Hope Springs Eternal [18/19]

[omega_tau_pi_verse]

Hope Springs Eternal
Chapter 18: The Good, the Bad & the Witchy

In which Hecate and Hades have a massive throw-down, Persephone discovers she can be a badass, and Panic reluctantly decides she's not a terrible influence on the boss after all.

 

 

Φαρμακος

Hades was thrilled to be given a second chance. And 'irony' was the word for the day as he realized that he'd finally won against all of Olympus. True, the victory had been only a partial one. But he had found the love of his life and she would always be his.

While still on Olympus he'd made a point of approaching Zeus and Hera, quietly and in private. He had been unable to fully voice his regrets for all he'd done to them, to their child... But they had forgiven him, saying that when he had children of his own, he'd come to understand. His own children... That was another matter entirely. He hadn't yet discussed this with Persephone, mostly because he didn't wish to disappoint her. But the time was fast approaching when he would have no choice.

For now they just enjoyed the ride home, squeezed together in the black chariot. Some of the other gods had decorated it, tying a 'Just Married' banner along the side and vases and sandals behind it to drag through the air. It was cornball beyond words, but whaddaya gonna do?

Persephone was snickering, telling him about some of the silly gifts she'd been given. Especially the one from Aphrodite. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do with a chair and whip," she laughed, then purred. "Besides... I think I like your beast untamed."

Leering, he nibbled her ear and made her squeal. "Hang onto them. You never know when they might be handy. Some night, I'll put on my Helmet of Invisibility and you'll never see me coming for you 'til it's too late..."

Giggling, she squirmed around until she faced him. "Oooh, sounds like fun..." She bit his lower lip then drew him into a luscious kiss.

Once again, he was thankful the griffin knew its own way home.

Upon parking the chariot, they heard Cerberus whining pitifully, and when they stepped through the gateway they saw the guard dog was muzzled and chained to the walls. Something was gravely amiss in the Underworld.

Hades felt an icy spear shoot down his spine. Cautioning Persephone, they crept along the bank of the Acheron and saw the Asphodel Meadows were deserted. And Charon was nowhere to be found, his boat drifting loose in the middle of the river, empty. In fact, all of the demons were missing, imps and lamiae alike.

“Okay, this is really weird. Hang on, babe...” Hades grabbed Persephone tightly and launched himself into the air, flying in a huge arc over the river to land beside the palace foundation. From there they saw the Elysian Fields, where it appeared the largest portion of souls had retreated to, cowering in fear of something dreadful. But they were safe inside as whatever threatened them apparently hadn’t been able to penetrate the force-field.

Hades ran to the Judges' chambers and found it locked tight. The chains over the door were magically sealed even against his strength. He heard a muffled shout from within, confirming that the judges themselves were trapped inside.

"Shit!” His face tinted red and his hair flared gold, creeping across his shoulders and rippling down his back. "It's Hecate who did this. Not good, not good. I don't know how she did this but it's about to become a helluva fight."

Quietly, as the two gods stole up the stairs of the palace, Hades explained the probable details of what they were facing. And what he planned to do with the witch's corpse afterward.

Persephone, however, came up with a better plan.

 

Pain and Panic were less than thrilled with the 'New Underworld Order'.

Hecate had returned with news of their Boss' destruction and stated she was now in charge, which unnerved them badly. Panic was especially upset since he figured that the gorgeous goddess girl was to blame for turning Hades' head and dulling the god's brain to danger. The green imp pouted dejectedly at first, but it quickly passed when Hecate chained them both up in a corner of the throne chamber.

And now they were being menaced by the hellhounds. Havoc and Mayhem snarled and snapped at their captives' feet and pointed tails. The imps flinched from the larger demons, but they did manage to spit out a few insults.

"Down boy, sit!" Panic cried out. "Bad dog! No biscuit!"

Pain sneered, "You guys do have all your shots, don't you?"

"Oh, my gods," Panic gasped, "get that doggy breath outta my face!"

Mayhem dryly declared, "Yeah, like yours is any better."

"At least unlike you, we don't lick our own rear ends."

Mayhem growled threateningly and made ready to rip out the imp's throat, but Havoc put his paw up to stop her. "Chill, partner. We're in charge now. In time, they're gonna hafta roll over and play dead... for us."

The hellhounds both grinned in such a sadistic way that the imps cringed as far away as possible, thinking their lives under Hades hadn't been so bad after all.

