Olympus Academy: The Complete Series

by Raine, Eliza

  ‘Well done, Thom,’ Miss Alma said, going over to him and clapping her hands.

  Later on, at dinner I asked Zali what he had turned into.

  ‘That was a manticore,’ she told me. ‘They’re part lion, part dragon and part scorpion. It’s really rare to get one as a shifter, they’re mostly only found in the wild.’

  ‘Those things are found in the wild? Where?’ I asked incredulously.

  ‘Erm, Aries and Taurus I think, though I’m not sure.’

  I pulled the map Chiron had given me out of my bag and looked for the two realms. If there were creatures like that living wild in these places, what else was there to be discovered?

  After dinner I excused myself from hanging out in the library, saying I was really tired, and ran up to our dorm room. I’d been itching to open the envelope Dasko had given me all the way through dinner and I couldn’t wait a moment longer. I threw myself down onto my bed and tore it open, pulling out a folded piece of paper.

  I have deduced that there is something special about the Atlas statue in the main temple. I’m not able to tell you exactly what it is as I believe it will only be visible to a Titan. Inspect the statue and try to use your power to sense if anything is amiss. The only clue I have is this piece of text. I think it is an anagram. Good luck,

  Dasko

  ctompeel teh girns htiw eht sgisnmi gsme to unlokc het sartsi

  I stared at the anagram until my eyes began to burn, but I couldn’t work it out. I was too tired. Deciding I’d look again in the morning, I folded it back up and tucked it into my bag again, then climbed into bed. I was asleep before Zali even came back to the room.

  13

  The next morning we had swimming class first thing and every time we crossed over from the dome I squinted hard into the distance in every direction, trying to make out anything other than blue ocean. Below us was just deep dark blackness.

  ‘Where is the rest of Poseidon’s realm?’ I asked Zali when we were both in the pool.

  ‘Oh, a long way away. I don’t know which direction. Why?’

  ‘Just wondering,’ I shrugged, treading water. Suddenly Zali shrieked in delight and zoomed past me, to the dome. I span around and saw a family of turtles, slowing curiously as they passed the school. I took a deep breath, and kicked out to join Zali. She approached them slowly, holding out her hand, her shimmering tail flicking gently. One of the larger creatures swam slowly towards her and I moved a little closer, trying not to disturb the water around me too much. A little turtle saw me and after a moments pause, wiggled its short legs and sped in my direction. I grinned as it reached me, holding out my hand and willing it closer. It pushed its leathery head into my fingers and I let out a big bubble of air as a broad smile took over my face. I stayed with it as long as I could, but soon my lungs began to burn and I gave the turtle an apologetic look as I turned and reluctantly kicked back towards the pool. The other students were staring warily at me as I took large gulps of air around happy laughs but I didn’t care. I had touched a sea turtle! Or more accurately, it had touched me! Zali burst back through the dome.

  ‘I’m sure he was trying to tell me something, the big one, I’m sure of it, he was so close, I wish I could hold my breath longer, I need to practice-’

  I cut her off before she passed out from speaking so fast.

  ‘Slow down! Breathe!’ I told her. She took a long breath.

  ‘That was awesome,’ she said eventually, grinning.

  ‘Yes, it was,’ I grinned back.

  After we had changed into our uniforms we made our way to the training ground, where we had Physical Training class. I was pretty sure that was the running and lifting one. I wasn’t really looking forward to it, but I was glad I’d had a big breakfast before swimming. Miss Alma had us do laps around the ground, then run relay races with metal torches that flickered with flames that weren’t hot to touch. I was put in a team with two wood nymphs. They were beautiful, delicate girls who ran really fast but barely said a word to me and I didn’t feel bold enough to ask them their names.

  I ate even more food at lunch, loading up on cheese sandwiches.

  ‘That’s right, freak. Eat while you can, before Zeus throws you out and you’re homeless,’ sneered Arketa as she and her cronies strode down the row of tables. I tried to say something back but my mouth was full of food, and she shoved me hard as she walked past. My chest bumped into my plate and it tipped, then fell noisily to the marble floor, scattering sandwiches everywhere. They all laughed as they carried on and I felt every eye in the room fall on me. I crouched quickly to the floor where they couldn’t see me. It was hard enough being new, I thought as I gathered the fallen food up, without jerks like her showing me up. Zali dropped down beside me to help, giving me a sympathetic look.

