Return of the Disgraced Archangel

NN (Narcissists Non-Anonymous)

      "Who is Aunt Rosa?" Hazel asked.

     Leo didn't want to talk about Aust Rosa. Nemesis' words were still buzzing in his ears. His tool belt seemed heavier since he'd put the cookie in there–which was impossible. Its pockets could carry anything without adding any extra weight. Even the most fragile things would never break. Still, Leo imagined he could feel it in there, dragging him down, waiting for it to be cracked open.

     "Long story." He said. "She abandoned me after my mom died, gave me to foster care."

     "I'm sorry."

     "Yeah, well." he didn't know what to say. He wanted a change in subject, but didn't know what. Luckily, Hazel came to the rescue as they climbed a boulder to get a better view.

     "While we were talking to Nemesis..." Hazel said uneasily. "I saw your hands burst into flames."

     "Yeah. It's a son of Hephaestus power. Usually I can keep it under control."

     "Oh."

     "We should keep going." Leo said. "I wonder what Nemesis meant about finishing before dark."

     Hazel glanced at the sun, which was starting to touch the horizon. "And who is the cursed boy she mentioned?"

      Below them, a voice said, "Cursed boy she mentioned."

     At first, Leo didn't see anything. Then his eyes adjusted. He realized a young woman was standing only ten feet from the base of the boulder. Her dress was a Greek-style tunic the same color as the rocks. Her wispy hair was somewhere between brown and blond and gray, so it blended with the dry grass. She wasn't invisible, exactly, but she was almost perfectly camouflaged until she moved. Even then, Leo had trouble focusing on her. Her face was pretty, but not memorable. In fact, each time Leo blinked, he couldn't remember what she looked like, and he had to concentrate to find her again.

     "Hello, who are you?" Hazel asked.

     "Who are you?" The girl answered. Her voice sounded weary, like she was tired of answering that question.

     Hazel and Leo exchanged looks. With this demigod gig, you never knew what you'd run into. Nine times out of ten, it wasn't good. A ninja girl camouflage in earth tones didn't strike Leo as something he wanted to deal with just then.

     "Are you the cursed kid Nemesis mentioned?" Leo asked. "But you're a girl."

     "You're a girl." The girl said.

     "Excuse me?" Leo asked.

     "Excuse me." The girl said miserably.

     "You're repeating..." Leo stopped. "Oh. Hold it. Hazel, isn't there some myth about a girl who repeated everything?"

     "Echo." Hazel answered.

     "Echo." The girl agreed. She shifted, her dress changing with the landscape. Her eyes were the color of salt water. Leo tried to home in on her features, but he couldn't.

     "I don't remember the myth." He admitted. "You were cursed to repeat the last thing you heard?"

     "You heard." Echo said.

     "Poor thing." Hazel said. "If I remember right, a goddess did this?"

     "A goddess did this." Echo confirmed.

     Leo scratched his head. "But wasn't that thousands of years ago... oh. You're one of the mortals who came back through the Doors Of Death. I really wish we could stop running into dead people."