Chapter 30: Part of the Crowd

The grand hall looked majestic. Athena had changed the decorations to reflect the grand opening, and had made the tapestries even more intense, depicting more of the gods’ glories than anything else. Soft lights adorned the tops of the walls and the long banquet tables were set beautifully. Ari had had name plates made for each invited, and everyone invited was from everywhere. There were some tags, Toby realized, that were not even in the English language.

Toby was mingling with everyone. There was anyone above the age of sixteen it seemed, all dressed in elegant costumes. Just how many children could gods father in a lifespan of a human? It wasn’t like there were hundreds of gods. But there were hundreds of people present. He knew that Ari had bewitched the grand hall to make it accommodate everyone. He looked quickly at the automatic check list in his hand. Ari had explained to him that not everyone would come, most likely, and so she had created a check list. Anyone that didn’t come would be brought later on, for a second round of introductions and explanations.

“You ready to go up there and start things off?” Ari’s voice came behind him. He had just finished speaking to a Japanese woman and welcoming her. There were a lot of Asians.

“Um, no. Not really. Some of these people don’t even speak English.”

“There are headphones for those who won’t understand you. And a translator near by. If they have questions.”

“All this god technology and we can’t consolidate languages?”

“I don’t want to make these people freak out too badly on their first date.” Ari told him. “As it is, Chaos is probably going to reign for a while, if you know what I mean. That’s why we have crowd control.” Ari pointed to the corners of the room, where the nymphs stood as body guards. Large, very male, body guards.

“Okay, understandable. Hey, you better introduce me or something.” Toby said.

“Introduce you to who? There’s millions of them, it seems.” Ari said, laughing.

“I mean introduce me as the speaker. I can’t have any respect if I don’t get introduced.” Toby pointed out to her. “And plus, I’ve never been introduced. Hell, I’ve never had to give a speech before. So there’s lots of first times for me.”

“Okay. Here’s the deal. I’ll introduce you to everyone if you promise not to bitch at me later on. For the whole process.” Ari winked at him.

“Deal.” Toby agreed. He looked at his watch anxiously. “Its nearly seven. How do we get people to take their seats?”

“Like this.” Ari nodded to him. “Come with me.”

Toby followed the slightly luminous figure of Ari through the crowd of people in the grand hall to the front of the table and room. The materialized a gong in the front and winked at him. She took the large mallet and struck the gong. Silence immediately reigned over the crowded halls. Ari stepped up to the microphone.

“The ceremonies will begin in five minutes. Please find your seats. One of our staff can help you if you are unable to do so.” Ari managed to get out with squeaking or otherwise disrupting the microphone’s sound.

“Wow.” Toby commented as he smiled at all of the people staring at them, taking a moment to comprehend what had just been said, “I thought the whole being a goddess thing would make you above the use of a microphone. Apparently not.”

Chapter 29: Toby’s First Day

“They’re coming when?” Toby asked, more in surprise than anger. He looked up at her from his bed. “What about college? I leave in a week!”

“Don’t worry. You’ll find that our assistants are very useful.”

“How am I supposed to be in charge of this entire process if I’m not there to oversee it?” Toby asked her. “Am I in charge still?”

“Yes. Absolutely. Blame Zeus. He wants to hurry things along. Do you want to talk to him about it?” Ari asked him and he shook his head in denial.

“No. Look, its fine. Just…when do I have to be there? And what help is there going to be? And I know we won’t have a budget, but who is going to make sure that the simple things are taken care of?”

“Like what?” Ari asked him.

“Like…like toilet paper! I know you were a mortal once, but your head is mostly in the clouds. Toilet paper, and paper towels, and food production, and housing, and…”

“I took care of the housing issue.” Ari told him. “Housing is not a problem.”

“Did you build shacks or something? Houses? You built houses for these people?”

“No.” Ari assured him. “I built apartments. There’s…”

“How many people are going to be coming to this opening and sorting?”

“I’m not really sure. Hermes was in charge of the invitations.” Ari smiled a little too cheerfully. “But no matter. I’m sure however many people there are, the grand hall will be large enough to fit all of them.”

“We’re going to have enough to fill the hallway?!” Toby asked, wringing his hands together and then putting his head into them.

“Don’t worry! Stop it. You’re freaking out.” Ari told him, reaching out to touch him and calm him as he continued his rant.

“And you want me to speak to all of these people, and tell them that they’re going to be sorted and expected to live in apartments in a strange place?”

“They don’t have to live there. Remember? The ones who want training will tell their families they’ve been accepted to a special college that is going to give them superb business skills.”

“And the college is?”

“Choice University, of course.” Ari winked at him. “See? I have all of the details worked out. Now, anyone that does want to live ‘on campus’ and away from the world may do so. Some may be required, but that’s only if they’re going to make trouble. We will elect a council, soon enough, and you all will be self governing with little involvement.”

“Except, you know, these gods control our food supply, our detection by mortals…” Toby said to her, almost sarcastically.

“Well…” Ari said, “No one said this was going to be control free. No matter what, all of you are under the control of the gods. So yes, we’re more of…big brothers and sisters. Parents. Not overseers.”

“And what is the purpose of this community? What do I tell the crowd when they have questions for me?”

“You answer them. You’ll find the answers come easily to you in front of them. After all, you are first, Zeus’ son, and second, our chosen leader of the Gifted.”

“Is that our official name?” Toby snorted. “You do realize that in the mortal world, ‘gifted’ is a term used for the mentally challenged.”

“Okay. You can be the chosen leader of the demimortals.”

“Why not demigods?” Toby asked. “It just sounds so… so noble.”

“Hey, kid. Now its time for you to get your head out of the clouds. You know the classification system. And if we call you all demigods, then you’ll start to get these grand and rebellious ideas in your heads. Its probably a bad idea to combine all of you under one roof, even for a brief period of time.”

“But we really need the control.” Zeus walked in through the door and Toby jumped.

“Right. Hi.”

“You could have knocked.” Ari pointed out to her father in law. “He hates it when we do that.”

“I’m sorry. I was just dropping in to say hi when I heard the conversation. I completely forgot that you can’t sense us unless you are paying very close attention to your surroundings.”

“Its alright.” Toby said, calming down a little bit. A large, blonde, Olympian god walking through your door and providing an entirely new source of light tended to quiet you down a little bit.

“Is everything alright?” Zeus asked. “If Ari isn’t doing her job…” Zeus looked at Ari half seriously.

“Yeah. I’m just a little surprised and overwhelmed. I didn’t realize we were going to get moving on this whole thing so soon. I wish I had gotten more warning.”

“Well…lets just say things are heating up in the immortal world, and I don’t want things to get too uppity. So my hope is that if we get everything in place, things will settle down.”

“Is every one up there okay with me?” Toby asked his supposed father. Zeus nodded.

“They all think you’re the next best thing after fire.”

“I think you mean sliced bread.”

“Sliced bread was easy.” Zeus retorted. “Teaching humans how to use fire? Still not one hundred percent accurate. And Prometheus was not the brightest choice.”

“I see.” Toby held back a laugh. His father looked down at him, perplexed.