Hecate had been enjoying herself immensely. Everything had all worked out so well, been so easy once things were set into motion. She'd sat outside the Underworld entrance watching the impressive lightning show up above, chortling with delight. Then she'd marched right in and thrown the black-spelled chains on anyone and everyone that got in her way. The souls she didn't particularly care about, and they had mostly run off to hide in the Elysian Fields. She discovered she couldn't yet enter that area, but was determined to figure out a way eventually.

It was almost poetic how beautifully things had turned out. The gods had taken the bait like good little brainless fish – hook, line, sinker, rod, reel and all. Even Hades, whom she had to admit was the only halfway smart god she'd ever met, had blindly rushed into the path of the speeding chariot of doom like sacrificial lemming roadkill.

And now the Underworld was all hers, to explore and manipulate as long as she wished. She seated herself on Hades' throne – correction, her throne – and then sprawled crosswise over it, stretching in languid satisfaction. She had even found his dikranon and was twirling it slowly between her hands. She hadn't quite figured out how it worked yet, but there was plenty of time for that.

"Ahhh, life is glooorious!" the witch declared dulcetly and a bit over-dramatically. "Right about now they should be sweeping Hades' ashes off the clouds of Olympus. Ohhh, how I wish I could see that..."

A voice caressed by all the forbidden knowledge of the universe, as cold and dark and dangerous as a demon's tomb, reached across the chamber, grabbed her by the throat and shook her in its teeth.

"Sorry to disappoint, babe. You'll just have to settle for dealing with me in the flesh."

Hecate leaped in shock but held onto her hard-won seat.

Pain and Panic cheered and rattled their chains like party noisemakers. "Yaaayyy! It's the Boss!" Panic cried.

"And the Boss Lady!" Pain smiled broadly.

Panic turned his head away in disdain. He wasn't ready to accept Persephone into their family, such as it was, just yet. "Yeah... what-ever..."

Boiling with a mixture of fury and disbelief, Hecate glared at the sight of both gods she'd so carefully disposed of entering the room. Shit. He must have wormed his oily way out of punishment somehow, probably thanks to the little bitch still at his side. Zeus was definitely going soft. Time for Plan Beta...

"Hades," Hecate snarled in a mock-friendly way, "Welcome to Hell!"

"Thank you ever so much," he smiled with the heat of an iceberg. He crossed the room in three smoking strides. "And how very nice of you to keep my chair warm for me while I was gone. Now move your ass."

Hecate's eyes glinted silver-white and she grinned tightly. "Ohhh, I don't think so, big guy. You've just stepped into my trap."

Hades glanced downward. The floor was marked with a huge pentagram, so huge he hadn't noticed it before. Magical symbols even he barely recognized scrolled around the outer ring. Flaming torches stood at each point. He was directly in the center of it all.

Looking back up at her, mouth agape and eyes wide, he said sarcastically, "Oh my goodness gracious, oh, I am in trouble! I'm dealing with a witch who's so damned stupid she seems to think this will work as easily on a god as it does on a demon. Well, it doesn't work that way, toots. You can't bind me.”

"I do know that, you bastard. It's not to hold you. It's to trigger my fire elementals to maim you. After which, I will be locking you up with magic chains and tossing you into the Vortex of Fire where you will be tortured beyond endurance for all eternity, during which time I will stand above and laugh down at you evilly." Smirking, she leaned back in her confiscated throne with aplomb, knowing her spell was perfect. "Just so we're both on the same page, here."

The torches at each point flared up viciously, becoming gigantic beasts of red-gold living flame. They danced loose from their holdings, crackling with hate, and circled to surround the god, taking on the shape of a pack of slavering incendiary wolves.

Hades looked warily around, thinking, okay, great, whatever... Then the smell of magic, so black it was almost pure chaos, reached his brain. Oh, shit. Now this really was bad. It was Zeus' thunderbolt all over again. It wouldn't kill him since he was a god, but who knew how much damage they could inflict. How in hell did Hecate rate this kind of serious, deadly magic? And where the hell was a bucket of water when you really needed one?

He had never faced anything quite like this. Though he could have easily dematerialized and escaped them altogether, he refused to be defeated in his own throne room, with his own kingdom at stake. This was, unfortunately, one battle he couldn't afford to run from.

