Nasim guessed that while it was about the same distance out of the Everglades as into them, but the water nymphs whisked them along so quickly that it only took about half as long.
He noticed that when they changed from one stream to another there was a change in the appearance of the naiads pulling them along. As soon as they left the sawgrass marsh, the nymph who had spoken to Robin became as indistinct as the others and another naiad, with dark skin and blue hair, took form. Every time they entered a new stream the same thing happened: one nymph faded out and another faded in. Nasim could only guess that they took a more realistic form as they entered their home stream or marsh.
He wondered what Oenone would look like when they reached her. Whether she could be clear as water, or have blue hair and glowing green eyes.
The twelve nymphs began to leave, one at a time, so that the speed of the canoe gradually slowed to a halt. Only one nymph remained, a younger looking one with pale skin and green hair. She let go of the canoe and pointed them towards the first piece of solid land they'd seen since the egret's island. It was filled with tall trees covered in some sort of dark green vine - so completely covered that Nasim wondered if the trees were getting any access to the sun - but there was a path between them.
Robin nodded, flashed the last nymph a smile, and began to paddle the canoe up to the bank. He jumped out and pulled the boat up onto the bank.
"We'll leave the boat here," Robin said, pulling Star-shooter and his quiver over his shoulder. "For when we go back."
"So we are going back?" Nasim asked.
"Of course," Robin said. "Why would you think otherwise?"
"Because I thought that if we got Oenone you would leave before taking the Palladium," Nasim guessed.
Robin turned and he looked furiously indignant. "You think I would go back on my word?" he demanded. "You think so little of my honor?"
"No..." Nasim said immediately, but a voice in his head argued, Everyone knows the only reason you came on this quest was to rescue your girlfriend.
"Come on," Robin said, tightening the strap of his quiver. "We don't know how far this... 'girl's school' is."
"Hippolyte School for Girls," Andy said, making her way up the bank. "Is that, like, a Catholic school? Right, girls schools are Catholic?"
"You are assuming that Hippolyte is a saint," Robin said. "She isn't."
"Then who is she?" Andy asked.
"An Amazon," Robin said.
"Wait, are you saying the Amazons are still alive?" Nasim asked. "I thought they were mortal."
"So are maenads," Robin said with a suppressed shudder. "There will always be devotees of Dionysus as long as he is living. And there will always be Amazons as long as there is war."
"I bet they were especially powerful during women's suffrage and the feminist movement," Nasim remarked and Andy laughed. Robin looked confused and worried, but occasionally threw in a comment as Andy and Nasim continued their conversation in murmured tones.
About an hour from the stream they came to a small break in the trees where an unusual mound rose from the ground like a sleeping giant. It, like everything else in the Florida forest, was covered with the thick, invading vine. A black space, looking disturbingly like a mouth into the earth, gaped in the mound. Cold air breathed out of the opening, which was framed by three wooden beams. The top beam had black letters messily painted on it: "DANGER: KEEP OUT".
"Who in their right mind would build a mine this close to the Everglades?" Nasim asked. "It probably flooded and that's why it's abandoned."
They skirted around the mine entrance and continued on the path. Another hour or so later and they broke from the cover of the trees.
And there, in the middle of nowhere, with absolutely no reason for being there, was a school. The break in the trees ran in a wide oval and the invasive vines suddenly stopped at the edge of the clearing, as though afraid to come any closer to the school.
The school itself was made of red bricks, tall and imposing at three stories tall, it was trimmed with some sort of tanned stone. Steps led up to the glass front doors and a bronze seal hung above them: a crescent and helmet. Written in bronze letters above the seal said, "style Hippy choirs fog rolls". Oh wait, that probably was "Hippolyte's School for Girls."
And tucked beneath the the alcove where the seal was hung was a little white box with a flashing red light.
"Bug," Nasim noted, nodding towards the camera.
"Brush it off," Robin suggested.
"No... a camera... never mind," Nasim sighed, exasperated. "The point is, we've been seen."
Sure enough, a face appeared in a window near the door, spotted them immediately - as though she knew they were there - then vanished.
A few seconds later a figure appeared at the glass doors and opened them. A woman walked out and looked at them. Robin walked out to the bottom of the steps without hesitation.
Nasim and Andy followed, looking at the woman - she was tall, at least six feet, and was African American with dark skin and black hair braided back into a low, thick ponytail. She wore a black pantsuit with a silk leopard printed blouse underneath and her boots were tall and their high heels added at least another three inches to her already formidable height. A belt with a silver buckle completed her outfit.
