The Passion of Hades - Eliza Raine Page 0,19

full of rusted armor, and a whole host of cooking paraphernalia, but nothing that looked like treasure. Swimming back over the top of the boxes towards Buddy, I sighed. 'Guess we'd better go back to the room of panic,' I told him, then froze.

Wrapping itself tightly around the first crate I'd opened was a snake. An enormous freaking sea snake. Documentaries I'd seen about how reptiles flashed bright colors as a warning to other animals popped into my head as I stared at it. This thing was neon-bright, don't-fuck-with-me orange. It was also massive, looping itself three times around the box already, with more tail seeming to come from nowhere. And it was between me and the doorway and my hippocampus.

Would it care if I just swam over it, or would it attack? A thought stopped me from kicking up higher and trying though. What if it was wrapped round that particular box for a reason? Was there such a thing as a guard snake? But that box was full of books, not gems. Although... I hadn't removed any of the books. Or looked underneath them.

Pulse racing, I swam back to the box with the sword in it, and hefted it up out of the crate. It weighed a ton and I screwed my face up, dropping it again immediately. There was no way I could wield it. Besides which, I didn't really want to kill or piss off the snake. Just get it to move out of the way. I began to dig through the crates, tossing things out as I hunted for something that might distract the serpent. It didn't move from the box of books, but its head lifted warily, beady black eyes fixed on me as I launched bits of ancient sunken trash through the water.

My eyes fell on the rusted armor, a new plan forming quickly in my head as yet another screech from outside reverberated through the building. I reached into the box and lifted out a dented shield with a sun carved on it. It was heavy, but nowhere near as bad as the sword, and it seemed solid enough. I fought with the straps on the inside, eventually looping my left forearm through so I was wearing it properly. It was large enough that when I held my arm in front of me it covered my whole body, down to the waist. It wasn't ideal, but it was the best I had. It would have to do.

'Here we go,' I told Buddy, and swam towards the snake and the box of books.

Ten

Persephone

The snake's head reared back as I got close and it hissed, a purple forked tongue flicking from its mouth. A frisson of fear skittered through me but I swam on, covering myself with the rusted shield. I swam high over the snake, staying well out of reach of its head as I got over the top of the box. I squinted down, scanning for anything that looked out of place and my gaze snagged on a leather-bound book that had a bright orange cover, just visible under a few of the others. Orange like the snake. Was that a clue?

Steeling myself, I focused on the book and tipped my body in the water, so that I was pointing head-first at the box. Raising the shield I took a deep breath, and darted downward.

The snake went for me the second I was within its range, hitting the shield with such force that I rolled hard through the water. Gasping, I tried to angle myself down, sending a million silent thanks to the gods that the ancient shield had held. I felt water swoosh past me as I frantically reached into the box, lifting my shield arm around my back to protect myself. Shoving other books aside, I managed to close my fingers around the bound edge of the orange book just before something slammed into the back of my legs. I crashed hard into the crate, hitting my chin on a mercifully squishy book, the impact of the shield hitting the wooden sides of the box sending shockwaves through my arm. I rolled as best I could, still clutching the book, and saw the end of the snake’s glowing tail coming for me just in time to bring the shield around to block it. There was another hissing sound, and adrenaline sent a surge of strength through my legs. I tucked them under myself and pushed hard against the side of