Persephone (10 page)

I moved the curtains aside and sat on the window seat, turning my back on the view of the flower-filled meadow to look at the rest of the room. I’d chosen a cherry shade of hardwood flooring with a matching dresser, nightstand, and bookshelf. A flat screen television was fastened to the green wall.

The closet was my favorite part. Cassandra lent me a thick stack of magazines to look through and figure out what I wanted to wear. All I had to do was think of an outfit I liked, and it would appear in my closet.

“What did you want to do?” I wasn’t anywhere near done, but it was nothing I couldn’t do on my own. Cassandra was clearly bored.

“Dinner. I’m starving.”

“You eat?”

“Well, fine. I’m obviously not starving. It’s just an expression. Yes, we eat. All the same foods you do.” She affected a voice reminiscent of Hades. “Meals are important rituals to the souls. It grounds them in the familiar and provides a wonderful opportunity to socialize.”

“He doesn’t talk like that!” I laughed.

Cassandra giggled. “Just get him started on what he thinks is best for the souls. He’s all about making everyone feel right at home. Oh gods! He reads these stupid psychology books and just spouts off random psycho-babble. It’s awful!”

I snickered. “Okay, so you can eat. Can we order pizza or something?” I realized the question was foolish. But decorating put me in a great mood. My mind danced with thoughts of pizza, movies, and maybe popcorn for later.

“We typically eat in the main hall. With Hades.”

My mood crashed. “Oh. Uh, is what I have on okay?” I smoothed my dress, wondering why I cared.

“Yeah, you look fine. I’ll show you where we go.”

Dinner was awkward, mostly because I finally got to meet Moirae. The “Fates” were embodied in this schizophrenic woman. She was middle-aged and average height, average build, average looking—brown hair, brown eyes, brown skin so light she could be any ethnicity. She referred to herself as “we,” and apparently had three voices vying for attention in her head at any given time. The past, present, and future; the young, middle-aged, and old; and the mother, maiden, and crone in one. Good times.

I sat next to Cassandra, and she moved me to an ornately carved wooden chair to the immediate right of where Hades would sit, heading the table. The banquet hall was surprisingly homey. I’d been expecting something as grandiose as the throne room. The floor was divided into wooden squares. The wooden paneled walls had sporadically placed paintings depicting different gods.

Feeling out of place, I squirmed in my seat, watching as everyone else gathered around the table. Moirae turned in her chair to glare at me.

“It’s her,” she hissed, and then nodded in agreement with herself.

“Persephone,” I said helpfully. “Pleased to meet you.”

“
You
are the reason we’re down here.”

I looked at Cassandra for clarification and she shrugged. Leaning over, she whispered, “There’s a reason Hades keeps me around. She may be able to see the future too, but I’m way easier to talk to.”

When I nodded in agreement, eyes wide, Cassandra laughed. “Okay, that’s not the only reason. She can’t see anyone who’s been marked.”

“Marked?”

“When a god gives someone a blessing or a curse, it interferes with their fate. They drop out of Moirae’s sight. She can’t see gods, either; that’s why Hades needs me.”

I nodded again, amazed at how badly I’d misjudged Cassandra. She was without a doubt the most important soul in the underworld. No wonder she felt comfortable taunting Hades; her position here was completely safe.

I turned back to Moirae. I was dreading the answer, but had to ask, “How am I the reason you’re down here?”

“We are the fifth generation of Fates. We took our sisters’ place before the fall of the gods. Hecate, your mother, and you are meant to release us and be the sixth generation of Fates. Instead, you will choose to remain in the realm of the living. Hecate with her witches, your mother with her foolish crops. And you…” She sneered. “What will you do while shirking your duties?”

I blinked. “I…uh…what? I haven’t even come into my powers yet!”

“You will.”

“There’s something to be said for a self-fulfilling prophecy,” I muttered, shaking my head. If she wanted to be mad at me for something I hadn’t even considered doing yet, fine. I wouldn’t have to feel bad for not stepping up as the next Fate later. Good. I didn’t want to be a Fate.

“Making friends already?” Hades asked. I looked at him in mute appeal, and he grinned. “Persephone, allow me to introduce you to everyone. You’ve met Moirae, I see.” At my nod he continued. “This is Charon, my ferryman; Thanatos, God of Death; his twin brother Hypnos, God of Sleep; and Aeacus, Rhadamanthus—”

“Call me Rhad,” he interjected.

“—and Minos, my judges,” Hades finished.

I nodded as each man stood in turn. I knew some of the names from Latin class but seeing them matched up with actual faces was unnerving.

“And this is my—” Hades broke off and cleared his throat. “May I present my wife, Persephone.”

I moved to stand as they had for me, but Hades put a firm hand on my shoulder, keeping me in place. They all bowed then returned to their seats. People dressed in white robes served the food. I wondered if they were the people who drank from the Lethe. Dinner chatter began on the far side of the table, seeming to revolve around Charon recounting his day on the ferry.