“I see, too. Why I don’t come around mortals too much. Hell, I invented language and I can’t seem to master it.” Zeus nodded to both of them. “Have to go. Good luck tomorrow night, Toby. I’ll be in the crowd.”

“Thank you.” He said to Zeus as he disappeared. Toby shook his head.

“Where is my dad right now, anyway?”

“He’s checking out at the hard ware store right now. We only have a few minutes. Listen, you will be fine tomorrow night. I’ll be right beside you. All you have to do is welcome everyone.”

“What about my wings?”

“Hide them. For now.” Ari told him. “We can use those as a way of showing everyone that what you’re saying is real. After all, no one invited, with an exception to the few I or Hermes have spoken with, really know why they’re coming.”

“Did you give them a way to get there?”

“Goddess flights incorporated. Lifting off at their local airports. We even have a website up, thanks to me.”

“Good job.” Toby said, half heatedly. “I’m…I don’t know. What is my age range? Why am I the spokesperson?”

“Toby…listen. Not too many people are created for an express purpose.”

“You’re right. Most are made out of love.” Toby retorted sarcastically.

“Tobias, you listen to me. You have lots of people that love and respect you. And you are going to have lots more. Being a leader is no easy task, but its one you were made for. So suck it up and be ready to speak tomorrow. Go and, I don’t know. Hang out with your friends for the day.”

“Might be the last time for a while?” Toby asked, smiling and being less sarcastic.

“Very funny.” Ari said. “I swear, sometimes you have more PMS than Lisa does. And she has a uterus.”

“Leaving so soon? I was enjoying your stay.” Toby said. He stood up to hug her.

“Watch those wings. They’re poking out again.” Ari commented as she embraced him.

“Sorry. It happens now when I get upset or anything other than normal. I’ve been pretty good though, lately, right?”

“You’ve been very good at handling all of this. I especially love the attire change. Though some girls have to be looking at your shoulders and going, ‘damn, he has a lot of muscle’.”

“Girls? I haven’t been around my girl friends for a long time. They all live too far away. And they’re all off at summer camp.”

“They go to summer camps at eighteen?”

“No. They lead summer camps. It’s a huge job around here. Camp Good Days and Special Times. They get paid to spend the summer there and help the challenged kids out. They begged us to go but we wanted our last summer to be our own.”

“We?”

“Gary and I.” Toby explained to her. “And we have been out a lot this summer. Hanging out and what not. Video games.”

“Yeah, you have. Even after I came into your life. Alright, your dad is going through your front door right now.” Ari explained hurriedly as Toby heard the door jingle downstairs. “Bye.”

“Bye, Ari.” Toby held out his hand in farewell as he watched her fade into blackness.

“You need help, dad?” Toby called as he walked towards the stairs to see if his father needed to carry any large objects.

“No, I’m good.” His dad yelled up at him, walking up the stairs with a small plastic bag. Toby looked down at it critically.

“A hammer?”

“I ran over ours this morning.” His father offered to him in explanation. Toby burst out laughing.

“Good job, dad.”

“I know, I know.” His dad said, then shrugged as he set down the hammer down on the table. “But on the bright side, you seem to have inherited your intelligence from your mother, and not from me.”

Toby laughed and tried to push the truth out of his mind. Maybe, some day, he would tell his father the truth. And after all, it wasn’t like it was completely unbelievable. Maybe he would tell his real father to tell this one the truth – it would make the harder stuff well, easier. Toby shook his head and headed out of the kitchen towards his bedroom. He had made a decision. They were going to go bowling tonight, and nothing could stop him. He had already cancelled three outings with his friends because of problems or developments in his other project. He refused to do it tonight, no matter what happened.

Chapter 28: Lisa’s Powers

“Can I touch it?” Lisa asked her teacher, Ben. He shook his head.

“Lisa, its really tender.” Ben complained.

Lisa had spent the majority of that day forcing Ben to talk to her. Since she was leaving soon, and he was still on pain medication, he was stuck in bed, and well, someone had to keep him company. The true companionship that Lisa had been lacking over the past month or two was finally being found, and Ben himself was rediscovering the beauty of conversation.

“That’s okay.” Lisa insisted. “I swear that I won’t hurt it.”

“Alright.” Ben struggled up and out from under the covers he had been lying beneath. “Fine.” He groaned again as Lisa sat closer to his body.

“I swear I won’t hurt you.” Lisa repeated to him as she reached out and bared the rest of his skin. The wound, stitched, but still sore, didn’t look that amazing. It wasn’t so much the stitching that worried her, but the large purple mark around him.

“It almost looks like I hit you instead of stabbed you.”

“And how did you get the knife again?” Ben asked her, smiling. She touched his soft skin briefly.

“I don’t know. I told you that.” Lisa grumbled. She wanted to try to use the other half of her powers now. To help, instead of hurt.

“What are you doing?” Ben asked her.

“Be very, very quiet. I’m hunting rabbits.” Lisa winked at him, doing a bad impression of Elmer Fudd.

“Okay, you crazy little girl.”

“Don’t call me little.” Lisa responded to him, frowning and furrowing her eyebrows in concentration.

Lisa found the little white flower inside of her that she had been concentrating on. She had found it – just like Ari said she would – over the past few days, and she had been using it to affect the world around her. She was hoping that she could maybe completely heal Ben. Ari had told her that she had left him half healed just so Ari could finish it up. Maybe regain some confidence in herself. Lisa imagined the flower opening inside of her. Lisa pulled one of the strings out and opened her eyes. Startled, she could see the white string in her hand with her ‘real’ eyes. That had never happened before!

“Close your eyes!” She ordered Ben, and laughing, he did as she asked him. She looked down, unsure of what to do from here, and decided to do what she could. She reached out with her free hand and pulled the string from her hand smeared the white energy onto his wound.

“What are you doing?” Ben asked, surprised. He felt a warm, tingling sensation.

“Hush.” Lisa ordered him, continuing her work. She kept putting more and more onto him until the entire thing was covered. She looked behind her briefly to make sure that no one could see what she was doing. Then, she slowly pushed the stringy paste into his skin, and released. The remainder of the string flowed back into her. As the twinkle disappeared, she looked at his skin. The bruises around Ben’s shoulder were gone, as were the stitches.

“What did you just do?”

“Fixed you.” Lisa announced. “I took your stitches out.”

“And the bruises.” Ben said to her as he opened his eyes and examined his shoulder. “Shit, girl. You got more of the god genes than I did!”

“What?”

“That’s right. I’m part god, too.” Ben admitted to her. “But you need to stop showing off. I know you’re here to discover yourself – but suppose I was mortal?”

“You would have accepted me for who I was?” Lisa asked him.

“Well, yes. But I probably also would have accused you of satan worship and gotten you expelled from the temple, in the very least. You have to understand. Outside of this temple, don’t expect to have your extra skills accepted.”

“I know.” Lisa said. “Ari said it was safe to do that, though.”

“She would.” Ben laughed. “I nearly killed someone in my younger years.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Then I got a day out on the town and a little bit of extra instruction as well.” Ben said. “And when I came back, they told me I could stay. And I’ve been here ever since. Because I know that if I walked out of those doors out there, and I accidentally did something that would count as supernatural, I would be killed by a mob somewhere. I know I would.”

