Chapter Six - Nothing to See

Two and a half months had gone by since the day I was jumped in the alley. Two and a half months since uncle Joe had turned my world upside down with the revelation that not only did he know I was a demigod, but he was one too, and that he was friends with a wind nymph who looked nine years old but was actually even older than he was.

Thanks to the nectar and ambrosia provided by Doctor Phoebe I had recovered from my injuries after just a month, and uncle Joe made good on his promise to teach me the basics of using a weapon. We also talked about the mythical world that we were born into, him sharing his own experiences and me sharing the enchiridion. Most of the information inside the hand-written book was good, if a little subjective.

Of course, it wasn't all just magic and monsters. Uncle Joe and Ari had also taken me shopping for a full wardrobe a few days after I had settled in. I couldn't try the clothes on myself due to my injuries and the tightly wrapped bandages limiting my mobility, so the wind nymph had briefly changed her human form so that she looked like my white-haired twin sister - modeling the clothes on for me like the world's most surreal fashion show. I had to put my foot down and tell her in no uncertain terms that she absolutely did not need to model the underwear for me, too. Both uncle Joe and Ari's laughter at my proclamation let me know that I'd been had.

The biggest sticking point had been uncle Joe's insistence on buying me a dress. According to him, every young lady should own at least one. I wanted to fight him on it. However, instead of fighting an old man set in his ways, I reluctantly agreed. He was paying for everything else anyway. Besides he only said I'd have to own one, not that I would have to ever actually wear it. In any case, I had felt completely vindicated when it turned out my 'hack job' with the ornate knife had settled into a very cute pixie cut all on its own.

My home studies had also continued under uncle Joe's strict tutelage. He was adamant that I learn, and given what he had told me about his ex-wife's ambitions, I guess I understood where he was coming from. That's not to say it was easy or fun, but I did my best for him. I even discovered that I really liked Science, Math and Reading - the last one not coming as too much of a surprise for me. Despite most demigods being dyslexic, I seemed to have lucked out in that I only had the usual trouble of reading comprehension that other children my age had.

One aspect of having a steady home life that I hadn't considered was television. Uncle Joe had a satellite dish hooked up that got all sorts of cartoon channels to keep me entertained while I was stuck in bed. My favorite show was called Myth-o-Magic, a show about the gods summoning legendary monsters and heroes to battle for the fate of the world. Unfortunately, it only ever showed on certain days with the episodes all out of order. Another good one was Hercules Busts Heads - even if it was nothing like the Disney movie. That one had less episodes, but they played more frequently and in order, so I got to see them all.

I had happily fallen into a steady routine of resting, healing and learning. For the first time since I had run away, things were finally looking up.

It was early morning, the sun still low in the sky. I found myself rooted to the spot as all around me a crowd of faceless people went about their morning routine, not paying attention to anything around them.

"Mommy, I wanna doughnut!" I looked over to see a six year old girl in a short sleeved yellow shirt and overalls tugging on a dark-haired woman's hand, pointing at a nearby doughnut shop

"Okay, sweetie," the girl's mother said with a smile. "Since you were so good for the doctors, you can have a doughnut."

The mother-daughter duo disappeared inside the store, the sign over the door read Monster Donut. No, I thought. It wasn't safe. I opened my mouth to call out, to try to warn them, but no sound escaped. I couldn't scream. I couldn't move. I couldn't even look away as the building exploded outward in a cloud of fire and debris.

I woke up to the scream of a smoke detector and the smell of something burning. Instinctively I rolled out of bed, painfully hitting the floor with a cry. Looking around wildly, I saw that my vision had changed to black-and-white mode again. The room was mostly colorless except for the blanket smoldering with red-orange flames.

A silver mist, that I realized must have been Ari, was flying circles around the ceiling - presumably to clear the smoke. Uncle Joe came rushing into the room to see me lying on the floor, tangled in smoldering blanket and staring dumbly. He was pink! Not quite as vibrant as Pinkerbelle, more carnation than hot.

"What is going on?" he asked, eyes wide as he took in the scene, already moving to pull me from the burning blankets and checking me for injuries. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

I shook my head, "Just sore. Sorry about that."

"What are you apologizing for, nipote? Were you playing with matches?" he asked. Looking me in the eyes, he inhaled sharply in surprise. "Your eyes are glowing!"

What?

