A Traitor And A Rapist
Inspired by Mr Riordans work.
He still remembered that day Chiron had called him to the Big House.
"Chiron" he shouted as he swung the door and stepped inside the house. "Chiron its Ryker, you told me to come visit you at 3 this afternoon."
He heard the footfalls, two feet not Chiron's wheelchair "Ryker, you are a son of Ares, right?" He turned to the soft voice of Rachel Dare? The Redhead spoke with confidence he had barely seen in a mortal. His phantom fingers twitched, he had come to talk with Chiron not to deal with a judgemental woman!
"Yes, and you are Rachel Dare…the Oracle" thank the gods he didn't say "Percy's pet", he wasn't interested in a fight with Jackson.
Her expression hardened, she had spent years talking down to men perhaps it wasn't a big surprise that she was less than enthusiastic about talking to a rapist. "Chiron is in the Rec Room and Ryker keep your eyes on a girls face not her chest." At this point it wasn't a big secret that he and his siblings had used mortals for their pleasure. He had lost two fingers on his left hand to Annabeth and Clarisse's justice. Thankfully Chiron had been injured otherwise justice would have meant castration.
"Come sit" Chiron invited him inside the Room. On one side of the Ping-Pong table Chiron sat in his wheelchair beside him sat Clarrise and on the other side of the table sat Logan Carter - an undermined kid who had been shoved in the Hermes cabin and had been recruited into Kronos' army!
Chiron spoke up: "look, everyone knows that camp has been difficult for you since the end of the war but we have decided to award you a quest."
He smirked to himself: "YES and the quest stretches on endlessly. Just tell me that I am not welcome here anymore. I fought for you and killed for you, I accepted your judgement on the incident, what more do you want?"
At this outburst Clarisse stood and threw her dagger at him, which grazed his cheek and impaled itself on the wall behind him "I swore to all the gods that I would have run you through with that dagger if you weren't my own brother. Listen here you punk" she shook her fist in his face and lowered her voice menacingly "you have dragged our fathers name through the mud and you will redeem yourself. You can go on living your worthless life and keep feeling sorry for yourself or you can fight for the Gods again."
Chiron looked on with an uneasy glance at Logan but he finally pushed Clarisse down in her seat and met Rykers eye with…could it be pity? Chiron knew what men did in the heat of battle. The trainer had fought countless wars and trained countless hero's. Chiron knew what fighting did to soldiers. He spoke with iron in his voice "Ryker, we need you to eliminate some of the demigods who went rogue and fought against Olympus."
Ryker glanced at Logan, who was looking at the wall behind Chiron with steely determination. It was while searching Logan's face that Ryker realised what they were asking of him. Ryker knew what had to be done but it didn't make it any easier. Generals ran battle strategies, they discussed plans and pushed wooden soldiers on maps but the soldiers did the killing. The soldiers did the dying. Demigods or Monsters we were soldiers fought who gutted each other. Soldiers like me, Olympus would never be done with me. I would die at the hands of some beast, some God or one of his own kind. His soul would roam the fields of the Underworld, there would be no Elysium for him. Mistakes are written in stone.
He knew how to stand in a phalanx and push a spear through the enemy. He had stood in line of fire and prayed that he didn't get hit. Fighting was easy but killing had always been harder for him. An abusive mother and Ares as his father was not exactly helping his case either but fighting he knew. Killing he knew better…
After a few minutes of silence Chiron spoke again: "Hermes has given us the whereabouts of the targets and Logan here has provided us with safe houses that have to be taken off the grid. Monster safe houses cannot be allowed to operate." Chiron took a small pause to drink some water but it was really to allow Ryker to process the information. "You and Logan will be given equipment and mortal money for expenses" he continued oblivious to Logan's dismayed expression, Logan must not have agreed to these terms "we really do hope you will accept the quest, your fa…Olympus is counting on it."
At the Battle of the Lybrinth and the Battle of Manhattan he had made his mark. Ryker had killed plenty of monsters, plenty of mortal mercenaries and a number of demigods. Percy Jackson had forbidden the killing of their own kind but Clarisse knew better, she knew that enemies, mortals or monsters, had to be eliminated. Ryker understood this well. Yet, when he had put his steel blade in a mercenary's eye he had shook violently. That day he had found a sleeping mortal woman and used her thoroughly as she moaned in her sleep. He promised himself never to repeat this incident again. But he knew that after a night of fighting lust will course through his veins and his arms will find a woman like his other brothers did.
The battle took its toll upon him, he knew that the war will bring nightmares for years to come but he fought on. Percy jackson told him to fight and he admired Jackson above all others. Percy was a soldier not a General, he fought and killed but only if there was no other choice. Percy, then a 13 year old, had stood alone while Ryker had hid behind his oxhide shield fighting the giant bronze bull years ago. Percy had given up immortality, he was a soldier, even Clarisse had approved of him. Maybe this is why this quest will be harder for him. Percy would never kill demigods in their sleep. Despite what the other campers said Ryker was still a soldier disobedience did not come naturally to him. Even when they had taken his fingers for rape he had been glad Percy had not delivered the sentence…
"When do we leave?" He gave a small sad smile to Chiron who returned his smile with one of his own.
Ryker now realised that they took the fingers on his left hand for a reason, to fight he would need to grasp his sword. Otherwise what was he?
He was the Rapist who had been doomed to hunt rogue demigods with Logan-the traitor.