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Did Persephone descend or was she
taken?
Did Hades steal Demeter’s bright ray
or did Persephone escape
to the peace of dark solitude
broken
only by her lover’s touch?

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Chapter 1

Day 1

Persephone stared into the microscope, slowly swirling the knob until the slide came into focus. Pressed between the slide’s two plates she could see the growth and death of her latest strain of wheat in one thin slice. Mold spores danced among the new growth, signaling that the plant’s death was near. She was solely focused on her work to the exclusion of everything around her, which included two very large security guards and a holoscreen showing the never-ending coverage of a growing war. She sat perched on her stool, studying the results of her latest experimental crop. With one knee drawn tight to her chest, the other swung under her, kicking the stool’s leg in a staccato rhythm.

She ignored a quiet cough behind her. Persephone sighed and pulled out the next plate, a slightly more mature slice of the same varietal. The cells showed robust growth and health. Persephone smiled as she hunched over the microscope, delighted at the mature plant’s growth, but she was agitated. The yield was wrong once again. It was too high for her precise calculations, and she frowned because something was altering her outcomes.

Deep down, Persephone suspected she knew the source of the disturbance.

“Excuse me, Miss? I’m looking for Dr. Kore?” a man’s voice called from her doorway.

Persephone sat up straight and spun the stool to face the man. She glanced at the clocks, set with times from around the world, each telling her she had gotten lost in her research and missed the start of an expected appointment. Tony, the head of her personal security detail, nodded to indicate the man had been vetted and was probably on her schedule. He clearly held back an amused smile as his chin lowered to his black uniform shirt. Beside him, his newest partner stood half a head taller than Tony and almost blank-faced. Only the barest twist to his mouth denied Tony’s calm and a slight tightening of Henry’s jaw indicated he was already annoyed with her visitor.

“Need something?” She rose and quickly wiped her hands on her dirt-caked, stained jeans. She nodded at the two men, giving Henry a little wink that she knew would make him roll his eyes, indicating the visitor could approach her. She wasn’t the queen of the world but she was the queen of her lab and the two men ensured she only had the visitors she allowed.

The man stepped around Tony and Henry. “Yes? I’m supposed to come to work for Dr. Kore? Her new lab manager?” His voice rose as an annoying question with each statement. “They said I could find her here and that she was in desperate need of a lab manager.” He finished the statement by licking his lips slightly.

“Lab manager?” Persephone asked, tucking her chocolate brown hair over her shoulder. She didn’t need a lab manager. She suspected some high-level meddling, which set her on edge. If someone, probably her mother, was trying to play matchmaker again, she certainly wasn’t taking this dweeb. He’d spent half his querying speech talking to the floor and the other staring at her admittedly minimal chest.

Henry shifted restlessly by her door. Persephone discreetly gestured for him to stay in place. He had only been on her security team for a few weeks, but it seemed he had already picked up much of the inner politics that made up International Bio-Chemical Corps, known as IBCC. His blue-gray eyes and close-cropped hair made the man look like a warrior made of marble. Beside him, Tony was a sharp contrast with sun-golden skin and a dark braid that went almost to his back. Despite the contrast in their appearances, they both had a look like if they had a broadsword pressed to their neck, they would laugh before destroying their foe. She had no doubt Tony would behave like a warrior if she was threatened.

“Look, girl,” he scoffed. “I know Dr. Kore is the best bioengineer in the world, and with my credentials, I deserve to work for her. I don’t need to get jerked around by some power-hungry intern. Go get her so I can interview with her and show her my papers.” His earlier trepidation had clearly evaporated now that he’d assessed her to be nothing more than an intern, and the questioning tone was gone.

Persephone’s eyes narrowed in her youthful face and her eyes darted to Henry. He gave her a quick nod. Her shoulders sagged in relief and the corners of his mouth twitched into a tiny smile before settling back into a neutral look.

“Yeah, I guess you’d hate to make the wrong impression.” Persephone turned slightly as if heading to fetch ‘Dr. Kore,’ but paused. She smiled coquettishly over her shoulder at him. “What have you heard about Dr. Kore anyway that has you so impressed?”

“Her research into genetic and bioengineering is unparalleled!” he said with the warm smile of a professor about to embark on his pet topic. “She’s unlocked ways to combine drought-resistant cultivars with less resilient species in unthought of ways. I’ve even read some of her more recent research into improving hydroponic systems to reduce evaporation and increase yield. Her research is extensive and some of the most cited in the world.” He laughed and strode to where she sat, still perched on her stool. “The world of bioengineering, anyway.” The man leaned in slightly.

Persephone leaned back, trying hard not to roll her eyes at his overt attempt to establish dominance, but didn’t halt her security team from edging closer. She had no doubt that if she failed to keep him back, one of the two would have him on his knees with an arm yanked behind his back in a flash.

“Dr. Kore, huh?” she asked calmly. “Demeter Kore or Persephone Kore?”

“What?” The man jerked back a bit at her question.

With little space between them, now Persephone sat upright. “Dr. Demeter Kore is a biochemist, also well known for her research. But Dr. Persephone Kore is both a geneticist and bioengineer. Dual docs, ya know?”

“I’m looking for Dr. Persephone Kore, clearly,” he sneered. “Who is Demeter Kore?”

“Dr. Persephone Kore’s mother, clearly,” she said in mocking reflection.

He sneered. “Oh, that’s probably why I haven’t heard of her. I only study cutting-edge technologies. If she’s Dr. Persephone Kore’s mother, she’s probably well past her prime.”

Persephone laughed, sharp and hard. He was a caricature of a boorish lecturer, smug and full of self-worth. Any doubt she’d harbored about not giving him a try had dissipated.

