Goddess of Spring (Goddess Summoning #2)(25)

Lina's grin faded as she watched Eurydice's already pale face blanch to an almost colorless white. Her eyes clearly reflected an inner terror.

"What is it, honey?" Lina asked.

"Why can I not stay with you, Persephone?" Eurydice pleaded desperately. "I don't want to be reborn. I don't want to, even if I forget my past life I might make the same mistakes, might choose the same - " Her voice broke off on a sob and she buried her face in her hands. Lina looked helplessly at Hades as she wrapped the girl in her arms. The God was studying the young spirit with knowing eyes.

"Be at ease, child," Hades said. "As long as your Goddess remains in the Underworld you wil have access to her. Hush now, your tears are not necessary. Elysia is different for each mortal spirit -

your Elysia wil simply be found at Persephone's side."

Lina smiled her thanks to Hades. Eurydice was just young and frightened. If Hades al owed the girl to stay with her that would give Eurydice six months to become settled. By the time Lina had to leave, the girl would be so used to the Underworld that she wouldn't be bothered by the absence of her Goddess. Maybe Lina could even talk her into being reborn once she relaxed and gained some confidence. Lina wondered what had happened in her short life to cause the girl such pain, and made a mental note to talk with her about it when the little spirit was feeling more secure. Eurydice raised her face. "Truly? I may stay with Persephone?" she asked Hades.

"Truly. You have the word of the God of the Underworld," Hades replied solemnly. Eurydice's face blossomed with joy. "Oh, thank you, Hades! I promise to serve my Goddess well ." Lina chucked the girl under her chin. "Friends don't serve one another, Eurydice." The girl thought for a moment before speaking. "If you wil not al ow me to serve you, wil you al ow me to look after you and be certain that you are well cared for?" Lina opened her mouth to assure the girl that she was more than capable of taking care of herself, but Eurydice's desperate expression stopped her words. The girl obviously needed someone on which to focus her attention. Maybe it would be best, at least for a little while, that she be kept busy.

"I'd be honored to have you look after me, Eurydice," Lina said, returning the girl's enthusiastic hug of thanks. "My mother has often told me that I need a keeper." Actual y, it was her grandmother who had made the comment on the occasion of the zil ionth time she had spil ed some kind of food on herself - and she had made the comment in Italian, but Lina refrained from sharing the rest of the sentiment with Eurydice.

"As you wil see, child, my palace has many rooms. You shal have one near your Goddess." With a flourish, Hades swept his arm ahead of them and the two women looked up. "Behold, the Palace of Hades."

They had come to a place where the road made an abrupt

T. The left-handed fork disappeared quickly into the thick forest, but it was the right-handed branch to which Hades drew their attention. It curved gracefully, circling a magnificent castle. Lina's jaw dropped open. She told herself to close her mouth, but she couldn't keep from gawking like a bumpkin. The castle was built of the same black marble as was the path they had been fol owing. It rose above them, stretching impressive, peaked towers and sweeping, balustraded roofs up into the violet sky. It, too, appeared to be made of a single piece of stone. Tal , arched mullioned windows were gaily lighted from within, giving the huge structure an inviting appearance. From the top of the tal est of the circular towers flew a great, black flag. Lina squinted and shielded her eyes with her hand so that she could see the coat of arms depicted in flashing silver. On one side of the flag was an ornate helmet; on the other was the figure of a rearing stal ion. Lina smiled. The stal ion looked very familiar.

"One of the dread steeds?" she asked Hades, pointing to the flag.

"Yes, it is Orion." Hades nodded in the direction of the lead horse, who turned his head and pricked his ears at the sound of his name. "He is, indeed, one of my steeds, though today he was only dread in theory."

"I think he is very dread," Eurydice said.

"There you have it," Lina cal ed to the black stal ion. Orion tossed his head and nickered in response. "Your reputation is safe."

Hades made a sound of disgust, which Lina ignored.

"Your palace is amazing. I can't wait to see inside," she said.

"It is a wonder that few immortals have experienced."

Hades sounded like a fond parent speaking with pride about a favored child, and it was easy to understand why. Lina had certainly never seen its like. Not in the old oil mansions of Tulsa, and not in the magnificent ancient structures of Florence.

The God pointed the chariot down the road that wrapped around the palace and as they turned the corner Lina gasped. Beautifully manicured gardens stretched in tier after tier behind the palace. Lovely fountains bubbled in happy voices. Hedges were trimmed to form perfect geometrical shapes. Rowers bloomed in profusion. Lina saw many she recognized, orchids, lilies, roses, and, of course, the ever-present narcissus, as well as several plants that were total y unfamiliar, but they al had one thing in common.

"Al the flowers are white," Lina said.

Not that they were al the same. She hadn't realized until then how many different shades of white there could be, but al of them blazed before her - from the pure, bright white of newly fal en snow to the subtle iridescence of pearls -  each with its own unique pigment range within the lightest of colors.