'Yeah. I made it out of a tortoise shell and bits of sheep gut. I don't reckon any of them up there would be too impressed with that now,' Hermes laughed, following my gaze. His laugh cut off abruptly, and I looked at him as his eyes widened. 'That's just given me a great idea. Watch this,' he grinned. The air over his hands shimmered, and a large empty tortoise shell with slimy red string tied across it appeared out of nowhere. I screwed my face up at the smell, and stepped backwards. 'Sheep gut strings,' he said, his eyes dancing.
'What are you-' I started to ask him, but with another wave of his hand it vanished, replaced by a beautifully carved wooden lyre. There was a yelp and a jarring sound and my attention snapped to the stage. A woman standing amongst the musicians was holding out the tortoise-shell lyre, staring at the red on her fingertips in disgust and confusion. 'You- you swapped them!' Hermes started to laugh, an infectious giggle that I couldn't help emulating. 'That's gross! And completely unfair!' I spluttered.
'It sure is,' Hermes replied, and downed his drink. 'But I also find it highly amusing. I need a new one of these,' he said, raising his empty glass. 'Can I leave you to sort this out? One of the duties of a good hostess is to sort out other god's mischief.' He held the lyre out to me with a wink.
'Y-yes!' I said, doing my best not to snatch it from him. As soon as I touched it, it disappeared with a poof, a small metal orb in its place.
'Aha!' barked Hermes. 'I'm so glad to have helped! It was brief, but a pleasure, Persephone,' he beamed, then strode past me.
Twenty-Two
I turned the little metal ball over in my hands, hope and anticipation filling me. Honestly, if there wasn't an unconscious guy drowning in sand, the test would actually have been quite fun. The orb had three simple rings carved around it, but other than that gave me no clues. What was I supposed to do with it?
The clues will lead to a key to unlock the hourglass, the commentator had said. I looked at the hourglass. The sand was just falling past the man's shoulders. The orb didn't look like any sort of key I'd ever seen, but that meant nothing. This place was as weird as weird could get.
I walked quickly towards the hourglass, apologizing to people as they stepped up to talk to me.
'I'm sorry, I won't be a moment,' I said politely, over and over again, causing the time it took me to cross the hall to be doubled. Stupid damned manners. Eventually I reached the hourglass. A hush fell over the room and nerves skittered through me as I looked back over my shoulder. Everyone was watching me, now they had realized where I was going. They knew I had solved all the clues and got the key. There was no way I could do this bit naturally, but surely this wouldn't get me disqualified? The commentator had said I needed to unlock the hourglass. I paused, holding my breath, waiting for his booming voice to reprimand me, but only the sounds of the harp carried through the ballroom. I dropped into a crouch, my relief short lived. The frame of the hourglass was made of what looked like brass, including the thick base which bore a broad plaque in the middle. There were two round holes in the plaque and a short inscription underneath each.
Innocent and guilty.
I frowned. What did that mean? Was it referring to the man inside? I stood up, peering through the glass at the man's sleeping face. He had deep creases around his eyes but he was too young for them to be wrinkles from age. He had sandy colored hair that was tidy and short. How was I supposed to know if he was guilty or innocent? And of what? I let out a hiss of annoyance and took a deep breath. There must be a clue somewhere. Even these twatty gods wouldn't make a puzzle unsolvable.
I put my hands on the glass and looked again. He was wearing something around his neck, I realized. It was on a leather band and it was small and metal. Some sort of charm. It looked like... a feather? I squinted, trying to see details through the slightly warped glass as the sand began to cover the man's throat - and the necklace. It was a dagger, I finally realized. Why would he have a dagger charm around his neck? Did that mean something in Olympus? I clenched my jaw. As an outsider, I was at a disadvantage, once again. Think, Persephone. Daggers are not generally associated with innocence. Could the answer be that black and white?
Discomfort rolled through me at the thought of deeming a stranger guilty of anything. Except these Olympian assholes for making me play their stupid games. I took a deep breath. All this time I had been thinking of the guy in the hourglass as an innocent bystander, put through this for entertainment. But what if the gods were not that cruel? What if they actually had chosen someone who deserved it? Not that I was convinced anyone deserved to be drowned in sand.
With a swift movement, before I could talk myself out of it, I dropped my little orb into the 'guilty' hole. There was a metal rolling sound, and then a click. I stepped back, heart hammering as I watched the hourglass. Slowly at first, then faster, the sand began to move the other way, shooting back up the little gap it had come from, quicker than it should be able to.
'Congratulations, Persephone!' The commentator's voice made me jump. 'You've just saved the life of a convicted murderer!'
'What?' I span around to look at the blonde man, standing only ten feet behind me.
'Part of the Titan Brotherhood, this man killed over fifty others, before he was brought to justice by the magnificent Theseus,' he beamed, and gestured at the gorgeous guy with dreads I'd met earlier. Applause erupted through the room, and Theseus nodded and smiled at everyone, raising his glass. 'We'll have a short break for the feast, then your second test will begin. Enjoy!'
Hecate sauntered over to me, her glass raised, as everyone turned back to their partners, talking excitedly.
'Nice one, Persy,' she said as she reached me.
'He's a convicted murderer?' I gaped at her.
'Yeah,' she shrugged. 'What's the problem?'
I opened and closed my mouth a few times. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to say, only that this was all really wrong somehow.
'That's not how we deal with criminals in our world,' I said eventually.
'Well if this offends you, I would discourage you from visiting some of the darker areas of the Underworld,' she said, raising one eyebrow. 'The Olympians are rather well known for their colorful punishments of the guilty.' I blew out a breath, and looked about for the serving satyr. I needed some more of that fizzy wine.
'My lady,' said a little voice, a tray appearing out of nowhere.
'Thank you,' I said, and swiped up a glass. 'How do they know when we want a drink?'
'That's their job and they're good at it. Speaking of which, you completed the first test fast. The judges should be impressed.'
'Hmm,' I said, taking a long swig of my drink. Thank the gods for alcohol. Although at the rate I was drinking, I wouldn't be sober enough to last all three tests.
Over Hecate's shoulder I saw that lots of round tables had appeared, ornately dressed in scarlet red tablecloths and each set for eight guests. Relief that I'd gone through feasting etiquette washed over me when I saw the number of pieces of silverware surrounding the grand black plates and bowls. A loud gong sounded, and people began to make their way to the tables.