I stared down at the white tablecloth, trying to remember which of the silver utensils I needed to use for the first course. A silver plate was placed before me with a fried pink oyster mushroom served with grapefruit. It was topped with an orange nasturtium blossom.

“So…” I turned to Moirae, who glared daggers at me, and quickly turned back to Hades. “Uh, what did you do today?”

He looked surprised by the question. “It’s barely been an hour since I last saw you.”

“It’s called small talk,” I snapped. “You should try it some time.”

He sighed. “Fine. I spoke with Hestia about your history lessons, arranged for you to begin self-defense lessons with Charon—”

“What?” Charon piped up from his end of the table. “When did that happen?”

“Just now,” Hades said around a bite of chicken. “I’m multitasking.”

“Why does she need to learn self-defense?” Aeacus asked.

I popped the flower into my mouth, savoring the spicy flavor. I wondered how they’d known I was a vegan. Everyone had something different on their plates. Maybe it was just a cool Underworld trick, like the rooms decorating themselves.

“You’re going to have Charon teach her?” asked Thanatos. “He won’t be able to shut up long enough to teach her a single move. I’m way better at self-defense.”

“Not everyone can kill someone just by touching them,” Hypnos pointed out.

“You’ll be busy guarding Persephone any time she leaves the palace.” He looked at me. “You’re perfectly safe in all but the public areas of the palace. Only certain souls can enter the living quarters. Just stay out of the public sections, the ballroom, the front lobby, the banquet hall, and the court room, unless either myself, Cassandra, or Thanatos are with you.”

“Hah!” Thanatos laughed at Charon. “You may be the self-defense guru, or whatever, but I’m the one people want around if there’s any
real
trouble.” He looked at Hades. “I’m going to need to recruit more Reapers to cover my shift.”

“What?” Cassandra snapped. “You have too many Reapers already! One of them nearly killed Persephone today.” She saw my eyes widen and sighed. “Fine, not nearly killed. Gods, you deities need to learn to appreciate a good exaggeration.”

“I’m well aware of what happened this afternoon.” Thanatos yawned. “And since my Reapers are banned from the living quarters, that means I have to distribute the list. If I’m also expected to act as a guard, then I’ll need more Reapers to keep things moving smoothly.”

“And last week?” Cassandra asked. “What was the reason then?”

“You guys won’t believe who I met on the ferry today,” Charon said from his side of the table.

“Who?” Minos asked.

“Okay, you guys remember that movie with the…”

I didn’t get to hear the rest of his sentence because Thanatos drowned him out. “More people are dying every day. I need help.”

I shifted closer to Charon, but couldn’t hear him over Cassandra.

“Bull! You only had a handful of Reapers during
the plague!
”

“And maybe a tenth of the population,” he retorted.

“How many do you need?” Hades asked.

Cassandra sighed loudly and sat back in her seat. Heads shook around the table, and I caught more than a few amused grins. Cassandra seemed to be the only one who was bothered by the Reapers.

“A hundred?”

“You get fifty. And keep them out of the palace, would you?”

Thanatos grinned and took a bite of his steak. I studied him closely. He wore black robes, grim-reaper style. His dark hair was pulled back from his narrow face. His dark eyes met mine from across the table and I gulped, staring hard at the soup before me. I didn’t want Death shadowing me. I glanced at his twin brother, Hypnos. He looked just like Thanatos, only his robes, eyes, and hair were grey. Not old-people grey; more like the color of smoke.

Charon laughed. “Give us a week, Thanatos. Persephone will be able to kick your bony ass across the Styx.”

The table erupted into cacophony. Everyone was talking over everyone else, adding wagers and jesting with each other. Lethians deftly ducked between the dueling deities, serving the main course. A plate of corn-filled phyllo tulips and eggplant topped with tomato sauce was put in front of me and I took a nervous bite.

“You’re on!” Thanatos replied. He gave me a devilish grin. “One week, Persephone.”

“That’s okay,” I squeaked. I didn’t want to go hand to hand against Death.

No one heard me. Hades’ eyes glittered in amusement. He gave me a look that said
see what you started?
as plainly as if he had spoken.

“I’m also trying to clear my schedule to teach you about your abilities.” Hades smiled wryly. “And I’ve still got to prepare for Brumalia. You’re keeping me busy.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be any trouble.”

He chuckled. “Don’t apologize. It’s a welcome diversion.”

“Then thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, seeming pleased.

“Well, since no one else is asking,” Charon called from the end of the table, “I suppose it’s up to me. Hades, when did
you
get a wife?”

Everyone laughed. “You miss everything.” Cassandra snickered.

“Damn those needy souls,” Charon joked, sliding an easy grin my way, his gray eyes twinkling. “So what happened? Hades sweep you off your feet?”

“You could say that.” I glanced at Hades. I wasn’t sure what I was allowed to disclose.

“See, I had this vision—” Cassandra began.

“Always visions with you,” Thanatos groaned.

“—that Persephone was in trouble. So I calmly told Hades—”

“If by calmly you mean burst into the throne room shrieking like a banshee,” Hades teased.

“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?”