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    Cynus
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Rivers of the Dead - 25. 3-4 - The Warlock

Don't forget to comment and react to this chapter! Also, special thanks to my Patreon Supporters: Michael, Bill, Charles, Amr, Don, James, Joe, Jos, Mark, Mark, Paul, Steve, John, Frank, Sam, Matthieu, and Ben. Couldn't have done it without them. Email me at Samuel.D.Roe@gmail.com to be put on my mailing list! :D

Orpheus. Ethan had skirted around the issue from the beginning, but Jake's words had opened a door in his mind. He tackled Greek mythology with a vengeance, learning everything he could about the one Liz had called upon to bring him back to life in exchange for Caleb.

As he studied, his resolve firmed up more than ever. He could do this, could do one better than Liz. He didn't even need the body, not if Caleb already possessed his body in the afterlife. All he needed was to exert his will, powered by his pure emotion.

It took him another month of meditation to prepare himself mentally for the trip up to the mountains. He drove there in silence, watching every turn of the road with deadly focus. It was late December, and the higher canyon roads were closed due to high snowfalls, but he didn't care. He came to the gate which blocked the upper reaches during winter and stopped only for a moment.

He stepped out of the car and walked up to the gate to see the chain which held it shut then lashed out with his telekinesis to break it. He'd quickly surpassed Liz's ability with the skill, a fact exemplified when he pushed the heavy metal gate open with his mind. He then climbed back into the car and drove forward.

When he reached the snowy areas, he used his mind as a plow, his focus serving to clear the road ahead of him. He never slowed the car, just kept driving, trusting with perfect faith that he could clear the path before he reached it.

He repeated the process until he reached the Cherry Creek Cave trailhead. He parked in the snowbank and stepped out of the vehicle. The mountain air was cold, well below freezing, but Ethan hardly noticed. Focusing agents had mostly lost meaning to him, but he reached up and touched the small pendant he now wore. Clutching the crystal, he imagined a crystalline shell of energy around him, protecting his body from the elements. As he willed, so did it become, and the wind bent around him.

With enough layers to keep him warm even if the spell failed, he started out onto the trail. He glanced at the first marker only briefly, but then ignored the rest of them. He could sense the trail beneath his feet, the residual energy of all those human feet which had traveled this way before. He knew where to go; getting there would be no problem at all.

The hike didn't take long. He remembered one of Liz's first lessons, that magic required energy, but he had learned months ago that he could feed off the energy of nature itself to fuel both his body and his spells. The trees fed him as he walked past, losing some of their color and health, but not enough to kill them. They would rebound, gaining their energy back with the sun. He hadn't yet learned to feed from the sun itself, but he would in time. He knew it could be done. All things could be done.

When he reached the cave, he found it spoke to him, telling him of all that had come before its cavernous mouth. He reached into the stone, seeking to understand. He went back six months, then a few more days, then a few more hours, until he found the moment in question. He could see two people, Caleb and Liz, sitting down and preparing to cast a spell to bring Ethan back to life.

With a flick of his wrist, Ethan ripped branches from the nearby trees with his mind. They floated toward him as if on water, guided by the current of Ethan's will until he arranged them in the exact spot Caleb had built the fire six months before.

His eyes flashed, channeling the pure fire of his soul, and the wet wood dried instantly, then flamed to life. A roaring blaze reached toward the high ceiling of the cave's mouth. Ethan walked toward the front of the cave, so he could peer through the flames toward the back of the cavern.

With a voice full of power, he spoke, his words resounding and fearsome.

"Orpheus, Lord of Music, child of Muse and man, I beseech you," Ethan called. He held his arms out wide as Liz had done, showing his openness as he beckoned to the beyond.

"I call on you as one who has died, one whose soul was guided." Ethan continued, surging with the emotion of his devotion to Caleb. He could feel Caleb's presence there, the last place on Earth where Caleb had been alive. He drew on the strength from that presence, let it fill him with the conviction he needed.