The wolves didn't wait long to attack. The first one leaped for his throat. He dodged swiftly but put himself in the path of a second. That one nearly snapped his face off, actually singeing his cheek before he could twist away. Their speed matched his, and he was very fast. The other three began angling behind him, preparing to bring him down for the kill, feast, and after-dinner mint.

Persephone had backed away, gasping in fear, not sure what to do. She'd never had to physically fight anything in her life. The closest thing had been the dead hero she'd faced in the Elysian Fields, and that didn't even count as a scuffle. This was completely out of her depth.

But she wouldn’t be left out of the battle, for Hecate knew the god was too busy to properly protect his innocent little sweetheart. She would be easy prey to take down and chain up. The witch called out to the hellhounds, "Sic 'er!" and pointed at Persephone.

The demon dogs raised their heads, eyes bugged out in disbelief. "Is she kidding?" Mayhem squealed, "That's a frigging goddess!"

"Last time I sign on with a witch," Havoc sighed angrily, but they obeyed the summons, flying toward the goddess.

Persephone saw the hellhounds bearing down then turned and ran, trying to think, trying to buy time, anything. She made it to the conference room, hellhounds close behind, and dashed around the long table. They swooped over it, angling down toward her, ready to attack. And suddenly she knew what had to be done. Just before they reached her, she twirled around, dissolving into a spiral of sparkling flowers.

The hellhounds flew through it, unable to stop in time, their noses and mouths gasping on flower petals. Blinded and choking, they slammed full-speed into the wall. After a suitably comical pause, they peeled themselves off the flat surface, spitting out flowers, and turned around to locate her for a second pass.

Before they could react Persephone rematerialized behind them, flinging a handful of seeds at Mayhem, which sprouted and grew into thick vines so quickly the demon couldn't escape. The vines rooted to the ceiling of the chamber and tangled a cursing furious black hellhound completely motionless in a net of greenery.

Havoc hovered for a second, staring at his companion and worried for himself, then attempted another go at Persephone. She tossed out another seed grenade which exploded into a tree, fastened to the floor, and instantly snared the white demon like a broken kite in its branches. He muttered, "Shit… Finally a tree whose bark is worse than its bite."

With a quick roll of her eyes over the horrible pun, Persephone dematerialized and aimed herself back at the throne chamber.

Hades still faced-off with the fire wolves. He'd lobbed fireballs, punched through them with fists of smoke-vapor, done some fairly nice acrobatics, basically avoiding and buying time. When his beloved had run from the room, his heart nearly stopped. Praying she had thought of a plan, he waited, holding them off as long as he could afford to do so. The spells Hecate had used were the blackest he'd ever seen, and were indeed strong enough to hurt even him quite badly. He already had, surprisingly, a few black streaks on his arms, burn marks from the magic. If Persephone were faced with anything like this, she was in terrible peril.

Then from the corner of his eye, he saw his love appear near the doorway. She was okay, had somehow beaten the hellhounds on her own. Pride swelled in his heart, but he didn't allow his face to show it. Hecate watched only him, raptor-like, grinning with sadistic self-confidence having written the goddess off as an easy target. There was still a chance to strike from behind if Persephone took it. But the fight would have to get serious, right now.

The wolves seemed to sense that. They moved in, feinting and snapping, faster and closer, trying to wear him down for the final blow. He shot more fireballs but they were ineffective, getting swallowed up by the wolves.

And instant inspiration flooded through his brain, like threads of fate being tugged into place, sewing up the loose ends of previous thoughts.

Something Leuke had told him…
he was God of Souls... they were attuned to him...
they shared the divine fire of the gods...
he was their god, after death…
Rhea speaking...
he commanded a different sort of fire...

He ruled the divine fire within human souls. He could draw energy from that nearly limitless wellspring. He had an almost infinite power source... and he'd never known it.

Smiling tightly, he decided to push the envelope, test his own faith in himself. For a fraction of a second, he focused on the masses of souls at his command, his mind separating from his body. He reached out to them, touched the fire inside them, drew it into himself. His aura pulsed like a heartbeat as a surge of energy rose inside his breast, a bright flame unlike anything he'd ever felt before. White. Alive. Pure.

He could survive anything.

Then he shouted at the fire-wolves, "All right, c'mon! Come at me!", and crouched in a fighting stance, feet apart. Taunting and snarling, he motioned for them to attack. "Bring it on, ya mother-fuckin' fleabags! No holds barred! C'mon, ya flamin' assholes! Gimme yer best goddamned shot!"

