‘Almost as long as I can remember,’ the girl replied. ‘Mama says I’m not meant to use my powers. She says it’s dangerous. But I love the water.’ She flicked her tail again. ‘And I can swim so fast, no one ever sees me. I can swim to the middle of the sea before they even blink.’ She giggled. ‘Okay, not that fast. But pretty fast.’
‘What powers do your parents possess?’ Hailey asked.
‘My mother is a conjurer. Not a very good one though. She can only conjure fruit—we eat a lot of apples.’ She giggled again.
‘And your father?’
The light in the girl’s face dimmed. She dropped her head. ‘He left when I was little. He stopped loving me when he found out about my powers. He was a Poseidon.’
‘That’s interesting,’ Hailey mused. ‘I’m sure he loved you though. Sometimes parents have to leave us, and we do not always understand why.’
‘I should go now. Mama will worry if I am away from the house too long.’ The girl’s mermaid tail flicked behind her, splashing salty water in Hailey’s face, and she zoomed away, swimming through the water so fast Hailey thought she must have super speed.
The memory flashed to more scenes where Hailey spoke to the girl, asking her questions about her powers and getting her to demonstrate things. It turned out her name was Azaria. Hailey recognised it as the name of the first Unique—the first human ever to develop powers different to the gods’ powers.
Suddenly Hailey—or more like Amathia—was waiting in the spot she always did when she met Azaria. Only Azaria wasn’t there. Hailey glanced in the direction Azaria always vanished to. Nothing. The water was still. There wasn’t even a ripple, let alone a flash of tail.
‘Something is wrong,’ Hailey muttered, and began swimming. She was as fast as Azaria, everything blurring around her as she zoomed through the water like a torpedo. It took barely any time to reach a small city by the sea.
Hailey kept her distance, hiding behind a rock in the water so that the humans wouldn’t spot her. She gulped when she saw Azaria by the edge of the sea, not far from abandoned fishing nets and tridents. A line of fishermen had formed a barrier between the girl and the sea, and what looked like the rest of the city’s population was crowded around her. Hailey dared to swim closer, bobbing down in the water low enough that only her eyes and the top of her head were visible.
Good thing nereids can breathe underwater, she thought, stopping close enough to the line of fishermen that she could hear every word being said. Thankfully, everyone’s eyes were on Azaria, and they didn’t notice the spying nereid.
‘Please, she is only a child. Leave her be.’ A woman was standing in front of Azaria. She had her arms out, trying to keep the humans back. Hailey guessed this was Azaria’s mother.
‘Her powers did not come from the gods,’ someone in the crowd called out. ‘She is some ghastly crossbreed. Not human.’
‘She is human,’ the woman pleaded. ‘She is merely different.’
‘It’s a bad omen,’ someone else yelled out. ‘Perhaps a sign of the gods’ return.’
‘She has nothing to do with the gods. Her powers are special,’ the woman protested. ‘We will leave. You will never have to see us again.’
‘It’s a bad omen,’ someone repeated. ‘There is a wickedness about this.’
A fireball materialised in a man’s hand, its orange flames flickering.
‘No!’ the woman cried, stretching her arms out even further as Azaria whimpered. ‘Please do not harm her.’
Hailey moved at the same time the man pitched the fireball. She burst through the line of fishermen and reached Azaria as her mother cried out and collapsed.
‘Mama!’ Azaria screamed.
Another fireball materialised in the man’s hand. Hailey grabbed Azaria and yanked her into the sea, the fireball soaring over them as Hailey’s body flowed with airiness, like she was floating. A second later her head was popping out of the water, but instead of finding the fishing city before her, she found an island—one that looked a lot like the island she caught her whirlpool rides from to the Academy.
‘Mama! Mama!’ Azaria cried beside her.
‘Come, Azaria.’ Hailey dragged her onto the sandy beach, Azaria’s tail splitting into two legs the moment she was out of the water.
‘No!’ Azaria tried to pull away and run back to the sea. ‘I need to save my mother.’
‘She is dead.’
Azaria shook her head and slapped Hailey’s hand. It stung, but she didn’t let go. ‘You’re lying. She’s alive. I have to go back.’
