by Joan Holub
A few minutes later she reached her destination, a small castle built of black stone. This was Hades’ home when he wasn’t at MOA.
“Godness! So this is the infamous castle,” she murmured. She’d never seen it till now, but Hades had told her all about it. He’d called it forlorn.
Talk about an understatement! Dark mist swirled around the castle, and a swampy moat surrounded it. A gloomdial (which worked sort of like a sundial to tell time) stood in the yard near the drawbridge. From the outside the castle looked abandoned, lonely, and almost . . . creepy.
Far beyond it was Tartarus, which Persephone had seen. It was the worst place in the Underworld, where the truly evil wound up—including those who had offended the gods and goddesses. Not a very welcoming place at all!
She knew the Underworld wasn’t supposed to be like an amusement park or anything. But that didn’t mean it had to be totally gloomy! So she was going to do what she could to brighten things up for Hades around here.
She took the box full of hybrid seeds from her scrollbag and opened it. Then she chanted a quick spell:
“Prepare yourself, soil,
For these seeds I’ll sow.
Become a rich bed,
Where flowers will grow!”
Instantly the moat drained and the ground on either side of the castle drawbridge raked itself up into two beds of fertile soil.
When all was ready, Persephone worked fast, dropping the seeds about ten inches apart in the freshly tilled sections of dirt. As soon as a seed fell from her fingers, the nearby soil magically covered it up.
Now and then she checked over her shoulder. Since Hades often had to leave school to check on things here, he could appear in the Underworld at any time. Her fingers were crossed that he wouldn’t catch her and ruin the surprise.
Finally her box was empty. She chanted a “good timing” spell that would cause all the flowers to bloom exactly at noon on Hades’ birthday.
“On Saturday noon,
Flowers, please bloom!
To brighten this castle
And banish the gloom.”
Then she recited one last spell—a “hiding” one. It would keep this newly tilled garden invisible until she was ready to show it to Hades.
A peek at the gloomdial told her the planting had taken longer than expected. Her Underworld pass was only good for one class period and would expire the minute second period began. She needed to hurry!
Hades would not have approved if he’d known what she dared to do next. Which was to take a shortcut back to the ferry dock. One that went through the Forbidden Meadow.
As she zipped along in her winged sandals, colorful, hissing snakes slithered among the grasses of the meadow below her. Ssss! Ssss!
“Ye gods!” Persephone muttered warily. Hades had told her the snakes were extremely poisonous. Of course, they couldn’t touch her as long as she was careful to stay high above them and out of reach. Still, taking this shortcut hadn’t been one of her best ideas.
She made it through the meadow without mishap and breathed a sigh of relief. On her return ferryboat trip, Charon was busy repairing a small leak he’d just found and was in no mood for chatting. Upon reaching the other side of the River Styx, she found Eurydice entertaining the mortal girls with a story about her life.
“Being a pop star is amaaazingly fun,” she was saying. “For me it’s all about having a passion for fashion, signing autographs, and most of all making music. And just think—six months ago I wasn’t a star. I was just like you. So if you have a dream, you can make it happen!”
The girls were hanging on her every word. Even though she was a mortal and couldn’t perform real magic, Eurydice certainly had a magical personality, thought Persephone. Orpheus did too. They had star power!
As the two girls headed back to MOA, Eurydice was full of questions about the Underworld. Persephone told her what she knew, describing the places she’d seen. The fabulously beautiful Elysian Fields, the frightening Forbidden Meadow, and terrifying Tartarus with its rivers of lava, just to name a few.
Soon their feet touched down in the Academy courtyard. Seeing Aphrodite on the steps leading up to the front doors, the two girls hurried to join her.
“Where’d you get that awesome chiton?” Eurydice asked her. Persephone had been silently admiring it too. It was a gorgeous new lacy pink chiton she hadn’t seen before.
“The Immortal Marketplace,” said Aphrodite. Grinning, she struck a fashion model pose, one hand on her hip and the other fluffing her hair.
