𝗪𝗔𝗜𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗠𝗘 ━━ l. valdez

ix ━━ i can't forgive the way you made me feel

03. chapter nine

━━━━━━━━ ( 💫 ) ━━━━━━━━

I COULDN'T EXPLAIN HOW I KNEW. it was probably a 'child of the titan whose river you have to cross to become dead' talent, but who knows.

spirits were often restless. they would lose their way to the land of the dead, or stay behind with the living out of sheer stubbornness. sometimes they didn't even realize they were dead.

i had a gut sense they were still present, simply because no one had told them to leave the ship. yes, i had extinguished them back in kansas, but nothing had been done about the ones on the ship.

when i was done explaining, the others looked at me uncomfortably. i understood why: ghosts and phantoms made other people uneasy.

finally hazel exhaled. "camille is right."

"how can you be sure?" annabeth asked.

"i've met eidolons," hazel said. "in the underworld, when i was... you know."

dead.

in her own way, hazel too was a ghost reborn.

"so..." frank rubbed his hand across his buzz-cut hair as if some ghosts might have invaded his scalp. "you think these things are lurking on the ship, or—"

"probably lurking inside some of us," i said. "we don't know."

jason clenched his fist. "if that's true—"

"we have to take steps," i said. "i think i can do this."

"do what?" percy asked.

"just listen, okay?" i took a deep breath. "everybody listen."

i met their eyes, one person at a time.

"eidolons," i said, using as much command in my voice as possible, "raise your hands."

there was tense silence.

leo laughed nervously. "did you really think that was going to—?"

his voice died. his face went slack. he raised his hand.

jason and percy did the same. their eyes had turned glassy and gold. whatever spirit i had extinguished back in kansas, i clearly didn't get its entire being. i had been tricked into thinking i had removed the spirits from jason's and percy's bodies, but i clearly hadn't.

hazel caught her breath. next to leo, frank scrambled out of his chair and put his back against the wall.

"oh, gods." annabeth looked at me imploringly. "can you cure them?"

i pulled out my stygian iron sword. i wasn't sure what i was going to do with it, but i was certain it would intimidate the spirits. i could almost hear the trapped souls whispering to be let free within the metal.

i focused on leo because i was the most comfortable with him.

"are there more of you on this ship?" i asked.

"no," leo said in a hollow voice. "the earth mother sent three. the strongest, the best. we will live again."

"not here, you won't," i growled. "all three of you, listen carefully."

jason and percy turned toward me. those gold eyes were unnerving, but seeing all three boys like that fueled my anger.

"you will leave those bodies," i commanded.