Pandora Gets Frightened by Carolyn Hennesy

Author:Carolyn Hennesy
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2013-09-08T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

The Throne Room (and an Unexpected Encounter)

After three more failed attempts to find the correct hallway, which included peering into four more rooms being hideously redecorated and dodging groups of enslaved spirits, at last Pandy spotted what she was certain was the throne room. When she saw two huge, intricately carved doors blown completely off their hinges, she motioned for everyone to slow down, then drop to their knees. Just outside the entrance, she stopped, got as low as she could, and carefully craned her neck and head and peered into the room. At first, she was stunned by the sheer size of the room: while not as wide and deep as Zeus’s grand hall on Mount Olympus, it appeared to be much taller. In fact, as Pandy glanced up high, she realized there was no ceiling at all that she could see; the room just went up and up and up. It was so high that there even appeared to be some sort of large bird circling and swooping with plenty of room.

Then, as she was glancing at the walls and the beautiful murals on each—especially on one at the back of the room, done in the most vibrant shades of orange and yellow—her ears once again registered the moaning. That’s when she noticed the bodies. Bodies everywhere.

While they couldn’t see her face, Alcie, Iole, and Homer saw Pandy’s own body stiffen, her hand clenched in shock. Just as she was about to turn back, she had the oddest sense that she’d played this entire scene out before. But when? Then she remembered all of them being in these same positions in the hallway of the ship the Peacock as she watched the bizarre events inside the captain’s quarters. That situation eventually turned out well; she only hoped the gods were still looking favorably on her.

“It’s a sea of spirits,” she said, turning back to her friends. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say every inhabitant of the underworld is in there. But they’re all chained. All of them. They’re on top of each other, piled like floor pillows. And they’re hanging from the walls and in midair over the entire room. Guys—they’re hanging from the walls—like prisoners. And there’s something happening at the back of the room that I couldn’t see clearly. It’s where the thrones are, and Persephone’s there. But she’s tied up, I think.”

“You think?” asked Alcie.

“I could only see flashes of pink where her throne was.”

“Hades?” asked Iole.

“Didn’t see him.”

“Hera?” Homer said.

“Nope,” Pandy said, shaking her head. “But this is her work. We have to get to Persephone. Alcie, come on. Homer, Iole, follow my signals. Go when we go. And stay low and tight to the wall. Dido, guard the entrance, boy. Let us know if anything happens out here.”

Pandy and Alcie scooted across the doorway, leaving Iole and Homer on the first side. Pandy motioned with her fingers that she and Alcie were going in and both groups should keep their eyes on each other.

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