“What are your skills?” Lisa asked him.

“Well, I don’t have the whole power over life and death like you…” He said pointedly, then continued. “But I have an unusual control of water.”

“Are you Poseidon’s?”

“I don’t know. No one ever really owned up to me on Olympus. So Ari said. And before her, it was just Hermes who was helping me out here on earth. But I’m not his.”

“I don’t know who I came from either.” Lisa admitted. “Ari said I’ll find out eventually. As will every half god.”

“I never got that promise.” Ben said, surprised.

“Apparently, its something new.” Lisa declared. “Now, this means, of course, you can work. Any pain?”

“No. Feels better than before you stabbed me.”

“Sorry!” Lisa said guiltily.

“It wasn’t your fault.” Ben assured her.

Chapter 27: Finishing The Tour

“Next.” Toby muttered as he shut the door behind him. He felt like he could spend forever in this temple that he knew was only created, yesterday. He looked at the next door that stood before him. Eros.

“Shit.” Toby muttered. “Why am I obligated to visit every single room?” His sexuality was not something that he wanted to discuss. Or have activated.

Toby put his hand on the door handle and immediately felt the rush of…well, lust, at his touching the handle. He would go in, say hi, and get out as soon as he could. The lights flipped on as Toby entered the room and he almost moaned at the soft fur carpet below his feet. The altar was simple, stone, and unusually large. The candles…oh. That wasn’t the altar in the center. That was…a bed. The altar was in the corner. The painting of the wall behind the…bed…was simple. Graphic. To put it simply, an orgy with couples in positions that should not be possible. There were legs, hands, feet, mouths, elbows, all in the air outside of the tangle of bodies. There had to have been at least thirty people – men and women – in that painting.

“That really happened, you know.” A soft, sultry voice echoed behind him. Almost afraid of what he was about to see, he slowly turned around to meet the eyes of Eros. They were dark and obviously not mortal, swimming in deep blue and gray depths that should not be possible.

“Really?” Toby swallowed and tried to make his voice not crack. He was not homosexual by any means, but Eros had a perfectly carved chest, which was – not unexpectedly – bare. He didn’t want to know what lay beneath what his eyes could see.

“Yes. Athena almost refused to depict it for me, but I begged and she finally relented. She just…does it, so well. Art work seems to be her only release.”

“Its very beautiful.” Toby said, truthfully. Even if erotic – hey, the word ‘erotic’ came from Eros.

“Thank you. I know I am making you uncomfortable right now…” Eros smiled gently at Toby, “So I will leave. But when you want to talk about it, you let me know. You are, after all, the liaison between the gods and mortals. You need to be healthy – in all aspects of your life.” Eros winked and faded out of existence.

Toby shook his head, laughing, and walked out of the room. He needed a minute to rest. And hope – hope with all of his might – that Ari would not reappear at that exact moment, with Lisa in tow. He didn’t think she would, but just in case. Who was next?

“Apollo.” Toby read the room’s plate aloud as he walked towards it. This room was – he was just taking a guess – going to be very, very bright. Quite possibly very hot. He placed his hand on the knob and turned. The room lit up, so bright that he could barely see anything.

“Are the lights too much?” A voice came from inside.

“Who are you?” Toby asked incredulously, squinting to see in the bright light.

“Damn it all. I knew it was too much.” The lights dimmed to a more normal level and Toby could finally see a great lug of an Olympian, clad in bright yellow garb from head to foot, shoeless. This must be Apollo.

“Just a little.” Toby said, admitting it. He smiled shyly at Apollo. “You’ve always been one of my favorites.”

“Well, I’ve heard nothing but good things about you over the past few mortal months.” Apollo said, smiling. He was young, virile. He had a whip, coiled at his hip. The tapestry behind the altar depicted Apollo astride his chariot with his horses, driving the sun across the sky.

“Mortal interpretation.” Apollo admitted. “But it makes for a wonderful story, doesn’t it?”

“Yes.” Toby agreed. He looked down at the gold embossed altar. “You have a big job.”

“I don’t really drive the sun across the sky. But you’re right – I am well known.” Apollo said. “I look forward to working with you and the students you turn out. Really. Olympus has been getting boring since the immortal wars stopped. There was a short time of excitement when Ari was killed by her brother-in-law, but now that Cadmus is restrained for a while, its just us old folks. We all will be watching you carefully.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

“Many blessings will come from us.” Apollo said. “Just try hard not to piss us off. Alright there, Toby?”

“Yes, sir.” Toby agreed. He realized that it was the first time a god he had just met had used his name. Apollo was actually friendly.

“So…the lights should be this bright?” Apollo asked, as Toby looked around.

“Yes.” Toby said. “That way, we can still…well, we can still see.” Toby laughed and shrugged. “Unless us not being able to see is part of your master plan, of course.”

“No, not at all. I just…how can I make it known that I am the sun?”

“Well, how were your temples in old Greece made? You have this room. You can do whatever you want to it.”

“You have a point. You are very wise for your age, young one. I look forward to spending eternity with you.”

“I may not choose immortality.”

“Yes, but sometimes, immortality chooses us.” Apollo winked at Toby and disappeared. Toby felt the presence leave and realized he had been sweating from the heat. He would have to get Ari to talk to Apollo about the heat. Not everyone came from a desert.

Toby exited the room and shook his head as the lights went off. That mechanical device could definitely get annoying if you opened the door to let someone in from a knock, and then they just shut off. Who was next?

“Enjoying yourself so far?” Ari’s voice came from behind him, and he flipped around, startled.

“You gods have this…this horrible habit of dropping in unexpectedly. Its like, bam, I’m lost in my own thoughts, and then bam, one of you people just pop in and start talking without even a warning.”

“What do you want me to do? Knock on the hallway?” Ari said, laughing at his frustration.

“Maybe.” Toby looked at her. “Um, so far…we need a receptionist out in front…” Toby assumed a business like tone of voice as he told her. “And Apollo really needs to let the heat in the room go down a little bit. It won’t kill him, really. We all understand just how powerful he is.”

“I’ll let him know. Did you tell him?” Ari asked him, and Toby shook his head vigorously.

“No. Would you want to tell a god his dwelling place wasn’t perfect?”

“And that, my friend, is the reason the Christian church has so much power.”

“Funny.” Toby glowered at her. “How many of these are left?”

“Um, well, we’re at Apollo, so we still need to do Zeus, Hermes, Poseidon. Arkonel. Hades. On this side.”

“Okay…”

“And there are a few goddesses you have to get to, too.”

“Like who?”

“Me, Athena, Aphrodite, Artemis, Demeter, Persephone, Hera…”

“What if I said I was tired?” Toby said to her and she shook her head.

“You’ll visit every single damn one of these altars if it’s the last thing you do while you’re alive. I cannot – and you, cannot – afford to have these wonderful gods and goddesses pissed off at you.”

“Understood.” Toby said, recognizing the true need. Tonight was the night for him to meet all of them and begin to be on good terms. Favors were probably going to be needed later on down the road, with accidents, and the best way to get that help was through prayer. And visiting.

Toby headed for the next room. “Zeus?” He said in wonderment. “I thought he would be on the end of the hallway.”