Hailey’s heart squeezed in sympathy. She remembered when her dad had died. She reached to touch the necklace he’d made her. But her hands didn’t move. ‘She is dead. I am sorry.’
Azaria burst into tears and dropped to her knees. ‘It’s my fault.’
Hailey knelt beside her, the sand warm against her legs. She wrapped an arm around the girl’s back as sobs tore through her. ‘No. Those humans are responsible.’
‘She asked me not to use my powers. I never listened. They caught me when I tried to meet you. I didn’t realise one of the fishermen was under the water, collecting a fishing net. He saw my tail change. He grabbed it and hauled me back to shore.’
Hailey swallowed. ‘It is my fault then. I am sorry. I should not have asked you to meet with me.’
‘I would have used my powers anyway.’ Azaria sobbed. ‘Is it true what they said? Am I a bad omen? Will I bring about the prophecy?’
Hailey shook her head and hugged the girl’s head to her chest. ‘No, of course not. You are unique, Azaria. Never let anyone persuade you otherwise.’
White light flooded the memory, and Hailey found herself peering at a classroom of students. She shot backwards, away from the door, before anyone could spot her.
‘While Azaria escaped death, the same is not true for the other Uniques who began to emerge over the following decades.’ Amathia’s voice drifted into the hallway. ‘Humans have a tendency to fear what they do not understand, and many Uniques were killed—some by their own parents.’ Sadness tinged Amathia’s voice. ‘The Government eventually stepped in and prohibited the execution of Uniques. Thankfully, in recent years, the world has begun to accept Uniques, and while they are not considered equals yet, I hope they will be in due time. Class dismissed.’
Hailey darted down the right hallway—the one that led to the stable—pressing herself against the wall before the students came out and saw her randomly standing there. Poor Azaria. Hailey had learned about her in primary school, but reading about someone in a book was different to seeing them in real life—well, kind of real life. Humans back then were as bad as the gods. It made her sick to think about all the Uniques who’d been killed for being different. Thank the Tyches the worst they have to deal with now are bullies like Venus.
The footsteps and voices of the other students drifted away, and Hailey snuck from her hiding spot. She slipped into the Ancient History classroom, finding Amathia sitting behind her desk. Her eyebrows rose. ‘Hailey?’
‘Sorry, I should have knocked.’
‘It’s fine.’ Amathia gestured for her to come forward.
‘I wanted to ask if you’d heard anything from Pandora,’ she said as she stopped in front of the nereid’s desk, deciding it was better to warm up to asking her about her sisters.
‘Yes, I am in contact with her. She is very happy with her new life. I will inform her you asked about her. Is there something else?’
‘Well… I… um… Do you still see your sisters?’
Something flashed in Amathia’s turquoise-coloured eyes—sadness? Regret? Hurt? ‘I banished them. There is no need to watch them anymore,’ she said.
‘But what if they’re planning something? Last year you told me you let them stay here so that you could keep an eye on them. With them being banished, you won’t know if they’re plotting anything.’
Amathia straightened and walked around her desk to face Hailey. ‘Yes, I did
say that. But I have since realised that if they were capable of raising the gods, they would have done so centuries ago. Their only means was Hecate’s wand, and I destroyed that. I promise the gods are dead, Hailey, and that is how they will stay.’
The tight knot in Hailey’s stomach unwound itself like an uncoiling serpent. Of course the nereids can’t resurrect the gods. Their only real plans have been to kill everyone in the palace, but they’re not allowed near the palace anymore, so everyone inside is safe. See, you have nothing to worry about, she reassured herself.
‘What happened to you?’ Aaron asked as Hailey plunked down beside Demi at a table in the main hall.
‘If you’d told me you were skipping the end of class, I would have joined you.’ Demi chomped down on a veggie burger, pieces of roast capsicum and onion slipping from the bun to her plate.
‘You shouldn’t skip class,’ Alec told her with a disapproving shake of his head. ‘We’re here to learn after all.’
