Page 27

HADES

Hades saw Persephone off to work, which felt like sending her into Poseidon’s ocean. She did not even have an office. She worked out of the Coffee House as if she weren’t his fiancée, as if she hadn’t caught the interest and attention of every god and mortal in New Greece. The sharks would circle, and the only thing that gave him any peace was that Antoni escorted her and Zofie would shadow her.

Once she was gone, Hades went in search of Thanatos and the farmer he had brought to the Underworld. Despite his harrowing end, he’d transitioned to Asphodel, settling on the outskirts of the meadow that was used for farmland. Several acres were set aside for wheat and barley, grapevines and vegetables, olive and fig trees. Beyond that was a field speckled with cows and goats. Souls wandered about the land, conducting maintenance, gathering food, and feeding and milking the cattle.

Among them was the new farmer, who sat on a stoolmilking a dairy cow. He wore what he had died in, a flannel shirt and a pair of overalls.

As they approached, they cast a shadow on the old man, and he paused his milking to turn and look at them.

“Georgios,” said Thanatos. “This is Lord Hades.”

“Lord Hades,” the farmer said, stumbling to his feet and fumbling for his hat. As he swept it off his head, he revealed a layer of wispy hair that barely covered his bald head. “Well, I… What can I do for you?”

Hades was amused by the farmer’s stammering.

“It is nice to meet you, Georgios,” he said. “I trust you are adjusting?”

“Just like home,” the soul said.

It was a lie.

Hades could see it in the squint of his eyes and the way they darkened as he spoke.

“I hope it comes to feel more like it every day,” he replied—a sincere wish he had for all who came to reside in his realm.

“Thank you, my lord,” said the soul with a tip of his head.

“Georgios,” said Hades. “I’ve come to ask about your death.”

The farmer paled. “Well, I don’t really recall—”

“Do not think of that night,” Hades said. “Think of before. Did anyone come around to your house inquiring after the monster you spotted in your field?”

“Well, yes,” Georgios said. “A couple men in nice suits.”

Hades nodded. “What did they look like?”

“I don’t rightly know how to describe them except to say they didn’t belong. That much was evident.”

“Because of how they dressed?”

Georgios shook his head. “It was more than that. They were just different. Different like you.”

“Different like me?” Hades asked. “What does that mean?”

“Godly, I suppose,” Georgios said.

Demigods, perhaps, but Hades wondered who exactly and if they were sent by Theseus.

“And what did they want?”

“Said they were there because they heard I’d seen a monster. I’m not sure how they knew… I’d only told a neighbor, but word gets around in the towns outside Thebes. Anyway, I showed them where it had been. It was easy to spot because the grass was still flattened.”

“What did they say?”

“Nothing. They just left,” Georgios said.

He was quiet for a moment and then seemed to realize why Hades had inquired after the two men and the monster.