Chapter 6
"You want me to go to Hel !" Lina's head was beginning to throb.
"Do not think of it in your limited, mortal terms," Demeter explained. "Hades is the Underworld. A place where souls spend eternity. There are many realms within the Underworlds - most of which are places that hold both beauty and magic."
"And the rest of it is Hel ," Lina said. She glanced at Eirene, who was impatiently listening to her exchange with Demeter. If the old woman had had a watch she would have been checking it every minute or so. "I'd like some more wine, please."
Eirene huffed, but she refil ed her goblet.
Lina took a long drink.
"You stil misunderstand," Demeter said patiently. "There is no 'Hel ' in the Underworld. There are just differing levels of reward or punishment."
"Which are al fil ed with dead people," Lina blurted.
Demeter shook her head sadly.
"Okay, not dead people - the ghosts of dead people."
"Souls, Lina. Hades is fil ed with souls."
"Just exactly what is the difference?"
"You of al mortals should wel understand that difference. Does your soul not quicken within my daughter's body? Does that make you one of the unnumbered dead? Or, as you would cal it, a ghost? No, you are simply displaced. That is al that has happened to those who rest in the Underworld. They, too, have been displaced. Some of them wil spend eternity amidst the wonders of the Elysian Fields; some wil pay for their sins in Tartarus. Others wil drink from Lethe, the River of Forgetfulness, and be al owed to be reborn within another mortal body. Some souls wil languish beside Cocytus, the River of Lamentation, never able to cease mourning for their lost mortality. Stil others - "
"Wait!" Lina blurted. "You've completely lost me. I don't know anything about those rivers or the levels of Hel ... ur... I mean the Underworld. How am I supposed to manage these...these... dead, displaced souls if I don't even know where they should be or what they should be doing? It seems to me that you have the wrong woman for the job."
Demeter waved off her doubts. "That is al easily understood. Just listen to the voice within your body. There is enough of Persephone's essence left within you to guide you through any difficulty you might have in understanding."
Lina looked dubious.
This time Demeter's lips did turn slightly upward. 'Try it, child of mortals. Listen within." Lina narrowed her eyes and concentrated. Demeter had said there were rivers down there. She'd only remembered ever hearing about one. Styx. As soon as she thought the word, the whisper of a response, like a half-forgotten memory, came to her mind.
The River Styx is the River of Hate. Do not drink from it, it wil cause no good end. Lina yelped in surprise. It wasn't that there was another person inside her head, it was more like she could tap into an information source that was the ghost of a shelf of ancient encyclopedias buried somewhere in her medulla oblongata. Lina appreciated the irony of her analogy and smiled askance at the Goddess, who was nodding in understanding.
"And does Persephone have this ability while she's in my body, too? Can she get information from
- I don't know how to put it - from the echo of me?"
"The echo of you. That is an excel ent description. Yes, she has the same ability. Though she wil be mortal, she wil not be lost in your world."
"And she's real y mortal while she's in my body?" Lina asked.
"Of course. Just as you become a goddess while your soul inhabits my daughter's physical form." Demeter's words caught Lina in the middle of swal owing a sip of wine, and she choked, almost causing ambrosia to spew from her nose.
"I'm - I'm a Goddess?" she sputtered.
"Yes," Demeter said. "As long as you inhabit Persephone's body you are invested with her powers."
"Powers?" Lina repeated stupidly.
"Even in your foolish mortal world you must know goddesses wield many powers," Eirene snapped.
" Merda!" Lina swore in exasperation. Why did Eirene dislike her so intensely? "Could you give me just a little break here? How would you like it if you were suddenly sucked out of your world and plunked down in the middle of Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa the year 2000-something" - she glanced at Demeter and added - "a.d., with a stranger tel ing you that you had a six-month job to do in a place you thought only existed in fairy tales and bedtime stories. You wouldn't necessarily have to be in Hel to feel like you might just be visiting there."
Eirene blinked in confusion.
"See, it's not so easy, is it?" Lina turned back to Demeter. "What kind of powers?"
"Persephone is Goddess of Spring. She carries life and light with her, and she can share her gifts as she wil s," Demeter said.
Lina's eyes widened. "You're sending me down to Hel and I can resurrect people?"
"Not people. Persephone can not return life to dead mortals. I share my realm with my daughter, so she has dominion over growing things: flowers and trees, the wheat of the field and the grass beneath you. They al respond to Persephone's touch," Demeter explained. "She also can create light. Do not ever fear that the Underworld wil be a dark, cheerless place. Persephone's presence evokes light."
"So I can make flowers grow and I light things up. What else?"
"Everything you need know is within you. Look deeply, and you wil find the powers you seek," Demeter said cryptical y.
Lina met the Goddess's gaze. She knew evasion when she heard it. Okay, so Demeter didn't want her to know the extent of the powers within her new body.
"I guess I'l just have to discover some things on my own," she said carefully.
"You have a quick mind. You wil have little trouble accomplishing your goal," Demeter said.
"Then why six months? That seems like a long time if I'm going to have 'little trouble'
accomplishing my goal," Lina said.
"The six months is needed for your bakery to thrive. But do not be concerned about the passage of time - it is measured differently by the Gods." Demeter made a vague, dismissive gesture with her hands. "Six hours, six months, six years - it is al the same. Focus on accomplishing your goal, and al wil be wel ."
"And that goal is managing the Underworld?"
Demeter nodded. "That is one way to put it."
"I'm assuming there is some kind of problem down there right now."
"Think of it as a problem with morale." Demeter shrugged nonchalantly. "The Underworld needs the touch of a Goddess. It has too long been a place devoid of feminine influence. It is simple. Al ow yourself to been seen by the dead. They need to believe that their eternal rest wil not be without the love and attention of a goddess. Think of yourself as a figurehead, a symbol of female strength and wisdom. Mortal souls crave the love and attention of an immortal mother. Your very presence wil begin to set things to right."
Lina rubbed her forehead again. What was going on down there? Was there the equivalent of a bunch of male spirits sitting around scratching and farting as they watched the mythological version of the Super Bowl while forcing ghostly women to cook tacky, fattening foods for them?
Demeter's no-nonsense voice continued over Lina's mental turmoil.
"Think of it as a large bakery that is in disarray because its proprietress has long been absent. Use your wisdom and experience to put it to order. And know that as you do so, you are returning the favor of a goddess."
"Demeter, the time is short. She must begin her journey," Eirene spoke urgently.
"You are correct, as usual, my friend." Demeter smiled at Eirene and stood, gesturing for Lina to fol ow her. "Come, I wil take you to the entrance of the Underworld."
"That's it?" Lina asked breathlessly. "Those are al the instructions you're going to give me?"
"Are you a child who needs to be led about by the hand?" Eirene asked sarcastical y.