Pandora Gets Lazy (25 page)
“Go fly around for a bit, get Pegasus some oats, find a pretty girl to chat up.”
“Highly unlikely around here. When do you want us back?” Bellerophon asked.
“Well, he deserves some answers,” Prometheus said, nodding to Atlas in the distance behind them. “There's a lot he needs to know. And I have to proceed delicately. I'd give it a couple of hours.”
“Right. We'll be back in two.”
“Thanks again for the lift, my friend,” Prometheus said.
“No problem. It was a slow day anyway, right Pegasus?” Bellerophon called.
Pegasus nodded his head in assent and half flew, half pranced over to his master. Bellerophon quickly grabbed the jewel-encrusted bridle and swung himself up onto the horse's back, ever mindful not to bump his wings.
“See you!” Bellerophon said.
“See you,” Prometheus replied, giving Pegasus a quick pat on the cheek before the horse shot into the sky and over the rim of the mountain.
Prometheus picked his way over the immense amount of rubble. The freed slaves had destroyed nearly everything in a raging, violent exodus from the village. Finally, he stood at his brother's feet.
“Hey, Brother!” he called. “It's me, Prometheus. I'm coming up. Don't get nervous when I start talking in your ear. I am not a nesting bird. Do not swat me! I repeat,
do not swat me
!”
With the tip of his finger, Prometheus began to heat the air directly under his backside. Slowly, as the air became lighter, Prometheus began to rise on an invisible, superheated column.
“Getting closer,” he called to Atlas, halfway up.
“Almost there . . . almost . . . and . . .” He leveled off right next to his brother's ear. “Hi.”
Atlas let out a huge breath through his teeth.
“Okay, I'll talk, you just listen,” Prometheus said.
Atlas gave the tiniest grunt imaginable.
“First of all, Mom wants me to tell you that she loves you and is very proud of you. She understands . . . we all do . . . that you had absolutely no control over your actions and are truly blameless. Okay? Okay. Now . . .”
Prometheus took a deep breath, suddenly realizing he didn't know where to start. He focused on reheating the column of air while he tried to find the right words.
“So . . . so you're probably wondering what in Hades has been happening around here for the past few weeks, right? Right. Well, Brother, it actually all started a while back, with your niece, Pandora. Pandy, she likes to be called. And you've met her already. You . . . you just didn't know it was her at the time. Okay, let me go back to the beginning. So, you remember my theft of fire and the big eagle that ate my liver? Well, there was also this box . . . and . . . and now there's a quest . . .”
Prometheus began to laugh in spite of himself. He gazed out, past the rim of the mountain, toward the sun just beginning to slide down to the horizon.
“Oh, dear Brother, wait till I tell you about my girl!”
Names, pronunciations, and descriptions of gods, demigods, other integral immortals, places, objects, and fictional personages appearing within these pages. Definitions derived from three primary sources: Edith Hamilton's
Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes
; Webster's Online Dictionary, which derives many of its definitions from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (further sources are also indicated on this Web site); and the author's own brain.
Atlas
(AT-lass): one of the original Titans and, in some myths, Prometheus's brother. Zeus condemned Atlas to bear the crushing vault of the heavens on his shoulders forever. (Often he is portrayed as also having to hold up the earth as well, but that's just illogical. I mean, think about it, where would he stand? Hmm?)
Balearic Islands
(buh-LAIR-ick): a group of islands in the western Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Spain.
Espania
(ess-PAN-ia): an archaic (or ancient) name for Spain.
fenugreek
(FEN-you-greek): annual herb of southern Europe and eastern Asia having off-white flowers and aromatic seeds used medicinally and in curry.
Hiero II
(HERO): ruler (and tyrant) of Syracuse from 270 to 215 BC.
Jbel Toubkal
( juh-BELL toob-CALL . . . but say it fast!): sometimes written as Jebel Toubkal. At 4,167 meters, it is the highest peak in the Atlas Mountains and in North Africa.
Mauretania
(more-ih-TAIN-ia): a Roman province on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, where Algeria is now, east of Morocco.
parasite
(PAR-uh-site): an animal or plant that lives in or on a host (another animal or plant); the parasite obtains nourishment from the host without benefiting or killing the host.
Somnus
(SOM-nuss): the Roman God of Sleep. The Greek name for the same god is Hypnus.
Styx
(STICKS): a river in Hades across which Charon carried dead souls.
Ulmus rubra
(UHL-muss ROOB-ruh): an elm with a hard wood inner bark that can be ground into a nutrient-rich paste. The bark also contains a mucilage that is used as a remedy for sore throats and in poultices.
Thank you to Harriet Shapiro, PhD; Marcia Wallace; Scott Hennesy; Antoinette Spolar-Levine; Phyllis Kramer; Deb Shapiro; Tom Stacey; Rosemary Rossi; Simon Lewis; Debby O'Connor; Michy and the Cool-ettes; and Dominic Friesen.
Special thanks to Elizabeth Schonhorst, Caroline Abbey, Minnie, Josie, Rosie, and Sara.
