Title: City of Demeter's Tree

Genre: fantasy, romance, hurt/comfort

Rating: T for language, mild violence, and some suggested themes

Pairing: JudaiXJohan (spiritshipping); hinted others

Summary: When sixteen-year-old Johan Andersen heads out to the Domino Club, he hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers with odd powers and brandishing bizarre weapons. Johan knows he should call the police, but it's hard to explain a murder when the body disappears into thin air and the murderers are invisible to everyone but him. Equally startled by his ability to see them, the murderers explain themselves as demigods: a race of creatures with a human parent and a godly parent dedicated to rid the world of monsters, and to stop the wicked Demeter from finding the Seed to her Tree. Within twenty-four hours, Johan's mother disappears and Johan himself is almost killed by a grotesque monster. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mortals like Johan and his mother? And how did Johan suddenly get the Sight? The demigods, and the Olympians, would like to know...

Me: All right, my dear and beloved readers!

Lucy: Last chapter, Johan was wounded by Minos, a monster sent by some woman to catch him, but for what?

Me: In order to find out, please read on and we will update promptly! We hope you all enjoy this story and everything that comes along with it! We are having a great time writing it!

Lucy: Read to find out!

Chapter Four: Samejima's Summer Camp for Demigods

"Do you think he'll ever wake up? It's been three days already."

"You have to give him time, Asuka. Minos's poison is strong stuff, and he's just a mortal. He hasn't got godly blood and nectar to keep him strong like we do."

"Mortals die awfully easily, don't they?"

"Asuka, you know it's bad luck to talk about death in a sick room."

Three days, Johan thought slowly. All his thoughts ran as thickly and as slowly as blood or honey. I must wake up.

But he couldn't.

The dreams held him, one after the other, a river of images that bore him along like a leaf caught in a current. He saw his parents sleeping in the branches of two ash trees, inches away from each other, but not able to touch. He saw Madame Meredet standing covered in vines, eyes glowing with green light. An older version of Judai dancing with lightning flickering around him, a much older Asuka naked with her whip tied around her, Ruby with cuts on her throat and wrists, an older Jim in red tinkering with a mechanical horse. Judai and his brothers—Perseus, Hercules, and Argus (all of whom looked similar to him, just with different hair colors and slightly different styles)—dancing in black Goth clothes during a lightning storm. Lightning flickered, exploding and burning. Lightning up the sky.

He must've woken up several times, but what he heard and saw made no sense, so he just passed out again each time. He remembered lying on a soft bed, hearing someone moving in the room around him. He saw it was Judai, when he came to. The demigod was dancing in a circle at the foot of the bed, chanting something in a foreign language—Johan imagined it was Greek. When he saw Johan's eyes open, he asked, "Are you finally awake?"

Johan managed, "Huh?"

Judai looked around, as if afraid someone was going to walk in on them. "You were moaning in your sleep. Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm sorry," Johan whispered. "I don't…"

Someone knocked on the door and Judai quickly grabbed for his pocket and whirled, snarling. The voice called from the door: "Want me to get Samejima to mix him some more medicine?"

Judai shook his head. "No thanks, Jim."

The next time Johan woke up, Judai was gone.

A husky blond boy stood in the corner of the room keeping an eye on Johan—and that wasn't going to be too hard. He had blue eyes—at least twenty of them—on his cheeks, his forehead, the backs of his hands, etc.

"I told you it was the same boy."

"I know. Little thing, isn't he? Judai said he killed Minos."

"Yeah. I thought he was a nymph the first time we saw him. He's certainly pretty enough to be a nymph, though."

"Well, he doesn't look too good with Minos's venom coursing through his veins. Is Samejima contacting Apollo and his medicine boys?"

"I hope not. They give me the creeps. They're always so—so peppy!"

"Yeah. Hey, where's Judai? He saved him, didn't he? I'd have thought he'd take some interest in his recovery."

"Samejima said he's been in here every hour on the hour since he brought him here. Judai's probably either training or sleeping. I guess even he needs a break, right? Sometimes I wonder if he—Oh, look~ He moved!"