“I’ll tell her you said that.” She shot a look at her security team, now hovering mere feet behind him. Tony had his eyes locked on the man and was balanced on the balls of his feet, ready to lunge. Henry, on the other hand, stood tall and was still watching her, the slight bend in his knees only visible from the break in his pants the only indication he was prepared to strike. The way he looked at her as the domineering wannabe lab assistant loomed over her made her want to blush. It was hungry. Feral. Definitely not his usual cool composure. Her eyes shot back to the man before her.

He looked at her blankly before her words sank in.

His face fell by degrees as the truth hit him. “You … you—,” he stammered. “You can’t be Dr. Kore.”

“Oh, swing and a miss there, slugger. Look, boy,” she gave him a saccharine smile. “I can and I am Dr. Kore. Dr. Persephone Kore, whose research is extensive and some of the most cited in the world. The world of bioengineering, anyway,” she said, mimicking his rude tone. Her two guards inched closer.

His face fell from shock to anger. “Dr. Kore has been publishing for over a decade. You’re like, twelve!”

Persephone’s eyes narrowed and her mouth tightened. “You seem to suffer from hyperbole.” She made an insolent face at him and cocked her head. “I’ll have you know, I’m twenty-five. But you are right, I have been publishing for over a decade. I started publishing during my last year of my master’s program and continued through my Ph.D., which, by the way, I finished well before I could drink. And I’ve been running this lab for almost nine years now.”

The man looked poleaxed.

“You won’t be joining me, by the way. I might need a lab manager, but a more open-minded one.” She flicked her hands dismissively.

The man took a single step toward her, trying to tower over her small frame still perched easily on the stool, but before Persephone could blink, he was on his knees, one arm twisted tightly behind his back by Tony. Just as the two had been teaching her in their bi-weekly self-defense classes.

He looked at her questioningly as if he hoped to be rescued from her armed escort, but she shrugged. Her team was as restricted as she was.

Henry escorted the man out while Tony stood watch at her door, eyes sweeping the lab. Moments later, Henry returned, his uniform as unruffled as if he hadn’t just thrown the man from the facility grounds. Persephone smiled at him, a silent thank you, and this time was rewarded with a full smile before he pulled it back into his professional mask. Something bright fluttered in her chest.

Sighing slightly, she uncoiled from her perch and stretched. She took in her messy lab, pots and soil scattered across worktables almost at odds with the high-end analyzers. “Okay, fellas, I’m gonna finish up for the day and head out for a hike.” She paused because she already knew what was coming.

“Ma’am—” Tony started.

“Dr. Kore,” Henry interrupted, “we’ll have to check with the head of security first.”

“He’s the head of security,” she said, pointing at Tony.

“I am the head of your security team, but I am not the head of the security team,” Tony reminded her.

Persephone’s eyes flicked to the unrelenting war coverage on a muted holoscreen above her workstation. She quirked one eyebrow. “Are you seriously worried about that?” she gestured to the muted screen. The news anchor’s mouth moved silently as video of explosions showed in clips over his shoulder.

Neither answered, exchanging one silent look before Henry turned away to speak quietly into his radio. Persephone rolled her neck, occasionally twisting her head sharply in her hands to pop it.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Kore. You can only be approved for a short run and only on the compound tonight.” Henry’s face, usually expressionless, was regretful.

Persephone’s eyebrows shot up. “By whose authority?” She’d been denied outings before, but this was an unprecedented level of restriction. She looked at Tony, who, as the head of her team, usually made the call on her restrictions, but he was looking at Henry.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, the head of our security team,” Henry told her.

Her eyes narrowed over the odd phrasing. “Really?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with his usual calm.

“How far?” she asked with deadly intensity.

“Ma’am, you may run as far as you like, but you must only run within the perimeter of the compound, and you need to be done before nightfall.”

She gritted her teeth and held back the string of curses she wanted to let out. “Well then, I hope you enjoy running ten miles in three-mile loops through the corn, wheat, and soy,” she told them. “I mean, I only assume you’re on duty for a few more hours?”

They exchanged a look between them. Henry gave Tony a sharp nod.

She pushed back from the desk and stalked past the two men. A gentle hand on her upper arm halted her. She looked down, only then realizing that neither man had ever actually touched her before, as much as she might have welcomed that. She stared at the hand, pale on her sun-bronzed skin, feeling as if the world outside their compound had suddenly become all too real.

“Henry?” she asked quietly. She had gently flirted and teased Henry since he had joined her team. He had a sweetness to him she liked. However, he had never reciprocated her flirting outright and had certainly never been so bold as to touch her.

Henry’s mouth pressed into a thin line, and he didn’t speak. Persephone stared up at him as fear built inside her. His eyes, a light blue rimmed in green, held her gaze with concern. If Henry was worried, she was scared.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry,” Tony’s voice cut their stare. “They’ve asked that you pack a small bag before you depart for your run. Just in case,” Tony said with an anxious shrug.

“In case of what, Tony?” Persephone whispered and pulled against Henry’s touch.

His hand stayed on her upper arm. Something unreadable flashed across his face.

“In case of what, Tony?” Persephone repeated, louder.

“In case this compound is overrun and we have to extract you quickly,” he said calmly.

Persephone jerked her arm from Henry’s grasp to face them both. “Are you serious?” She blinked hard to clear her contacts and narrowed her eyes at him. “Really?” she asked softly.

“Yes, Dr. Kore,” Henry replied when Tony fell silent.

---

Chapter 2

Day 1

An hour later, she was running along the edges of the compound’s many experimental fields, Henry and Tony jogging a respectful distance beyond to give her the illusion of solitude. Somewhere, far behind her, a small bag was packed with hastily assembled clothes, notes, and electronic drives.

