Poseidon's Academy Box Set

by Sarah A Vogler

  ‘Daddy! Daddy!’ a girl screamed, clinging desperately to the side of a door as she reached a hand down to a dark shape sinking below her. Her dad, Hailey thought, tears burning her throat.

  All she could hear was screaming. Desperate people trying to find their loved ones as they held tight to the debris—ripped off doors, shattered tables, and pieces of thatched roofing—floating through a sea of bobbing bodies that was quickly turning a dark red as dirt mixed with blood.

  ‘Go on then, save your precious humans,’ Nemertes said, spitting the last word as though it were poison.

  A groan erupted from the sea, so loud the water vibrated, rippling as if in fear of what was coming. Hailey’s muscles stiffened and icicles shot through her heart. ‘Surely he wouldn’t.’

  The sea churned again as if another tidal wave was forming. But what emerged was much worse. A monster exploded from the water, rising up on a serpent tail as tall as the tidal wave had been. Tentacles hung from its body like gangly arms, thrashing just above the sea. Its head was round and smooth with two black eyes staring from its forehead. The rest of its face was one big mouth—seriously, the thing could swallow a ship—crammed with rows of razor-sharp teeth.

  A kraken!

  The sea-monster roared, shaking the earth and Hailey’s insides. The floundering people screamed and tried to swim away as one of the monster’s tentacles shot out and wrapped around a woman, tossing her into the monster’s mouth.

  ‘NO!’ Hailey couldn’t believe this was happening. She wanted to vomit. She wanted to cry. And most of all she wanted to get away.

  But she didn’t do any of those things. Instead, she swam towards the kraken. Another tentacle shot out, snaking around a boy no older than nine. ‘MOTHER!’ he screamed, the terror in his voice tearing straight through Hailey.

  She zoomed towards him, shooting through the water like a torpedo, and grabbed the monster’s tentacle, which was as thick as a tree trunk, before it could lift the boy. She yanked it, grey slime from its skin oozing between her fingers. The monster’s grip tightened, turning the boy’s sobs into gasps for air.

  ‘Let him go!’ She clawed at the tentacle, stripping dull grey scales off with her fingernails.

  Hot breath that reeked of rotting flesh enveloped Hailey, sending her gaze shooting up. Two black eyes glowered back at her, a mere foot from her face, hunger and rage burning in them. The monster’s teeth, which were the size of Hailey, gnashed together.

  She strangled a scream and spoke up. ‘You can’t have him! Leave. Return to where you slumbered.’

  The kraken growled and raised its head, its other tentacles slapping the sea, sending a spray of water over Hailey.

  The boy’s lips were blue, his breaths coming in tiny gasps. ‘It won’t harm me. You’re safe,’ she told him, just as the kraken lifted him.

  Hailey’s hand shot out, her fingers wrapping around the boy’s leg. A part of her wanted to let go and swim to land, but her hand clenched tighter. She dangled in front of the monster’s open mouth. Great. I’m about to become lunch.

  The kraken roared, flecks of drool spraying Hailey’s face, and tossed the boy. Her grip slipped from his leg; he reached for her, arms flailing as the sea soared towards them.

  Everything flashed white. The whiteness disappeared, and Hailey found herself sitting in a classroom with walls covered in yellowing pieces of parchment. They contained everything from the family trees of the Titans, to information about the Olympians and events they’d been involved in, such as the Titanomachy. Hailey wasn’t alone; other students sat in scallop-shell chairs and at polished-coral desks around her.

  ‘And that was my way of saying welcome back to Ancient History.’ Amathia stood at the front of the room, before a long coral desk. She was the same as Hailey remembered her from last year, with flawless skin and platinum blonde hair that draped over her pale blue flowing dress. A blue glass teardrop hanging from a thin chain glistened around her neck.

  Her hand rested beside a crystal orb on her desk. In Goldarin—the language of the gods and the first race of humans—it was called a watwdaom nnavv, which translated to memory ball. When someone touched it, they could transport everyone in the room into whatever memory they were thinking about.

  That’s what had just happened. Hailey had been in one of Amathia’s memories, reliving it through Amathia’s body, which she had had no control over. She’d felt terrified facing the kraken, but she didn’t feel terrified now. The watwdaom nnavv worked by blocking a person’s emotions about a memory when they came out of it. Hailey was grateful for that, because it meant the sea-monster she’d met wouldn’t haunt her dreams.