"I guess he's alive after all." A chuckle. "I'll go tell Samejima."

Johan's eyelids felt as if they'd been sewed shut. He imagined he could feel tearing skin as he peeled them slowly open and blinked for the first time in three days.

He saw clear blue sky above him, lightning dancing across the sky. Am I dead? he wondered. Could Heaven really look like this? He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again: This time he realized that he was staring at was an arched glass ceiling, showcasing the lightning storm that danced outside. Johan glanced out the window and saw that there was no lightning—the ceiling continued to flicker with light.

Painfully he began to haul himself into a sitting position. Every part of him ached, especially the back of his neck. He glanced around. He was tucked into a linen-sheeted bed, one of a long row of similar beds with metal headboards. His bed had a small nightstand beside it with a white pitcher and cup on it. Lace curtains were pulled away from the windows, and Johan could hear the faint ever-present street and traffic sounds coming from outside.

"So, you're finally awake," said a dry voice. "Samejima will be pleased. We all thought you'd die in your sleep."

Johan turned. Asuka was perched on the next bed, her long blond hair wound into a thick braid that fell to her chest. Her blue dress had been replaced by jeans and a tight pink tank top, though the pendant still winked at her throat. Her bracelet and whip were gone; her skin was as unblemished as the surface of a bowl of cream.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Johan's voice was raspy.

"I'm not," said Asuka, "disappointed."

"Is this the camp?" Johan asked, glancing around.

Asuka rolled her eyes. "Judai told you a lot, didn't he? Yes, this is the infirmary, not that you haven't already figured that out."

A sudden, stabbing pain made Johan clutch at his stomach. He gasped.

Asuka looked at him in alarm. "Gods, are you all right?"

The pain was fading, but Johan became aware of an acid feeling in the back of his throat and a strange light-headedness. "M-my stomach," he moaned softly.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot." Asuka grabbed for the ceramic pitcher and poured some of its contents into the matching cup, which she then handed to Johan. "Samejima said to give you this when you woke up." It was full of cloudy liquid that steamed slightly. It smelled of herbs and something else, something rich and dark. "You haven't eaten in three days," Asuka pointed out. "It's no wonder you feel so sick."

Johan gingerly took a sip. It was delicious, rich and satisfying. "What is it?"

Asuka shrugged. "One of Samejima's potions. They always work." She slid off the bed, landing on the floor with a cat-like arch of her back. "I'm Asuka Tenjoin, by the way. I live here."

"I know your name. I'm Johan. Johan Andersen. Did Judai bring me here?"

Asuka nodded. "Samejima was furious. You got ichor and blood all over the carpet in the entryway. If he'd done it while the other demigods were around, he'd have gotten in trouble for sure." She looked at Johan more narrowly. "Judai said you killed Minos all by yourself."

A quick image of the scorpion-snake thing with its crabbed, evil face flashed through Johan's mind; he shuddered and clutched the cup more tightly. "I guess I did."

"But you're a human."

"Amazing, huh?" Johan said, savoring the look of thinly disguised amazement on Asuka's face. "Where is Judai? Is he around?"

Asuka shrugged. "He's somewhere," she said. "Either training or sleeping, I imagine. I'd bet my money on the sleep—he doesn't get nearly as much of it as he should. I should go tell everyone that you're up. Samejima'll want to speak to you. We've been waiting for you to open your eyes for three days."

"Samejima is the counselor, right?"

"Yup." She pointed. "The bathroom's through there, and I hung some of Judai's old clothes on the towel rack in case you want to change."

Johan went to take another sip from the cup and found that it was empty. He no longer felt hungry or light-headed either, which was a relief. He set the cup down and hugged the sheet around his body. "What happened to my clothes?"

"They were covered in blood and poison, so Judai charred them."

"Did he now?" Johan asked. "Tell me, is he always this impulsive?"

"Oh, he's the son of the Lightning god," said Asuka airily. "That's what makes him so damn sexy. That, and the fact that he's killed more monsters than any of his brothers before him, and he's only a fraction of their age."

Johan looked at her, perplexed. "Isn't he your brother?"

