Persephone the Daring Read online

  Then suddenly, from somewhere behind her, a pair of strong hands landed on either side of her waist. She found herself being lifted high above the crowd. Rescued! All at once Orpheus reached down to her and pulled her to stand beside him onstage.

  “Hi there, flower girl,” he quipped, noting the daisies on her cheek. Excited whispers and gasps came from the girls in the audience behind her. They probably all wished they were in her sandals right now.

  But Persephone’s mind was on one thing, and one thing only. She looked up at Orpheus. Stared right into his sparkly turquoise eyes. Then she blurted, “Can I have your autograph?”

  The whole theater burst out laughing. She glanced over her shoulder at the crowd, but it was hard to see beyond the bright torches that ringed the stage.

  “Why are they laughing?” Persephone murmured. She flipped her hair out of her face and looked at the pink-haired Eurydice, who was standing nearby.

  “The acoustics in the theater are perfect,” Eurydice whispered. “So whoever speaks onstage can be heard from any seat. And they’re not laughing at you, sweets,” she went on. “They think you were making a joke. Maybe you didn’t realize it, but Orpheus and I were just singing one of his hit songs. The one called ‘Can I Have Your Autograph?’ ”

  Persephone blushed. “And then I asked . . . Oh, I get it now.”

  Meanwhile, Orpheus had turned toward the crowd. He egged them on, saying: “What do you think? Should I give the flower girl an autograph?”

  Everyone in the crowd clapped and cheered enthusiastically. “Yes! Yes!” they shouted.

  “Well, I would, but it seems I don’t have a pen or any papyrus,” Orpheus continued, playing up to the audience.

  “I do,” Persephone volunteered. Only, then she realized she actually didn’t. In the crush a minute ago, she’d dropped her drawstring purse. “Um, I did, that is. Wait! I know—I’ll use my magic to make what I need. Just a sec.”

  “Um . . .” She fumbled to think of the spell she needed to create the stuff Orpheus had requested. It was an easy spell. She’d learned it way back in second grade, for godness’ sakes! Still, she just stood there, her mind a blank. It was overwhelming being so close to these two megastars. And unlike them, she didn’t really enjoy being the center of attention like this.

  Hurriedly she mumbled what she thought was the right spell. But instead of papyrus and a feather pen, only the pen appeared in her hands. It seemed she’d gotten the spell half right at least.

  Unsure what to do now, she presented the pen to Orpheus. He laughed and sent a cocky grin toward the audience. Taking the pen, he lifted her hand in his until her arm was outstretched between them. Then, with a dramatic flourish, he wrote his name on her forearm.

  Persephone stared at her arm in surprise. He’d autographed it! His name was huge, going all the way from the inside of her elbow to her wrist.

  “Um, thank you,” she told him.

  “You’re welcome, flower girl.” With that, Orpheus gave her a quick light kiss on the cheek. All the girls in the audience sighed in delight.

  Eurydice rolled her eyes and grinned at the crowd. “What a flirt!” she said.

  And then the two stars launched into an encore duet of another of Orpheus’s hit songs. Fittingly, it was the one called “What a Flirt!”

  To accompany it, they did an impromptu skit in which Orpheus pretended to sing his song to Persephone and Eurydice pretended to get jealous. It was all done in fun, of course. And the crowd loved it.

  In spite of being in the limelight—or under the stage lights, actually—Persephone started to relax. Tonight was working out great. Not only had she finished the dare and gotten the autograph, she was hanging out with the biggest pop stars on Earth!

  5

  Fascinating

  Hades

  CRACK! IT WAS SATURDAY NIGHT when Hades’ stallions pushed up from the Underworld and landed his chariot in front of the Orpheum Theater. He leaped down. On his command the chariot and horses quickly disappeared back into the ground.

  Ta-ta-ta-tah! He’d arrived just as the heralds were sounding their salpinxes. The Orpheus Rocks the Gods concert was about to begin!

  Hades’ eyes searched the crowd streaming into the theater. Having gotten here late, he’d had to land a distance away from it. Dozens of other chariots were already parked all around the theater, and the deer, unicorns, and horses that had pulled them were grazing nearby.

