Forgotten prophecy

Chapter 83

"You know, I think you misunderstand our purpose here." Dante said irritably the moment he stepped into the command tent, his hair sticking up wildly from having just woken up. It was the dead of night and he had only just gotten to sleep after ensuring that everything promised to them had been given. Mere moments after he had shut his eyes the Hunter of Orion standing guard had shook him roughly awake and told him that he had been told to report to the command tent. "You can't order us around, we don't answer to any of you."

"And yet you came nonetheless." Artemis said dismissively. "That somewhat invalidates your argument."

"Relax, Dante, I was the one who told them to get you." Orion said stepping forward from the shadows.

"Look who showed up." Dante said, arching an eyebrow. "I expected a lot more screaming from this lot when you would. Maybe they aren't as spineless as I thought."

"Oh, they probably are." Orion said with a grin. "But Artemis, so kindly, warned them before I arrived. Besides, they aren't used to me in this form since I have never used it before."

"Makes sense." Dante turned his gaze back to the tent and quickly took account for everyone present. Chiron, Reyna, Thalia, Artemis, Orion, and Clarissa were all standing around a table with various expressions on their face from worry to anger. "What's all this about then?"

"It's too far for certain, but it looks like there may have been another abduction." Chiron said gravely.

Dante glanced to Orion questioningly. "Thought you quit all that since Rhea let you start the Hunt?"

Orion rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "This wasn't my doing." He sneered. "It wasn't a demigod that went missing this time."

"Hercules has not been seen for several days now." Reyna supplied crisply.

"So he ran, doesn't mean that he got grabbed." Dante retorted.

"I said the same thing." Thalia agreed grudgingly, "But apparently that's not the case. In our first fight against Tartarus we had a large amount of gods and goddesses fighting beside us, minor and major. After Cybele was killed that number went down a lot, many of the gods deciding that they didn't want to risk the same fate. On top of that not every god answered our call for aid to begin with, most of the really minor gods even decided that they didn't care about the outcome. But Hercules was one of the ones who stayed. At the reverse-funeral Apollo had he got drunk and swore on the River Styx that he would fight alongside us until the end no matter what."

"So he lied and ran, big deal." Dante said flatly. "It happens."

"Impossible." Orion said, dismissing the idea and surprising his Hunter. "Making a vow on the River Styx is just as binding, if not more so, than the oath you took when you joined the Hunt. It's irrevocable. You can't break it."

Dante fell silent, contemplating this. Thalia spoke up then, "Unless there is something else capable of kidnapping a god, and one as powerful as Hercules at that, I think we have to assume that Tartarus managed to grab him."

"In which case, we have far more issues than before." Reyna said tiredly, smacking the table lightly. "I had thought we were done with the kidnappings some time ago, clearly that was not the case."

"And you are certain you know nothing that could benefit us?" Artemis asked Orion, clearly not for the first time.

"For the third time, no," Orion said curtly. "Tartarus was very careful with his plans. I only knew what he wanted me to know, and the same went for the other Giants and Titans. Unless he had a task for you, he didn't bother to tell us. Probably a wise decision, considering I turned traitor."