“You have?”
“Oh yes,” and then she offered a laugh, which seemed to make her glow. “Since you fell into the Styx and had Lord Hades in an uproar.”
Persephone blushed.
“I’m sorry I scared you, but, as I am sure you’ve learned, the rivers of the Underworld are dangerous, even to a goddess,” Hecate explained. “The Lethe will steal your memories. Hades should have told you that. I will scold him later.”
Persephone laughed at the thought of Hecate scolding Hades. “Can I watch?”
“Oh, I would only think to reprimand him in front of you, my dear.”
They smiled at each other and then Persephone said, “Um, but do you happen to know where I might find some water? I just planted a garden.”
“Come,” she said, and as she turned, she picked up the big, red ball and threw it. The three dogs took off through the grass. “I see you have met Hades’ dogs.”
“They are truly his?”
“Oh yes. He loves animals. He has the three dogs, Cerberus, Typhon and Orthrus and four horses, Orphnaeus, Aethon, Nycteus, and Alastor.”
Hecate led Persephone to a fountain buried deep in Hades gardens.
As she filled the container she asked, “Do you live here?”
“I live in many places,” she said. “But this is my favorite.”
“Really?” Persephone was surprised by that.
“Yes,” Hecate smiled and looked out at the landscape. “I enjoy it here. The souls and the lost, they are my loves, and Hades is kind enough to have given me a cottage.”
“It is far more beautiful than I expected,” Persephone said.
“It is to all who come here,” Hecate smiled. “Let’s water your garden, shall we?”
Hecate and Persephone returned to the garden and watered the seeds. Hecate pointed to several of the markers Persephone had used to remember what and where she had planted. The goddess wanted to know the colors and names. When she pointed to the anemone and asked Persephone why she had chosen that flower in that color she had responded, “Hades wore one in his suit the night I met him.”
Then she blushed at having admitted something so…personal.
Persephone gathered her tools, and Hecate showed her where to store the items—in a small alcove near the palace.
After, Hecate took Persephone on a tour of the grounds beyond Hades’ obsidian home. They walked along a slate path among tall shoots of grass.
“Asphodel!” Persephone exclaimed, recognizing the flowers mixed among the grass. They had long stems and a spike of white flowers. Persephone loved them, and the farther they walked, the more abundant they became.
“Yes, we are close to Asphodel,” Hecate said.
Hecate held out her hand, as if to stop Persephone from moving too far forward. When she looked down, she stood at the edge of a steep canyon. The asphodel grew right up to the edge of the incline, making the chasm almost impossible to see as they approached.
Persephone wasn’t sure what she expected from Asphodel, but she guessed she’d always thought of death as a sort of aimless existence—a time where souls occupied space but had no purpose. At the bottom of this canyon, however, there was life.
A field of green stretched for miles, flanked by sloping hills in the distance. Scattered over the emerald plane were several small homes. She was surprised to observe they all appeared to be slightly different—some were crafted of wood and others of obsidian brick. Smoke rose from some chimneys, flowers bloomed in a few window boxes, and warm light illuminated windows. A wide path cut right through the center of the field, and it was crowded with souls and colorful tents.
“Are they…celebrating something?” Persephone asked.
Hecate smiled. “It is market day,” she said. “Would you like to explore?”
“Very much,” Persephone said.
Hecate took the young goddess’s hand and teleported, landing on the ground inside the valley.
When the goddess looked up, she could see Hades’ palace rising tall toward his muted sky. She realized it was similar to the way Nevernight towered over the mortals in the world above. It was both beautiful and ominous, and Persephone wondered what feelings the sight of their King’s tower inspired.
The path they followed through Asphodel was lined with lanterns. Souls wondered about, looking as solid as living humans. Now that Persephone was on ground level, she saw that the colorful tents were filled with a variety of goods—apples and oranges, figs and pomegranates. Others held beautifully embroidered scarves and woven blankets.