That got Asuka's attention. She laughed out loud. "Judai? My brother? Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Well, all gods are connected, right?" Johan asked.

Her shoulders slumped; she sighed. "In a sense," Asuka murmured. "All gods have some sort of connection, be it sibling, children, or distant cousins. But demigods have no DNA relationship with other demigods who don't share their godly parent. Make sense? For example: a child of Zeus and a child of Poseidon can date, even if technically they share the same DNA. Godly DNA doesn't really count, and even if it did, incest was a common Greek practice, so no one even cares."

"I see," Johan said, a bit shaken up by the wave of information.

Asuka got to her feet. "Look, I'd better let everyone know you've woken up. They've been waiting for you to open your eyes for three days, as you already know. Oh, and there's soap in the bathroom," she added. "You might want to clean up a little. You stink."

Johan glared at him. "Thanks."

"Any time."

Judai's clothes looked ridiculous. Johan had to roll the legs on the jeans up several times before he stopped tripping on them, and the Gothic straps of the top were not easy to figure out how to get in and out of. Before he knew it, Johan was tangled in a heap of spidery black tangles, a blush of embarrassment slapped right on his face.

He cleaned up in the small bathroom, using a bar of hard lavender soap. Drying himself with a white hand towel left damp hair straggling around his face in fragrant tangles. He squinted at his reflection in the mirror. There was a purplish bruise high up on his left cheek, and his lips were dry and cracked.

I have to find Judai, he thought. Surely he must be around here somewhere.

He found his boots placed neatly at the foot of his infirmary bed, his keys plopped inside. Sliding his feet into them, he took a deep breath and left to find Judai or Asuka.

The corridor outside the infirmary was empty. Johan glanced down it, perplexed. It looked like the sort of hallway he sometimes found himself racing down in nightmares, shadowy and infinite. Glass lamps blown into the shapes of roses hung at intervals on the wall, and the air smelled like dust and candle wax and the ever-present smell of a rapidly-approaching storm.

In the distance he could hear a faint and delicate noise, like a wind chime being rattled by fierce winds.

He set off down the hallway slowly, trailing a hand on the wall. The Victorian-looking wallpaper was faded with age, burgundy and white. Each side of the corridor was lined with closed doors. Each door was a different color—lightning blue, ivory, red, sky blue, gold, silver, aqua blue, black, orange, dark red-brown, pale purple, pale red/pink, green, and dark grape purple. Each door was grouped into a section where all the doors were the same color, and Johan knew they must've meant something. Maybe it's like a dorm room, he thought, and you have to stay in the group with a certain color.

Turning the corner, he came to a doorway, the door propped fully open. Peering inside, he saw what was clearly a temple. A large statue of a man who looked strangely like Judai stood in one corner, marble eyes peering out at the world while the stone hand lifted a lightning bolt high into the air, looking for someone to strike down.

Judai was dancing at the base of the statue. He had a sword in hand, and his movements were graceful and frightening; Johan knew no human could do such moves.

He was barefoot, dressed in faded black jeans and a gray T-shirt, his brown hair ruffled up around his head as if he'd just woken up. Johan remembered how Judai had carried him, and the sword clutched in them glistened with electricity.

He must've made some noise, because Judai stopped dancing and twisted, blinking into shadow. "Jim?" he said. "Is that you?"

"It's not Jim. It's me." Johan stepped farther into the temple room. "Johan."

The sword landed on the floor softly when Judai placed it there. "Ah, yes. Our very own Sleeping Beauty. Who finally kissed you awake, hm?" He was smiling like an idiot—Johan could feel himself blushing.

"No one. I woke up on my own."

"Was there anyone with you at the time?"

"Asuka, but she went off to get someone—Samejima, I think. She told me to wait, but—"

Judai chuckled. "I should've warned her about your amazing little habit of never doing what you're told." He squinted at Johan. "Are those... Are those my old clothes? They look good on you."

Johan felt the blush, but tried to ignore it. "I could point out that someone burned my clothes."

"That was purely precautionary." Judai kicked the sword behind the statue of the man. He glared at it from the corner of his eye—Johan could smell the storm even more now—and stepped forward. "Come on. I'll take you to Samejima."