Persephone held out a delicate hand as she ran, letting it slide along her various cultivars. Each was designed and mutated to counter a specific set of blights. She held eight patents for the crops she had produced over the last nine years, an unparalleled number among the staff of IBCC.

And yet, she winced slightly as her hand tapped each stalk, wondering if she was altering the outcomes of her current experiments. Farmers buying her genetically modified seeds expected a higher yield under static laboratory conditions. But she feared they would one day discover that her yields topped any other single scientist, no matter how the conditions were varied.

She gave a huffing breath as she ran, grateful that no one at IBCC had dug too deeply into her data to see the discrepancy. If it weren’t for her mother’s meddling, she would be at a real lab of her own choosing and could rely on the scientists around her to help double-check her results. At IBCC, she rarely, if ever, saw other researchers and most veered away from her when they spotted her during her leisure time, which was probably another trick of her mother’s meddling.

So far, her closest companions were the ever-present security team her mother forced IBCC to employ on her behalf. She had been mutinous, resistant, and devious in giving them the slip until recently. When Tony had been promoted to the head of her team six months ago, she had settled down.

Tony was calm and unflappable. He’d broken the unspoken rule of never engaging with her directly to talk almost endlessly about his wife and life outside of work. Persephone, who had been devoid of real love for so long, had enjoyed their banter and stopped most of her shenanigans when he was on duty. On some level, knowing her mother’s influence, Tony was likely as trapped in his duties as she was. Tony must have hired Henry because he had calmed her as much as Tony, if in a different way.

She glanced at Henry, keeping a steady pace just behind her left shoulder. She had been smitten the moment she saw him. He was tall and strong, his bulk filling out his uniform in an appealing way, like all her guards. But he was different, exuding a calm unlike any of her other guards. She basked in that peace. She half expected him to be like Tony, garrulous and open, but instead, she had spent the last few weeks slowly winding information out of him and flirting with him with all the subtly of a sledgehammer. Having been cloistered all her life, she had very little opportunity to practice. Yet, when he did speak, he exuded a gentle strength, sharp wit, and never made her feel like an awkward teenager trying to be subtle about a crush.

Well, she’d been subtle to start, which he ignored. Then she was open, which he gently turned aside while remaining friendly. When she asked if he was married, he had told her that he was single but didn’t elaborate or hint that he had a significant other of some type. After that, she was blunt and still denied. Tony had dared to snicker at that. For the last week, it had been almost a game to see what was the silliest or most outrageous way she could flirt with him, knowing she’d still be denied.

“Enjoying the view?” she called over her shoulder to him and gave an extra swing to her hips for the next few strides.

Tony snickered, but Henry stayed silent.

“Henry, run up. Tony, fall back,” she said.

They did as she asked, Henry running at her side and Tony, hopefully, out of earshot. For the sake of her ego.

“What do you know of what’s going on out there?” she asked Henry.

“I can’t say much more than what you’ve seen on the news.”

“You’re part of a security team. A security team at a secure facility, owned by a multi-billion credit corporation that sells to every nation on the planet. Well, almost all, some are sanctioned. I fail to believe you don’t know more.” She slowed down slightly, having realized she sped up as she spoke.

Henry paced her for a few strides before looking quickly over his shoulder at Tony. He glanced back at her. “I said I can’t say much more, I didn’t say I didn’t know.”

“Savvy.”

“Since I can’t say what I know, perhaps you could tell me what you know and I’d be happy to correct any misconceptions.”

Persephone gave a light laugh then turned to look at Tony. He watched them but his face was blank and she hoped he hadn’t heard Henry’s offer.

“Zeus and Poseidon are at it again,” she said quickly. “The two nations hate each other. They always have.”

“Yes, the Sons of Zeus and Forces of Poseidon have been engaged in skirmishes for the last five months.” They strode on a few more paces before he said, “And, yes, as far as I can tell, both sides fight like brothers over a rich man’s inheritance.”

“Poseidon’s side is currently blockading key ports, keeping Zeus’s people from receiving crucial shipments before what will likely be a harsh winter that far north.”

“True. I feel that news has been negligent in mentioning acts of sabotage on several critical storage and processing facilities that would ensure those shipments are processed to feed, clothe, and house Zeus’s people in the coming winter.”

Persephone nodded. “And Poseidon’s side feels justified because the accident on Rhodes spilled toxic, apocalyptic waste into their neighboring waters.”

“Yes, the Forces of Poseidon are saying it was deliberate.”

“And what would you say, Henry?”

“Could have been an accident. The Sons of Zeus aren’t the most careful bunch. But it doesn’t matter because the harm from it affected Poseidon far more than Hades.”

“So much bad blood for so long,” she said. “Does it ever end?”

“It ends when the struggle leaves both sides.”

“How?”

“You know how,” he said quietly.

They paced her for another mile before Henry finally spoke. “We should cut it here, Dr. Kore.”

“Call me Persephone—or Seph if you’re really feeling close,” she said with a smile.

“Dr. Kore, we need to get you back and positioned to move,” he replied.

Persephone slowed to a walk and linked her arms in theirs. “You guys are sweet but absolutely no fun, you know that?”

“I’m incredibly fun,” Tony responded. “Unlike him, I carry on a conversation well, or so my wife tells me.”

“I’d like to meet this wonderful woman someday,” she told him with a smile.

“Maybe you will,” he said.

Henry shot him an unreadable look and Tony’s face went blank.

“He’s cranky because he’s known me forever and is tired of hearing about my beloved wife while he stays single,” Tony finally said with a sly grin.

“We’ll get you back to your quarters, Dr. Kore,” Henry told her, ignoring Tony’s jab. “Based on our current intelligence, I suspect we may have to move you tonight. I’d recommend showering and eating as soon as possible so you’re prepared.”