“I definitely did not want to incite brotherly rivalries. By putting the King of Gods in the middle, I was hoping to help them realize that the order didn’t matter.”

“But it does.” Toby said. “You know it will.”

“Yes.” Ari agreed. “But it will be less upsetting. If they even notice and browse the rest of the temple.”

“Does this place have a name?” Toby asked as he opened the door and the lights clicked on.

“Not yet. Go on. Say hi to your father.”

“He’s not my father.” Toby replied as the door clicked behind him.

“Strong statement for such a young lad.” A voice came from in front of him, this time. He looked up.

“Were you here before I opened the door?” Toby asked him, smiling. “You didn’t scare me like the others.”

“Yes. I was figuring you would be around any time now, and I figured waiting might make you come by and examine it faster. I know we’re both busy.”

“Understood.” Toby said, extending a hand to his golden haired, young ‘father’ god seated in the throne like chair in the corner. As he stood, the chair disappeared.

“I do like yours.” Toby said as he looked around. Plain white walls, with paintings from Athena on any of the three walls he was facing. Depicting the defeat of the titans.

“That’s good. The carpet?”

“Lovely.” Toby agreed. “How’s Olympus?”

“Doing well. You’re causing quite a stir up there, for never being there, yet.” Zeus laughed at him.

“I don’t…I don’t mean to. Obviously. My existence and therefore, any stir that is being caused, is entirely your fault.”

“Not too many would dare to speak to me that way.” Zeus said to him, raising his eyebrows.

“You are my biological father.” Toby said, laughing. “You won’t strike me down with lightning because I’m honest.”

“In my younger days, I may have.” Zeus admitted. “But now I favor more humane punishments.”

“So no more Atlas holding the world up?”

“That was exaggerated.” Zeus defended himself. “He wasn’t holding the world up.”

“And Tantalus?”

“He…that was correct. But, in our defense, he did do some pretty horrible things.”

“Is he still chained there, dying for a drink?”

“No. We took him down eventually.” Zeus said. “Well, son, you have a long night ahead of you, so I will let you go. You have my two brothers left, correct?”

“Yes, sir. Have you been following me?”

“Perhaps.” Zeus winked. “Or perhaps your mind is just very easy to read. You should work on that.”

“Yes, sir.” Toby said. Zeus blinked out of existence and Toby went out of the room to see Ari again.

“Have a nice conversation?” She asked, throwing an arm around his shoulder. Toby nodded and looked at her, smiling.

“He’s not that bad. He kind of grows on you.” Toby admitted. “I didn’t quite feel the seed of hate and resentment for putting such a big load on me. I almost liked him.”

“Well, I didn’t start off hating him, but I definitely love him, now. He truly is a good leader for the Gods. Though not necessarily a role model for some people.”

“I thought you said he was faithful, now?”

“He is. But in immortal terms…it’s a year, maybe two. Not the eighteen that you’ve been on this earth. And in terms of the complete time line, its seconds. Minutes, even.”

“So not a lot of trust in terms of fidelity?”

“I wouldn’t pray for it to him, if that’s what you mean. Now, be careful with Poseidon. He’s more arrogant and has a larger stick up his you know what than any of the other gods. He’s also kind of out there – it probably results from his years under the sea. He’s barely in Olympus. Between him and Hades, its like there are three kingdoms on this earth. The earth, the water, and the hell.”

“I thought it wasn’t Hell.”

“Its Hades’ realm. We refer to it as hell because its not with us, in Olympus. Its just…elsewhere.”

“Okay, I’ll be careful.” Toby said.

Toby put his hand on the door and before he opened it, he looked back towards Ari, waiting patiently behind him.

“This is going to be an oxygen environment, right? He didn’t fill the room with water?”

“No, we made sure of that. Don’t worry. He might not even show. Like I said, he doesn’t exactly like the company of other living beings other than the fish he lives with.”

“Okay.” Toby entered the room, feeling the flush, royal blue carpet beneath his feel. The walls were a light blue, and even the lights were dark and mellow.

“Do you like it?” Toby looked up and found his eyes on a brute of a man, similar to Zeus with one exception – a very large trident in his hand. He stood.

“I know, Ari said I wouldn’t show.” Poseidon extended his hand. “I almost didn’t. I just got curious. I’m sure you know how lonely it gets in a place where only you rule.”

“No, not really.” Toby admitted. “But I’ll take your word on it.”

“If you need anything, let me know. And when you find one of mine – I don’t venture out much, but when I do…” Poseidon gave an unusually boyish grin and winked at Toby. “Anyway. The point is, let me know. Send them to me. I can use a few helpers in the ocean.”

“I will, most definitely.”

“I was serious about that.” Poseidon affirmed, extending his hand. “If you ever need anything, you let me know. I’m trying to lighten up a little bit. Get back into the swing of things. Get up to Olympus. This is a time of change.”

“I will.”

“Any of my brothers’ sons is one of my own.” Poseidon said, shaking his hand. Poseidon faded into the distance. Toby exited, briefly wondering if Poseidon was under the influence of antidepressants.

Chapter 26: The Warehouse

“This is it?” Toby asked Ari, amazed at the sight before him. The old, wooden warehouse had seemingly been transformed over night.

“Yeah. I’m going to take off for a few minutes to meet with Lisa. I promised her I would come by and fill her in on what’s been going on. But I’ll be back, and you can give me any finalized changes. I had Athena do the paintings in each of the rooms, in the tradition of her weaving the most beautiful tapestry a long time ago.”

“Amazing.” Toby said as he reached the door. It was no longer a garage sized wooden door. It was more of a…well, no. It was a glass mosaic, double door. And beyond the glass looked promising, too.

“I’ll be back.”

“That a promise or a threat?” Toby called to the empty air behind him. He was getting used to sensing when Ari was there and when she had left.

Hearing no answer, Toby placed his hand on the door. He was no expert on magical energies, but he could definitely feel the power emanating from the place he was to eventually call home. After he was done with college. And maybe graduate school. If he still wanted to go on after he started to get really involved in the process.

Toby pushed gently and watched the door open. The lights automatically snapped on, revealing a wonderfully furnished reception room. The walls were white, but hung with pictures of the majesty of all of the Olympians, respectively. What had been moldy plywood the day before was now covered with a wonderfully plush purple carpet. Toby was almost compelled to take off his shoes and touch it with his bare feet. Toby turned around to take in the entirety of the room, realizing that indeed, there was a shoe rack to the left of the door. And to the right, a coat rack.

“Wow, Ari. This is pretty awesome.” Toby said as he took out the pad of paper that Ari had given him. “But this room really needs a reception desk, right there.” Toby scribbled ‘reception desk in reception room’ on the pad of paper. He put it into his back pocket with the pen he had and looked to both sides of him. The room in front of him was clearly labeled with a granite sign above the door: Grand Hall. He decided that he would enter there, last. For the two doors to either side of him read, “Hall of Gods” and “Hall of Goddesses”. He chose the one to his left – the gods one – first. He reached for the crystalline doorknob, wondering just how much this building would have cost to renovate with mortal money and workforce. It opened easily and silently, and the lights flipped on.