  I was looking forward to seeing Professor Dasko after lunch, so that I could ask him about the Atlas statue. He was waiting for us in front of the fire element door and my pace quickened as I approached him.

  ‘Who was Atlas?’ I asked, before he could open his mouth.

  ‘He was a Titan. He was punished for his part in the war by being forced to hold up the sky on his back.’

  ‘So the rings on the statue are the sky?’

  Dasko nodded.

  ‘That’s right. Have you been to see the statue yet?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Make sure you go when there’s nobody else around. But you need to go together.’

  He looked over my shoulder and I turned to see Icarus’s scowling face. I rolled my eyes and pushed open the fire door. We spent the class staring at flames, trying to get the fire to respond in the same way I had tried with the water yesterday. Absolutely nothing happened. Icarus was better with the fire than he was with the water, and at one point even held a flame in the palm of his hand for a few seconds. I watched a smile tugging at his lips as he gazed at the flame and felt a weird fluttering in my stomach. I squashed it down. He was moody and rude and not my type. Even if he was kind of mysterious and had the most gorgeous eyes I’d ever seen.

  My last class was Magical Objects. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I descended the stairs that ran under the elemental building and I slowed as I entered the massive space. It was like a giant junk sale. Everywhere I looked were bookcases or table-tops covered in stuff. None of it looked like it was from my world, it was mostly wood and metal and looked kind of old. The far wall, past the cluster of students in the middle of the room, was one giant glass fronted cabinet, and amongst the varied collection of items I could make out a stunning crown, a massive shining shield and a long gleaming broadsword.

  ‘Settle down, class,’ a shrill, old voice called, and an ancient looking woman shuffled into the room. As she approached me I realized with a start that I could see through her body. Taking a sharp breath in, I hurried over to Zali.

  ‘That’s Professor Fantasma,’ she whispered, before I could ask. She’s an Eidolon, which is a shade of a human.’

  ‘Shade? You mean a ghost?’

  Zali shrugged. Ghost must be a word from my world, I realized. ‘Like, she was alive but now she’s dead and she’s come back?’

  ‘Yeah, like that, but they don’t have to be dead. Rumor has it the real Professor Fantasma is in Hades’ realm somewhere.’ Zali said. I stared at the woman limping closer, trying to get my brain to accept that she was transparent.

  ‘Go and find whatever you’ve had most luck with so far and bond,’ she croaked, with a small wave of her hand. ‘New girl, come here, please,’ she added. I walked over to her, and she fixed her gaze on me. She was shorter than me, had grey hair tied in a bun on her head and wore very thick glasses.

  ‘Hello,’ I said.

  ‘Pandora, is it?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes, Professor Fantasma,’ I answered.

  ‘Are you an angry person, Pandora?’

  I blinked in surprise.

  ‘Erm, no. I don’t think so.’

  ‘Optimistic?’

  �
�Yeah, I guess so,’ I said, thinking about the question.

  ‘Shy?’

  ‘No,’ I shook my head.

  ‘Cocky, then.’

  ‘No, but I’m not afraid of people,’ I said, a touch defensively.

  ‘What are you afraid of?’ she asked, peering closer at me. Never seeing my family again. The thought popped into my head and stayed there as I struggled to answer her.

  ‘Um, getting bored,’ I spluttered. She leaned back, raising her eyebrows. I tried to ignore the students I could see through her body, fighting over a large metal helmet.

  ‘You’re afraid of getting bored?’

  ‘Yes, I guess so.’ It was true. Before coming to the academy, my biggest fear was living the same day over and over until I died.

  ‘Well. How interesting,’ Professor Fantasma mused. ‘I have just the object for you. Follow me,’ she said and began shuffling towards a bookcase against the wall. When we got there she pointed at a high shelf. ‘Up there. Can you reach?’