Roaring like an out-of-control forest fire, the five elemental beasts flung themselves onto the dark god, sank searing fangs into him, mauled him with blistering jaws. And it hurt. He made a sound that might have been a throat-exploding scream, his face twisted in what could have been skin-shredding agony. The beasts devoured him, completely engulfed him, as they all sank to the floor heavily, a bright orange death-pyre.

"Whoo-hoo!" Hecate shook the dikranon above her head victoriously. "In your face Hades, ya freakin' son-of-a- bitch!"

Unnoticed, Persephone gasped with soul-wrenching horror. It couldn't be possible! She felt tears start again, thinking she'd lost him for real this time. Then she turned toward the witch, face darkened with anguish. And a hate unlike anything she'd ever known welled up in her heart, spilled over into her veins and flooded like ice through her skin. A desire she hadn't believed herself capable of feeling sent her shocked heart into a spin, downward to a dreadful tomb. Black. Hollow. Dead.

She wanted to kill...

But she was afraid. She was life, not death, not even in the land of death. Try as she might she was too frightened to face this sudden urge, even for the sake of her love. It would be destruction without renewal. But there was something else she could do. With steely determination, Persephone reached into her clasp again, and tossed a few seeds in Hecate's direction.

They burst to life at the witch's feet and viciously-thorned rose bushes sprouted upward, entangling her legs up to the knees. Hecate shrieked in pain, dropping the dikranon with a clatter. Looking downward she gasped in alarm, then whipped her head up to stare in complete disbelief at the goddess.

Persephone smiled tightly, her eyes frigid as winter. She couldn't kill, but nothing in her was against causing discomfort. After all, growth always brought growing pains, didn't it? Now she would have to figure out what to do with her captive. If Hades was truly gone, the witch would pay with her life, one way or the other. Hesitantly, her heart booming with dread, Persephone looked toward the pyre.

The conflagration on the floor was still dancing restlessly, as it became clear that somewhere within the ball of fire Hades still stirred. Gradually the flames began turning bright blue... with Hades' own fire.

One by one, the elemental beasts were being extinguished by the god's blue-white aural blaze, enriched with the energy of the multitudes of souls in his kingdom all psychically linked with him. It had hurt terribly, and he had suffered greater pain than the week in Pyriphlegethon. But the souls had protected him this time. And he had overwhelmed the creatures after understanding at last – The divine fire of human souls, after being tested, tortured... became purified...

...And so had his own. This stronger, purer flame absorbed the elemental creatures, absorbed their power into his. Just as two flames, joining together, become one.

Now a dark divine phoenix, living blue flames whipping and spiraling out from his body, Hades rose slowly to his feet. Taking the moment to strike a majestic triumphant pose, he turned his gaze toward Hecate. The image of him... eyes ablaze with ultimate knowledge, body glowing like a black star... was the most awesome, terrible thing the witch had ever seen and she cringed in true mortal terror.

Then Hades saw the roses gripping her feet and legs, and raised both brows in approving surprise. So, his sweet wife had taken advantage of the opening he presented, and had even struck a hurting blow for his sake. Damn, it was starting to actually make him horny. With a hugely satisfied grin and a horrible pun on his lips, he addressed the witch. "Hecate, babe, didn't you know you can't fight fire with fire? Okay, well, maybe I can."

Hecate groaned as much in pain as at the stinkeroo he'd uttered. Not to mention the fact he still lived. He was supposed to be weakened, goddamnit! He'd admitted it himself! The spell was strong enough to work... but only if he was as weak as planned. And he was now, in fact, more powerful than he'd ever been.

Pulling his flames inward, down to normal, Hades released his connection to all the souls. He smiled reassuringly at his tearful wife, who sighed in heartfelt relief and began to relax. Then he went to his minions and snapped their bonds. With the extent of power at his disposal now, the black magic in the chains melted under his touch. Once freed, Pain and Panic leaped up, happily grabbing onto their master's ankles and hysterically sobbing their grateful devotion.

"You do care about us!" Pain yowled, tears spurting from his eyes.

"We knew it was just tough love!" Panic gibbered, equally misty.

Hades just sighed, kicking them loose. Minions, whaddaya gonna do? Then he turned his attention back to matters at hand, advancing on the witch with the darkest seething hatred on his face. "Okay, Hecate... death-wise, what's it gonna be? Slow-and-agonizing? Or quick-and-excruciating?"

