The House of Hades: Chapters 49–62

by Rick Riordan
In the fourth book of the Heroes of Olympus series, the Doors of Death must be found and closed. Rick Riordan uses these words to describe the demigods' adventures in the Underworld.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–16, Chapters 17–32, Chapters 33–48, Chapters 49–62, Chapters 63–78

Here are links to our lists for The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan: The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena, The House of Hades, The Blood of Olympus

And here are links to our lists for the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan: The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. descend
    move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
    The dream he’d had back on the Argo II finally made sense to him—when the evil sorceress lady had told him to either jump off a cliff into the clouds or descend into a dark tunnel where ghostly voices whispered. That tunnel must have represented the House of Hades, which Leo would never see now.
  2. limbo
    the state of being disregarded or forgotten
    He walked the beach, wondering why Khione had sent him here—assuming his landing here wasn’t an accident. Why not just kill him instead? Maybe Khione wanted him to be in limbo forever.
  3. vicious
    able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
    The gods punished Calypso by sending her buff courageous dudes who left as soon as she fell for them. Maybe that was the problem. Calypso would never fall for Leo. She wanted him to leave. So they were stuck in a vicious circle.
  4. sludge
    any thick, viscous matter
    A swirling human figure erupted from the sand—Leo’s least favorite goddess, the Mistress of Mud, the Princess of Potty Sludge, Gaea herself.
  5. scenario
    a postulated sequence of possible events
    Several scenarios went through Leo’s head—none of them good. He was positive Calypso would strangle him on the spot, or order her invisible wind servants to chop him into a Leo puree.
  6. daunting
    discouraging through fear
    He thought about all those months he’d spent creating the Argo II. Somehow, making a boat to sail from Ogygia seemed like a more daunting task.
  7. churning
    moving with or producing or produced by vigorous agitation
    Nyx was almost too much to take in. Looming over the chasm, she was a churning figure of ash and smoke, as big as the Athena Parthenos statue, but very much alive.
  8. ghoulish
    suggesting the horror of death and decay
    Annabeth couldn’t read the expression on Percy’s ghoulish face very well.
  9. congeal
    solidify, thicken, or come together
    Nyx lashed her whip again. The darkness congealed around her.
  10. strife
    bitter conflict; heated or violent dissension
    On either side, an army of shadows appeared—more dark-winged arai, which Annabeth was not thrilled to see; a withered man who must have been Geras, the god of old age; and a younger woman in a black toga, her eyes gleaming and her smile like a serial killer’s—no doubt Eris, the goddess of strife.
  11. spawn
    the mass of eggs deposited by fish or amphibians or mollusks
    More kept appearing: dozens of demons and minor gods, each one the spawn of Night.
  12. brood
    the young of an animal cared for at one time
    Annabeth wanted to run. She was facing a brood of horrors that could snap anyone’s sanity. But if she ran, she would die.
  13. dim
    make less bright by comparison or conceal
    “I am darker still!” snarled Geras. “I dim the eyes and addle the brain. Every mortal fears old age!”
  14. obituary
    a notice of someone's death
    After their fall into Tartarus, jumping three hundred feet to the Mansion of Night should have felt quick. Instead, Annabeth’s heart seemed to slow down. Between the beats she had ample time to write her own obituary.
  15. amplify
    increase the volume of
    In the distance ahead of them, Annabeth began to hear a throbbing sound, like her own heartbeat echoing back, amplified so powerfully, the floor vibrated underfoot.
  16. dread
    fearful expectation or anticipation
    The sound filled her with dread, so she figured it must be the right way to go.
  17. vibration
    a shaky motion
    The throbbing got louder still, sending vibrations straight up Annabeth’s spine. It felt like someone was knocking on the bottom of the world, demanding to be let in.
  18. shriek
    utter a shrill cry
    Within the roaring current, thousands of voices cried out—shrieking in agony, pleading for mercy.
  19. ultimate
    furthest or highest in degree or order; utmost or extreme
