Goddess of Spring (Goddess Summoning #2)(74)

"Yes. It is odd that a spirit would cry in Elysia." He explained as they started toward the blotch of light. "The dead might miss family and loved ones from the Land of the Living, but by the time they are ferried across Styx and enter Elysia, their souls are fil ed with joy, or at the very least, peace. The. ability to cease longing for the living - or at least the ability to understand that al partings are only temporary - is built into the mortal spirit. Those who have earned an eternity in Elysia find that they are content."

As they got closer to the spirit the brightness took shape. Lina could see that she was a pretty young woman with long, upswept dark hair and a plump figure. She was sitting at the edge of the road, face in her hands, weeping with such passion mat she did not even notice their approach. Instinctively, Lina motioned for Hades to stay back, and she walked to the woman's side. Just before she touched her shoulder, Lina noticed that the spirit's body looked unusu-al y dense. If she hadn't had the typical y pale luminescence of the dead, Lina would have believed that she was a living woman who had somehow gotten lost and stumbled into the Underworld.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Lina asked softly.

The woman jumped, and raised a tear-stained face to peer with frantic brown eyes at Lina. Instantly she recognized the Goddess, and began to bow her head. Then she caught sight of Hades, and her hand went to her mouth. She changed the direction of her bow, but ended up bobbing back and forth, not sure which of the immortals to acknowledge first.

"I did not mean to disturb the gods!" she cried, wiping her eyes. Climbing awkwardly to her feet, she began backing hastily away from Lina. "Please forgive me."

"No." Lina held out her hand in what she meant as a calming gesture. The woman jerked to a nervous halt, staring at her outstretched arm. Lina thought she looked like a frightened mouse. She sighed and modulated her voice to the tone she used to reassure young animals. "Don't go. You didn't disturb us. Hades and I were taking a walk and we heard you crying. We were concerned, not angry."

She seemed to relax a little.

"What is your name?" Hades asked in the pleasant, fatherly voice he used with Eurydice. She glanced nervously at him. "Alcetis."

"Tel us why you were crying, Alcetis," Lina said gently.

Alcetis looked down and spoke to her feet. "I am so very lonely. I miss my husband and my family desperately." She pressed the back of her hand against her mouth, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a sob.

Lina's worried gaze found Hades. She saw that he, too, looked surprised at the spirit's words. Then she saw him tilt his head to the side and his face took on a listening expression. In a moment his eyes seemed to darken and he pressed his lips together before speaking to the spirit.

"It was not your time, Alcetis," Hades said in a voice shadowed with sadness. The spirit drew another ragged, sobbing breath. "No, it was not. But I had to come." Hades frowned. "You did not have to. It was your choice."

Alcetis raised her dripping face. "Do you not understand? He asked others. They would not. I had to."

Completely confused, Lina shook her head. "Wait , I don't understand. What are you two talking about? Has some kind of mistake been made?"

"Alcetis, tel Persephone why you have entered the Underworld," Hades said. Alcetis took a deep breath and wiped her face with the sleeve of her burial robe. "I have only been married a short time. My husband's name is Admetus." The spirit's damp face brightened as she said the name and she almost smiled. "Yesterday at dawn the augurs prophesized that Admetus would die before the sun set. My husband immediately petitioned Apol o, and the God of Light concurred. Indeed, the prophesy was true. The Fates had finished weaving Admetus' life, and at dusk his mortal string would be cut. But my husband has long been a favorite of the God of Light, and Apol o heard my husband's cries. He granted Admetus a new fate. He would be spared if someone would agree to die in his place. First, Admetus went to his parents, who are old and not well , but they refused. Then he went to his brothers. They, too, would not die in his stead. He asked his closest friends, assuring them that he would see their families well cared for, but the answer was always the same. No one was wil ing to die for him. In despair, he returned home to await his fate." Alcetis paused, looking searchingly at Lina. "I could not let him die." Hades' jaw clenched, but when he spoke his voice betrayed no anger. "And he let you die for him." The spirit turned wide, wet eyes to the God. "He wept and rent his garments. His sadness was great."

"But not great enough to stop you," Hades said.

"You must see that I had no choice. I had to take his place." Alcetis began weeping again.

"That is why you feel such loneliness and pain. It is not your time. Your life's thread is stil spinning. Your soul knows this and you cannot find peace." Hades spoke solemnly, as if a great weight pressed down upon his words.

"Wel , this can't be right," Lina said. "Look at her -  she doesn't even have the same kind of body as the rest of the spirits."

"That is because she is not like the rest of the spirits. She is misplaced, outside of her al otted fate."

"Then it sounds to me like you need to fix this," Lina said firmly.

"She is here because a god meddled in a mortal's life, something that happens far too often, and for far too many selfish reasons. I do not believe in interfering with the lives of mortals."