Forgotten prophecy

Chapter 56

"You... I'm going to kill you." Ryker snarled, though his heavy breathing somewhat detracted from the ferocity of the words. Hecate had proven to be quite the elusive opponent, in every sense of the word. Sometimes she would simply dodge out of the way of his fists, and others she would simply vanish on the spot only to reappear a few feet away. Every time she avoided him she would laugh and taunt him. This had been going on for the better part of an hour and Ryker was no closer to catching the elusive goddess than he had been when he had first begun this fight.

"Tell me, do you truly believe that?" Hecate inquired with genuine curiosity. "After all this time? If so, I am not sure whether you are simply stupid or you are just that stubborn."

Ryker growled in anger but the noise only made Hecate laugh again. In every sense of the term, Ryker had been backed into a corner. The River Acheron flowed only a few feet behind him and the goddess Hecate would pull him back to the riverside every time that he tried to run away. If only I had a weapon... Ryker thought desperately, glancing behind him to take yet another look at his former prison. He could almost feel the River calling to him. Almost like the water was aware that it had escaped and it wanted him back within its depths. The thought of returning to that was enough to send a shiver of fear running through the demigod.

After acknowledging that fear, Ryker waited a full minute before slowly staring down at his hands. The wild instincts that had always taken over when he felt fear were gone, or rather, they weren't there. He was still in full control of his actions and the familiar sensation of being underwater was completely absent. Hecate seemed to read the expression of surprise and then doubt that flitted across his face and let out a small laugh again. "Let me guess, that little trick that lets you fight like a beast not working?" She asked, smirking. "Allow me to illuminate you to something: you are dead. The abilities of being a demigod only come with being alive. You may have a body for now, but once I put you back in the River you will return to being nothing but a damned spirit. And this time you won't escape."

"You seem sure of that." Ryker countered, returning his full attention to the goddess and crouching into a ready position.

"Oh, I am very sure." Hecate smiled coldly at him. "You know, there are many ways that the gods monitor the power of demigods such as yourself. In life we keep you focused on how we are the ones who gave you your power, and in death we take that power back. In the Underworld no fallen demigod has any power. That, coupled with the luxury of Elysium, ensures that there will be no uprising from the demigods. But you just had to begin causing waves, didn't you? Your blatant disrespect for the gods and everything that we had accomplished led to many.... Unwelcome questions by the other demigods. But you don't even know that, do you?"

"I don't care about how you control the demigods, or any of that." Ryker answered back through gritted teeth. "But I will be damned if anyone can keep me caged."

"Brave words." Hecate sneered at him. "But you have seen just how well you fare when you have no powers."

Ryker opened his mouth to speak when another voice laughed out from somewhere in the darkness. "Oh, I wouldn't say he is powerless anymore."

Hecate whirled around, her lanterns blazing out so brightly that they were nearly blinding. The darkness retreated several dozen yards until a man, garbed in the same dark clothing that Ryker was. A large scythe as dark as the night itself was strapped to the man's back, though he appeared to not be at all concerned with its weight. Ryker did not recognize the man, but Hecate clearly did. She looked at the man with a combination of fear, disbelief, and uncertainty. "You." She said slowly, "What do you want?"

"Well, that is actually a very long list." The man chuckled softly. "But, for now, I think that assisting this young man with his fight against you would be a good start. I've never been a fan of unfair fights. Let's make this a bit more even, shall we?"