Persephone (6 page)

“I’m not hallucinating, am I?” I touched the flower, feeling the silky petal brush against my hand. The wind pushed me forward forcefully. My bag of pomegranate seeds blew over, spilling around the poppy. My dress flapped against my ankles as chills shot across my skin. I heard crackling and spun around to see the ground freezing around the flower.

The frost crept toward me. The branches above me stretched toward my face, ice inching along the branches. I heard a loud snap and a massive branch broke from the tree and hurtled toward my head.

I screamed and stumbled backward. The branch crashed in front of me, scraping my legs. I ran for the parking lot as fast as I could. The frost closed in, surrounding me. I’d never been claustrophobic, but as the frost cut off my escape path with a solid white wall, I panicked.

Fog rolled in, like cold death, cutting off my view of the park. It curled around me, brushing against my face, arms, and legs. I turned back to the tree and ran faster, my dress tangling between my legs as the fog and icy wind blew against my skin.

The parking lot is the other way!
my mind screamed. The other way was cut off by a mountain of ice. I felt as if I was being herded.
By ice?

I slipped on the icy ground, falling face first into the frost. Ice crept up my toes and along my legs. I thrashed and screamed. I felt the fog becoming a solid mass above me, pinning me to the ground. The ice piled around me.
Am I going to be buried alive?

I dug my nails into the frigid snow in front of me and tried to claw my way out of the frosted death trap. I was so panicked I didn’t feel it when my nails broke against the impenetrable wall of ice, leaving red crescents of blood welling up on sensitive skin. An hysterical sob worked its way out of my throat as I gouged red lines into the ice. The ice was above my knees, snaking its way up my thighs. I shivered.

Shivering’s good,
I reminded myself.
It means your body hasn’t given up…yet.
The cold was painful, like a thousand little knives pricking my skin. A violent tremor went up my spine, sending waves of pain through me.

“Help me!” I screamed, knowing it was futile. I was going to die here.

Except I couldn’t die. Could I? Mom said I was immortal, but was that all-inclusive? Did I have a weakness? Was snow my Kryptonite? If I got hurt, would I heal or would I be trapped in an injured body in pain forever?

I suddenly didn’t know if immortality was a good thing or a bad thing. The cold hurt. I was kicking, screaming, and clawing my way out of the frost, but for every inch I gained a mountain piled around me. I thought I heard a man’s laughter on the wind, the sound somehow colder than the ice freezing me into place.

The ground before my outstretched hand trembled. The shaking increased. The earth lurched beneath me. The surface cracked and the sound was so loud that for a moment all I could hear was high-pitched ringing in my ears. The ground split into an impossibly deep crevice. My voice went hoarse from screaming as I peered into the endless abyss, trapped and unable to move away from the vertigo-inducing edge. A midnight black chariot, drawn by four crepuscular horses that looked like they’d been created out of the night sky, surged from the crevice. I ducked my head into the snow with a frightened whimper as they passed over my prone body.

The fog around me dissipated as the ice melted away from my body. Terrified, I sprang to my feet, stopping when I was eye-to-eye with one of the frightening horses pulling the chariot. For a moment I could do nothing but stare into its huge, emotionless eyes. A strangled whimper tore from my throat and the horse snorted at me.

They weren’t black; they weren’t anything. They were an absence of color and of light, a nauseating swirling void. They hurt to look at. My head ached, and my stomach lurched in mutiny. I clenched my fists and turned to the driver.

His electric blue eyes met mine, and he seemed to see everything I’d done and everything I’d ever do. I had the strange sensation I’d been judged and found wanting. No way this guy was human. His skin could have been carved from marble; his hair was the same disorienting black as the horses. A terrifying power emanated from his tall, statuesque frame.

I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move. His ebony cape billowed behind him as he marched toward me. At the grasp of his hand I snapped back to life and jerked away from him.

“We have to get out of here.”

“Let me go!” I yelled, yanking my arm away. He closed in on me, pushing me toward the chariot. I struggled against him, shrieking with rage when he picked me up and slung me over his back like a sack of potatoes.

I punched his back, kicking my legs. “Let me go! Someone help me! Help!”

I recalled the instructor of some self-defense class long lost in memory reminding me dead weight was harder to carry than a thrashing captive. My body rebelled at the idea of going limp so I pushed aside his cape, pulled his shirt up and raked my torn and ragged nails across his bare skin. His hands jerked in surprise and I slid off his back and onto the hard ground.

My breath left my body as I hit the ground with enough force to make me dizzy. With strength I didn’t know I possessed, I scrambled away, clawing at him as he pulled me back.

“Enough!” he shouted. “We don’t have time for this! I have to get you out of here!”

“No!” I yelled. Did he really just expect me to go
Okay, strange creepy man, I’ll get in your scary chariot of death. No problem.

His furtive gaze took in the empty park, and he swore in a voice as smooth as silk. “I’m sorry.”

My eyes widened in surprise as his lips pressed against mine. I went wild, hitting and scratching and pushing for all I was worth. He didn’t budge. He exhaled, and I sank lifelessly into his arms.

Through a haze, I felt myself being lifted and carried away. I tried to open my eyes, but they were too heavy.

“You handled that well, Hades,” a woman’s sarcastic voice intruded on the fog of my thoughts. “You know what might have made it a bit easier?”

“I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

Hades? I struggled harder against the heaviness of my eyes.
The
Hades? Lord of the Underworld, Hades?

Crap!

“A simple ‘I’m the good guy’ might have—”

“You think I’m the good guy, Cassandra?” He laughed.

“How about ‘I’m here to rescue you’?”