  Way up ahead he glimpsed Persephone and her friends at the top of the theater steps. He raced to catch up, but lost sight of them as they entered the Orpheum.

  “Drat,” he muttered. He’d been hoping to hang out with Persephone before the concert. He wanted to ask her advice on how to handle those mortal girls hanging around the River Styx. She was good at helping him think things through sometimes. Unfortunately, he’d gotten here too late to talk to her.

  “Hades!” a voice called out.

  He turned to see three members of Heavens Above—Apollo, Ares, and Dionysus—bringing one of the MOA chariots in for a landing. The only band member missing was Poseidon, Hades’ roommate, who was godboy of the sea. He’d gone to investigate a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea.

  Hades jogged over to them. Their chariot was flashy, with sides in deep purple, and an enormous gold thunderbolt on the front. Principal Zeus had gone all out with his transportation arrangements.

  Apollo was the first one to hop out. “Hurry,” he urged the others. “We need seats close to the stage if we want to catch Orpheus after the concert.”

  “Catch him?” Hades echoed. He fell in step with the other godboys, and they all headed for the theater.

  “Mr. Limenius said we could invite Orpheus to MOA for the week,” Ares informed him.

  “To sit in on our Music-ology classes,” Dionysus added. “And maybe give a concert or two with our band while he’s there.”

  “Awesome, right?” said Apollo. Then, as if just remembering something, he sent Hades a questioning glance. “If he agrees, can I count on you to sit in on drums while Poseidon’s gone?”

  Before Hades could reply, some goddessgirls he didn’t recognize from another school walked by.

  “Look! It’s that fascinating Hades! And that handsome Ares,” he overheard them say. Then they giggled and moved on.

  Huh? He didn’t even know them. Come to think of it, though, those mortal girls hanging out at the River Styx had called him “fascinating” too. And they’d kept asking him to autograph their Teen Scrollazines. He’d ignored their requests, of course, sternly banishing them all from the riverbank.

  But now, as the godboys headed up the steps to the theater, Hades looked over at Ares and cocked his head toward the two girls. “What’s up with that?”

  “Haven’t you seen the poll in the new Teen Scrollazine?” asked Dionysus.

  Hades shook his head.

  Ares whipped out a folded piece of papyrus from his pocket. Grinning, he handed it to Hades, saying, “Prepare to be wowed, godboy.”

  The two of them had been enemies at the start of the year. As the godboy of war, Ares could be hotheaded. But they eventually had come to an understanding, thanks to Persephone’s help. Now they were good enough friends to joke around and hang out together. Most of the time, anyway.

  Hades unfolded the papyrus. It was an article torn from this week’s issue of the scrollazine. Some kind of list. He scanned it, and found his name.

  Looking on, Apollo laughed good-naturedly. “So how does it feel to be voted the most fascinating godboy at MOA?” Then he hooked his thumb toward Ares. “Mr. Handsomest here is carrying that article around like it’s an award. Can you believe this guy?”

  “Well, this explains a lot,” said Hades, handing the article back to Ares. “There were a bunch of girls hanging around the Underworld yesterday. With signs and hearts and stuff.”

  Ares grinned and clapped him on the back as they reached the top of the steps. “We’re officially girl magnets, god-dude. Fa
ce it.”

  And then they were inside the theater. “I seriously doubt those girls hanging around the river would find me fascinating if they knew the dull, humdrum things I do in the Underworld,” Hades insisted as they made their way toward seats. “Like calming down whiny shades. Not to mention dealing with the Furi—”

  He broke off midsentence when he caught sight of a yellow chiton in the crowd. Persephone. Maybe he could catch up with her after the concert and get her advice on the situation back at the River Styx.

  Keeping an eye on her, he followed the guys as they found seats several rows back from the stage. As the curtain rose, they settled in to enjoy the show. Turned out that Orpheus was an even more amazing singer and musician in person!

