Essie ran over to Stef when she saw her on the ground. "What happened?"
"I just put her to sleep for a bit. Her panic was about have an aneurysm or something. So, I figured we would do better to wake her after everyone arrived. I have Ash and Thorn on their way. But, Essie, I want you to know, we are going to delve into Stef's past. She does not even fully understand it all or its implications. This will be hard for her. And I really don't want to erase her memories if I don't have to."
Essie nodded. "I am here for her."
Jenna grabbed Essie and Stef by the hand and flashed them both to the living room next to Phobos. Deimos joined right after.
"What in the hell Jenna? What did you do to her?" Phobos growled when he saw Stef unconscious.
"She is just asleep so she could calm down. We can wake her up in just a second. I just want everyone here and not flashing around before I do that." She glared at her husband.
No sooner had Jenna said that, than there was a knock at the back door. Deimos went to go let Thorn in. The house was set up with filters. Only specific people could flash directly into the house. All others were directed to the private courtyard in the back and then had to be let in by someone else already permitted inside. As Jenna and Deimos did not really know Thorn well, he was not on the approved list for direct entrance.
As the two men walked into the living room, Ash joined them all.
"So, what is all of this about Ice Giants?" Thorn asked.
Phobos scowled. "There were two of them after Stephanie this evening."
"Man, what happened to you Pho?" Ash questioned Phobos. Phobos stood to leave.
Jenna stood in his way. "I know you are hurt. She jumped to all of the wrong conclusions. But, there were reasons for her assumptions."
Phobos growled at her. But, she stood her ground. "I am sorry. This is my fault. I set you two up. But, honestly, I had no idea about the Ice Giants. And it was their presence that affected Stef so badly. Please Phobos, she is in danger. Help us protect her."
He sat back down and Jenna pulled the foot ottoman in front of Stef to wake her and talk to her. Essie sat at her side while the men were scattered around the room.
As Stef started to wake, Essie tried to talk to her. "It's OK Stef. I have you. You are safe."
"Essie? What in the hell happened?" Then she opened her eyes to see everyone around her and her panic started to climb once again.
Jenna reached out. "Hey there Stef. No one here is going to hurt you. In fact, we all want to help you."
Stef looked around at Deimos whose anger had rolled back down to somewhat normal for him. Jenna was still in her robe. There were two new men. Both of which were tall and stunningly gorgeous. One looked like a goth college student. The other, like some model off of GQ. But, then she saw Phobos. His face was stoic, but his eyes betrayed the deep pain that he felt.
Oh God, what did I do?
Stef remembered her assumptions and fears. Did she really accuse him of kidnapping her and expecting her to give him sex for it?
The man had saved her life, brought her to some place safe where people gathered to protect her and she completely shredded him in one moment. How could she be so cruel?
Stef wanted nothing more than to crawl into his arms and seek the comfort and protection that he had offered before. Even when he was pushing her away, it was with a hope that she found someone better, safer. Hell, he carried her down the street to hold her and sooth her tears.
If only he could have kept her safe from her own life.
"Do you remember what happened?" Jenna asked.
Stef nodded. "Wait. How did I get here?"
Jenna took a deep breath. "Stef, this is going to be difficult for you to learn about." Jenna took her hand.
"To start with, I need to ask you for your permission to talk about your past. It is very important, but I can't say anything more until you agree to let things be shared."
Stef nodded. She was not sure she wanted to know where all of this was going. She was so overwhelmed already. But, she had to know.
Jenna squeezed her hand. "Thank you for trusting me. This will help us all a lot."
Jenna paused as she considered where to start. "The mythologies that you were taught as a child are real. And so much more. There really is magic and gods that function in and separate from the world you see every day."
Stef shook her head. "You mean like the crazy things that Essie's family practices at? The she pulled away from Essie. Who are you?"
Essie smiled. "I am just Essie. You know my family is gypsy. They're just not quite as cuckoo for cocoa puffs as you thought. That is how I got to know everyone here. Trust me Stef. They are good people."
