by
C. "Sparky" Read
"I said, let me go!" With a mighty wrench and well-placed punch, Persephone freed herself from Hades' strong grip.
"Ooof! Yeeah...Erg!" exclaimed Hades, twisting and ultimately tumbling backwards out of the chariot. "What, are you insane?" he demanded from his place on the cavern floor. "Is this any way to treat me--me, your...generous host?"
"You mean abductor!" shrilled Persephone, leaping out of the chariot. She stomped on Hades' hand.
Hades yowled.
"Take me home, right...now!" the goddess demanded, alternately kicking and punching Hades.
"...He's gonna marry her?" Panic asked in disbelief from where he and Pain, in the form of rats, hid in the corner.
"That's what he said," replied Pain, who scratched his head. "I dunno, I think they're kinda cute."
"Ow! Hey! Stop it already!" shouted Hades, getting up despite Persephone's continued attack. "...Where'd I put my leash?"
Persephone, unsure of her situation, decided to whip up some tears. "What do you want with me?" she mock-sobbed.
"First of all, to change your medication." Hades frowned at the goddess. "Methinks I didst choose falsely...Pain! Panic!" he bellowed.
Pain and Panic yelped in surprise and terror, morphed back to normal, and scuttled obediently out of the corner.
"Right here!" Panic announced.
Hades blinked. "And how long have you two been watching?"
"Uh..." Pain strained to come up with something convincing. "Uhm, we just got here?"
Hades arched an eyebrow, then turned his attention to the blue imp. "Panic?"
Panic trembled. "The whole time?" he offered. Pain kicked him.
Persephone looked up, and brightened immediately. "Oooh!" she exclaimed, idly placing the narcissus in her hair. "They're so cute!" And before anyone could react, the goddess swooped forward, snatched up Panic and started cuddling him.
"Aack! Get her off me! Get her off!" shrieked Panic, struggling madly.
"Now," said Hades smoothly, totally ignoring Panic's cries for help, "I want you boys to show Miss Persephone a good time. Give her...the grand tour, as it were."
Pain nodded vigorously. Panic began morphing into various creatures in his frantic--but vain--attempts to escape.
"Take good care of Persephone--but don't give her anything," Hades continued. "If there's anything I can't stand, it's sharing."
"You can count on us!" said Pain, saluting.
"If anything happens to her I'll be answering to her father--and you'll be answering to me," Hades pointed out, not kindly.
Pain nodded again.
Hades glanced over at Panic. The blue imp had finally ceased his struggles and now lay still in Persephone's lap, allowing the goddess to stroke his horns. Hades marched over, seized a startled Panic by the tail and dangled him like at cat tease in front of the equally startled Persephone.
"And you," he hissed to the goddess, "keep your hands off of my henchmen!" He unceremoniously flung Panic into the nearest wall. "I have some business to attend to," announced Hades at last, turning to leave. "Don't let her out of your sight!" was his final warning before departing.
"Pinhead," snarled Persephone.
Demeter frowned. "Well when did you see her last?"
Cal shrugged. "I dunno," he said. "Today."
"A very enlightening report," monotoned the Earth Goddess, rolling her eyes. "Was she with someone? Did she say where she might go?--Nevermind," she concluded when Cal shrugged again, "I'll find her myself. You've been very helpful."
Cal nodded impassively and wandered away.
"Hmm," muttered Demeter, watching Ascalaphus leave, "perhaps Persephone has the right idea about him after all." She gathered up the trailing edge of her garb and headed across the flower fields.
When she caught sight of the broken seashell garter lying within a stone fountain beside Persephone's favorite pool, she stopped short. That was the garter Poseidon had sent with the last tide...Demeter looked around. There was no other sign of Persephone. Demeter suddenly had a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach...which grew worse as the bubbling of the fountain seemed to form words.
Sephie, bubbled the fountain wanly.
Demeter hurried forward. "Where is Persephone?" she demanded, grabbing up the garter and a few of the picked flowers from the fountain's basin. "What happened here?"
Gone, sighed the fountain. Gone...
"Gone?" repeated Demeter incredulously. "Gone...where?"
The fountain bubbled indecipherably for a few moments, then began repeating a single word in a sing-song sort of way:
Downdowndowndowndown...
