Changing the Future

Chapter 66

"Kyle? Holly?" I asked, unable to mask my disbelief. "What are you two doing here? How are you here?"

"We could ask you the same question," Holly said. But for the first time since I met her, I noticed that there was something missing from her voice: malice. She was genuinely trying to be considerate, something that shocked me as much, if not more, than the fact that I was currently talking to her ghost.

After my conversation with Achilles after witnessing Holly's death, well, I never expected to see the daughter of Ares again, in this life or the next. I thought her soul had been utterly destroyed.

I guess not.

"We are bound to the river," Kyle answered, waving towards the jagged rocks that lined the shore of the River Styx. "The water has purified us, reminded us who we are."

"And that would be...?"

Kyle sighed. "I don't expect you to forgive us, Andy, not after the things we...I did. I was just so angry at not being acknowledged, and I know that that doesn't justify all the pain and suffering I caused, but I want you to know why I helped Kronos. I want you to know so that this doesn't happen again."

Holly nodded in agreement, lacing her fingers between Kyle's.

"I was angry, too," she explained. "My mom was serving overseas for most of my life, so I grew up with my grandmother, who constantly compared me to my mom, telling me that I'd never be half the woman that she was. When they both died and I came to camp, I was even more upset to learn that my dad had been there on the battlefield on the day that my mom was killed, and he did nothing to help her.

"Couple that with the fact that the Ares cabin was one of the biggest cabins at camp, and you can see why I was desperate for any sort of attention. That's why I helped Kyle bring back your father. I thought if my own father couldn't give me any sense of validation, maybe Kronos could.

"But I was wrong, so very wrong. I see that now. I just wish I'd seen it earlier."

I nodded in understanding, biting my bottom lip. "I can't forgive you right now," I said, watching their faces fall, "not after causing the deaths of some of my best friends or aiding in the torturing of innocent children. But maybe that'll change with enough time. I just can't right now. It's too soon."

"We understand," Kyle said, his caramel brown eyes shining with a newfound urge for redemption. "So, if there is any way we can help, please let us know."

"Actually, you can help."

"Anything you need," Holly said, nodding eagerly, her ethereal form seeming very well off despite the fact Achilles had told me her soul had been sent straight to the Void.

"You haven't seen a Titan running by here recently, have you? He has silver hair and either has a broom or a spear in his hand. He was wearing janitorial clothing. He also responds to Bob."

"Bob? Do you mean Iapetus?"

I waved off the question. "Long story."

Kyle stayed quiet for a few moments, tapping a finger against his chin before saying, "He headed that way," pointing downstream of the Styx. "Be careful down there. Something dangerous lurks nearby."

"Great," I huffed, absentmindedly twirling the knife in my left hand. "Because I haven't had enough danger today. Thank you, anyhow."

"Of course."

The pair bowed in my direction and dissipated in a puff of white smoke, the smoke melting into the hazy mist that floated over the murky waters of the River Styx.