I tried not to look too hard at the water, at the doomed souls who reached for us and slapped at the wooden planks.įinally, the boat nudged against land and shivered to a halt. I held on to her and scrabbled to my feet, wobbling a little with the sway of the boat. “You’re amazing!” I called to her over the roar of the water, and she shrugged her shoulders, smiling widely, offering me a hand. I slipped and lost my footing as the ship shuddered and bounced in that direction, away from the village, the palace, Hades. “How do we steer?” I asked, and Pallas pointed her finger at me, then spun about and pointed to the opposite side of the river. I stepped over the rails, scuffed my sandals on the waterlogged wood. “She’s not entirely seaworthy, but she’ll do for a short excursion. She leapt onto the ship, jumped up and down to-I guessed- test its soundness.
“Thank the gods for that,” I smiled, relieved and excited.
As it rose from the depths, the waters closed beneath it, and the craft, at Pallas’ urging, drifted quietly to the shore. In the distance, the black waters parted, and I saw that the end of the string was tied to a rusted loop on a rotting board-which was attached to the front end of a rotting ship with the river Styx streaming over its edges. Pallas grinned at me, motioning with her chin. Then there was a roar so sudden that I clapped my hands over my ears and cried out. Several moments passed during which nothing else happened I turned to her, perplexed. Planting her feet on the riverbank, she hauled the line it tautened, glimmering like a silver beam, between her grasp and that of the Styx. “We don’t need Charon ,” Pallas said simply, raising the string over her head, tugging at it, so that the water engulfing its length rippled gently. “Have you summoned Charon ? With that string?” A panic broke within me at the thought of stepping foot on his barge again, so soon. My fingers pulled at the frayed hair against my neck, and I gazed at the string in Pallas’ hands. And now,” she smiled at me, her eyes twinkling, “we can cross.” “I was in no danger, as long as my face stayed above the water. She held the end of it, and the river hid the rest. The torchlight revealed a shimmering string clasped in her fists.
She shushed me again and lurched backwards, her arms stretched out over the water. “What are you doing?” I hissed, falling to my knees beside her. Hands, nail-less and white, snatched at Pallas, but she was calm, resolute. The water churned, murky and black, and I could see flickers of eyes and limbs beneath the waves.
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