We’re done for, she thought desolately when Hades materialised, pulling a black helmet from his head and tucking it under his arm.
Alec choked on a breath. ‘The cap of invisibility.’
Hades drummed his fingers against it, his nails clinking against the glimmering metal. ‘Yes, it has helped me in foiling many escape attempts.’ He considered the five of them for a moment. ‘I thought my wife naïve in thinking you would not attempt another escape, and you have now affirmed that. I—’
Hades’s eyes widened for a split second before he stumbled backwards and smacked against the dirt.
Aaron’s palms were raised towards him, having used his force field on the god. He redirected his hands at the ground. ‘Everyone on. Now!’
Hailey stumbled a step as Aaron raised his palms, the force field beneath her shuddering as it lurched up, rising into the air like a shaking elevator. She spared a glance back at Hades, who wasn’t moving. Yes, we’re going to make this, she cheered in her head as the force field jerked to a stop at the tunnel.
They bolted, making it all of five steps before an invisible force slammed into them like a minotaur, throwing them off the ledge.
The ground rushed towards Hailey, who bit down on a scream and prayed to the Tyches that whatever had stopped her from splatting onto the dirt the first time would do the same this time.
It did, with Hailey and her friends going immobile just inches from the ground before dropping again and clambering to their feet.
Hades loomed before them, his eyes murderous. ‘HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ME!’ he roared. ‘You will die for your insolence.’ A black fireball materialised in his palm.
‘No!’ Aaron darted in front of everyone, throwing out his arms. ‘I’m the one who knocked you over. And it was my idea to escape. Kill me and let them go.’
Demi smacked him on the shoulder. ‘Don’t be stupid. I’m not going to let you get yourself killed.’ She met Hades’s gaze. ‘We’re sorry.’
‘You have by far exceeded my patience!’ Hades drew his arm back.
This is it, Hailey thought. This is how I’m going to die: death by incineration. There was nowhere to run to, and there was definitely nothing she could say to Hades to change his mind. She closed her eyes, accepting her fate. I’m sorry, Mum.
‘Hades, wh—’
‘NO!’
Piercing screams forced Hailey’s eyes open as intense heat washed over her, making her feel as though she were standing back under the lava sky outside Hades’s palace. She stared in surprise and confusion, watching Persephone, who had materialised beside Hades, scream as the black flames from his fireball consumed her. Her screams cut off and she slumped to the ground, the smell of burnt hair lingering in the air as Hades collapsed to his knees beside her charred body.
What the Tartarus just happened? How did the fireball hit Persephone instead of us? Hailey looked at her friends for an answer and saw Aaron’s hands were raised. The fireball must’ve ricocheted off his force field and hit Persephone, she realised.
The wand peeked from Hades’s robes. Hailey lunged forward and snatched it, power rushing into her as she took aim at the god. He focused his rheumy eyes on her. ‘Wait. I don’t want to go back to sleep.’ He glanced down at Persephone. ‘I wish to die. Persephone was my sole reason for living. I cannot face an eternity without her, especially with the knowledge that I killed her. You must take the humans from here so there will be no one left to worship me.’
Trap, Hailey thought instantly. But as she watched Hades lie down beside Persephone and intertwine his fingers through what was left of her hair, she knew he was being sincere. He wanted to die. It didn’t matter if he was being truthful though. He had the power to bring back the Olympians. So letting him live wasn’t something she could risk, especially when he’d probably change his mind about dying in a couple of days and hunt Hailey and her friends down for revenge.
A tremor shot through the wand, like it was trying to make her drop it. Her grip tightened. You don’t control me—not anymore! ‘Evatatz.’ The wand’s moonstone tip glowed, and Hades collapsed beside Persephone.
Demi frowned at the two unmoving gods. ‘I don’t get it. How did Hades kill Persephone when gods are meant to be immortal?’
‘Don’t you ever listen in class?’ Alec asked with a tired shake of his head. ‘The gods are immortal, more or less, but their powers are capable of killing each other—at least the minor gods’ powers are. The Olympians are another story.’
‘Oh,’ Demi said simply. Her eyes turned to the wand in Hailey’s hand. ‘Thank the Tyches we have the wand back. Now we can zap ourselves straight to the Academy.’