The camp was huge, a vast cavernous space that looked less like it had been designed according to a floor plan and more like it had been naturally hollowed out of rock by the passage of water and years. Through half-open doors Johan glimpsed countless rooms, each one different than the next, though each colored door had something about its room that was similar to a door of the same color. No two different colored doors had something in common with another different colored door.

"Why does this place have so many bedrooms?" Johan asked.

"We house demigods here," Judai responded. "Mostly, it's during the summer, but other times, we have year-rounders who say 24/7."

"But most of the rooms are empty."

"Everyone's outside—training, playing, eating, etc."

"Oh."

After a silent moment, Johan asked, "Are you a year-rounder?"

Judai smiled, a bit bitterly. "I have to be. Someone has to make sure all the demigods get here safe." He cast a glare in the direction of a strange green door. "Even if their mother is a vicious little bitch." His expression darkened slightly, just as the sky did before a storm. "Besides, I have no where else to go."

Johan frowned. "What about Asuka and Jim? Are they year-rounders?"

"Yeah. Well, Jim is—Asuka often goes with her brother to the demigod home country. He's, um, a sort of foreign diplomat, if you will. He sends messages to the camp in Greece when an Iris message won't work."

"Iris?"

"Goddess of the rainbow. Instant messaging, demigod style." Judai grinned wide.

"How many demigods are here?" Johan asked.

Judai had to think about that one. "Roughly one hundred, give or take a few. There's not many who make it safely to the camp—I've seen so many die on the way here, we just learn to expect that. It's a miracle if they make it here." He glared again at another green door as they passed. "At times," he whispered bitterly, "I wish some of them hadn't made it."

Johan glanced at the same green door. "The colors are...?"

"They represent which parent you have," he said. "We don't need this many rooms, but we have them. Most of the gods have at least ten kids here—most of them have a few more than that—so the rooms are needed, I guess. But we have so many of them. I mean, Zeus alone must have at least twenty rooms lines up for him, and each one's big enough to hold five kids." He frowned, sudden solemn. "But I'm the only one. There's no other child of Zeus is the camp, maybe even in the world. I—" He broke off. "This is the library."

They had reached an arch-shaped set of wooden doors. A brown Persian cat with golden eyes lay curled in front of them. It raised its head as they approached and yowled. "Hey, Midiena," Judai said stroking the cat's back with a bare foot. The cat slit its eyes in pleasure.

"Wait," Johan said softly. "Jim, Asuka, and the others—they all have a different godly parent than you, right? But they have other siblings here with the same godly parent?"

Judai stopped stroking the cat. "Yes."

"Don't you ever get lonely?"

Judai pushed the door opens. "I have all I need to survive. That's good enough for me." After a moment's hesitation, Johan followed him inside.

The library as circular, with a ceiling that tapered to a point, as if it had been built inside a tower. The walls were lined with books, the shelves so high that tall ladders set on casters were placed along them at intervals. These were no ordinary books either—these were books bound in velvet and leather, clasped with sturdy-looking locks and hinges made of brass and silver. Their spines were studded with dully glowing jewels and illuminated with gold script. They looked worn in a way that made it clear these books were not just old but were well-used, and had been loved for a very long time.

The floor was polished wood, inlaid with chips of glass and marble and bits of semiprecious stone. The inlay formed a pattern Johan couldn't quite decipher—it might have been the constellations or maybe a map of the world; he suspected he'd have to climb up into the tower and look down in order to see it properly.

In the center of the desk sat a magnificent desk. It was carved from a single slab of wood, a great, heavy piece of oak that gleamed with the dull shine of years. The slab rested upon the backs of two monsters, carved from the same wood, their faces engraved with a look of suffering, as if the weight of the slab were breaking their backs. Behind the desk sat a fat bald man with shimmering eyes and a wide, friendly smile.

"A book lover, I see," he said, smiling at Johan. "You didn't mention that, Judai."

Judai chuckled. Johan could tell that he had come up behind him and was standing with his hands at his sides, grinning that alluring grin of his that Johan wondered had come from his father. "We haven't done much talking during our short acquaintance," he said. "I'm afraid our reading habits didn't come up."

