In the middle of the room, Seth stood holding a small dagger, a gift from an old friend to Algea, now turned foe.

“What is all this?” Seth demanded as he gripped the dagger tighter. Algea moved closer with her hands up, trying to calm him down slightly. “Oh no, you are staying there,” Seth pointed with his weapon toward Algea to emphasize his point. Lowering her hand, she stayed where she was. “Good. Now you better have a fantastic explanation for all of this because if it is what I think it is.” His thoughts died as he looked at her and all the weapons and papers scattered around the small room.

“Then what? You’re going to call the authorities? I would like you to explain where you found half of these to an officer. Also, I would like to see them think anything is wrong as they try to read my notes,” Algea smirked as Seth seemed to lose his confidence. He looked over at the notes. They were written in what he recognized as hieroglyphics, and some other languages were mixed in. “Besides, this cabin is off the grid. Not a single cop or authority figure has a paper trail that leads here. No cell service either. Face it, you have no real threat you can carry through.” Seth’s resolve hardened, and he gripped his dagger until his knuckles turned white.

“Then I will have to stop you before you can do anything to harm other people,” Seth was stopped short of stepping closer by Algea’s humorless laugh.

“You are too late for that, I am afraid, but regardless, what do you think is happening here? You are not wrong, but I think you are under the impression I plan on doing something heinous,” Algea smirked as she approached Seth. Grabbing the dagger from him, she threw it to the side, embedding it into the floor. “Now, I think it is time for you to go downstairs. The things in this room do not concern you.”

Seth was dragged by his arm by Algea towards the door. His heels dragged against the wooden floor as he tried to yank his arm free from Algea’s iron grip. Grabbing onto anything that could slow or even stop him from going where Algea wanted to go. The table flipped, and chairs crashed as he resisted, but Algea was a force he could not stop.

Reaching out, he grabbed a lamp and threw it against her head. Pieces scattered everywhere with small tinkling sounds. Blood started to stream down Algea’s face as she looked at him with a deepening scowl. The sound of a metal chain skittering across the floor broke Seth’s and Algea’s attention.

Right next to Seth’s foot was a thin gold necklace. The chain was gold, and a golden ornament was threaded on it. The piece was shaped like a cat stretching toward an eye and using its tail as the loop for the necklace’s chain. The eye looked like an ancient Egyptian symbol for the eye of Horus, except it was facing the wrong way.

Algea lunged for the piece, throwing Seth back in the process. Gripping the necklace tightly, she shoved the item into her pocket and turned back towards Seth. He looked paler than normal and was staring at the pocket Algea had her hand in.

“Come, we are going now.” Algea shoved Seth back towards the door.

“Wait, what was that necklace?” Seth moved to get further inside the room before Algea stopped him.

“None of your concern. Now move,” Algea growled the last command as she spun him around and walked Seth into the hallway.

“Wait! I’ve seen that necklace before!” He quickly shouted as he squirmed in Algea’s grasp. She let go as if she had been burned.

“Explain,” Her flat retort spelled only danger for Seth if he did not answer correctly.

“Well, I assume you and I got it from the same place. It’s a unique necklace,” Algea stepped forward, only for Seth to step back into the wall. “Okay! An old woman gave it to me. She said that the one that has the pair needs me or something like that. Honestly, she was insane, so I really shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

“Describe the older woman,” Algea hissed, stepping closer.

“She was tall but was stooped over. She looked younger than how she dressed and acted, but her voice was raspy with age. She looked a little like you but with two golden eyes. They looked like they were made of gold rather than just some strange contact lenses. I think they were fake.” Seth continued to ramble about the various small details of the woman he had encountered, but Algea had stopped listening. Her eyes had widened, and she had started to look pale and green. She was completely frozen in place.

After a short time, Seth had stopped rambling enough to see Algea’s state. First, trying to address her directly didn’t work. Then, his attempts at snapping her out of it by waving his hand in front of her face also failed. As a last resort, he reaches over to shake her shoulder. This got a reaction. As soon as his hand touched her shoulder, she grabbed his wrist in a bone-grinding grip.

“Woah! I was only trying to bring you back to reality. You can let go now,” Seth tugged against Algea’s grip. Looking down, she finally realized what she was doing and let go quickly.

“Apologies, I didn’t realize it was you.”

“You didn’t realize? I’m the only one here. Who else could it have been?” Algea flinched slightly at that before straightening up and waving him off.

“Doesn’t matter. What does matter now is how you got that necklace.” Seth looked slightly annoyed.

“I told you. Some crazy lady gave it to me.” He crossed his arms and scowled.

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“I understand that, but what you don’t understand fascinates me. You see, someone like you should never have met someone like her in that situation. It would be more believable if you told me you and she had a fling.” The look on Seth’s face was that of honest horror and disgust, but Algea continued but with a small laugh playing on her lips. “The woman you met was none other than a goddess trying to disguise herself as a human. As to why she chose that one, who knows.” She shrugged her shoulders.

“Wait a minute. I don’t think I heard you correctly. The person I met was a goddess?” Seth doubled over, laughing so hard he clutched at his sides. “You expect me to believe there are gods and goddesses? You must have damaged your head before I found you in that ally.”

Algea smirked and nodded in understanding. “Then how do you explain the creature standing in your apartment?”

“Modern genetic engineering?” Seth looked torn as he tried to explain away what he had seen. The reality of what Algea had said sunk in more, and he was starting to see the ugly, uncanny truth in her words.

