Persephone (5 page)

She gave me a level stare and continued talking. “You had to act normal and fit in to be safe, and that would be much more difficult if you knew you weren’t human.”

Not human?
My head was spinning. It was genetic. Of course it was genetic. Crazy ran in families. “Mom, I think we should call someone. Tonight was stressful, but—”

“This isn’t a nervous breakdown, Persephone. You are a goddess.”

She seemed to change every time she said that word. It was like she was less my mother and more something else. Her expression grew more detached, her eyes somehow got older, wiser. Looking at her, there was nothing comforting about her that said
mom
. This was something else. Something powerful.

Something scary.

No. This was insane. Everyone secretly wished they were special. But in all my dreams of discovering I was a superhero, or a witch, or maybe even a princess, I’d never gone as far as
goddess
. That was too pretentious. Only seriously disturbed people thought they were gods. The words my mother had spoken weren’t some tolerable fantasy that could be indulged; they were dangerous.

“Stop saying that! If I were a goddess, I’d have powers and could have blown that guy away!”

“We aren’t as powerful as we used to be. Most of the remaining gods are those who were associated with nature. People still believe in and fear the world around them. We are lucky, Persephone. As the Goddess of Nature, my position is fairly secure.”

“You think you’re the Goddess of Nature?” I interrupted in disbelief.

“I primarily preside over agriculture.”

I thought of our shop. “Like Demeter?”

“I
am
Demeter, or Ceres to the Romans, or hundreds of other names depending on the time or culture.”

“Of course.”

She sighed, looking old and weary as she studied me. “In time you will come to terms with your divinity. For now, all you need to know is that you’ve been discovered, so we have to leave.”

“Wait!” I cried, alarmed. “Leave? Leave where?”

“Athens. We have many places we can go—”

“Like moving? We can’t, Mom! I’m halfway through the school year! What about the shop? What about our home? I can’t leave Melissa—”

“Melissa will come with us, of course.”

“How? Mind control? I doubt Mrs. Minthe will be okay with you taking her daughter!”

I had to do something before she did something crazy, like putting our house on the market or kidnapping my best friend. I glanced over at the phone, wondering who you were supposed to call when your parent went crazy. Was that a 9-1-1 thing, or should I Google the local psych ward? What would happen to me if my mom had to be committed?

“Minthe is one of my priestesses. She will go where she is told. Melissa is your priestess, and she needs to be with you.”

“Uh huh, sure thing, Mom.”

“As for school, you have an eternity to finish your education. I hope we’ll be settled by the end of the break, but if not—”

“Eternity?”

“Yes, dear. You’re immortal.”

I laughed. “Of course. How silly of me. An eternity in high school—what could be better?” My eyes widened as she emptied the cash register and headed to the back room where we kept the safe. “What are you doing?”

“Persephone, we have to leave here! There’s a reason you’re the first full deity born in thousands of years. It wasn’t safe before, and this place is no longer secure.”

“If you’re a goddess, can’t you just, like…
smite
anyone who comes against us?” I tried to reason with her as she tucked all the shop’s cash into her purse. “If we can’t do anything special, why would anyone come after us?”

“Because you’re a daughter of Zeus.”

I stifled an hysterical giggle and waited until I was sure I could speak. I knew if I laughed right now I would never stop. “Mom, don’t be gross. If you’re Demeter, then Zeus would be your brother, not to mention he was married.” She looked at me as if trying to figure out the relevance of that statement. “To someone else!” I waved my hands, frustrated. “You really expect me to believe you had an affair with your brother?”

My mother took a measured breath. “It doesn’t work like that. We were created, not born. Genetically we have nothing in common with each other. Brother and sister are human titles for the relationship we have with each other. And marriage is different to gods. Humans have a much narrower moral code—”

“Rather shortsighted of you to raise me as one then.”

“Nothing I do is shortsighted. If you’d like, we can discuss the different customs and moral standards between gods and humans on the road. We have a long drive ahead of us. Now get in the car.”

I decided to humor her. It was either that or take her seriously, and I couldn’t handle that. If I treated this like a joke long enough, maybe she would crack a smile, or laugh and admit she was just messing with me. It could be true. Mom had a horrible sense of humor. “I suppose Mount Olympus is a rather long drive. But hey, I’ve always wanted to meet my dad.”

“The majority of the gods died thousands of years ago when Olympus fell.”

Okay, I was done humoring her. “Mom, I’m only sixteen.”

“I couldn’t let you come into the world back then,” she said, catching my hand. “Those were terrible times. I waited until you would be safe. I cursed my priestesses with immortality so I would always have worshippers—”

“Doesn’t sound like much of a curse.”

“And when the time was right, I arranged for Melissa to be born. I’ll curse more priestesses for you over time.”

“Well, thanks for that.”

My sarcasm was lost on her. “As a child of Zeus, you’re especially blessed.” She released my hand and turned to take a last look around the shop. “You will be successful in anything—”

I couldn’t listen anymore. I bolted out the door and dashed into the parking lot. My mother had lost her mind to a delusion of freaking Greco-Roman proportions. This was my fault. I’d brought home too many of Professor Homer’s myths.

I fumbled with the keys, watching the door of the shop for my mom. My car roared to life before she got the door opened. I slammed my car into drive and tore out of the parking lot, narrowly avoiding the tree in its center. My cell phone rang and I silenced it, throwing it in the back seat. I turned the radio on when I turned onto Lumpkin Street.

When Five Points disappeared from my rearview mirror I let myself cry. What was I going to do? I didn’t know a lot about crazy people. Was this the first step before my mom went on some kind of murderous rampage? Oh my God, would she take my suggestion to smite people seriously? I had to warn Chloe not to come back to the shop.

