Poseidon's Academy

Chapter 11. The Healing Wing

The clean scent of eucalyptus greeted Hailey when she lumbered into the healing wing. Single beds with crisp sheets and hospital-tucked corners bordered the walls, all of them empty. The only person there was a short plump woman sitting behind a desk at the end of the narrow room.

The plump woman looked up from the notes she was scribbling and gasped. 'Medusa!' she shrieked, bustling over to them. 'What happened?'

'Master Anderson,' Demi replied simply, guiding Hailey to a bed.

The nurse clucked her tongue. 'Did he sneeze again? The last time that happened, he almost took out an entire PE class. Not to worry. I'll sort you lot out.' She approached Hailey with a big smile. 'Hello, dearie. I'm Madam Mendem.' She examined Hailey's rapidly swelling leg dangling over the bed. She shook her head. 'My, my, that does look nasty, you poor thing.'

'I think it's broken,' Hailey said with a sigh, imagining how tiring and inconvenient climbing up and down the hundred-and-something stairs to and from her dorm, classes, and the main hall would be. 'How quickly can you speed up the healing time?' she asked, assuming Madam Mendem was an Aceso like her last school nurse.

An amused smile spread across Madam Mendem's face. 'Oh, pretty quickly, dearie. Now just relax.'

Hailey flinched when the nurse touched her leg. Soothing warmth spread from her ankle to her knee, erasing the pain. It appeared Hailey had been wrong about the nurse being an Aceso. The only person strong enough to completely heal an injury was an Asclepius. Hailey had never been healed by one before; there were only so many in the world, and most of them worked in hospitals.

Madam Mendem drew back her hand and plonked down beside Hailey. 'Now you're hurt,' Hailey said, noticing Madam Mendem's leg was as swollen as hers had been seconds ago.

'We Asclepiuses heal fast. My body will have it mended in a jiffy.'

Someone coughed, drawing Hailey's attention to the bed across from her. Aaron was slumped on it, his crooked nose dripping blood into his lap, while he stared down with a look of utter dejection. 'Looks like Aaron's back to normal,' she told Demi.

'Pity we can't say the same about Jayden and Alec,' Demi replied in disgust.

Hailey's nausea returned as she watched Jayden fluff up Nerissa's pillows, while Alec massaged her pedicured feet. Hailey wanted to slap the both of them out of their trances, but she doubted the nurse would approve.

Madam Mendem got back up, her leg now only slightly swollen. 'Who's next?'

'I think Nerissa should be next,' Jayden said.

Hailey rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Tanzy, who perched on a bed near the door, staring out a window. Hailey couldn't change what had happened, but she could at least explain the boys' innocence. She wandered over to her. 'Hey, Tanzy.'

Tanzy raised a hand as Hailey opened her mouth to explain everything. 'I already know Venus and those sirens were behind it all. I heard them tell the boys to get us, and I know Alec and Aaron are Others, so it was pretty obvious attacking us wasn't their idea.'

'Oh.' That was easier than Hailey had expected. 'Well, in that case, do you mind talking to Aaron? I think he's feeling pretty guilty.'

'Okay,' she agreed, cradling her wrist and standing up.

Hailey suddenly remembered how the food and drink on Tanzy and Lexa had vanished. 'Tanzy?'

'Yeah?'

'What's your power?'

'I can make things disappear.' She let go of her injured wrist and clicked her fingers at a shell embedded in the wall.