February Thaw Read Free

boring landscape and the incessant twittering of the undistinguished dead. Although a few of those who'd known her in life waved a limp hand in greeting, most ignored her.
    Most.
    "Greetings rich-haired Demeter, awful goddess, lady of the golden sword and glorious fruits."
    "Hello, Orion." The ghost standing on the path before her, the son of Poseidon and the gorgon Euryale, had been the handsomest man alive until he'd taken up with Artemis and run afoul of an over-protective Apollo. As she'd often thought it unfair the way the Olympian powers fell, Demeter smiled kindly on her nephew. "Still hunting the shadow deer?" She nodded toward his bow.
    "The hunt is all I have." He paused and then continued ponderously, "The Queen is gone early from Erebus."
    "Yes, she is, isn't she."
    "She has returned to your hearth?"
    "Oh, yes." My cold hearth , the goddess added silently. And I still don't believe gas fireplaces give off unhealthy fumes.
    Orion nodded. "Good. I am glad she is safe. Do you now descend to see the Lord Hades, your brother?"
    "Not exactly," Demeter told him tightly. "I descend to see the Lord Hades, my son-in-law."
    The hero's eyes widened and his Adam's apple bobbed in the muscular column of his throat. "Oh," he said, and stepped off the path. "Look, uh, don't let me get in your way, Aunt Demi." He faded back toward the trees. "And, uh, if there's anything I can do, don't hesitate to call."
    Picking up her pace again, Demeter rolled her eyes. Honestly; men. Even dead ones. And Hera wonders why I never married.
     
    *
     
    There were gardens down the middle of the wide avenue that lead to the palace. In spite of the inarguable presence of the pomegranates, Demeter hadn't expected that. If they'd been in place during the wedding, she hadn't noticed them, but then as mother of the bride, not to mention sister of the groom, she'd had other things on her mind.
    All the flowers were black – except for one corpse-lavender rose she was fairly certain she'd seen in the upper world – and the beds had been edged in giant uncut diamonds. She could see her daughter's taste in the design. Persephone had always loved order. A closer look and she realized the flowers desperately needed dead-heading and everything wanted water. Sighing deeply, Demeter reached under the lip of a black marble fountain and turned on the irrigation system.
    "This is her garden," said a gardener, who'd been standing so quietly she hadn't noticed him. "His Majesty said we weren't to foul it with our touch."
    "Hades said that?"
    "Yes ma'am."
    Demeter smiled. This might be easier than she'd thought.
     
    *
     
    The palace was a mess.
    Demeter had no idea how it could have gotten so bad in only eight days. Then she remembered how it had gotten at her house in those same eight days and tried to be less critical, although it wasn't easy.
    The servants, drawn from the ranks of the dead, huddled confused and insubstantial in corners. She could feel them watching her hopefully as she passed. Well, with any luck, their ordeal and hers would soon be over.
    She found the King of the Dead in a small room he used for a den, slumped in a chair, mournfully eating peanut butter straight from the jar. His clothes were wrinkled, he didn't smell very good, and it looked like he hadn't shaved in about three days.
    He looked up when Demeter came in, too far gone in misery to be surprised. "Have you come for her things?"
    "I've come for an explanation."
    His gesture took in the drifts of potato chip bags in the immediate area as well as the chaos in the rest of the palace. "She's left me, Demi."
    "I know that, you idiot. Where did you think she'd gone?"
    "To you?"
    "That's right. To me." She kicked a pizza box out of her way. "And do you know what happens up above when Persephone comes home to me?"
    "The upper world is not my concern." If he'd intended to sound regal, he didn't quite make it past petulant.
    "This time it is, because it's spring up there." Demeter's voice