Read Pandora Gets Heart for Free Online

petting the two old oxen yoked to the cart, and Alcie, in the opposite direction, staring straight up toward the sky.
    “Alcie, come on!” Pandy called.
    With a giant heave of her shoulders, Alcie turned and walked to the cart, looking straight down. Arranging themselves on the dirty tarp, Alcie made certain that she was staring anywhere but at Iole.
    “We have quite a ride ahead . . . get comfortable!” Eteocles called over his shoulder. And they were off.

    The forest became denser and greener the higher they climbed. Occasionally, Pandy spotted a cave or a small waterfall, but there were very few signs of life on the mountain. With four extra bodies to haul, the oxen were quickly spent and Homer had to jump off several times and help push the cart over bumps and out of deep ruts. He quickly realized he needed to walk alongside if they were going to make any progress.
    Late that afternoon, Homer and Eteocles went off in different directions to hunt for game, while Alcie and Iole gathered twigs and Pandy started a fire. Homer came back empty-handed, but Eteocles had caught two rabbits and three wild birds, which made a tasty evening meal for everyone except Iole.
    Alcie, still not speaking to Iole, made certain that she sat close to her and, as Iole ate some dried dates and figs, casually and “accidentally” waved bits of rabbit in front of Iole’s nose.
    As the moon rose, the girls curled up on top of the tarp, their cloaks spread like blankets. Eteocles slept on the ground while Homer kept watch.
    At dawn the next morning, after a quick first meal, they were back on the road. The incline grew very steep very fast, and one by one, the girls all joined Homer at the back of the cart, pushing and pulling with the oxen.
    “This is ridiculous!” Alcie whispered as they lay on the tarp that night. “What in Hades did we pay for? We could have walked up here faster.”
    “We’re eating well,” Pandy said, still marveling at the animals that Eteocles had snared for that evening’s meal. Homer had again come back empty-handed, but Eteocles had caught a small goat and several wild hares.
    “And I don’t know what he’s using to catch anything,” Alcie said.
    “Must be his hands,” Iole said. “Disgusting.”

    “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