"You will answer my call, Orpheus, as it was answered on my behalf. You will grant me the soul of my love. You will grant me the resurrection of Caleb Nield!" Ethan roared, his words bouncing off the walls and making them shake. The whole Earth seemed to respond to the power of Ethan's decree.

The fire went out as quickly as it had started, and where it had burned, a man in a black suit and tie stood in its place. He wore a guitar on his back and sported long, chestnut-brown hair. "You called?" Orpheus asked, his eyes flashing with annoyance.

Ethan reached deep within himself, pulling on every ounce of binding magic he knew, and the rock exploded beneath Orpheus' feet. As the dust cleared, it revealed a perfect circle carved into the stone, a circle built of ancient Sumerian runes. A binding circle more ancient than Orpheus himself.

Ethan smirked and opened his mouth to begin listing his demands, but Orpheus waved him away with the back of his hand. The air picked Ethan up and carried him hard into a tree, where he landed in a heap. "Pesky warlock," Orpheus growled, "I'm in the middle of something, and I won't have you messing it up."

Don't forget to comment and react to this chapter! Also, special thanks to my Patreon Supporters: Michael, Bill, Charles, Amr, Don, James, Joe, Jos, Mark, Mark, Paul, Steve, John, Frank, Sam, Matthieu, and Ben. Couldn't have done it without them. Email me at Samuel.D.Roe@gmail.com to be put on my mailing list! :D
Copyright © 2017 Cynus; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Just now, Wesley8890 said:

OK I guess Ethan isn't as powerful as he thought

I will be posting another chapter tonight, but unfortunately you'll have to wait until at least tomorrow to find out what happens next to Ethan.
 

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11 minutes ago, Cynus said:

PLEASE QUOTE OR LIKE THIS COMMENT SO I KNOW YOU ARE COMMENTING. :)


Do you hate me? I know you hate me. :P Sorry guys, the chapter ends where it ends.

 

Ethan has attained great powers with his intensive studies. He may have fallen by chance into what he was meant to do and be. He miscalculated with Orpheus. He is dealing with someone with 2,000 years of knowledge of the afterlife. He isn't to be trifled with. Did he think it would be as easy as trapping Orpheus and demanding he return Caleb to the living?  Still, Orpheus made an oath to Caleb about Ethan. There is still that promise to keep.

 

No, we don't hate you. Of course I can only speak for me. Somewhere a pesky warlock might hate you. You'd better have some powerful wards in place mister.

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22 minutes ago, Cynus said:

Do you hate me? I know you hate me. :P Sorry guys, the chapter ends where it ends

Hate you? Of course not, -unless you end the story right here. Even then I wouldn't hate you since you're such a good writer. I might have to kill

you though...then bring you back of course.

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1 hour ago, Cynus said:

PLEASE QUOTE OR LIKE THIS COMMENT SO I KNOW YOU ARE COMMENTING. :)


Do you hate me? I know you hate me. :P Sorry guys, the chapter ends where it ends.

Really Cy, No hate but, Really!! 

 

Ethan.. I admire his fortitude. He may not/cannot best Orpheus, but I bet with how determined he is, he can outsmart him somehow.. He’s already come farther along than expected.. I can hope right.. 

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Now I guess we know where Orpheus “disappeared” to in the last chapter. Orpheus did swear on the Styx that he would help Caleb.  Wondering what he is really up to now. Thanks for the chapter and the next one just posted so off I go to read that. 😂 

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2 hours ago, Cynus said:

PLEASE QUOTE OR LIKE THIS COMMENT SO I KNOW YOU ARE COMMENTING. :)


Do you hate me? I know you hate me. :P Sorry guys, the chapter ends where it ends.

