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she get information from—I don’t know how to put it—from the echo of me?”
    â€œThe echo of you. That is an excellent description. Yes, she has the same ability. Though she will be mortal, she will not be lost in your world.”
    â€œAnd she’s really mortal while she’s in my body?” Lina asked.
    â€œOf course. Just as you become a goddess while your soul inhabits my daughter’s physical form.”
    Demeter’s words caught Lina in the middle of swallowing a sip of wine, and she choked, almost causing ambrosia to spew from her nose.
    â€œI’m—I’m a goddess?” she sputtered.
    â€œYes,” Demeter said. “As long as you inhabit Persephone’s body you are invested with her powers.”
    â€œPowers?” Lina repeated stupidly.
    â€œEven in your foolish mortal world you must know goddesses wield many powers,” Eirene snapped.
    â€œMerda!” Lina swore in exasperation. Why did Eirene dislike her so intensely? “Could you give me just a little break here? How would you like it if you were suddenly sucked out of your world and plunked down in the middle of Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa the year 2000-something”—she glanced at Demeter and added—“A.D., with a stranger telling you that you had a six-month job to do in a place you thought only existed in fairy tales and bedtime stories. You wouldn’t necessarily have to be in Hell to feel like you might just be visiting there.”
    Eirene blinked in confusion.
    â€œSee, it’s not so easy, is it?” Lina turned back to Demeter. “What kind of powers?”
    â€œPersephone is Goddess of Spring. She carries life and light with her, and she can share her gifts as she wills,” Demeter said.
    Lina’s eyes widened. “You’re sending me down to Hell and I can resurrect people?”
    â€œNot people. Persephone can not return life to dead mortals. I share my realm with my daughter, so she has dominion over growing things: flowers and trees, the wheat of the field and the grass beneath you. They all respond to Persephone’s touch,” Demeter explained. “She also can create light. Do not ever fear that the Underworld will be a dark, cheerless place. Persephone’s presence evokes light.”
    â€œSo I can make flowers grow and I light things up. What else?”
    â€œEverything you need know is within you. Look deeply, and you will find the powers you seek,” Demeter said cryptically.
    Lina met the goddess’s gaze. She knew evasion when she heard it. Okay, so Demeter didn’t want her to know the extent of the powers within her new body.
    â€œI guess I’ll just have to discover some things on my own,” she said carefully.
    â€œYou have a quick mind. You will have little trouble accomplishing your goal,” Demeter said.
    â€œThen why six months? That seems like a long time if I’m going to have ‘little trouble’ accomplishing my goal,” Lina said.
    â€œThe six months is needed for your bakery to thrive. But do not be concerned about the passage of time—it is measured differently by the gods.” Demeter made a vague, dismissive gesture with her hands. “Six hours, six months, six years—it is all the same. Focus on accomplishing your goal, and all will be well.”
    â€œAnd that goal is managing the Underworld?”
    Demeter nodded. “That is one way to put it.”
    â€œI’m assuming there is some kind of problem down there right now.”
    â€œThink of it as a problem with morale.” Demeter shrugged nonchalantly. “The Underworld needs the touch of a goddess. It has too long been a place devoid of feminine influence. It is simple. Allow yourself to been seen by the dead. They need to believe that their eternal rest will not be without the love and attention of a goddess. Think of yourself as a figurehead, a symbol of female strength and