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 torch light. 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.
Twenty-One
I blinked, the light bright after the gentle ambiance of the ballroom, and the pitch darkness of the shadows. Just like kitchens would have been at a function in my world, long stainless steel counters were covered in bowls and platters, and there was activity everywhere I looked. Nymphs and humans alike, wearing white aprons, spooned food into dishes, bustling back and forth between the counters and a huge bank of clay ovens at the back of the room, shouting to each other over the sounds of clanging and more chatter. I inhaled deeply, and to my delight smelled hot-dogs. I looked to my right and saw rows and rows of different glasses laid out, with more nymphs filling them fast with different drinks, before servers refilled their trays. I walked over to them, my heels clicking on the tiled floor.
'Excuse me,' I said, and the pink-skinned nymph I addressed looked up from pouring a bottle and squeaked. 'I didn't mean to startle you,' I said quickly, as she spilled something blue and fizzy onto the counter.
'What do you need, my lady?' she said, avoiding my eye, and mopping quickly at the spillage.
'It's an odd question, I'm afraid, but do you have any strangely shaped wine glasses?' Her eyes snapped to mine and she tilted her head.
'Actually, yes. It was brought in here about half an hour ago. We thought it must belong to someone here, as it's not one of ours.'
'May I see it please?'
'Of course, my lady.' She hurried away behind a row of tall metal cabinets, and returned less than a minute later with a square wine glass. The base, stem, and cup all had perfect right angles.
'How peculiar,' I said, taking it from her. Her mouth fell open when it vanished with a poof, a little scroll replacing it. Relief and excitement tingled through me. Two down, two to go. 'Thanks for your help,' I grinned at the nymph.
'You're welcome, my lady' she said nervously as I turned and raced back towards the wall of shadows I'd entered through. I unrolled the scroll as I went, reading quickly.