They took a single step inside before Kora launched off Demi’s bed and pulled Hailey and Demi into a group hug. ‘You’re alive and out of jail!’ She squeezed them tighter before releasing them.
‘I’m glad you’re okay.’ Hope stood up from Hailey’s bed with Tahlia.
‘We were so worried when we heard about Amathia dragging you from the sea half-dead,’ Tahlia said.
‘So did a sea-monster really attack you?’ Curiosity sparkled in Kora’s blue eyes.
‘Yeah.’ Demi settled down on her bed. ‘It was awesome—except for the whole nearly dying part.’
‘The nereids summoned it,’ Hailey added, sitting at Demi’s desk.
‘Really?’ Hope frowned. ‘Why would they do that?’
‘Because they wanted to get out and didn’t care if a few humans died as a result.’ Hailey’s voice was bitter. This wasn’t the first time they’d tried to kill her.
‘I didn’t know they could talk to sea-monsters.’ Kora scratched her head. ‘But I guess it makes sense if dryads can talk to land monsters.’
Tahlia leaned against Hailey’s desk. ‘What was the dungeon like?’
‘Kind of pretty.’ Demi sneezed. ‘It was like a really big fish tank. Boring though.’
‘So where’d you hide the necklaces?’ Hope asked.
‘We—’
‘We don’t want to say.’ Hailey cut Demi off before she could give away their secret. Hurt flashed in Hope’s eyes. ‘It’s not that we don’t trust you,’ Hailey quickly said. ‘It’s just that Aaron’s dad is kind of like a spy, so he probably bugged our dorm.’
‘Good thinking,’ Kora said. ‘Well, I’m glad you did it. I never want to leave this place.’
Cough. Cough. Achoo! Demi sniffed and wiped the back of her hand across her nose.
‘Are you okay?’ Hope asked.
‘Yeah.’ Demi cleared her throat. ‘It’s just a stupid cold.’
‘I can heal you,’ Kora offered, moving towards her.
‘Nah.’ Demi waved her off. ‘Apparently I’m meant to let my immune system get stronger by defeating this thing on my own or something.’ Demi yawned. ‘I think it’s nap time.’
‘We’ll go,’ Tahlia said. ‘We’re next door if you need anything.’
‘Glad you’re not dead,’ Kora added before they disappeared back into their dorm.
‘Do you need anything?’ Hope asked Demi. ‘I could get you some food, or something to drink?’
‘Thanks, but I’m fine. I just want to sleep.’ She rolled onto her side.
‘I guess I should go too. I hope you feel better soon, Demi.’ The door clicked shut behind Hope.
Hailey walked over to her own bed and collapsed. What a day. She’d invaded PET’s headquarters, stolen the travelling necklaces, been imprisoned, been attacked by a sea-serpent, and had almost drowned. She hated those damn nereids for almost getting her and her friends killed, but she didn’t expect any less from them.
They were pure evil, after all, and Hailey was well aware they desperately wanted to get rid of every student in the palace. She supposed she’d ruined those plans by stealing the necklaces, which gave her some satisfaction. Apparently, the nereids had come back through the force field after smashing the glass—at least that’s what she’d overheard the students talking about in the common room.
Hailey wasn’t sure why they hadn’t just run away. She guessed it was because they wanted to get rid of PET and wouldn’t abandon their home to them. Hailey sighed. Please, Tyches, don’t let them be planning anything. But even if they were, it wasn’t like they could do anything with PET constantly watching them.
PET’s another problem. What will they do now that they can’t get what they want? Get bored and go home? But what if they don’t? Maybe Hailey would have to convince Amathia to take Alec up on his offer to get the memory extractor, then all they’d have to do was get Kallie to grab a travelling necklace so Alec could go back home.
Hailey didn’t know how things would work out, but she promised herself that they would. That Poseidon’s Academy would remain her school, no matter what it took.
Hailey wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep for before Demi’s coughing woke her. ‘Vkalike,’ she said, the orb floating under the ceiling flaring to life. Demi was hunched over in bed, coughing with one hand against her mouth, and the other pressed to her chest. ‘Demi, are you okay?’ Hailey pulled off her duvet and darted to her friend’s bed.
Demi coughed a few more times before gasping in air and collapsing back on her pillows. ‘No, I feel like I’m dying.’
