Series: Willow Winters
Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 74198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Cerberus sits up, sensing that something has changed. Perhaps it is the silence that Cerberus notices. The screams and cries have settled. He barks, once, and I pat each of his heads duly and with a soothing hush.
Through the eyes of my disciples and demons alike, I can visualize the mortal realm. At times, it’s as if I’m there. It is easiest when scrying, just as it is easiest to see Olympus when scrying. But occasionally I can see into the souls who are passing or those who are close to doing so. I can see the images they hold in their minds, vivid with the colors of the mortal world.
And what I see—
What I see are families huddled together, peering out the windows of their homes. Standing up from where they had been crouched underneath the sills. They are pointing. Smiling. Saying look.
What are they looking at?
They are looking at the coming of life. Of greenery on crops that had withered. They see hope and are thankful. They imagine abundance and no longer starvation and crisis. They feel hope. They weep with gratitude.
The ice and snow and fiery storms brought by the demons are fading, and everywhere there is green.
Swallowing thickly, I bring my vision back to the Underworld and meet Minox’s gaze.
His eyes have centuries of familiarity to me. Minox has been at my side since the moment I arrived in the Underworld.
“That is the work of my wife.” My tone is even although turmoil is present.
Another glance at the sky. Minox will want to know if the lull in the souls is only temporary or if it is permanent. Nothing is ever permanent, but this lull is because of Persephone. I know it in the essence of my soul.
We both stare above us into the sea of souls. For a while, not a single soul crosses to the Underworld. Then one soul, very small, flies overhead like a shooting star. It’s graceful as it floats down to the river, disappearing from sight just before it arrives.
“She could never do that while she was here,” I tell Minox as I reminisce.
“What could she not do, my Lord?” he questions, his brow furrowed. As if he does not know. Genuinely so. How could he not?
“She could not bring new life to the earth…she could not even do it here. The Underworld only invites the dead.” There is a hollow feeling in my chest. It aches, like it is begging to be filled. I miss her dearly. My beloved. Persephone does not need to bring souls to the Underworld, that is not for her to do, and she could not, but I know how much she wanted her magic to follow her here.
“She could not ask life to flourish and start anew. Not in our realm.”
Minox nods slowly, understanding. He parts his lips to speak but visibly refrains.
I cannot make the argument that those who dwell in the mortal realm do not need my queen to provide for them. They do. They need new life and renewal. They need a harvest that is not struck down by disaster. They need bounty and abundance. Which Demeter can provide, but they also need new life. New hope. She serves a beautiful purpose to those in the mortal realm.
Yet those who dwell in the mortal realm are not the only souls in existence.
“She is needed here,” I state, keeping my voice level. “There is chaos in my realms, and they pray to her as much as they pray to me.”
Minox’s gaze falls to my face, and I look back at him. Though he stands still, his robes still move from the slight breeze. With it, the ash drifts against the stone wall, reminding me of my recent deeds.
His expression reveals nothing to me. I cannot tell what he is thinking. I only know that he is thinking, because Minox is always thinking. He’s always calculating.
I do not know what my expression shows him.
His eyes move over my features. Perhaps my face is showing him that I know what it is that he knows. The chaos in my realms is not only the fault of Demeter. I have caused chaos here. I have torn souls apart. I have shaken the foundations of the Underworld. I have sent souls scrambling for places to hide.
For a time, they were silent as the ashes fell. None of them wanted to draw my attention. They feared it. The depth of their terror was felt in silence.
Now, not all of the souls are silent. Some of them have come out of hiding, and they’re fighting among themselves. On what has caused this and the threat of war. They argue on who is to blame. This fighting only brings more uncertainty. It only leads to more fighting. More arguing. Soul against soul. It may spread to realm against realm, and then there will be even greater chaos. The sooner she is returned to me and this is ended, the more peace there will be.