She frowned. She knew Hades was trying to protect her, but if people were attacking favored mortals—or anyone associated with the gods—she needed to know. While the world at large did not know she was a goddess, her association with Hades made her and her friends potential targets, too.
Persephone chose a shadowed corner in coffee shop to setup and wait for Helen and Leuce. Since launching her own online community and blog, The Advocate, a few weeks ago, the three met weekly and because they had no office, they chose various locations across New Athens—The Coffee House being one of their preferred haunts. The two were running behind, probably due to the weather as New Athens was experiencing a cold front.
That was probably an understatement.
It was freezing and snow had been falling from the dreary sky off and on for almost a week. At first, it melted as soon as it touched the ground, but today it had begun to stick to the roads and sidewalks. Meteorologists were calling it the storm of the century. It was the only story in the news that rivaled Persephone and Hades’ engagement announcement. Today, she found that they shared space on the front page of every news outlet—from New Athens News to the Delphi Divine, their headlines warred:
God of the Dead to Wed Mortal Journalist
and
Winter Storm Steals Summer Sun
A third headline caused knots to form in Persephone’s stomach. It was an opinion column in The Grecian Times—a national newspaper and a rival of New Athens News.
Winter Weather is Divine Punishment
It was clear that the author of the article was not a fan of the gods, probably an Impious. It began:
In a world ruled by gods, nothing is chance. The question remains—whose wrath are we facing and what is the cause? Another mortal who claimed to be more beautiful than any of the Divine? Or one who dared rebuke their advances?
It was neither—it was a real-life battle between Hades, Persephone, and her mother, Demeter, the Goddess of Harvest.
Persephone was not surprised that it had come to this. Demeter had done everything in her power to keep Persephone and Hades apart, and it had started from her birth. Locked away in a glass greenhouse, Demeter had fed her lies about the gods and their motives, in particular, Hades who she detested merely for the fact that the Fates had woven their threads together. When Persephone thought of how she used to be under her mother’s strict rule, she felt sick—blind, self-righteous, wrong. She hadn’t been a daughter at all but a prisoner and in the end, it was all for nothing because when Persephone met Hades, all bets were off and the only bargain that mattered was the one she was willing to make with her heart.
“Your latte, Persephone,” Ariana, one of the barista’s, said as she approached. Persephone had come to know almost everyone in The Coffee House, both due to her celebrity and her frequent visits.
“Thank you, Ariana.”
The barista attended the College of Hygienia and was studying Epidemiology. It was a challenging channel of study considering some diseases were god-made and only curable if they deemed them to be.
“I just wanted to say congratulations on your engagement to Lord Hades. You must be so excited.”
Persephone smiled. It was a little hard for her to accept well wishes with Demeter’s storm worsening outside. She couldn’t help thinking that if mortals knew the reason for the sudden change in weather, they would not be so happy about their marriage. Still, she managed to respond. “I am, thank you.”
“Have you chosen a date?”
“No, not yet.”
“Do you think you’ll be married here? I mean, in the Upperworld?”
Persephone took a deep breath. She didn’t mean to be so frustrated by the woman’s questions. She knew they stemmed from her excitement—and yet they only served to make her anxious.
“You know, we haven’t even discussed it. We’ve been very busy.”
“Of course,” the barista said. “Well, I’ll let you get back to work.”
Persephone offered a half-hearted smile as the barista turned to leave. She took a sip of her latte before turning her attention to her tablet, opening an article Helen had sent her late last night for review. She couldn’t quiet describe how she felt when she read the title, but it was something akin to dread.
The Truth About Mortal Activist Group Triad
In the years since The Great Descent, mortals have been restless at the presence of gods on Earth. Since then, various groups have formed in opposition of their influence. Some choose to identify with the ideology of an Impious. These mortals do not pray or worship the gods, nor look to them for reprieve, preferring instead to avoid Divinity altogether. Some Impious prefer to take a passive role in the war against the gods.
Others take a more active role and have chosen to join Triad.
“Gods have a monopoly on everything—from the restaurant industry to clothing, even mining. It’s impossible for mortals to compete,” says an anonymous member of the organization. “What good is money to a god? It isn’t as if they have to survive in our world.”
It was argument Persephone had heard before, and while she could not speak for other gods, she could defend Hades. The God of the Dead was the wealthiest of the Olympians, but his charitable contributions made a great impact on the mortal world.
Helen continued:
Triad stands for three mortal rights—fairness, freewill, and freedom. Their objective is simple: remove the influence of gods from everyday life. They claim to have new leadership which encourages a more peaceful approach to their resistance of the gods as opposed to their previous antics which included bombing several public gathering places and god-owned businesses.
There was no evidence to suggest Triad had been behind any recent attacks. In fact, the only thing they’d been connected to in the last five years was a protest that had sprung up in the streets of New Athens to object to the Panhellenic Games. Despite being viewed as an important, cultural event to some Greeks, Triad abhorred the act of gods choosing heroes and pitting them against one another. It was a practice that inevitably led to death and while Persephone had to agree that fighting to the death was archaic, it was the mortal’s choice.
Gods, I’m starting to sound like Hades.
She read on:
Despite this claim of peace, there have been a reported 593 attacks against people with a public association with the gods in the last year. Those responsible say they are upholding Triad’s newest mission by ushering in a rebirth. This growing death toll has gone unnoticed by god and mortal alike, overshadowed by news of a marriage, a winter storm, and Aphrodite’s newest fashion line.
Perhaps the gods do not see Triad as a threat but given their history, can they be trusted? As demonstrated, they are not the ones who will suffer if the so-called activist group decides to act. It will be innocent bystanders and in a world where mortals out number gods, should we be asking what the divine should do?
It was the last sentence that left Persephone with a sour taste in her mouth, especially on the heels of Adonis’s death. Still, even given the truths Helen highlighted in her article, Persephone needed more. She wanted to hear from Triad’s leadership—had they taken responsibility for those 593 attacks? If not, die they plan to condemn rogue actions? What were their plans for the future?