Poseidon's Academy

Chapter 28. Tartarus

Hailey squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for bone-shattering pain.

None come.

Tentatively, she opened her eyes, inhaling sharply. The ground was inches from her face, and she hovered above it as if she'd suddenly gained the ability to levitate. Her friends were suspended around her, and judging by the stunned look on Aaron's face, he hadn't used his force field to break their fall.

They floated above the ground a few more seconds before dropping. Hailey shot to her feet and pointed the wand at the Erinys leering down at her. The creature dove from the ledge, her tattered red dress flowing out as she extended her long black nails like talons and aimed for Hailey.

'NNAST!' Hailey shouted.

A shrill cry like a screeching hawk rang from the Erinys's cracked lips as she soared backwards and slammed against the ledge, a few rocks shaking loose and pelting against the ground. Hailey advanced, preparing to finish her off when someone shoved her aside, sending her toppling to the dirt.

She lifted her head in time to see an Erinys tackle Aaron, swiping at him with her talons. Aaron roared in pain.

'Get off him!' Demi launched at the Erinys, only to get backhanded and sent flying into a group of people who'd abandoned their work to stare at the commotion.

Jayden sprinted to Demi's crumpled body just as another Erinys soared towards Alec. Hailey aimed the wand. 'Evat-' Scorching flames erupted in her head-at least that's what it felt like-and the wand slipped from her hand.

The flames intensified, making her feel like her head was about to melt, and she screamed. Then something even worse happened: she plunged into the memory of her dad dying.

The memory pressed against her chest, making it impossible to breathe. My fault. All my fault. He's dead because of me.

'Hailey!' She was dimly aware of her friends calling her name before their screams joined hers.

Hailey dug her nails into her head, trying to banish the memory back to the dark part of her mind it had escaped from. But it wouldn't go away. She watched her dad die over and over again. 'I'm sorry,' she cried, feeling warm blood trickle down her face as her nails broke skin.

She couldn't bear it anymore. She screamed louder than she'd ever screamed in her life, praying she'd pass out.

The pain vanished, taking the memory of her dad dying with it.

Slowly, Hailey's surroundings swirled back into focus and she regained her breath. Jayden cradled an unconscious Demi, and a few feet away knelt Alec, looking as though he was about to throw up. Aaron looked just as pale, but he was on his feet, his palms raised at the Erinyes, who snarled and bared their pointed teeth.

Thank the Tyches the Erinyes' torturous powers have a weakness when it comes to force fields, Hailey thought, forcing her body upright. 'Is Demi okay?'

Jayden nodded. 'Yeah, just knocked out.'

She grimaced when she saw the claw marks on Aaron's face. Claw marks that would have been her own if he hadn't shoved her out of the way. Sweat trickled from his brow. 'I can't hold them back much longer. They're too powerful.'

'It's time to end this.'

'No, Jayden!'

Hailey whipped around in time to see Jayden pick up the wand, and Alec lunging forward to stop him.

But he was too slow.

'Evatatz,' Jayden shouted, aiming for the Erinyes.

At first Hailey didn't know why Alec had tried to stop him, but she soon understood. Aaron's force field became visible, rippling like water. And then Jayden collapsed-the spell ricocheted!