Seeds (7 page)

     Demeter could see that it was no use talking to her brother.

     “I will leave you to enjoy yourself,” she replied tersely as again she tried to rise from her seat. But he grabbed her wrist, his grip keeping her firmly tethered, much to her irritation.

     “I have never seen you with a man, you know.” His speech was now slurring.

     “Is chastity reserved for Hestia or Artemis?” she replied acidly. She had opted to not tell Hades about Iasion in the event that someone might be close enough to hear them, and she most certainly had no desire to let Zeus know of her affair with a mortal man. The valley and everyone in it was happy, and even as summer passed, their ardor for one another had not diminished. There was no reason to share her personal life with anyone else and have gods come around and snoop.

     “That would be a terrible waste.” His grip had her sitting down, and she set her jaw. “Why deny yourself or others enjoyment?” His eyes moved up and down his sister's body, noting the plump breasts, the wide but pleasantly proportioned waist, the ample hips which meant something he could grab with his large hands... she was powerful yet undeniably female, and what she lacked in prettiness she made up for in essence. Her skin was a healthy light tan, and her limbs were well-shaped, their muscles defined under a layer of soft flesh, and he imagined what it would feel like to have these arms wrapped around his middle. Demeter looked like the kind of woman who would enjoy a rough coupling. She certainly looked like she could take it, and that would without a doubt prove interesting in bed.

     “My needs are not carnal like yours, little brother. And with all the troubles that follow you, I certainly am glad for that!”

     “You wound me, sister. I merely thought that a relationship between us might be mutually... advantageous.”

     “Have you become so lazy in your pursuit of women that you must now seek out the attentions of your sister, especially after being married to the other one?” She did not bother hiding the disdain in her voice.

     “Lazy? I should rescind my offer!”

     “Please do so, and spare yourself the embarrassment.”

     “Hah! Playing hard-to-get, hmm?”

     With a sharp huff, she rose from the cushions and shot her brother a glare that would have castrated a mortal.

     “I am not playing anything with you. And do
not
ever come after me again. Good day.”

     Even in his drunkenness, Zeus had the good sense to not go after his sister. However, he would not be so easily thwarted in his goals.

o0o

     Summer cooled into autumn, and this year's harvest festival in Iasion's village was like nothing else. Nobody went hungry. The animals were fat and healthy; milk, cheese, and eggs were never sparse. The honey was plentiful and the berries from the forest around them plump and juicy, making for incredible jellies and fillings. Having more free time and energy meant the chance to develop talents and amusements.

     Digging into the hillside nearest the village turned up a motherlode of high-quality clay, needing only the addition of some water to make it into a thick, smooth substance that was easily molded into pottery and utensils, giving canvases for the newly developed artists to paint and decorate. Even though farming remained an integral part to everyone's lives, the miseries that had been left behind were replaced with opportunities to explore and appreciate the world around them.

     Hyalos's wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy, and three new rooms were added to the family house – one for Eurycleia so she could have a quiet place of her own amidst the bustle of her growing family, the second for the newborn and the other children that would follow, and the third for the storage of their more-than-ample harvest. Esthanes had found a passion for woodworking, so the local carpenter agreed to take him in as an apprentice. The temple to Demeter was taken down so that a bigger and better one could be put up in its place to honor the goddess that had come down to release them from their life of toil and misery.

     And Demeter and Iasion continued to come together in love. At first she feared his eyes might stray. She had even sent animals to spy on him while she was gone. But he had remained unerringly loyal to her, paying no notice to the village elders and their matchmaking attempts, and the not-so-subtle flirtations of the village maidens. She had him entirely to herself, and she loved it.

o0o

     It had been three days since he sent his eagle to spy on his sister, and Zeus looked up as he heard the quiet swoosh of wings before the bird landed on the arm of his chair. Around them, the night air was quiet, the sky completely dark but for the presence of its myriad stars.

     His eagle was a silhouette in the darkness, and he idly stroked its back feathers.

     “Show me everything you have seen,” Zeus murmured. The creature looked up at him.

     Flashes of his sister rolling around in the grass with a dark-haired youth, his form tanned and muscled, flexing as Demeter ran her hands along his body as her delighted chuckles and his pleased groans rang through the air. The two of them walking side by side through a village, his sister dressed demurely in a mortal disguise, her hair covered by a brown scarf. The couple cuddled by a fire inside what was apparently the youth's house, feeding her berries as they lay nude on a blanket, obviously having just made love. Him laughing and chasing her through the partially harvested fields, and sitting with her under the shade of a tree.

    
Oh ho
. So that was Demeter's secret. She had a mortal lover and preferred him over a god. What did a mortal have that he lacked? His lovers were well aware of his virility and skill. Not even Hera could deny that he was a good lover, at least, when he focused on her desires instead of simply gratifying himself. And the married women who willingly let him woo them often told him that he put their husbands to shame. It certainly didn't hurt that he was rather nicely endowed...

     “You may go now.” With another
whoosh
, the eagle was off, leaving him alone in his private garden. Without a word, he rose from his seat, heading in to his chambers, thinking about what he had just seen. Well, the fact that the women he desired sometimes had husbands or lovers already had never been a deterrent to him...

o0o

     The cavern was quiet as Demeter sat there, meditating. For the last year, asleep and then fully conscious, she had carefully and slowly released the energy to its rightful owners until the flow of energy had resumed its natural beat. What a huge contrast this year had been to the last! And the visible change in the mortals!

