Goddess of Spring (Goddess Summoning 2)

"And I'm not ready for the day to end."

"Then it shal not." He took a deep breath. "You have not yet seen my private quarters. Would you like to?"

Lina saw how difficult it was for him to ask. She felt her heart pounding - a heart that was not truly her own, inside a body that didn't belong to her. But her soul did, and it wasn't simply her body that desired him. She loved his sweetness and sense of humor. She loved the sound of his laughter. She loved his power and his passion, and the care and wisdom he showed in his dealings with the spirits in his realm. Lina touched his cheek, and admitted the truth to herself. She loved him.

"Yes. I would like to very much."

Joy flashed over his face, fol owed quickly by desire, and he bent and kissed her again, hard and fast. Then he reluctantly released her from his arms, took her hand in his, and began to retrace their steps. Lina heard a high-pitched buzzing behind her, and she and Hades turned. The fireflies were hovering in a huge cluster at the edge of the field. Al of them were turned toward Lina.

The God laughed. "Persephone wil return. She is not leaving the Underworld." Their frantic buzzing eased a little.

"I'd love to come back and make more flowers with you," Lina assured them, and their buzzing changed to happy chirps. Smiling, Lina and Hades continued on then-way. "It's nice that they like me so much."

"Al of my realm adores you, Persephone," Hades said.

Lina glanced up at him. "Just your realm?"

The God's lips tilted up. "No, not just my realm."

She squeezed his hand. "Good."

It was as they stepped from the trees into the ornamental garden that Lina heard the sobbing.

"Someone's crying," Lina said. Peering around in the gentle darkness she tried to discover who it was.

"There," Hades said.

He was pointing ahead of them in the direction of the road that passed in front of the palace and led farther into Elysia. Lina could barely make out a blur of human-sized brightness near the edge of the road.

"I think we should see what's going on." Lina looked up at the God for confirmation. "Don't you?"

"Yes. It is odd that a spirit would cry in Elysia." He explained as they started toward the blotch of light. "The dead might miss family and loved ones from the Land of the Living, but by the time they are ferried across Styx and enter Elysia, their souls are fil ed with joy, or at the very least, peace. The. ability to cease longing for the living - or at least the ability to understand that al partings are only temporary - is built into the mortal spirit. Those who have earned an eternity in Elysia find that they are content."

As they got closer to the spirit the brightness took shape. Lina could see that she was a pretty young woman with long, upswept dark hair and a plump figure. She was sitting at the edge of the road, face in her hands, weeping with such passion mat she did not even notice their approach. Instinctively, Lina motioned for Hades to stay back, and she walked to the woman's side. Just before she touched her shoulder, Lina noticed that the spirit's body looked unusu-al y dense. If she hadn't had the typical y pale luminescence of the dead, Lina would have believed that she was a living woman who had somehow gotten lost and stumbled into the Underworld.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Lina asked softly.

The woman jumped, and raised a tear-stained face to peer with frantic brown eyes at Lina. Instantly she recognized the Goddess, and began to bow her head. Then she caught sight of Hades, and her hand went to her mouth. She changed the direction of her bow, but ended up bobbing back and forth, not sure which of the immortals to acknowledge first.

"I did not mean to disturb the gods!" she cried, wiping her eyes. Climbing awkwardly to her feet, she began backing hastily away from Lina. "Please forgive me."

"No." Lina held out her hand in what she meant as a calming gesture. The woman jerked to a nervous halt, staring at her outstretched arm. Lina thought she looked like a frightened mouse. She sighed and modulated her voice to the tone she used to reassure young animals. "Don't go. You didn't disturb us. Hades and I were taking a walk and we heard you crying. We were concerned, not angry."

She seemed to relax a little.

"What is your name?" Hades asked in the pleasant, fatherly voice he used with Eurydice. She glanced nervously at him. "Alcetis."

"Tel us why you were crying, Alcetis," Lina said gently.

Alcetis looked down and spoke to her feet. "I am so very lonely. I miss my husband and my family desperately." She pressed the back of her hand against her mouth, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a sob.

Lina's worried gaze found Hades. She saw that he, too, looked surprised at the spirit's words. Then she saw him tilt his head to the side and his face took on a listening expression. In a moment his eyes seemed to darken and he pressed his lips together before speaking to the spirit.

