Chapter Eight: True Lies

"I still can't believe you did that," Andromeda said, shaking her head as we headed toward the imposing brick school building. "And after everything I told you about my aunt."

With the arrival of Annabeth, the rest of the weekend passed by in a blur of board games and movie marathon nights. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't fun, but I did find myself wishing I had some time to myself to tinker with magical self study or even cook a small meal. By the time Monday morning came around, I was itching for some 'me' time.

So I had woke up early, got dressed in my running clothes and quietly made my way down the stairs to begin my morning run, making sure that I didn't wake anybody up on my way out. It had been over a week since my last morning run, and I really wanted to make up for lost time. Fortunately, the Brownstone was only a block away from Central Park - my usual destination - so I planned to run one of the trails for a nice change of pace.

Being closer to the park also meant my run ended sooner than normal, and I was able to get back to the Brownstone building just as the sun was rising since I wasn't stopping for a coffee on the way back. I let myself in using the spare key hidden under the welcome mat, and made my way to the kitchen to get a drink. Of course, I didn't realize that Andromeda's grandmother was also a very early riser, and I startled her on my way inside.

She'd grown upset when she discovered I had been out running one of the Central Park trails. Not angry upset, more... Scared. It had taken me a minute to realize that she was probably thinking about the daughter she'd lost in Central Park all those years ago. A girl not much older than myself. That had been yesterday, and apparently Andromeda hadn't let it go yet.

"Look, I said I was sorry," I grumbled. "I didn't realize it would be such a big deal at the time."

"You're hopeless," Andromeda huffed.

"So, what're we talking about?" Cleo asked, seemingly appearing out of nowhere and falling into step with us.

"Nothing now," Andromeda said, speeding up and walking away before I could say anything.

"What's her problem?" Cleo asked.

"She's... Not happy with the conversation we're about to have," I said. "She's very firmly of the belief that anyone not 'in the know' should be kept out of the loop for as long as possible for their own protection."

"And you know why that's bullshit."

Internally I agreed with her, but still I shook my head; "No, she's really not wrong. This secret... It really is more dangerous to know the truth. There are things out there that can... sense... whether you're aware of the truth."

"And what will these 'things' do?" She asked.

"They'll kill you," I said, seriously. "They're out there, right now. All around. The only thing keeping you safe is your lack of awareness. Because if you're unaware, you're not a threat. Thing is, you're slightly more aware than most other people. What you would consider being 'observant' is what we call 'clear sighted'."

"And that's the only reason you're telling me anything," Cleo said. "Is there a point to all this build up, or are you just stalling for the bell?"

"I'm getting there," I said. "There's a veil of sorts that covers up the... Strange things. Keeps the masses from panicking. Think of it a little like looking through your t-shirt. You can still see out, but the details are indistinct. You don't have that filter. Now, obviously I'm not going to tell you everything. That's just not safe - for either of us. But, I also don't want you running off and trying to find things out on your own and catching your name on a special episode of Sixty Minutes in a few months."

"Okay," Cleo said, after a moment. "So what's the big secret?"

"Magic," I said, with what I hoped was a serious expression on my face. I'd spent the entire weekend thinking about this conversation and what to say. Now, I could only hope it was good enough.

"What?"

"Magic," I repeated. "It's real. I'm a... Well, I guess you could say I'm a mage in training. I would have said 'witch' but outside of the Harry Potter books, there's some not so nice connotations to that word. So... Mage."

"You're shitting me," Cleo said, incredulously. "The big bad secret that'll get me killed is that Criss Angel isn't a fraud?"

"Who?" I blinked, then shook my head. "Nevermind. Point is, yes. Magic is the big secret. If you've got it, you're a threat to the monstrous creatures out there. They can't be killed by mundane methods like guns or even bombs. Only magic can defeat magic. Of course, only magic can detect magic as well. As a general rule of thumb, if you don't notice them, they wont bother you."

"So, what? You wave a wand and make the monsters go poof?"

"No way," I laughed. "I'll leave the clumsy stick waving to the boys, thank you very much. I can get by just fine with just a wave of my fingers."

"Yeah, I'm sure you do. So, what kind of magic do you do?" Cleo asked. "I mean, aside from making your eyes glow. Seriously, what's that even about?"

"That's kind of like Mage Sight," I said. "It lets me see magical energy. Like I said, magic can detect magic. I mostly use it to check my surroundings and make sure there's nothing nearby that would be a threat. It's a more active detection while what you're capable of with Clear Sight is more passive."

"So does that make me a mage or a witch or whatever like you?"

"No," I shook my head. "I thought you might be, but Andromeda is certain you're not. She's been at this a lot longer than I have, too."

"How's she so certain?" Cleo demanded.

"No idea," I shrugged. "You'd have to ask her yourself. Though honestly, I don't think even she knows how she knows. It's probably some passive sense that she's not fully aware of. It's not like there's an instruction manual for these powers."

