"Language," Kanan said.
Jericho stared at him, jaw hanging open.
"Language? Is that what you're seriously concerned about right now?" he asked. "First, the orphanage where I've spent my entire life turns into a giant bat and tries to attack me. Second, your skin turns gray, you grow wings, and breathe fire. Third, you tell me I'm the son of a god. Honestly, that's the least weird thing I've heard all day."
Kanan rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
Jericho's expression softened slightly, but there was still hurt in his eyes.
"I mean... were we ever really friends? Or was I just an assignment to you?"
Kanan was silent for a moment.
"At first, it was an assignment," he admitted. "But then I got attached. So yes, we were real friends. I hope we still are."
Jericho sighed.
"Yeah, sorry for getting angry. It's just... a lot to process."
"I understand."
Jericho looked toward the pile of ashes that had once been the giant bat.
"So why was that thing attacking me?"
Kanan's expression immediately turned grim.
"There have been a lot of problems lately in the realm of the gods. Echidna, the Mother of Monsters, was freed from her prison by someone we haven't identified. All we know is that she swore vengeance against the gods who locked her away in the Underworld."
"Which gods?"
"Zeus. Poseidon. Hades."
Jericho's stomach sank.
"And that includes me?"
Kanan nodded.
"You're one of their descendants."
"Well, that's not good."
Jericho paused before asking another question.
"Wait. Are there other children of the gods?"
"Many."
"And how exactly are we supposed to stop someone called the Mother of Monsters? I mean, I never lost a cage fight, but I don't think I can take on an entire army by myself."
He folded his arms.
"Do I at least get powers? Something that helps me defend myself? The orphanage never even let me take martial arts classes."
Kanan nodded.
"I'm afraid the orphanage wasn't really an orphanage."
Jericho blinked.
"What?"
"It was controlled by Echidna and her monsters."
Suddenly, years of strange memories started making sense.
The old workers.
The constant staring.
The rules against training.
Everything.
"And yes," Kanan continued, "I am one of your father's greatest champions. I can teach you how to fight and how to master your powers. But I can only show you part of the way. The rest is up to you."
Jericho sighed.
"Right. So what happens now?"
"Usually we'd take you to one of the demigod camps."
"Usually?"
Kanan looked away.
"Unfortunately, you're the son of Hades. Hades has always been viewed as the evil god, so his children are banned from most of the camps."
Jericho groaned.
"Great. The one place we could go where monsters wouldn't be hunting us is the one place I'm not allowed."
"There is another option."
As he spoke, two undead-looking horses emerged from the darkness. Their eyes glowed an eerie blue.
Jericho stared.
"I'm not even going to question the zombie horses."
The horses knelt, allowing the two of them to climb aboard.
Their journey carried them away from Phoenix and toward the Colorado Mountains, where Kanan claimed to have a hidden base.
For hours they rode through the night.
Finally, Jericho asked the one question that had been bothering him ever since he learned the truth.
"Kanan?"
"Yeah?"
"If Hades is my father... who is my mother?"
For the first time that night, Kanan seemed uncertain.
"You are unique, Jericho."
"That's never a good sign."
"You were born to two gods."
Jericho nearly fell off his horse.
"What?"
"Both of them already had children. Their relationship was forbidden, and you were the result."
Jericho sat there speechless.
"Hades kept your existence a secret," Kanan continued. "It is forbidden for two gods to have a child together. To protect you, he erased your mother's memories."
Jericho swallowed hard.
"So she doesn't know I exist?"
"She remembers having a son."
A painful silence followed.
"But she believes he died."
Jericho looked away.
"And none of the other gods know?"
"No. As far as they know, you're only the son of Hades."
Jericho was quiet for a long moment.
"Do you know who she is?"
Kanan shook his head.
"No."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
Jericho groaned and leaned back in the saddle.
"Of course. Why would anything be easy?"
The cold mountain wind blew through his hair as he stared at the distant peaks ahead.
A monster army wanted him dead.
The gods didn't know he existed.
His mother thought he was dead.
And somehow, he was supposed to survive all of this.
"This is going to be a very long journey