"How could you tell?" Johan asked the man behind the desk. "That I like books?"

"The look on your face when you came in," he said, standing up and coming around from behind the desk. "I doubt you were that impressed by me—though you might be in a moment."

Johan stifled a gasp as he rose. From the wait up, the man appeared to be totally human. But from the waist down, his body was that of a gray horse, thick and strong and powerful. Where the horse's neck would've been rose the torso and upper body of the man. The tail of the horse body flicked behind the man.

"I am Samejima," said the horse-man, still smiling.

Johan, still in shock, laughed a little and shook his outstretched hand. "Johan Andersen."

"Honored to make your acquaintance," said Samejima. "I'd be honored to make the acquaintance of anyone who could kill King Minos with their bare hands."

"It wasn't my bare hands." It felt strange to be complimented on killing something. "I had this seed that grew from from my hand, the thing swallowed it, and I—"

"A seed?" Samejima hummed in thought. "Could you be a child of Demeter, perhaps?"

Johan was about to speak, but Judai shrieked, "No!" He grabbed something off the desk and hurled it across the room. Johan flinched at the sound of the crash, the idea of something harming these precious books. "No fucking way is he a child of that bitch! I'll have nothing to do with a child of her! Nothing, you hear me?"

"Judai, calm yourself," Samejima warned.

Johan was confused. "I don't understand," he said to Samejima. "What's so bad about Demeter?"

Samejima opened his mouth to answer, but again, Judai intervened. "You're lucky not to know her. She's a monster, Johan. A cold blooded killer who cares for no one except herself!"

"Judai," said Samejima under his breath, fierce and strong. "You shouldn't say such things—"

"Oh, stop whispering!" Judai snapped. "I don't care if she does hear me!"

"I understand," said the horse-man quickly. "I understand how you feel, but murderer or not, Demeter is still and Olympian, and—"

"That bitch doesn't deserve to be considered a D-list monster, let alone an Olympian!" Judai's eyes flashed gold, he was so angry. Johan could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. "Do you know what she did? All the demigods she killed! Just because she was looking for her stupid Seed, which hasn't appeared in centuries and will never appear! We lost twenty-nineof the demigods coming in because of her! Twenty-nine kids, Samejima! And you're going to stand here, house her children—who are just as evil as her, I might add—and defend her? I don't care if she's an Olympian! Demeter can go fuck herself!"

"Judai Yuki!" Samejima gasped.

Before Johan could say anything, a sharp laugh sounded through the room. Johan had been so enraptured by the books and distracted by the fact that Samejima was half-horse (Johan remembered, when his shock was over, that Samejima's kind were called centaurs) that he hadn't seen the boy sprawled in an overstuffed red armchair by the empty fireplace. "I can't believe you just had the balls to insult my mother in front of me, Yuki. I give you points for bravery." The boy turned to look at Samejima. "And you—I can't believe you buy that story, Samejima."

At first Johan didn't register his words. He was too busy staring at the boy. He had false blond hair—it had obviously been bleached and dyed many times—slender white eyebrows, and his eyes shone with the color of rotting grass, dark green and vicious. They stared at Johan with a hostility as pure and concentrated as acid.

"I'm not quite sure I know what you mean, Ike." Samejima raised a thick bushy eyebrow. Johan wondered how old he was; there was a sort of agelessness about him, despite the wrinkles and the bald head. He wore a neat burgandy jacket, perfectly pressed. He would've looked like a kindly college teacher if it hadn't been for the giant gray-white horse's body underneath him. "Ike, are you suggesting that Johan didn't kill King Minos after all?"

"Of course he didn't. Look at him—he's a mortal, Samejima, and a kid at that! There's no way he took on Minos."

"I'm not a kid!" Johan interrupted. "I'm seventeen years old—well, I will be in three days."

"The same age as some of our most well-trained demigods," Samejima said. "Would you call them children?"

"They hail from the greatest beings in history; the gods," Ike said dryly. "This boy, on the other hand, hails from Tokyo."

