Seeds: Volume Two Read Online Free PDF

Persephone asked. Cloe was unable to make words, but the servant understood her commands, and found ways to answer her requests. The wispy head shook 'no', and she briefly nodded.
         As if he had read her mind, Hades was also clad in black and deep red. He was dressed regally, with a golden crown atop his dark hair, and his clothing was trimmed with gold.
         She showed no apprehension when the Lord of the Dead led her to the chariot, and climbed into it before he could offer her his hand. She held the chariot railing with calm confidence, her head lolling back against his chest in a relaxed and trusting manner. He lowered his head to nuzzle the top of her own, and felt one of her hands leave the railing to lie atop the hand that was resting over her stomach.
         The gray sky turned crimson as the chariot sped along the road. The trees reached out with clawed branches, seeming almost alive. They passed souls being led by shades, most of them struggling against the faceless spectres of Dis. Persephone noted to herself that she had yet to see a judging. She could only imagine how it must be for the mighty Judges to condemn you and know that you are to be punished for eternity.
         They crossed the bridge, heat radiating from the river to envelop them and bringing a flush to their cheeks. The thick brass doors rose before them like a monolith, its burnished face hard and cold. The design of the doors were deceptively simple, with no indication as to what horrors waited within, but a sudden, terrified wail from beyond the walls caused her to shudder. Do I really want to see what's in there? With firm resolve, she stared ahead, raising her chin.
         The chariot stopped, but Hades made no move to get out. The condemned souls they had passed now approached the bridge, dragged along by the silent and efficient shades. A few were silent, resigned to their fates as they were led along, but that was not the case for the majority of souls here. They screamed and pleaded with Hades, giving him all sorts of praises and lavish titles, bemoaning the injustice of their sentences, and swearing up and down on all sorts of gods that they were innocent. Even without solid flesh, she saw the fear and desperation in their eyes. She felt Hades's hand on her arm before she felt his warm breath at her ear.
         “Do not be swayed by their pleas. Their crimes in life were heinous, and the justice they escaped in their lives awaits them here. Even now they do not wish to admit their guilt.” The Lord of the Underworld did not mention the aspect of his Gift that allowed him to know this. As old as he was, he remembered the first lie ever told to him centuries ago, for it was when he first learned that his Gift enabled him to know whenever someone was lying to him.
         This aspect of his Gift allowed him to be especially astute as he judged dead souls, for he could ask specific questions and know the verity of the answers given him, or see through meaningless flattery offered to him as compliments.
         She silently nodded, watching as the heavy gates opened. There had been several blackbirds perched atop the gate, their eyes glowing balefully as the souls approached. When the gates started to open, they flew off their perch and dove at the souls, undeterred by their terrified shrieks. The screaming of the birds melded with the cries to create a harrowing symphony that caused her to shudder. As the souls were admitted, Hades flicked his reins, and the horses pulled them into Tartarus. Even as he did so, more souls were dragged down the road behind them to swell the ever-increasing numbers in this cursed region.
         Persephone let her eyes move around, seeing pits of flame here and there, and more gateways leading in different directions, lacking doors. She didn't see anyone being tortured in this open space, and the souls that had just been admitted were flung into a firepit. She wondered what the