The Dark Prophecy: Chapters 1–5

by Rick Riordan
In this second book of the series The Trials of Apollo, Lester must reclaim and protect five Oracles from three evil emperors with help from the demigod Leo Valdez, bronze dragon Festus, and sorceress Calypso.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–12, Chapters 13–19, Chapters 20–29, Chapters 30–42
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. cupola
    a roof or part of a roof in the form of a dome
    He landed on the cupola of the Indiana Statehouse, flapped his metallic wings, and blew a cone of fire that incinerated the state flag right off the flagpole.
  2. toil
    work hard
    It wasn’t enough that I had to toil upon the earth doing (ugh) heroic quests until I could find a way back into my father’s good graces, or that I had a case of acne which simply would not respond to over-the-counter zit medicine.
  3. scrabble
    grope, scratch, or feel searchingly
    Festus’s claws scrabbled for a hold on the green copper dome, which was much too small for a dragon his size.
  4. meager
    deficient in amount or quality or extent
    Around us rose a meager cluster of downtown high-rises—stacks of stone and glass like layered wedges of black and white licorice.
  5. encompass
    include in scope
    After falling to earth in New York City, I found Indianapolis desolate and uninspiring, as if one proper New York neighborhood—Midtown, perhaps—had been stretched out to encompass the entire area of Manhattan, then relieved of two-thirds of its population and vigorously power-washed.
  6. seersucker
    a light puckered fabric that is usually striped
    Pedestrians strolled by: a middle-aged woman in a flowery dress, a heavyset policeman carrying a paper coffee cup labeled CAFÉ PATACHOU, a clean-cut man in a blue seersucker suit.
  7. placid
    not easily irritated
    Something about these locals bothered me. Their faces were too placid.
  8. debauchery
    a wild gathering
    Their dazed smiles reminded me of ancient Athenians just before the Dionysus Festival—everyone in a good mood, distracted, thinking about the drunken riots and debauchery to come.
  9. asbestos
    a fibrous substance that does not burn
    When the flames dissipated, Leo stood before us wearing nothing but his asbestos boxer shorts, his magical tool belt, and a pair of smoking, partially melted sneakers.
  10. impending
    close in time; about to occur
    It was in fact a miserable morning—cold and cloudy with a smell of impending snow—but I felt it would be rude to ignore her completely.
  11. melee
    a noisy riotous fight
    They were sturdy melee fighters with thick skin.
  12. mercenary
    a person hired to fight for another country than their own
    Those eighteenth-century Hessian mercenaries he cooked up? Ugh. George Washington and I had the worst time with them.
  13. encumbered
    loaded to excess or impeded by a heavy load
    I hadn’t felt so encumbered since my three-legged death race with Meg McCaffrey back at Camp Half-Blood.
  14. engrossed
    giving or marked by complete attention to
    I tried to calm my nerves by silently composing a sonnet about various ways a wrathful god could destroy Dumpsters. I became so engrossed I didn’t notice what was in front of us until Calypso gasped.
  15. apparition
    a ghostly appearing figure
    The apparition glowed with a faint ginger light.
  16. ethereal
    of heaven or the spirit
    Ethereal blood trickled from his severed neck, splattering his luminous orange tunic.
  17. edifice
    a structure that has a roof and walls
    On one side of the edifice, a clock tower soared roughly two hundred feet into the sky.
  18. moot
    of no legal significance, as having been previously decided
    Why had he brought us here? Should we try the hotel? The train station?
    Those questions became moot when the blemmyae surrounded us.
  19. miffed
    aroused to impatience or anger
    “Gosh darn it, dears, you’ve made me a bit miffed.”
  20. placate
    cause to be more favorably inclined
    Nanette shuffled forward, her hands raised in a placating manner.
  21. guise
    an artful or simulated semblance
    Meanwhile, Leo was making his way toward the bulldozer under the guise of an interpretive dance routine, spinning and gasping and pantomiming my words.
  22. chassis
    the skeleton of a motor vehicle
    The metal pole pierced the bulldozer’s chassis in a burst of steam and grease, and our getaway ride shuddered to a halt.
  23. procession
    the action of a group moving ahead in regular formation
    The naming celebration is in three days, and you and the girl were supposed to be the main attractions in his slave procession!
  24. turret
    a self-contained weapons platform housing guns
    Each one scissored open like the iris of a camera and turrets sprang up—mechanical crossbows swiveling and sweeping red targeting lasers in every direction.
  25. ornate
    marked by complexity and richness of detail
    Carrying Calypso between us, Leo and I followed Emmie to the big ornate building at the plaza's south end.
  26. sconce
    a decorative wall bracket for holding candles or lights
    Lighting appeared along the walls—warm yellow candles flickering in bronze sconces.
  27. oracular
    of or relating to prophecy or someone who tells the future
    My Delphic Oracle had delighted in painting her cave with things she’d seen in her visions...before her oracular power ceased to work, that is.
  28. curlicue
    a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles
    Dark curlicues blotted out a primary-colored rainbow.
  29. lathe
    a machine tool for shaping a piece of rotating wood or metal
    Under the rose window, the contents of several different workshops seemed to have been disgorged at random: table saws, drills, lathes, kilns, forges, anvils, 3-D printers, sewing machines, cauldrons, and several other industrial appliances I couldn’t name.
  30. confines
    a bounded scope
    Her broad shoulders and dark, well-sculpted arms stretched against the confines of a faded pink polo shirt.
  31. concourse
    a wide hallway in a building where people can walk
    That area below us was once the main concourse for the station.
  32. opaque
    not transmitting or reflecting light or radiant energy
    She pointed to the floor, which immediately turned back to opaque cement.
  33. serrated
    notched like a saw with teeth pointing toward the apex
    I was also afraid that if Leo and Josephine started chatting, they would soon be bonding over the wonders of serrated flange bolts and I would die of boredom.
  34. amphora
    an ancient jar with two handles and a narrow neck
    Now in a drunken rage, he was yelling something about his daughters breaking his finest amphora of wine, and so, naturally, they had to die.
  35. precipice
    a very steep cliff
    While I was deliberating, Parthenos and Hemithea charged toward the precipice.
  36. panache
    distinctive and stylish elegance
    I had to honor such courage and panache!
  37. retinue
    the group following and attending to some important person
    Over the centuries, I saw Hemithea and Parthenos from time to time in Artemis’s retinue.
  38. subtly
    in a manner difficult to detect or grasp
    My vision changed, shifting as subtly as the light through the Waystation’s rose window.
  39. resplendent
    having great beauty
    Reclining on a gilded chaise lounge, the emperor Nero looked horrifically resplendent in a purple suit, a blue pastel shirt, and pointy alligator-leather shoes.
  40. snide
    expressive of contempt
    The boy Marcus opened his mouth, perhaps to make a snide comment, but when he spoke it was Leo Valdez’s voice, shattering the vision.
Created on Sat Sep 03 17:18:15 EDT 2022 (updated Fri Feb 03 10:09:39 EST 2023)

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