"So is that magic sight the only thing you can do?" She asked. "Doesn't sound like it'd be very helpful in defeating magical monsters or whatever."

"Nah, I'm a bit more advanced than that," I said. "I dabble in enchantments, but my real specialty is pyrokinesis."

"No shit?" Cleo's eyes widened. "Let me guess, you can't show me."

"Well," I glanced around. "Fire's probably not a good idea in a crowded place, much less at school."

"Fair enough," Cleo conceded.

"But I can show you an example of enchantment," I continued, swinging my backpack off my shoulders. "Behold."

"It's a backpack."

"It's a backpack with an endless amount of carrying capacity," I corrected. "If I can fit it into the mouth of the bag, the bag can hold it perfectly with room to spare. And no matter how much stuff I put into it, it never gets heavier."

I demonstrated by pulling out my school books, then the change of clothes that I'd packed for after first period, followed by one of the containers of food that I'd packed for lunch.

"Okay," Cleo said, letting out an appreciative whistle. "That's impressive. So, what's up with your hair?"

"My hair?" I blinked. Had I colored it strangely this morning? Surely somebody would have noticed, right? Andromeda would have definitely called me out for it, for sure. "What about it?"

"It's black," Cleo said. "And longer than it was at the library this weekend."

"Would you believe me if I said temporary color?" She shook her head. "Yeah, that was magic too. Sort of a self enchantment."

"You can change your appearance with magic?"

"Only my hair," I started to explain, only to be interrupted by the first bell ringing. "Oh, saved by the bell."

"Okay, fine. One last thing since we're heading to the same place. You mentioned 'monstrous creatures' before, right?" I nodded. "Does that include women with snakes instead of hair or middle aged guys with goat horns in nowhere New Jersey?"

"Ah..." I half stumbled, catching myself before I could face plant. "The goat horn guys are actually good guys, to be fair. Kind of opposite what the religious types might tell you."

Interestingly, despite sharing a class right before lunch, neither Andros or Percy seemed to be interested in walking with me to the cafeteria. Cleo at least had the good sense not to try ingratiating herself into our friend group right away. Though, that might have been Andromeda's resting scowl more than anything.

"Hey," I greeted, pulling out the prepared lunch from my backpack as I sat down. Andromeda's eyes widened as she took stock of the Katz's logo on the bags. Soon enough, I had a small mountain of over stuffed sandwiches and multiple containers of every side dish and soup on offer. "Help yourself. I kind of went a little nuts ordering."

"What the hell even?" she asked, grabbing one of the wrapped sandwiches and a bag of chips. Despite their cold shoulder moments before, neither Andros or Percy hesitated to grab their choices from the pile of food.

"Jerry took me there last night while you and Annabeth were watching that Royal Journal movie," I said, choosing a pastrami sandwich for myself.

"Princess Diaries," she corrected. "But I meant how did you get all this?"

"Oh," I grinned. "Apparently the Lotus Casino card actually works like a debit card. When I checked the balance, it just gave an infinite symbol. So I decided to test it out and potentially treat myself and my friends at the same time."

"Are you sure that's smart?" she asked, dubiously.

"Why not?" I retorted. "That Lotus Eater practically forced it into my hands on our way out of the casino. It's even got my name on it, too. I'm just going to consider it a spoil of the quest and make good use of it until it goes away on its own."

"So," Percy said, after swallowing his first bite. "What did you tell her about us?"

Andromeda and her brother looked at me expectantly as I pulled a specially prepared runestone out of my backpack. The damaged ear symbol etched on it would work best for silencing the immediate area around our table and preventing eavesdropping.

"A lie buried in a half truth," I said. "Basically, I told her that magic and monsters are real but left out any mention of gods or mythology. It's technically true while concealing the whole truth so we don't have to worry about keeping track of an entire fictional story that someone can poke holes in. Plus, now if anyone else overhears something, they'll just think we're nerds who play Dungeons and Dragons or whatever."

"Unbelievable," Andros scoffed.

"What? It was the best thing I could think of," I said. "And I don't remember anyone else helping me come up with something better. Besides, I only did what Apollo suggested in the first place."

"I still don't like it," Andromeda said.

I hesitated for a moment, then said; "There's more."

"What now?"

"Apparently she's already been attacked by a monster before she ever met us," I said. "In fact, we're kind of responsible for her even being here?"

"How does that work?" Percy asked.

"She was one of Medusa's victims that Ferdinand de-statuefied," I said. "Apparently, she and her mom stopped there on their way out of state at the start of Summer and..." I trailed off, letting the others mentally fill in the blanks.

"You didn't tell her..."

"No!" I said. "I just figured you should know. It's... I don't know what it is, really, but it seems kind of interesting at the very least. Like there's some kind of connection or something."

"No," Andromeda shook her head. "She was a victim of circumstance, and it's chance that we were involved. It sucks for her, but that's it. No connection. No deeper meaning."

"I guess," I said, taking another bite of my sandwich and wishing I could share her conviction. But I just couldn't shake the feeling that something larger was at play.