  I stretched my arm up, feeling around on the shelf, stopping when my fingers brushed against something soft. I closed my fingers around it and pulled it towards me. It was a feather. A huge, shining feather, the length of my forearm and it was blood red.

  ‘This?’ I held it up to show her.

  ‘Yes. Yes, that’s it. What do you know about the phoenix?’

  ‘They’re birds that never die. They’re reborn instead,’ I said, recalling what I knew from home.

  ‘Not true. Legends say they live forever, but in fact, they burn up and die. The bird that replaces them is an entirely different beast, but born with the consciousness of its predecessor.’

  I tried to make sense of what she was saying.

  ‘So it’s a new bird with the old ones memories?’

  ‘Yes. Why do you fear boredom?’

  ‘I guess it makes me feel trapped,’ I answered. She regarded me for a long moment, and I twirled the feather awkwardly between my fingers.

  ‘Spend time with that feather. Connect with it. Bond with it. It will make you wiser,’ she said eventually, then drifted away, to talk to the group still arguing over the helmet. I stared at the red feather.

  ‘She’s not as crazy as she sounds, you know.’ Icarus’s voice made me jump so much I almost dropped it. He was sitting on the floor, leaning against a bookcase and reading a tattered old book. ‘You’re really scared of getting bored?’ he asked.

  I sighed, waiting for the mocking follow up. But none came.

  ‘Yeah. I get restless. I always need to know I’m not missing something important,’ I said, cagily.

  ‘I was bored for a really, really long time,’ he said quietly, staring at his book.

  ‘Really?’ I asked softly. He looked up at me and those green eyes sent my mind spinning.

  ‘You should do what she says with that feather,’ he said, snapping me out of it.

  ‘Why?’ I frowned at it.

  ‘If you bond with an object it enhances you. You have to want the same thing as it does though.’

  ‘How can a feather want something?’

  ‘It’s imbued with magic,’ he said, rolling his eyes and getting to his feet. ‘Is everything that comes out of your mouth a question?’

  ‘Err,’ I said, but he strode off before I could say anything else. I went to find Zali, who was staring hard at a small seashell. She told me what Icarus had, that some magical objects had desires, and if you shared them strongly enough, they would help you.

  ‘Like, if you’re really angry and you have a magic weapon that was made to kill, it’ll make you stronger,’ she said.

  ‘What would a phoenix feather make you do?’ I asked her, holding up the feather.

  ‘No idea,’ she shrugged. I sighed and resigned myself to yet more time staring at something that completely ignored what I wanted it to do.

  14

  Once we had gone up to our dorm that night I used the little light coming through the window to study the anagram again. Some of the shorter words were obvious, but I couldn’t force any of it into a sentence that made sense. Eventually I gave up and went to sleep.

  The next morning we had History of Mythology with Dasko first thing. Icarus ignored me as I entered the classroom.

  ‘Good morning to you too,’ I muttered, pulling the map and the riddle from my bag.

  ‘Any luck with the statue?’ asked Dasko as he walked into the room.

  ‘No. Haven’t solved the anagram yet,’ answered Icarus.

  ‘Me either,’ I said.

  ‘OK,’ said Dasko. ‘Why don’t the two of you try and work it out now.’

  ‘Do we not have to learn about history?’ I asked.

  ‘This is just as important, Pandora,’ he said.

  ‘But I know so little and everyone else…’ I trailed off, not wanting to admit that I felt stupid in front of Icarus. ‘Can we at least go over the Olympians?’ I finished quietly.