"What?" I asked, not sure that I'd heard him right. Fire usually came from my hands, not my eyes.

"She's got th' sight," Ari crooned from above, her silvery form pulsing. By now the smell of smoke had mostly gone away and the shriek of the alarm had stopped. "I tol'd'ya so!"

"But fire comes from my hands," I said. "What does being able to see have to do with that?"

"What?" It was now uncle Joe's turn to be confused. "Ari, please get down here. I think we both could use some answers, if you don't mind."

Ari complied, the silvery cloud resolving itself into a vaguely humanoid form and dropping from the ceiling to bounce onto the freshly vacated bed. "Sure thing, Gio," she grinned. "Whaddya wanna know?"

"What is this 'sight' that you claim she has?" he asked.

"And what does that have anything to do with my fire powers?" I chimed in.

"Th' sight ain't got nothin' t' do with fire," Ari said. "Th' sight is just th' sight. It lets ya see things more clearly. It's like how some mortals can see through th' mist, 'cept I'm bettin' Penny here can see things like godly auras and th' like since she can see me when I'm just a breeze."

I nodded when they looked to me, and said; "She looked a bit like a silvery cloud to me. And now she's still silvery, but her form is more... person shaped?"

"Ooh, that's neat!" Ari squeaked. "What's Gio look like to you, then?"

"He's very... pink," I admitted. Uncle Joe looked slightly put out as Ari laughed. "I don't know how else to describe it except I see some things in vibrant colors, and other things look like old TV show reruns of I Love Lucy."

"That'd be th' godly auras," Ari said. "Demigods like you an' Gio will have them. Nature spirits and Nymphs like me should too, since our parents are either gods or children of gods and other nature spirits. Basic'ly anythin' or anyone that isn' full mortal should have a aura t' be seen."

"But what do the colors mean?" I asked, desperate for answers. "And how do I control when I see them?"

"Not a clue," Ari shrugged. "It's a rare talent, for sure. You'll just have t' work on it on yer own way. O' course yer eyes glowin' like that is a dead giveaway tha' yer peekin'."

"And what about this fire power?" Uncle Joe asked.

"I can control fire," I said, looking down. My skin radiating a mix of red-orange with purple streaks. "Well, I can summon it in my hands without getting burned and I can throw it like a baseball. But sometimes, mostly when I have bad dreams, I lose control and start burning whatever I'm touching."

"I see," uncle Joe said.

"Are..." I hesitated, my voice cracking slightly. "Are you going to kick me out now?"

"Oh, nipote," he said gently, ruffling my hair. "Of course I'm not going to kick you out. We'll just have to figure out how to work around this little hiccup together, is all. How did you manage before coming here? I can't imagine you burned down too many buildings."

"The place I was staying at was protected by a daughter of Hecate," I answered. "She put a lot of protections from things like water, fire, pests and even mortals according to the journal." I gestured to the tattered leather notebook sitting on my bedside table. "I tried to do some of the things she wrote about, but didn't have a lot of luck."

"May I?" he asked, pointing to the journal. I nodded and he picked it up and starting slowly flipping through it. After a few minutes, he closed it back. "Ari, I'd like to ask a favor from you."

"Sure thing, Gio," she chirped. "Whatchya need?"

"I'd like you to go to Chiron and ask if he can make sense of this," he said, tossing the journal to her. "See if he has Elena's old notes too. He'll know which ones."

"You got it!" She caught the book as she spun in place, her human form dissolving back into a cloud once more as she flew around the room, ruffling my and uncle Joe's hair before rushing out the window with a giggle. A moment later the world around me burst back into normal color and I collapsed as my head exploded in pain.

"Nipote!" Uncle Joe was at my side in a flash, helping me back onto the bed.

"Sorry, sorry," I apologized. "It's fine. I'm... My head just hurts when my vision goes back to normal, is all."

"No need to apologize, nipote," uncle Joe gently chided.

"Right," I said. "Sorry."

He chuckled. "Get some rest. You're still recovering."

"How much longer?" I asked, letting out an involuntary yawn. Was it possible for a bed to be too comfortable?

"Another day or two," he answered. "Doctor Phoebe will be by to give you the all clear then, okay?"

"Okay," I grumbled, closing my eyes. The darkness helped my headache a little.

"Good, now rest. I'll see you in the morning." I heard him cross the room and the door closed. A moment later I was back asleep.