“You really think we’ll be attacked, Henry?” She shook her head. “That war isn’t about us. I grow plants. I grow plants in a country that isn’t an adversary to either side. What do the Forces of Poseidon or Sons of Zeus care about wheat and barley anyway?”

Henry gave her an odd look. “Dr. Kore, as you said earlier, you are world renowned. You can create what can save a civilization. Do not underestimate what people would do to control your knowledge and skills.”

---

Chapter 3

Day 1

A ubiquitous holoscreen played silently near Persephone as she tidied her apartment. She ambled from room to room, hair still damp from her post-run shower and soaking the back of her shirt. It was easy to remain oblivious the growing crisis on the news without her contacts or her glasses. Deliberately ignoring the screen as well as the conspicuous bag on the table, she purposefully moved piles of her belongings from one area to another while telling herself she was tidying up.

For weeks, Persephone had dodged each holoscreen displaying the rising tension between the world’s two largest and most powerful nations. She and IBCC resided outside of both. Persephone knew enough history to know that if the big two erupted into open warfare, they might come through her tiny nation first. But from the little she’d allowed herself to see, it seemed unlikely.

A muffled boom broke her from the furious cleaning spree. From the window, the blurred, dimming light of a nearby blast faded.   Persephone jerked upright, eyes darting to her bag. Reflexively, she sat at her console, which was the contents of her desktop and her section of the IBCC servers to an external hard drive.

Persephone sighed and rose as the computer continued the long process of moving data. E Gaze falling on three stalks of wheat she plucked during her run, she didn’t know why she’d snagged those cultivars, of all her current experiments. Somehow, they seemed vitally important now.

Another muffled boom was followed by a pounding at her door. Persephone’s eyes darted to her well-worn t-shirt, faded tight joggers, and bare feet before coming back to the blurry entryway.

She hesitated. Somewhere in the back of her head, her mother Demeter’s advice to “never let them see you sweat or in sweats” thundered through her consciousness.

The pounding sounded again. Disregarding her mother’s careful advice on personal appearance management, she opened the door. Security personnel clad in black armor, different from their daily uniforms, flooded through. They flanked the walls of her entryway and hall, each rifle held down, but each trigger finger only a fraction of an inch away from a trigger. She was almost surprised to see there was not even a hint of feral lethality in their actions.

But clearly, every thought and every move carried purposeful intent.

“What—”

“Dr. Persephone Kore, grab your bag and follow me,” a voice called out.

She reacted instinctively, only realizing it was Tony’s voice ordering her around as she snatched the drive from her computer. She tucked the small drive into her bag as she followed him out swiftly. So swiftly that she left her contacts and glasses in the apartment as they fled. Nine years of memory drove her bare feet swiftly down two flights of stairs to a small concrete pad where a vehicle waited. Hands took her bag and lifted her into the vehicle. She settled, giving over to a false sense of calm that flooded her mind.

“CHARON 03, Hermes, the package is en route. Prep to launch and inform STYX 02 we’ll be ready within the hour,” the driver called into a radio at his shoulder.

“Copy, wilco Hermes,” another voice crackled over the channel.

It was then Persephone realized that not only had she snagged her hard drive and bag, but the newest of her wheat cultivars were clutched in her hand.

Far beyond their vehicle, another boom echoed across IBCC’s dark pastoral valley.

“Get down,” Tony said calmly, but threw himself across her.

Persephone batted at Tony’s muscular bulk ineffectually. “Get off, Tony!” she yelled, but he remained where he was, sprawled across her in the vehicle.

“Two minutes to the bird,” someone yelled while they sped down the road.

Through Tony’s bulk and more muffled booming, Persephone could hear the faint but growing whump-whump-whump sound of a helicopter. Her hands tightened on the stalks of wheat, seemingly the only thing she still had control over.

In a blur of motion, the vehicle stopped. She was extracted alongside her bag and loaded onto the running helicopter. Persephone would swear later that her feet never touched the ground during her abrupt abduction.

“CHARON 03, all souls aboard,” she heard Tony shout into a headset as the helicopter lifted off.

“Tony, where’s Henry?” she asked over the rush of wind through the open helicopter doors.

An unmuffled boom rocked the helicopter as it lifted off before anyone was buckled into a seat. Fire blossomed below and Persephone grabbed for anything she could get her free hand on as her occupied hand braced against anything else. They rose steadily from the ground, undamaged from the detonation only a few dozen feet away from their landing zone.

Persephone shivered from her place on the floor, hand still clutching the three precious stalks of wheat. She looked out at the destruction and shivered. Even in the growing dark, punctuated by explosive detonations, they were undoubtedly the only remaining stalks from several acres of experimental plants.

Chaos ruled the helicopter’s movements. Persephone’s shivers grew as they flew low across the terrain at speeds that whipped any warm air away from her body out the open doors. The helicopter yanked aggressively from left to right, skimming over the rolling terrain beyond the compound’s valley. Persephone lost all sense of time as she flailed wildly for anything to grip. She grasped at the nylon webbing and straps that flapped around the helicopter as she fought for a more stable seat.

Whether it was seconds or minutes that passed, she managed to stay inside the maneuvering helicopter. Her eyes finally settled on Henry, whose presence she’d missed in their desperate evacuation. Relief flooded through her and Persephone would have smiled, but the damp shirt clinging to her back made her shiver in the ambient wind. Henry reached down, scooped her up with one arm, and draped her across his lap. He hunched over her, protecting her from the fierce winds whipping through the open cockpit.

In another time and place, Persephone would have smiled at finally ending up in his embrace but not today.

Henry gently placed a set of headphones over her ears and she was immersed in the cockpit communication as they continued the flight away from IBCC.