  ‘Yes, of course. I’m sorry.’ Dasko stepped over to the flame dish and flicked his wrist. ‘So you have Zeus, Lord of the gods, god of air, thunder and lightning. He’s married to Hera, goddess of marriage and revenge.’ A beautiful dark skinned woman appeared next to the handsome man in the image. ‘Artemis, goddess of the hunt, chastity and archery is the twin of Apollo, god of the sun and music.’ Two lithe, smiling figures appeared, both looking young and bronzed. ‘Aphrodite, goddess of love is married to Hephaestus, god of metal, fire and blacksmiths,’ Dasko said, and a stunning woman with alabaster skin, ruby red lips and cascades of dark hair appeared next to a hulking hunchback wearing a leather tabard. His face was scarred and wonky. They seemed an unlikely couple, I thought. ‘Athena is the goddess of wisdom, strategy and architecture, Poseidon is god of the sea.’ A bored looking bearded man with electric blue eyes was shown, standing by a serene lady dressed in a toga with her blonde hair in a crown around her head. ‘Hermes is god of thieves, tricksters and travelers, and Dionysus is god of wine and nature.’ A red haired man with a beard and an older man with a broad, lazy smile filled the dish. ‘Ares is the god of war,’ Dasko said and a hulking man in shining armor and a helmet appeared, ‘and Hades is lord of the underworld, god of the dead.’ A figure made entirely from black smoke, featureless, floated above the dish. ‘Nobody knows what he looks like. Technically he is not an Olympian, as he never resided on the original Mount Olympus with the others, but Demeter, goddess of the harvest, stepped down to give him her place when he married her daughter.’

  Most of the names were familiar to me, but I scribbled down everything Dasko had said in my notepad.

  ‘And they can do anything? Like anything at all?’

  ‘Almost,’ the teacher answered. ‘They have some rules, that they set themselves. Anything agreed upon by all twelve of them can only be undone by all twelve of them.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘You’ll have to wait until advanced classes before we get into the logic of the gods I’m afraid, Pandora. Right, I want the two of you to study that anagram. Zeus visits in two months and you need to have that box before he gets here.’

  ‘It won’t take us two months to figure it out,’ Icarus protested.

  ‘The clue may not lead us directly to the box. There may be more clues. Titans and gods never make things simple,’ Dasko said, knowingly.

  ‘Can’t you help us?’ I asked him.

  ‘No. When I tried the words changed so that they read: only a titan may proceed. I believe it will say something different for you two.’

  I looked at the anagram, but all I could think about was how I’d ended up in some magical treasure hunt. I couldn’t have dreamed of adventure like this. But then the guilt crashed over me, the knowledge I wouldn’t see dad and Mandy again dragging my elation back down. What if we didn’t solve the clue and find the box? Would Zeus really kick us out? The thought of spending my life running from or fighting demons, unable to be close to anybody in case I cost them their life, made my breath shorten and my
heart hammer against my ribs. I would have the best of both of these worlds, I thought, refocusing on the puzzle. I would succeed. I had to.

  But when the gong sounded Icarus and I were no closer to solving the anagram. In fact, we had barely shared ten words. We both just read it aloud every now and then, pondering the words.

  ‘Maybe looking at the statue will help,’ I said, standing up and slinging my bag over my shoulder. Icarus just grunted in response. I pulled a face at him and left the room, hunting for Tak in the mass of students heading off to different classrooms. I spotted him talking to a satyr about as tall as my waist. He had goat legs and hooves, but the body and head of a chubby, smiling boy.

  ‘Pandora, this is Gida,’ Tak said.

  ‘Hi,’ I smiled.

  ‘Well, hello,’ the satyr smiled back. ‘About time this place got a pretty new face.’ He winked at me and I raised my eyebrows.

  ‘You, err, you look a lot younger than me,’ I said carefully.

  He snorted.

  ‘I guarantee I’m older. Satyr’s don’t age like you humans.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Really,’ Tak laughed. ‘Gida is twenty-five.’

  ‘No way! This is one of your jokes, Tak,’ I accused him.

  ‘I swear on the god Pan, I am twenty-five years old,’ Gida said.

  ‘Wow.’

  ‘And you’re a Titan, I hear.’

  ‘Apparently,’ I shrugged. ‘Shouldn’t we be getting to class?’

  ‘Yeah, we should. Catch you later,’ Tak said to Gida, and bent over so that they could do a complicated handshake.

  ‘Laters, Titan girl,’ the little satyr said to me, then trotted away.

  ‘Titan girl,’ I grumbled as we turned and headed towards a yellow curtained door.

  ‘That’s what they’re all calling you,’ Tak said.

  ‘It’s not very original.’

  ‘Would you like me to come up with something better?’ Tak grinned at me. ‘How about…’ He tapped his chin, thinking.