  ‘Can anyone tell me what event that was?’ Amathia asked.

  Alec raised his gangly arm. He was one of Hailey’s best friends, which meant she knew he was struggling with both his shyness and wanting to show off his knowledge.

  Amathia’s turquoise-coloured eyes settled on him. ‘Yes, Alec?’

  ‘The memory was from when Queen Cassiopeia of Ethiopia insulted the nereids by saying she was more beautiful than them. Poseidon flooded their city and sent a kraken as punishment.’

  ‘Well done.’

  Alec blushed and lowered his eyes, running a hand through his blond hair. ‘For those unfamiliar with the story, it ended with King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia offering their daughter, Andromeda, to the kraken as a sacrifice. Thankfully, Perseus saved her and slayed the monster.’ Amathia paused, allowing everyone to scribble notes. ‘You all know your ancestors killed the gods in the Great Battle and absorbed their powers, which is why everyone in the world has a power,’ Amathia continued, her dress shimmering like the iridescent scales of a fish when she moved. ‘This year’s focus is on what drove your ancestors to this act. In other words, we will be exploring the gods’ callous and vengeful nature. Class dismissed.’

  ‘Am I the only one wondering why the monster didn’t swallow Amathia?’ Demi asked while everyone stuffed their books into their bags.

  Jayden shook his head, his gelled black hair not moving an inch. ‘You really need to start listening in class. When we learned about nymphs last year, Madam Grayson told us sea-monsters can’t hurt nereids because Poseidon put a protection spell on them, don’t you remember?’

  Demi slung her bag over her shoulder, a few strands of her wavy brown hair getting caught under the strap. ‘Nope. But I do remember how much I’ve missed this place. I’m excited to be back.’

  Hailey headed for the door with her friends. ‘Going to a school that travels underwater and is run by a nereid who teaches history through her memories, what’s not to like?’

  They joined the stream of students in the hallway. Like the rest of the palace, the floor was made of white pearls—there were thousands of them, probably even millions—and the frosted crystal walls adorned with seashells and jewels glittered in the light coming from the glowing orbs floating beneath the ceiling.

  ‘Aaron, are you coming?’ Jayden called over his shoulder.

  Aaron was the last member of Hailey’s group. His brown hair was in its usual “bed-head” style, and he stared behind him, as if expecting someone to charge out. ‘Yeah, I’m coming.’

  ‘What’s the matter with you?’ Demi asked when he caught up. ‘You’ve been as quiet as Alec lately.’

  ‘Hey!’ Alec interjected.

  Aaron shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘No reason. Let’s go.’

  They weaved through a maze of hallways, passing through an archway back into the main entrance. A glass statue of Poseidon raising his trident stood in the centre of the open space, between a pair of crystal staircases curving their way upstairs.

  ‘Where to?’ Demi asked. ‘Since classes are done for the day, I’m thinking outside.’

  ‘Sounds good,’ Hailey said.

  They headed through the mother-of-pearl double doors across from the stairs and stepped into the enormous grounds, the sharp scent of salt drifting up Hailey’s nostrils. Sea-anemones and
coral formed bright gardens of pinks, purples, blues, and greens. Between them grew trees with coral trunks, each blooming different types of jewels every colour of the sea—there were sapphire trees, azure trees, tanzanite trees, and so many more. Other trees grew big bunches of pearls, and some trees were draped in seaweed, resembling weeping willows, with sea-shell flowers dotting them.

  Hailey gazed down as she walked behind her friends. The diamond ground was transparent, so every step was like walking on water. She had a clear view of the rainbow reefs below, and the fish that darted between them.

  Her gaze drifted to the sea surrounding the grounds, which stretched over the top of the palace like a dome of water. A force field held it back from flooding in on them like a tsunami.

  ‘This will do.’ Demi plopped beside a pile of fallen sapphires the colour of the sea.

  Aaron cleared his throat as everyone sat down. ‘So I wanted to ask you guys something. Would you like to take part in the obstacle course race with me this weekend?’

  Demi cocked an eyebrow. ‘Obstacle course race?’

