times do I need to say it? The little whore got what she deserved.”
I literally have to swallow back the vomit. It burns as it slides back down. Athena gets her say? What about mine? When do I get my say?
“Horseshit,” comes another voice, and my focus swivels to the left of Zeus. It’s Hades, the Lord of the Underworld. He is dark and handsome, but what has my attention is that his own eyes are filled with anger. I must admit I am surprised to see the emotion there.
“Uncle,” Athena says, but he holds out a finger towards her and her lips immediately shut in a way that tells me she’s probably not in control of her mouth at this moment.
“Niece,” he stresses, mimicking her formality, “this isn’t the first time you’ve overstepped your bounds by punishing innocents; this one just so happens to be the last remaining victim. If you even try to spew that victim blaming crap again, I’ll take you down to the Underworld with me for a spell. Maybe then you can understand what true justice entails.”
She gasps in outrage. I can’t help but stare up at Hades in amazement. I’ve never had any contact with him before, except for sending far too many souls his way over the years. Is he one of Hermes’ supporters?
“For somebody who is supposedly the bastion of wisdom,” Hades continues darkly, “you do a piss-poor job of exhibiting it yourself.”
A goddess I assume to be Aphrodite bursts into laughter; the sounds of wind chimes fill the hall. She’s sitting on the other side of Hermes, looking every inch of what the Goddess of Love ought to look like. And I am struck with a small sliver of jealousy, that she possesses her beauty and I a face that can literally lead to death.
The irony of this is not lost on me.
“Cease your frivolity, cow ,” Athena hisses at her sister.
“How delightful. Your daughter strives to show example of my words,” Hades says, this time to Zeus.
“Athena, shut it, will you?” Zeus snaps. An exasperated sigh escapes from his lips as he kneads his forehead. Hermes was certainly right on this account—the Assembly loves to bicker.
“I agree with our Brother,” Hestia pipes up from her seat next to Poseidon. “Athena’s punitive play at a snit-fit has gone on long enough. Goodness,” the Goddess of Hearth and Home tut-tuts. “If she were my daughter, this nonsense would have ended long ago.”
Athena’s eyes bulge, but she prudently stays silent.
“You coddle her,” Hestia continues, shifting in her seat until she’s facing Zeus.
“Don’t start this again,” he warns, and then there is an explosion of arguing within the Assembly. Bewildered, I seek out my friend, but he’s focused on Poseidon, who, in turn, is focused on me. I stay silent, as still as the statues back on my isle.
“Enough,” Zeus eventually booms. “I’ve had enough of this. Hermes, you were right to bring our attention to this matter. With our influence waning in the modern age, we cannot condone such petty actions of our past. Athena, revoke the curse. The Gorgon Medusa has been punished long enough.”
Athena lurches to her feet. “She desecrated the sanctity of my temple with her overzealous, whorish libido!”
An imaginary fist punches my stomach. Before I break the rules and start shrieking, Hermes also stands up, visibly shaking. “You think she chose that? She was raped , you idiot!”
His words echo across the room. I cannot bring myself to look at Poseidon, but I know, just know, he is still staring at me.
His hands, on me. Blood on the floor, afterwards.
“If you want to be angry at somebody for defiling your holy ground, then take it up with our bastard of an uncle,” Hermes continues, his voice low and angry. “But you know that none of this was Medusa’s fault. You are acting beneath yourself to continue to punish her for something that was not her fault .”
Yet another reason, in a huge laundry list of many, as to why my gratitude toward my friend is
I literally have to swallow back the vomit. It burns as it slides back down. Athena gets her say? What about mine? When do I get my say?
“Horseshit,” comes another voice, and my focus swivels to the left of Zeus. It’s Hades, the Lord of the Underworld. He is dark and handsome, but what has my attention is that his own eyes are filled with anger. I must admit I am surprised to see the emotion there.
“Uncle,” Athena says, but he holds out a finger towards her and her lips immediately shut in a way that tells me she’s probably not in control of her mouth at this moment.
“Niece,” he stresses, mimicking her formality, “this isn’t the first time you’ve overstepped your bounds by punishing innocents; this one just so happens to be the last remaining victim. If you even try to spew that victim blaming crap again, I’ll take you down to the Underworld with me for a spell. Maybe then you can understand what true justice entails.”
She gasps in outrage. I can’t help but stare up at Hades in amazement. I’ve never had any contact with him before, except for sending far too many souls his way over the years. Is he one of Hermes’ supporters?
“For somebody who is supposedly the bastion of wisdom,” Hades continues darkly, “you do a piss-poor job of exhibiting it yourself.”
A goddess I assume to be Aphrodite bursts into laughter; the sounds of wind chimes fill the hall. She’s sitting on the other side of Hermes, looking every inch of what the Goddess of Love ought to look like. And I am struck with a small sliver of jealousy, that she possesses her beauty and I a face that can literally lead to death.
The irony of this is not lost on me.
“Cease your frivolity, cow ,” Athena hisses at her sister.
“How delightful. Your daughter strives to show example of my words,” Hades says, this time to Zeus.
“Athena, shut it, will you?” Zeus snaps. An exasperated sigh escapes from his lips as he kneads his forehead. Hermes was certainly right on this account—the Assembly loves to bicker.
“I agree with our Brother,” Hestia pipes up from her seat next to Poseidon. “Athena’s punitive play at a snit-fit has gone on long enough. Goodness,” the Goddess of Hearth and Home tut-tuts. “If she were my daughter, this nonsense would have ended long ago.”
Athena’s eyes bulge, but she prudently stays silent.
“You coddle her,” Hestia continues, shifting in her seat until she’s facing Zeus.
“Don’t start this again,” he warns, and then there is an explosion of arguing within the Assembly. Bewildered, I seek out my friend, but he’s focused on Poseidon, who, in turn, is focused on me. I stay silent, as still as the statues back on my isle.
“Enough,” Zeus eventually booms. “I’ve had enough of this. Hermes, you were right to bring our attention to this matter. With our influence waning in the modern age, we cannot condone such petty actions of our past. Athena, revoke the curse. The Gorgon Medusa has been punished long enough.”
Athena lurches to her feet. “She desecrated the sanctity of my temple with her overzealous, whorish libido!”
An imaginary fist punches my stomach. Before I break the rules and start shrieking, Hermes also stands up, visibly shaking. “You think she chose that? She was raped , you idiot!”
His words echo across the room. I cannot bring myself to look at Poseidon, but I know, just know, he is still staring at me.
His hands, on me. Blood on the floor, afterwards.
“If you want to be angry at somebody for defiling your holy ground, then take it up with our bastard of an uncle,” Hermes continues, his voice low and angry. “But you know that none of this was Medusa’s fault. You are acting beneath yourself to continue to punish her for something that was not her fault .”
Yet another reason, in a huge laundry list of many, as to why my gratitude toward my friend is
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