"You call that a choice?" she squawked.

"Weeell... I could just take my fork," he hissed, retrieving it from the floor, "and shove it up your ass sideways. How's that sound?"

Having no doubt he would gladly do exactly what he said, she groveled, trying to reason with him. "Look Hades, heh-heh... I'm just an immortal witch. I don't know what could have possibly possessed me, thinking I could stand up to a pair of gods. Such merciful, divine beings. So, uh, let's just chalk this one up to experience and go our separate ways, eh?"

Hades actually stopped looming so hugely, and smiled. She was singing the right tune now. "Hmm, well I have to admit, I am impressed with your scheme to get rid of me. It was pretty clever."

Hecate had squinted her eyes in fear, but this comment made her open them again. Her voice was somewhat hopeful of survival. "Oh?"

"Oh, yeah." He crossed his arms casually, nodding with praise. "You saw my weak spots and exploited them like a real pro. I stand in awe of your plan. It was truly a gem of evil. Couldn't have done much better myself."

If it hadn't been for the fierce pain in her thorn-mangled legs, Hecate might have beamed with pride. "Well, you know, I did my best..."

And then Hades was almost right in her face, glaring smoking holes into her eyes, his fangs bared as though she was an appetizer and he'd skipped lunch for a year. The prongs of the dikranon surrounded her fragile neck as he growled, "Too fucking bad for you it didn't work!"

"Now dear," Persephone's soft voice interrupted him, "we decided to go easy on her..." And with that, the goddess waved her hand to part the rose vines, freeing the witch's feet. As a bonus she healed the gouged flesh. She had no reason to continue the punishment since her love was alive and well.

It was amazing how easily Hades switched off the rage at his beloved's request. Straightening up, he smiled warmly in her direction. "Ahhh, right you are." He looked back at the witch who stood upright like she had rigor mortis, not daring to breath. "Hecate, we're gonna let this one slide."

The words made Hecate nearly dissolve into a puddle of melted bone, so relieved was she to be in one piece. Sputtering incoherent gratitude, she tried to move her nearly liquid body and almost collapsed at his feet. She looked as though she was going to prostrate herself before them.

Hades waved her off before she managed to grasp the hem of his chiton and kiss it, or inhale it smoke and all. "Tut-tut-tut. I'm feeling magnanimous today." Then, as if the idea had just occurred randomly (instead of being a well-planned-out maneuver) he said, "Heeey, I know, why don't you join us in a toast?"

Hecate nodded vigorously, willing to do anything he said so long as he let her leave while she still had a pulse.

Smiling, Hades manifested three goblets onto the map table. He put down the dikranon and turned away to fill the glasses, then turned back holding all three. Each held a small portion of reddish liquid and he gave one to each woman, lifting the last in a graceful salutary gesture. "To the new and improved Underworld!" he declared, then smiled tenderly at Persephone. "And to my brilliant, beautiful queen..."

Hecate nearly choked on her drink. Queen? She swallowed the mouthful then chugged the rest in one gulp to bolster herself. Then she blurted, "Hey, I thought you said you would never share your throne with anyone, now or ever!"

Hades shrugged, arm around his wife's waist as they sipped their drinks. "So I lied. Sue me."

Hecate snarled, furious all over again. How dare that overblown pompous asshole with his smug leering grin, and that serenely empty-headed juvenile tramp just stand there, and think that I won't...! The raging thoughts were silenced when her body began to shake.

The glass she held slipped from her fingers, shattering on the floor. Looking down at her hands she saw her already pale skin grow paler. Her long dark hair fell limply over her shoulders, the violet stripe faded to its natural white. The artificial coloration had been a symbol of her power. In a panicked tone, she hissed, "What... have you done to me? What the hell was in that glass?"

"Just water of Kokytus," Persephone said with the tiniest smile.

Hades held up the bottle he'd taken from her earlier. Of course he'd poured straight wine for himself and the missus. He added to his wife's statement oh-so casually, "With a twist of lemon, shaken not stirred."

Hecate had no clue what Kokytus was but she could tell is was bad. Gazing upward, she suddenly realized just how unbelievably huge the deities both were, towering above her all-too-puny basically human size. "What...?"

"It means," Persephone continued in the same gentle tone, "that you are now mortal."