“Ooh! I’ve heard about that place,” said Eurydice. As they approached the doors of the Academy, she fell into step with Aphrodite, forcing Persephone to walk behind since there wasn’t room for all three of them to go through the doors together.
“It’s where goddesses and gods shop, right?” Eurydice went on as they walked inside. Caught up in her excitement, she let the heavy bronze front door go. It almost shut in Persephone’s face! Would have too if Persephone hadn’t caught it in time and pushed it wide so she could go through.
“I’d love to see it,” Eurydice was saying to Aphrodite. “Maybe we should go shopping there after school?”
“Sure,” Aphrodite replied easily. “I’m always up for shopping.”
“Me too! Maybe I could even sleep over tonight?” Eurydice suggested. “Persephone said you have a spare bed in your dorm room, right? We could look through your closets. Maybe do a little mixing and matching. Talk fashion queen to fashion queen. What do you say?”
Catching up to the other two girls, Persephone glanced at Eurydice in dismay. Had she already forgotten their plans? The decorating? The hanging out they were going to do at her house?
At least Aphrodite hadn’t forgotten. “But Ares told me Orpheus got a message this morning that you’d be staying at Persephone’s every night this week,” she told Eurydice uncertainly.
“Oh, it was nothing definite. She won’t mind,” Eurydice said carelessly. She turned toward Persephone. “Will you, Persy?”
“N-no,” said Persephone, even though she did mind. Truth was, she felt totally slighted. Until now she’d thought Eurydice had specifically singled her out to befriend. Wrong!
Persephone could feel her smile trembling. She wanted to say how she really felt. But she wasn’t like the confident Medusa, who could just blurt out her feelings about anything and everything.
Still, Aphrodite must’ve sensed her disappointment. “Persephone, you should stay over too,” she suggested. “Why don’t you bunk with Artemis tonight so we can all do things together?”
Eurydice squealed in delight and gave Persephone a hug. “Yes, you have to stay, Persy. You just have to,” she urged. “It wouldn’t be nearly as fun without you.”
And just like that, Persephone felt wanted and dazzled all over again. So dazzled that for a minute she forgot about Artemis’s three slobbery dogs. Unlike Aphrodite, Persephone didn’t really mind them, though. She’d deal. And she didn’t want to miss all the fun. Amazing rock stars didn’t visit MOA every day, after all!
“What’s your next class?” Eurydice asked Persephone when the lyrebell rang to signal the end of first period. Students soon began pouring out of classes into the hall.
“Beast-ology,” Persephone replied, just as Athena came over to join them. “We’re doing in-class reports on recent magical beast sightings from Earth.”
“Sounds awesome!” said Eurydice.
“Didn’t you hear?” asked Athena. “My dad’s canceled all second- and third-period classes. Instead there’s going to be a concert in the courtyard so everyone can hear our musical guests perform.”
“Turns out that Principal Zeus is a total fan of Orpheus’s,” Aphrodite added.
“And of me too, I hope,” Eurydice said. She sounded a little miffed at not being mentioned.
“I’m sure he will be,” Athena said politely, “when he hears you perform.”
Eurydice perked up. “Now’s my chance to wow
him, then! Once you’ve performed for the King of the Gods and Ruler of the Heavens, you’ve pretty much made it to the big time, right? After the concert I’ll have to send a press release to Teen Scrollazine to let my fans know.”
“I can help with that,” Pheme chimed in. She’d been lurking just outside their circle, listening in.
“Perfect! Thanks!” said Eurydice. After saying good-bye, she hurried down to join the band, which was beginning to set up in the courtyard.
Students quickly found seats on benches or set out blankets to sit on, spreading them around the makeshift stage. Persephone and Athena perched on a high stone wall, where they’d have a good view. Artemis and Aphrodite sat on a marble bench nearby.
Eurydice and Orpheus were huddled together talking near the stage now. The band was warming up. Seeing that Hades was helping set up their equipment, Persephone waved to him, and he grinned back.