Blue skies.
‘Watch out!’
Something hard slammed into Hailey from behind, knocking her to the ground. She flipped onto her back and found herself staring into the crimson eyes of an Erinys.
34
Inner Demons
Searing pain erupted in Hailey’s head, and the wand slipped from her hand as she dug her nails into her scalp. ‘NO!’ she screamed as the memory she’d spent the past five years trying to forget dragged her back in time...
Hailey was eight. She was standing under an oak tree with her dad in Richmond Park, watching a herd of deer forage a dozen yards away.
‘Happy birthday, baby doll,’ Owen said, pulling a blue box from his jeans pocket.
Hailey snatched it from his hand, clawing at the white ribbon wrapped around the box, before tearing off the lid and gasping. ‘It’s beautiful! Thank you, Daddy.’ She delicately plucked the gold necklace from the box, tracing a finger over where her name was engraved on the necklace’s heart pendant. Hailey wrapped her arms around her dad. ‘Thank you. You’re the best dad in the whole world. I love you.’
Owen squeezed her back. ‘I love you too,’ he said before helping her put the necklace on. ‘But I wish you’d stop growing up so fast.’ He ruffled her hair.
She grinned. ‘Sorry, but I don’t have Mum’s powers.’ A cold raindrop slid down her cheek, and the next second the black sky poured down an onslaught of rain, sending the deer galloping for cover.
‘I don’t suppose you can do anything about this?’ Owen asked, putting a hand above his head to try and shield his face from the rain.
Hailey pushed her wet hair from her eyes. ‘I can try.’ She raised her arms towards the sky and concentrated. Blue skies, she thought over and over again, swiping at the black clouds. A couple of them shifted a few feet. But that was about it. She sighed, her arms dropping to her sides. ‘I’m sorry, Dad. I’m not strong enough.’
‘That’s okay. You’ll be able to do it eventually. And you did move some clouds.’ Thunder rumbled. ‘I think we’ve given your mum enough time to finish the cake anyway—and to clean up whatever disaster she’s made of the kitchen.’
Hailey giggled, imagining her mum frantically trying to clean up piles of spilt flour from the floor and oozing eggs from the bench. ‘Let’s go.’
They were racing along the tree-lined pathway that led to their street when the lightning started. Great big forks of electricity shot through the sky and thunder roared, making the earth shudder.
‘Come on, Hailey, we better hurry. I don’t like how close that sounds.’
Hailey stopped running. ‘Maybe I should try to clear the sky again, or at least push the storm back.’
‘No, we really need to g—Watch out, Hailey!’
The world flared white.
A deafening CRACK shook the air as lightning struck a tree, one of its branches exploding in flames and plunging to the ground. Owen shoved Hailey from its path; the flaming branch crashed onto his back, pinning him down.
‘DADDY!’ Hailey screamed. She fell to his side as the rain put the flames out. But it was too late; they’d already done their damage.
Her dad was dead.
The memory crushed the air from Hailey’s lungs. If she’d been a stronger Zeus—the type of Zeus the prophecy spoke of—she would
have been able to send the storm away, and her dad would be alive. But she wasn’t a strong Zeus. She was a weak one. She didn’t deserve her powers.
The burning pain intensified, and the memory replayed. Hailey’s nails dug deeper into her scalp. STOP IT! she screamed inside her head, guilt wrapping tighter and tighter around her chest, crushing the very air out of her lungs.
A hand touched Hailey’s shoulder and cooling relief washed over her as the pain ebbed. She turned to the person beside her, her breath catching as her heart stumbled a beat. Her dad was there, but his pale skin wasn’t blackened from fire, and his auburn hair wasn’t singed. He looked exactly like he had before he’d died.
‘Hi, baby doll.’ Owen smiled.
Hailey glanced back at her eight-year-old self, watching as she failed to stop the storm. ‘I don’t understand,’ she said, focusing back on the man next to her. ‘Am I dead?’
‘No. At least not yet.’
‘So how are you here?’
‘It doesn’t matter.’ Owen tucked a piece of Hailey’s hair behind her ear. ‘We don’t have a lot of time. I came here to tell you that what happened to me wasn’t your fault. You were only eight. I never expected you to clear away that storm. When I was eight, I could only turn metal into a big lump of goo.’
