Hades Rewound (Hades Series #2)

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Dorian dives out of the way, pulling me along with him, and the snake strikes the sand where we were standing mere seconds after we move. I scream, my hand unconsciously reaching up to prevent the beanie from slipping off my head as I tumble into the sand.

Inspiration hits me. The beanie!

The snake lifts it's head up out of the sand, it's eyes glittering maliciously. "Bad missstake."

It rears it's head back to strike again, and I grab Dorian's arm roughly. "Dorian!"

He looks wildly over at me, and barely has time to close his eyes before I transport us further down the beach, out of the snake's immediate reach. It's head strikes the sand, once again mere seconds after we manage to evade it.

"Wait!" I yell, drawing the snake's attention to me. It's head whips up, and it watches me with dangerously hooded eyes. "We still have a chance to guess the riddle!"

"What are you talking about, ssstupid child?" It hisses. "You anssswered incorrectly."

"I didn't!" I exclaim, pointing at Dorian. "He did. I still haven't answered your riddle! You didn't specify that only one person was allowed to answer your riddle; you just said 'you have to answer correctly'! How were we to know who you directed that to? You didn't specify! Ergo, I should get a chance to answer the riddle myself."

The snake's tongue flickers in and out several times as it regards me in it's heavy gaze. I can practically feel myself sweating under it's scrutiny; I know it's deciding right now whether to kill me or not.

I'm praying that it decides to choose the latter; Axel and Selene would never let me hear the end of it if I died because I didn't listen when they told me it'd be too dangerous.

Finally, after what feels like years of agonised waiting, the snake inclines its head once. Relief courses through me like a tidal wave. "You have one more guesss."

"Thank you." I turn to Dorian, opening my mouth, but before I can say anything, the snake's head shoots between us and hisses loudly. We jump back, our eyes widening. The snake turns to look at me.

"But, I am getting impatient." It tells me with a glare. "Ssso you have twenty secondsss to guesss, and he mussst not help."

"Twenty seconds?" I gape. "That's nearly not enough time-"

"Ssstarting now." The snake hisses, it's eyes fixed on me.

Twenty seconds? I can't do this in twenty seconds! I continue to gape at it for several more precious seconds, before Dorian rips me out of my shocked reverie by clearing his throat loudly and waving his hands about madly. My eyes widen, and I look down at the sand, letting out a long breath. I close my eyes, and clasp my hands before my lips, my mind racing.

Okay Evie, focus. Flies when it's born, lies when it's alive, runs when it's dead. What did we say before? It sounds like the sphinx's riddle, so it must be about progression over the span of the thing's life. It's also got to be connected to Poseidon somehow, because it's his snake guarding his magic veil which lets us breath under water. So it's got to have something to do with water, or one of the states that water can be in.

Flies when it's born, lies when it's alive, runs when it's dead...

My eyes fly open. I've got it!

"It's a snowflake!" I cry triumphantly. "Then answer is a snowflake!"

Dorian splutters. "How did you get that?"

"Flies when it's born; a snowstorm! Lies when it's alive; snow! Runs when it's dead; melted snow!" I resist the urge to dance around on the spot with glee, and instead look up at the snake expectantly. "It's a snowflake!"