10 Common Grounds

Lily

Lily sauntered into the busy coffee shop nestled into a large indentation off the main Hall, the olfactory siren-song of quality caffeine and baked goods overriding the flash of uncertainty inspired by the assortment of souls, denizens, and a handful of beings that seemed to glow slightly with power. She’d set off that morning with no real plans beyond further exploration, locating the Universal Library, and a possible visit to Hell. It had only taken one whiff of coffee to lure her away from the vine-covered archway of Tír na nóg.

She’d followed her nose with the intensity of a bloodhound. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest had meant there were a few things in abundance, one of which had been rain. Another had been coffee. And oh , she’d missed it.

Sure, her Paradise could make a cup of coffee appear, but she was convinced that coffee made by a person had a little extra oomph. Plus, she liked seeing all the people.

The wide brick entryway that separated the shop from the rest of the Hall opened to a courtyard dotted with tables, and near the far wall, a glossy countertop separated the baristas from the orderly lines of patiently waiting customers. Most of the tables were occupied, and happy chatter filled the air. Lily craned her neck to peer at the front of the line, toward the glass cases filled with—

She moaned. “Holy shit , I’m home.”

Pastries. Baked goods. Bread. Oh, she would commit war crimes for some good, fresh bread. She’d slather it with a little butter…

“I highly recommend the morning buns, though the bougatsa is also delicious,” said a stunningly beautiful woman, laughing.

Lily turned around to look at her, taking in her sparkling brown eyes and smooth, dark skin. Freckles scattered over her cheeks and Grecian nose lent her a friendly air when her beauty and faint glow of power would have made her otherworldly. If not for the cell phone in her hand, she would have looked like she’d stepped straight from the pages of a history book in her emerald-green chiton, embroidered along the edges with little orange flowers.

“I love it when there’s no bad options. I love your chiton, by the way. That color is gorgeous.” Lily grinned back.

“Thank you! It has pockets, see?” The woman excitedly demonstrated by shoving both hands into said pockets. “I know it’s not necessarily traditional, but damn is it convenient. I like your look too.” She grinned up at her. “‘Effortless badass’ is a timeless and much-appreciated classic.”

“It’s the height and the resting bitch face, I think.” Lily chuckled, fighting the urge to roll her shoulders at the tickle of unearthly energy dancing over her skin.

“Hey, if it works, it works.”

They laughed together for a moment before the woman held out her hand, a strand of black hair sliding over her shoulder.

“I’m Persephone.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Lily,” she said, shaking her hand, slightly taken aback by the faint calluses on the other woman’s palm. Between the name and the aura of power around the other woman, a hint of suspicion flickered at the back of her mind.

It must have shown on her face as well, because Persephone tilted her head knowingly. “Yes, that Persephone.” She waved a hand and continued. “Lily is a lovely name. Lovely flowers too. You’d think they’d be fussy, but I find they just grow where they feel like it.”

Lily nodded a few too many times.

Holy shit. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.

She’d been caught practically lusting over pastries by the Greek goddess of spring. She’d barely put any effort into her hair that morning, blow drying it, pulling it half back, and calling it a day. Now she was standing in front of a fucking goddess. She’d read erotica novels about Hades and Persephone. She’d shaken Persephone’s hand. That hand had probably shaken Hades’s cock at some point—

Nope. Do not go there.

Please don’t let there be any mind readers here. Please, Universe, in your mercy give me that…

“Really?” Lily said lightly. “I can’t say that I ever tried to grow them myself. My mom always had a pot of them on the deck, but I just assumed she babied the hell out of them.”

There. That sounded appropriately not completely stupid .

She just needed to be chill and not fuck up her coffee order. Persephone was being nice. She’d started the conversation, and she probably liked being treated fairly normally.

“Oh, they absolutely appreciate a bit of babying now and then, but who among us doesn’t?”

“This particular Lily flourishes best with books, baked goods, caffeine, and I’d never turn down an orgasm or two.”

I am an absolute heathen. This isn’t some drunken girls’ night.

Well, if the goddess decided to smite her, then her debate about reincarnation wouldn’t fucking matter.

It’d been a nice, albeit short Afterlife.

“Mm, or seven.” Persephone’s grin was wicked.

Lily raised her eyebrows, surprised. Persephone was beautiful and fun?

No wonder Hades was allegedly smitten with his wife.

A part of Lily relaxed, concern about her initial lack of a filter fading.

“Seven?” She sighed regretfully. “Now that is a level of stamina that was rarely seen in the mortal world, and it certainly wasn’t in my experience. How does it feel to live the dream?”

“You sleep really well. And you’re late to things…often.” The goddess’s smirk was positively feline.

Lily moved up in line. “‘Goddess of spring,’ my ass. More like the goddess of sexual satisfaction. You should change your brand.”

Persephone laughed so loudly that a few people turned to look. “Perhaps I’ll make it a private title. After all, there’s only one worshipper I want kneeling at that particular altar.” She turned to speak to the barista as they stepped up to the counter. “A medium lavender vanilla iced latte and a regular mocha, please, and two morning buns.”

The barista looked at Lily.

