Goddess of Spring (Goddess Summoning #2)(24)

"I've never thought about it," she said honestly. "Actual y, I don't know much about them."

"It is normal to fear that which you do not know," Hades said. His tone was stil fatherly, and, Lina thought, slightly patronizing. She raised an eyebrow at him. If she'd adhered to that belief system, the events of the past day would have paralyzed her.

"I don't think it's normal; I think it's a sign of immaturity," Lina said. Hades snorted again, irritating Lina with his condescension. "Thus says a very young goddess."

"Maturity cannot always be measured by years," she retorted. He might be Mr. Tal Dark and Batman, but he was certainly going to be in for a surprise if he tried to treat her like she was young and stupid.

Hades' only comment was a piercing look. He shouted another command to his horses and they increased their speed, making further talking impossible. Lina focused on holding onto the chariot and making sure she didn't lose Eurydice's little spirit body during one of their blindingly fast turns. Just as she was beginning to think that her hands might have formed permanently into claws from clutching the railing so tightly, Hades raised the two-pronged spear to the roof. A flash of light exploded from the spear's points, causing the tunnel to open and the floor to twist upward. With a thunderous roar the chariot shot from the newly exposed exit and, in a rain of impressive sparks from the hooves of the dread steeds, they slid to a halt. Lina gazed around her in wordless awe. The first thought that struck her was that it wasn't dark anymore. The sky above them was bright and cheerful. Though there was no sun to be seen, it glowed a palette of luscious pastels - colors that ranged from the softest of violets to Caribbean turquoise and buttercup yel ow. She could hear the lyrical cal ing of songbirds, and the breeze that caressed her face brought with it a sweet, familiar scent. Lina inhaled deeply. Where had she smelted that wonderful fragrance before? Her eyes moved from the subtle beauty of the sunless sky and her question was answered.

Tal , stately trees Lina thought she recognized as cypress lined the path on either side of them, but instead of growing out of marshy land, the area beneath them was carpeted, not in moss or swamp, but in flowers. Huge, moonlight colored flowers, the likes of which Lina had only seen one other time.

"They're narcissus flowers!" Lina exclaimed in surprise.

Hades glanced down at her "Yes, the narcissus is the flower of the Underworld." The God drew in a deep breath. "I never tire of their sweet scent."

Lina clamped her mouth shut and said no more, but her mind kept circling around the irony of Demeter using the flower of the Underworld to exchange her soul with Persephone's. So, the Goddess of the Harvest had simply answered her invocation? She had just wanted to help out Lina's bakery as if she were performing a divine Good Samaritan act? Demeter had no hidden agenda, like... perhaps... a send-Lina-to-Hel -in-Persephone's-place plan? She glanced surreptitiously at the God who stood beside her.

He didn't seem apt to leap on her and rape her. But he also wasn't the wooden god Demeter had described. In a very short time he had been intense, sexy, intimidating and kind. Definitely not a boring, asexual, disinterested god of the dead. What was Demeter real y up to? well , Lina wasn't some foolish young girl who had just fal en off the damn turnip truck. She'd keep her eyes open and her guard up. She had a job to do. She'd do it and then she'd go home. Hades snapped the reins and the chariot started forward again. This time, Lina was relieved to note, at a more sedate speed. The woods on either side of them were thick and ancient looking. Exotic birds flitted playful y within their boughs and cal ed to one another with melodic voices. The cypress roots were mantled in deep tapestries of the distinctive narcissus flowers, and occasional y Lina would hear the liquid whispering of a stream and catch sight of a crystal pool reflecting the watercolor sky. From time to time Lina thought she saw the flickering shapes of spirits, but when she tried to focus on the elusive images they disappeared, and no other souls traversed the road with them.

"It is so very beautiful," Eurydice said in the hushed voice of a child in church.

"It certainly is," Lina agreed. Then she glanced at the globe of light that hovered above her shoulder. Opening her hand, she held it, palm up, in the direction of the little light. "It doesn't look like we need you now." Instantly, the light reacted by diving into her palm, and with a popping noise it disappeared back into Lina's skin. Her palm tingled, and she had to force herself not to wipe it against her robe. Instead, she smiled brightly at Eurydice and pretended that it was normal for semi-sentient bal s of light to pop into her skin.

"See," she told the girl, "you were right not to be afraid. There's nothing horrible or scary here." The dark God beside mem nodded in agreement and smiled kindly at the little spirit. "For such as you, child, death need hold no terrors. You shal spend eternity enjoying the delights of the Elysian Fields, or, if you so choose, you may drink from Lethe, the River of Forgetfulness, and be reborn to live another mortal life."

Lina tried to hide her surprise. Souls could choose to be reborn? She looked at the girl who stood quietly within the protection of her arms. She'd died so young; surely she would want the chance to be reborn and to live a long, full life.

"That sounds wonderful, Eurydice. You could rest for awhile. Maybe lol about the Fields like you're on a mini-vacation - like I am!" Lina grinned at her. "Then drink from the forgetful river and have a whole new life to live."