“Nice!” Toby said, surprised. The walls were again, white, with dark blue doors adorning the outside of the hallway all the way down. Tapestries lined that far wall, and one very long tapestry went as far as he could see along the wall closest to him. Depicting the titans and their loss against Zeus, or so he thought. Great, monstrous creatures – it indeed seemed that the entire wall was covered in the Odyssey. A magnificent story, obviously beyond perfection. He wondered if Athena did all of the art work.

The first door, just across the way, had an embossed golden plate above the door that read, “Room of Hermes” across it. The door was just too tempting, and Toby placed his hand on the doorknob. He suddenly realized that for such a big place, it was the perfect temperature inside. He had forgotten that Ari would have taken care of the heating and cooling problems. Toby pushed open the door as the lights snapped on.

“The way these lights work is going to freak everybody out. Do they automatically shut off, too?” Toby muttered to himself, losing his voice as he headed into the room. It was amazing.

From head to foot, the room was covered in what could only be described as Hermes’ style. The carpet, a deep yellow, was surprisingly attractive. The walls, a dark green with lamp like lights hanging off of the walls, flickering just like candles in a forest, served to make it a friendly, yet quiet, atmosphere. The simple altar before him stood with a single candle, burning. A wood altar, which fit perfectly with Hermes. Messenger god, but also a little bit of a nature freak, Toby remembered. He was grateful that he had actually had a chance to spend time with this god. He knelt before the altar.

“Calling all gods named Hermes…” Toby said, laughing and placing a piece of incense into the burner. He lifted the candle from its holder and lit the incense, careful not to drip the wax onto the newly carved altar. Hermes would not have been pleased.

“You like it?” A voice came from behind Toby, and Toby rose fluidly to meet his grandfather.

“I do. It is fitting that the first room we come to on this side is yours. The gateway between all of humanity and the gods…”

“Well, every time these lights turn on, I get called.” Hermes said. “It’s the same with all of the rooms. Granted, we get calls all of the time, but each of these have a little extra call to them. So when you said my name, it was like a huge echo. You are going to have to warn people about these rooms.”

“Am I the first to try it?”

“The first part mortal, yes. I could have heard you if I was listening for you, anyway.” Hermes said, and Toby shook his head.

“Every one is going to get awful mad at me, then. I plan to check out each and every one of these rooms.”

“Do you really like it? Athena put a painting in each of the rooms…” Hermes pointed to the back wall, drawing Toby’s attention to the picture of Hermes in his glory, flying among the clouds towards an island.

“I do.” Toby agreed. “I didn’t know Athena painted.”

“She’s a personal fried of Ari, and Zeus would have ordered it, anyway. She has that whole power over weaving thing that kind of bleeds over onto painting. Anyway, each of us that wanted a temple, here, designed it ourselves. I figured mine would give you a place to meditate.”

“Oh, you want me to meditate in yours, eh?” Toby laughed at him. Hermes reached out towards him, gesturing for Toby to come closer.

“I’m not letting you hit me. I fell for that so many times when we flew home that one time.” Toby explained to Hermes.

“Understandable. Anyway, since I’m supposed to introduce you to all of the features of these rooms, check out the door.”

“What’s so special about it?” Toby asked. “I shut it and the lights stayed on…”

“Yes. But that’s not the point. That’s a simple mechanical switch for these rooms – when the door opens and closes, light turns on. When it happens again, lights turn off. But the door is locked on the outside, right now. And you notice the sound proofing, right?”

“There’s sound proofing?”

“Well, since there’s no one else here, I’ll forgive you. But yes, each room is sound proofed. And in addition, these rooms are private. The only gods that can enter here are the ones that have the passwords. Zeus did it for us.”

“So like right now, Ari couldn’t enter?”

“Well, she could. She has a list of everyone’s password, stored in her memory. As will, you. For intervention. But that’s it. I can’t enter Athena’s temple room, for example.”

“That’s pretty cool.”

“It eliminates spying. You see, now that the whole idea of a half-god school has hit us, a lot of us will be vying for attention. Because the more powerful a half god, the more power we’ll have on the mortal earth. Or so we think. Its kind of like that game that some mortals play – pokemon? We’re all vying for the best pawn.”

“Gee, way to make me feel important.” Toby said to Hermes.

“Well, you know. Honesty is always the best policy.”

“You were born to lie.” Toby retorted. “Alright, I’m going to check out the rest of the rooms. I have a feeling there will be a lot of appearances by you Gods, today?”

“Yes, we’re all waiting on your call to brag about our particular room. This was the most fun some of us have had in centuries. Have fun!”

“Bye, Hermes.” Toby said as Hermes disappeared.

“All fire extinguishes when the mortals leave!” Hermes said before he was completely gone. He had known that Toby was about to extinguish both the candle and the incense to keep everything from blowing up in flames later.

“Thanks, dude.” Toby said, reaching for the door and leaving. He let the door softly shut behind him. He realized that each of the doors were also fireproof. Good move on Ari’s part.

Toby looked at the hall, and realized that it seemed never ending. Had Ari expanded the building to fit all of the gods who wanted prayer rooms?

“No. I extended it to include all purpose, no influence meditation rooms in between the gods’ prayer rooms. Don’t worry.” Ari said to him. “You don’t have to look at all the rooms tonight. But it would be a good idea. Everyone knows you just called Hermes, and regardless of your relationship to him…you’re the liaison of the mortals to the gods. You don’t want to piss anyone off, now do you?” Ari asked him, and Toby shook his head emphatically.

“No, definitely not.”

“Well, I did warn you that it was going to be a long night.” Ari said, throwing an arm around his shoulder.

“I know, I know. That’s okay, though. These rooms are amazing!”

“Well, I think I’ll leave you alone and go back to Lisa. But listen, when you need me, just call. I’ll be close by and listening.”

“Close by?”

“Just a phrase. We’re halfway across the world.”

“Hey…can you be in two places at once?” Toby asked her as he placed his hand on the door to Aries’ prayer room.

“No. Watch out for him. He’s a little…aggressive.” Ari said. “But I enjoy him. He tells amazing stories.”

“Will any of you affect us?” Toby asked, suddenly. “I mean, am I going to walk out of here and want to start a war against America?”

“No. We’ve never controlled mortals. Any influences we place on you guys are voluntary on your part. What you’re talking about was in the old days. We are not allowed to use mortals as tools any longer.”

“Fun stuff.” Toby said. “Bye.”

“Bye.” Ari disappeared and Toby headed in through the door. The lights snapped on to reveal plain, white walls, with a huge tapestry covering the back wall. An iron altar, or so he thought. A single candle, again, burning. This one, a deep red. The power inside the room set Toby’s stomach on edge, but he realized that very obviously, Aries would not hurt him.

“God of war… such an outdated name.” A deep voice sounded from behind Toby and he whipped around in surprise. A huge monster of a man stood before him, smiling.

“Really?” Toby extended his hand. “I’m Toby.”

“I know.” Aries said. “Do you enjoy the design? Athena made exactly what I was thinking for that.” Aries gestured towards the tapestry in the back of the room. It featured Aries himself, standing amid thousands of men and striking them down with a huge broadsword.

“Ah, my teenage years.” He said, grinning. Scarless, it seemed almost impossible that the man standing before Toby was the single largest supplier to Hades.