"It was not your time, Alcetis," Hades said in a voice shadowed with sadness. The spirit drew another ragged, sobbing breath. "No, it was not. But I had to come." Hades frowned. "You did not have to. It was your choice."

Alcetis raised her dripping face. "Do you not understand? He asked others. They would not. I had to."

Completely confused, Lina shook her head. "Wait , I don't understand. What are you two talking about? Has some kind of mistake been made?"

"Alcetis, tel Persephone why you have entered the Underworld," Hades said. Alcetis took a deep breath and wiped her face with the sleeve of her burial robe. "I have only been married a short time. My husband's name is Admetus." The spirit's damp face brightened as she said the name and she almost smiled. "Yesterday at dawn the augurs prophesized that Admetus would die before the sun set. My husband immediately petitioned Apol o, and the God of Light concurred. Indeed, the prophesy was true. The Fates had finished weaving Admetus' life, and at dusk his mortal string would be cut. But my husband has long been a favorite of the God of Light, and Apol o heard my husband's cries. He granted Admetus a new fate. He would be spared if someone would agree to die in his place. First, Admetus went to his parents, who are old and not wel , but they refused. Then he went to his brothers. They, too, would not die in his stead. He asked his closest friends, assuring them that he would see their families wel cared for, but the answer was always the same. No one was wil ing to die for him. In despair, he returned home to await his fate." Alcetis paused, looking searchingly at Lina. "I could not let him die." Hades' jaw clenched, but when he spoke his voice betrayed no anger. "And he let you die for him." The spirit turned wide, wet eyes to the God. "He wept and rent his garments. His sadness was great."

"But not great enough to stop you," Hades said.

"You must see that I had no choice. I had to take his place." Alcetis began weeping again.

"That is why you feel such loneliness and pain. It is not your time. Your life's thread is stil spinning. Your soul knows this and you cannot find peace." Hades spoke solemnly, as if a great weight pressed down upon his words.

"Wel , this can't be right," Lina said. "Look at her -  she doesn't even have the same kind of body as the rest of the spirits."

"That is because she is not like the rest of the spirits. She is misplaced, outside of her al otted fate."

"Then it sounds to me like you need to fix this," Lina said firmly.

"She is here because a god meddled in a mortal's life, something that happens far too often, and for far too many selfish reasons. I do not believe in interfering with the lives of mortals."

"But she's a part of your realm now. You're not technical y meddling. You're doing your job." Hades spoke through gritted teeth. "Persephone, do you not remember what happened the last time you made a judgment about sending a spirit back to the Land of the Living?" Lina flinched as if he had slapped her. "This is different, and I can't believe that you are heartless enough not to see that." Her voice was ice.

"Oh, please!" Alcetis threw herself on her knees between the two immortals. "I did not mean to cause strife between the King and Queen of the Underworld."

"What is it you cal ed Persephone?" Hades said, fast and sharp. "What title did you give her?" Trembling, the out of place spirit answered the God. "I cal ed her Queen of the Underworld, but I did not give the title to her, Lord. I simply repeat what she has been named in the world above." She managed to smile shyly at Lina. "It is wel known that she is now reigning at your side." Lina was struck speechless. Queen of the Underworld? People were real y cal ing her that? She looked at Hades and the dark God captured her gaze. His eyes flamed and his face seemed to burn with transparent joy. As he spoke, Lina could not look away from him, and she forgot to breathe.

"Pronounce your judgment, Persephone. I bow to your wil ."

And then he did, almost imperceptibly, bow his head to her.

Lina forced her eyes from him. She smiled shakily at Alcetis. "Then my judgment is that you return to the mortal world and your husband to finish living out your fate. And tel your husband that he can continue fol owing whatever new thread the Fates have woven for him." With a happy cry, Alcetis jumped to her feet and took Lina's hand. She kissed it, then held it to her wet cheek. Through shining eyes she beamed at Lina.

"Oh, thank you, Queen of the Underworld. My children and my children's children shal make sacrifices to you every spring until the end of time."

"That's real y nice of you, but you should know that I prefer a little wine and honey scattered around the ground. I don't so much like the blood sacrifices," Lina said quickly. Alcetis curtsied deeply. "I wil always remember your kindness, Goddess."