  ‘Yeah, the one Amathia mentioned at the welcome back dinner yesterday.’ Aaron combed a hand through his hair. ‘She and some of the teachers transformed an island—the Isle of Trials—into an obstacle course when Poseidon’s Academy first opened. The palace passes by it every two years, so Amathia likes to change the obstacles and hold a race.’

  Demi shook her head. ‘Sounds too sporty. That’s probably why I blanked out when she was talking about it at dinner.’

  Hailey curled her legs beside her. ‘Yeah, me too.’ She didn’t want to spend her weekend jumping over hurdles and climbing up ropes, or whatever happened in obstacle races.

  ‘I’d rather study,’ Alec admitted.

  ‘How about we do the next one?’ Jayden suggested.

  Aaron shrugged. ‘I guess it doesn’t really matter anyway.’

  ‘Sports never do.’ Demi snatched a sapphire from the ground. ‘Do you think anyone will notice if I take this?’

  Jayden plucked the jewel from her hand and tossed it back in the pile. ‘That’s called stealing.’

  Demi rolled her emerald green eyes. ‘I guess Mr Moral is back.’

  Hailey tuned out, not in the mood for Demi and Jayden’s bickering. She glanced at the palace, thinking it belonged in a fairy tale, with its blue crystal exterior sparkling with the colours of a rainbow as imitation sunlight glinted off its turrets and spires.

  She remembered how amazed she’d been when she’d first seen it last year, and how she’d thought she’d have the best experience of her life here. Everything changed when Hailey met Amathia’s sisters and learned they wanted to kill everyone and resurrect the gods. Thanks to them, Hailey and her friends had been imprisoned in the Underworld.

  She shuddered at the memories of the Erinyes’ fiery gazes burning into her head. Amathia had given Hailey and her friends a potion after they’d escaped back to Poseidon’s palace, which was supposed to have acted like the memory ball and blocked emotions that related to their time in the Underworld. But Hailey still had nightmares about that horrible place… the stench of death that hung in the air, the sky of lava, and the rooms that had brought her worst fears to life.

  She wondered if her friends were having nightmares too; she wasn’t brave enough to ask. Whenever the Underworld came up in conversation, they seemed nonchalant about everything that had happened, which made her think she was weaker than them. And that wasn’t something she wanted to admit to.

  ‘Gaia to Hailey.’

  ‘Huh?’ Hailey focused her attention on Jayden.

  ‘We were talking about the nereids and how we need to start spying on them again so we can learn if they’ve got another plan in the works.’

  ‘I thought you and Demi were arguing about stealing.’

  Demi tossed a sapphire at her; it bounced off Hailey’s blazer and chinked against the diamond ground. ‘That was five minutes ago.’

  ‘Heads up everyone, the evil trio is on the move,’ Aaron warned.

  Venus was sashaying towards them with her twin sidekicks, Nerissa and Cleo. Hailey was disappointed to see that they hadn’t developed acne or warts to ruin their faces, with all three of them still looking beyond beautiful. Even the trio’s curls were pristine, with Venus’s blonde locks not having a single hair out of place, and the twins’ waist-length dark hair gleaming.

  Venus’s violet eyes contained a mixture of smugness and hatred when they met Hailey’s. ‘I hope you weren’t thinking that I’d forgotten about what you did to me last year.’

  ‘Trust me, Venus, it’s something I replay in my mind every day,’ Hailey replied, flashing back to when she’d punched Venus in the nose last year. In Hailey’s defence, she’d been on her way to save the world. And okay, maybe a part of her had wanted to break Venus’s nose to get her back for acting like a harpy.

  ‘Well, you’re about to regret it.’ Pink mist seeped from Venus’s mouth like a puff of smoke, engulfing Aaron.

  Aaron coughed and swiped it away. ‘Yuck! You need a mint.’

  Venus’s jaw dropped, and the twins exchanged dumfounded looks, their deep blue eyes practically popping out of their heads. ‘Wh… how did you…’ Venus stammered, clearly not used to her powers failing.

  ‘I got Madam Norwood to create a potion for the boys that would make them immune to your powers,’ Demi said, grinning with satisfaction. ‘Now take your love-inducing breath and go away.’

  Venus glared, clenching and un-clenching her fists. Hailey tensed, ready for Venus to launch at her, but a smile spread across her face instead, and she turned to the twins, whispering something to them.