“I see.” Toby said. Aries held out his hand.

“Don’t be scared of me.”

“I’m not.” Toby admitted. “Its just that all of you are so…beautiful.”

“We were made that way.” Aries said. “So listen. I was thinking…”

“I’m not making any deals, yet.” Toby interrupted him. “But I love the room. It really fits. And I’m sure many, many people will come to visit.”

“Thank you.” Aries said, proudly.

“How many of those people I just mentioned are your children?”

“I take no responsibility for what I’ve done in times of war.” Aries winked at him. “But the mortal women were always willing. Something about having sex with a war god just incites their excitement.”

“Are they all reported?”

“All that I can remember.” Aries declared. “You will make a good leader. I can see that, already.”

“Thank you.” Toby said. “Wait…are you influencing me, now? I thought Ari said you gods couldn’t do that.”

“We can’t.” Aries agreed. “But what our auras do to all of you is automatic. So, just as your are peaceful around Ari, and playful around Hermes, you become aggressive around me. Romantic around Aphrodite. And around Eros, you become…”

“I get the point.” Toby cut him off with a grin.

“I bet you do.” Aries said, laughing. He extended his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m sure we will be working close together eventually.”

“Why?” Toby asked.

“Because even if the people you train and teach do not become immortal, you need to create leaders. And that is where I come in. I forge leaders.”

“Oh.” Toby said. “Okay.”

“Alright, I know you have a long night ahead of you. Go get them, son.”

“Are you related to me, to?” Toby asked incredulous, and Aries shook his head.

“No, but I should be. You’d make a wonderful protégé of mine. We could reap a lot of havoc.”

“Don’t you mean reek?”

“I don’t know. English is not my first language.”

“Right.”

“Go.” Aries said, with a little more force.

“Yes, sir.” Toby said and headed for the door as Aries disappeared, his laughter echoing in the background. He was…fun. Toby decided. He certainly put Toby at ease.

Chapter 25: Ben’s story

“Do I get to know your name now? After all, I stabbed you.” Lisa said to him, smiling as she walked into her teacher’s room.

Lisa looked down at him as he smiled back at her. His right shoulder was in a sling, and he was being forced by the others to remain in bed for at least the day. Lisa had gone out with Ari the entire day before and had gotten back, looked in briefly, and gone to bed. It was now morning, and Lisa was planning to at least offer the man that she had stabbed some coffee. She motioned with the coffee pot in her hand.

“Coffee?”

“No, thank you.” Her teacher looked at her and smiled. “And I told you, my name is not important.”

“Here, how’s this.” Lisa offered as she sat down on the bed with him, trying to fight back her feelings of guilty. Every one had told her that it was not her fault, but she knew in the end, that it was. She had not had a knife. And no one else in the history of the temple had ever materialized a knife before throwing it at – or stabbing – someone who was trying to wake them up.

“How’s what?” He asked, reaching up with his good hand to brush her hair out of the way of her face. “Look up when you speak. Do not feel guilty.”

“How about I tell you what I did. Before I came here.” Lisa said. “And I get your name.”

“How about…you meditate and come back to me when you discover the significance of a name.” Ben, or the man she called Ben, smiled in reply.

“I know the significance of a name.” Lisa said. “Giving a name to someone is a symbol of trust. Therefore, having the name of someone is a symbol of power. By not giving me your name, you are refusing to trust me.”

“Or, are you refusing to trust me?” The teacher looked at her. “For giving your own name to me is a symbol of your trust in me, yet you refuse to trust that someday, in some fashion, you will receive my name.”

“You’re twisting things around.” Lisa complained to him, wrinkling her nose. “Do you want some tea?”

“I would love some tea.” Her teacher smiled. “And I will make you a similar deal to the one you offered to me.”

“Really?” Lisa asked, excited. The names of her teachers had been the conquest of hers since she had gotten there. And the youngest should fittingly be the first to tell her.

“Yes.” Her teacher struggled to sit up and she glared at him.

“Lay back down.”

“Alright. Look, if you tell me what drives you to stay here, even after most would run away after what happened yesterday, with me, then I will let you guess my name.”

“Okay.”

“But first, my tea.” Her teacher said to her.

“Okay.” Lisa got up and took the coffee with her. She exited the room and headed towards the kitchen, bobbing her head gently at the two older monks that she passed.

Lisa was going to leave soon. Ari had told her that before – that the world had other things in mind for her, very soon. She at least wanted something to remember her teachers by. Even just a name.

These monks, Ari had explained, were very good in their meditation and prayer practices. But the place where they had failed, was in their exact insistence on not being known. Not necessarily in the act of remaining silent about their location or their purpose, but instead their insistence on keeping their names secret. It was not so much that they were incorrect – names do and always will have power. But instead, their focus on being nameless, or retaining their names only among each other and to themselves. It drew them away from the purpose of mastering themselves and more into the field of becoming obsessed. But, in all honesty, these monks were the closest thing that the gods had, without investing any energy into creating a class of people, an order of people, to train and contain the gifted and trouble makers that they themselves had created.

Lisa set the coffee on the table, kept immaculately clean by those monks which she had come to love and respect, and turned to find another thermos of hot water. The monks drank a lot of tea, and some of them, coffee, and some of them, only water. She reached up into the cupboard to find a tea bag that was acceptable to this particular teacher. Even though she had not been required to learn it on her first day, she had quickly realized that all of them were very picky about what they drank. In fact, part of the reason that she found this teacher – Ben – so very interesting was that he was the only one that drank both – coffee, and tea. And even though he loved Green tea the best, he would drink anything.

Finding the tea bag she wanted, she set it on the counter and turned to pour some hot water into a mug. She would give him the bag and the mug separate, she decided. So that her teacher would have his tea exactly the way he wanted. She could not remember if he took sugar or anything in his tea, but she doubted it and so, left the sugar cubes on the tray on the table and headed back to the room where her disadvantaged teacher lay.

Walking through the halls, she was caught in wonder. She hadn’t even graduated from school yet, and now she was looking at spending the rest of her life independent. It was crazy. Well, she lied – she could go back to her parents any time that she wanted to. But she was already here, and already living on her own.

“Here you go.” Lisa offered the tea to her teacher who sat up once again, one armed, and reached out to accept the hot water. He set it on his lap and reached for the tea bag she offered.

“Alright. Drive to stay here.” Her teacher announced as he dipped the bag into his tea cup.

“Well, to be honest…” Lisa began, and sat next to him on the bed. “I’m not. I mean, I’m staying here now, yes, but Ari wants me to go elsewhere in a few weeks. Its not that you guys are bad for me or anything, or the whole…this…” Lisa gestured at his shoulder apologetically.

“That’s fine. Ari brings a lot of us here, and takes us away again when we learn how to control ourselves.” Her teacher said. “But would you stay, if you could?”

“If I wasn’t offered the chance to go to America and study? Absolutely.” Lisa said. “I enjoy the peace and quiet here.” Lisa’s teacher looked at her and laughed.

“You have managed to stir things up around here.” He admitted. “It was pretty quiet without you. But, let’s face it. You’re the only female within ten miles of here.”

