Saria clutched her stomach. "Okay, that wasn't as bad as the taxi, but I don't think I like travelling by 'do-it' very much, either."

"It's Duat," I said with a chuckle. I then returned my attention to the scene before me. At first it had seemed like a normal camp, but then I noticed some odd things. First of all was the Greek architecture; there was what seemed like a stadium of sorts just beyond the strawberry fields, and the two largest cabins in the distance almost looked like banks with their Acropolis-style structure. Beyond the lake was a climbing wall, but there seemed to be a glow like that of lava coming from it. Then I noticed a couple of winged shapes wheeling through the air, too large to be birds. As they drew closer, I realized they were horses-pegasi, if I remembered my Greek mythology right.

The pegasi kept coming closer, and I realized there was a rider on each one, two more teenagers both wearing the same orange shirts as Saria and Wynne. One was a short boy maybe 18 or 19 years old with sharp features and a mischievous look about him. The other was a slim, willowy girl almost as tall as Saria, wearing a tie-dye bandanna in her brown hair. They were obviously headed in our direction.

Acting on instinct, I touched my wand to the boat and muttered a spell. The reed craft dissolved into nothing, and suddenly the two girls and I were taking a bath. I grabbed my duster as it floated by, now lifeless, and shrugged at Wynne as she started cussing me out.

The pegasi landed alongside the river moments later. The girl dismounted to help Wynne and Saria out of the water, but the boy just laughed.

"Have a nice bath, Wynne?" he said.

"Shut up, Cecil," Wynne snapped back as she shook out her hair.

"What happened?" the girl with the bandanna asked, helping Saria to her feet. "We thought you guys were in a boat."

"It, ah... it sunk," I said, standing up. The two campers focused on me for the first time. Cecil jumped off his pegasus to offer his hand.

"So you're the new camper! Put 'er there, bud." Perhaps I should have paid more attention to my initial instinct that this guy was a trouble-maker, but I shook his hand. I jumped as the buzzer he had been hiding connected with my skin. Cecil laughed as I yanked my hand back. I was tempted to give him a taste of his own medicine with some lightning magic, but my instincts were telling me that I shouldn't be using magic around these demigods.

"Ignore Cecil, he's an incorrigible prankster," the other camper said, "I guess that's why they made him head counselor for the Hermes cabin. I'm Courtney, by the way, daughter of Iris. You must have been claimed by now, you're obviously older than thirteen." I shrugged, looking over at Wynne.

"Not that we know of," Wynne said, then turned to me. "Claiming is how we determine which of the gods is your parent, and that determines what cabin you're sorted into. According to a pact made with the gods by a hero years ago, gods are supposed to claim their children by the time they turn thirteen. I don't know why your godly parent didn't follow the pact, or why they let you live on your own until you were fifteen. Really, I'm surprised monsters haven't been knocking down your door. The older a demigod gets, the more likely they are to attract monsters."

"Well, I guess I just got lucky," I said with another shrug.

"Ooh! maybe you're a son of Tyche! She's the goddess of luck. Oh, is your mortal parent your father or your mother?" Saria said in a single breath. That girl could really talk sometimes.

"My dad, so I suppose Tyche's a possibility."

"Well, maybe our activities director Chiron will know why you haven't been claimed yet. He'll want to see you anyway," Courtney said. The name Chiron rung a bell, but I couldn't quite place it. Something out of Greek mythology, I was sure, but I didn't know Greek myths as well as I did Egyptian.

"Mind if we dry off, first?" Wynne griped, "A dip in the river wasn't part of the plan."

"I'll take care of that," Courtney said. She waved her hand in the air, and suddenly there was a rainbow in front of her. Through the colors, like a mirage, was someone's face. "Hey Ryan, could you bring three towels to the Big House? I'm bringing Wynne, Saria, and the new camper there, they had a little spill in the river." Ryan nodded, and Courtney swiped her hand through the image, dispelling the rainbow.

"By the way, new kid, what's your name?" she asked me.

"AJ," I said shaking my head to clear it of my astonishment.

"Nice to meet you, AJ. Let's get to the Big House."

The Big House turned out to be the four-story farm house I had seen from the river. Saria, Wynne, and I sat on the large wrap-around porch, drying out our hair with the towels Ryan had brought us before he and Cecil left to take the pegasi back to the stables. Courtney had gone to look for Chiron, leaving the three of us alone sitting in wicker chairs.

"So what happened with the boat back there?" Wynne asked, giving me a death glare.

"I don't know, I get the feeling that the campers shouldn't see my magic. Something tells me the results would be... bad."

Wynne shrugged, but didn't argue with me. Perhaps she was feeling the same uneasiness that I was, like I didn't quite belong here. I couldn't explain it, but my skin was crawling. There was no way a demigod and a magician were supposed to be one in the same.