 

No, I don't hate you. But you have left me pondering questions. Is Orpheus up to his own game? Is Ethan - the boy Caleb loved - really anywhere at all? Because the all powerful warlock doesn't seem like that guy. Of course, you smash that all-powerful notion to tiny bits at the end of the chapter. I do like psionic snow plowing, though. Great idea!

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3 hours ago, drpaladin said:

 

Ethan has attained great powers with his intensive studies. He may have fallen by chance into what he was meant to do and be. He miscalculated with Orpheus. He is dealing with someone with 2,000 years of knowledge of the afterlife. He isn't to be trifled with. Did he think it would be as easy as trapping Orpheus and demanding he return Caleb to the living?  Still, Orpheus made an oath to Caleb about Ethan. There is still that promise to keep.

 

No, we don't hate you. Of course I can only speak for me. Somewhere a pesky warlock might hate you. You'd better have some powerful wards in place mister.

Ethan, trapped by his own hubris. It is indeed the fate Liz feared he would face. How unfortunate.

But what is Orpheus' angle? You're right that the promise still stands.

Hah! It's a good thing I am Orpheus, so that pesky warlock might get more than he bargained for.

3 hours ago, Stephen said:

Hate you? Of course not, -unless you end the story right here. Even then I wouldn't hate you since you're such a good writer. I might have to kill

you though...then bring you back of course.

Haha! :D What a lovely response! Don't worry, more to come. Much more. We still have a part 4.

2 hours ago, Defiance19 said:

Really Cy, No hate but, Really!! 

 

Ethan.. I admire his fortitude. He may not/cannot best Orpheus, but I bet with how determined he is, he can outsmart him somehow.. He’s already come farther along than expected.. I can hope right.. 

Hope is the name of the game here. Someone has to hold onto hope. Liz does. Keep that in mind. For all her change of heart, she has held on the whole time in caring for her dear ones.

1 hour ago, glennish said:

Now I guess we know where Orpheus “disappeared” to in the last chapter. Orpheus did swear on the Styx that he would help Caleb.  Wondering what he is really up to now. Thanks for the chapter and the next one just posted so off I go to read that. 😂 

Yep, that pager that drpaladin mentioned was Ethan. :) What is Orpheus' angle? The next Ethan chapter (which will post tomorrow) will give us much needed answers.

1 hour ago, Parker Owens said:

 

No, I don't hate you. But you have left me pondering questions. Is Orpheus up to his own game? Is Ethan - the boy Caleb loved - really anywhere at all? Because the all powerful warlock doesn't seem like that guy. Of course, you smash that all-powerful notion to tiny bits at the end of the chapter. I do like psionic snow plowing, though. Great idea!

Is Ethan really anywhere at all . . . now there is a question. But that is also a question we can always ask when someone becomes obsessed. How often is the phrase "I don't know you anymore" offered up as a prayer by concerned friends and family for one who has lost their way?

We should start a psionic snow-plowing company. Make millions.

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The arrogance of youth? Thinking he has anything that can match Orpheus' power and then make demands. Well, Orpheus will have to teach him a lesson then. 

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On 10/5/2017 at 12:50 PM, Puppilull said:

The arrogance of youth? Thinking he has anything that can match Orpheus' power and then make demands. Well, Orpheus will have to teach him a lesson then. 

He will indeed! This is definitely a battle of youth versus experience, and though Ethan may be a powerful warlock, he is just a warlock. :)

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On 10/4/2017 at 4:39 PM, Cynus said:

PLEASE QUOTE OR LIKE THIS COMMENT SO I KNOW YOU ARE COMMENTING. :)


Do you hate me? I know you hate me. :P Sorry guys, the chapter ends where it ends.

Hmm, Orpheus won’t react well to demands. Plus, he has a few thousand years on Ethan. Play nice in the sandbox Ethan.

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34 minutes ago, BlindAmbition said:

Hmm, Orpheus won’t react well to demands. Plus, he has a few thousand years on Ethan. Play nice in the sandbox Ethan.

Well said. :)

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