"I'm from Domino!" Johan was outraged—he could see what Judai meant about Demeter's children being evil. "And so what? I just killed a monster in my own house, and your going to be a dickhead about it because I'm not some spoiled-rotten godly brat like you are?"

Ike looked astonished. "What did you call me?"

Judai burst out laughing. "He has a point, Ike," he said.

"It's not funny, Yuki!" snapped Ike, starting to his feet. "Are you going to stand there and let a mortal insult a demigod?"

"Yes," Judai said kindly. "You, and the rest of your siblings for that matter, need a good kick in the pants. You're all so high up on your altar that you forget that your mother isn't the greatest goddess out there."

"Your flippancy is wearing on my patience," spat Ike.

"And your obstinacy is wearing on mine. When I found him, he was lying on the floor in a pool of blood with a dying King Minos practically on top of him. I watched as it vanished when I struck it with a bit of lightning before it fired its last shot. But my lightning wouldn't have killed it right off like it had if he hadn't done something to it first. The thing was half-dead by the time I got there. If Johan didn't kill it, then who did?"

"Minos is stupid," said Ike tightly. "Maybe he—"

"You just can't stand the fact that there's a slight possibility of Johan being a member of your little family." Johan saw Judai's fierce expression, and he knew what it meant: And neither can I.

Ike's mouth tightened. "It isn't right for him to be here. Mortals aren't allowed inside the camp."

"That's not entirely true," Samejima said. "The Law does allow us to offer sanctuary to mortals in certain circumstances. King Minos has already attacked Johan's parents—he could well have been next."

Attacked. Johan wondered if this was a euphemism for "murdered".

"Minos is the judge of the Damned," Ike said. "But he can also be used as a search-and-capture machine. He acts under orders from a warlock, witch, or a god or goddess. Now, what interest would any of these things have in an ordinary mortal household?" His eyes when he looked at Johan were bright with dislike. "Any thoughts?"

Johan said, "It could have been a mistake."

"Monsters don't make those kinds of mistakes. If they went after your parents, there must've been some reason. If they were innocent—"

"What do you mean, 'innocent'?" Johan's voice had gone quiet.

Ike looked taken aback. "I—"

"What he means," said Samejima, "is that it is extremely unusual for a powerful monster, the kind who might command a host of lesser monsters, to interest themselves in the affairs of normal human beings. No mortal may summon a true monster—they lack the power—but if they could get a warlock to do it for them, they could do it. Some mortals exist who are desperate enough to enlist the help of a demigod. Demigods can summon monsters, but they are inexperienced, and it often backfires."

"My parents don't know any warlocks or witches. They don't believe in mythology."

"Watch what you say," warned Ike viciously. "They aren't mythology."

A thought occurred to Johan. "Madame Meredet—she lives downstairs from us. She's a witch. Maybe she summoned a monster and it went for her and got my parents by mistake?"

Samejima's eyes shot up high. "A witch lives downstairs from you?"

"She's a hedge-witch—a fake," Judai said. "I looked into it. There's no reason for any warlock or monster to be interested in her."

The centaur threw his hands up. "Then we are back to where he started." He stole a quick glance at Johan, who kept staring down at his boots, trying not to cry over what he thought must have become of his parents. I will not cry, he thought. Not now. "I think I'd like to have a talk with Johan," said Samejima. "Alone," he added firmly, seeing Judai's expression.

Ike stood up. "Fine. I'm out of here."

"That's hardly fair," Judai objected. "I'm the one who found him. I'm the one who saved his life! You want me here, don't you?" he appealed, turning to face Johan.

Johan glanced up at him, wanting to speak, but knowing that he'd cry if he did so. Yes, he thought. I want you here. He didn't quite know why, but he wanted Judai close. He felt safe around the child of the Lightning god. As if from a distance, he heard Ike laugh nastily.

"Not everyone wants you, Yuki," he said viciously. "Not even your own father."

Johan stared at Judai, expecting him to blow up and attack Ike, but he just stared ahead as if Ike had said nothing.

"Fine then," Judai said, though he sounded disappointed. "I'll be in the armory."

