Goddess of Spring (21 page)

She passed through the tunnel quickly, barely pausing before raising her hand and calling the light back within her. Then she stepped from the entrance to the Underworld and into the soft glow of a beautiful pre-dawn morning. Hades followed her.

Persephone looked around quizzically. Hades wondered if she was worried that Orpheus might still be lurking near. No, he reminded himself. The musician had been cast away by the power of the goddess's righteous anger. Persephone would know that he would be far from there. But she was obviously searching for something. She walked away from the tunnel and down the little path that was lined in frothy ferns. Occasionally, the goddess stopped and peered amidst the greenery as if looking for a lost trinket. Then she would sigh, mumble something unintelligible, and move on.

The path tilted gradually up and soon Persephone stood near the high bank of Lake Avernus. The goddess smiled and breathed in deeply, obviously appreciating the view.

Hades wanted to shout that Avernus would seem as nothing when compared with the wonders of Elysia. There were beauties in his realm that were far more spectacular than an ordinary lake in the simple, mundane light before dawn. He ground his teeth together. He wanted to show the magnificence of his realm to her and to watch her face brighten with the discovery.

“There you are!”

Persephone's voice sounded relieved and she rushed over to a pillared marble basin which stood to one side of the path. Resting within the basin was a large glass ball. Its interior was murky, like it had been filled with thickened cream. Hades recognized it instantly as the oracle of a goddess.

Persephone stood in front of the oracle. She hesitated. To Hades it seemed that she was almost uncertain of what to do next. Then she closed her eyes, as if she needed to concentrate very hard. When she opened them a moment later her full lips lifted in the briefest of smiles. With no more hesitation, she passed her hands over the crystal three times, causing the inside of the globe to begin to swirl.

“Demeter,” Persephone spoke to the oracle. “I almost messed up. Badly.”

The face of the Goddess of the Harvest materialized within her oracle.

“You use the word almost, which must mean that you righted your error,” Demeter said, her voice sounding a little hollow and unnatural as it echoed from the oracle.

Persephone sighed. “Yes, but if I hadn't, my mistake would have cost a lovely young girl a lifetime of misery.”

“Being goddess does not mean perfection. We must each use our best judgment. Sometimes mistakes are made.”

Persephone pulled at a long strand of her hair and twirled it around her finger.

“I don't want to make mistakes that cause others pain.”

Hades forced himself to turn away. He strode quickly back through the tunnel. He had intruded upon the goddess's privacy too long. His conscience would not allow him to continue to listen to Persephone's conversation with her mother. Hades yanked off the Helmet of Invisibility. It was not meant as an eavesdropping device. It was to be used with discernment, not selfishness. He was ashamed of himself. Had he not just berated Stheneboia for selfishness and deception?

He had never before behaved in such a manner. He was not a callow youth. He understood that sneaking and spying would not win a goddess's heart.

Hades stopped.

Was that what he desired, to win Persephone's heart?

He raked a hand through his hair. He wanted her. His body had begun to ache for her. For eons he had thought that his difference had in some way hermetically sealed him from the common lusts of the gods. He avoided women, be they mortal or immortal, because his very nature had been fashioned so that meaningless passion and brief dalliance was not enough for him. Age after countless age he had witnessed in the spirits of the dead that which mortals knew so well, the eternal bond forged by soul mates. Bearing witness to that unique, unforgettable depth of joining had soldered the difference that had already been imprinted into his nature. Anything less than mating for eternity would never satisfy him.

Oh, he had tried—centuries ago. His stomach still tightened when he thought of his one brief mortal lover, Minthe. He had come upon the maiden during one of his rare visits to the World of the Living. She had been gathering flowers for her first fertility ritual and his appearance had seemed an answer to her prayers. He had made her his, there in that fragrant meadow, and there he had visited her often until she vowed that she loved him and that she would leave her home and cleave only to him.

