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Authors: Leo ; Julia; Hartas Wills
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Cross the River Styx in a creaky boat filled with cave spiders? I think not.
Anyway, don’t distract me. The thing is, for Greek portals to work they need to supernaturally connect with Ancient Greece’s lost treasures, those old pots and columns and splinters of shield that were left back on Earth and transmit their energy back to the Underworld like satellites from space. Luckily for Persephone and her vacations, such treasures have long been scattered across the globe by armies and archaeologists, collectors and curators. And so, with the help of the ghost Greek engineers and a goodly dollop of godly magic, the queen now had her own network of shortcuts, quickly linking Hades’ palace to cities on Earth as easily as a hotel lobby leads to its bedrooms.
The portals were arranged in five rows, carved high into the cave walls. Each row was reached by its own boardwalk, edged by a guardrail and festooned with stripy blue bunting, leading to a long flight of steps, damp and glistening, carved out of the rock.
On any other day Alex would have loved to explore what lay behind each portal door, shining beneath the exotic names painted above them, names like Marrakech, Paris, Tokyo and Rome. But this wasn’t any other day and, already changed into the jeans and white T-shirt that Rose had found for him in the lost-property room of the British Museum back in the summer, he felt restless to leave.
Not that Jason was quite ready yet.
‘Just look at them,’ muttered Aries.
Quickly stuffing the map into his pocket, Alex glanced up to see the Argonaut, who was also dressed in jeans and a T-shirt (lovingly made by the palace seamstresses) framed by the arch of the cave’s mouth. Leaping over a patch of damp sand, he twirled and jabbed a stick of driftwood in a mock swordfight with Persephone and the other goddesses. Even Hera, queen of the gods and the wife of Zeus himself (and who Alex thought must be at least three thousand years old and should’ve known better) stood tilting her face up to him, beaming.
‘If we could make a start!’ cried Athena, straining to be heard over the chorus of giggles as the Argonaut spun round and tapped each of the goddesses’ noses in turn with the tip of the stick.
Aries snorted impatiently and Alex reached down to rub the ram’s head. It felt hot with anger and Alex sighed, knowing how hard it would be for the ram to return to Earth with Jason in charge. Of course, Alex had no more time for Greek heroes than Aries did. He hated all that swagger and bluster too, and the way that everyone went weak at the knees for a flash of armour or an arm bulging with biceps. But since the summer and what had happened in London, he’d been surprised to find himself feeling a little bit different and, frankly, rather curious about how the famous quests had actually been done. And despite his best friend’s frustration, he still couldn’t quash his own growing excitement at returning to Earth. Of course he was fiercely determinedto protect Rose from whatever Medea was planning, but he was quietly thrilled too, delighted to be on another adventure, and he thought that maybe this time, in going back to Earth with Jason, he’d have a chance to learn how the heroes always managed to win – a sort of boot camp to find out how they planned and thought, fought and stayed brave even when things were terrifying.
Not that he’d be mentioning that to Aries any time soon.
Obviously.
Alex watched the goddess of wisdom as she turned away from the little group, slipped off her sandals and scooped up her skirts, to walk into the cave. Her owl swooped in behind her, as bright as a snowball in the gloom, and nestled on her shoulder, twittering, as she waded towards them through the water. A flurry of maids splashed after her and quickly stacked an assortment of strange things on a nearby ledge, jutting out from the glistening wall. She waited for them to finish, curtsey and hurry away again, and then, stepping
Anyway, don’t distract me. The thing is, for Greek portals to work they need to supernaturally connect with Ancient Greece’s lost treasures, those old pots and columns and splinters of shield that were left back on Earth and transmit their energy back to the Underworld like satellites from space. Luckily for Persephone and her vacations, such treasures have long been scattered across the globe by armies and archaeologists, collectors and curators. And so, with the help of the ghost Greek engineers and a goodly dollop of godly magic, the queen now had her own network of shortcuts, quickly linking Hades’ palace to cities on Earth as easily as a hotel lobby leads to its bedrooms.
The portals were arranged in five rows, carved high into the cave walls. Each row was reached by its own boardwalk, edged by a guardrail and festooned with stripy blue bunting, leading to a long flight of steps, damp and glistening, carved out of the rock.
On any other day Alex would have loved to explore what lay behind each portal door, shining beneath the exotic names painted above them, names like Marrakech, Paris, Tokyo and Rome. But this wasn’t any other day and, already changed into the jeans and white T-shirt that Rose had found for him in the lost-property room of the British Museum back in the summer, he felt restless to leave.
Not that Jason was quite ready yet.
‘Just look at them,’ muttered Aries.
Quickly stuffing the map into his pocket, Alex glanced up to see the Argonaut, who was also dressed in jeans and a T-shirt (lovingly made by the palace seamstresses) framed by the arch of the cave’s mouth. Leaping over a patch of damp sand, he twirled and jabbed a stick of driftwood in a mock swordfight with Persephone and the other goddesses. Even Hera, queen of the gods and the wife of Zeus himself (and who Alex thought must be at least three thousand years old and should’ve known better) stood tilting her face up to him, beaming.
‘If we could make a start!’ cried Athena, straining to be heard over the chorus of giggles as the Argonaut spun round and tapped each of the goddesses’ noses in turn with the tip of the stick.
Aries snorted impatiently and Alex reached down to rub the ram’s head. It felt hot with anger and Alex sighed, knowing how hard it would be for the ram to return to Earth with Jason in charge. Of course, Alex had no more time for Greek heroes than Aries did. He hated all that swagger and bluster too, and the way that everyone went weak at the knees for a flash of armour or an arm bulging with biceps. But since the summer and what had happened in London, he’d been surprised to find himself feeling a little bit different and, frankly, rather curious about how the famous quests had actually been done. And despite his best friend’s frustration, he still couldn’t quash his own growing excitement at returning to Earth. Of course he was fiercely determinedto protect Rose from whatever Medea was planning, but he was quietly thrilled too, delighted to be on another adventure, and he thought that maybe this time, in going back to Earth with Jason, he’d have a chance to learn how the heroes always managed to win – a sort of boot camp to find out how they planned and thought, fought and stayed brave even when things were terrifying.
Not that he’d be mentioning that to Aries any time soon.
Obviously.
Alex watched the goddess of wisdom as she turned away from the little group, slipped off her sandals and scooped up her skirts, to walk into the cave. Her owl swooped in behind her, as bright as a snowball in the gloom, and nestled on her shoulder, twittering, as she waded towards them through the water. A flurry of maids splashed after her and quickly stacked an assortment of strange things on a nearby ledge, jutting out from the glistening wall. She waited for them to finish, curtsey and hurry away again, and then, stepping
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