“CHARON 03, reporting hostile fire outbound point Delta,” a voice said in her ear.

“Copy all, STYX 02 is ready to receive you. Proceed on assigned vectors to RZ.”

Persephone shivered in Henry’s lap and he clutched her tighter. One arm wrapped around her thighs while the other pulled her torso tight against his chest. She tried to look up at him, to judge his expression, but the wind pulled her chocolate hair in a wild halo around her face, obscuring him.

“STYX 02, this is Hermes, sixty seconds from RZ,” Persephone thought she heard the pilot say.

“Copy, engines burning.”

“Hold tight, Persephone,” Tony told her over the intercom.

Persephone nodded against Henry’s chest, too cold to do much else. When the helicopter’s skids touched down, Henry rose, still holding her in his arms. She was both dismayed she couldn’t leave the helicopter on her own and thankful they didn’t make her try, as personnel around her moved faster than her frozen body would allow.

“Keep holding on, girl,” Henry told her as he settled into a seat of what she recognized as a plush business jet.

Persephone struggled to sit up on the padded leather bench seat.

“Here,” Tony told her and offered an oxygen mask. He shot a quick look at Henry. “Flying at altitude can wind you.”

She put the mask on her face gratefully and inhaled deeply.

“STYX 02, Hades Actual, package aboard,” she heard over the hiss of the mask. “Authorized to depart.”

“Copy, Hades Actual.”

Persephone’s eyes blinked hard. Her already blurry vision doubled. She realized no one else in the jet’s cabin wore an oxygen mask. In a panic, she tried to push the gas mask away.

“It’s okay, Seph,” Tony told her and gently pushed the mask back to her face.

Henry put a gentle hand on her shoulder and she felt calmer.

“Tony? Henry?” she asked quietly through the mask. Her hand, still clutching the three precious stalks of wheat, folded gently across her waist. A strange lethargy spread through her body.

“You didn’t accidentally,” he hesitated, “you know?” Tony asked Henry as her consciousness faded.

“No man!” Henry replied harshly, then glanced down at her. “Get me the IV, it’s a long flight to the Underground.”

Persephone’s eyelids drooped shut.

---

Chapter 4

Day 3

Persephone woke slowly, consciousness coming in fits and starts. With each waking, she could recall a fragmented memory. The dimmed lights of the business jet’s cabin and an IV burning into the crook of her elbow. Bright runway lights on a pitch-black airstrip. Handcuffs and raised voices. Bright lights and a hallway that smelled like a basement: dusty, cold, and deep. The final time she woke, the only fragmented memory was of the soft whooshing of HVAC overhead.

Persephone opened her eyes.

She blinked.

She was surrounded by an unrelenting darkness that blinking failed to clear.

She rolled to her side and could feel a thin mattress or blanket under her. Every muscle in her body protested and she realized she had been unconscious for a long period. Persephone swallowed reflexively. Her mouth and throat were working to make enough saliva to swallow. A dim and fuzzy but narrow band of light was visible a few feet away, maybe the bottom of a door. Persephone sat up and slid back along the soft covering until her back hit a wall.

She sat with her knees drawn tight to her chest for an immeasurable time. The rough wall leeched heat from her back, as did the floor through the mattress’s thin padding. Persephone shook as if the very walls were trying to pull life from her body.

Footsteps and a quietly rasping scrape beyond the narrow band of light caught her attention. There was a snicking clack before light flooded in. Persephone held one shaking hand up to shield her closed eyes.

“Doctor?” a deep, tentative voice called.

“Yes?” Persephone’s voice creaked. She swallowed hard again, this time realizing how dry her mouth was.

“Dr. Persephone Kore?” the voice called again, muffled.

Persephone cracked her eyes open enough to see a figure move to block the door, then blurry feet approaching. She pressed up against the cold wall. “Yes.”

A hand clasped her wrist and she made a croaking gasp of surprise. The strong hand yanked her to her feet. Staggering upright, Persephone winced at the blurry light coming through the door. She yelped in shock when pain lanced into her fingertip. Her finger was pinched and rolled until a bright crimson dot welled up.

“The machine needs more than that,” a cold voice said in the darkness.

“She’s dehydrated,” a familiar voice chided. “You aren’t going to get much more than that without a line.” The hand holding her wrist ran a gentle thumb along the palm of her hand, as if trying to soothe her. “She shouldn’t have been down here in the first place.”

Persephone saw another hand swiftly collect the bright red drop of blood from her finger. She jerked her hand out of someone’s grasp and brought it to her mouth to suck on the painful cut. While she inspected the finger, something near the bright fuzz of the doorway gave a soft cheeping.

The cold voice gave a sharp grunt. “Persephone Nestis Kore, daughter of Demeter Kore, and lead bio-genetic engineer at International Bio-Chemical Corps. Twenty-five years old, never married, and no children. Holds doctorates in biology and genetic engineering,” the voice rattled off.

“I told you it was her,” the familiar voice responded, annoyance making his voice tight. “I brought her in myself.”

“This can’t be right,” the first voice argued. “You can’t have two doctorates by the age of—what?— seventeen?”

“Sixteen,” she corrected absently. Persephone wiped her finger on her t-shirt, wondering how long she had been wearing it, and squinted at the two vague shapes in front of her.

“Come on, Persephone,” the familiar voice called.

“No, sir, she has to be judged.” The second voice was testy, as if this were an argument had many times over.

“She was specifically requested.”

“You know the rules. No dead weight,” the voice said with cold humor.

“She was specifically requested by him,” the familiar voice reiterated.

“He may be the Lord Commander and King, but even he has rules. Rules,” the cold voice went on, “he has entrusted us to enforce, Thanatos.”