‘But I’m a Zeus. I’m meant to be stronger.’
‘You are stronger, Hailey. You used your powers to save your friends from Scylla and a griffin.’
Her throat tightened with tears. ‘But I didn’t save you.’
Owen glanced over his shoulder, as if he’d heard someone call his name. ‘Please, Hailey, there’s not much time left,’ he said, shifting his attention back on her. ‘I need you to forgive yourself. I think you’re an incredible Zeus, and I’m so proud of you. You need to understand that what happened to me wasn’t your fault. I chose to push you out of the way, and I’d do it again. You need to forgive yourself.’ He pulled Hailey into a hug, his copper-like scent blanketing her in a feeling of safety. ‘Never forget that.’
‘I love you too.’ Hailey went to squeeze him back, but he was gone. Her head erupted in flames again, and she was faced with her eight-year-old self sobbing over her dad’s unmoving body.
Her heart pendant grew warm against her skin. She could feel her dad’s presence in it, and him telling her it was okay to let go. She didn’t know if she really had just had a conversation with him, or if her mind had fabricated the whole thing in desperation, but, either way, her life—and her friends’ lives—depended on her escaping this memory.
It wasn’t my fault that I wasn’t powerful enough to stop the storm. I forgive myself, Hailey told herself slowly, and was surprised to find she believed her words; the guilt wrapped around her chest loosened its grip and allowed her to breathe again.
The memory broke apart, shattering into a million tiny pieces that blew away like specks of sand. The agonising pain in her head was all that remained. She had to fight through it; her friends needed her, and they’d come too far and gone through too much to die now.
It took every ounce of strength Hailey had to roll on to her side, but she did it and was rewarded with blissful relief as she broke free of the Erinys’s gaze. She grabbed the wand beside her arm and took aim at the dumbfounded Erinys before her. ‘EVATATZ!’
The Erinys’s eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed. Hailey jumped up and whipped the wand towards the other two creatures, who were too busy torturing Jayden and Alec to notice what had happened to their sister. ‘Evatatz!’
Jayden went quiet as the Erinys staring at him thudded to the ground. Hailey redirected the wand at the one attacking Alec.
The Erinys sprang, tackling Hailey before she could get one syllable out. She slapped her hand across the creature’s face, the Erinys screeching with fury, and aimed the wand directly at her crimson eyes. ‘Evatatz.’ The Erinys stiffened.
Finally, it’s over, Hailey thought, pushing the Erinys’s limp body off her and lurching up. Her stomach twisted when she saw Aaron covered in claw marks. He was lying unconscious near an overturned cart, diamonds, rubies, and emeralds scattered in the blood pooling around him. Hailey ran towards him.
Demi was kneeling beside Aaron, cradling her arm, which had three gashes extending from her shoulder to her wrist. ‘I don’t like how much blood he’s losing,’ she said to Hailey. ‘We need to get him back to the Academy so Madam Mendem can heal him.’
‘No need.’ Hailey pointed the wand at Aaron. ‘Iatnav.’
His bleeding wounds stitched back together, the claw marks fading, not leaving so much as a scar on his skin. Aaron’s eyes flew open and he jerked up, gazing around in confusion. ‘What happened?’ He looked at the inert Erinyes. ‘Are they asleep?’
‘Yes. Hailey kicked their arses.’ Demi stood up and grimaced, blood dripping from her slashed arm.
Hailey swished the wand at her. ‘Iatnav.’ Demi’s gashes vanished as well, and even the bruise on her cheek faded.
Demi stretched out her arm and wriggled her fingers. ‘Thanks.’
‘Now all we have to do is free the prisoners,’ Alec said, staggering over with Jayden. ‘And then we can go back to the Academy.’
‘So how do we get everyone out of here when we don’t even know where half the tunnels lead?’ Jayden asked, looking at the twenty tunnels, only two of which they’d been down.
‘Leave that part to me.’ Hailey pointed the wand out in front of her, not aiming at anything in particular. ‘Nokarl navv iutwnare kar kiat Underworld iatoat.’ The wand’s moonstone tip glowed, and a second later the pit was teeming with dazed humans.
