(A House of Impossible Things) The shop was tiny, filled with items that she was pretty sure were illegal.

The shop was small and cramped, lined with shelves holding haphazard collections of dusty old bottles of every size and hue, along with being filled floor to ceiling with stuff that Irene was pretty sure were illegal. In other words, it was the perfect hiding place.

You're a customer. Blend in. Standing on her toes, she grabbed one bottle from one of the top shelves, accidently jostling some porcelain dolls. "Sorry." Irene smiled, clutching the bottle. Nobody would ever find her here. Miscellaneous items perched helter-skelter on top of bookcases, everything from books to dolls. Underfoot laid substances of every type, smushed into the floorboards to become a big sticky mess that could pull a customer's shoes off. Irene had seen it happen.

Dozens of chests laid open everywhere, often unfound until a customer rammed their foot into it. Those were usually filled with cloaks and books and animal food. Weapons from every era of history lined the walls, or the floor occasionally. From her angle at the back of the shop, Irene couldn't even see the front. But then there was the magical stuff. Irene had found that out the hard way. Just grabbing a random book off the aisle, had given her a face full of lightning and white splotches in her vision for a couple of days.

Her attention returned to the bottle. It fit uncomfortably in her palm, and was made of transparent electric blue glass. No label. Weird. "Pretty. Wonder what it's for." Irene muttered. She leaned backwards as she uncorked it. Nothing happened. Nothing, yet. She leaned in and sniffed. Still nothing. "Well, here goes." Irene dumped the contents into her palm. A coarse purple powder poured out. "Huh." Her eyes narrowed.

"Something should have happened now." Every item with magic in this shop, worked in minutes. Whatever this powder's effect was, should happen in…Irene counted off in her head. One, two, three… A row of blood-splattered poleaxes and shotguns next to her clinked together. Irene stared at them. "That's it? Nothing actually happened to me for once?" The pale teen asked the weapons, "I don't believe it. Just watch, something will happen."

Her hand tickled. Irene opened it; the powder had disappeared. "Eh, didn't do anything anyways." Where was the effect? It's disappeared already, so the effects have already happened! Irene heard the shop door slam open and smack the wall. "Excuse me, have you seen a girl about yea high?" Someone asked.

I was wrong, for once. A tentative smile slid onto Irene's face. I was actually wrong. And it has never felt so good. Then it fell as she heard him say, "Pale skin and black hair? She's my sister and I'm trying to find her." And that's why you never count your blessings too early. Irene grabbed a bottle off a shelf and hurried to the other side of the shop. The slime stuck to her sandals, a loud glomp taking them from her feet. Rifles and spears alike clattered to the floor as she passed them by. But it no longer mattered if she was quiet or not; one of them had found her.

Irene could hear them shout, words lost in the vastness of the shop. But, thankfully, she had no shortage of escape routes. Shadows hid in ever corner of the shop, a quick get away in reach. Irene stopped at one such corner, panting. Hopefully the bottle will have something useful. A simple printed label on the side read "Reduce". Irene grimaced, maybe it's to reduce distraction? She doesn't know. She uncorked the top and tries to down the contents. The smell of flowers and burned sugar slithered out the opening, and a drop of gold slime slips on her tongue.

"You have got to be kidding me." It just had to be slime, didn't it? And she could hear her pursuer coming closer, thumps of objects falling to the ground announcing their impending arrival. Irene smacked the bottle, trying to get the liquid to come out faster.

She could see them now. It was just a guy, olive skin and black hair, with a brown aviator jacket and a black sword swinging by his side. But something was off. Irene could feel her ghost core straining away from him, pulling her into incorporeality. It didn't like this kid. But for whatever reason, she didn't feel fearful. It was like the very concept of fear had ceased to exist in her. She only felt curiosity. Was this the effect of the potion?

He saw her now too. He skidded to a stop, only two aisles away. "What are you?"

"A ghost!" Irene shouted back. She had nothing to lose now; maybe he was one too? No, he didn't have the aura around him. But whatever he was, it was powerful. Irene slipped into the shadows.

-000-

So that was the girl Percy had told him about. Nico frowned. She wasn't really a girl, per say. He could tell the moment he saw her. She was some type of ghost, but not any that he had seen before. She had stared at him with pure neon green eyes, and had faded in and out of sight. But what she just did…she had just shadow-jumped.

"If she's a ghost, how the heck is that possible?" Nico said out loud, "It's almost like she's a meld of two things." Nico shook his head. He could think about that later. Right now, she had just shadow-jumped to Hades-knows-where, and he needed to find her.

"Hopefully this works." Nico muttered, uncorking a bottle. Hopefully it wouldn't kill him. The vivid purple powder stung his throat. Coughing, Nico melted into the shadows.

Nico could feel the effects of the sand the next time his feet hit solid ground. Adrenaline hummed through his veins, making him feel actually better than before he had made the jump. He looked around the wooded area. The ghost girl must have quickly gathered some energy here, to be able to make her last jump. Her energy positively flashed her intentions. But she would have to go farther than that to escape him. Nico smiled for the first time that day. Next stop: Gravity Falls, Oregon.