Apollo's Ghost-Hunting Daughter

Chapter 10

I scrambled to pull on sweats and make sure there was nothing embarrassing laying around. Sure that my underwear was safely in the laundry hamper and that everything else was in order, I opened the door again and let Kipps in.

"Tea?" I offered.

"Sure."

"How do you take it?"

"One sugar."

While I filled the electric kettle in the bathroom, Kipps sank down on the very edge of the window seat. As the water heated and I prepped mismatched teacups, he pulled his rapier free from his belt and propped it against the wall. I tied my hair back and cursed the silence that had settled over the room. It set an awkward atmosphere, but I didn't know how to break it. He was the one that had asked to come in. I cracked my knuckles slowly.

"I can try to answer any questions you might have," I offered. "I'm afraid I don't fully understand everything yet, but I'll do what I can to help you come to grips."

Kipps nodded thoughtfully before glancing down at his clasped hands.

"I guess I just don't get it."

He couldn't have been any vaguer.

"Which part?"

"How it works. How are there gods? What makes them so special?"

"I've been trying to get answers on that one myself. But think of them as powerful beings. They're not all-powerful and they're probably not the most powerful thing out there. Before them came the titans and there's surely something that will follow when they fade from existance. Mostly, they do their own thing, but occasionally they walk among the mortals. Occasionally they fall in love, occasionally they have children."

The water boiled and I poured water into the mugs and let the tea steep. As I waited beside the desk, I reached behind the rest of the picture frames and pulled one free. It was of Apollo and me. He looked young, more like my older brother than my father, with golden skin and blond hair. In some ways, it was a blessing I didn't inherit his appearance. I looked like my family, although I wish I'd gotten the height gene from him, if that was how godly procreation worked.

I pulled the tea bags and offered Kipps the better cup. He held it in his hands, staring down at the swirling liquid.

With nothing else to occupy myself with, I sat down on the edge of my bed and tried to be patient.

"Do they have roles and perform functions?" Kipps asked.

"To my understanding. Poseidon does his shtick in the oceans, Hades runs the Underworld, Apollo drives the sun chariot, Hephaestus forges things. They aren't the only aspects of Greek mythology that exist, either. Atlas holds up the sky, the spirits and nymphs help regulate the seasons, demigods control the monster populations. It's a hidden side of life that mortals don't see, but it's vital."

"Okay, but why Greek gods? What about, I don't know, Roman gods? Aztec gods? Nordic gods? Mesopotamian gods?"

"I don't know," I said simply with a shrug. "I wish I did because it's a good question. But if the Greek gods are out there, I suppose that the others could be around as well. Conversely, we know that deities fade. Take my father for example. He didn't always drive the sun chariot. Helios did, until he faded. So maybe everyone else faded and the Greek gods are all that's left of an old-world religion."

Kipps opened his mouth to argue, so I adjusted my previous comment.

"Religion is just a way of life. The gods have managed to make their religion last by having children that are forced to carry on the traditions. I'm not saying I agree, but there are undisputable facts that I have to face. I didn't always understand, but I do now."