“You and I know modern science cannot yet create such a creature.” Algea sighed. “Alright, we have a lot to talk about if you stand a chance to survive my world. Come on, we can talk over some nice tea after we both have cleaned up.”

Seth was led to the only unlocked bathroom in the whole house. Algea left him a pile of clothes she thought would fit him the best. She meant more than just size. It looked like she had taken them out of his closet.

The shower felt wonderful to Seth. Getting to wash off all the blood and dirt made him feel like a new person, and the hot water relaxed him as he mulled over what he had gotten himself into.

On one hand, Seth was sure he had gone insane. To believe in gods and goddesses walking among people seemed like the craziest idea he had ever heard. Wouldn’t he have seen something more obvious by now?

However, on the other hand, that creature in his apartment was very real. The magic that Algea used to save them was also real but so hard for him to admit to.

The whistle from the tea kettle was his signal to finish off and get ready for this insane conversation. Pulling up his pants, he noticed that the right pocket suddenly got a little heavier. Sticking his hand in, he felt a small metal chain. Pulling the item out, the necklace he had been given by the goddess was left dangling in front of him.

When Seth came down, the table was set. Two ornate teacups and a matching teapot were on the table, and several snacks were on ornate dishes. Seth was surprised to see that the kitchen was empty when he had looked before.

Algea had freshened up. Her hair was completely white and no longer in knots. She had poker-straight hair that was cut at her jawline. However, two long braids ran down her back and stopped short of her hips. The braids were intermittently wrapped in golden bands. Her bangs were pulled back and pinned up using a small flower barrette. This showed off her eye patch and a vertical scar across her left eye.

“Ah, you made it down. Just in time, too,” She motioned broadly at the table with a small smile. “Please sit down and enjoy. I hope you like the tea. It’s a personal favorite of mine, but I know it’s an acquired taste to others. It was the only tea in the house.”

Seth did as he was asked and sat down across from Algea. The table was small enough to feel like he had sat right next to her. Being so close, he could see she had changed her bandage top. Peaking just above the edge of the bandages was a thick scar. If Seth’s imagination’s correct, the scar would have to cross right over her heart.

“I see you are interested in my scar here,” She grinned as she lightly touched the scar in question. “I will tell you about this scar later. First, we must discuss the rather large issue of the fact that gods and goddesses exist. Not just any gods either, the ones who ruled over Egypt.”

Seth sighed as he reached for a snack. “Fine. If you want to double down on this nonsense, be my guest. I’ll need way more proof than some odd crocodile dog.” Algea glared as Seth continued. “Besides, if they were real, wouldn’t I had seen one before.”

“You wouldn’t have. They usually only exist in Duryona, but the council agreed to risk the exposure to find me.” Seth stopped chewing the cookie he had grabbed.

“Der-what now?” Algea only rolled her eyes.

“Duryona is the world of the demigods. It is a place where we can be ourselves without humanity, as it was deemed by the gods thousands of years ago. It is also where the demons described by the ancients reside.”

“Sounds like a fun place,” Seth put down his cookie with a frown. “However, this still doesn’t mean anything without proper proof.”

She smiled at this. Pulling out a small vile, she placed the item on the table. It contained a red liquid that looked suspiciously like blood. Crossing her arms, she waited.

“What is that supposed to be?” Seth looked at the glass with mild surprise. He was interested in what the object could mean or if that liquid was blood. Whose blood is it, and how did she get it? Seeing his curiosity, Algea leaned forward.

“That right there holds all the answers you want. All you have to do is agree to help me with my problem, and I can show you a world of possibilities. A magical world where danger and adventure are around every corner. Then, we can part ways. You get your answers, and I get my problem solved,” She smirked as she rested her head on her hand. “What do you think?”

She had him, and he knew it. Bubbling frustration coiled in his gut as he fought not immediately to accept. Seth still thought Algea was insane, but she held something he wanted: adventure. Seth’s days had been blurring into each other from sheer boredom. His friends had all gone off and were no longer replying to his messages. All his classes made him want to tear his hair out, and with no family left, Seth was lonely and bored. That was why, secretly, Seth had not wanted Algea to be wrong. He wanted to see something new, and Algea had figured it out.

He reasoned that whatever she needed couldn’t be that bad if a goddess chose him to help. He could just quickly help her, satisfy his desire for adventure, and then be on his way back home.

“Well? What are you going to choose?” Her smirk was aggravating, but Seth sighed in defeat.

“You already know my answer. I want to see what you are talking about,” She openly grinned, showing off two fangs he hadn’t noticed before. Seth was already second-guessing his decision as Algea reached over to shake his hand. He recoiled slightly. “But! I still think you are insane, and once I help you with your small problem, I never want to see you again. I also want you to promise to protect me until your problem is solved and I am back home. You haven’t been very clear on the danger we will face, but I want your word that we are partners in this. No backstabbing at your earliest convenience.”

“Deal.” Seth reached over and shook her hand.

Grabbing the vile, Algea popped the cork off and poured the liquid into her hand. With her clean hand, she waved over the dishes, making them vanish in a flash of white light. Making a fist with the other hand, she dripped the blood into a circle in front of her and started writing with her finger.

“Put on the necklace my mother gave you.”

“Your mother? The goddess I met was your mom!” Seth gripped the necklace in his pocket.

“Oh yes. Unfortunately for you, she was, and she chose you to help me.” Her smile was wild as she muttered something under her breath. Seth heard his name, but that was the only thing he could understand as the room glowed.