Looking back, he was amazed by his own naïveté. He still shrank away from the memory of her hysterics when he had finally revealed himself to her as Lord of the Dead. In his mind he could see it all happening again. Minthe's blind flight from him as she hurled herself over the cliff, and how he had snatched her from the air before she could end her own life. Instead of condemning her to an eternity of lamentation within his realm, Hades had called forth his immortal power and changed her form into the sweet scented, ever-growing herb that retained her delicate beauty, as well as her name.

Unlike mortal women, goddesses did not fear him, but they also did not understand him. They scorned him, thinking him somber and stern because he ruled the Underworld. Until Persephone, no goddess had ever bothered to visit his realm. He scoffed. Truly, he had never had any desire to offer an invitation. Goddesses had no real loyalty, no real ability to love. Look at Athena, she even betrayed her precious Odysseus by allowing him to be led astray for twenty years before returning home to his faithful wife.

It had been easy to convince himself that there was no mate for him. Mortal women must die to reign forever beside him, so they feared him and shrank from his love. Goddesses were immortal; therefore, they could never truly belong to him.

He had been content to rule his realm and live surrounded by the beauty of the Elysian Fields and the wonders of his palace.

But no longer.

Hades' lips twisted in self-mockery. The God of the Dead desired the Goddess of Spring.

Even within his head it sounded impossible.

Then he remembered the goddess's brilliant smile and the childlike wonder with which she responded to his realm. Yet she consistently displayed a maturity that belied her youthful appearance. She was different from the other goddesses—that she had proven. But was she different enough to love him?

How to woo Persephone? He paced back and forth across the black path while he considered. Then a sudden idea halted him. His smile was fierce with victory. Hades brought his fingers to his lips. His whistle pierced the blackness, traveling with mystical speed all the way back to his palace.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“IN other words, there is no magic wand, or whatever, that you can wave over me that will guarantee that I make the right decisions. Even if it means my mistakes might cause others a lot of misery.” Lina knew she sounded exasperated. What was the use of being a goddess if she was still fallible?

Demeter's expression was kind. “Wisdom does not come with immortality,
Daughter
.” The goddess emphasized the word to reinforce to Lina the role she must play. “It comes with experience. And you have had many years of excellent experience in your life. Listen to your intuition. Use your mind. Believe in yourself. If you do make a mistake, learn from it.” The glass began filling with murky wisps of cloud-like tendrils, obscuring the goddess's face. “Return to Hades with my blessings, Daughter.” Her voice faded and her image disappeared.

Lina sighed. Basically, she was on her own.

“I hope Persephone's having an easier time at Pani Del Goddess,” Lina grumbled.

The instant she spoke, the vapor within the glass ball began to swirl again. Then, as Lina watched in amazement, the cloudiness cleared to reveal a scene that caused her stomach to tighten with an unexpected wave of homesickness.

Lina bent closer to the oracle, totally engrossed in what she was seeing.

Pani Del Goddess was definitely having a good day. The little bakery was filled with customers. Actually, Lina blinked in surprise, it was packed. She peered though the magical orb, counting the familiar faces and realizing that they were in the minority. She didn't recognize most of the customers.

They certainly looked happy. There was a lot of talking and laughing going on along with—Lina blinked again, then her face broke into a pleased smile—they were eating what she was sure she recognized as Pizza alla Romana, the pizza that had summoned Demeter.

There were also several new signs placed along the wall behind the pastry cases. In bold script one read PIZZA DEL GIORNO—
Pizza of the Day
—QUATTRO STAGIONI—
Four Seasons, with all your favorites: tomatoes, artichokes, mushrooms, olives, three cheeses and prosciutto.
Another proclaimed the VINO DEL GIORNO—
wine of the day
—PEPPOLI, CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVA. It was the third sign that confused Lina. All it said was TUBS OF AMBROSIA CREAM CHEESE LIMITED TO THREE PER CUSTOMER.

Ambrosia cream cheese? What was that?

Then Lina gasped and felt her face flush hot as she watched herself saunter through the swinging doors from the kitchen and enter the bakery. Lina shook her head back and forth, back and forth, back and forth in a repeated motion of denial.

