I must have passed out in the air. I woke up in an alley by what I presume to be Bourbon Street to the sight of an older teenage guy. His hair is a dirty blond frizz. His eyes are a dark, silvery blue-grey, stormy and condescending like an approaching hurricane. Despite his ominous appearance, he speaks in a quite friendly tone.
"How are you?" he begins. "That was quite the height I found you two at. If I hadn't been there, y'all would have been alligator food."
"I'm doing surprisingly alright after being flung a thousand feet in the air by a Cyclops." I weakly respond.
"Another half-blood, I presume?" he answers.
"Another what?" I ask, very puzzled by his assumption.
"Do you know both of your parents?" he continues.
"Before I answer that, may I ask who you may be?"
"I am Julian Hebert, son of Notus." he responds.
"Notus, as in God of the South Wind?" I respond. "Or also Auster, if I recall correctly."
After everything I encountered, his claim doesn't seem to be so wrong.
"Well, I am a Greek demigod," he replies. "There are also Roman demigods, but I assume you do not know of any such difference. My father was in his Greek aspect when he fathered me, so I shall refer to him as such."
"Back to your question, I am no demigod. I know both of my parents. My mother is Catherine Kwan of Hong Kong, and my father is Boris Romanchuk of Estonia. And the first monster I fought was Egyptian, but I did so with both a Greek and Roman weapon. I am so beyond confused at this point."
"You claim to have two mortal parents, yet you can see through the Mist?" he asks.
"The Mist? What does that even mean?"
"I mouthed this to you when you saw the Cyclops for what it is," Mr. Broussard finally answers, now that he is awake. His goat legs are bared in all of their furry glory. "The Mist is the force that keeps mortals from seeing what I really am. Some mortals have Clear Sight. But, by the way you can wield those weapons, you must have the blood of gods in you. Perhaps you're a Roman legacy, but I can't explain how you could battle an Egyptian monster."
"Also, your eyes," says Julian. "Normally, you inherit the eyes of your godly parent. My eyes are the same as Notus himself. However, your eyes don't say anything. They are as black as any other pair of Asian eyes I have ever seen."
"Good to know," I respond. "And my hair also doesn't say much either, don't they? It's as blond and straight as the Belarusians can be."
"I was wondering why your surname doesn't sound Estonian. In any case, we should probably go see your parents. Maybe they are demigods."
Now that I think about it, sometimes my Mom and Dad go disappear for days at a time before coming home. Being an only child can be so lonely sometimes.
"I shall leave for my other assignment," Mr. Broussard says. "You have a lot to question your parents about. Old Boris has some explaining to do."
When I finally returned home, my Mom and Dad had already received the police report. In a suspicious turn of events, they didn't even question the fact that I was last seen being launched into the air. They were also not in the least fazed by the son of Notus. Perhaps he's right.
"Julian, thank you for saving my son," Mom begins. "However, I must say that I am also not a demigod, nor is my husband. We have also battled monsters in our youth, but never have I encountered an Egyptian monster like a phoenix."
"I have," Dad begins. "Although the part where he says he killed it with a gladiusand khopesh seems suspicious. Normally, I had to cast a Ha-di."
"So are you two legacies?" I asked.
"Son, it's time you learn the truth," Dad begins. "I am an Egyptian magician. We are Blood of the Pharaohs. One of our ancestors is Ramses II. Your mother is a Greek legacy. One of her ancestors is a Greek god. Perhaps that's why you could battle both kinds of monsters with the wrong tools."
That was an insane amount of information to take in despite the few words.
"I think he should train at Camp Half-Blood," Julian interjects. "Although you will have a swell of a time being stuck in the Hermes Cabin."
"Is this some kind of demigod training camp?"
They all nodded in agreement.
"Sure, let's do this. I will need to defend myself in any way I can. I can forget about math and baseball for a while. This calls me."
"As the smart Renaissance man you are, Son, I think you know what our 'business trips' really were for," Dad says. "I have important business to attend to at the First Nome. There was this big thing that happened a few years back where some of our distant relatives had to fight off the end of the world."
"There was also a big civil war with Greeks and Romans a few years back," Julian continues. "I remember the insanity that was that summer. We stopped Gaea from waking, although it was a tough fight. I believe it's also high time for you to meet the twice Hero of Olympus, but I'll let you figure that one out."
"That's too many surprises for two days," I lament. "All I wanted was to see the new part of the World War II Museum, but that was ruined. Then I get arrested, only to be chucked over the Mississippi like some kind of human football. Then I learn that I am some divine being. What could be better?"
"I do not hope a Hero's fate upon you, son," Mom and Dad both say. Dad continues, "A hero's life is hard and usually tragic. Perhaps if you go to Camp Jupiter instead, that would provide some stability, but we have such a long history of divinity, it really doesn't matter where you happen to be next."
At night, I ponder my options. Now I know that the two of the mythologies I read about as a little kid are in fact real and that I am a descendant of them. Next thing I know, I'll be battling giant Chinese sky snakes in a Maserati on the World Tree. What else could possibly happen? I pack my bags and prepare to leave for New Jersey tomorrow at 3:00 PM.