Hailey tapped a finger on the table’s shell border. Her friends had made it pretty clear so far that they weren’t the least bit worried about the nereids, so Hailey didn’t see the point in telling them about her fears. ‘I didn’t mean to. I wanted to see Amathia and ask about Pan—Hope.’ Hailey and her friends were the only students who knew about Pandora’s existence, and Amathia wanted to keep it that way. As far as everyone at the Academy was aware, Hope was someone they’d rescued from an island, and was now living with a relative somewhere.
Demi gulped down a bite of burger. ‘And?’
‘Apparently she’s happy wherever she is.’ Hailey touched her gold plate, imagining a spaghetti toastie with oozing cheese. It popped onto her plate a heartbeat later, its rich saucy scent mingling with the smells of curry, seafood, and marinated meat wafting around the main hall.
‘Who’s happy where?’
Hailey glared up at Venus and her twin sidekicks.
‘What do you want?’ Aaron snapped.
Venus focused her violet eyes on Demi, a wicked smirk touching her red lips. ‘I heard you like pushing Others around, so I thought you’d like to join us the next time we have a bit of fun with Cady.’
Demi banged a fist on the table, the cutlery jumping. ‘That was an accident! I didn’t mean to.’
‘That’s not what I heard.’ Venus examined her hot pink nails, acting as if this conversation didn’t interest her in the slightest. ‘I heard you laughed when you did it, and told Cady to stay away from your boyfriend.’ Her eyes focused back on Demi. ‘I didn’t know Jayden was your boyfriend.’ She laughed. ‘Oh, that’s right. You wanted him to be your boyfriend, but he never liked you.’
Aaron shot to his feet. ‘Get away. Now!’ he growled through gritted teeth.
Venus’s smile widened. ‘Or what?’
‘Or I’ll rip your hair out,’ Hailey threatened, jumping up.
‘I’d like to see you try.’
Hailey lunged, yanking on a fistful of Venus’s pristine curls. Venus shrieked, lashing out with her nails like an enraged Erinys and clawing them across Hailey’s cheek. She ignored the stinging pain and gripped Venus’s hair tighter.
‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’ the students in the main hall cheered.
Demi launched at the twins before they could grab Hailey and wrestled them to the ground.
‘Stop!’ Alec begged, jumping back from the table with his hands up, trying to absolve himself from the situation. ‘You’ll get us in trouble.’
Hailey didn’t care. She’d had enough of Venus tormenting everyone. She pulled Venus’s curls harder, satisfaction filling her when the harpy shrieked louder.
Venus’s fist smacked into Hailey’s lip, the metallic tang of blood prickling her tongue as her lip split open. Hailey stumbled back, tripping over a chair and thumping onto the table; food smooshed against her blazer. She lay there, stunned, for a second, the chanting cries of ‘Fight!’ still echoing around the hall, and then grabbed the bowl of spaghetti bolognaise by her head and threw it at Venus.
Venus screeched as loud as the screecher alarm in Alec’s house, swiping at the sauce and minced beef pouring down her face. ‘You’re dead!’ She leapt at Hailey and smacked into Aaron’s force field, tripping backwards.
‘ENOUGH!’
Hailey whipped around to face an enraged Madam Grayson. She’d seen her angry a few times before, but never as angry as she looked now. Her face was red, like her head was about to explode.
‘Outside. Now!’
Madam Grayson stormed from the main hall. Demi climbed off Nerissa and Cleo, who she’d been pinning down with her knees, while pressing her hands to their mouths so they couldn’t use their siren powers to sing for the boys in the hall to save them. ‘I’m scared,’ Demi muttered to Hailey as they shuffled towards the archway.
‘I didn’t even do anything,’ Alec protested. ‘I’m innocent.’
‘You try explaining that to her,’ Aaron whispered as they filed into the entryway.
‘They started it.’ Venus pointed an accusatory finger at Hailey and her friends. Hailey had to suppress a laugh when she saw the spaghetti tangled in Venus’s hair.
‘No, we—’
‘Stop talking.’ Madam Grayson cut Demi off. ‘I have had enough of this fighting. I thought forcing you to work as a team in the obstacle course race last year would put an end to your squabbling, but I was wrong. I am disgusted by what I witnessed in that hall. You have not only embarrassed yourselves, but you have embarrassed me. How do you think it reflects on me that seven of my third years were fighting like a pack of lycaons? I’ve never seen such horrible behaviour.’ Madam Grayson took a couple of deep breaths, some of the redness in her face fading. ‘All of you have detention after class and on the weekends for the next month.’