Minutes later Orpheus climbed onstage to thunderous applause. Eurydice joined him along with Heavens Above members Ares, Dionysus, and Apollo. Hades moved to the back of the stage, to sit in for Poseidon on drums.
For the first number, Orpheus played and sang a solo tune. His voice and lyre rang throughout the courtyard. One by one, animals from the nearby forest drew closer, entranced by the music. Squirrels scampered up to the benches. Rabbits hopped over to sit in the flowerbeds. Ducks waddled near. Even Artemis’s golden-horned deer came to listen.
Soon cute furry creatures ringed the students in the courtyard. Birds of every color filled the trees. Even butterflies fluttered in to rest gently on bushes and on MOA’s rooftop.
Up in his office Zeus flung open the windows overlooking the courtyard so that he and Ms. Hydra could listen too. As she leaned out the window, all nine of Ms. Hydra’s heads were smiling—even her grumpy green head. Orpheus’s music was just that good!
The band joined in on the second song. Orpheus sang lead, and Eurydice sang backup. Just like last Saturday’s concert, their harmony was amazing.
After several more songs Orpheus made an announcement. “Eurydice and I would now like to perform something brand-new! I wrote the tune some time ago, but she wrote the lyrics just this morning. Our song is called ‘Truth or Dare’!”
What? Persephone straightened in surprise.
As the song began, she realized that Eurydice had used the things Persephone had told her, to help inspire this new song. Like about the autograph dare and her first meeting with Hades. It wasn’t like that stuff was secret or anything. But she sort of felt betrayed that Eurydice hadn’t asked first if she could use the information in this public way.
She had to admit that the song was good, though: “I dare you, dare you, daaare you to talk to the bad-news boy, boy, boy . . .”
At the end of the song, Eurydice tossed out dares to people in the crowd. They were silly things that made people laugh. She dared Ares to do a cartwheel. He did it, then took a bow. Iris was dared to create a rainbow in the shape of a heart in the sky. She did, and it was beautiful.
But when Eurydice dared Medusa to make her snakes do a hula dance, Medusa refused.
There was an awkward pause. Then Eurydice turned to Hades, who was at the back of the stage. “Okay, let’s dare Hades to do something instead. Hmm. What should it be? Persephone, got any ideas?”
Everyone turned to look at Persephone. She squirmed, not knowing what to say.
Eurydice laughed. “Come on. Let’s dare him to do something out of his comfort zone. I know! A little bird told me he’s mega-talented on those drums. So . . .” She looked directly at Hades. “I dare you to perform a drum solo!”
Though Hades didn’t like being the center of attention any more than Persephone did, he was a good sport about it. Grinning slightly, he tossed his drumsticks into the air, caught them, and played a short but dramatic solo.
Athena leaned over to Persephone. “Wow! He’s great!”
Persephone nodded. Athena was right. He was every bit as good on drums as Poseidon. Maybe better!
Hades’ solo led into the next song, and the performance continued smoothly, tune after tune. As Persephone watched him, she could tell he was having fun. Still, she wished Eurydice hadn’t dared him right in front of everyone like that. Afterward, when students were heading inside for lunch, she went to the back of the stage to explain things to him.
“I can’t believe you told Eurydice all that stuff for her song!” he exclaimed before she could say a word. “I really don’t appreciate being put on the spot. Or in the spotlight. You know how I feel about that.”
Whoa! He might not have acted upset onstage, but he certainly sounded like he was now.
“Yeah, about that,” Persephone began. “I didn’t know she would—”
Cutting her short, Hades said, “I’ve got enough to worry about right now because of that dumb Teen Scrollazine poll.” He stood and began packing up the drum set.
“It wasn’t so dumb,” Persephone protested. “I like reading the scrollazine’s polls. Usually.” Why was she defending that poll? she wondered. Well, she actually did think some polls and quizzes were fun to read.
“It’s fluff,” he huffed. “And annoying.”
“Oh, poor you,” she said, folding her arms. “You got labeled Most Fascinating. Who wouldn’t want to be fascinating? Do you think I liked my label? Most Dependable?”
Hades sent her a confused look. “What’s wrong with being dependable?