Hailey touched the back of her hand to Demi’s forehead. Beads of sweat coated her skin, which felt as hot as Tartarus. ‘You’re boiling.’
Demi shuddered. ‘I feel cold.’ She gathered the sheets up around her, her whole body trembling.
‘I’m getting Kora.’
‘I thought I was meant to get over this myself.’
‘I think you getting plunged into freezing water might have turned your cold into something worse,’ Hailey said, remembering Madam Grayson’s comment about pneumonia. ‘It’s time to give your immune system a break.’
‘Yay,’ Demi cheered weakly.
Hailey padded to the joining door and opened it into Kora and Tahlia’s dark dorm. The light from her own dorm was enough to see the faint outlines of Kora and Tahlia asleep in their beds. She steered towards Kora’s bed.
Something caught Hailey’s foot, sending her toppling down. ‘Ouch,’ she cried as her cheek smacked into the hard ground.
‘Who’s there?’ Kora’s startled voice asked.
‘It’s me.’ Hailey pushed herself into a sitting position as something warm trickled down her throbbing cheek.
‘Vkalike,’ Tahlia’s voice said, the dorm flooding with light.
‘Medusa! Are you all right, Hailey?’ Kora leapt out of bed and placed a warm hand on Hailey’s aching cheek.
The throbbing pain subsided. ‘Thanks.’
‘Well, it was my books that tripped you,’ she said, inclining her head to the scattered books on the ground.
‘I’m sorry I woke you both.’ Hailey climbed back to her feet. ‘I needed you, Kora, to help Demi. She’s really sick.’
‘Maybe I can help put her to sleep,’ Tahlia offered, coming over to her.
‘I think she needs healing,’ Hailey said. ‘She can barely breathe she’s coughing so much, and she’s shaking and burning up.’
‘I’ll have her feeling better in no time.’ Kora strolled through the joining door, Hailey and Tahlia following behind.
Kora clasped Demi’s hands. She frowned and tightened her grip, closing her eyes. Her frown deepened. ‘Something’s wrong. I can’t draw the sickness from her. It’s like it’s blocking me.’
‘What do you mean?’ Hailey narrowed her eyes. She’d never heard of an Asclepius not being able to heal an infection before.
Kora laid Demi’s hands back down on the duvet. ‘I can’t heal her.’
Hailey’s mouth turned dry.
‘I knew it. I’m dying.’ Demi sniffed and coughed.
‘You’re not dying,’ Kora assured her. ‘I’m just not strong enough. Whatever you have is something really bad. But Madam Mendem can heal you.’
‘That’s so far away,’ Demi whined, her eyes fluttering as she struggled to keep them open. ‘I don’t think I can make it.’
‘You can if we help,’ Tahlia said. ‘Come on, time to get up.’ She dragged Demi into a sitting position, ignoring her protests that she wanted to stay in bed, and pulled her legs over the edge of the mattress.
Hailey wrapped one of Demi’s arms around her shoulders, and Tahlia took her other side. Demi groaned when they hauled her to her feet.
‘Good job, team,’ Kora said. ‘Sorry, I just wanted to feel involved.’
‘You were involved,’ Hailey reminded her. ‘Thanks for trying to help her. Come on, let’s head downstairs.’
Kora rushed ahead and opened the do
or for them.
‘I want to stay in bed,’ Demi moaned.
‘You’ll feel so much better after you see Madam Mendem,’ Hailey promised her, moving into the hallway. ‘The walk will be worth it.’
‘What are you doing out of bed,’ the soldier standing in front of the door to the common room demanded. Her eyes settled on Demi. ‘Is she all right?’
‘No, she’s not.’ Hailey wasn’t about to let a soldier stop her from getting her friend help because it was after curfew. ‘She needs to see the nurse. Now.’
‘Okay.’ The soldier opened the door for them. ‘Let them pass,’ she called to the soldier by the stairs. ‘I’ll call down and let the others know you’re coming.’
The four of them skirted past the soldier by the stairs and started their descent. Demi wasn’t making things easy. She wasn’t supporting herself at all. Madam Mendem will fix everything, Hailey reassured herself, passing the second floor. She’s a fully trained Asclepius, whereas Kora’s powers are still growing.
