The House of Hades: Chapters 63–78

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. grief
    intense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one
    A mix of feelings churned in Percy’s gut—grief, sadness, gratitude, and guilt thickening into emotional cement. “Bob, we can’t ask you to do that. You want to go through the Doors too. You want to see the sky again, and the stars, and—”
  2. malevolence
    the quality of threatening evil
    In front of the Doors of Death, the air darkened and solidified. The being who appeared was so massive, radiating such pure malevolence, that Percy wanted to crawl away and hide.
  3. monstrous
    distorted and unnatural in shape or size
    His armored skirt was made from thousands of blackened, twisted bones, woven together like chain links and clasped in place by a belt of interlocking monstrous arms.
  4. magma
    molten rock in the earth's crust
    Worst of all was his head: a helmet of twisted rock and metal with no particular shape—just jagged spikes and pulsing patches of magma. His entire face was a whirlpool—an inward spiral of darkness.
  5. resilient
    recovering readily from adversity, depression, or the like
    You have proven surprisingly resilient, Tartarus said. You have come too far. I can no longer stand by and watch your progress.
  6. burden
    weight to be carried or borne
    “I can’t explain, but I—I have a feeling I’m going to need to step up when we’re in the House of Hades. I need to carry my own burden.”
  7. astray
    away from the right path or direction
    Underground, you may see things that are hard to look at, or hear voices trying to lead you astray in the tunnels.
  8. chalice
    a bowl-shaped drinking vessel
    On the first step of the stairwell, a golden chalice gleamed. Frank was pretty sure it hadn’t been there a moment before. The cup was full of dark-green liquid.
  9. ancestor
    someone from whom you are descended
    His grandmother had always been big on honoring the ancestors. It was a Chinese thing. You had to appease ghosts. You had to take them seriously. Frank always thought his grandmother’s superstitions were silly. Now he changed his mind. He had no doubt... the voice that spoke to him was one of his ancestors.
  10. contortionist
    an acrobat able to twist into unusual positions
    It was a gruesome mosaic of bones and gems—human femurs, hip bones, and ribs twisted and fused together into a smooth surface, dotted with diamonds and rubies. The bones formed patterns, like skeletal contortionists tumbling together, curling to protect the precious stones—a dance of death and riches.
  11. projectile
    a weapon that is forcibly propelled toward a target
    The air above the chasm turned into a fireworks show of flaming projectiles, exploding rocks, and fresh produce.
  12. disciplined
    exhibiting self-control and obeying the rules
    Instantly, every dead legionnaire in the cavern drew his sword and raised his shield. They scrambled toward Frank’s position, pushing and hacking monsters out of their way until they stood shoulder to shoulder with the comrades, arranging themselves in a square formation. Stones, javelins, and fire rained down, but now Frank had a disciplined defensive line sheltering them behind a wall of bronze and leather.
  13. deplete
    use up, as resources or materials
    Despite the ambrosia, his wounded arm began to throb. His eyes were heavy with exhaustion. The blessing of Mars faded, leaving him depleted. But his work wasn’t done yet.
  14. eviscerate
    remove the entrails of
    It is good to have form, he intoned. With these hands, I can eviscerate you.
  15. survive
    continue in existence after
    She and Percy had only survived this long because Tartarus was savoring his new form. He wanted the pleasure of physically ripping them to pieces. If Tartarus wished, Annabeth had no doubt he could devour her existence with a single thought, as easily as he’d vaporized Hyperion and Krios.
  16. soul
    the immaterial part of a person
    Afterward, I will add your soul to my armor, where it will slowly dissolve, over and over, in eternal agony.
  17. shudder
    tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
    They held the Doors shut as the elevator shuddered and the music played, while somewhere below them, a Titan and a giant sacrificed their lives for their escape.
  18. debris
    the remains of something that has been destroyed
    After the tunnel collapsed, she wept and screamed like a two-year-old throwing a tantrum. She couldn’t move the debris that separated her and Leo from the others. If the earth shifted any more, the entire complex might collapse on their heads.
