Persephone

  “I do not shriek,” Cassandra said indignantly.

  “Yelled, then.” Rhad’s white teeth gleamed against his midnight-dark skin.

  “Whatever. Anyway, Hades took off—”

  “Since when did you have visions about the living?” Hypnos interrupted.

  “Two living deities were involved,” Cassandra said. “These days that’s unheard of.”

  “Two?” Minos asked, stroking his gray beard. “So you must be…” He trailed off, looking at me speculatively.

  “Goddess of Spring,” I supplied.

  There were murmurs of approval from around the table.

  “You’re a new one.” Hypnos sounded intrigued. “How old are you?”

  Cassandra smacked him over the head. “Heathen!”

  “Back to the story,” Charon said impatiently. “What was happening topside?”

  Hades took over then, recounting the story dramatically. Anytime he made himself sound too heroic Cassandra put him in his place. I looked around the table with the fresh realization that this group wasn’t just a collection of souls or subjects but a trusted inner circle.

  “Well, Persephone, it’s great to meet you.” Aeacus straightened his dark robes.

  I nodded at him. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t you worry any about any demigods,” Charon said. “Anyone who comes down here with the intent to do you harm will regret it.”

  “Ah yes,” Cassandra teased. “Charon could do something really helpful, like hit them with an oar.”

  “Hey! I’m the self-defense guru! Remember?”

  “He could always talk them to death,” Thanatos said.

  “Cassandra could shriek at them.” Hades snickered.

  I laughed despite myself. For the rest of the meal, Charon grilled me about life among the living. I was surprised my voice wasn’t hoarse by the end of the meal.

  No one lingered after the meal. Everyone had too much to do, I supposed. Even Cassandra waved goodbye and slipped away down one of the endless hallways.

  I walked back to my room but paused outside the door. I wasn’t sure I could handle this. I’d followed in the footsteps of the dead, befriended a prophet, been attacked by a snowstorm, married the King of the Underworld, found out I was a goddess, and stabbed a guy with a pen all in one afternoon. I was terrified of what tomorrow might bring.

  I walked back the way I came, idle thoughts of enjoying the entertainment center filling my mind. I’d created a television in my own room, but the thought of being in a place I decorated with my mind was just too much to handle right now.

  Across from the entertainment suite, a half opened door beckoned. I could see a wall of books. A library? Cassandra hadn’t shown me that. What do they read in the Underworld?

  I walked into the library, fingers trailing along the spine of the books while I read the titles. I didn’t recognize anything, but that didn’t surprise me. I laughed when I reached a section of psychology, self-help, and parenting books. Cassandra hadn’t been kidding.

  A loud thud drew my attention. I heard Hades swear and turned to see him bending to pick up what looked to be an ancient book.

  “Can I help you?” he snapped.

  “I…uh…I was just checking out the library.” The look on his face told me that was the wrong answer.

  “This would be the entrance to my private living quarters. Not a public library.”

  I flushed. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

  “Do you have a problem with your own rooms?”

  The condescending tone of his voice washed the apology right out of me and let in a torrent of anger. “I was under the impression I could go anywhere I pleased.”

  “How presumptuous.”

  I glared at him. “Whatever. So sorry to intrude on your precious solitude. Here, I’ll just—”

  He laughed then, startling me.

  “Are you bipolar?” I snapped.

  Still chuckling, he shook his head.

  “Then what’s so funny?”

  “You, actually.” I narrowed my eyes at him as he continued. “You’re such a curious mix of humanity and divinity. I’ve just never seen anything quite like it.”

  “Well, as much fun as it’s been to entertain you—” I spun on my heel when I realized I didn’t have a way to finish that sentence, and moved to leave the room.

  “Stop.” Hades laughed. “Really, I’m sorry if I’ve offended you. You’re more than welcome to browse. I get…” He paused. “…defensive, I suppose, when I’m around too many people. It’s become understood that after dinner I prefer to be left alone.”