I looked up when the sound of hooves came from around to corner of the house. I thought that it might be another pegasus, but what rounded the corner was something I hadn't expected to see. From the waist down, he was a pure white stallion with four powerful legs and a tail I was pretty sure any girl would love to brush. But from the waist up... well, he was an athletic man, with curly hair and a beard. He had a quiver and bow strapped across his back. All in all, he was about seven feet tall. It was then that my memory clicked into place. Chiron the centaur, trainer of heroes.

I stood and bowed to him. "It is an honor to meet you, Chiron Hero-Maker."

He seemed surprised, but returned the bow, bending at the waist where his human half met horse. "And I you, Ajax Faust. It seems as though you have adjusted well already, that is good." Then he noticed my ivory wand, which I had placed on the end table near my chair. His eyes flashed as he looked back to me. I got the feeling he knew exactly what I was. "You... you should not be here. Wynne, Saria, please leave us."

"Chiron, they have already seen my magic, and they know that the Egyptian gods are real. What I find interesting is that you obviously already knew that, and yet you have not told your campers about it."

"I feel like you know, or at least suspect my reasoning. If the Egyptians and the Greeks knew about each other, it would only serve the forces of Chaos," he explained.

Sounds like a fun time to me, Set said.

Oh, now you're back, I grumbled mentally.

Well, things have gotten interesting. Who knew that we weren't the only gods around. I wonder if we'll get to meet any.

Who cares? They can't possibly be as annoying as you. Now shut up.

Chiron's eyes looked they were analyzing me carefully, as though he had been aware of the exchange between Set and me. He continued, "Perhaps it would be best if you were not to display your magic in front of the other campers. As such, I would ask that you hide your wand and avail yourself of more common weaponry."

I remembered something that my father had made me store in the Duat years ago. I took my wand and put it in my storage space in the Duat. Then, my hand brushed the handle of what I was looking for. I grasped it and drew it out, revealing a blade of bronze with a single edge that curved forwards. A kopis. Wynne actually gasped.

"That's Celestial Bronze... Where did you get that?"

"My father gave it to me on my thirteenth birthday, said I might need it some day. I guess... maybe he knew I was a demigod? I don't know why he wouldn't tell me, though." I paused. "No, that's a lie, he kept plenty of things from me. I shouldn't be surprised about this one." I suppose there was a little bitterness in my voice. To be fair, I hadn't had the best childhood being home schooled by my father. He may have taught me a lot, but he was a harsh instructor. I tried not to dwell on the past, but I could help slipping into old memories.

"Again!" my father's voice barked at me. It may have been my birthday, but that didn't mean I was allowed to slack off.

I sighed, gathering the energy within myself and channeling it outward through my staff. Red lightning shot along its length and blasted just right of the target my father had made. He sighed in frustration as I tried to fight the weariness casting the spell had caused me.

"No, no, no! You must learn to channel the energy of your god, not use up your own life force. If you let Set help you, you'd actually be able to hit the target!"

"Dad, I-"

"Again!"

"But-"

"I said again!" he roared, pointing his staff at me. I shrank back. "Perhaps you need a more pressing motivation... let's see how you handle this!" With that, he threw down his staff.

Now to most people, throwing down your weapon might seem like a sign of surrender, but when a magician does it, it's never good. My father's staff transformed into a ram bigger than I was with glowing red eyes and massive curling horns. It snorted, pawing the ground with one cloven hoof as it lowered its head at me. A lump formed in my throat.

It charged, and I just barely managed to evade it by leaping to one side. It whirled, focusing on me again. Suddenly my fear turned to hatred of my father. I heard a chuckle in my mind. In that moment, I felt closer with Set than I ever had before. The god knew plenty about hating those with authority over him.

With a gesture, I summoned a gust of wind that threw the ram backwards against the wall where the target had been painted. A growl formed deep in my throat, and suddenly the air around me was swirling with sand. The sandstorm kept the ram pushed down, and my father bent under the wind, but I stood tall. I leveled my staff towards the ram, and lightning shot out, this time finding its mark easily. The ram blew apart, turning back into a staff that was now shattered.

I panted heavily, letting the storm fade as my anger subsided. My father looked at me as though I had actually accomplished something worthwhile for once. He came over and clapped me on the back.

"I suppose now it's time for your birthday present..."

I held the kopis he had then given me, my hand shaking slightly. He had known I was a demigod. He had to have. Saria and Chiron were giving me sympathetic looks, and even Wynne managed to look as though my existence weren't an affront to her.

I firmed my grip. "Look, what happened in the past doesn't matter, right? Now is someone going to give me a tour of this camp or what?" I was so frustrated that the blade of my kopis crackled with electricity, soon discharging a blast that took out one of the beams of the porch. Chiron and the two girls stared at me, mouths agape.

"Um, sorry..." I started, and then I realized that they weren't looking at me because of the lightning. I noticed I was glowing green, and then I looked up and saw what looked like a glowing green holograph depicting two crossed torches. When I looked back down, Chiron was bowing, and Wynne and Saria had kneeled.

"Hail Ajax," Chiron said, "Son of Hecate, goddess of magic, and Lady of the Mist."