     It had taken a year, but now that energy was appropriately dispersed, and she was fully recharged. However, she had no desire to leave the valley. She enjoyed the quietness here and almost forgetting that she was a goddess. She hadn't had to listen, much less deal with the squabbles and wars in her family, and she had a lover who satisfied her. The only thing that saddened her was that he was a mortal. There was no way to make a mortal a god, even if the humans could have their youth and lifespans extended. However, that did not come without cost. Was it any wonder that even after all these years, never-aging Endymion still slept, never again to see his lover in the waking world?

     She had indeed fed extra lifeforce and some ambrosia to Iasion, giving him more vitality than the renewed men around him. But time would wear on in its inexorable way, and not even the extended lifespan Demeter sought to give him would save Iasion from his eventual demise. Giving him even more than what she was carefully infusing within him in small amounts could cause him to end up like Endymion, and she had no desire for a lover who would never look at her with delight in his eyes again.

     Mmm. She looked forward to tonight. The festival had been over for several days, and people were settling down for the winter, this time without any fear that they might starve or freeze to death.

     When she approached the house, she saw the light of the fire glimmer through the shutters and eagerly stepped in. The large bed that Esthanes had carved for his brother and sister-in-law sat against one wall, piled high with comfortable pillows and blankets that had been woven by the Goddess herself. Across it laid her lover, handsome and naked, the light of the fire illuminating his flesh beautifully.

     He shot her a grin.

     “My goddess, may I offer myself to you as a sacrifice?” he asked, resting his head on one arm and looking utterly charming, his dark, curly locks framing his face beautifully. How could she say no?

     “Your offering pleases me.”

     Iasion had been a shy lover the first time she had let him 'worship' her, for he had never been with anyone else. But he blossomed under her loving attention, becoming a knowledgeable and confident lover, expert in different ways to please his goddess. He was a thoughtful lover, so she always looked forward to her intimacy with him.

     The night started off as it usually did when they were making love. At first he was attentive enough. But as the night went on, he acted in such a way she had never seen before. He was firm, even bordering on rough, in his attentions to her, but it wasn't the playful fierceness that he would sometimes employ. His hands roved where they would, no longer caring about touching her particular erogenous zones or doing little things that held her attention and keep her pleasure going.

     “Iasion - “ Her protest at a particularly rough thrust had his lips slamming onto her face, firmly silencing any other words she might have to say. She started to fight, but he kept her pinned down. Even with the extra strength she had bestowed upon him, he would never be stronger than her. There was just no way...

     His movements became even more frenzied, and when he came to completion, Demeter cried out as she felt a jolt of electricity through her body. With a burst of energy, she dislodged her lover –
no, it's not him
– and shoved him hard, causing him to fall backwards onto the floor. Wisps of her hair stood on end from the static electricity that crackled around her and the woolen blankets, and she let out a pure scream of fury that echoed through the entire village before she leaped to her feet, her sickle appearing in her hand.

     “My love, I apologize if I became overly passionate. Please forgive me, I was simply overwhelmed by my ardor for you!” Iasion said, drawing to his knees and offering his hands, offering her what would have normally been a winning smile. But her lover had never smiled that way. With a shout, she dove at him with her sickle, neatly slicing his leg along his left thigh, causing reddish-pink ichor to splatter along the smooth earthen floor.

     Immediately Iasion's form grew, the muscles bulging, the dark hair turning white, and Demeter dove at her brother again, this time unfortunately missing him.

     Zeus raised his hands in panic. He hadn't honestly thought Demeter would be this pissed, and was already realizing just how she had figured it out. He had lost control again – the fact that his sister was a goddess caused him to pay no mind to his own strength. Damnit. He knew there was only one thing to do.

     He turned tail and ran, assuming the form of an eagle as he stepped outside the door. Another shout of rage exploded from behind him, and he felt himself hit by a blast of heat that literally had him spinning head over clawed feet and singeing his feathers as he tried to maintain flight.

o0o

     Demeter was about to take after him when she realized that if Zeus had thought to take Iasion's place, then the real one had to be somewhere. If he had killed Iasion...

     A frantic search through the small house revealed him in the storage room amidst the jars and bags of stored food. He was sound asleep, and did not stir as she gently nudged the blanket that he was rolled up in. To her relief, his heartbeat was strong, and his breathing deep. She realized what Zeus had in mind. He would make love to her, and leave in the morning, leaving the mortal next to her in bed, neither of them aware of the god's deeds.

    
Son of a bitch
. His doggedness in achieving his goals – whatever the means – was both admirable and outright damnable. If she went to the council and accused Zeus of raping her, he would simply counter that she had welcomed him – which had also been the truth. She would be laughed at by the other gods for being a prude. She, and those she knew would support her, would be greatly outnumbered by the patriarchal pantheon, and she wasn't sure how many others would jump to her side once they knew the full story. Unlike mortals, gods had no laws concerning incest. And what if Zeus told the others of Iasion? The affairs of a god were never private, which was why she had told nobody of it, because once somebody else knew, everyone else knew, and then they would all give her their opinion or try to interfere in some way, just to alleviate the boredom of their endless days.

     She took a deep breath and let out a low sigh as she picked up her unconscious lover, gently placing him in his bed and checking him for bruises or other marks. He stirred and groaned softly, but did not wake, and she sat there, grim-faced as she stroked his brow and hair, thinking about what she would do. Making these events public would humiliate her – damn Zeus! – but she would not let him get away with it. A tight smile stretched her lips as she thought of ways she could gain her revenge more privately. And it would be all the more satisfying...