  Toward the end of the concert, Hades noticed that Persephone was moving through the crowd down below. She’d left her friends and was heading for the stage on her own. When a ripple of excitement swept the audience, the adoring fans around her started rushing forward to get closer to the rock stars onstage.

  Hades leaped to his feet. He had to do something. Persephone could be crushed down there! Without a word to the other godboys, he pushed his way through the concertgoers, heading straight for her.

  “Persephone!” he shouted. Of course, she couldn’t hear him above the roar of the music and the shouts from the crowd.

  As people swelled closer to the stage, she glanced over her shoulder for a second. There was a panicky look on her face that made his heart pound with fear for her safety. Though it felt like it took forever, he surged ahead and reached her within seconds.

  Quickly he put his hands on either side of her waist and lifted her high and clear of danger. He’d intended to set her on one of his shoulders and then plow back through the crowd, returning her to her friends. But all of a sudden she was pulled from his hands. And then she was onstage!

  Orpheus had reached down for her at the very same moment Hades had lifted her up. Then he’d hauled her to stand between Eurydice and him at the edge of the stage.

  Persephone didn’t even seem to realize that Hades had been the one to give her a boost up. Not that she needed to thank him for saving her, but still.

  He watched as Orpheus teased her, to the delight of the crowd. It was all in fun. No big deal. But then that smiley pop star autographed her arm. And gave her a kiss!

  Whoa! Hades had never even given her a kiss before. He folded his arms, glowering a little.

  Then he got that prickling feeling on the back of his neck again. Drat! There must be more trouble down in the Underworld.

  He gazed up at Persephone onstage. It didn’t matter if she knew he’d been the one to rescue her. The important thing was that she was safe. And he had work to do. So . . . fun over.

  Once he was outside the theater, he summoned Midnight, his favorite black stallion. After the sleek horse magically appeared, he mounted it and swiftly descended belowground.

  When Hades finally reached the Underworld, he could hardly believe his eyes. He’d banished all the mortal fangirls from the riverbank just last night. Yet here they were, back again. And now there were way more of them hanging out by the river than before. They were everywhere.

  Some were picnicking on the bank of the River Styx. A few were even wading in the shallows. Several were arguing with Charon, the moody old boat captain who’d had the job of ferrying the dead to the Underworld for, like, ever. It looked as if they were nagging him to give them a ride across the river!

  Hades swooped toward them on Midnight. The girls went wild when they saw him land on the riverbank alongside the docked ferryboat. Many were holding signs that said things like: WE ♥ HADES, THE UNDERWORLD IS HOT! or MEMBERS OF THE OFFICIAL MR. FASCINATING FANGIRLS CLUB.

  “Can we have a tour of the Underworld?” one girl shouted out to him. “We’d love to see what you do down here,” called another. “It would be sooo fascinating.” Several girls giggled at the mention of that word from the ’zine poll.

  “No!” he said. “Are you all crazy? The Underworld is a treacherous place. Everywhere you look there are swamps or rivers of lava. And did you hear about my giant three-headed dog, Cerberus? You do not want to mess with him.”

  But try as he might, Hades couldn’t make these girls understand all that. Or the fact that although it was okay for immortals to visit the Underworld now and then, it was not okay for mortals to.

  “Do something!” Charon told him, sounding alarmed. “It’s been like this all day. Not-dead girls trying to trick me into taking them to the Underworld.” He scratched his head. “Don’t know quite what to make of it.”

  “Don’t worry. They’ll forget all about me when the new issue of Teen Scrollazine comes out next week,” Hades assured Charon in grim tones. Still, a week seemed a long way off at the moment.

  “Humph! Well, I’m not the only one who’s had enough of this excitement.” Charon pointed upward.

  Hades’ gaze followed the boat captain’s finger. Uh-oh. The three flying Furies—Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone—were circling overhead. Somehow they’d gotten wind of what was going on here. And they did not look happy.

  Although Hades ruled the Underworld, these ladies were the judges who decided punishments for rule-breakers in special cases. Cases that would include any mortals who tried to trick their way in.

  If these girls crossed the river and set one foot in the Underworld, the Furies would make sure they’d be stuck there. Forever!