A single soldier guarded the entryway. He marched towards them the second Hailey and her friends reached the bottom of the stairs.
‘We have permission to be down here,’ Kora told him.
‘To go to the healing wing,’ the soldier snapped. ‘And nowhere else.’
‘I don’t need permission to walk around the palace,’ Hailey muttered under her breath as she trudged through the right archway. They struggled down the long hallway, where jewels and shells glowed in the walls, lighting the way to the healing wing’s staircase.
‘No,’ Demi groaned, glancing up at the stairs. ‘Too far. Too high. Too tired.’
‘You can do this,’ Tahlia told her. ‘At the top of those steps you’ll get healed.’
‘And we’ll do most of the work for you,’ Hailey added. ‘Just let us pull you up.’
‘I’ll let Madam Mendem know what’s happening.’ Kora dashed up the steps.
‘Okay,’ Demi whimpered, ‘let’s go.’
Slowly, they made their way up, Demi’s breathing heavy as she dragged her feet up each step, acting as though she were climbing a ninety-degree hill. Times like this made Hailey wish the school had a dematerialisation machine installed, so they could step into it and appear on the level they needed to be.
Kora stood in the frame of the healing wing’s double doors when they made it to the top. Hailey didn’t like the look on Kora’s face. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘See for yourself.’ Hailey and Tahlia steered Demi into the healing wing, which usually had empty beds. But the beds weren’t empty anymore.
Tucked into a third of them were pale students shaking and coughing, just like Demi. Hailey gulped. Something is very wrong.
23
Incurable
Hailey and Tahlia helped Demi into a vacant bed and turned to Madam Mendem, who appeared beside them, her face grave. ‘Not another one.’
Hailey glanced across at the other sick students. There’s so many of them. ‘What’s happening?’
‘I honestly don’t know. Ten others have come in over the past day. I haven’t been able to heal any of them.’ A smile wiped away Madam Mendem’s anxious features. ‘But let’s not worry yet. Demi might have something different.’
Hailey stepped back as Madam Mendem clasped Demi’s hands. None of this made sense. As far as Hailey knew, Asclepiuses could heal everything—at least sickness wise. How is it possible Madam Mendem can’t heal the other students?
A heaviness slammed into Hailey’s chest when Madam Mendem shook her head. ‘I’m sorry. She’s got what the others have. It’s spreading.’
‘What is?’ Tahlia asked.
‘Some sort of sickness that is immune to an Asclepius’s powers.’
‘That’s not possible.’ Kora’s face was indubitable. ‘We can heal anything.’
‘Apparently not. I’ll have to notify Amathia.’ The nurse peered into Hailey’s eyes. ‘How are you feeling?’
How was she feeling? She felt as if her world was crumbling. Her best friend looked like a Thanatos’s victim and couldn’t be healed. ‘I feel fine,’ she managed to say.
Madam Mendem nodded. ‘Good. I know this is scary, but Amathia will know what to do.’
‘What about me?’ Kora held out her hands. ‘What if we combine powers? It might help.’
Madam Mendem was pensive for a second before saying, ‘It can’t hurt to try.’ She grasped Kora and Demi’s hands.
Hailey fiddled with her necklace and prayed to the Tyches that it would work. That whatever Demi had wasn’t strong enough to fight off two Asclepiuses. Demi gasped, and the tight knot around Hailey’s heart loosened slightly as her best friend’s eyes flickered open. It’s working.
Demi yanked her hand from Madam Mendem and buried it beneath the blanket. ‘I’m too cold,’ she muttered, her eyes drooping shut again.
***
Hailey stared into her common room’s crackling fire, its warmth sinking into her skin. Driftwood was piled inside it, tingeing the flames blue. She’d been sitting in front of the fireplace since Amathia came to the healing wing and told her to leave. Hailey hadn’t wanted to. She’d wanted to stay with Demi. But Amathia had said it was best she kept her distance until they understood what kind of sickness they were dealing with.
Kora and Tahlia had tried convincing her to go back to her dorm, but Hailey couldn’t sleep after finding out Demi was potentially dying. She’d wanted to tell Jayden, Alec, and Aaron, but the stupid soldier on guard in the boys’ dorms hadn’t let her past, so she’d resigned to waiting for them in the common room.
