'Is all of Virgo underground?' I asked, then immediately wished I hadn't. I didn't expect to be here long, but I seriously couldn't handle being in a place where there was no outside. Panic fluttered through me, threatening to derail my new attitude adjustment.
'Not all of it, no,' Hecate said, bending to open a cupboard under the counter. She straightened and handed me a straight cut glass. She held onto one herself and I watched as her eyes turned milky. Red liquid began to fill her glass, and I looked down to see the same happening in mine.
'What is it?'
'Wine,' she said as the blue returned to her irises.
'You can conjure wine? I'd be drunk constantly,' I said, impressed. She winked at me.
'Who says I'm not?' She knocked back a huge gulp of the liquid, and I hesitantly lifted my glass to my lips and inhaled. It smelled divine, like black currants and cherries. I took a sip.
'Wow,' I said, involuntarily. Hecate gave me a look, pursing her lips.
'I'm actually quite jealous that you get to discover Olympus all over again. The first time you do anything is always the best,' she sighed.
'And you can't tell me why I left in the first place?'
'No. I'm not even sure myself, but even if I was, Hades would kill me.' She flicked her hand, eyes flashing white again, and a chocolate cake appeared out of nowhere on the counter, in front of the mirror. My stomach growled in response.
'Can you do anything you like with your magic?' I asked her.
'I can do quite a lot,' she shrugged, steering me towards a chair in front of the mirror. 'But it's not all fun and games. I'm also goddess of ghosts. That's a lot less fun, I can tell you.'
'Really?' I asked, as she sat me down and stood behind me. I watched in the mirror as she lifted a lock of my dark, wet hair and let it fall back onto my jacket with a slapping sound.
'Yeah. Most folk aren't exactly thrilled to find their souls stuck as corporeal beings. Sometime it feels like I'm wading though shit trying to sort out their messes.'
'Is that why you live in the underworld? Because of the ghosts?'
'Uhuh. Now, we need to do something about your hair. And eat some cake. You'll feel better.'
I thought about refusing, remembering something about not eating food from the underworld, but the cake looked and smelled amazing. This whole place is pretend, I reminded myself, and lifted a slice from the cake. What harm could it possibly do? I took a bite, sensations firing in my mouth as the richest chocolate I'd ever tasted slid over my tongue.
'Oh my god,' I mumbled around the cake.
'Gods,' Hecate corrected me. 'Twelve of them. And don't forget it.'
'Right,' I nodded. I looked at her in the mirror as she rummaged though the rails of clothes behind me.
'I'm not wearing something like...' I trailed off as she straightened and raised one eyebrow.
'Like what?'
'Like what you are,' I finished awkwardly. 'You look great in it! But I'm not quite as... confident about the bust area as that outfit requires.'
'Persy, from what I remember, that's a load of shit. But don't worry, I was planning on something a little more conservative. If you went out in front of Hades in skin-tight leather he might bust something,' she said, frowning at a green dress on a hanger. I shook my head. Maybe when I met my alleged ex-husband this would start to make more sense. Maybe not. I finished the piece of cake and glugged down the rest of the wine, already starting to feel much more alert.
'So, tell me about the Trials,' I said. 'What will I have to do?'
'Er, best you find that out later,' she answered evasively. Alarm trickled through me. It doesn't matter, it's not real, I told myself.
'Are they dangerous?'
Hecate shrugged.
'There've been a few casualties,' she said, sliding a pale blue thing off a hanger.
'What?' I said, spinning on my chair to face her. 'Casualties? What kind of casualties?'
'Don't worry about it, with any luck Hades will find a way to withdraw you anyway,' she smiled at me, but I knew she was lying. I took a deep breath.
'I like the green,' I said, pointing at the dress still on the rail.
'Oh. OK.'
'And can I have some more wine?'
'Hecate, why is my hair white?' I kept my voice as level as I could, but it flickered all the same. 'I've dealt with enough weird shit today, and I'm not sure I can add this to the list.'
'Shush, you've not seen it all together yet. You look amazing.'
She'd hidden the mirror from me, turning it a smoky black, but I could see the lock of my hair that had fallen over my shoulder and was now laying across my left breast. The pale green dress was a halterneck, showing only a moderate amount of cleavage, but it was tight around my waist. The bottom half of the dress flowed like liquid to the floor though, shimmering turquoise when I moved, and a thigh-high split showed the off the gold lace-up sandals on my now-dry feet.
If it weren't for the little piece of white hair dominating my attention, I would have been quite thrilled with the outfit.
'OK, are you ready?'
'Do I have a choice?'
'Nope. Ta da!'
The mirror cleared, and my mouth fell open. My hair was white. Not like when an old person goes gray, but white. I moved my head from side to side and saw silvery strands catch the light. It was set in gentle curls and half tied up, with lots of little plaits everywhere like Hecate's. A few stray curls fell about my ears, brushing my bare shoulders. I leaned closer to peer at my reflection. My green eyes looked more green somehow, like fresh grass, dark liner rimming them and making them pop. A deep purple colored my lips, making them look fuller, and my cheekbones looked sharper too.
'What have you... How did you make me look so...' I couldn't finish any of the sentences. I looked a thousand times better than I had ever managed to make myself look.
Hecate beamed at me.
'Just wait until I get you into some of your old dresses,' she said, eyes flashing. 'Although we'll need some fighting gear too.'
'Fighting?' I raised my eyebrows. 'Other than scrapping with my big brother, I'm not really a fighter. I'm more of the 'love things, grow things', type of gal.'
'I'm sure it'll all come back.' I opened my mouth, but shut it again. There was no point in asking her what that meant. I was just going to go along with this. 'OK. I think you're ready. Finish that wine and we'll go.'
I downed the rest of my drink in one, and rolled my shoulders as I stood up.
'I'm ready,' I told her and she took my hand in hers.
'Good. I'm sorry.'
'For what?'
'This,' she said, and her eyes turned milky.
Six
The world around me lurched, white light flashing bright around me. I squeezed my eyes closed and gripped Hecate's hand harder, then I heard the muttering of a crowd, which died away almost instantly. I opened my eyes.
'Oh my god,' I whispered.
I was in a white marble room, facing tiered rows of seated people. And the word 'people' was a loose description. Although over half of them looked human, a lot didn't. There was a woman with a severely misshapen face and leathery wings protruding from her back, and a beautiful lady whose skin looked like it was made from wood. There was a man who must have been ten feet tall if he had been stood up, his skin a shining gold color, and a creature that had furry legs that looked like a cat's and a beak for a nose. Standing at the back, just in front of the white marble wall were three minotaurs, a centaur and an incredibly curvy woman with a wooden leg and hair that seemed to be moving of its own accord. I took a deep breath. OK. Ten, no, make that a hundred points, to my imagination.