A hand clamped onto her wrist again, presumably Thanatos, and gave a gentle but insistent tug. “This will be quick, then we’ll get you settled.”

Persephone had a moment’s hesitation before stumbling along after them. It wasn’t that she wanted to stay in a dark cell, but the idea of being “judged” held an ominous feel. She closed her eyes as she stepped from the cell into the brightly illuminated hallway. She had always welcomed the sun, reveled in its feel on her skin. This light was harsh, unnatural, and made her shiver.

The hand on her wrist released her. “This way,” he said. “It’ll be okay, Seph.”

She blinked at him. She guessed he was no more than four feet away, but she was unable to see his face. Squinting after the men, or at least she assumed, men, all she could make out were darkly dressed, bulky figures. She stumbled after them, staggering down the hallway until a hand grabbed her elbow to steady her.

Persephone looked up to see the dark clad, armored guard, presumably looking down at her from a black, visored helmet. “Please, Persephone. No one intends to hurt you,” he gave a little pause and Persephone guessed he was looking at the first person, a small, maybe slender man or a woman with a neutral voice.

“She must be judged,” the voice said with a cool bluntness that conveyed an utter lack of care.

Listening more closely now, she realized the person was a slender woman in dark robes.

“Eris,” growled the dark armored man with a familiar voice.

“She gets no more special treatment than anyone else,” Eris replied calmly. “After all, we can’t have anything stirring up the masses right now, can we?”

There was a moment of tense silence before the warmer of the two hands, the still helmeted Thanatos, tugged on her gently.

“Please, Persephone.”

There was something in the way he said her name. A subtle reverence that unfroze her feet. She took a hesitant, stumbling step forward. A hand caught and cupped her elbow to keep her upright.

“Thank you,” she mumbled.

“Are you alright?” he asked quietly, his voice muffled by the helmet.

“Tired, hungry, thirsty, and kind of pissed,” she said. Her eyes swept from his helmet to the hallway, squinting, but still unable to see beyond the length of her arm.

There was silence as she tried to make sense of her surroundings.

“She’s not wearing her glasses, Thanatos,” another man said from her other side.

Thanatos’ visored face turned to her. The hand at her wrist moved to cup her chin, turning her face up to his.

She glared up at his blank visor.

“I’ll have to add it to the list,” Thanatos said. His hand went to her arm and he guided her along gently by the elbow.

They led her, Thanatos by her elbow and the other two flanking them, down bright gray hallways. Their feet echoed sharply, in a way that made Persephone think the walls were stone or concrete, an idea reinforced by the dank chill in the air.

“Here,” someone said, opening a door. “My duties as an escort end here. I will undoubtedly see you later, on the control floor.” He stepped in closer and gave her a brief bow.

Persephone realized he had deliberately stepped inside of her field of vision to execute his respectful gesture.

“Thank you, Hermes,” Thanatos told him and walked her through the open door. The blurry mass in front of her solidified into a pale dais with three forms seated atop it as they walked closer. Persephone squinted, able to see dark chairs and pale walls, but unable to make out anything more than vaguely human forms seated on the dais.

“I bring Persephone Kore before you for judgment,” Thanatos told them, voice crisp and formal. “Not that it is strictly required,” he said and Persephone got the impression he was looking at Eris from behind his dark visor.

“All who come here require judgment,” a hissingly soft voice said from the dais.

“All,” echoed two other voices.

“Send her data so she may be judged,” the quiet voice hissed.

Eris tapped a key on her small machine and Persephone saw the figures hunch down, presumably reading. They stayed that way for several quiet and intense moments.

“Dr. Persephone Nestis Kore, you are here to be judged for a level of usefulness to us,” the middle figure said.

“I didn’t ask for this,” she spat back.

“No, but the world as you know it will end. This facility will be one of only a few that survive. We wish for you to survive with us, but we must decide the circumstances of that survival. Those who are diligent workers or technically skilled can find themselves assigned to Asphodel, living a modest life until we can return to the world again. Those with useful skills or excellent minds could be assigned to Elysium, enjoying benefits equal to their contributions.”

A spark of proud fire ignited in Persephone. She had never been considered anything less than an exceptional thinker.

“And those who refuse to obey the rules or carry their share of our burden find themselves assigned to Tartarus, fated to spend their time working difficult, dirty, or menial labors.”

Persephone’s mouth tightened. She knew she was arrogant and feared her smart mouth would get her smart mind shuttered away doing hard labor.

“Judges, you have reviewed the file,” the hissingly quiet voice said, “state your cases.”

“She holds two doctoral degrees in useful fields.” There was a faint chuckle from the judge on the right. “One is quite literally in a field.”

“She is too young,” the quiet voice hissed from the left.

“Youth is a plus,” the right judge quipped. “She isn’t like the doddering old fools we have now who may not make it until we can open the doors.”

“Headstrong. Impudent. Immature,” the left judge countered.

“Young, yes, but she runs her own department. She has for years. Clearly, that makes for some level of maturity and leadership,” the right judge argued.

“She holds multiple patents on genetically engineered plants. Her research has created food crops that are resistant to the most difficult and impactful blights. Something I believe we need,” the center judge cut in.

“She will cause turmoil by her very presence,” the left judge said. Persephone could see Eris nodding from the corner of her eye.

“Be that as it may, we need her,” the center judge intoned.

“She is a risk. She will cause agitation with her very presence. She risks upheaval. She risks our existence.”

“You have spent time in her presence. Would you speak for her, Thanatos?”

Persephone stiffened. His helmet-muffled voice was faintly familiar and he’d spent time in her presence? She squinted at his visor.

