I. The Price of Vengeance

10. History Lesson

Oli's head was on fire. Not literally, not this time, but he felt like he'd just woken up with the world's worst hangover.

"Mornin' kid," said the old man.

He was dressed in a grubby overcoat; a battered, old stetson, a shirt that used to be white, brown work trousers and what was left of a pair of boots. His silver hair lay in a mess around his shoulders and his beard had the colour and messiness to match.

"You might wanna drink the water there, it'll help get rid of the side effects."

Oli turned to find three tankards of water and a jug. He downed them all in less than a minute before rounding on the man.

"And before you think about it, I so much as see a spark fly from you, I'll powder you again."

"Is that what that crap was? Where the hell am I? And why did you kidnap me?!" Oli asked, anger obvious in his voice.

"In answer to your first question, yes, that was a powder designed to incapacitate both a possessed being and its demon simultaneously. In answer to your second question, you're somewhere safe. And finally, I did it because if I hadn't, you'd probably get yourself killed."

"I think you underestimate me a little. I can take care of myself," Oli jabbed.

"Oh, I know exactly how tough you are bonehead. Your flame-fuelled antics won't stay off the news. And as for taking care of yourself, if you wanted to do that, you would have kept a seriously low profile. And not attacked a police station."

"I didn't go anywhere near..." Oli started to argue before a voice in the back of his mind said: "Oops, my bad..."

"Ok, I didn't consciously go..." Oli sighed.

"And that was what I was worried about the most, you can't even control it properly, it's still playing you like a puppet," the old man sighed.

"How do you know so much about me?" Oli asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I know about you, that demon in your head, and every single one before you. There's a lot of things you don't know about, but Hell will be the most confusing thing you ever encounter."

"That... didn't answer my question at all," Oli muttered.

You're telling me... Talk about a mystery man...

"Ok, let's try something different, how would I get myself killed?" Oli asked.

"Hades," was his one-word reply.

"Who?"

"Do you even look out the window in the mornin' kid, or do you spend your entire life with your head up your ass?"

Even I have to agree with him there, this 'Hades' was on the news about five minutes before we got knocked out...

"Not helping," Oli replied in his head.

He spoke to the old man; "So who is he then?"

"Don't know, never seen him myself, never met anyone who's seen him either. But I've heard stories. Hades was the first merging of man and demon into what we now call a Ghost Rider. Over the years, he grew in power, to the point that he was considered the most powerful merge of earthly creature and demon that had ever existed. Problem was, this was a trial run and the Devil hadn't got it quite right. The fusion drove both participants insane, warping their quest from one of punishing those who had done extreme wrongs to trying to cure the world of sin. When the Devil found out about this, he attempted to bring this abomination he'd created back to hell to be broken down. But Hades had other ideas. He did something no-one else has ever managed to do, and he outran the Devil himself. For centuries now, he's resurfaced across the globe. Countless times he's committed acts of mass slaughter in the name of 'vengeance'. Each time it's coincided with the rising of a Ghost Rider. And each time that Ghost Rider has been defeated by Hades. Each time the Ghost Rider has been killed. Except for the one who wore the mantle before you. He separated himself from his Spirit of Vengeance before attracting the attention of Hades. That's probably why your demon doesn't know who Hades is. He'll be pretty new to all this."

That's a fair point, old Johnny-boy did get rid of me before I'd even heard of this guy.

"So why's he coming after me now?" Oli asked.

"Simple, you've grown powerful enough to challenge him. You now pose a threat to his rule. The speed at which your connection has developed is incredible. No Ghost Rider has ever managed to use the Penance Stare so soon after its conception. Even if the host isn't in control."

"If I pose a threat, why don't I just go and end this now? If he's afraid surely I should take the fight to him!"

"Weren't you listening? You're not the first to challenge him. None have survived a personal encounter with him. None. Every Ghost Rider that has met him has died. You're not half as experienced as your predecessors were when they faced him, so what hope do you have?"

"I'm not them. Like you said, I'm a natural."

"Stay here, learn how to harness your power. Don't just charge in there unprepared out of some false sense of bravado!"

"I can take care of myself old man. I'm not going to run and hide like a coward. I'm not gonna sit in some run-down church like you and be afraid of a story I haven't even met."

"He'll kill you!" the man called after Oli as he made his way outside.

"Not if I kill him first," Oli replied, getting into his Charger that had pulled up not ten seconds ago.

He drove off, leaving the old man in the dust.

"They never listen... They all go out the same way..." the old man mumbled to himself, "I've tried my best. May God have mercy on his soul."