Higher and higher we climbed, until we were surrounded by the ruins of an ancient city. Fallen columns and massive blocks of stone littered the ground, along with statues tilted at various angles as the ground had settled over the years.
Echo stopped and hovered in midair. I halted and spun in a circle, looking for a huge cauldron. “I don’t see it.”
“This place is massive.” Hades continued searching for a moment more, climbing onto a massive pile of fallen stones to my right. “I don’t see it either.”
Though we’d followed the path to the proper part of the city, it was still far too big. We would be here until sunset if we had to cover the entire area on foot.
Hades climbed down from the pile of stones and strode toward me. He wrapped a powerful arm around my waist, and his wings flared from his back. I felt the flash of light inside him and caught the grimace on his face. Effortlessly, he swept me up into his arms.
“We’ll search from the air,” he said.
Before I could protest, he shot into the sky, his wings carrying us effortlessly toward the clouds. Once we were high enough to see a good portion of the town, he stopped.
“Do you feel very conflicted when you use your wings?” I asked, remembering the slight grimace that had faded so quickly.
“Not as much as I used to.”
“Why?”
His gaze met mine, his dark blue eyes seeming to devour me. “You.”
“Me?”
He nodded but didn’t seem inclined to explain. “Now search.”
My gaze lingered on his face a moment, then I turned away and looked down at the ruins, searching for the cauldron.
“Why do I make the conflict go away?” I asked, unable to keep from prodding.
“The pain,” he said, and I looked at him. “Though I still feel the conflict, the worst of the pain is gone.”
It wasn’t a full answer, but from the tight set of his jaw, it was all he would tell me. I looked back at the ground, searching for the massive cauldron.
I spotted it a few moments later, sitting in the middle of a large open square. I pointed. “There.”
He nodded and flew down, moving swiftly. The wind tore at my hair, and I clung to him, liking the feel of being in his arms despite my best judgment. He landed gracefully and set me down.
My knees wobbled slightly as I got my feet under me, then I stepped way, my skin still burning from my contact with him.
The cauldron was taller than I was and at least fifteen feet across. It was carved with ornate swirls that rose to form stalks of wheat.
“Demeter,” I murmured.
“It seems that part of the myth may be correct,” Hades said.
“But what do we do here?” I spun around, taking in the decayed city. Columns had once surrounded an open square, but most of them had fallen over. Buildings too, and they were little more than rubble.
“I do not know.” Hades stalked around the square, searching for clues.
I walked up to the cauldron, drawn by the beautiful carvings. Had my mother commissioned these? Or created them with magic?
I pressed my hand to one of the stalks of wheat. Magic flared at my palm, and I gasped. Understanding hit me. “I need to make a sacrifice. Make it clear who I am.”
Hades joined me, worry in his eyes. “What kind of sacrifice?”
“Blood. Not a lot.”
He nodded. “Into the cauldron, I presume.”
“Yes.”
“All right.” He strode to an enormous block of stone and picked it up. Though the thing had to weight hundreds, maybe thousands, of pounds, he treated it like it was Styrofoam.
In minutes, he had a stone stairway built to reach the top of the cauldron.
“Thank you.” I ascended the makeshift stairs until I could see into the cauldron.
It was deep yet dry, as if the rain were not able to collect inside. Even stranger, there was a silver dagger sitting on the wide stone rim, right in front of me.
“She expected you,” Hades said from behind me.
I turned back, realizing that he stood only inches behind me. His proximity made my heart thud, and I turned away, doing my best to ignore him.
Quickly, I picked up the dagger and held it to my forearm.
“Be careful,” Hades said. “Not too much.”
“I’ll be fine.” I drew the dagger in a line down my forearm, letting red blood spill free. Pain flared, and I grimaced, watching the blood drip into the cauldron.
As soon as it hit the stone bottom, smoke curled upward. It had the faintest green tinge and smelled of wild growing things. I drew it deeply into my lungs, comforted by the smell. A smile spread across my face.
Quickly, the smoke spread through the air, curling tendrils that wrapped around the fallen columns and stone blocks. As I watched, the city rebuilt itself, the columns rising upward and the bricks climbing over each other to form buildings.
“It’s amazing,” I said.
“Indeed.” Hades strode down the stairs from the cauldron, and I followed.
By the time I reached the ground, the city had returned to normal. I spun in a circle, taking in the entire thing. It was surreal to stand in an ancient Greek village. “Which way do we go?”
“I do not know.”
I nodded, unsurprised. We were here to find my mother. Therefore, this would be up to me.
I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath, focusing on my surroundings. As I did, knowledge seemed to flow into my veins, an awareness of this place that had to be wholly magical, a gift from my mother to me. It was almost as if I could feel the layout in my mind.
“We’re looking for her temple,” I murmured. “I think it’s to the north.”
Hades was silent as I opened my eyes, but the way he looked at me made me feel powerful. The respect in his gaze warmed me from the inside, and I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face.
A corresponding one pulled at his lips, just briefly. He seemed to realize it and snuffed it, and I turned away.
A road to the north called to me. It led deeper into the city, and I approached it.
As I stepped onto the avenue that led between the ancient stone buildings, plants began to creep from the side streets, blocking our passage. There had to be millions of them—vines, bushes, trees, and flowers. The massive array of plant life formed an impenetrable wall that was many meters deep.
“Do we not go this way?” Hades asked.
“No, we do.” I frowned at the plants. “It’s a test.”
“That will be no problem for you, then.”
I frowned at it. “No, I don’t think this will be like normal, where I just have to tear them away.” That was too easy, and not the point of being Persephone. She wasn’t a goddess of destruction. “I think I have to clear them out without hurting them.”
It would be difficult, however. There was such a variety, with tiny, delicate flowers twined around massive, sturdy tree limbs.
Difficult didn't mean impossible, though, and I was determined to stretch my muscles and prove myself.
I closed my eyes and raised my hands, laying them on the masses of foliage in front of me. It filled the entire city street, dozens of meters thick. There had to be thousands of pounds of plant life here.
No matter. I could handle it.
Quickly, I began to feed my magic into the wall of plants, getting a feel for what was there. I made a map in my mind, finding the most delicate plants and focusing on them first.