Chapter 21
My hands shaking, I passed my glass to the little satyr who was hovering next to me, then unrolled the scroll that had appeared out of nowhere. There were two lines written on it.
Adorned with a blue feather and lined with white lace
This is a magnificent way to hide one's true face
I read it twice. It had to be referring to a masquerade mask, surely? So I just needed to find one matching the description. A blue feather and white lace. I looked around the room. Everyone was staring at me.
I heard a loud cough, and spotted Hedone giving me a pointed look. You must carry out your duties as hostess or the test will be forfeit. The commentator’s words rang in my mind, and I scrambled to remember what I was supposed to do once everyone had arrived.
“We shall be seated for food in one hour!” I said triumphantly, as I remembered what I had been taught. “Let the music commence!”
The melodic sound of a harp filled the space, and I turned in surprise.
The thrones had vanished from the dais and now a beautiful woman with silver hair was teasing the delicate tune from a harp twice the size of herself.
But she didn't have a mask with a blue feather and white lace, so I dragged my attention from her.
Eyes flicking to the unconscious man in the hourglass, sand beginning to pool at his feet, I set off towards Hedone.
“Good evening, Persephone,” she said formally as I reached her.
“Good evening,” I replied.
“Were you able to receive everyone before the gods arrived?”
“No, not even half. But I am on my way round the rest of my guests now,” I beamed, as people began to crowd around me. I turned, the smile still fixed on my lips. I scanned their masks, trying to slow my heart rate. No blue feathers. Shit.
I held my hand out to each in turn, thanking them for their attendance, letting their names go in one ear and out of the other, before hurrying on.
I managed to spot a few blue feathers, but none of the masks had white lace on them.
It sounded like a feminine mask, so I started trying to approach women more.
Skop could have really helped out here, I thought ruefully.
Just as I spotted a lady in a puffy pink dress that I had yet to talk to, I felt gooseflesh raise on my bare skin. I turned around slowly, already knowing what had caused the temperature to drop.
“Hades,” I said, as I came to face-to-face with his smoky form.
“Persephone,” he replied, his silver eyes swirling. My rational thoughts scattered.
“You look...” I trailed off, biting down on my lip as I struggled to find a word to finish the obligatory compliment.
“Smoky?” he offered. My mouth quirked into a smile at the unexpected comment.
“Yes. Smoky.” I felt my shoulders relax a little.
“If this wasn't being broadcast to the whole of Olympus, I would have been willing to lose a bit of the smoke.”
There was no ice in his voice.
“Why do you not let them see what you look like?”
“The King of the Underworld isn't especially popular. They expect a monster, so I give them one.” His swirling shoulders shrugged.
“But... You're not really a monster?” I asked hesitantly. Hopefully. Hades paused before answering.
“I'm every bit the monster they believe me to be.”
Part of me didn't want to believe him, but the memory of when we had first met, the screaming, burning bodies and the blood, filtered through my mind.
He was the lord of the dead. Surely ‘monster’ came as part of the package?
After all, these gods put innocent people's lives in danger for entertainment, I thought, glancing at the man in the awful hourglass against the far wall.
Couples had begun dancing to the harp music in front of him, as though he was just part of the decorations. I shuddered.
“I... need to greet everybody,” I said. I wanted to ask Hades if he'd seen a mask with a blue feather and white lace, but I was pretty sure that would earn me a disqualification and seal the poor man's fate.
“Of course,” he said, inclining his head slightly. “You—” he faltered. “You look incredible.”
“Oh. Thank you,” I said, unable to stop the wave of happiness that spread through me at his words. Totally inappropriate happiness, I scolded myself. Seriously, get your priorities straight!
I turned away from him with an effort, looking for the lady in the pink dress. I spotted her, but when I introduced myself I could see that she was wearing a matching pink mask around her bright blue eyes.
“Hello,” said a woman's voice as a beautiful tan-skinned man with short dreadlocks apparently called Theseus took my hand. I nodded politely at Theseus and turned to the voice. Red mask. Dammit.
“Good evening,” I smiled at her. She was wearing a skin-tight scarlet dress, had ink black hair and she was beautiful. “Thank you for attending tonight. Your dress is lovely,” I said.
“Well, it's not like I had a choice in attending,” she said with a smile that stopped before it even reached her cheeks. “I'm Minthe.”
“Oh!” Minthe as in the current forerunner for Queen of the Underworld? What the fuck was she invited for?
“Apparently it's good form for me to show up. And to be honest, I wanted to find out what all the fuss was about,” she said, looking me up and down with a sneer on her face.
All my bully alarms sounded at once in my head. Instinct made my shoulders start to contract and my eyes drop to the floor.
As they did though, I caught a glimpse of my shining gold sandals, and the liquid like movement of my skirt.