She studied his expression. Did he really not get it? Sometimes boys could be a little dense about stuff like this. She shrugged. “Never mind.”
“Listen, I’ve got to help the guys with the rest of the equipment,” he said abruptly.
Wait! Was he telling her to leave him alone? How had their conversation gotten so off track? Persephone wondered in alarm. They were beginning to act like Aphrodite and Ares did when they were on the verge of an argument.
She had to fix things. But before she could explain that she’d had no idea Eurydice would blab her confidences all over the universe, and before she could tell Hades she was sorry he’d been put on the spot, Apollo called to him and he turned away.
His back to Persephone, Hades paused. “That poll doesn’t matter,” he said. “And I don’t care if the whole school thinks I’m bad news. You know the real me. That’s what’s important. And I know the real you. At least I thought I did before you hooked up with Eurydice.”
Feeling stunned, Persephone just stood there for a minute, watching him go over to help his friends gather the band instruments together so they could carry everything back inside the Academy.
Why hadn’t he given her a chance to explain? Why did he just assume she was the one who’d told Eurydice about everyone thinking he was bad news? Well, she may have said that, but he didn’t know for sure. Besides, no one thought he was bad news now. That was stuff that had happened way early in the year.
She felt like crying. But she was mad now too. How dare Hades try to tell her that she shouldn’t be friends with Eurydice. Okay, he may not have said that exactly, but he’d implied it.
What if she’d listened to her three best friends back when they’d told her he was bad news? She wouldn’t even be friends with him right now! Didn’t he get that?
Well, she wasn’t going to dump Eurydice just because Hades didn’t like her. She’d never dump one friend for another. No way!
Trying to ignore the tight feeling in the pit of her stomach, Persephone turned her back on him. Then she jumped down from the stage and stomped off to lunch.
10
Judging
Hades
BAD NEWS . . . BAD NEWS . . .
The words from Orpheus and Eurydice’s new song echoed in Hades’ head. After Persephone left the stage and stomped off, he hopped from the stage himself and went in the other direction without a word to the rest of the band. He didn’t feel like being around people in the cafeteria, so instead he headed for the forest.
Orpheus had told him that Euryd
ice was a good influence on his music. Maybe so. But that girl was a bad influence on Persephone, in Hades’ opinion.
He sighed as that familiar prickly feeling that meant there was trouble in the Underworld hit him again. What now? After summoning Midnight, he mounted the stallion and galloped below the earth.
When he touched down in the Underworld, he gazed across the river to the opposite shore. There were even more girls hanging around over there than before. “Hades! Hades! We love Hades!” they chanted together. Then they screamed and pretended to swoon.
Not wanting to encourage them, Hades tried to ignore them. Only it was kind of cute in a way—all this adoration. Still, hanging around like this was a dangerous thing for them to do!
Charon pulled up in the ferryboat. “See this?” he asked by way of greeting. He held up a silver coin.
“It’s an obol. So?” Hades asked. All the shades paid an obol to ride the ferry.
To Hades’ surprise Charon put the obol between his teeth and bit down on it. It cracked in half! He handed the pieces to Hades.
“It’s candy. Fake,” said Charon. “They gave me fake coins!” He gestured toward two girl shades who’d just gotten off his boat. They were jumping up and down at the entrance to the Underworld, as if thrilled to be there.
Hades waved them over. “Why not just give him real obols?” he asked them. He’d never seen shades so excited and lively before. Usually they were pretty grim.
“We’d already spent our allowances,” one girl told him.
“But we knew if we didn’t get to meet you, we’d just absolutely die!” the other one added.
“That’s the whole problem,” charged Charon. “You can’t be here. Because you aren’t dead!”
Hades’ eyes widened. “Not dead? Then how—” Just then he noticed the girls were holding copies of Teen Scrollazine. Did this have something to do with that poll?
“They’re living mortals. Not shades. They tricked their way in,” said the ferryboat captain, shaking his head in disbelief. “First time I’ve been fooled in an eternity.”
