Goddess of Spring (Goddess Summoning #2)(68)

"Wel , thank you. I am having a wonderful visit," Lina said. The first, maiden frowned. "You only visit? You mean to leave us?" The meadow was silent as if every blade of grass and leaf on each tree listened for her answer. She didn't know what to say.

"Persephone may stay in the Underworld for as long as she wil s it." Hades' voice, rich with feeling, broke the silence.

Lina's breath caught at the sudden rush of pleasure his words brought to her. She pushed aside the oh-so-serious-and-responsible thought that reminded her that she could not stay, that she was there for only six months. Instead she smiled at the God, and thought how very much she would like to kiss him again.

"Then you have no reason to rush on. Come dance with us, Goddess!" the maiden cal ed. Lina tore her eyes from Hades. "Dance with you? But there isn't any music," she told the young spirit.

"That smal detail is easily remedied," Hades said. "Our Goddess requires music!" He commanded with a flourish. The breeze took his words and swirled around them with an odd whistling noise that grew to a crescendo that melted unexpectedly into the melodic sound of musical instruments. The God inclined his head graciously to her. "Now you have music."

"So it seems." Lina's heart was beating so loudly she was sure everyone could hear it over the music. Dance? She didn't know how to dance with those girls.

"Yes! Oh, please."

"Now you can dance with us!"

"Come frolic to the music of the God, Persephone!"

"But... I... well ..." Lina looked around helplessly. "What wil I do with Orion?" she floundered.

"You wil leave him here with Dorado and me," Hades said, already dismounting. He strode to Orion's side and lifted his arms so that she had little choice but to slide down into them. Hades held her close for a moment, and then he whispered, "Please dance for me here in Elysia. No goddess has ever done so."

Lina looked up into his eyes, saw the desire as well as the vulnerability that he was feeling, and she knew she had no choice. She had to dance for him.

"I would be happy to dance for you," she said.

"My dread steeds and I wil await you." He paused, and then added, "eagerly."

"Okay. well ." She brushed at her robes, pretending to straighten that which was already straight. "I won't be long."

"Persephone! We already have the circle formed!" a maiden cal ed to her.

"Oh, good," Lina said, starting toward the waiting group. Sure enough, they had formed a loose circle in the middle of the meadow. Lina was so nervous that she felt vaguely nauseous. Dance with a group of dead maidens? It was just something that her life experiences had not prepared her for. Her hands felt sweaty. This wasn't like the nectar gathering; she didn't have an example to fol ow. They were expecting her to show them. Should she break into an imitation of one of John Travolta's disco solos from Saturday Night Fever! She was going to mess up. She was going to make a fool out of herself. Hades and everyone would know that she wasn't a goddess. She'd be found out as a fraud.

Cease this nonsense!

The echo within her mind startled her so much that she almost cried aloud. Your body knows the dance. Relax and trust it.

Lina glanced down at herself. She had forgotten that she wasn't wearing her forty-three-year-old skin. She was young and lithe and in such amazing shape that she could probably eat Godiva chocolate nonstop for days and not have to worry about zipping her jeans.

"Goddess?"

Lina looked up to see al the maidens watching her with openly curious expressions on their pretty faces. She probably looked like a moron standing there staring down at herself. Lina smiled, straightened her shoulders, and let her legs begin walking again. "I was just admiring the... uh..." She looked down again, "clover in this meadow. It's lovely, don't you think?" Al of the heads nodded energetical y, reminding Lina of dashboard ornaments.

"It is our special meadow. We like clover and green, growing things, so it has arranged itself to please us," the first maiden said.

"Wel , I like it, too," Lina said, joining the circle.

You begin in the center. Her internal voice directed.

Lina took a deep breath and moved to the center of the circle. Then she did the only thing she could think of doing. She closed her eyes and concentrated. The music fil ed her and automatical y her body began to sway. Her arms raised themselves and she spun in a slow, lazy circle. The music was wonderful. It reminded her of something wild and feminine. Her body matched itself to the music as she began to trace intricate steps with her long, supple legs. Her hips turned and swayed. Her arms painted images in the air. She wasn't a forty-three-year-old baker. She wasn't a young goddess. She was the music.

Lina opened her eyes.

Faces glowing with pleasure, the maidens circled around her, trying to match her movements. They were beautiful and many were obviously talented dancers, but the difference between their mortal dance and that of Persephone's was clear, even to Lina. Persephone moved with the inhuman grace of a Goddess. Lina's heart swel ed with joy at the power she felt within her. This must be how a prima bal erina felt at the peak of her career. She leapt and twirled and shouted with joy.

She could have danced forever, but one of the maidens stumbled and then col apsed into a laughing heap in the middle of a bed of clover. Soon after, several of the other girls were obviously struggling to keep up the dance. Lina quel ed her disappointment, and with a glorious final twist and flourish she brought the dance to an end. While the girls cheered and clapped, she sank into the deep curtsy of a prima bal erina. Then the spirits surrounded her, gushing their thanks and asking when she would return to frolic with them again.