Chapter 17

Jim snapped his gaze up from his phone and onto Mary. "She can see through the Mist." His voice held awe. It was rare when that happened, especially for an adult.

Mary continued. "My parents thought that I was mad. Insane. Hallucinating. They never believed me when I told them that I saw a man with one eye. They never believed me when I told them that a snake lady was killed by a young boy my age." Mary stared at John. Her eyes were filled with relief that she wasn't actually insane. "Please, tell me what all this means."

John smiled. "The Greek gods are real. You remember, in the ancient times, stories were told about the children of the gods?"

Mary nodded and then she gasped. "You!" She turned to look at Jim. Jim Moriarty nodded.

John nodded again. "Yeah. The Greek gods still go around getting women pregnant. The children of the gods are called demigods, half bloods, or heroes. It's incredibly rare for a demigod to reach retirement age, because the Greek monsters are real too. They were allowed to live so the children of the gods can show their mettle and bravery and all that shit."

Jim rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Seriously, half the excuses the gods give are shit." Thunder cracked through the sky. Jim waved a hand. "Yada, yada, yada…"

Mary looked faint and yet excited. "That was them?!"

John smiled. "Yeah, they don't really like criticism about the gods." He gave Jim a look. "Jimmy here has a death wish. He's constantly antagonizing them."

Jim snickered. "They would never do anything to me. They need me."

Mary looked at John. "Why? Why would they need Moriarty?"

John sighed. "I'll tell you that after you know the basics. So, there are children of the gods running around Earth. Now, in order to have their kids survive this nice, peaceful world," Jim snickered and John smirked, "they had a camp created. This camp is called Camp Half Blood. An obvious name, but still, it serves the purpose."

"How does it keep the kids safe?" Mary's eyes were huge.

John smiled. "The borders are kept by magic. The magic has been augmented by the Golden Fleece, which is now guarded by a dragon."

"I want a dragon." Jim was pouting again. "Chiron refuses to let me have one!"

John sighed and shook his head. "Anyway, I went to that camp. So did Jim. That's where we first met."

"That was only place in my life that I ever felt accepted. No one called me a freak. No one looked at me weirdly. I was normal." Jim smiled wistfully. "I wish I could go back…"

Mary glanced at John and then Jim. "Why…can't you?"

John sighed. "The very practical reason that there isn't any room. If all the demigods stayed past the age of 21 then the camp would be so crowded that there would only be standing room."

Mary nodded and gave a noise of understanding.

Jim smiled. "We can visit, but only for a few days at a time."

John kissed Mary gently. "Any questions?"

She shook her head. "Not yet. I'm still trying to process this."

Jim leaned forward. "Will you keep this a secret?"

"Yes. Of course I will! I won't tell anyone." Truth. John heaved a sigh of relief. Jim took John's reaction as positive.

"Good. Now, I must be off. I have a meeting to go to."

"Bye Jim."

Jim waved and left. Mary looked around the room. "Who's your parent?"

John looked over to her from his plate. He was eating pot roast. Jim knew that was his favorite. "My father's Apollo. Jim's mother is Athena."

Mary smiled. "I should have known. Apollo is the god of medicine, isn't he?"

John nodded. Mary quietly started eating a little bit of the food on her plate. The little one would be hungry.

Meanwhile…

Sherlock sighed and reclined on his brother's couch. "Mycroft, I've told you all I know. John Watson has something in his brain that Jim Moriarty wants. Jim will keep him alive. All I know is that he needs John's full cooperation, so torture will not be effective. I don't know what it is, though!" Sherlock put every ounce of his acting into his words. Making his frustration very apparent.

Mycroft sighed. "Very well. We need to find out what John Watson knows."

Andrea stood up. "I think it would be best if Sherlock stayed here, don't you, My?"

Mycroft nodded. "Jim Moriarty might want another pet."

Sherlock growled but acquiesced surprisingly quick. Mycroft shook it off as just his brother's concern for John.

Andrea walked Sherlock to his room. "I hope you find sleep, Sherlock." She opened the door to his room.

Sherlock found it incredibly ironic that there was a painting of a Greek god hanging above the desk in the room. Hermes, if he remembered correctly.

Andrea looked him straight in the eyes when she spoke. "This used to be my room before Mycroft proposed to me, and we got married. Hermes was always my favorite of the Greek gods. I find that sometimes I could relate to him somehow." She smiled knowingly at Sherlock and said goodnight. Sherlock stared at the picture and felt like screaming.

Is everyone I know related to the Greek gods?! How come Mycroft and I are the only ones who aren't related to gods?! She kept this a secret from Mycroft the whole time. They must be very serious about keeping the mortals out of this. Sherlock sat on his bed and started removing his shoes. Why me then? Because of John? Is there something that they need me for? Sherlock shook his head and curled under the covers. Surprisingly, sleep came quickly for him this time.