Page 37 of Seph

Emily exchanged a glance with him as Demeter pushed ahead and opened a door.

“Um.” Simeon chuckled nervously. “We don’t want to intrude. We can talk on the porch.”

“Nonsense. Come in.”

Emily shrugged, swallowed, and put her hand on her hip.

Simeon knew from personal experience that there was always a weapon on her somewhere.Well. I can take a swing if this turns out to be a trap. A god would have to put a bit of work in to end a vamp. That would give Em time to get to the car. Not that she’d leave a fight...

They walked into the house, which had a pleasant cinnamon and sunflower smell. Every inch of the place was covered in plants.

“We blend into the modern world, you know. But our realms move with us. This has been my home, in many forms and places. I’ve lived in Provence, in the English countryside, on the first farms in the American colonies... But a thousand years ago, I was in Athens. It was right before we moved, but as you can see, Eleusis came with me.”

Simeon followed Demeter’s sweeping arm, looking out the large bay windows on the backside of the farmhouse, almost choking on the gasp bursting from him. Next to him, Emily dug her fingers into his arm, faltering in her tracks.

In the middle of long fields that stretched to the horizon, dotted with the remnants of corn stalks and squash vines, was a massive Greek grotto. Stone steps and arches disappeared intothe hillside, while slabs and columns of marble created endless altars and rings. “Wow. That’s quite the garden you’ve got. Love the statuary,” Simeon muttered. His nose twitched. Even through the glass, his senses tingled. Something happened in that place, something magical and sacred, something that made his demon twitch and want to tap into the supernatural feast outside.

“This is the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The original, not those ruins I left behind in Athens.”

“The original. So—is this where Persephone was? That day?” Emily crept around him, voice hushed, hand outstretched.

Simeon could understand her hushed tones and the look of wonder in her eyes. There was something about the place that seemed eerie and beautiful at once, something that made you feel connected to deeper, bigger things—and afraid, because maybe you, a little speck of a mortal (or near enough) shouldn’t be privy to such secrets.

“Tea?”

Simeon turned from the window, or rather, from watching the breathtaking sight of the girl in front of it.There’s my own mystery. That beautiful girl who faced death and dishes it out—but somehow only sips at the well and never swallows. Won’t die, but keeps peeking through the veil. Hades’ most difficult guest, I suppose. Just pokes her head in and laughs at death, then leaves.

“I’m afraid I don’t have blood, demon.”

Simeon whipped his head around.“Sorry. Admiring the view! Tea would be—fine.”

Demeter was back to her youthful beauty once again. He was never going to get used to that. But there was something else different about her. Something different about her voice and her face. They looked... almost vacant.

“Okay, Huntress.” Simeon sidled up to Emily while Demeter went puttering through the house, out to the kitchen. “Did you see that?”

“Yes! I’m beginning to wonder if all those women in the wrinkle cream before-and-after pictures are actually just bored goddesses.”

“Not that.” Simeon didn’t know what sort of hearing goddesses had, but he assumed it was exceptional. He moved his lips close to Emily’s ear, close enough to taste her skin with just the very outermost edge of his bottom lip. “Seems like she’s not all there. Sudden-like.”

Emily didn’t pull away. She leaned into him, chin tilting up to whisper in his ear. “It’s gotta be hard to talk about. Losing your child...”

“But—”

“Sugar? Lemon? Milk?” Demeter called from the kitchen. They followed her voice and found themselves in a cross between a medieval cottage and Martha Stewart’s home show. Appliances gleamed silver and white under exposed wooden rafters that were sagging under the weight of drying herbs and plants.

“Wow. Someone likes to make their own potpourri.” Emily smiled and took an empty seat at a polished wooden table.

“Locally, I’m known as something of a ‘hippie’ and a healer. I make a lot of tinctures and sell them at the farmers’ market. Ooh, and herbs in olive oil and honey. Would you like a jar?”

“That’d be swell.” Simeon nodded, trying to keep the frown off his face.Olive oil and honey? How could you think of your merchandise when your only beloved child was missing?“Uh, not to bring up your worry, but, back to Persephone. Hades said back then you lot were in Athens, so that rock garden out there—”

“He’s a wonderful man. You know, some people thought it wouldn’t work. The age-gap. He’s a few centuries older than her.”

“Tell me about it.” Emily smirked into her teacup, her eyes briefly darting to him. Simeon kicked her ankle under the table. “Uh, I mean, he seems great. Not that I’ve met him, but I met Milly. Mega-sweetheart. Was she... was she there that day?”

Demeter looked up from her steaming mug, young, glowing face suddenly blank. “Milly? What day?”

“The day Persephone disappeared. Who was here?”

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