I reached for my phone instinctively before remembering it was in the back seat. I glanced in my rearview mirror. The screen was still lit up, indicating a call was coming through. I remembered Mom saying Chloe wasn’t coming back after the deliveries. I’d just have to hope that was the case.

The stores and traffic faded behind me, replaced by trees and winding roads. I realized I’d driven toward Melissa’s farm. I needed to warn her in case my mom really did try to kidnap Melissa. Mrs. Minthe could help me. She could tell me what to do.

Chapter VI

Orpheus’ latest album blared out of my speakers singing “Mortus Dei,” as my bug tore down Hog Mountain Road.
What if she’s not crazy,
a voice in the back of my mind whispered. I laughed. Was this how it started? Voices disguising themselves as your own thoughts? She had to be crazy.

I gripped the steering wheel. If I began to believe my mother’s claims of divinity, my world would unravel! If she were telling the truth it would mean everything I knew about myself was a lie. My mother, and even Melissa, the two people I trusted more than anyone else in the world, had lied to me my entire life.

No. I would rather believe my mother was crazy. They had pills to fix crazy. Trust was harder to repair. Lives were harder to rebuild. I couldn’t move away! This was the only home I’d ever known. I’d fix this somehow.

It makes sense.

“Shut up!”

Unbidden images flashed through my mind. Eyes disappearing behind enlarged pupils. Frost creeping up yellow legal pad pages. Ice slashing across my windshield. Orpheus handing me his card.

Orpheus… I turned my head to look at my phone, perched tantalizingly on the back seat. I swore, turning my attention to the road. A deer darted across. I didn’t even slow.

Was this what he’d been talking about? No way.
You’ve never even been sick,
I reminded myself. Gods couldn’t get sick, could they? The other kids at school got sick all the time, colds, allergies, something.

“And the feeling of being watched, Persephone?” I deflected. “Got an answer for that? This is textbook crazy. I mean, I’m even talking to myself.”

Pirithous did mention someone sending him.

I wanted to put my hands to my ears, but the damn steering wheel demanded my attention. I sang as loudly as I could but the voice within me would not be silenced.

I heard Melissa’s voice.
“You know she’ll do anything your mom asks.”

“You’re going to have questions.”

“No!” I stabbed at the dial, turning up the music. Gravel crunched under my tires when I pulled into Melissa’s driveway. I didn’t even have time to knock before Melissa opened the door and threw herself into my arms.

“Your mom called and told us what happened! Are you okay?” She pulled me into the house before I could formulate an answer.

All that reckless driving and I’d gone exactly where she’d expected. Go figure. “What did my mom tell you exactly?”

“She said some guy found out what you are and tried to take you!”

Found out what you are!
My hope that this was all a crazy theory of my mother’s was being ripped from my grasp. “What do you mean by that?”

“He found out that you’re a goddess.”

I couldn’t breathe. The world spun. I was slipping and sliding sideways, unable to regain my balance.

“Persephone!” Melissa yelled as I swayed on my feet.

I took a deep breath, forcing the sparkling spots to slowly slip away. I stumbled away from Melissa and back onto the wooden porch. “Not you too.”

“I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you, but your mom wouldn’t let me.” She reached out to steady me.

“Stay away from me!” I retreated down the stairs and to my car. Melissa shouted after me but I ignored her. I needed to get out of here. I needed to think, to process everything that had happened. The drive passed in a blur that I couldn’t remember and I found myself at Memorial Park.

I made my way to my usual picnic spot; the flowers and trees and flowing water fountain in the middle of the sparkling lake always calmed me down. My stomach growled, reminding me that I’d skipped lunch in all the confusion. I dug in my purse for my stash of snacks and pulled out a plastic bag full of pomegranate seeds.

I walked past the playground to the rock garden, spreading my daisy-patterned blanket out on top of the bleached grass. Wildflowers grew, tricked into bloom by the mild weather. My breath caught when a crane took flight from the scrub bushes near the wooden bridge spanning the lake. I ate a pomegranate seed and tried to think. I needed a plan.

My red-stained fingertips reverently clutched the card Orpheus had given me. Did my mom think he was a god? Mom had said something about building a support net. Maybe that was why he’d acted so weird around me.

But Melissa believed my mom. What did that mean?

My hands shook as I held the card. If one more person believed her theory, I’d know. I’d know I wasn’t going crazy, that something was legitimately different about me.

I didn’t need to look at the card to dial the number. My heart threatened to beat free of my chest as the phone rang.

“Hello?”

My mouth went dry at the sound of his voice.

“Hello?” He waited a beat, sounding irritated now. “Is anyone there?”

I hung up. I couldn’t ask him if I was a god! He’d think I was crazy! Or worse, he’d know that I wasn’t.

This was ridiculous. If I was a goddess, I should be able to do something. If I couldn’t, I wasn’t. No need to drag anyone else into this.

“I can’t believe I’m even considering this,” I muttered.

My hair whipped across my face as a breeze picked up around me. I sat up and placed my hand on the cool, dark earth before me, feeling energy thrumming through the soil. I closed my eyes and concentrated on making something, anything, happen.

I felt a tickle against my palm and jerked forward, eyes flying open. I nearly fell face first in the dirt when a bright green stem unwound itself between two of my outstretched fingers. I scarcely breathed as red petals unfurled themselves into a tiny red poppy.

I gasped. I had powers! I was a goddess! I wasn’t crazy, Mom wasn’t crazy. Melissa, Orpheus, it was all true.
Wasn’t it?