“She is headstrong, yes, but it is because she knows what is right and fights for it. She appears impudent if you don’t see the care and humor that lies underneath,” his familiar voice carried to the dais. Not loud, but inescapable. “One could call her youth ‘immaturity,’ but at their own peril. She burns with the fires and passions of those not yet worn down to callousness by great age. What you may point out as flaws, we see as features.”

“We?”

“Yes, you know damn well, we. She is brilliant and innovative, both things we will need as our resources wane. And she was specifically requested,” he paused, “by him.” There was a strange emphasis to his statement.

Persephone looked back at the blurry shapes of the judges.

“Judges, your verdicts? Asphodel, Elysium, or Tartarus?”

There was a long pause and she could feel their eyes on her. Fear sank leaden into her belly.

“She has a fourth option,” a deep voice called out behind them.

“She does not!” the querulous hissing voice on the left shouted.

“If she is the risk you say she is, then she has a fourth choice,” the voice said heavily.

Another person stepped beside her, tall and bulky. The figure wore dark clothes and practically loomed over her. She peered at the figure, but they were just far enough away that it was a blur of darkness and a single flash of gold as they moved.

“Is this the choice you would have us make? You know what it means, my Lord,” the center voice asked. “You know you could make a place for her,” he finished slyly.

“I will not trade lives like that. Given the dire need we have, but the security risk she presents, my recommendation is that she be judged Blessed.”

“What is Blessed?” Persephone whispered to Thanatos in the silence that followed.

“Personally vouched for by him,” his voice stressed oddly. “But if you breach faith, you’ll be expelled.”

Persephone blinked. “Okay, but what does that mean?”

“Accept it or be shoved out the blast doors into the middle of a war. Sorry, I can’t explain more now.”

She peered up at his mask, anger starting to overcome her fear. She opened her mouth, but his hand clamped over her mouth before she could curse him out.

“Do you take this obligation? Will she?” the center judge asked, unaware or ignoring her questions.

Persephone rolled her eyes toward the dark figure beside her. She wasn’t sure if she could trust his words or not.

The horrifying memory of her compound burning beneath her as they barely escaped flooded her mind. A weight settled on her chest and her legs wobbled, thinking of the deep booms that had echoed across her pastoral valley. Something finally clicked into place in her mind and she realized that everyone she knew at IBCC was dead.

Persephone dropped her head as tears formed. She knew she couldn’t break now, not with her future hanging in the balance. She swallowed down the fear, pain, and grief. She locked it away in a tiny box in her mind, to be opened, examined, and felt later. But not now.

Persephone nodded to the dark figure.

“Yes, we are both willing to accept the obligation,” the deep voice beside her said with dignity.

“Judges, your verdicts?” the center judge asked. “Minos?”

“Blessed,” Minos’s querulous hissing voice said.

“Rhadamanthus?”

“Blessed,” the right judge said calmly.

“And I, Aeacus, judge you Blessed.”

There was a strange sense of finality to his statement and Persephone shivered. The shiver was accompanied by static, as if she stood beneath a clouded sky just before the first crack of thunder.

“Thanatos, I release her to the Lord’s guardianship. And may you both have chosen wisely.”

Thanatos’ visor was still down and he nodded to the judges. Persephone saw his head swing toward her, but felt Eris shuffle back beside her. “Eris,” he said coldly.

“Thanatos,” Eris responded in an unruffled voice.

“Persephone, this way please,” Thanatos said and took her elbow again, gently guiding her from the hall, the dark figure striding alongside them silently.

“Where are we going?” she asked and jerked her arm, but Thanatos’ firm grasp remained.

“Just wait,” he said.

“No, now!” she said heatedly.

They passed into the hallway and Thanatos shut the door firmly behind them as the dark, bulky figure continued. His helmeted head swung from side to side, likely peering down the corridors.

“You have been judged Blessed, Persephone. You represent too great a risk and are at too great a risk to be among the general Elysium population. I assume they would have judged Elysium had we not intervened.”

“Why? Why am I dangerous?”

“Come on,” he said and tugged at her elbow.

Persephone jerked her arm hard, freeing herself from his grasp. “No, now,” she repeated.

“No, you have to formally meet one more person. I’ll talk some as we walk. But quietly, so don’t fuss at what I tell you.”

Her eyes narrowed at his visor, but she held her elbow out. Thanatos set off at a brisk walk.

“This facility has been in place for a decade. It has had people living in it since it was declared operational.”

“And what is this facility?” As they walked, she sensed the corridors widened. The sound of their footsteps became muted, they echoed less. The ambient noise around them increased but was more diffuse. A hundred voices murmured and were thrown back at her from raw, unpolished rock.

Thanatos huffed out a deep breath. “It is nothing more or less than a very well-built and stocked underground survival shelter.”

“What?” Persephone squawked.

“Surely you aren’t surprised?”

She considered for a moment. “No. With everything going on? No, I guess not.” She shook her head.

 Persephone could tell people were walking the narrowing halls. The sound had a similar diffuse quality of soundwaves hitting rough surfaces and scattering, but it was sharper, tighter. All around her, a cold seeped from every wall and the air had a strange flat smell to it. The people, whose faces she couldn’t read at this distance, seemed to radiate a sense of hostility.

 “Why me?”

“That’s the dangerous part. We spent years bringing in the resources we needed to survive a full-scale war. Some of those resources are people. The last few years have brought an influx of the most intelligent scientists in the world. Brought in both to help us and to protect them. Since then, we’ve built a community from those minds and those who work under or for them. We’ve taken in no one new in almost nine months.”

He sighed and they turned down another corridor. Unlike the corridors they had traveled the last few minutes, this was carpeted and had stately walls of dark wood and somber paint.

“I’m an unknown to a tight-knit group,” Persephone said.