It was morning now, and students were trickling in from the dormitories, most heading downstairs for breakfast. None of them were her friends though. She sighed. Her eyes felt dry, and a heavy weight had settled in the pit of her stomach.
Stay positive. Amathia probably took one look at Demi and the other sick students and knew exactly what was wrong with them. She probably has a Hecate concocting a cure right now.
‘Hailey… are you okay?’ a hesitant voice asked.
Hailey dragged her eyes up to meet Brennan’s. ‘Fine.’
‘Really? Because you don’t look fine.’
Her gaze returned to the blue-tinged fire. ‘Demi’s sick.’
‘Oh, well I’m sure Madam Mendem can help her.’
‘She can’t. She tried.’
‘That’s… odd.’ Brennan fell silent, shifting nervously before saying, ‘So what does she have exactly?’
Hailey shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’ Her eyes flicked to the boys’ dormitories door when she heard it swing open. Jayden, Alec, and Aaron strolled out. ‘Finally,’ she muttered and threw her hand up, waving them over.
‘I hope Demi feels better,’ Brennan mumbled and scurried towards the stairs before Hailey could even say thanks.
Jayden’s eyes narrowed when he reached her. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘You should sit down.’ They settled into the armchairs around her, and she told them what had happened last night with Demi and Madam Mendem.
Alec’s eyes grew wide. ‘We spent all that time in the dungeon with her. If it’s contagious, we’ve probably got it.’ He touched his throat. ‘My throat already hurts.’
‘Did they say anything about it being contagious?’ Jayden asked.
Hailey shook her head.
‘See, nothing to worry about,’ he told Alec, whose shoulders relaxed a little.
‘I should never have let her come with us yesterday.’ Aaron’s nails dug into the chair. ‘She wouldn’t have gotten thrown into that freezing water if we’d made her stay in bed, which means whatever she has probably wouldn’t have gotten so bad.’
‘It’s Demi,’ Jayden reminded him. ‘She could have been coughing up blood and she still would have demanded to come so she didn’t miss out on the fun.’
‘He’s right,’ Hailey agreed. ‘She never would have stayed behind. But we should have let Kora heal her. We’re bad friends for making her suffe
r.’ Guilt tightened around her chest.
‘That’s it. That’s enough,’ Jayden declared, pushing to his feet. ‘No more feeling guilty over what happened or worrying about getting sick too,’ he added with a pointed look at Alec. ‘We don’t know what Demi has, and we don’t know if an Asclepius could have healed it in the early stages, so I don’t want to hear any more negativity.’ His eyes were stern, daring them to contradict him.
‘You’re right.’ Hailey sprang up. ‘We don’t know what’s happening. But let’s find out.’
‘Are you sure that’s safe?’ Alec asked, face hesitant. A reproachful look from Aaron shut him up. ‘Never mind. Let’s go.’
They made their way down the stairs in silence. Hailey hoped she’d find Demi sitting up in bed, demanding to be released because she was bored.
But when Hailey strode into the healing wing fifteen minutes later, the knot around her heart tightened with crushing pain. Demi was asleep and looked even paler than she had last night.
Aaron rushed over to her. Jayden followed, telling him that things probably looked worse than they were, but she heard a shake in his voice. Alec stayed by Hailey, who couldn’t move out of fear that if she went to Demi’s side, she’d realise her best friend had gotten worse not better. The other students in beds looked just as pale, their skin slick with sweat as they shivered beneath the blankets.
Amathia and Madam Mendem stood at the other end of the room, talking with Madam Norwood. Amathia spotted Hailey and planted a serene smile on her face before gliding towards her. ‘Good morning.’
‘What’s happening?’ Hailey demanded, her voice coming out angrier than she’d intended.
Amathia’s smile remained fixed as she said, ‘We are searching for a cure. You really shouldn’t be here until we understand what we are dealing with.’
‘She’s my best friend.’ Hailey’s throat tightened. ‘Practically my sister. I need to know what’s happening.’
Amathia’s eyes softened with sympathy. ‘I understand that, and I promise when we know something, I will inform you. But for now, it’s best to leave Demi in Madam Mendem’s capable hands.’
‘Not before I see her.’ Hailey forced her legs to carry her to Demi’s side where Jayden and Aaron each held one of her pasty hands.
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