Goddess of Spring (Goddess Summoning #2)(39)

Lina saw that Iapis was holding the two-pronged silver spear Hades had carried the day before, and with a sound like a crack of thunder, he banged it against the marble floor. One of the shadows from just outside the arched entryway quivered, and then moved into the Great Hal . Lina watched intently as the spirit approached the dais. She was a middle-aged woman. Lina couldn't see any obvious wounds on her semitransparent form. She was, Lina thought, quite attractive. Her hair was piled in intricate braids atop her head, giving the il usion that she was wearing a crown. She was swathed in layer upon layer of draped fabric that fluttered wispily around her as she glided to a halt at the foot of the dais. She dropped into a deep curtsy, which she held until Hades spoke.

"Stheneboia, you may arise."

The woman straightened, but as soon as her eyes widened in recognition of Persephone, she fel back into another deep curtsy.

"I am honored by the presence of Demeter's daughter."

The spirit's breathy voice reminded Lina of a bad Marilyn Monroe impersonator. "Please rise," Lina said quickly, wondering why she felt such an instant dislike for the spirit. Stheneboia straightened again. Having paid proper respect to the Goddess, she ignored Persephone and focused her large, kohl-ringed eyes on Hades.

"I have come, Great God, to ask that I be al owed to drink of the River Lethe and be reborn to the mortal world."

Hades studied her carefully. When he spoke Lina noted that his voice was fil ed with the confidence and authority of a God, so much so that the fine hairs on her arms tingled and rose in response to his tangible power.

"It is an unusual request you make of me, Stheneboia. You know that the spirits of suicides are rarely al owed to drink of Lethe."

Lina felt a jolt of shock. The woman had kil ed herself? Why?

Stheneboia lowered her eyes demurely. "And you know, Great God, that I did not truly mean to die."

She said the title "Great God" like a verbal caress. Lina felt her jaw set. She was actual y flirting with Hades!

The spirit's tone turned pouty. "It was a tragic accident. Must I pay for it for al eternity?"

"What have you learned as you have roamed the banks of Acheron?" Hades asked abruptly. Stheneboia paused, as if careful y arranging her thoughts. When she spoke her words were a slow purr.

"I have learned that I chose unwisely. I wil not do so again, Lord of the Underworld." Hades' eyes narrowed and his deep voice was laced with disgust. "Then you have learned little. You lusted after Bel erophon, a youth half your age. When he rejected your desires, you told your husband the lie that he had tried to rape you. Thankful y, Athena thwarted his attempt to have the youth kil ed. The Goddess was wise to give Bel erophon to your youngest sister. She was more deserving."

"That timid mouse did not deserve Bel erophon!" Stheneboia's sudden rage twisted her attractive features so that her face became hard and cruel.

Hades continued on as if she hadn't spoken. "You did not intend to kil yourself, this I know. You only intended to scare your family and cause them such pain and sorrow that they would reject Athena's matchmaking and send Bel erophon away in disgrace. It was your misfortune that your maid overslept and did not discover you until you had bled beyond saving." Stheneboia's eyes slid away from the God's penetrating gaze and she pressed one cool, white hand against her brow as if his words had upset her.

"I wil choose more wisely in my next life," she said breathily.

"Where is your remorse, Stheneboia?" Hades asked in a stone voice. "You tried to command love with lies and seduction. Love can not survive such poison."

"But you do not understand," the spirit was beginning to sound desperate. "I wanted him so much. He should have wanted me. I was stil beautiful and desirable."

"Love can not survive such poison," Hades repeated. "Lust and desire are only a smal part of love, but that is another ideal you have yet to learn." Then he shook his head sadly. "I deny your request, Stheneboia. Instead I command that you return to the banks of Acheron, the River of Woe. Perhaps spending more time there wil enable you to open your heart to more than your own selfish desires. Do not ask to come before me until another century has passed." Stheneboia's mouth opened in a wordless scream as a great wind rushed into the chamber and swirled around her like a miniature tornado before picking her up and sweeping her from their sight.

Iapis lifted the spear to signal another spirit forward, but Hades' raised hand halted him midgesture. The God turned his attention to Lina.

"What do you think of my judgment?" he asked.

"I thought you were wise," she answered without hesitation. "I don't know the whole story, but from what I heard she did an awful thing, and she certainly wasn't sorry about it. She did make me wonder something, though."

Hades nodded for her to continue.

"If she drank of Lethe she would forget al of her past life."

"Yes," Hades said.

"But would she stil be the same type of person? I mean, is it like wiping everything clean, or is there stil a residue of the old self left behind?"

"An excel ent question," Hades said with obvious appreciation. "When a spirit drinks of Lethe, memories are wiped completely away and the soul is reborn within an infant's body. But the soul can not help but to retain some elements of personality. Ultimately, the body is just a shel ; it is the soul which defines the man or woman, god or goddess."