Free Pandora Gets Angry by Carolyn Hennesy

no color anywhere and yet Alcie was certain that if she were to take the tapestries, floor cushions, or frescoes into the upper world, they would be alive with wild tints. It seemed that everything in every room was perfectly physically whole, but quite, quite dead, and Alcie simply had to stop and stare. Or, in the case of the several arboretums, reach out and touch. These were enormous rooms, glassed in on three sides, filled with blooming black flowers and black vines that were, quite literally, crawling all over the floors and walls. Yet, when Alcie stepped in and gently reached up her fingers to a gorgeous, enormous black rose, the petals crumbled into dust at the slightest touch.
    There were many fantastically decorated rooms with one or two sleeping cots. One room held an array of various bottles, jars, and devices used in the healing arts. Another room was filled with scrolls. Still another seemed dedicated to music and musical instruments. Every so often, Alcie thought she’d seen a human form sitting or standing or walking in one of the rooms, and then, as soon as she blinked, the apparition was gone.
    But the most astonishing thing about all of these rooms was that out of every window, sealed with glass, Alcie would catch flashes of the most radiant, breathtaking green she’d ever seen. Three times she raced to a window to get a better look, only to have the blackened trees and bushes outside close up and block her view.
    It was while standing at one of these windows that Persephone, having backtracked a good distance, found her.
    â€œOkay,” she chirped, feigning impatience, “someone said they were hungry and that same someone is daw-dling!”
    Alcie turned from the window with a feeling like she’d been caught with her hand in the oatie-cake jar.
    â€œThis place is … is … ,” she began. With so many adjectives she could use, she couldn’t pick just one.
    â€œI know ! And we haven’t even covered half of it yet! Come on.”
    Alcie rejoined Persephone in the hallway, but she hadn’t gotten two steps before Persephone whirled on her.
    â€œMother’s little toe! Did you see out the window?” she cried with alarm.
    â€œWell, I looked out the window,” Alcie began.
    â€œNo, but did you see out the window?”
    There was a new urgency in Persephone’s voice.
    â€œNot really,” Alcie answered, now a little scared. “I mean, I saw something green.”
    â€œWhat was it?”
    â€œFigs! I mean, golly, uh, I couldn’t tell,” Alcie replied. “Just a flash and then the bushes got in the way.”
    â€œOkay,” Persephone sighed. “Okay! Good. See, I knew you weren’t really dead! And now it’s time for foooooood!”
    As she strode away, Alcie stood stock-still for a moment in utter bewilderment.
    â€œAll right,” Alcie called out, forgetting entirely that she was, after all, yelling at an immortal. “Just hold up there a tangerine moment!”
    She tore after Persephone.
    â€œWhat is that supposed to mean?”
    But she’d only run several meters when a glint of gold, silver, and bronze caught her eye and she turned her head. Three shadowy figures in full battle dress sat at a small table in a room chock-full of weapons of every size and shape. Without knowing exactly how she recognized them, she knew instantly who these men were.
    â€œWhoa,” she whispered.
    â€œAre they still there?” Persephone asked as she walked back toward Alcie. “Are they letting you see them?”
    Alcie just nodded her head, staring at the three rugged faces that now stared back.
    â€œWell, they’re warriors, after all,” Persephone said. “What do they have to fear from you, right?”
    â€œAchilles?” Alcie whispered.
    â€œAnd Ajax and Hector. Hi, boys!” Persephone assented, now standing next to Alcie and waving. Achilles and Ajax just ignored her, but