Hades chimed in, enjoyably, "It was god-given, so hey, ba-da-bing ba- da-boom... a god can take it away." He turned to plant a quick kiss on Persephone's cheek. "You clever little thing."

A tremulous moan of utter disbelief and horror dribbled from the witch's lips. It was bad enough she had been reduced to purely human status. Worse yet, that her plans had been totally foiled. But it was the ultimate in awful to realize the entire plan had been concocted by the supposed-to-be-innocent goddess, who was quite obviously not so stupid as imagined... instead of the wily old god who seemed content with second-fiddle quips and gloating. Inconceivable.

Then a further thought occurred, one that could impact what was left of her pathetic life. "My powers...?" Hecate whispered.

Persephone shook her head, still speaking kindly. "No, you still have all your sorcerous abilities. You acquired those on your own. But might I suggest, in the future, you use them for good, not evil?"

"Yeah, and one day," Hades went on, generously, "your immortality can be restored to you, if you prove yourself worthy."

Hecate stopped looking terrified and looked disgusted. That old plot line again? Raising one eyebrow, lowering the other into a sneer, she scoffed. "What the fuck do I look like? Hercules?"

Hades flared, zero humor glinting across a deadly fanged grin. "That's the deal, Hecate. Take it... or leave it."

"I'll take it," she squeaked, beginning to back away, "and leave!" Self-preservation moving her now-healed feet, she swiftly aimed for the door, then paused. If she still had her powers then she still had use of the hellhounds, and who knew what need she might have of them. Politely, she turned to inquire, "Uh... my minions?"

"Are demons," Hades shook his head firmly. "They stay here."

Not wishing to invite a moment more of his rage, Hecate grinned helplessly. "Gotcha." Then she ran like a caffeine-overdosed gazelle.

Pain and Panic watched the witch depart in a frantic blur, and turned to each other with devious grins. They had left the room briefly during the final round of the battle, partly to find a decent hiding place away from the danger but mostly knowing their master – and mistress – had things well in hand. And then they had discovered the hellhounds in the next room, a pair of shiny new gift-wrapped trussed-up toys that the imps were practically drooling to play with. It was better than some kind of Wintertime holiday that hadn't yet been invented where you get all kinds of lovely presents.

Approaching the goddess, Panic now smiled. He was finally willing to accept her into the household after seeing her devotion to their master was so strong and true. "So, uh, Boss Lady," he simpered, "What should we do with the winged pooches you so neatly nabbed?"

She smiled in return and reached down to pat gently between the imp's horns, making him blush. "Well, Panic dear, I think in this case it's best to ask the expert on demons." And she deferred to her husband with grace.

Hades knew Panic had been having trouble dealing with the changes, acting like a child with a new step-mom, and now his darling wife was showing the silly imp there was no threat to the natural order of things. Hades was still the King, the Honcho, the Boss, the Man... and who wore the pants in private was absolutely none of the imp's concern. Snickering, he manifested two rolled-up copies of the The Greekly World News and handed these to the imps, saying, "Knock yourselves out, guys."

"Awright!" Pain chortled. "Puppy piñatas!" Tittering with glee, both imps ran into the adjoining chamber.

The gods left the throne room, accompanied by the satisfying smack of newsprint and the dissatisfied yelp of hellhounds.

They went out to comb the Underworld and locate the remaining minions. Everyone was found in various nooks and crannies, bound and gagged and very put-out. Once released Cerberus was just droolingly happy to be free, perfectly satisfied with an extra treat. But the lamiae, Furies, and Charon were griping vividly. Hades declared an official day of rest, even for the boatman, and this cheered them up considerably.

The Judges too were freed and quite indignant at having been incarcerated, but very pleased to hear the tale of the Lord's and Lady's victory over the usurper. And of the marriage which they were sorry they'd missed. They then went right back to work on their latest cases, being workaholics in both life and death.

Leuke hadn't been held captive but had retreated into her tree, just in case. She heartily congratulated and hugged her two favorite gods with sincere affection, and whispered another quick tip to Persephone for the honeymoon. They winked to each other as the gods left the alcove.

The god and goddess also addressed the souls hiding in the Elysian Fields, assuring them that things were back to normal, and the souls went willingly back to their homes in the Asphodel Meadows. Then they all bowed to Hades. Persephone smiled at this, her heart filled with joy for her husband. He had come to realize at long last that the Underworld was not only his kingdom... it was his temple.

