Chapter 24
“So,” I said, as cheerfully as I could. “Where are you from?” I turned to the woman sitting on my right. She was pretty, like everyone at the ball, with tight silver ringlets falling about her shoulders and a flush of freckles across her full cheeks.
“Leo,” she smiled at me. Leo. That was Zeus's realm.
“Are you a goddess?” I asked.
“Everyone here is a god. Except you.” I looked across at the woman who had spoken. She was sitting next to Hecate, who was glaring at her. Her mask was black and red, bold lines breaking up the colors, and I couldn't help thinking of Mexican wrestling masks.
She had a mountain of black curly hair piled high on her head, and she was wearing a ball gown that had a perfectly fitted corset to accentuate her massive breasts. It took a serious effort not to stare at them.
“What are you the goddess of?” I asked her with a forced smile.
“Can't tell you that,” she shrugged, and stabbed at a piece of salmon. We'd moved on from the fruit course. “What is this? Is it from your crappy world?”
I felt my eye twitch, but kept the smile on my face.
“It's smoked salmon. And yes, it's quite popular in the mortal world.”
“Well, it tastes like shit,” she said.
I inhaled slowly through my nose, and turned to the only other man at the table, who had yet to say a word. He was the most unassuming person I'd seen at the ball yet.
He was a normal size, was wearing a traditional style toga that didn't show too much of his chest, had close cropped brown hair and a simple silver mask with no feather or adornments. He wore an impassive expression on a forgettable face.
“Hello. Where are you from?” I asked him.
He looked up at me from his food, and fire leaped to life inside me.
Screams penetrated my skull, distant at first, then louder, as flames licked around my vision.
Then as quickly as they'd started, the thoughts receded, leaving me with a white knuckled grip on my cutlery, and no idea what he'd just said to me.
“I’m—I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” I said, blinking, my pulse racing. Had Hades just got angry with someone somewhere? Why would that affect me if he wasn't even here?
“I'm from a place you are as yet unaware of,” the guy said, his expression still neutral but his brown eyes swirling with something seriously other-worldly. Something dark. Had he just caused that?
“Oh,” I said, unsure what else to say.
“Gods, you sound so dramatic,” the big-boobed lady said to him, rolling her eyes. The man gave her a small smile, and carried on eating his salmon. She let out an exaggerated sigh. “I'll level with you, Persephone, I'm a bit disappointed.”
“I'm sorry to hear that,” I said, trying not to grit my teeth. “How can I improve your evening?”
“Well, I had hoped Oceanus would be here. There's a big gathering next week, and the rumors are that he's at the center of it all. I wanted to get some inside info.” Her eyes shone amber behind her mask, and the more I looked at them, the more annoyed with her I got.
“I would have liked Oceanus to be here too, but I'm afraid I can't control the Titans.”
“Well you seem pretty friendly with this one,” she said, jerking her thumb at Hecate.
“Wait, what?” I stared at Hecate as she swallowed her mouthful of food and shrugged. “You're a Titan?”
The big-boobed woman snorted.
“She's one of the most powerful beings in this room, of course she is.”
“Why didn't you tell me?” I asked her. I wasn't sure why it mattered, but somehow it did. I felt betrayed, even though she had no reason to have mentioned her heritage. But the Titans were all supposed to be in a pit of torture weren't they?
“Erm, you never asked? Why does it matter?”
“Oh Hecate, even pathetic mortals from the human world know that Titans are losers,” said big-boobs. I glared at her, but Hecate coughed, and gave me a look.
“I'm descended from Titans, yes. Hades gives a lot of Titans jobs. Let's move on to something else shall we? How's your mother?” She turned to the beautiful man, who was beaming at the hot-dog that had just appeared on his plate.
“What's this?” he asked, looking at me.
“It's a hot dog,” I told him, my face flushing as soon as I laid eyes on his lips.
“What's the yellow stuff?”
“Mustard.” He picked up his knife and a small laugh escaped me.
“No, like this,” I said, and picked up my own hot-dog. It tasted divine, and a pang of homesickness bolted through me. I would be home soon enough.
Everyone around the table picked up their own hot-dogs and started to eat, appreciative murmurs ringing through the group.
“Mom's great thanks,” the hot guy said suddenly, turning to Hecate. “She's been looking forward to tonight. She's got something planned for later I think.”
“Who is your mother?” I asked.
“Ah, lovely Persephone, it seems so mean that I'm not allowed to answer any of your questions,” he said, and something fluttered in my stomach as he gazed at me.
“I guess it wouldn't be cheating to tell you she's an Olympian though,” he said, and winked at me again.
Guys who wink are not your type. Guys who wink are not your type.
I clung to the chant in my head, and gave him a thank-you nod.
“So, you lived in New York?” said the lady in the blue mask I'd met earlier.
“Yes, do you know it?” I asked her excitedly. It was the first time someone had mentioned anything from home to me.
“Yes, very well. It is a realm that comes alive at night.” I liked the thought of New York being its own realm, and I smiled warmly at her.
“Well if you win the Hades Trials, you can kiss goodbye to seeing cities lit by moonlight,” said big-boobs. “In fact you can kiss sunlight goodbye too.”
Why was this woman being such a pain in the ass? I bet she was one of the ones Hedone warned me about, that would be sneaking off with some married man later on, I thought. I'd be damned if I was covering for her.