"So, vampire hunting, voodoo, magic…?"
"Yes, and more. You are a part of that world as well. Though, I don't know exactly how yet. Your locked powers feel Greek." Jenna looked up at Ash and Deimos who both nodded.
"What do you mean that I am a part of it? Or my powers?"
Phobos jumped in. "We can all feel that you have some kind of locked powers. Chances are that one of your parents was a Greek god of some kind."
She scowled at him. "Is that why you…"
"No." He cut her off. Then Phobos stood up to move to the other side of the room. His mind raced at everything that was happening. He wanted to protect her, but her fears ripped him apart in ways that nothing ever had before.
Stef just looked around as she tried to gather her thoughts. "So, my father was a Greek god?"
"That is the current running theory."
Her face twisted as she tried to make sense of it all. "Then why does he run a Nordic nature cult in Minnesota?"
"Excuse me?" Thorn couldn't hold back.
Jenna ignored him. "Kol was not your real father. Ash do you know who was?" She looked up at the Atlantean god and Dark Hunter.
Acheron shrugged. "I can't say."
Acheron was not only the head of the Dark Hunters, he was a god of immense power in his own right. And typically, he could see a person's past, present and future. Though, he dared not tamper with it most of the time. Really bad things could happen when he was not careful. So, Jenna understood that he probably did know but really couldn't say because of some future event that must happen before she learns it. Damn rules.
"Fine then. Let's not focus on who your real father was. Things are headed off the rails pretty fast on that track anyway. For the sake of helping you understand the dangers that you now face and the people trying to protect you. Let's start with introductions."
Jenna extended her hand to Stef for a proper handshake. "My name is Jenna. I am a demigod. My grandmother is the Greek goddess Athena and my grandfather is the Egyptian god Maahes. Though politically, I am aligned with the Egyptians. As a demigod, I have several powers of my own including the ability to absorb and store people's memories through physical touch."
Stef started to pull her hand back. "Damage is already done Stef. The moment you hugged me upstairs, I got all of your memories. It is a good thing too as now I understand how to help pull everyone together and help you understand what is going on around you."
Jenna then pointed to Deimos. "My husband is a full god. He is the Greek god of terror. Phobos is the Greek god of fear. That is why most everyone feels at least some fear around them. Of course, it does not help that their career within the pantheon is to lead the police force for Olympus. And it is a violent and bloody job. The gods are not typically pacifists."
Phobos looked away. He did not want to see Stef as she learned who he really was. He could not bear any more disappointment as she grew to fear and hate him more.
Stef could barely wrap her mind around what she was being said. Phobos would not even look at her now. Is that why he pushed her away? Of course it is, he told her so. She just didn't understand it. He said he had a dangerous life and he wanted her to find someone that she was not scared of. Was everyone scared of him? Is that why he had never been on a date before? Oh God, he looked so lost, hurt and alone. And she was the one who hurt him. She wanted to cry for him.
But, Jenna did not pause long enough for Stef to even try to say anything to Phobos.
Next Jenna indicated the goth college kid. He was nearly 7 feet tall, dressed in black jeans, and a Kinks t-shirt. His hair was jet black and he wore wrap around sunglasses. The kid practically oozed raw sexuality. So, much so that it made Stef look to Phobos, the man that she really wanted to explore that sexuality with. If things just weren't so screwed up.
"Acheron here is another god, from a different pantheon. He also has a significant number of connections with several groups of other preternatural entities around the city. They can help us keep an eye out for your would be abductors, Bard and Carr."
Stef finally found her voice again. "Let me guess, you are Hades?" She said looking at Mr. GQ, who was the shortest man of the bunch. Though, still over 6 feet and no less intimidating. His dark blond hair and green eyes really helped him stand out in a group where everyone else had dark hair.
He grinned. "Hades wishes he was as cool as me. Or should that be the other way around?" He shrugged. "No matter. I am called Thorn. And I have a lot of connections to the demon realms and those that hunt the demons when they wander into this world. And since your buddies sort of fall into the demon category, I am here to offer some assistance."
