icarus tense for a moment at the teasing, then relax, an easy smile crossing his face as his massive black wings rustled behind him.
‘Well, at least I’m not half goat,’ he said, with a sideways look at the satyr.
‘Being half-goat has many advantages, I’ll have you know,’ Gida replied indignantly. I zoned out as they started comparing wings to hooves. My friends had accepted Icarus as easily as they had accepted me, and it warmed my heart to see him smiling and chatting with them. When we were alone, at the top of the pegasus tower and sharing stolen kisses in the twilight, he would talk non-stop about the places he wanted to visit and the realms he wanted to see. His excitement was infectious and so different to the moody, guarded boy I’d met before. The more time I spent with him, the more I realized how different, how incredible he was. I wanted so badly to ask him about the file I’d seen, about where he had been trapped and whether that was why he was so driven by being free, but I knew he would be furious with me for prying. He was finally opening up, and I had no intention of getting in the way of that, much as I burned to know about his past.
Professor Neos was another problem entirely. Every time Icarus or I had tried to tell Dasko about his glowing red eyes and our suspicion that he was the red demon that I had inadvertently let out of Oceanus’s box, the teacher had stared at us in confusion and told us he couldn’t understand our language. So we were trying to work out what to do about it on our own. Neos taught Fire and Earth elements, along with Telekinesis, which was only available to students who excelled at Telepathy. I hadn’t made the grade, but Tak was doing great with it, now l
evitating salt and pepper pots towards other people’s heads at every available opportunity.
I only saw Professor Neos in Fire class, and at least once every lesson I was positive he gave me a flash of those red eyes on purpose. I was desperate to just ask him outright if he was the demon, but Icarus said we had to be smarter about it. I could see where he was coming from. I mean, I didn’t have a clue what we’d do if he actually said that yes, he was the demon. Besides, we were a full month into the new semester and nothing bad had happened. Yet.
After dinner the main temple transformed into the library and we settled ourselves on our usual couch. Icarus had to sit up on the back of it so that his wings could hang over unhindered, but he didn’t seem to mind. I sat in front of him on the squishy cushion, his booted feet either side of me, and as Tak started setting up a dice game Roz sauntered over to us.
‘Can I play, Tak?’ she asked sweetly, with a slight glance at me and Icarus.
‘Course you can,’ he beamed at her. I looked at Zali, knowing she didn’t like Roz. Tak and the pink-haired girl had danced together a lot at the last dance night, but this was the first time she’d approached us as a group in the library.
Zali looked straight back at me, her amber eyes flashing.
‘Do you want to play something else?’ she asked me.
‘Sure,’ I said, awkwardly, as Roz sat on a cushioned stool opposite Tak. ‘What did you have-’
‘Roz, what are you doing with these losers?’ Arketa’s voice cut across my words.
‘Playing dice,’ Roz shrugged, looking up at Arketa, Filis and Kiko. They all sneered in unison.
‘You’ll catch something,’ said Filis, nose wrinkling.
‘Don’t be stupid, Filis,’ Roz said and picked up the two dice Tak had put in front of her. ‘Do I roll first?’ she asked him. Tak nodded as Filis went bright red.
‘Did you just call me stupid?’ she hissed. Arketa’s face had darkened, anger dancing in her eyes.
‘No, I said the idea of catching something from these people was stupid.’ Roz looked up at the three girls. ‘Unless you want to play, go away,’ she said. My mouth fell open slightly. The last thing I had expected from somebody as popular as Roz was for her to take our side over Arketa’s crowd. Arketa’s lips pinched shut as Filis spluttered, and then she whirled on her heel, storming off without a word. Kiko paused a moment, gave the table a pointed look, then followed after her as it crashed over, the dice tumbling across the floor and under the couch.
‘She’s really, really good at Telekinesis,’ grumbled Tak as he got on his hands and knees to gather them back up.
‘Yeah, I can see that!’ laughed Roz, and dropped down beside him. I looked at Zali and felt a pang of pity at the expression on her face as she watched them hunt for the dice together.
‘You didn’t seem to enjoy this evening?’ I said to her as we closed the door to our dorm room later that night.
‘Well it was hard to get a word in, with Roz taking over so much,’ Zali answered shortly.
‘She did take over a bit,’ I agreed, secretly thinking that she hadn’t at all. ‘But it was great watching her put Filis in her place, wasn’t it?’
‘I guess so,’ Zali answered, sitting down hard on her bed.
‘I’m sensing you still don’t like her,’ I said slowly.
‘I just don’t trust her,’ Zali scowled.
‘We’ll keep an eye on her,’ I said, as reassuringly as I could. I thought it was highly likely that her dislike of Roz was connected to how much she did like Tak, but as she clearly wasn’t ready to talk about it I decided to keep my mouth shut for a change.
2
As soon as I was sure Zali was asleep I crept back out of bed. I was at the base of the pegasus tower in minutes, the water surrounding the dome a gloomy deep blue above me. I got in the hauler, shifting impatiently from foot to foot as it zoomed upwards. I took a deep breath as the cool air hit my face when I reached the top, then jogged down the corridor towards the stables. I stopped when I reached Peto’s stall, seeing Icarus sat on the walkway, his legs dangling over the edge and his huge black wings either side of him. Even though he’d had the wings for over a month now, they still took my breath away sometimes.
‘Fancy seeing you here,’ I said with a smile as I slowed. He climbed to his feet as he turned to me, pushing his hair back from his face and smiling back.