“So what are you saying, I’m hot?” Lisa asked him, laughing, and he shook his head.

“I’m not hot?” She asked and hit him on his good arm.

“You are much too young to be thinking about that.” Her teacher said. “And all of us, while we’re here, take a vow of complete and total chastity.”

“Okay…” Lisa shook her head. “Anyway. I would stay because I like all of you. And I enjoy learning from you. Is your name Ben?”

“I’m not sure how you figured that out.” Ben frowned.

“I guess I’m a little well, magical.” Lisa winked.

Chapter 24: The Workshop

“What is this place?” Toby asked Ari. They had just flown – together – from his house to a place maybe fifty miles away, in the middle of nowhere. It was a clear night, nice and warm, and he was pretty sure they were just a county or two away from him. It was pretty hard to tell when he was in the sky, because there weren’t exactly bright orange lines like there were on maps. He couldn’t tell which roads were which, and which roads defined a county, or a state, or even a country.

“This is going to be your training arena.” Ari announced to him as they landed. “It would be quicker if you would just let me take us…” She commented as she watching him land, then observed the curiosity of him folding his wings up. He put his shirt back on over his head.

“I need the practice. And how are people not going to find this place?” Toby asked her. He looked around and moved towards the empty building. It was dark, but he assumed that there would be electricity.

“We have…charms. Everything alive that is not touched by immortality can not enter. Or, my personal favorite of the charm, if they get in, when they leave, they won’t remember what the hell happened to them.” Ari explained to him. “The door is unlocked, and currently the place is bare. We weren’t sure what you would need.”

“Well, aren’t you all in charge, and I’m just the go between?”

“Yes. But we’ve never had this before, and I haven’t really devoted too much energy to it. You’re mortal. Its your task, not mine.” Ari said, opening the door and ushering him inside. “Light switch is over here. Its just a big warehouse. If you need me to alter it and add walls or whatever, I can.”

“Okay…what is it I am supposed to be doing again?”

“Creating a council and organization and school for the gifted.”

“So you want me to create a community, and be the leader of this community.” Toby asked her, looking around the warehouse sitting before him. “First of all, is there a bathroom in here?”

“Corner over there.” Ari pointed for him. He nodded. “Kitchen is over there, too. Well, it used to be a staff room.”

“Who the hell built a warehouse way back in the middle of nowhere like this?” Toby asked her as he walked around, looking in wonder. The place was old, but clean. The windows seemed to be intact and all.

“Well, interesting story. It was actually a commune of sorts, built by people in the nineteen sixties who wanted to live together in a community. Only thing was, they maintained a policy of abstinence, much like the Shakers. They all died out and the place was put up for auction, along with ten square miles around it. These cult members were loaded with cash.”

“Oh. So we’re trying to build a commune in a place that already failed?”

“No. They didn’t fail. They just died. They were all older.”

“Did they believe Jesus was going to come down on a spaceship to rescue them, too? Or was that some other weird sect of religion?”

“Different one. But don’t worry. They believed in cremation, so there aren’t any dead bodies underneath the rafters. The place is clean of influences and everything. It is yours.”

“Okay. Look, I know you want this up as soon as possible. I need some sort of…crew to work with. Lisa, that girl, should work for some of it.”

“She’s still in training.” Ari said. “She almost has control of her powers, but she nearly killed someone a few days ago.”

“Okay…is there anyone that we can employ here, as our studies, of sorts? To help run the community?”

“Possibly.”

“Look, I may not be completely fit for this job, but looking at this place, it needs to first, stop being so massive, and second, be a little prettier. If I am a mortal who has been having trouble with my powers, and I am just told that I am part immortal, I don’t want to walk into a huge warehouse and be told that this is where I’m going to be taught. It should look more like a college, or a church, or at least something less ominous. This warehouse just screams, ‘you will die here’.” Toby told her, frowning and walking around. “Can I have some chalk?” He asked her, and she handed him a piece.

“Look.” He continued. “If we made a decent sized atrium right here, and kept it really nice, this could be where the new people are brought to be orientated. Next, we’d need a hallway – maybe in a circle formation…look. If we measure ten feet out from each wall, with exception to the back wall, because it has the bathroom and the kitchen – we can make a hallway that wraps around the inside. Then we can build smaller rooms around the outer edge – these can be for rooming, meditation, whatever. On the inside, right in through doors here…” Toby ran back to the front as Ari watched him, amused, “There can be a large meeting room.”

“Sounds good.” Ari agreed.

“And if you want these people to be in a community, we’re going to need to build houses and some sort of life – groceries, for example. Or make a path out so we can get them.”

“We can easily assign an immortal to supply food and water.” Ari interrupted him.

“Alright, that’s fine then.” Toby agreed with her, and then frowned. “I wouldn’t want to stay in the middle of nowhere if I had nothing to do. We need some sort of night life here, eventually.”

“You’re getting way too far ahead of yourself.” Ari interrupted him. “Let me change this building, first. I’ll do this when you leave. And tomorrow we’ll talk about paint. Alright? And you can keep brainstorming. We’ll review and make some more choices then.”

“Sorry. Am I spouting too many ideas at once?” Toby asked her. “Can’t handle it?”

“No, I can handle it perfectly fine. I’m afraid that you, however, will explode your poor mortal brain.” Ari teased him.

“I’m Zeus’ son.” Toby declared triumphantly. “If my brain explodes, then obviously he is not perfect.”

“Ah, the true essence of immortality. None of us are perfect, Toby, except the great Lord and Lady who do not take physical form at all.”

Toby looked around at the dank walls. They definitely needed some color. And even if it was relatively clean inside, the placed smelled musty and moldy and just…old, in general. It definitely needed to get ‘warmed up’ in there before they could attract demimortals and demand respect of those who did not necessary give it at first.

“Can we…paint? Or something?” Toby wrinkled his nose at her. “Plain white would work, but I have a better idea. What if each room had a theme and a patron god/goddess? I know there are tons of you.” He overrode Ari’s protest. “But like, the older Gods. The well known ones. And you, and Arkonel, of course, because you are Patrons. Unless you can expand the building to have a room for each immortal. Or at least the ones that have patronages. Or whatever. I don’t know.”

“I’ll get it done.” Ari agreed. “Go home, Toby. Your work is done for the night, and my work is just beginning.”

Chapter 23: Night Terrors

The flashbacks hit her like ice cold water and she forced herself out of that particular dream. There was no way in hell that Lisa was going to let that dead man control her life. He raped her, and he paid for it, and life was good now.

Still, the slimy, cold, drunken hands reached for her, and she beat them off, trying to focus on a better dreamscape. She had just begun having the ability to control her dreams, and she wasn’t about to lose it.

The hands still reached for her, as if out of a portal. She had tried everything – surrounding herself in flowers, in white light, in a blank, wheat field template with nothing but the wind around her and the sun above her.

Lisa was getting pissed off as she batted the hands away and tried to change her scenery again. Pretty soon she was going to pull out a chainsaw and cut the hands off. Then little bleeding stumps would be the only things trying to touch her. She could deal with that blood.