The gong sounded suddenly, pulling me out of my thoughts, and the commentator's voice swiftly followed it.
“Good evening Olympus! I hope the guests are enjoying their meals? Well, they're going to have to wait for their desserts, as we have a short interlude... Persephone's second test!”
A new hourglass shimmered into existence next to the first, which still had the unconscious murderer in it. I peered at the new glass, trying to see inside. It was much smaller than the first, and it seemed to be empty, until with a shimmer, a woman appeared in the bottom half.
She was on her knees, her head lolling to one side so that a mass of dark hair tumbled down over her chest. My gut constricted, and any enjoyment I had begun to get from the ball slipped away, replaced by renewed disgust of these games.
It was too easy to forget how fucked up these people were, and I had begun to relax. That was a mistake.
“As you can see, this is a smaller hourglass, and the sand will fall much faster. You don't have long for this test, Persephone.” He beamed at me, then vanished, reappearing with a little flash of light right next to me.
I tried to keep my nerves from showing on my face as he handed me a golden orb.
“To complete this test and save that woman's life, you must take apart this key, and match the correct piece to the correct guest on your table. You may not ask any questions at all. Are you ready?”
“Erm—” I said, but before I could finish speaking he cut me off.
“Good, let's begin!”
I instinctively looked at the hourglass, and my breath caught, panic rising in me as I saw how fast the sand was falling. The hole in the middle was larger than the last one, and the base of the hourglass was already completely covered.
I didn't imagine that I would have more than five minutes before the sand reached the woman's head.
I turned back to the table, lifting the orb to my face. The room was completely silent as I inspected the ball. There was nothing on it all, no markings or inscriptions or patterns. What was I supposed to do with it?
The last one had three rings carved into it. I gripped each side in my hand and twisted, imagining the rings on the last orb. To my relief there was a click and I felt movement, then I fumbled with the metal as the whole thing broke apart in my hands.
Two pieces dropped onto the table in front of me, hitting my plate with a clang, and I felt my face flush.
Act like you don't give a shit, I thought, trying to channel Hecate's fierce attitude.
It doesn't matter if the rest of Olympus thinks you're clumsy; what matters that you save this woman's life.
I laid all the bits out on the table, turning them over in my hands and looking for clues. It reminded me of cracking open an Easter egg, the center of the orb hollow.
There were five pieces, which made sense as I had five unknown guests at my table, plus Hecate. I was assuming she wasn't part of this test, as I already knew who she was.
“Aha,” I mumbled, as I lifted one of the broken bits of shell to my face, wishing there was more light in the ballroom. Painted on the inside, tiny and delicate, I could just make out a crescent moon.
Whipping my gaze out over my silent table guests, I picked up the next piece, looking closely until I found a tiny heart with an arrow through it.
I checked the other three pieces as quickly as I could, finding a tiny skull, a cracked bowl, and what looked like a fountain. Come on Persephone, work it out.
Five symbols and five guests. None of whom would tell me their name or what they were gods of. The guests must match the symbols.
I turned and looked at the hourglass. The sand was already at the woman's waist.
Concentrate!
Well, the heart and arrow was the symbol for cupid in my world.
I couldn't remember the Greek name for him, but I knew he was the god of lust, and Aphrodite's son.
There was no question that he had to be the gorgeous guy, as that would explain the conversation about his Olympian mother, and the fact that I couldn't talk to him without thinking about him doing filthy things to me.
I picked up the piece with the heart on it, and held it out to him across the table.
He grinned at me as he took it, and the commentator's voice rang out across the room, although I couldn't see him anymore.
“Correct! Eros, god of desire and sex!”
Thank the gods for that, I thought, but felt little relief. That was the only easy one. OK, what next? The skull... My eyes darted to the plain guy. The plain guy whose gaze had made me see fire and hear screams.
Without giving myself time to second guess my decision, I held out the skull piece to him. His lips barely moved as he took it and the commentator's voice boomed once more.
“Correct! Thanatos, god of death!”
A shiver ran through me. I'd been eating next to the freaking god of death and not known?
I pushed the unhelpful thought aside, and picked up another piece.
The moon. I looked at the three women, and a memory of a conversation earlier that evening flashed into my head.
“It's a moon-stone,” the lady in the blue mask had said when I admired her ring.
“Selene!” I exclaimed out loud, as I remembered her name. She said she liked New York because it came alive at night. Surely that would make her goddess of the moon or night?
With a deep breath, I passed her the piece of orb with the moon on it. She gave me a big smile, and this time I did allow a little relief to wash through me as the commentator spoke.
“Correct! Selene, goddess of the moon!”
I looked over at the hourglass. The sand was just starting to cover the woman's chest. I only had a few minutes more, I was sure. My palms were beginning to sweat, and adrenaline was making my insides feel like they were vibrating as I picked up the last two pieces.
A broken bowl and a fountain.
I looked between the pretty young woman from Leo and the big-breasted jerk with the stupid hair, and bit down on my lip.
I didn't know what either symbol meant. The bowl was broken.
.. Was there a goddess of broken things?
And the fountain... It couldn't be goddess of the sea or water, as that was surely Poseidon?
I tried to think of famous fountains, but nothing came to me. What could the broken bowl mean? Could it just represent stuff being messed up? In which case it surely had to be the miserable trouble-maker? If you get this wrong, a woman dies. I closed my eyes. I was sweating profusely now.
I didn't know what the correct answer was.