  19. embellish
    make more attractive, as by adding ornament or color
    The obsidian walls were carved with scenes of death: plague victims, corpses on the battlefield, torture chambers with skeletons hanging in iron cages—all of it embellished with precious gems that somehow made the scenes even more ghastly.
  20. massive
    imposing in size or bulk or solidity
    The giant Clytius was shrouded in the black smoke, just as she’d seen in her vision at the crossroads, but now Hazel could dimly make out his form—dragon-like legs with ash-colored scales; a massive humanoid upper body encased in Stygian armor; long, braided hair that seemed to be made from smoke.
  21. corridor
    an enclosed passageway
    The maze is already awake. It will spread under the skin of the earth once more while your mortal world is leveled. You demigods . . . you heroes... will wander its corridors, dying slowly of thirst and fear and misery.
  22. gauntlet
    a severe or trying experience
    She had to run the gauntlet. She had to make the maze more dangerous, more spectacular—make Pasiphae focus on the traps rather than the direction the Labyrinth was leading.
  23. stranded
    cut off or left behind
    Hazel was tempted to retreat, but the tunnel was closing behind them, leaving them stranded on a tiny ledge.
  24. limp
    lacking in strength, firmness, or resilience
    The Doors of Death opened with a hiss. Black smoke billowed out, and two bodies spilled face-first onto the floor—Percy and Annabeth, limp as corpses.
  25. clutch
    take hold of; grab
    Tendrils of black haze traveled back up the lines of fire, snuffing out the light and heat and covering Leo in darkness. Leo fell to his knees, clutching at his throat.
  26. oppose
    fight against or resist strongly
    I devour magic. I destroy the voice and the soul. You cannot oppose me.
  27. billow
    rise and move, as in waves
    Black fog spread farther across the room, covering Annabeth and Percy, billowing toward Hazel.
  28. unfortunate
    marked by or resulting in bad luck
    It sounded as if he were speaking through a chorus of the dead, using all the unfortunate souls who’d been buried behind the dome’s stelae.
  29. obscurity
    the quality of being unclear and hard to understand
    Hecate offers you obscurity, choices, vague promises of magic. I am the anti-Hecate. I will give you truth. I will eliminate choices and magic. I will strip away the Mist, once and for all, and show you the world in all its true horror.
  30. embedded
    enclosed firmly in a surrounding mass
    Her side felt like it was embedded with razor blades.
  31. sufficient
    of a quantity that can fulfill a need or requirement
    But magic alone cannot defeat me, and you do not have sufficient strength.
  32. collapse
    break down due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack
    Hazel collapsed in agony, her side burning, as the Doors shuddered and disappeared in a flash of purple light.
  33. forfeit
    lose the right to or lose by some error, offense, or crime
    You have forfeited your right to a quick death, the giant snarled.
  34. suffocate
    deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing
    I will suffocate you in darkness, slowly, painfully.
  35. ragged
    worn out from stress or strain
    Hazel heard a ragged, painful noise and realized it was her own breathing.
  36. conflict
    opposition between simultaneous but incompatible feelings
    She was so giddy with relief it took her a moment to notice Nico, standing by himself, his expression full of pain and conflict.
  37. loom
    appear very large or occupy a commanding position
    Percy remembered the god Tartarus in physical form, looming over him. He’d never felt such helplessness and terror.
  38. transport
    move something or somebody around
    “I mean, I know you just got all eight of us to the surface, and that was awesome. But a year ago you said transporting just yourself was dangerous and unpredictable. A couple of times you ended up in China. Transporting a forty-foot statue and two people halfway across the world—”
  39. intense
    possessing a distinctive feature to a heightened degree
    “I’ve changed since I came back from Tartarus.” Nico’s eyes glittered with anger—more intensely than Percy understood.
  40. experience
    the content of observation or participation in an event
    It would have been a shorter trip to Athens over land, but after the crew’s experience with mountain spirits in Italy, they’d decided not to fly over Gaea’s territory any more than they had to.
Created on Wed Apr 26 10:01:45 EDT 2017 (updated Wed Sep 12 15:23:58 EDT 2018)

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