“Back off, or this goes into you!” Lisa screamed at the hands, backing up to bend over and pick up the knife she had materialized on the ground. As she bent over, momentarily turning her back to the hands, she felt a cold one on her shoulder. She whipped around, wildly swinging the knife with a force she had never managed to use before. She watched a finger get sliced off and backed up more as very real, very warm blood spurted out onto her hand.

She watched the man step through the portal, just as if he had died only minutes earlier –dried blood plastered on to his ears from his three story fall out of her window, glass shards embedded in his body. She screamed and flung the knife, hearing a dull thud as it embedded into the dead man’s chest. He fell, hatred glaring out of his eyes.

“Is she okay?” Lisa opened her eyes to see two or three monks gathered around her.

“He’s fine!” She heard someone – the one she had named Andrew, she thought – yell from across the room.

“What…?” Lisa groggily croaked at them, and the faces separated to give her some room to sit up.

“Where did you get the knife?” The oldest one, the one she named ‘grandfather’, asked her with concern. She looked at him confused.

“What?”

“The knife.” He insisted. They refused to move to give her a look at what happened. “You stabbed one of us.”

“What?” Lisa asked, concerned. She struggled to rise out of her bed, but the men held her down.

“Calm down.” Another one of the monks said sharply to the oldest. “She didn’t know what she was doing. Very obviously, look at her. She is terrified.”

“You’re right. Lisa, can you look at me?” The older monk calmed his vocal tone and looked at her kindly, with a small, seemingly unforced smile. She could tell he wanted answers to whatever the hell had happened. “Good girl. Now, what’s the first thing you remember?”

“All of you…in my face. Asking if I was okay.” She said, unsure of herself.

“Do you remember anything about a knife?”

“I was having a bad dream. A man who…hurt me, he was coming after me. I cut a finger off. Then I stabbed him when he lunged at me. That’s…that’s all I can remember from that. Was I shouting?”

“I think you screamed, yes.” The older monk nodded. He sat down next to her. “Now, the most important question. Did you have a knife in here at any time, even though weapons are forbidden here?”

“No. I follow the rules. Why would I have a knife?” She looked at him confused.

“Well, you somehow managed to stab one of our brothers.” The monk looked perplexed.

“May I come in?” A startlingly female voice came from the doorway. Lisa recognized the voice.

“By all means.” The older monk gestured for her to enter through the doorway and into Lisa’s cordoned off bedroom.

“Care for your brother.” Ari directed the monks away to the stabbed man. She sat down next to Lisa. “Bad dream, right?”

Lisa, still perplexed, and shaking in confusion, nodded. Had she actually stabbed another man? She was a danger to others. She should be locked away.

“Hey, don’t cry, Lisa. You’re a little too young, and a little too strong. That’s all. Okay? The brother is fine, no worries.” Ari winked at her. “These guys here are used to odd occurrences. Many of them have had similar experiences. They know they should never try to impede on someone’s sleep if I have brought them here, and I gave them special warning with you.”

“What did I do?” Lisa asked her, gripping her hand.

“You seemed to have a bad dream and ended up stabbing one of the brothers in the shoulder. That’s all.” Ari said. “Now, you just hang tight here while I clean up his shoulder. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Okay.” Lisa said, trying to force her breathing to calm down. First she had murdered a man, and now she had nearly done it again. Who had she stabbed, anyway?

“He’s fine.” Ari announced to the brothers. “Let me in, and I will fix it. Go on, move.” Lisa could see the crowd being pushed away from the man lying on the floor. Was it her favorite? Ben? Or another? Who had tried to wake her up? Why?

The older monk returned to her side, smiling. She looked up at him and sniffled, and he reached down to touch her shoulder gently. She tried not to flinch, and may have actually succeeded.

“Don’t worry. I’m sorry for being angry earlier. This was not your fault by any means.” He rubbed her shoulder gently. “Do you need a tissue?”

“No, I’m fine.” Lisa announced, rubbing her slobber and snot on the sleeve of her nightshirt. She was definitely not okay.

“Hey, this has happened before, alright?” The older monk before her almost seemed… human. Male. Comforting.

“When?”

“A few years ago. Our youngest brother choked one of ours to the point of unconsciousness when he was being woken up.” The older monk smiled. “Ari came and helped both of them. We never had another incident.”

“But…the reason I came here was so that I wouldn’t be a danger to anyone. And here, I nearly killed one of my teachers.” Lisa protested, crying a little more. “Maybe I should just become a hermit.”

“Come now, life is not as interesting when you’re alone.” The monk smiled. “Plus, this is just a step along the path of mastery. We all go through trials before we reach our full potential.”

“Do you…do you think I’ll ever be able to control myself?” Lisa asked in between large ungainly sniffles.

“Of course, if you are willing. Now see,” The monk pointed at Ari who was standing. “He is all better. Ari always makes it better.”

“I didn’t know you…teachers…knew about Ari’s other side.” Lisa said. She was told that the monks were ignorant of her abilities.

“We respect all of those who honor, teach, and have gifts that exceed the average ability.” He winked at her. “But we do not speak of these things, in honor of those abilities. Your abilities,” He gave her a pointed look, “Are yours alone. Speaking of these abilities will diminish their power. So hold them close to your heart, as you do your own name.”

“Yes, sir.” Lisa agreed, wiping her eyes again on her shirt. Ari was returning to her, and she swallowed pitifully.

“All better. No worries. If it happens again, we might have to consider other training methods, but you are fine. Everyone loses control and does things in their dreams that they would not, otherwise. Just keep in mind.” Ari drew closer to her. “Your abilities are strong, and so you should not underestimate them. If you do, these things can happen, and I can’t always reverse them.”

“I…I know.” Lisa swallowed.

“Do you want to spend a day away from here? Go home, and spend some time with your family? I can take you, and you might feel more comfortable with these teachers of yours.”

“That would be great. Did I stab Ben?”

“Which one is Ben?” Ari asked her, and Lisa responded.

“The one closest to me in age. The youngest.”

Ari nodded, then winked at her. She pulled her in for a hug and then released her, holding her at shoulders’ length.

“Listen you. Just a hint, but if you have a crush on someone, stabbing them is usually not the way to show it.”

“I don’t!” Lisa protested, and Ari smiled at her. “Why don’t we get you dressed, get these monks out of here, and go out shopping.”

“Okay.” Lisa dried her eyes for the final time. That was one hell of a wake up call.

“Everyone out! The girl needs to dress!” Ari yelled at the monks and they all shuffled out. Lisa got up out of the bed, half dressed and rushed over to the one she referred to as Ben before he walked out.

“I’m sorry.” She said ashamed, and he looked down at her and laughed.

“Its not a problem. I’ve done much worse to people.” He said, hugging her.

“The thing is…” Lisa said, looking into his eyes and trying not to cry again. “So have I.”

“We all have secrets. Take the day off. We’ll be here, and all is already forgiven. Alright, kiddo?”

“Okay.” She squeezed him and watched as he walked out of her room and she shut the door behind him.

“Now that particular show of affection…” Ari said, “Perfect.”

“He called me kiddo.” Lisa grumbled, and Ari laughed.

“Age never matters in a relationship. My husband is four hundred years older than me. Don’t worry about it.”

“If you say so.” Lisa said, beginning the arduous task of finding clothes to wear.