  Nerissa and Cleo exchanged a smirk before opening their mouths and singing. Notes sweeter than a triple-coated Ares chocolate bar drifted into the air, entrancing Hailey with their ethereal beauty, making her forget about everything but that sweet, sweet music floating around her like an enchanting spell.

  Hailey snapped back to her senses the moment the song ended. ‘And that achieved what exactly? Jayden, Alec, and Aaron are immune to siren powers too.’

  Venus’s smile widened. ‘They weren’t singing for them.’

  Hailey glanced past Venus, her eyes widening when she spotted seven boys marching towards Nerissa and Cleo, their faces blank, like their brains had been reset. Not good. She shot to her feet with her friends. ‘Ideas anyone?’

  ‘I’ll take the three on the left,’ Demi declared. ‘That leaves one each for the rest of you.’

  Alec stepped backwards. ‘I’m not big on fighting.’

  ‘You’re half Heracles,’ Demi scoffed, the marching boys only ten yards from them now. ‘The god of strength was a born fighter and you should be too.’ She grabbed his wrist and yanked him forward.

  ‘We can’t hurt them,’ Jayden interjected. ‘Fighting us isn’t their choice. They’re being controlled.’

  ‘Then I guess we’ll just have to convince them to leave.’ Aaron raised his palms. A slight shimmer in the air before him was the only sign he’d created a force field. He shoved it towards the evil trio. Their smirks turned to gasps of surprise and pain as they flew backwards, thudding down next to a tree growing aquamarines.

  ‘Attack them!’ the twins shouted, untangling themselves from Venus.

  ‘Stay behind my force field,’ Aaron instructed everyone, keeping his hands raised.

  A tall boy materialised behind Aaron. Hailey recognised him as Brennan—a student in her year who was usually shy and quiet. But right now he looked empty—with the same dead stare the other boys had. He grabbed Aaron’s shoulders and vanished before Hailey could even comprehend what was happening.

  ‘Aaron.’ She grasped at the air where he’d been.

  ‘Watch out!’ Jayden yelled.

  Hailey whirled around. A wave as high as the palace’s second floor broke through the grounds’ force field and slammed her into a tanzanite tree, a few jewels pelting her head. She lay stunned for a few hea
rtbeats, shivering against the icy water soaking into her clothes, before dragging her aching body up and gazing around to make sure her friends were okay.

  Alec had landed in a sea-anemone garden, where he yelped, trying to escape the stinging plants. Jayden was standing in the same spot as before. Hailey assumed he’d used his Poseidon powers to avoid being swept away. Another boy stood not far from him, appearing perfectly dry. Hailey guessed he was the Poseidon who’d created the wave, especially considering the other five boys were floundering on the ground. Hailey couldn’t see Demi, and Aaron was still missing. Where did Brennan take him?

  A fireball soared past Hailey’s face, coming so close she was sure it’d singed off a few hairs. She whipped around, water flying from her auburn hair. One of the coerced boys stood a yard away. Hailey barely had a second to spot the fireball balanced in his hand before he hurled it at her.

  She leapt aside, adrenaline pumping through her body, and raised her hands above her head, expecting to feel her powers surge into her fingertips.

  But nothing happened.

  She glanced at the sky of water. Medusa. Just for a second, she’d forgotten she was underwater and her powers didn’t work. That second of distraction cost her.

  A fireball struck her shoulder, its flames sizzling to smoke against her midnight blue blazer. Thank the Tyches my uniform is too wet to catch fire! she thought, just as another fireball materialised in her attacker’s hand. Hailey charged at him, dropping into a somersault as he pitched it and kicking her leg out. The boy fell backwards as his fireball sailed into a jade tree, singeing its coral trunk before fizzling into smoke.

  ‘Get off me!’ the fireball thrower roared as Hailey leapt on top of him, pinning him against the diamond ground. A heartbeat later, hands closed around her arms and yanked her up.

  She couldn’t see who was restraining her arms, but Venus loomed before her. Hailey had never loathed her more than she did in that moment. ‘You’ve gone too far. I punched you in the nose. You sending a group of boys to attack me and my friends is hardly fair revenge.’

  ‘Really? I don’t think I’ve gone far enough.’ Venus clenched her hand into a fist. ‘I’ve been waiting two months for this.’ She drew her fist back.