What had Persephone done to her? She wasn't wearing one of her well-tailored business suits. She had on a little silk wraparound skirt that was bright fuchsia and a flowy short sleeved shell the color of honeydew melons. The skirt was short. Very short. And fuchsia! She didn't even own anything fuchsia! The shell veed dangerously low to expose Lina's deep cleavage. Openmouthed, Lina stared at her own body. The long length of leg that the skirt revealed was tanned, as was the rest of her body—which, in her opinion, Lina could see entirely too much of. And she had lost weight.

Lina narrowed her eyes and studied herself. No, maybe she hadn't actually lost weight. She looked toned and healthy. Her curves were all still there. They were just tighter and more well-defined. And her hair was different. It was longer—a couple of inches longer. How could that be? Hadn't she only been gone a day or so? Lina looked again. Yes, it was definitely longer. It rested on her shoulders in messy, indistinct curls, giving her a naughty, windblown look.

A man waved at Lina's body and she responded with a saucy smile and a toss of her hair. The man—
merda!
He wasn't just a man, he was an incredibly young man—hurried over to the object of his attention. Lina gaped as she watched herself flirt outrageously with a young, handsome, young, muscular,
young
man who was quite obviously very well acquainted with her. He couldn't have been much older than twenty-five.

The young handsome man bent and kissed Lina's body's mouth. Right in the middle of the bakery. Right in front of everyone.

“I don't F-ing believe it.” She was too shocked to curse correctly in Italian or English.

Persephone laughed and spun playfully away from her suitor. For a split second she looked up and winked. Right at Lina.

Lina gasped and jerked back like she'd been slapped. At once the glass began to swirl and become cloudy. The image of Pani Del Goddess dissipated like smoke.

“Problems with the oracle, Goddess?” A deep voice spoke from behind her.

Lina whirled around to find that she was facing a man. An amazingly beautiful man.

“Persephone! I did not realize it was you.”

“Hello,” Lina said breathlessly, her shaking hand covering her pounding heart. Who was this gorgeous man?

A name drifted enticingly through her mind like an erotic whisper—
Apollo.

Lina fanned her hot face and tried to pull herself together.

“You startled me, uh, Apollo.”

The god lounged against the side of a large boulder. He was wearing a short leather tunic that was carved with a chest plate that met an unusual looking skirt-like wrap slung low around his muscular hips. But the “skirt” in no way made him appear effeminate. Except for a pair of sandals the rest of his body was bare. Very bare. Apollo was made of long, golden lines of muscle. His smile was smooth and attractive. Lina couldn't help staring. Actually, she thought staring was probably required in her particular situation.

The god nodded his head at the oracle. “Talking to Demeter?”

“Um, yes.”

“She is visiting Hera. I think the two of them are planning something new with which to plague Zeus.” He dropped his voice to a conspirator's level and his eyes gleamed. “Gossip has it that the Thunder God is besmitten with a mortal maiden . . . again.” Apollo scratched his strong chin in consideration. “I believe the hapless girl's name is Io.” He shook his head and laughed, making his brilliant blue eyes sparkle mischievously. “I will never understand Hera's temper. We all know Zeus has an appetite for beauty, yet he has chosen only one wife. She should not waste her time on frivolous jealousies.”

Lina lifted one perfect eyebrow. “You don't consider fidelity in marriage important?”

“I believe finding pleasure is important, as you know very well, Persephone.” His look was intimate as well as seductive.

Ohmygod. Had Apollo been Persephone's lover?

“I would be honored to remind you of any number of pleasurable delights, Goddess of Spring.”

He pushed himself from the bank and moved with a feral grace toward her. Lina's mouth went dry. He looked like he was going to take her in his arms. Lina lifted one hand out in front of her like a stop sign. Yes, he was the most handsome man she had ever seen, but she wasn't the type of woman who would kiss a stranger—despite what Persephone might be doing in her world.