"Demons?" Stef looked back at Jenna and grabbed onto Essies hand.
Jenna grimaced. "Technically they are Ice Giants. From Norse mythology."
"So my father, or step-father I suppose, he was a demon? I am so confused."
"I will do my best to summarize in a way that catches everyone up at once." Jenna took a breath. "I don't know how your mother ended up at the cult or even if you were born there. But, your memories start in The Holt. In piecing together your various memories with what I know from others, it seems that The Holt in Minnesota is one of several such cult locations around the world in cold wooded locations. Even my father has heard of a Holt group in Alberta. As a cult, they teach a mix of nature worship and Norse mythology. That is because the centers are run by Ice Giants that are directly from the Norse pantheon. Ice Giants not only are classified as demons with their own strengths and powers, but they were commonly worshipped as minor deities themselves due to their intense relationship with the natural world."
Jenna took a breath. "It seems that they have been regrowing their worship base with these cult centers, which makes them stronger. But, there is something else about their plans. Their top leaders and their social structure seem to be building up to something stronger, more devastating."
"How so?" Ash asked in a tone that showed that he really didn't want to know the answer, but hated not knowing more.
"Well, the two in charge go by the names Kol and Ti. Anyone want to guess at who they really are?" Jenna questioned them.
Deimos cursed and Thorn growled. But, it was Ash who replied. "Skoll and Hati are running human cults in the backwoods with Ice Giants? This does not sound like I am going to like where this is headed."
"Bingo on both accounts." Jenna answered. "Not only are they teaching the old mythologies and building the worship base, but they are intentionally recruiting human women that are easily manipulated. The center in Minnesota only has male Ice Giants and human women. Stef was too young to understand the difference, but I can see it in the memories."
"They are breeding with humans?" Thorn asked.
Jenna nodded. "It is all about Ragnarok, the end of the world." Jenna continued. "In the prophecy, there will be two human survivors that will repopulate the earth after it has been destroyed. There is no assurance of any other races except the gods and humans. So, the Ice Giants want to try to ensure that the two surviving humans have Ice Giant DNA as well, in the hopes that they will restart their race also."
"But, how would Skoll and Hati play into this?" Deimos asked.
Ash answered. "Skoll and Hati are mixed blood. Their grandfather is the god Loki. Loki himself is half Ice Giant and half god. However, their grandmother was a Katagaria wolf who birthed their father, Fenrir. Fenrir was proud of his wolf heritage, so he mated with another who was half Ice Giant and half Katagaria wolf."
"Sonofa…" Deimos breathed.
"So, if they can ensure that it was a child from each of the two brothers, they could potentially carry on several bloodlines." Phobos finally joined the discussion. "But, Stef, what was it you said earlier about being forced to marry Kol?"
She nodded her head nervously. "Growing up, I was always told that Kol was my father. But, that I was special and was destined to become his wife and bear him lots of children. That my children would become the keys to Ragnarok. Though, I loved to help with the other babies around the compound, I never wanted to have children with my father. No matter what the others said about it being an honor. I saw how he was with other women. He scares me. And, I didn't want to have any role in starting Ragnarok. But, when I was about to turn 13, my mother started the wedding plans. I tried to beg her not to make me, but she would not listen. She told me that I had no choice. I could either accept it and Kol might be gentle with me or I could fight it and he would hurt me. So, I ran. I snuck out and got a ride from some man that found me on the side of the road."
Tears were filling Stef's eyes.
"What was I supposed to do? The thought of being brutally raped by my own father when I turned 13 was…" Stef shook her head and sniffed back her tears. "When I got to town, I went to the police. But, they called Kol and asked him to come pick me up. So, I ran again. I have been running ever since. I even changed my name several times."
Essie pulled Stef close. Deimos sat where Phobos was originally and took Stef's hand. "We won't let him near you."