Goddess of Spring (Goddess Summoning #2)(35)

"Then it appears she did not react as any other insulted goddess," Iapis said logical y. "What exactly was her reaction?"

"She said that she was not accustomed to being used as comedic fodder," Hades said.

"And what did you say in return?"

"I apologized and left."

"Might I suggest that the next time you apologize and stay, my Lord?" Iapis said.

"The next time?"

Hades could feel the al -too familiar burning sensation building in his chest. He knew that soon it would spread to the back of his throat and he would spend another miserable, sleepless night. Too choleric. That is what Hermes said was wrong with him.

Iapis nodded. "The next time."

"She is different." Hades' voice had deepened and he spoke with a quiet, control ed intensity.

"She is, indeed."

"She does not shun the spirits. She..." Hades broke off, remembering her flushed reaction to him, the curiosity in her voice and the warmth in her eyes. His jaw clenched. "I should stay far from her for the rest of her visit."

"My friend" - Iapis rested his hand on the God's shoulder - "why not let yourself enjoy her presence?"

"To what end?" Hades rubbed his chest and shrugged off the daimon's hand. "So that I can taste life, and then when she leaves or loses interest in dal ying with me - as she must - I am left with what? It is not enough, Iapis. It has never been enough."

And there it was, Hades thought as he began pacing again, the thing that separated him from the rest of the immortals. Unlike the other gods and goddesses, he longed for something that he had witnessed over and over again between the souls of mortals, but he had not glimpsed once, not even briefly, between immortals.

"My Lord," Iapis said softly, "is it not better to experience even a smal amount of happiness, than none at al ?"

"I was not fashioned as the rest of them. I do not know how to treat love as a plaything." Iapis looked into the God's haunted eyes and saw there the loneliness that Hades had kept at bay for countless ages.

His spirit ached for his friend. The daimon thought about Persephone. There was something about the young Goddess that was unique, something besides her much-lauded beauty and her ability to breathe light into darkness. Hades must not shut out Persephone. If he did, he was afraid that the God of the Underworld would forever be closing the door to any chance of relieving the dark loneliness of his existence.

But how was he to coax Hades out of his instinctive reaction to withdraw from the Goddess until her visit was complete? His Lord was not used to visitors. His existence was planned and orderly and set, not at al conducive to disturbances from the other immortals. And the Goddess of Spring was a definite disturbance.

She was also beautiful and vivacious and intriguing.

If only Hades could feel as easy with her as he did with the unnumbered dead. lapis' eyes widened as an idea took root and grew.

"Perhaps that is the answer, Lord."

Hades gestured impatiently for him to continue.

"Imagine that Persephone is simply one of the unnumbered dead."

"Iapis, that is ridiculous."

"Why?" The daimon threw his hands up in frustration. "You're at war within yourself, Hades! You say you should withdraw from her, yet when you speak of her I see in your eyes a spark that has been absent for an eternity. What if the Fates have been kind and there has been another immortal fashioned as you have been? How wil you ever know if you remain sealed from everything that is living? Give the Goddess a chance, my Lord."

Before Hades could comment, Iapis cocked his head, as if he were listening to an internal voice.

"She has just cal ed my name."

"Go to her!" Hades commanded. But the moment after Iapis vanished the God shouted his name again.

"My Lord?" Iapis asked, rematerializing.

"Invite the Goddess of Spring to join me in the Great Hal tomorrow. Tel her if she is stil interested in learning about the Underworld, hearing the petitions of the dead should provide an excel ent source of information for her." Hades spoke the words quickly, as if he wanted to get them out of his mouth before he could change his mind.

Iapis smiled enigmatical y. "Very good, my Lord."

'Tomorrow, then, Goddess." Iapis said.

He had almost bowed his way from Lina's bedchamber when Eurydice rushed through the open door and ran straight into his backside.

"Uhf!" He staggered forward, tripped over his own feet, and fel head first onto the floor. Lina and Eurydice stared openmouthed at each other. Lina smiled. She couldn't help it. Iapis usual y looked so dignified and there he was, sprawled on the floor with his toga in the air. A choked laugh slipped from her lips.

A smal sound escaped from Eurydice. It was soft and fluid and delightful. It was also most definitely a giggle. And it destroyed the last of Lina's self-control. Iapis stood, struggling to regain his bruised pride, but the musical sound of feminine laughter more than atoned for any ruffling of his dignity, and he found himself joining them. How he wished Hades could be there. The God so needed laughter in his life.

"I seem to have found a slight" - stil chuckling, he glanced down at the smooth expanse of marble at his feet -  "something in the floor which tripped me."

"I think its name is Eurydice," Lina chortled.