I looked fucking awesome, I remembered. And this was my damn party.
“As I expected, I don't really get why you're such a big deal,” Minthe said, in a bored voice.
I raised my chin slowly, forcing my shoulders back. The satyr I was coming to love appeared at exactly the right moment, and I swiped a saucer glass up from his tray.
“Ditto,” I said simply, then took a long swig from the glass.
“Do enjoy your evening,” I said coolly, then strode away from her, as her expression morphed into a scowl.
I desperately wished Hecate was there to high-five me, or at least Skop to call Minthe something rude, but the surge of pride I felt was enough for now.
I knew her sort through and through. And instead of cowering, I had held my own. I could do this.
When I finally spotted the woman in a mask with a blue feather and white lace, another ten minutes had passed and the sand was up to the unconscious man's thighs. I babbled my way through greeting the petite brunette, who was called Selene apparently, scrutinizing her mask closely.
A rich blue feather curled from the left side of her mask, standing nearly a foot high, and a complex border of white lace rimmed the mask itself.
It was very pretty, but I realized with a lurch that I had no idea what I was supposed to do now that I'd found it.
Just ask her! Ask her for the next clue!
But what if that counted as inappropriate and I was disqualified?
I couldn't take risks like that with someone else's life at stake. “That's a stunning ring,” I said on auto-pilot, pointing at an enormous milky-white gem on her delicate finger, while I scrabbled for an idea of what to do next.
“Why, thank you,” she beamed at me. “It's a moon-stone.”
“How lovely,” I replied. Were her words a clue?
“Here, why don't you try it on?” She slipped the ring off, and I started to tell her that it would never fit on my finger, when I noticed the slightly intense look on her face.
“Thank you,” I said instead, and held out my hand. With a little poof, the ring turned into another scroll the second she laid it on my palm.
“You're welcome,” she beamed at me, then turned away, to talk to her handsome partner. I hurriedly unrolled the scroll.
Standing out in a room full of regular shapes
This unusual vessel will hold that made of grapes
Made of grapes must mean wine, I thought.
And a vessel would be a goblet or glass.
So I was looking for an unusually shaped wine glass?
I instinctively looked over at where Dionysus was surrounded by tall women, his black sequined shirt catching the torchlight.
He hadn't even got one button done up on it, and I couldn't help the little smile that sprang to my lips.
Skop was at his feet, and from where I was standing it appeared that he was looking straight up a pretty dryad's skirt. I rolled my eyes, then scanned their hands. All their glasses looked normal to me.
I strolled casually amongst the guests, smiling and trying vaguely to recall their names as I peered at the glasses in their hands. I didn't remember seeing one odd-shaped glass so far this evening.
With a nervous look back at the hourglass, I thought hard. Where would I find the most wine glasses? The kitchens?
It took me a few moments to work out where exactly the serving satyrs and nymphs were appearing from and disappearing to, but as I watched I realized that one of the walls of the room had no twinkling stars at the base, rather a mass of shadow that obscured any details.
I approached slowly, and to my fascination, the closer I got, the less I could see.
“I have a way with light and shadow,” said a silky smooth voice, and a very tall man stepped out of the darkness. He was at least eight feet tall, but impossibly slender. He had onyx skin, a bald head, and was wearing a long black robe.
“I see you wear the color black well,” I said politely. He inclined his head at me.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
“Oh, I, erm, wanted to check on the serving staff.”
“Why is that?” He tilted his head at me, his dark eyes probing. I found him distinctly unnerving.
“A good hostess likes to know that she's on top of everything,” I smiled. “I don't believe I'd had the pleasure of your name?”
“I am Erebus,” he said.
“Persephone,” I replied, holding out my hand. He didn't take it, so I retracted it awkwardly.
“Erebus,” I repeated, wracking my brain. “I am new to Olympus, so forgive me if I'm wrong but, are you the god of darkness?”
“And shadows, yes,” he said.
“Do you live in the underworld?”
“I do. Hades is my master.”
“So you must be following this competition keenly,” I smiled.
“The whole of Olympus is following this competition keenly. They are starved for entertainment.” His tone was dry and sarcastic, and it made me want to step away from him.
“Well, I must get on and check in with the staff. It was a pleasure to meet you,” I said.
“You will need permission to cross the shadows.”
“Oh. And who would grant me that permission?” I asked tightly, knowing the answer, and feeling irritation grow inside me.
He gave me a creepy smile.
“That would be me.”
There was a man drowning in fucking sand behind me, and this idiot wanted to play games? I plastered my most ingratiating smile across my face.
“May I cross the shadows, please? I would like to check on the feast plans and stock of wine.”
“But of course you may,” he gestured at the void in front of me.
“You have my gratitude,” I lied, and stepped into the darkness.