Ike left before Judai, slamming the door shut. Judai stole a look at Johan, his eyes flickering with electricity, and then the door closed behind him with a definitive click. Johan's eyes were stinging the way they did when he tried to hold back tears for too long. Samejima loomed over him, a kind and tender presence, despite the huge appearance. "Sit down," he said. "Here, on the couch."

Johan sank gratefully onto the soft cushions. He reached up to brush the tears away, blinking. "I don't cry that often," he found himself saying. "I'll be fine in a minute."

"Most people cry when they are frustrated," said Samejima. "Your frustration is understandable. You've been through a trying time."

"You could say that." Johan wiped his eyes with the hem of his borrowed shirt.

Samejima knelt down slightly so that he was eye-level with Johan. It was better than having him loom over him. "Is there anything I could get for you?" he asked. "Something to drink, perhaps?"

"No thanks," Johan said, his voice muffled by his arm. "I want to find my parents. And then I want to find out who took them in the first place and kill them."

"Unfortunately," said Samejima with a laugh, "we're all out of bitter revenge right now."

Johan dropped the hem of the shirt—now splotted with wet blotches from his tears—and said, "What am I supposed to do?"

"You could start by tellingme a little bit about what happened," said Samejima, rummaging through his pocket. He produced a handkerchief, crisply folded, and handed it to Johan. He took it with silent astonishment. He'd never known anyone who carried a handkerchief. "The monster you saw in your apartment—was that the first creature like that you'd ever seen? You had no inkling such creatures existed before?"

Johan shook his head, then paused. "One before, but I didn't realize what it was. The first time I saw Judai—"

"Right, of course, how foolish of me to forget." Samejima nodded. "That was the first time?"

"Yes."

"And your parents never mentioned them to you—nothing about another world, perhaps, that most people cannot see? Did they seem particularly interested in myths, fairy tales, legends of the fantastic, mythology—"

"No, not really." Johan paused again. "They had an interest in nymphs. My parents were sculptors, and they loved to make nymphs."

"Most peculiar," murmured Samejima.

"Not really." Johan drew his knees to his chin and wrapped his arms around them. "My parents were the most normal people in the world."

"Normal people don't generally find their homes ransacked by monsters," said Samejima, not unkindly.

"Couldn't it have been a mistake?"

"If it had been a mistake," said Samejima, "and you were an ordinary boy, you would not have seen the monster that attacked you—or if you had, your mind would have processed it as something else entirely: a vicious dog, even another human being. That you could see it, that it spoke to you—"

"How did you know it spoke to me?"

"Judai reported you saying, 'It talked.'"

"It hissed." Johan shivered, remembering. "It talked about coming to find me, and something about a mistress and her orders."

Samejima jerked upright, so abruptly that his legs popped at the knees. Johan flinched at the sound—Samejima didn't seem to notice. "Did you say it came looking specifically for you?"

Johan nodded. "Yes."

He waited a moment, feeling his head throbbing, and then he asked, "Would it be possible for me to go home?"

Samejima looked concerned. "I don't think that would be wise."

"Please, I—" Johan glanced down at his boots again, not wanting Samejima to see him tearing up. "I have to see if there's anything left that will tell me what became of my parents."

Samejima hesitated, and then offered a short, inverted nod. "If Judai agrees to it, you may both go." He turned away. "Give it until tomorrow, and then go check it out. Until then, have Judai show you around the camp. You may find you like it here. Judai's in the armory."

"I don't know where that is."

Samejima smiled crookedly. "Midiena will take you."

Johan glanced toward the door where the fat brown Persian was curled up like a small ottoman. He rose as Johan came forward, fur rippling like liquid. With an imperious meow he led Johan into the hall. When Johan glanced back, he saw Samejima already scribbling on a piece of paper. He closed his eyes and followed the cat through the strange halls in search of Judai.

Me: All right, guys! Johan's learning more and more about the demigods, and we have a small idea about Demeter and why Judai hates her! And we have seen a mean person named Ike, who is one of Demeter's demigod sons.

Lucy: But what will happen in the next chapter?

Me: Read on to find out! Please review, too! We love getting many, many reviews from you guys!