‘We’re really sorry about all of this. I’m going to send you home now,’ Hailey told them, knowing that the words couldn’t make up for what her and her friends had put them through. The best thing she could do was make sure they never remembered their imprisonment in this place. ‘Oatwatwnato rdakikarl dah kikae zvnasat nara oatkutor kda uiatoat mdaut uatoat knatatr hodaw.’ The wand blazed again, and the prisoners vanished back to where they had been taken from—minus their memories of the Underworld. ‘Our turn.’ Hailey aimed the wand at her and her friends and ordered it to take them back to Poseidon’s Academy.
35
Home Sweet Home
One second Hailey was standing in the dark gloomy surroundings of Tartarus, and the next she was standing in her bright welcoming dorm, breathing in clean air that cleared her nose of the Underworld’s decaying scent.
‘Hello, bed.’ Demi jumped, landing face first on her mattress. She hugged the pillows to her head and sighed in contentment. ‘Oh, how I’ve missed you.’
‘Demi, you’re covered in dirt, now all your sheets are dirty,’ Jayden rebuked her.
‘I don’t care.’ Demi squeezed her pillows tighter. ‘I want to lie here forever.’
‘Well, we can’t.’ Alec swallowed. ‘We need tell Amathia what happened.’
‘Can’t we postpone our expulsion a little longer?’ Aaron asked.
Demi jerked up, abandoning her bed and pillows, which were now coated in dirt. ‘Oh—yeah, we’re going to be expelled, aren’t we?’
‘I’d say so,’ Hailey said. ‘Amathia already gave us a second chance. I doubt she’ll give us a third one, especially considering we were responsible for almost bringing the gods back from the dead.’
‘Can we at least use the wand to take us to her?’ Demi asked. ‘I’m so tired I don’t know if I can walk all the way downstairs.’
‘No more spells,’ Hailey said firmly. The wand had done enough damage, and she was going to make sure it didn’t do any more by giving it to Amathia. No, we must protect it, a voice whispered in her head, urging her to hide it in her chest of drawers.
She took a step towards the drawers. Stop! The wand is evil. It almost caused the prophecy to come true. It needs to be destroyed! She shoved the wand into her pocket before it could coerce her to do anything else.
‘We better bring the chest too.’ Aaron dropped t
o his hands and knees and fished the ornate gold chest out from under Hailey’s bed before the five of them piled into the hallway.
It was empty, but Hailey didn’t expect the rest of the palace to be. She twisted the handle on the door to the common room and braced herself for an onslaught of questions from the other first years about where they’d been for the last who-knew-how-many days, and why they looked—and smelled—like they’d been living in a sewer.
She pushed the door open and frowned. Not one student sat in the common room.
Alec scratched his head, his nails black with grime. ‘Where is everyone?’
‘I’m guessing in bed.’ Jayden glanced at his watch. ‘It’s 5.30 in the morning.’
‘Do you think Amathia will be asleep?’ Demi looked hopeful. ‘Maybe we should go back to our dorm and wait until later.’ She moved to walk back.
Jayden caught her by the arm. ‘Nymphs don’t sleep, Demi.’
She huffed. ‘Fine. Let’s proceed with the expulsion.’
Hailey took the lead down the stairs, heading towards Amathia’s classroom, since it didn’t seem like she ever left it.
She wondered what Amathia’s reaction would be when they told her exactly what her sisters had been up to. Hailey assumed she’d ban them from the palace; it was the only way to make sure they never tried anything so diabolical again, and to ensure the protection of the students and teachers.
It was a shame Hailey wouldn’t get to enjoy Poseidon’s Academy without the nereids, but she deserved to be expelled for what she’d done, even if it was inadvertent. Hailey honestly didn’t care though. She was too grateful to be alive and free from the Underworld to sob about how she’d never see the palace again.
Ten minutes later, Hailey was outside Amathia’s classroom with her friends. She didn’t hesitate as she raised her fist, her knuckles still cracked and covered in dried blood, and knocked. She wanted this whole thing over with so she could go back home, have a shower—a very long shower—go to bed, and pretend as though she hadn’t been a prisoner.
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