Death's Son (And All Its Memories)

Chapter 6

Will stood at the lab table and stared down at the metal container. He saw where he kept that device, saw every piece of wiring that was used to get his words across.

His words, his voice...it sounded just as robotic as the other Hephestus inventions. This one was no different than what those kids accomplished. They made it for him, and for that he was grateful, but nothing could be the same as his old voice.

It never used to hurt to speak. He never used to have to fit a device into a hole in his neck. He never used to sound fake.

Will was a demigod, he knew this. He was half human from birth. But now this, this machinery, this piece of equipment, it took more of the remaining pieces of humanity left in him.

He hated it, despised it, wished it dead every day. But he always put it on the next morning.

New campers looked at him in shock, looked at him in disturbed curiosity. They looked at him as if he was nothing more than another part of the tour, the next add-on to the Hephestus cabin. They looked at him without seeing his humanity.

He hated when new campers came about, hated their innocent brains. They didn't know the worst of being a demigod, they hadn't seen what he had.

They hadn't had their love die and come back. They hadn't had two wars to survive through just to watch others die.

Bay and Dove were no different. Will hated their presence just as the others, hated that he didn't know how to cure that girl. Dove. Bay had finally said her name, had finally admitted to everything in hopes that Will could heal her.

And he couldn't.

Not being able to heal a patient, watching them die a slow death, it was the worst thing he had experienced as a demigod. Any other child of Apollo would say the same.

"Will?" Bay appeared in the doorway. Will had seen how he interacted with others, saw the sarcasm and hatred he put out. But it was all in defense. His real self, a much more terrified boy, was shown to Will when he saw that Dove couldn't be healed. "Can I ask you a question?"

Will nodded, moving his fingers to his throat where that device rested. "What is it?"

Bay stepped another foot into the room. "If...if Dove dies...will she go to Elysium?"

Will turned around to face the young demigod. "That's a question to ask my husband. You can when he gets back."

Bay shook his head. "No. That would involve telling him everything."

"You're going to have to, anyway." Will licked his dry lips. "You have to, Bay. I already told Chiron."

Bay made a noise of discomfort. "Excuse me?"

Will sighed in exhaustion. "I work for my patients and Dove is my patient. I told Chiron in hopes that he would have an idea to save her. He doesn't. Now, go sit down. You're still recovering."

"You can't just tell my business to people!" Bay argued. "It's my past! Not yours!"

"And I'm damn well thankful it's not my past!" Will moved towards the boy. "You made mistakes and that's not my fault!"

"Mistakes?! I followed my mother!"

"Your mother was wrong!" Will yelled. "You sided with Gaea! Your dad abandoned you for it! It happened! Now get over yourself and let us all live whatever lives we have left!"

"I was a child!" tears sprouted in Bay's eyes. "I was a kid! I didn't know any better!"

"You still did it." Will turned away from him. "Just go out. You're going to bust your stitches."

Bay shook his head in disbelief. "Maybe I shouldn't have come here. I knew you guys wouldn't trust me."

"It's hard to trust someone who made such a horrible mistake," Will muttered.

Bay wiped at his raw eyes. "The key word in that sentence should be mistake."