People hustled through the store, pushing carts, pushing children, pushing items on the shelves. A woman shouldered between Tad and me and shoved me backward. She was maybe in her fifties with thick glasses and teeth that looked like she’d deliberately painted them black. That was the only explanation I could come up with for the dark shade several of them were.

“Move,” she snapped, and I did, mostly because I didn’t want to send her flying through the air like I’d done to my brother earlier.

The top of her head barely came to my chin and smelled heavily of body odor, with a faint undercurrent of moldy bread. I shuddered, wrinkled up my nose, and hurried to catch up to Tad and Yaya.

She was filling him in on something. “So you see, your father knew you were okay all along. He was the one who paid for you to be turned, but you knew that, Alena didn’t. We were trying to keep her safe from persecution from the Firstamentalists. If they knew her brother was a Supe, she’d have an even harder time. Your mother never knew either, and that was the plan. But when Alena got sick, we didn’t want you two to be separated again. So we made sure Merlin would turn Alena into a naga too.”

“Why a naga?” I asked as we cut through the plastic tub aisle.

“The naga is a creature of Eastern mythology. We thought that was perhaps the best chance for you both.” Her words softened and she shook her head. “But it looks like Merlin has decided on other things. Things that are going to cause no end of trouble.”

“Do you know what I am?” I asked, hoping she had the answer.

“I think so. But I know someone who can tell for sure, just by looking at you. He can see through glamours and guises. Part of his old job.”

We passed through the sporting goods and were working our way toward the car section, if the rotating tires above the aisle were any indication. A strong odor of rubber and oil crossed my nose, confirming our current location. In front of us was a tall man with big arms, a blue vest, and a perfect square-cut jaw I could see in profile as he followed at a distance behind a man who had obviously not ever had a mirror in his life. That was the only explanation for what I saw in front of me.

The man in the lead wore bright-pink leopard short-shorts, cowboy boots, and a tank top that was cut off at the midriff. Over all that he wore a see-through lacy trench coat. And he clutched a giant lollipop between his teeth.

The guy in the blue vest stalked him like a hunter after prey, with his camera phone as his weapon of choice. The scene was strange, but not surreal, as so many of my waking hours had been lately.

“That is not for real,” Tad breathed.

The man in the blue vest with the great profile spun and laughed. He held up a cell phone. “The Real People of Blue Box is an actual thing, my friend. I document whenever I can. I have millions of hits and thousands of followers. Makes me feel alive again!” He grinned and a lightbulb burst over our heads, shattering into a million sparkling little pieces.

I hunched, Tad yelped, and Yaya stepped sideways to avoid the falling bits.

The man in blue grinned and flexed his arms. “Sorry about that. Happens more often than I like even after all these years.”

I stared at his blue vest, reading the tags on it. Best in customer service. Store Manager. Zeus. “Sweet baby Jesus,” I whispered.

Zeus looked at me, his gaze flicking up and down my body several times as if seeing me for the first time. “Well, well. What have we here?”

Yaya stepped between us. “That’s why we’re here, Zeus. We need to know what’s going on. You have information and we need it. After all these years and all the times I stood up for you, we deserve your help.”

She hardly blocked his view of me, yet he craned his head to look around her. “Flora, why did you bring me a siren?”

I slapped both hands to my chest. “I am not a whore.”

He shook his head and one long finger. “No, not whore. Siren. Very different. And I think a rather special kind of siren.”

Yaya fluffed up her hair, then tapped her forehead with one finger. “Zeus. Is this really something you want to discuss in the middle of the store?”

He spread his hands wide. “This is my kingdom now. I rule here, I am the overseer of this world.”

“Are you serious?” Tad spluttered. “This isn’t a world. It’s not a kingdom. It’s a box store.” He looked at me, and I lifted my hands in surrender. What did I know about dealing with someone who thought he was Zeus?

“Don’t look at me. The last twenty-four hours feel like some sort of dream to me as it is. Why can’t Zeus be ruling a kingdom within the confines of a Blue Box Store? Just another weird twist to an already bizarro situation.”

Zeus clapped his hands together, and a distinct rumble of thunder rolled through the store. “Flora, I have everything I need here. Food, drink, clothing, entertainment, and women. Lots of women.” He winked at Yaya and reached as if to caress her face.

She swatted his hand down. “You like anything that will take you into their bed. Men. Women. Sheep.”

He grunted. “Low blow, my love. I seem to recall you didn’t mind my indiscriminating gaze.”

Tad and I turned in unison to Yaya, who blushed a furious red under our curious eyes. “I’d like to forget that chapter of my life, thank you very much. I’ve moved on to much greener pastures.”

Zeus chuckled. “Well, at your age, forgetting the past . . . that’s entirely possible, isn’t it?”