  A biting retort died on my lips as he motioned me to the shelves. “I understand.” I bit my lip as I searched for a familiar book. “So that never goes away?”

  “What?”

  I tried to explain. “I used to love being around people. I always wanted to be right in the thick of things. But lately…” I trailed off, careful to select the right words. “I just want to be left alone. Not always, just… I can’t take so much—”

  “It never goes away,” Hades confirmed. “Not for us. We’re made for solitude, I’m afraid. Well,” he amended, “except Zeus. He was always more like the humans than the rest of us. Most of the deities can’t even stand each other’s company after a while.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because we’re not human.” Hades set his book down. “Their lives are over in a blink of an eye, so they surround themselves with noise and…life. They throw themselves into everything they do with all their energy, and it is exhausting to watch. The dead calm down after a while. Except Cassandra.”

  I smiled. I’d known her less than a day, and I already knew calm was not a word that could ever be applied to her.

  “Unfortunately, most of the souls we’ll interact with are new.”

  “It must suck for you to have to stay down here.” Hades looked confused, and I rushed to clarify. “Well, you drew, like, the short straw or something, right? I just meant that—”

  “I chose the Underworld.”

  “Why?”

  “The same reason your mother chose the earth or Poseidon the sea. I was drawn to it. I didn’t have to deal with all the problems of Olympus, and I could help people down here.”

  “Help people?”

  “You’re surprised I care? I helped create this species, Persephone. I’m invested.”

  My heart gave a strange thump when I heard my name uttered from his lips. Damn it, I was staring again! I shook my head to clear it. “So you help them when they die?”

  “People are vulnerable after death. They’re confused and frightened. I help them find a place here.”

  I hadn’t thought of that. Even after Cassandra showed me the suburbs, I hadn’t truly contemplated the fact that people lived here. It was just too strange.

  “That’s nice. You’re not what I expected as ruler here.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “You seem to care about your people, and the way Cassandra and the others talk to you…” I smiled, remembering the lively dinner. “You don’t treat them like subjects.”

  “I’m a god. I don’t have to rule through fear or intimidation. That’s a mortal weakness.”

  “Tell that to my Latin teacher. The myths don’t portray you guys as friendly.”

  Hades shrugged. “There was more competition back then. The gods were already fading, and they were desperate to outdo each other and stay alive.”

  I thought about that. What wouldn’t I do to stay alive? And how much more frightening would impending death be to an immortal?

  “Cassandra and the judges were always volunteers, but the others could have retired when Olympus fell. Hypnos and Charon died long ago. Thanatos is the only other god left in the Underworld who’s still alive, and just barely. People fear death, but in reality what they fear is the uncertainty of their afterlife. That worship gets channeled to me.”

  “So why did they stay?”

&nbs
p; “Because we’re friends,” Hades said as though that explained everything.

  Maybe it did. I would do anything for Melissa, and I knew she would do anything for me. The most tedious and boring classes were fun as long as she was there. We had a lifetime of memories bonding us together. Hades had known his friends since the beginning of time.

  “They’re your family.”

  Hades laughed. “No. Goddess lesson number one: Fear the family.”

  “My mom—”

  “Was a wonderful mother to you, I’m sure. But she still lied and deceived you at every turn.” He waved off my protest. “Consider yourself lucky. Our father tried to eat us. We all grouped together and killed our parents. Instead of drawing us closer, we spent the next few millennia ripping each other apart. Families think they know what’s best for you. Your friends let you figure that out for yourself.”

  He looked down, blue eyes boring into mine. “The people who sat around that table tonight are my friends. Not my subjects, not my employees, not my family. I’m not that kind of god, and I’m certainly not that kind of king.”

  “Uh-huh,” I murmured, staring into his eyes again. “I uh, mean I’m glad.” I shook my head to clear it, again. He smiled and I felt my face grow hot. “Um, thank you for letting me look at your books.”

  “My pleasure.”

  Chapter X

  Cold. I couldn’t move, could barely breathe. Couldn’t scream. I felt heavy, trapped, terrified. The cold snaked its way up my torso, crushing my chest.

