CHAPTER 15: The Shadow Ninjas

The night has given way for the day. It’s eight o’clock in the morning, and Alex and Isabella are having breakfast at the dining table.

‘’Luz told me what happened,’’ she looked up to her son.

Alex nodded, remaining silent while eating.

‘’I just,’’ she continued ‘’wanted to be sure you were going to be okay while you deal with these changes.’’

‘’C’mon Mama,’’ he smiled. ‘’It’s not as if I’m passing through puberty.’’

‘’But a lot of, you know, responsibility, will rest on your young shoulders now,’’ she intoned, her voice laced with anxiety.

‘’I’ll be fine Mama. It’s nothing that I can’t handle.’’

‘’Alright,’’ she raised her hands in surrender. ‘’But even a demi-god needs to watch his back.’’

‘’Mama?’’ He cast a cautionary look around him, then whispered. ‘’You can’t just go about telling everybody -’’

‘’Forgive me. I understand,’’ Isabella cut in. ‘’Just that when I remember how the gangs killed your father, I get scared.’’

She withdrew into eating her food quietly as if lost in though