“You are. And while necessary, there will be some,” he hesitated as if considering his word choice carefully, “agitation that there is now one more person in an already resource constrained population.”

“Then why bring in someone new now?” she asked. “Why me?”

“You’re the very best and we need someone who will keep food flowing from fields to kitchens.”

They walked another moment.

“There’s something else, isn’t there?”

“Yes.”

“I was ‘requested’?”

“That too. We scout and vet everyone we bring in,” Thanatos hedged.

“Kidnap,” Persephone retorted hotly.

“Tactically acquire, might be more accurate. But most people come of their own volition.”

“Who, Thanatos? Who requested me?”

Thanatos stopped in front of a dark wooden door. He was silent a moment before he opened the door and strode into the room, guiding Persephone in by the elbow. He walked her to a desk where a dark hulking figure stood.

The man towered over her and stood half a head above Thanatos as well. From where she stood, she couldn’t make out his features other than to know this was a man with brown hair clipped or tied tightly against his head. She was close enough now that from across the desk, Persephone could make out an athletic form under a tailored suit. She took one step forward to see his face, then jumped a half a step back until Thanatos tugged her elbow.

“Dr. Persephone Kore, may I introduce you to Hades, Lord Commander and King of the Underground.”

“Henry,” she whispered.

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Reference Guide:

The characters for The Ballad of Ashes and Spring are all based on their namesakes from Greek mythology. For those who are not super nerds like me and haven’t been exposed to Greek mythology, this reference guide gives a basic understanding of each character’s Greek myths and some of the symbolism woven into the story.

The Gods:

There were twelve primary gods associated with Greek mythology, each were associated with certain aspects of life (or death). These twelve were referred to as the Pantheon, the twelve Olympians who resides on Mt. Olympus … except for Hades. The three strongest were the brothers: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. According to Greek mythology, the world was ruled by cruel Titans until they were overthrown by the brothers. After they emerged victorious, they divided the world into the sky, the sea, and the Underworld, or land of the dead.

Hades: The God of the Underworld, the God of the Dead. Implacable and stern, he ruled over the Underworld, supervising the dead when they descended to his realm. In Greek times, he was more like an administer of the Underworld, rather than judging or applying punishments to the dead.

Persephone: Goddess of the Spring and Queen of the Underworld. She is known to have a dual nature: She is both Kore, “the Girl” and Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld. The Greeks associated her with grain, growth, and the cycle of the seasons. Many pieces of Greek art depict her holding a sheaf of grain.

Thanatos: The God of Death. Not the God of the Dead. Yes, it’s confusing in our cultural context. Thanatos is the personification of death and brings the end of suffering and worry.

Eris: The Goddess of Strife. She personifies our modern phrase “the audacity of that bitch!” She likes to start things.

Hermes: The Messenger God and Herald of Spring. In the original myth, he is sent by Hades to help abduct Persephone.

Zeus: Considered the leader of the Olympians and the God of the Sky and weather. Also, a serial rapist and cheater. He’s not a good guy. Seriously, this author high-key hates him. Brother to Poseidon and Hades.

Poseidon: God of the Sea, as well as earthquakes, and horses. Brother to Zeus and Hades.

Demeter: Goddess of Harvest. Mother of Persephone and goddess responsible for agriculture, harvest, and fertility.

The Nymphs:

Amalthia: A nymph known for the “horn of Amalthia” or our modern cornucopia, a magical horn that could produce an endless quantity of food and drink. If you watched “The Last Unicorn” you’ve heard the name before. Also, the author’s preferred character name on many, many videogames.

Leuce: An ocean nymph brought to the Underworld by Hades. After she died in the Underground, Hades transformed her into a white poplar tree.

Minthe: A river nymph known to have been turned into a mint plant after it was discovered that she had a fling with Hades.

Stygia (Styx): Known as an ocean nymph or associated with the River Styx, the river in the Underworld that was the boundary between the living and the dead.

The Judges:

The Judges of the Underworld. They judged everyone who came to Hades’ domain and determined their fate. Tartarus (tantamount to our modern hell) for those who were terrible in life and deserved eternal punishment. Asphodel (what we would think of as purgatory) for those whose souls were neither especially evil or especially good. Elysium (our heaven) for those whose souls we light with their good deeds in life. For those who choose to reincarnate, if the Judges sent you to Elysium three times, on the third time you could go to the Isle of Blessed, the most ideal of all afterlife locations.

• Aeacus: The record keeper
• Rhadamanthys: Valued wisdom and justice in the choice and presided over Elysium
• Minos: The Simon Cowell of the Judges. Mean. Temperamental. And often the deciding vote.

Charon: Ferryman of the Dead. Like modern Cajun ferrymen of the bayou, he uses a punting pole to propel the boat across the Styx to deliver new souls to Hades’ realm.

The Myth of Hades and Persephone:

The original tales of Hades and Persephone were created to explain the cycle of the seasons. Depending on when the tale was told and where, Hades either kidnaps Persephone, daughter of Demeter, from the field where she was picking flowers or (debated) she went willingly. While in the Underworld, she eats six pomegranate seeds, unwittingly binding her to Hades and the Underworld. Above, Demeter wanders the world in grief for her daughter and refuses to allow plants to grow and bloom. Eventually Zeus must intervene, but because Persephone is now bound to Hades, they have to compromise: She will spend six months of every year above allowing plants to grow (spring and summer) and return to Hades for the next six months (autumn and winter). Sources: Hazy memories of high school history and English classes combined with an amalgamation of Greek mythology in mainstream media (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Disney’s Hercules, Battlestar Galactica 2004, Xena: Warrior Princess, etc.). If you want something more formal than my fuzzy high school memories, I can suggest the Greek Mythology article on Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Greek-mythology

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