  Where are you?

  My mind rebelled against the foreign thought. I could feel something, someone, flipping through my mind, looking for answers.

  The library. Hades’ voice. My pleasure.

  Frustration and rage coursed through me, but it wasn’t mine. Footsteps in the distance. I didn’t know what would happen when they reached me, but I knew it wouldn’t be good.

  A hand brushed against me. My blood ran cold.

  “No!” I bolted upright. My breath caught in my throat. I was in bed; it was okay. Just a bad dream.

  Nightmares make sense, I rationalized. I’d been through a lot; my brain was just trying to process it all. First Pirithous, then Boreas attacking me? I had a right to be traumatized. Plus, what kind of goddess would I be if I couldn’t handle a silly nightmare?

  I climbed out of bed and walked over to my closet. I was down here for better or worse, and I should make the best of it. It was my winter break, after all, and like any other girl on vacation I was going sightseeing.

  I chose a flowing yellow skirt with a white lace blouse reminiscent of an outfit I had from home before setting off for the Asphodel Fields.

  I winced when Thanatos fell into step behind me. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “Yeah, I do.” He grinned. “It’s my job, remember?”

  “Aren’t you busy, like…killing people?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t kill people. People die, and I collect their souls. Well, I have my Reapers collect their souls. I rarely leave this realm these days.”

  “So why are you making new Reapers?”

  “I only make a personal appearance when someone is killed by a god. That doesn’t happen much anymore, but people will always find new ways to kill each other. Did you know that every second someone dies?”

  “Forty thousand men and women every day,” I quoted, uncomfortable with the knowledge.

  “Every day,” said Thanatos. “More Reapers allow for crazy things, like weekends off and reasonable hours. My Reapers are just souls, you know? They deserve the same respect as any other being. Labor laws aren’t only for the living.”

  “They don’t look like souls,” I said, remembering with a shudder.

  “They’re blessed. They can go out into the world and come back. Just like demigods.” He saw my worried look and added, “They’re completely under my control. I get the list from Moirae every day and divide it amongst them. They go, they come back. I’d know if anything else happened.”

  “No free will?”

  “Plenty of free will. No privacy. Still, it’s not hard to recruit—who wouldn’t want to visit the living world?” He studied me carefully, and I took a deep breath as homesickness filled me with longing.

  “No one,” I whispered. “How can you possibly choose?”

  “They have to meet a few requirements. They can’t know anyone in the living realm.” At my confused look he laughed. “That only takes a few decades. They can’t have drunk from the Lethe. Demigods get preferential treatment.” Thanatos shrugged. “Outside of that, it’s just like any job interview.”

  “If they’re just souls, why does Cassandra hate them?”

  Thanatos smirked. “You caught that, huh? They can be pretty full of themselves. They think they’re special, and Cassandra caught wind of that. It really pisses her off when she finds them wandering around the palace.”

  His eyes twinkled in a way that made me think the Reapers popping up every time Cassandra entered a public area of the palace wasn’t coincidence. “You’re messing with her!”

  Thanatos winked at me. “Yeah, sorry about the whole…soul thing. I think Zachary was more shaken up than you were.”

  I doubted that. “Does it always hurt so much?”

  Thanatos tilted his head, considering. “It’s hard to tell, what with the pain of people dying and all. I’ve never had a soul complain about the process. It probably hurt you because your soul’s tethered so strongly to your body. It didn’t have a way to leave.” Thanatos gave me an easy grin. “Where are you headed?”

  “A coffee shop in the suburbs.”

  “Breakfast with Cassandra?” he guessed. A smile broke across his face when I nodded. “She has excellent taste in food.”

  The Asphodel Fields closest to the palace were designated for the new or active souls. The longer souls stayed in the Underworld the further out they would spread. Most preferred peace and solitude to the crowded suburbs around the city.

  Thanatos escorted me to a sidewalk café that looked surprisingly like a Starbucks.