  6

  Seeds of Friendship

  Persephone

  PERSEPHONE HUMMED ONE OF ORPHEUS’S songs as her hands broke up clumps of soil in a planting tray. She was standing before her worktable in the Garden-ology greenhouse, just off the MOA courtyard near the olive grove that Athena had created earlier in the year.

  It was Monday afternoon, fourth period, and she was working on a class assignment. Her teacher Ms. Thallo had tasked each student in the class with creating a completely new, never-before-seen hybrid plant of some kind.

  If Persephone’s worked out as she hoped, she planned to give it to Hades. It was perfect timing because this coming Saturday was his birthday. And she wanted to give him a gift that no one else but she could create. Something beautiful that would lighten his heart whenever things in the Underworld got him down.

  All last week she’d experimented with mixing various kinds of flower species together. It wasn’t easy making a plant hardy enough to survive the heat and bleakness of the Underworld.

  Her failed efforts so far were lined up against the glass wall of the greenhouse near her worktable. Droopy daisy-daffodil hybrids. Limp lavender-lily-lilacs. Sad-looking snapdragon-sunflowers.

  But today she was going to try mixing seeds from four different flowering species. Her tray was filled ten inches deep with soil she’d sneaked out of the Underworld in a bag last week. After smoothing the soil, she scooped out a hole just the right size.

  When all was ready, she cupped four different kinds of seeds in her palms. Curling her fingers, she clenched the seeds tight between both hands. The use of magic wasn’t permissible for every assignment, but it was for this one. So, standing in front of the tray, she drew a deep breath and uttered a magical chant:

  “Chrysanthemum, cactus,

  Protea, rose,

  Please mix together

  And show me what grows!”

  Within her hands she felt the four seeds shrink and combine themselves into one teardrop-size seed. She pressed the new single seed into the bed of soil and covered it over.

  A pale green shoot sprang from the bed right away. In seconds it became a sturdy green stalk. Leaves sprouted. The stalk grew taller. And then a single bud appeared. At first its petals were clinched tightly shut. But then they began to unfurl.

  And much to her delight, an amazing flower bloomed. It was enormous, measuring about twelve inches across, with bright pink and orange petals and a pale yellow center.

  “How’s your project going?” her teacher asked.
/>   Persephone looked up from her worktable to see Ms. Thallo at her side. Her skin was as dark as the soil in the planting tray, and long, curling vines of ivy grew from her head. She was Persephone’s favorite teacher.

  “Pretty well,” Persephone replied in answer to her question. She gestured toward the flower she’d created. “I cultivated the seeds for my new plant variety and designed them to grow at whatever speed I command.

  “It’s a variation of the King Protea flower,” Persephone went on as Ms. Thallo examined the blossom from all angles. “Combined with chrysanthemum, cactus, and rose.”

  “A daring choice,” her teacher said with approval. Although Ms. Thallo couldn’t have known, this particular description of Persephone’s choice of seeds thrilled her.

  “However, proteas won’t grow in the gardens of Mount Olympus. Or in many places on Earth for that matter,” Ms. Thallo commented. “They thrive in extremely hot climates.”

  “Which is perfect!” said Persephone. “Because I’m going to plant my hybrid down in the Underworld. To brighten up the gloom a bit.”

  The teacher blinked at her. Still looking dubious, she said, “An admirable goal. But the heat there at times may be too much even for the protea. No flower has ever managed to survive in the Underworld, except the asphodel.”

  Persephone touched one of her new flower’s orange petals. “This blossom is designed to flourish in extreme heat. Even in fire. At least I hope it will. Since my test run went okay here in the greenhouse just now, I’m going to make more of my new seeds. I’ll take them to the Underworld after school today, plant them, and command them not to blossom till next Saturday. I’m hoping if they take more time growing, it’ll increase their chances of survival.”

  Ms. Thallo clapped her hands together like she sometimes did when she was excited. “It will be intriguing to see if so beautiful a blossom can actually thrive in the Underworld. It’s the ultimate inhospitable environment!” She beamed at Persephone. “I can always depend on you to come up with an idea that amazes.”