40. Medusa

I t was time. Dionysus had an absolutely ridiculous house in DC. It was enough to keep several supernaturals who weren't going to be able to leave contained while we did this. We knew Hannibal was going to be there because Pepper told us. We weren't people to him so there was always the chance he wouldn't recognize some of us, but we weren't going to risk it.

I was the exception. They didn't take photos of us for their patient records. I guess it was another way to dehumanize us. If Hannibal ever saw my face, it was when I was knocked out when they first brought me in and realized my snakes didn't go away once they got me through the front door.

They had to have realized who I was. If I woke up, turned someone to stone, and got knocked out again, I didn't remember because whatever they were using on us was potent. Now that I'd met the furies, the snakes and my gaze were something I'd self-actualized for protection and it was going to help me now.

Hannibal couldn't have looked at me while I was conscious without turning to stone. Nowhere in any of the legends did it say Medusa was a fury who could turn the snakes off. I was pretty safe to be there with my sisters.

Pepper was helping us, so we decided to be honest with her that a lot of us had just broken out of a Coalition facility and if Hannibal was going to be there, he'd recognize us. Jezebel and Calamity might be safe and Kat didn't interact with him much, but he'd definitely recognize Pax, Cas, and Benji.

Father Nathan had been working in the background while trying to help Oberon heal. The Coalition kept most things offline, but once Pepper got us in the room with Hannibal and Saul, Father Nathan found messages where they were trying to find Pax. They still thought he was human, but they thought he was a blood traitor and they couldn't decide if they wanted to secretly execute him or convince everyone he should be tried for treason against the United States.

I'd burn the world to protect Pax because I'd still be in that basement if he hadn't risked everything for a stranger he didn't even know was his mate.

Pepper was still pretty accommodating. She didn't even blink when we told her several of us could appear out of thin air. She said if the people who were in danger could make it to her office, they could watch from there, but it would be best for the rest of us to come through the front door.

Which is what we did. Pepper stayed in her office long enough to greet everyone and lock the door so no one would find them that would cause a scene. She greeted the rest of us in the lobby. I tried not to lose my shit. Pepper Crane was this tiny, unassuming woman with a salt-and-pepper bob cut, but she was such a powerhouse.

There was a shriek in the lobby and everyone looked around to see where it was coming from. I knew that shriek. Pepper was looking around, worried.

"That was Benji," I whispered. "He can hide in the shadows. You might be a fan of his social media posts, but he's been having a fan boy moment since he found out you're the mystery woman who's been helping. He's slightly losing his shit to be in the same room."

"I'm not a celebrity, I'm a public servant. Is he going to be okay when we go inside?"

Yeah, but she was still a celebrity. She'd never written a book or done paid public speaking. Pepper Crane wasn't a millionaire. She lived off her senator salary and worked for the people. That was why people loved her.

"He'll be fine. He wants this and he'll behave."

Yeah, I said that, but I couldn't totally promise Benji wasn't going to subtly fuck with someone if they said something stupid. I already knew it wouldn't be something anyone would trace to a shadow demon or even think was anything odd was going on.

She led us into the chamber and told us where to sit until we were needed. I was nervous as fuck. Nothing any of these people could say to me was worse than anything I'd heard before, so that wasn't what I was worried about.

If they tried to call anyone to capture us with those tranquilizers they used on me before, everyone here could portal and I wasn't sure if they'd even work on a god. I didn't even know if they'd be bold enough to try. Hades had literally nothing in common with Satan and was one of the good ones, but in a lot of adaptations that weren't even remotely based in fact, Hades had a lot of Satan's traits sprinkled on him or was cast as the villain.

Hades was the Lord of the Underworld. He could temporarily summon the shades of any Greek warrior he wanted. Persephone was pretty scary as a god of rebirth. If they heard fury and wanted to fuck with that, that was between them and whatever god they worshipped.

No, I was nervous because this was our big chance to get rid of the Coalition. It was step one of making things safe for people like me. Pepper dropped a huge bomb before she left us.

"The Coalition never caught on in some countries because they don't believe in angels and are a little more open to magic. There are three countries left where the Coalition is still active and I'm in contact with people there. We've all been sitting on our bills to outlaw it until we were sure it would pass.

"I've got a press conference scheduled afterwards with national and international reporters there. It's going to be a major thing that five gods showed up to denounce the Coalition. It's going to shake up everything. I'm talking, major crisis of faith. People will want and expect the big guy or at least his angels to appear to give a rebuttal. I hope you're prepared for that because I'm not."

"None of us have met your big guy," Hades said. "We all thought we were the only gods at first, but we eventually realized there were entire other pantheons. Most of us are curious creatures and want to meet each other. There are some exceptions. He's one of them."

Pepper just looked at us strangely.

"You're all coming to my house for dinner tonight because I think the conversation is going to be fascinating. I'm not taking no for an answer. I'll drop you a pin."

I felt something caress my foot. I looked down and saw a shadow. Yeah, Benji and I were kind of losing our shit about that invitation. We just needed to get through this first.

My blood ran cold when Hannibal entered and took a seat across from us. This man kept me prisoner and starved me. It was a fluke he hadn't hurt Jezebel. He'd had Calamity tortured, and she was just so young for a supernatural.

I knew deep down he wasn't alive when Pax was blinded or they tortured Benji when he was barely out of kindergarten, but someone like him was, so I was holding him accountable. If he was running things, he could have changed things. He could have listened to what countless supernaturals testified to and looked to the evidence that they'd been doing this for centuries and never once gotten a demon out of someone.

Alecto squeezed my hand.

"I can feel you leaking fury. This is going to go ass up if he gets some on him. You'll get your moment later. Some of these people are friends and we need them. We can't predict how people are going to react when we trap them in their worst nightmare. Some of them shut down, but some get violent. Not here."

Dionysus wrapped an arm around me.

"You can do this."

I squared my shoulders. Yeah, I could. I was several millennia old. Poseidon didn't break me to the point where I faded away and ended it. A simple human wasn't going to make me lose it. Hannibal's eyes passed over me. I could tell he liked how I looked, but he didn't recognize me.

His eyes widened when he took in my god friends. Yeah, they had that effect on people. No one ever knew what they were in this century, but they knew they were in the presence of something with great power.

I sat back in Dionysus's arms. We had to get through the agenda for today and then Pepper was going to drop her bomb.

I couldn't wait.