Carolyn Hennesy
is also the author of
Pandora Gets Jealous
,
Pandora Gets Vain
, and
Pandora Gets Heart
. A Los Angeles native, she has more than twenty-five years' experience in the entertainment industry and can currently be seen on the daytime drama
General Hospital
. In addition to her full-time acting and writing careers, Ms. Hennesy also teaches improvisational comedy and has become a flying-trapeze artist. She lives in the Los Angeles area with her fab husband, cool cat, and groovy dog.
www.pandyinc.com
www.carolynhennesy.com
READ ON FOR A SNEAK PEEK AT
PANDORA'S NEXT MYTHIC MISADVENTURE
“Everyone up!” Eteocles was shouting the next morning. Pandy woke with a start. She'd been dreaming that Athena was offering her some ambrosia and nectar, saying, “Come on! Become immortal . . . you know you want to!” Suddenly waking up, surrounded by tall trees, she had no idea where she was. Alcie's palm accidentally mashed down on Pandy's wrist as Alcie lifted herself off the tarp.
“Ow!” Pandy said, and instantly she remembered that she was somewhere on Mount Pelion, looking for Lust.
“Sorry,” Alcie said, jumping down off the cart.
Once more, after a hasty first meal of creamed oats (“Where did he get oats?” Pandy had whispered to Iole. “I always keep a spare pouch handy,” Eteocles had called out), they were off again. Alcie stubbed her toe, then Iole twisted her ankle, then Pandy tripped getting the cart out of a hole and landed on her face; she was getting more and more frustrated. But they had only walked for a few hours when Eteocles brought the oxen to a halt.
“Very well,” Eteocles began.
“Is this where you drop us off and get that hour's head start?” Pandy asked snidely.
Even Alcie looked at her.
“Touchy this morning, aren't we?” Eteocles replied.
“We've walked for, basically, two days,” Pandy said, her anger rising. “We could have done that ourselves.”
“You wouldn't have known where to go if you'd been by yourselves,” Eteocles answered, his voice calm.
“We'd have gotten here,” Alcie said.
“We actually helped you get this cart up the mountain. We don't mind paying, but not for something unfair. You need to give back the bracelet,” Pandy said firmly.
Eteocles paused for a second, then threw back his head and laughed. Pandy saw a strange, thin pale line zigzag down his face. Then another. All at once, he began to grow. As he became larger and larger, his wrinkled brown skin began to crack, peel away, and drop to the ground, revealing taut, perfect white skin covering bulging muscles. The dirty toga was transformed into a clean, bright, silvery fabric, and the grayish hair became golden and curly, topped with a beautiful winged helmet.
“Down!” Pandy cried to the other three, who were staring, stupefied.
Instantly, all four were on their knees, heads bowed.
“Pears! Is that who I think it is?” Alcie whispered.
“Yes! Shhhh!” Pandy hissed back.
After a second of silence, she lifted her eyes.
“Okay, missy,” Hermes said with a grin, his arms folded across his massive chest, staring straight at her. “You are getting
spunky
!”
“I'm so sorry,” Pandy began.
“What's with the âsorry'?” Hermes said. “I like it! All right . . . everybody up!”
Instantly, Pandy and the rest were on their feet.
“Eyes on me.”
Everyone looked straight at Hermes.
“Try not to look terrified,” Hermes said to the group as he walked toward Alcie.
“Hello, Alcestis,” he said softly, and then turned to the others. “Oh, I just realized . . . Pandora is the only one who's actually met me. And yet I feel like I know all of you so well.”
“Mighty Hermes, swift and fleet footed,” Alcie began.
“Yes, Alcestis, thank you. I know,” Hermes said. “You're doing very nice work.”
“Uh, thanks,” Alcie said.
“Homer,” Hermes said, approaching the youth. “Now, aren't you glad you didn't try to flatten me? It would have gotten out of hand . . . probably a little ugly. But you kept your cool and, hey, good times!”
“Uh . . .”
“I like you, Homer. We all do. Not the brightest lamp in the temple, but you have heart. And a noble soul.”
“Yes. Thank you. I think,” Homer said.
“Well, you try to and that's what matters. Hello, Iole.”
“Wondrous Hermes . . .”
“Ach, can't anyone just say âhello'?” Hermes rolled his eyes. “Okay, enough! Now, instructions first, questions afterward. I could be all godlike and get a little flowery but that would get us nowhere fast, and since you all need to get somewhere fast, I'll put it to you straight. You're going back in time. All of you. Many centuries. What you seek has traveled the river of agesâ sorry, that was flowery. I'm going to get you there and bring you back, that's if you're all still alive. Here's the rule: don't change anything in the past or it will alter the future. Seriously. And it might not be good. Any questions?”
“Uh, yes,” Iole said, thinking fast, as the others just looked at one another, confused. “How far back are we going?”
“Roughly thirteen centuries. Next?”
“Lust is . . . is . . . back in time?” Pandy asked.
“Alcie, what's the word you always say when somebody says something obvious? Starts with a delta, I think,” Hermes asked.