Hailey’s jaw dropped. A month of being stuck with the evil trio? She’d rather be locked in Poseidon’s dungeon—if it had still existed.
‘Madam Grayson, that’s not fair. We—’ Venus began.
‘Would you like to make it two months, Venus?’
Venus lowered her eyes. ‘No.’
‘Since the palace’s self-cleaning magic will have cleaned up your mess by now, you can go back in the hall and polish every plate, goblet, knife, and fork, while I try and explain to Amathia why you shouldn’t be expelled.’ Madam Grayson stormed through the left archway.
‘This is all your fault,’ Venus spat at Hailey.
‘You’re the one who came up to us,’ Hailey reminded her.
‘We’re not polishing anything,’ Venus declared, and stomped up the stairs with the twins.
‘This is so unfair,’ Alec said. ‘I need that after school time to study. And what if they add this to my school record?’ He paled. ‘And do you think Madam Grayson was serious about Amathia potentially expelling us? Medusa, why am I friends with you three when you’re always getting me into trouble?’ Alec gasped in tiny breaths of air, looking as if he were about to faint.
Aaron threw an arm around Alec’s shoulders. ‘Because you secretly love living life on the edge, and we’re the only ones who can stand your know-it-all attitude.’ He rubbed his knuckles on Alec’s head, ruffling his blond hair. ‘And we’ve saved this school too many times for Amathia to expel us.’
6
The Library
Hailey stood with her friends in the Monsters and Creatures classroom, waiting for Madam Grayson to assign them their first detention. Their overseer sat behind her desk, drumming her fingers on its coral surface, looking unhappy enough to make them polish every jewel embedded in the palace’s crystal walls. ‘Where are Venus, Nerissa, and Cleo?’
Aaron shrugged. ‘No idea.’
‘Hailey, go find them.’
Hailey held back a sigh. ‘Yes, Madam Grayson,’ she said, trudging from the classroom and heading for the staircase at the end of the hallway. Why did she have to be the one to go and find them? Why couldn’t Madam Grayson do it?
Hailey traipsed up to the fourth floor,
sweeping her eyes over the bustling common room, where students were laughing and talking with friends while doing their homework. Venus and the twins weren’t there, as far as she could see. Where are they? Venus’s dorm? Uck, she so did not want to go there. But she also didn’t want to risk making Madam Grayson angrier by returning to her classroom without the evil trio.
Hailey strode past the fireplace and into the girls’ dormitories, dragging her feet to the end of the hallway. Venus’s room was the last on the right. There was no missing it. Her name, Venus Montgomery, was emblazoned in blue diamonds stolen from the grounds. Hailey knocked on the door.
‘Go away,’ Venus called out.
No way in Tartarus would Hailey let Venus tell her what to do. She threw the door open, the sickly-sweet scent of pink bubble-gum smothering her. ‘We have detention. Madam Gray—’ Hailey’s words fell away. Venus wasn’t alone. The twins were sitting on her double bed, with Venus and another girl standing in front of them. Hailey recognised the stranger’s make-up heavy face in an instant: Clarissa, the fourth-year bully who liked making Uniques’ lives miserable, just like Venus.
What’s she doing here? Are Venus and her planning some type of bullying campaign?
‘I’ll be there in a minute,’ Venus snapped. ‘Now get out!’
Hailey glared. ‘She wants you there now, and I can’t leave without you.’
‘Whatever, I’ll see you later,’ Clarissa said, shooting Hailey a glare worthy of Nemertes’s praise as she sauntered past.
‘Do you think it’s okay to barge into someone’s dorm?’ Venus demanded.
Hailey was about to retort when she noticed the second bed. It had been Hope’s—Pandora’s. There had originally been a scallop-shell spa in front of it, before Madam Grayson had forced Venus to make room for Pandora. Venus must have lost the battle to have her spa back, and that gave Hailey some satisfaction.
‘Oh, so now she’s quiet.’ Venus threw her arms up. ‘Let’s get this stupid detention over with.’
Poseidon's Academy Box Set Page 68