"You know, I have transported hundreds if not thousands of demigods across this river." A gray bearded old man told Ryker when he opened his eyes. "But you are the first that I did not expect. Usually Thanatos gives me a set list every day."
"Where… where am I?" Ryker asked, gaining his bearings. The surroundings were dark and decrepit, with random balls of floating light strewn about the cavern that Ryker now found himself in. He instinctively reached for his bow, but it was not setting where he usually left it over his shoulder. His claws were similarly missing. He glanced down at his hands and scowled when he saw that even death had not returned his hand to him. He glanced back at the ferryman and answered his own question as the memory of his death came flooding back to him. "The Underworld. I'm dead."
"You are handling it pretty well." The ferryman observed, leaning on a sign post that was lettered in Ancient Greek. "A lot of people start to beg for second chances or start to look for a way out."
"There was a girl who came here before me, a daughter of Athena." Ryker said, ignoring the old man's words. "Where is she?"
"Oh, she is probably facing the three judges right about now." The Ferryman told him. "I just took her over."
"She died only a few seconds before I did." Ryker frowned. "How did you manage to cross the river in such little time?"
"You mortals and your concept of time." The ferryman chuckled slightly even as he stepped down into the small boat that was gently bobbing against the side of the stone docks. He glanced back to Ryker and raised an eyebrow. "Well, were you planning on crossing? Or did you want to remain on this side of the river for all of eternity?"
"I don't have a coin." Ryker said warily. Orion had warned him of this. The Romans likely would not supply him with the coins necessary for him to pay the ferryman. If the ferryman decided not to take him because of this Ryker would be forced to either attempt to overpower the man or take his chances crossing the river. Neither option sounded promising in the slightest. The old man had a quiet energy about him, an energy that even Ryker was hesitant to test. The river was option was simply not an option at all. Though it flowed smoothly, the River Styx had a sinister feel about it. The far side of the river was no better, though Ryker knew that his time in dealing with the River Acheron was yet to come.
"That's fine." Charon said, shrugging. "For the first unexpected arrival in several thousand years, the least I can do is let you cross. Come on then, I imagine the judges are waiting."
Ryker said nothing as he warily stepped into the boat. Charon gestured for him to take a seat, but Ryker elected to remain standing and keep a wary eye on the old man. Charon shrugged and pushed off the stone dock with his wooden push pole. "That girl who went ahead of you, you said you knew her? Friend of yours?"
But Ryker refused to be baited into a conversation. He kept his gaze locked onto the Ferryman and did not speak a word. Charon muttered something about just trying to make conversation, but he too lapsed into silence. After what seemed like only a few minutes Ryker felt the boat gently bump into something and Charon nodded to something over Ryker's shoulder. "We're here kid." He informed Ryker. "I wish you all the luck that this place has to offer."
"Thank you." Ryker said, breaking his silence. He stepped lightly off the boat and onto the shore. He glanced back over his shoulder and blinked in surprise when he saw that the ferryman was already halfway back across the rivers. Ryker watched him for a few moments and then slowly shook his head. "Time flows differently here." He murmured to himself.
The ferryman had dropped him off before two massive onyx doors that had various scenes of battle etched into the stone. Ryker slowly approached the doors and placed one hand against the right side. He pushed it slightly and the door opened with incredible ease. Ryker slipped through and the doors slammed shut behind him with an eerie finality. Beyond the doors were a set of stairs that seemed to have been made from Stygian iron, which Ryker quickly ascended. At the top of the stairs was a small circular room with three high chairs bordering it. The second that the hunter stepped into the room the steps behind him disappeared and Ryker was suddenly locked into the room. He gazed up at one of the seats and raised an eyebrow in surprise when he saw that the chair was occupied. Three very old men, older than even Charon, were seated above the room and were gazing down on Ryker with interest.
"He's a murderer." One said immediately. "He should be sentenced to the River Acheron until the end of time." Chains sprouted from the ground at Ryker's feet and wrapped themselves around his ankles. The cold metal snaked up his legs until he was immobilized to the thigh. The chains were impossibly heavy, and they chilled him to the bone.
"Peace, Aeacus." One said with a patient wave of his hand. "He took no pleasure in those he killed." The chains grew significantly lighter, but their chill did not lessen at all. "Sentencing him to the River Acheron would not be just. And our cause is the continuous search of justice."
"You speak the truth, Minos," The third judge said gravely. "He may have taken no pleasure in the killing, but he killed nonetheless. Dozens of demigods have fallen to him. That simply cannot go unpunished. I suggest the Fields of Punishment."
"Aah, and yet we can see that his true intention was simply to return to the life he was taken from." Minos reminded the other judges. "Returning home is something that all three of us can comprehend."
The other judges muttered their agreement, though it was grudging. "It does not change the fact that he killed many demigods in the service of Tartarus." Aeacus said the name like a curse. The chains grew unbearably heavy around Ryker again, climbing farther up him until his arms were draped in the freezing metal as well. Ryker tried to speak out on his own behalf, or at least to curse the judges, but his voice had evidently abandoned him. "Killing in the name of an evil such as that is evil in of itself."
"He makes a valid point, Minos," Rhadamanthus told him. "Killing for evil, even if oneself is not evil, is still evil in nature and that must be punished."
"I see your reasoning." Minos said gravely. "It appears that I am outnumbered here. Tell me, Aeacus, what would you see his punishment be?"
"The River Acheron with him." The judge sneered, gazing down his nose at Ryker. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Ryker opened his mouth to speak, but again no words came out. Aeacus laughed coldly and shook his head. "The guilty can never offer words to defend their actions when they know they have done wrong." The judge informed Ryker even as the chains began to wrap tightly around the hunter's neck. "Such is the way of the Underworld. The guilty can never defend their actions. Begone."
The judge gave a wave of his hand and the chains covered Ryker's face. The cold metal burned his flesh, and the pain nearly obscured the momentary weightlessness that came after Ryker's vision had been obscured. The weightlessness ended abruptly as he crashed into water, though Ryker immediately wished it would come back in lieu of what replaced it. The chains fell away as well, though Ryker would have welcomed them back as an alternative. The water he now found himself being washed away in was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It seemed to pull at his mind even as pain assaulted every single fiber of his being. Memories of pain racked his mind while his skin seared and froze at the same time. He wasn't sure how it happened, but the water quickly seemed to wash away his thoughts. His life was consumed with only pain.
The body of Annabeth was burned on a funeral pyre with the whole camp in attendance. Even the gods and goddesses who had shown up. Ceres created a beautiful funeral pyre out of the most wonderful plants and flowers that were found in the wilderness. Leo sort of thought that Annabeth would have preferred a less flashy pyre, but the gesture was nice so he didn't remark on this to anyone. He wouldn't have anyways. The death of Annabeth had been a bitter pill to swallow, especially after learning about Ryker's betrayal. Even after the fire had finished it work and most of the camp had dispersed, Percy still remained where he had been from the moment that the first flame had started. It was like he was rooted to the spot, his gaze locked into the distance as though looking for Annabeth to come flying over the horizon. His eyes were red and puffy from the tears that had streamed down his face, but he had not given a single cry of remorse. In Leo's opinion that might have been worse. He wanted to go to his friend, but Calypso warned him to let Percy have his time to grieve. Frank and Hazel had offered similar advice. So there Percy was left, staring out over the horizon.
Ryker's body had been left to lie where it had been shot and no one had yet been able to bring themselves to look upon the demigod who had betrayed so many of them and killed one of their Praetors. "Might as well." Leo muttered to himself, turning away from where he had been observing Percy and striding off to go check on Ryker's body.