‘I heard a pretty girl visits her pegasus some nights,’ he muttered. Thrills rippled through me as I looked into his piercing green eyes and I stepped close to him.
‘Is that right?’ I whispered.
‘It sure looks like it,’ he answered, and kissed me under the moonlight.
‘You know, we’re going to get caught up here soon enough,’ Icarus said a while later as I brushed Peto. The pegasus whinnied happily as I ran the coarse-bristled brush across his flank.
‘Nah. I don’t think anybody cares. Besides, we’re not causing any trouble.’
‘Hmmm.’
‘Icarus, what are we going to do about the demons?’
He sighed. Our conversation turned to this every time we were alone and we still didn’t have an answer.
‘I don’t know. Can you talk to Nix again?’
‘Yeah. I have Magical Objects class tomorrow,’ I said. But so far the phoenix hadn’t provided any useful advice on the matter. ‘I can’t help feeling it’s only a matter of time. The poem talked about spilling blood. I don’t want us to act too late.’
‘But we don’t know where to start,’ he protested.
‘Yes we do. Neos.’
‘Dora, if he really is a demon, then he is the most dangerous thing in the academy. You must never be alone with him.’ Icarus’s eyes flashed fiercely as he spoke.
‘If he wanted to hurt us he would have already! Not patiently taught students Telekinesis and Fire magic. No, he’s up to something else. He’s showing us his red eyes on purpose - he wants us to talk to him.’ I was absolutely sure that what I was saying was true.
‘Pandora, please.’
‘Please what?’ I looked at Icarus. ‘We have to do something, we can’t just wait for the demons to start killing people!’ He flinched at my words, his wings fluttering behind him.
‘Just don’t do anything alone. Make sure I’m with you,’ Icarus said eventually.
I rolled my eyes.
‘I can handle myself, you know,’ I said, feeling the power of the ocean below us hum through me at my words, as though reinforcing them.
‘I know you can. It’s one of the things I like best about you,’ Icarus said quietly. I straightened and looked him in the eyes. ‘I just think we’re better as a team,’ he said. My heart swelled in my chest. He was right. We were.
I awoke late the next morning and had to race to the showers before pulling on my swimsuit and bolting down to the pool.
My timetable for my second semester was simpler than it had been before I unlocked my powers. Now, my first class every day was swimming or flying and my last class was Water magic with Dasko. I still had one class each of Olympus Geography, History of Mythology and Ancient Language, along with Swords and Archery, but I no longer had Shifting, Telepathy, Electricity, Earth or Air. My only new class was Advanced Magical Objects. I still got to spend time with Nix’s feather, but I also got to test other objects for magical powers, and Professor Fantasma promised we would be looking at cursed objects soon.
‘Look, they’re here already!’ Zali called to me as I jogged to the pool edge. Miss Alma gave me a stern look.
‘Sorry I’m late,’ I muttered quickly, and slid into the water. I felt weightless instantly, the strength of the liquid supporting my body. My connection to the water meant I could swim for hours without tiring, the currents carrying me when my limbs no longer wanted to. But I could still only hold my breath for about four or five minutes. And short of growing gills, I couldn’t see how that would change.
I swam quickly up to Zali, who was pointing at the fa
mily of turtles on the other side of the dome, twenty feet away. The littlest one wriggled excitedly as we waved.
‘Class! I want you to race to get the red flag from the marker out there,’ called Miss Alma loudly. We all followed her pointed arm to look out at the glowing red flag fifty feet out in the ocean beyond. ‘Zali, you needed to do the distance twice before you can take it or there’s no competition,’ the teacher added. We all lined up against the wall of the pool. This was advanced swim class, so there were only ten of us, Arketa included.
‘On your marks,’ called Miss Alma. Arketa shot me a nasty look and my skin fizzed with adrenaline. I wanted to beat her.
‘Get set…’ I glared back at her, then focused on the red flag out in the sea.
‘Go!’ I pushed off the tiles hard, propelling myself through the pool. I took a massive breath in just before I reached the dome, then popped through it, relishing the cold water rushing over my head. Zali streaked past me, iridescent purple flashing in her tail as it whipped through the water ahead of me. I kicked my legs, willing the water around me to push me faster and felt it respond, a tight current beginning to whirl around me. My hair flew back from my face as I started to zoom towards the flag. I felt a tug on my ankle and jerked my head around. Arketa was hanging on to my foot, the strength of my current pulling her along with me. She gave me a nasty smile and I kicked my foot, trying to dislodge her. She pulled hard though, dragging herself forwards, then used her own water power to surge herself forwards, and past me. I growled, bubbles escaping my mouth, and kicked hard after her. For half a moment I considered using my power to pull her back, but the thought of the wave crashing over Dasko rang through my mind. What if I lost control and drowned her? At the thought, I felt the current I was riding in spin sharply. Panic crept around me as I concentrated on the ocean but it was too late. The current began to swirl downwards, dragging me in a spiral with it. I closed my eyes and forced myself into the water, commanding it to stop with everything I had. It slowed, mercifully, and when I opened my eyes again I was treading water ten feet below the others. And I looked up just in time top see Arketa snatch the red flag from the marker half a second before Zali reached it. A burning stab in my chest accompanied the flash of disappointment I felt, reminding me that I needed air. I kicked angrily back towards the pool, mentally cursing my inability to control my power.