Changing the Future

Chapter 92

A rainbow nearly caused me to decapitate the goddess of victory.

In a roundabout way, it was completely my fault.

Things had gotten tenser since capturing Nike. Her nonstop screaming and shimmering visage did nothing for my pounding temples. Leo's eye twitched whenever he heard her voice, as if he were always mere seconds from throwing a wrench at her head. The others weren't much better off. The only way for her to keep quiet long enough for everyone to get some sleep was for me to impress her with my swordsmanship.

For someone who had a sock stuffed in her mouth, Nike communicated tips without shouting with shocking ease. Perks of being a goddess, I guess.

It helped that she was genuinely interested in the tiny arsenal I had dangling from my wrist. She'd given me some sound advice regarding disarming techniques, which she'd encouraged me to try against shadow minions I summoned.

A particularly feisty minion decided to give chase throughout the stables, moving the fight towards Nike. I could imagine the massive smile she wore behind the strip of duct tape. Her eyes gleamed like someone had given her a shot of pure epinephrine.

I parried a swing toward my thigh and got in close to attempt Nike's disarming technique. Of course, that was the moment a rainbow shimmered into existence. I managed to halt my downward swing in time to keep Nike's head attached to her body as the minion dissipated from my loss of concentration.

Nike said some naughty words in Ancient Greek – which I won't be repeating any time soon – but, you know, fair given her situation.

Epithymia clattered to the ground as I finally took in the person placing the Iris-message.

His face bore no trace of the horrors he'd experienced save a scar near his left temple. Gone were his breathing and feeding tubes as well as the bandages that had mummified his head.

His skin held a healthy tan and even bore a smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose. Without needing any instructions, he took a step back and gave a slow turn, revealing that all the wires and tubes had been removed. His hair had started to grow back, giving the appearance of a buzzcut. If not for the still healing bruises in the crook of his elbow and the back of his hand, no one would've been wiser to his previous state.

"Will?" I whispered, fingers ghosting the edges of the rainbow image.

I can say with utmost certainty that Will inherited his smile from his father. He gave me his million watt smile, eyes crinkling with delight.

"Hiya, Andy!"

I choked back a sob. "Hi, Will. I'm so happy you're okay."

He chuckled. "That makes two of us. How have things been since I saw you last?"

I lost track of the time talking to Will. Apparently, he'd woken up the day after I'd fallen into Tartarus and had been trying to get in touch ever since. It was sheer luck that he'd managed to catch me in a moment of downtime.

He told me about Camp Half-Blood's defenses and his accelerated recovery process. I gave him information about the weapons and mercenaries Octavian had recruited. He asked for updates on Nico and the rest of the crew, clearly hoping for something hopeful among the doom and gloom.

Then the conversation took a turn that I'd seen coming but was still unprepared for.

"Have you spoken to Dad lately?" Will asked.

I felt him scrutinizing every millimeter of my face. I once again found myself thanking Hermes and Dionysus for those joint acting lessons. They had paid off ten-fold. My face would've been a brighter red than one of Apollo's sacred cows, otherwise.