“I didn’t say that?” He placed me on a soft surface. “I need to talk to Demeter, tell her what almost transpired here. Could you—”

“You’re not going to return her home.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Gods help me, Cassandra, I thought you were kidding.”

“You know I don’t joke about my…”

I tried to listen, but their conversation wasn’t making any sense and my mind wasn’t up to decoding their nonsense. I thought of my picnic blanket, poppy, and pomegranate seeds. What had happened? Had that freak ice storm been a consequence of using my powers? Something nudged the back of my brain, calling ancient myths and legends forward, but my mind banished those thoughts and surrendered to blissful darkness.

Chapter VII

I felt like I was lying on a cloud made of silk. I frowned, eyes fluttering open.
My
bed was not this comfortable, and my sheets were not made of silk, satin, or whatever this shiny slippery stuff was. I sat up, looking around the room, disoriented. It looked like my room but richer somehow.

I climbed off the loft bed. The moment my feet touched the cool wooden floor, memories rushed through me. I gasped as I recalled the earth freezing and the chariot exploding from the ground. I traced my tingling lips with my fingertip. He’d kissed me! Well, sort of.

I felt different, lighter somehow. For the first time in my life I’d woken up without any pressing needs. I wasn’t hungry or thirsty, nothing ached; I felt exhilarated.

It was unnerving. My hands shook and my heart raced so fast I thought it would beat out of my chest. I gulped, remembering the man who’d taken me. I unclipped my phone from my waistband. It was four-forty-four. I’d been out for over six hours? I tried to call 9-1-1, but couldn’t get a signal. I walked through the room, keeping an eye on my phone. No luck.

I studied my reflection in the full-length mirror hanging on the door. The fabric of my white dress was somehow unmarred by my struggle in the park. The scratches on my legs from the ice were gone; I didn’t have any bruises from the fall or so much as a hair on my head out of place. I checked my nails, expecting them to be torn, ragged, and bloody. They were perfect. I frowned, studying them closer. My clear polish had even been restored.

Only my lips were different. They were as red as a pomegranate and tender to the touch.

“What the hell?”

I was surprised to find the door wasn’t locked. I opened it and stepped into a huge hall that looked as if it was carved from ebony. Not a single fingerprint marred the gleaming surface or silver trim. The floors were a checkerboard of black and white marble. I glanced up, curious if the ceiling was made of marble as well, but couldn’t tell because it was so far above my head.

I memorized every detail, searching for something that would help me identify this place to the cops. I couldn’t think of a single building in Athens this tall. Had he taken me to another city? How long had I been out? I checked the time on my phone again: four-forty-four.

Must be broken.
It would be more surprising if it had made it through the entire ordeal unharmed, but as I scrolled through the screen everything seemed responsive.

I took slow, careful steps, knowing in a cavernous hall like this my footsteps would be amplified. I didn’t see any light fixtures and wondered how the corridors were illuminated. The hall was neither dim nor bright; the light just…existed.

I heard raised voices.
That sounds like Mom!
I ran toward the voices and paused outside a half open door, peeking in uncertainly.

“…should have just let Boreas have her?” Hades’ voice boomed through the small room, echoing off the wooden wall panels.

My mother—I paused; it wasn’t my mother. It was an image of her, bleached of color. Her form wavered, a red tapestry becoming visible behind her, then solidified. Her lips were tight in anger.

“Of course not! But what you did was—”

“Nothing short of a miracle, Demeter. Perhaps you should be thanking me for bothering.”

“It’s
why
you bothered that frightens me, Hades.” She gave an exasperated wave of her hands. “What you did was—” She broke off with a sigh. “You could have just sent for me. I could have—”

“Done absolutely nothing,” Hades snapped. The soft glow of the lamps played over his face. The whole room was tinted red from the lampshades. “You barely have the power to swat a fly.”

“But you—”

“She would be better off dead!” Hades thundered. “Don’t you get that? None of you saw Oreithyia after he had finished with her, just me! I practically had to drown her in the Lethe to wash those memories away; there is nothing left of her! Is that the fate you would prefer for your daughter, Demeter? Because that’s what would have happened had I sent for you instead.”

“Am I…dead?” My voice was shaking as I walked into the room. Silence descended on the room as they both stared at me. I felt like an insect being examined in a jar. I took a deep breath and straightened my back so I was standing at my full height, clenching my fists so my trembling hands didn’t give away my fear. I raised my chin and met Hades’ stare with what I hoped was a bored expression on my face, but what probably looked more like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Persephone,” my mom breathed, her face relaxing. “Thank goodness you’re all right.”

I tried to tear my gaze from Hades to look at her, but it was hard. I’d never seen anyone that looked like him. Movie stars, models, they paled in comparison, and as terrified as I was that I’d died, I couldn’t seem to look away from him.

Seriously? He might as well be the devil
. With that comforting thought I jerked my head to the side and looked at my mother. “Am I dead?” I asked again, suppressing the panicked edge in my voice. Being dead would explain a lot.

“You’re not dead.” Hades spoke, yanking my attention back to him like a rubber band. His lips curved in a sardonic smile. I got the distinct impression that he’d enjoyed my struggle to look away. “Thanks to my intercession.”

I narrowed my eyes in disgust. So he was one of
those
guys. “So I’m supposed to thank you for knocking me out and dragging me here against my will? Where am I, and how do I get home?”

“Hey, I saved you!” Hades looked back and forth between my mother and me. “No good deed, huh?”

“It didn’t feel like I was being rescued, it felt like an abduction! You kissed me!”

“About that…” My mother glowered at Hades.

“Can it, Demeter. That was the only way to get her down here and you know it.”

“Where is
here?
”