The Half-Blood Magician, ch. 3:I Cast a Spell

Ridley showed me to my room. It was awesome. There was a balcony, a four-poster bed, and a flat screen (which wasn't even supposed to exist yet). Also a snack bar (complete with soda fountain)and a huge closet with everything my size.

I unloaded my stuff from the Duat. It wasn't much- our scrying bowl, a staff and wand, a magic kit. I checked the closet. There were a ton of outfits, but one caught my attention. It was a leather jacket so neon orange that it almost hurt to look at, a tank top and opera gloves of the same color, with black jeans and combat boots. It was so scandalously innapropriate for the day and age that I just had to try it on. Oh my gods, this jacket made my hair look dull. I love it.

I grabbed my staff and wand and took the elevator back to the main atrium. Ridley and the boy ( who's name I'd found out was James-again, not a very Lotus-Eater-ish name. I wondered if they'd changed them over the years) were waiting for me.

"You're ready?" Ridley asked.

I'd also summoned some Greek and Egyptian spellbooks, and I thought if I combined a couple I'd get the right result. Even though morphing spells was dangerous, I thought I could handle it.

I nodded and looked out over the main atrium. There were about 13 kids in there, and about 13 in the rooms, with about a billion things to do. I lowered my vision into the Duat, the magic realm that co-exists with ours. There was a kind of pink mist swirling around everyone; I guessed that was the pre-existing spell. I read off the page I'd written my morphed spell on. I closed my eyes,held out my staff and wand, and started reciting. When the spell was finished, I opened my eyes. On the Duat level of things, little orange circles were flashing into place in front of everyone's eyes.

"Well?" Ridley asked.

"It's done."

She grinned. "Good. Nice outfit, by the way. "

The next couple of decades went by without notice. I got some blue Lotus flower and made 'Nefertum's Balm', a panacea for all physical wounds. I also perfected the portal spell so that the time frame was only 5 seconds. More people came to the Hotel, temporaries and lucky wanderers alike. A war came and went in the outside world with no effect on us except a couple more temporaries. Life was great. Except for the dreams. Ever since I found out I was a demigod, I'd had dreams every night. Like one night-

I was in a dark cavern ,alone except for a girl standing across the room from me. She was wearing a green, white, and gold dress patterned to look like light shining through trees. Her eyes and mouth remained closed, but her voice spoke clearly in my mind-

You may be beyond my reach now, but soon even your employers and the rest of my sister's ridiculous children will be chained and consumed.

Ridiculous? The children of Nyx didn't seem very ridiculous to me. Or consumable. Death, Sleep, Revenge, Madness...

But wait. Nyx only had one sister. "Gaea"

A faint smile crossed her lips. I awoke in a cold sweat.

But that was before the war ended. Some time in the mid-eighties real world time-

I was in a grand hall. There were 12 thrones fit for giants in a U-shape. They were adorned by giant people, who were staring at a shimmering mist-image of my old not-so-friend:Chief Lector Iskandar. They seemed to be arguing.

"But there must be something you can do! If-"

"When. No magician in their right mind would pass up that kind of power." A girl in white robes with dark hair and green eyes who was standing off to the side of the thrones interrupted a man in a pinstriped suit on the head throne. He scowled at her but said nothing.

"When he gets a chance to use those names, we will not be able to stop him!" The suit man said.

"I'm sorry, the fact that they are your names makes them Greek magic, and we have no magician who can work Greek magic." Iskandar said sadly.

"But I do!"said a cheerful voice from the doorway. In walked a girl of about 19 in a breezy white strapless dress, her orange-red hair braided with gold- my mother.

"Hebe. What is the meaning of this? " asked a woman with braided brown hair wearing a shimmering white dress sitting in a throne next to suit man.

"As I said, I have the answer to your problem. A Half-Blood Magician. She has already proven able to perform both Greek and Egyptian magic. She could solve your little problem- for a price, of course." She smiled slyly.

Suit-man turned furious. "How dare you! We will not be forced into any bargain-"

"Father, there is no other choice. " said a woman with steely grey eyes and black hair wearing full Greek battle armor.

"Thank you, Athena" my mother said.

Wait, Athena? That would mean this was- Oh my gods- the Olympian council. Suit man- Athena had called him father, so Zeus. The woman next to him- Hera. I looked around the room and identified every Olympian. I wasn't sure about the girl in white robes, but I didn't think she was on the council.

Zeus looked at Athena and his angry expression melted- I remembered that she was his favorite daughter. He turned back to Hebe, his expression strained. "Name your price."

Hebe grinned. "Exellent"

I awoke feeling even more un settled than after my dream about Gaea.

The Half-Blood Magician, ch.4: I Have a Visitor