"May I ask what you are doing on school property?" she asked, sounding like every other annoyed high school principal Andy had ever come across.
"We are looking for a girl we believe may have been enrolled as a student here," Robin said. "Oenone?"
The woman gave a slow smirk and nodded. "She knew you'd come, half-blood," she remarked.
The hairs on the back of Nasim's neck rose and glanced to either side. Women, some no more than Andy's age and a few who looked to be thirty or so, had come around the sides of the school. They were all holding shields shaped like crescent moons and had an assortment of spears, swords, and hunting axes. The younger ones were wearing khaki skirts and white polo shirts with the school logo embroidered above their right breasts. None of them looked happy to see the three demigods.
"Love," the principal said, her lip curving in a disdainful sneer. "I never set much store by it. But it's such an easy trap for those who do believe in it. All the Crafty One had to do was capture your little friend and you come running."
"Where is she?" Robin demanded, voice low. Nasim noticed his hand straying to his hunting knife.
"Where's the Palladium?" the woman retorted.
"Why didn't she send you?" Andy asked abruptly. "Why didn't Athena send you to get it?"
"We do not know where it is," the headmistress frowned. "The knowledge was not entrusted to us."
So Athena doesn't trust you as much as she lets on, Nasim thought with a wry smile. She's probably worried you'd take it for yourself.
"Who are you?" Robin demanded.
"I am Penthesilea, daughter of Ares," the Amazon said. She held out her hand and a girl scampered out of the school, holding a bronze-tipped spear. "Queen of the Amazons, and headmistress of this Academy."
"You died," Robin said, wonder and fear battling for dominance in his voice.
"So the poets say," Penthesilea mocked. "But they also said your Oenone was dead. Besides, no son of man can kill me, Robin son of Robert Martin."
The choice of names was pointed and Robin winced.
"Bring forth the prisoner," Penthesilea commanded, stepping aside. Three people stood on the other side of the glass doors: two were dressed in the school uniform, but the last one wore a blue dress.
"Oenone!" Robin shouted, trying to leap up the steps, but Andy and Nasim caught his arms and held him back. Because as soon as he'd made a move, the Amazons on either side of them had made threatening noises and advanced a few steps forward.
Robin struggled against them and may have succeeded in getting away, but Nasim bound his feet to the ground with a spell. Despite this, Robin continued fought.
Oenone looked nothing like the naiads of the Everglades. She was slight and small, with white-blonde hair and dark blue eyes that were widened in fright. Nasim saw her mouth move as she called Robin's name and tried to throw her own guards off. Suddenly, at a signal for Penthesilea, one of the students inside pulled out a dagger and held it to the nymph's throat. Robin froze.
"I've always wondered," the Amazon said, walking down the steps, her high heels clicking. "If naiads bleed water." The other Amazons laughed, but Robin's face was bloodless with rage and fear.
"You wouldn't," he said.
"Wouldn't I?" she smiled, and it was like a lioness baring her teeth. "Think, son of Robert Martin, wouldn't I?"
Robin said nothing, but his silence confirmed everything.
"Give me the Palladium," Penthesilea offered. "And I'll give you the nymph."
"No." It was Andy who spoke this time and her face was hard and determined.
"The Crafty One did not mention your companions," Penthesilea told Robin, then looked at Andy. "Who - exactly - are you?"
"Andromache, daughter of Macaria," Andy said proudly.
"Well, Andromache," the Amazon said. "If you want an application... you only need to ask."
"I seem to have left my pen at home," Andy retorted. "But that's beside the point. The point is that you're an Amazon, and there will always be Amazons as long as there's a fight. So let's make it you and me."
"For the girl?" Penthesilea grinned and Andy nodded. The woman laughed and raised her spear. "Foolish child! I have had over three thousand years to practice! What weapon shall you choose?"
Andy said nothing, but grimly drew her sword.
"No," Robin whispered weakly. "Gæ∂ a wyrd swa hio scel." Wyrd goes ever as she shall. Maybe it didn't mean that Robin could protect them. Maybe it meant that Fate was in control.
"Nasim, let me go," Robin demanded. "I'll fight her."
"No, Robin," Andy said. "No son of man can kill her... so I reckon it's time to go Lord of the Rings on her."
A/N: Footnotes
Amazons: a tribe of warrior maidens known for their ferocity and crescent-shaped shields
Penthesilea: the Amazonian queen who accidentally killed her sister, Hippolyte. She fought and was killed in the Trojan War.