    “It’s the River of Pain. The ultimate punishment for the souls of the damned—murderers, especially.”
  20. wail
    emit long loud cries
    His blood is on your hands! the river wailed.
  21. humiliation
    an instance causing you to lose prestige or self-respect
    Nico’s voice seethed with anger. “I didn’t come all this way, suffer so many humiliations ...”
  22. reject
    refuse to accept
    “Yes, hiding. You’ve run away from both camps. You’re so afraid you’ll get rejected that you won’t even try. Maybe it’s time you come out of the shadows.”
  23. stress
    difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension
    At sixteen, most kids would stress about parallel parking tests, getting a driver’s license, and affording a car. Jason stressed about controlling a team of fiery horses with wind ropes.
  24. guilt
    remorse caused by feeling responsible for some offense
    Which was why they had to find Leo. As much as Jason loved his life, he couldn’t let his friend die for his sake. He could never live with the guilt.
  25. maroon
    leave stranded or isolated with little hope of rescue
    “I got marooned,” Leo said.
  26. subdued
    quieted and brought under control
    Despite the happy reunion, everybody seemed more subdued than usual—like they were picking up on Leo’s mood. Jason had never really considered how important Leo’s sense of humor was to the group. Even when things were super serious, they could always depend on Leo to lighten things up. Now, it felt like the whole team had dropped anchor.
  27. artillery
    large but transportable armament
    “The House of Hades is open for business.” A few seconds later, a rumbling sound washed over them like distant artillery.
  28. en masse
    all together
    “Gaea’s final push,” she said. “The Doors of Death are working overtime. Her forces are entering the mortal world en masse.”
  29. cluster
    a grouping of a number of similar things
    Spread to the horizon was an army of monsters—flocks of winged arai, tribes of lumbering Cyclopes, clusters of floating evil spirits.
  30. swarm
    a group of many things in the air or on the ground
    Percy stared at the swarm of vicious monsters.
  31. multitude
    a large indefinite number
    Whenever he’d fought monsters in the mortal world, Percy at least knew he was defending his home. That gave him courage, no matter how bad the odds were. Here, Percy was the invader. He didn’t belong in this multitude of monsters any more than the Minotaur belonged in Penn Station at rush hour.
  32. evil
    that which causes harm or destruction or misfortune
    Seeing them assembled in Tartarus, Percy felt as hopeless as the spirits in the River Cocytus. So what if he was a hero? So what if he did something brave? Evil was always here, regenerating, bubbling under the surface.
  33. minor
    of lesser seriousness or danger
    Percy was no more than a minor annoyance to these immortal beings.
  34. irritated
    aroused to impatience or anger
    He didn’t think much of Bob’s brother, even without the rip-him-to-pieces threat. Compared to Bob’s simple way of speaking, Koios sounded like he was reciting Shakespeare. That alone was enough to make Percy irritated.
  35. conspiratorial
    relating to or characteristic of a secret plot or agreement
    He leaned forward conspiratorially. “These giants may think they will rule. Let them be our shock troops and destroy the Olympians—all well and good. But once the Earth Mother is awake, she will remember that we are her eldest children. Mark my words. The Titans will yet rule the cosmos.
  36. vain
    unproductive of success
    All of the earlier fights with the giants had been in vain. Their enemies would be reborn as strong as ever.
  37. migraine
    a severe, recurring headache
    This guy Koios looked vaguely familiar because he had Artemis’s cold eyes and Apollo’s smile. The Titan was their grandfather, Leto’s father. The idea gave Percy a migraine.
  38. artery
    a blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body
    Gnarled lumps of red arteries and blue veins gave Percy some footholds when he had to climb, but the going was slow.
  39. ghastly
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    Arai wheeled overhead on leathery wings, making ghastly dark silhouettes in the poison clouds.
  40. realm
    the domain ruled by a king or queen
    “Perhaps they are sent elsewhere when they step through. The House of Hades is in the earth, yes? That is Gaea’s realm. She could send her minions wherever she wishes.”
Created on Wed Apr 26 10:01:07 EDT 2017 (updated Wed Sep 12 15:23:39 EDT 2018)

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