Shattered

Demeter

"I still think it was a bad idea for Jason to accompany our brother alone," she repeated for the umpteenth time that day.

Her son-in-law didn't say anything at first, busying himself with checking his cufflinks. When at last he finished with his fussing, he turned to her, all dark and serious, "Grace will be just fine. He's proven himself time and time again. Besides, Harpocrates always seemed to be a level-headed god. Which is a wonder in of itself." The god got out of their car and handed the keys to a pleasant looking young man.

I'm not worried about Harpocrates. I'm worried about our brother with the hair-trigger temper! Sadly though she knew the son of Jupiter was more-or-less on his own, the second he had crossed into Minnesota she could no longer feel his or her brother's presence.

It was strange though that she felt so protective of the young son of Jupiter, after all up until quite recently she had many demigod children. So what makes him so special? It was a question she had been asking herself a lot lately. Was it because he was a good worker? That he had a great deal of patience when dealing with the animals? There were dozens of possibilities, but one always sprang to mind. He's eager.

Yes it was true that all her children were interested and gifted in all things plants, but they were born that way. Jason on the other hand had no real reason to be interested, he was doing everything because he wanted to, and that made a big difference. In a strange way he reminded her of Persephone when she was his age.

Let's not dwell on how long ago that was...

Like all gods and goddesses, Persephone had not known her calling immediately. For years she had watched as her daughter struggled to find her place, and despite all her failures, she never stopped trying. When she was young Persephone would often accompany her and help with whatever task needed to be performed, and not once did the girl ever complain. No not her daughter, who didn't care if her beautiful dresses got ruined from mud and dirt, always eager to learn something new and help out. Just like Jason. Persephone had always been such a wonderful child.

Until she started seeing Hades...

She looked over to her son-in-law, who was busy exchanging pleasantries with the valet. As much as it pained her to admit it, Hades was a good man. Yes, he was a bit of a downer, had a dark sense of humor, and at times seemed to take delight in annoying her, but he was good to her daughter. And what more could a mother want? She almost felt bad starting those stories about him abducting Persephone.

"Well are you just going to sit there all day like a tree, or are you going to help?" the lord of the underworld called out.

Almost.

"I'm coming!" she shouted back, as she climbed out of Hades' tiny sports car. She knew that as the god of wealth Hades had a certain appearance to keep, but why did he have to have such tiny cars? It was situations like this that made her regret taking the form of a middle aged woman. Or at least a thin one!

When at last she was free of the tiny sports car she brushed her clothes off and took in her surroundings. They were at the main entrance to a massive resort called The Coyote's Den. Statues of various wildlife lined the walkway to the doors, which were in turn flanked by two gigantic coyote statues with mismatched colored eyes. One was posed as if it was ready to pounce on approaching guests as if they were its prey, while the other was curled into itself, with a small smirk and mischief in its false eyes. The main buildings looked to be constructed of some kind of red stone, but to a discerning eye one would notice it was some kind of vinyl. The resort's lawn was covered in lush, green, grass; a beautiful and unnatural contrast to the stark Utah desert that surrounded them.