  “Over here!” Cassandra waved from a table on the edge of the sidewalk.

  “Good morning.” Thanatos flashed Cassandra an insincere looking grin.

  She scowled at him. “Just her. You can sit somewhere else.”

  Thanatos shrugged and grabbed another table, settling in with a cup of coffee and a book. It was still early, so there weren’t too many souls out and about. There were a surprising number of Reapers. Thanatos handed them each a page from his book when they approached his table.

  “Morning!” Cassandra’s voice was bright and cheerful. She held out her hand and a thick black organizer materialized. My eyes widened when I saw that every hour on the open page of her schedule was filled with tightly scrawled notes. “We’ve got a busy day today.”

  I eyed her coffee cup with suspicion. I wasn’t a fan of coffee, but if the stuff they served down here gave me even a modicum of Cassandra’s energy, I’d take it.

  Cassandra launched into the schedule, and I waved down a soul wearing a green apron.

  “Can I have whatever she’s having?”

  The waitress gave me a sympathetic look. “It won’t help, dear.”

  I sighed. It had been worth a shot. “Soy hot chocolate?”

  “Coming right up.”

  I turned my attention back to Cassandra.

  “Okay, so we attend court every afternoon.” Balled up straw-paper flew past Cassandra’s face. She shot a glare at the table of nearby Reapers. The paper vanished the moment it hit the ground. “Moirae and I pass judgment, separating out the few souls who’ll go to Tartarus and the Elysian Fields, and then we take any who deserve or chose to the Lethe to drink. Then Minos will explain the rules of the Underworld and take the souls on a tour. That’s where you and Hades come in. When Minos returns with the souls, introduce yourself, and send them on their way.”

  “That’s it?”

  The waitre
ss set a cup of steaming hot chocolate on the table in front of me.

  A piece of straw-paper landed in it.

  “Sorry!” one of the Reapers called.

  I plucked out the paper and took a cautious sip. Perfect.

  Cassandra ignored the Reapers. “It rarely goes that smoothly. The souls want to talk, mostly just trying to get sent back, and they’re not stupid. They know that Hades is their best shot at getting back.”

  “Can he? Send them back, I mean?”

  Cassandra hesitated. “That’s complicated. I’ve never seen it done, but Hades swears that if the conditions are just right, it’s possible.”

  “So are you and Hades…” I trailed off poking my fingers through the holes of the black wrought iron patio table. I somehow couldn’t picture Hades dating. Cassandra took a sip of her latte, looking at me expectantly. “…together?”

  She choked, grabbing a napkin and pressing it to her lips. “What?” she exclaimed, half laughing, half coughing up coffee. “Gods, no! I’m dead! Even if I wasn’t… Hades?” She gave a mock shudder, crumpling her napkin up. “No, we’re just friends.” Her look turned crafty “Why?”

  “Does being dead matter? I mean, you’re corporeal here, and it’s not like you’re a zombie.”

  “It matters,” Cassandra assured me. “I could be with any soul I wanted, but a living being? That would just be weird.”

  “Well, not anyone topside, but down here there doesn’t seem to be any difference between us.”

  Cassandra chewed her bottom lip. “It’s not that.” She watched the shop owner across the street sweep the sidewalk as she tried to formulate her answer. “It’s just…” She sighed. “Look, he’s a god, for one. Once bitten, twice shy.” She ignored my puzzled look. “Things between gods and humans are weird.”

  “Zeus didn’t seem to think so.”

  “Zeus had sex; he didn’t have relationships. Either way, the humans were never better off for having gotten involved with him. Even without the whole god problem, or it being Hades, he’s alive. I’m not. That’s a huge barrier.”

  “How?”

  “It just is. When we die, something about us changes. Our society would never work if it didn’t, not to mention our non-economy. The drive the living have to always do more, get more, and conquer more dies with us. We’ve got our memories, the same basic thoughts, but inside we’re different. You’ll be able to feel a difference between souls and gods if you stay here long enough. We’re just different. It would never work between me and Hades.”