“Large white mocha with Irish cream flavoring, hot, no whip, and a morning bun, please.”

“You got it.” The barista smiled, hands flying into action.

“So, Lily, what are you up to today? Just exploring?” Persephone asked as she finished texting someone.

“I’ve wandered a bit already, but I…” I miss feeling like a part of something. I miss working. “I think I’m going to head down to Hell for a bit, see if they want a hand again.”

“What?” Persephone shoved her phone into her pocket. “What do you mean ‘if they want a hand again’?”

Lily shifted her weight to one leg. “I stopped by a couple days ago just to see what it was like and ended up helping the demons at the gate out with some of my, uh, customer service experience.”

The goddess stared at her, stunned. “And you’re going to do it again ?”

I’m sensing a theme here. Has no one ever helped them out?

Lily slid her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket and shrugged. “Yeah, the demons are sweet. Plus, I liked the work.”

The barista slid two paper bags across the counter, along with two drinks in a carrier, and a single cup for Lily.

Persephone picked up her bag and drinks, shaking her head. “It has been a long time since I’ve been truly surprised by a mortal soul, for a good reason, anyway.”

“Why is it so surprising?” Lily asked. “That I’d want to help, I mean.”

“Because no mortal soul has thought to help at the gate. Let alone asked to do so.”

“Ah.” She’d been right. Her stomach gave a sad twist.

“The Underworld is less busy than it used to be, but we still see all kinds. Hell, though, they’ve always been busy. Ever since the early Middle Ages when Christianity really took off, they’ve been ridiculously busy, and no one envies them for it. They do such amazing work, meting out justice and helping those that are willing to be helped, but I’ve seen how nasty souls can be, and theirs is often a thankless task. You seeing that and wanting to help them? That’s more than surprising. And I’m sure they love the help.” Persephone smiled at her warmly. “I have to go, but I’ll see you around, Lily. Maybe on another coffee run?”

“Sure.” Lily fiddled with the edge of the cup’s lid. “I’d love that.”

“Excellent. I’ll keep an eye out for you!” Persephone said, before weaving away through the crowd.

Lily picked up her bag and cup, thanking the barista quietly, more than a little starstruck by the whole conversation.

What…the fuck just happened?

* * *

“You okay? You look a little shell-shocked,” Moura asked.

Lily leaned against the half wall and stared ahead, unseeing. “I just met Persephone. An actual no-shit goddess. Moura, I made a sex joke . To—and I cannot overstate this enough—a goddess .”

The mortification had fully sunk in when she’d replayed the conversation in her head on the way down the stairs.

“Really? Did she laugh?”

“Yeah,” Lily said, wonderingly, “believe it or not.”

“I believe it. Now, you’re back for a real visit this time, right? Did you want to explore the residential levels?”

Lily finally sipped her coffee and bit back a full-fledged moan. There was good coffee, and there was whatever-the-fuck-magic-that-was coffee. She closed her eyes, savoring the roll of flavors over her tongue, the soothing warmth radiating out through her whole body. She sipped it again, just to be sure it would be as delicious as the first. It was. Bolstered by the caffeine, she braced herself.

“I was actually wondering if you guys wanted some help again. For a few hours, anyway.”

“Do we…want help,” Moura repeated slowly. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” Lily pulled a piece off of the still-warm morning bun and popped it into her mouth. Delicious. “Is that okay? I know I got cosmic approval or whatever, but if I’m more of a hinderance than a help, I can go.”

Krun appeared beside the still-silent Moura, clapping her on the shoulder and giving Lily a kind look. “You are a wonderful help, and on behalf of all of us, we’d be happy to have you. The table is in the storage closet. Your sign is in there too. Zagan wouldn’t let us get rid of it, ‘just in case.’”

Lily beamed, making a mental note to thank Zagan when she saw him. The big blue sweetie.

Moura snapped out of her frozen shock, waving Krun off. “Right. Yes. Your chair is in the breakroom,” she explained, “and if you’re going to help out again, take a breather in the breakroom whenever you need to.”

Lily nodded, heading off to get her chair. “I will.”

“And Lily?” Moura called. Lily turned expectantly, walking backwards. A bright smile had taken over Moura’s face. “Thank you.”

Lily inclined her head, then grinned and nodded towards the storage closet. “Is the baseball bat in there too?”

Moura’s smile shifted into a grin.

Her chair required a little lifting to retrieve, but once it was down on its wheels, she pushed it toward the line of souls while Moura retrieved the table, sign, and bat. Once it was set up, they surveyed their work, pleased.

“If you make this a habit, you’re probably going to start receiving offers of marriage. Shit, you’re probably going to start getting them today.”

Lily scoffed.

But Moura’s warning about receiving proposals hadn’t been wrong. Three separate, exasperated demons offered to marry her on the spot after dealing with a series of particularly nasty souls. Two more had offered to kiss her when she’d smacked a low-level politician.

Lily chuckled to herself as she put her chair back in the breakroom. A trio of young guards had serenaded her, enthusiastically off-key, on their way back to their posts as a thank-you, and she could tell that it would be stuck in her head for days.

She had fun in Hell.

She felt good in Hell.

I like this. I think I’ll do this for a while.