Maelstrom

Twenty-Five

[alea iacta est]

Tessa had seen some pretty weird things in her lifetime. As a demigod, seeing weird things went with the job description. From Apollo driving a mini-van in the sky to herself in another dimension leading an enemy army, there had been quite a few instances were Tessa had been rendered speechless.

But this? This might have taken the cake.

Adam Bennet blinked at Tessa in bewilderment as the revolving door to Nectar & Ambrosia sputtered to a stop behind him. "Tessa? Is that really you?"

Tessa swallowed, forcing herself to speak. She could have said something witty or casual but somehow, all she could do was point weakly to the sign in the window and say, "We're closed."

Adam only grew more frantic. "What the hell is going on here, Tessa? You haven't come into work in days, the city is headed to hell in a handbasket." He gestured frantically, stammering. "What's going on?"

Tessa glanced to Reese at her side, who had one hand frozen towards his bow, strung across his back. He met Tessa's eyes and simply shrugged as if to say, this is on you. She turned back to Adam, only to find that he had followed her line of sight.

"Why does he have a bow?" Adam exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Adam!" Tessa interjected, snagging his attention. Her heart was racing; she had never exactly done this before, in all her years of being a half-blood. "Calm down."

"I'll calm down when I get some answers." Adam countered, phone in hand. "There's no reason that guy should be armed—"

"He's at war," Tessa said, running out of patience. "We all are."

Adam froze, meeting Tessa's gaze. She could practically see the gears turning in his head and coming up empty. "What war?"

Tessa took a deep breath. "Adam, what do you know about the Greek and Roman gods?"

Adam arched an eyebrow. "A fair amount. I have a minor in Classical Civilizations from NYU—"

"Not the point," Reese retorted, spooking Adam. Everytime Adam looked at him, it was like he forgot Reese was there and armed. "Listen to her."

"The short version is that the Greek and Roman gods are real, and they have moved with the flame of Western Civilization over the past three thousand years. They're currently in the United States, and sometimes, these gods have children with mortals called half-bloods. I'm one of them, and so is Reese." Tessa explained, her words cutting into one another.

Adam watched her with narrow eyes. For about a minute, he didn't say anything and Tessa thought he was going to sprint out into the street and scream for the number to a mental institution. But then he said something Tessa didn't expect.

"So I'm not crazy," Adam muttered.

Tessa made a face. "Why would you be crazy?"

Adam shook his head. "All my life I've seen...weird things. Men with one eye. Horses with wings. Young women that become trees or sit at the bottom of lakes and rivers. I thought I was just hallucinating or that I had a strong imagination. That's why I became an English major at first, actually, but I figured I liked journalism bet—"

"Focus, dude," Reese folded his arms across his chest. "We don't have all day."

"Right," Adam said, shaking his head as if to clear his train of thought. When he looked back up at Tessa, it was with a newfound intrigue. "So...you're really a half-blood? Both of you?"