Persephone then went to Lethe to prepare a method for reincarnation. Since she was banned from the Underworld for six months of every year, there was no need to make souls wait that long to begin a new life. She took a final handful of seeds from her peroné and held them cupped in her hands. Aura flaring, she infused them with her powers of life, then dropped the seeds into the pool. They sank to the bottom, rooting in the rocky floor, and there grew a garden of life beneath the waters. A soft glow emanated thereafter from the depths of Lethe, slowly releasing just enough restorative power into the waters to allow any soul who drank it to be reborn.

The gods' final act was one of protection. Together they locked the doors to the Fall of Tears, sealing it forever with a spell that would allow only one with the soul of a god to enter or exit. They considered trying to seal it over completely, blotting its influence out, but Hades wasn't sure what effect that might have. Also he'd already been blocked from part of his kingdom once before, and he wasn't ready to accept another similar situation. It didn't matter though. They both knew neither of them would cross the threshold again willingly.

At last they returned to the throne chamber while Hades contemplated the matter of Hecate. He had been in favor of swift and preferably gruesome death. But it was Persephone's belief that even the witch, like himself, could somehow be redeemed. And he couldn't deny her the chance to find out. Only time would tell... but he would be keeping a watchful eye on Hecate, nevertheless.

"You know,” Hades mused as he took his seat, “I guess I really should get a second throne made for you..." Then he pulled his wife onto his lap, making her chuckle. "But this works for now."

She smiled at him, their faces close. His arms were firm and devoted around her, his lap warm... and hard. Snuggling up, she agreed, "It works very nicely."

He looked into her shining eyes, reflecting his own. He was so in awe of her, and all she had done. She had given herself completely and unselfishly to him, had lovingly healed his damaged heart and soul. She had in every possible way come to his rescue when no one else in the universe would have bothered. And frankly, she'd kicked ass when the chips were down. Everything about her aroused him, on every conceivable level. He only prayed he could give her half of what she had already given him. Perhaps one day they would figure out a way to have children. If anyone could do it, it would be her...

He knew too that he would never look at another woman in this way. In fact, he vowed, he wouldn't even bother looking in the direction of another woman... Unless she had somehow managed to afford a bottle of Aphrodite's new line of magical cologne (Oh So Irresistible Moi™) and taken a bath in it. And that, of course, meant zilch.

With sincerity that overflowed his heart, he said to his True Love, "I am so glad to have you in my life, my Flower. I just wish... it didn't have to be only half of the time."

She tenderly caressed his cheek. "I will be with you forever, my Flame. We only have a few days before I leave, but I'll be back the first of Autumn. And I'll be back again and again, every year, until the end of time. For you, I will always return." Lowering her lashes, she tilted her mouth toward his and he responded most gladly.

But before their lips could connect, their faces were pelted with a smattering of crispy white pellets. Persephone put up one hand to ward off further attack. Hades, sputtering and snarling, glared down at his imps who had apparently finished their hellhound haranguing and were clutching bags of rice. One look from him forestalled a second barrage of grainy missiles.

"Are you joking with this?" Hades inquired, voice dangerously carefree.

"But, your Connubial Blissfulness," Pain said hesitantly, "isn't it tradition?"

"You know what you can do with your tradition?" Hades flamed up hotly. Shifting so that Persephone would not be touched, he gathered a fireball into his palm and threw it toward Pain as a warning shot. "You can fucking shove it!"

And shove it he did. Sweating in fear, Pain rapidly stuffed the entire bag of rice into his mouth before Hades chose a more uncomfortable orifice.

Persephone rolled her eyes then turned to her smoldering husband, dusted the last speck of rice off his shoulders, and kissed him so thoroughly that he forgot the imps even existed... and promising to kiss every inch of his body until he forgot the whole damned world existed.

Panic was thrilled by the entire scene, for a change, and smiled and sighed wistfully as the two gods, still kissing, vanished upstairs for their honeymoon. The imp knew things would be truly okay because, even with a beautiful goddess sitting on his lap, the Boss had been furiously unreasonable and had taken out his anger on them again. Life was perfect.

"Yep," Panic giggled happily, "he's completely back to normal! Heehee!" And he danced around his still-chewing partner until Pain joined him in celebration.


<  chapter 17  |  epilogue  >