Castlewarming Chapters 531-540
by Hercules Forum Collective
Chapter 531
by Dixie
As Dixie began searching for a spell book she heard someone come up behind
her. Stiffened with fear that Murlock had caught her going through his
spells, she spoke in a mousy tone:"I didn't expect you back so soon."
"I didn't know you expected me at all," replied the kind, familiar voice.
She turned quickly, as pleasant surprise spread across her young face.
There he was in all his handsome radiance. Sometimes she felt if she stared
at him too long her eyes would burn as if staring directly at the hot, noon
sun. She'd known him all her life and loved him deeply. He had taken care
of her. She knew she was the only reason he came to visit his brother,
although it still astonished her that they were brothers. He was so kind
and Murlock so awful. He often said Murlock just chose the wrong path and
maybe one day he'd realize it, but we both knew it wasn't true. Their
relationship was not romantic. It was more father and child. He was her
friend, her only friend. Finally she spoke:
"Seth, I'm so glad it's you!!!"
"Of course you are. You're doing something you shouldn't be doing."
"I'm trying to find a spell to turn water into a looking glass, so I can
see what Murlock is doing."
"And why the sudden interest in what my dark-hearted brother is up to?"
She smiled and half giggled, " Oh stop. I have decided to find my real
parents. Maybe he will lead me to them."
Seth looked startled. "What makes you think they are still alive?"
"I feel it in my soul, Seth. They have to be. Look, I found some Psalms by
the great Israelite King, David."
"Well, let's have a look. Shall we?"
"Alright," she unrolled the parchments carefully, as to not rip them, " My
gods this one has my name. Psalm DIX:DIX "His victims are crushed. They
collapse and fall under feet."
She screamed as she dropped the papers, and tears flooded her green eyes,
"I was wrong.They are dead. He calls me Dixie after this verse. I knew it
was Greek for ten, and now I understand why that's my name. All my hope is
gone. My life is gone. In one instant he has crushed my dreams, like
flowers under his feet, like the verse. Her body shivered violently, as if
she were freezing to death, and she sobbed.
"Oh Dixie, Please don't cry. I can't stand it. It's not true. I'm here.
I've always been here. I wanted to tell you, but he said he'd kill you. I
wanted to take you, but I knew he'd find us. Our powers are equal, which
keeps me alive, but can't protect you. He's tried to get rid of me, but I
always found my way back to you."
Suddenly he stopped, realizing what he had just done. He looks at her. She
was staring at him as an innocent child who has just had that innocence
ripped away. What was he saying? It couldn't be true. Could it?
Eeyoraus bent double and grabbed her knees, chest heaving like a marathon
runner at the end of a race. Each deep breath pumped renewed power through
her veins.
She looked up at him and smiled. He'd never seen him smile before, not at
him. It unnerved him, which was, of course, it's purpose.
She slowly unfurled her surprisingly muscular body, stretching as she
straightened giving an air of increasing in stature, right before his eyes,
to her rising. He ,actually, unconsciously took a step backward.
Never before had he been the one who tried to break eye contact. Never
before had it not been fear he saw in those eerie amber eyes, but fear he
felt looking into them.
She laughed at him. She laughed at him! Another first, and his hot
blood ran cold. Had he finally driven her completely crazy, he wondered.
The thought didn't settle him. Insanity has it's own curious power. What
was she thinking?
He hated this limitation of his power, for no power is limitless. The one
who is completely good would be incapable of doing evil, would he not? He
could not read her thoughts. He could, and had been known to, replace them
with his own, but this instant he needed to know what was in that ‘pretty
little redhead' of hers. Even his thoughts of her were patronizing, but
that was about to change.
Sitting under his favorite willow tree on the bank of the Yardên, Nâbîy
continued to pray fervently for the many people in the vision. While he
had received it over four nights it was in fact one vision.
While it was hot in the city on the mountain, there was a cool breeze
blowing through the river valley. The Yardên was not much of a river most
of the time. You could almost jump over it. But during the spring floods
it was dangerous and impassable. Nâbîy remembers the first time he had
seen the river at flood stage as a child. And the story of how the Ancient
One had held back the waters so the 'Ibrîy, Nâbîy's people, could cross
over. Those were the beginning of great days. But that was long, long
ago.
Nâbîy also prayed for clarification of the visions since they weren't all
in chronological order. While he knew that most of the vision covered only
four days, it seemed like seven months. Especially when in effect he's
been "seeing" through the eyes of more than 20 mortals and "gods". And now
a new one last night, the one called Dixie.
As he lay back with his eyes closed, he found himself meditating on the
fate of three in particular. Aquillea, Lyrical and Eeyoraus.
While Aquillea was in real jeopardy of not only loosing her life but her
soul, Lyrical was in good hands with Hercules and Rain Cloud. But it was
Eeyoraus that got most of his concern. Truly she was the one that had a
calling from the Light and a revelation of the power of true Love. But
would she realize in time that the fight was mostly within herself? That
she must overcome her past with that power? Does she yet know who Love
is?
And while it wasn't strange that Nâbîy found himself drawn to the fiery
redhead, he was surprised when he realized that he was a little jealous of
Michael; of all people.
A cloaked figure walked down the dusty road alone, desperately alone. The
only thing visible
through the cloak was a single hand and a pair of sky blue, searching eyes.
Despite the heat, the
figure marched on towards its goal. The person knew once at the destination
so far away,
everything would be alright. Either that, or death. No, that wasn't an
option. The injustice must be avenged, the wrong must be made right. There
must be no rest until the goal was achieved.
No rest for the weary. The shadowed figure came upon a rock upon the road.
OK, maybe a little
rest.
The cloak touched the rock first, followed by the aching muscles of the
body underneath. It
seemed like days, maybe weeks since this actual physical journey started,
but the mental
preparation had been going on for years. The spare hand reached down, and
pulled out a canteen
of water, and placed it to the dry lips under the hood of the cloak. "Now I
feel better," the voice
underneath said... "Who am I kidding? It just made me thirstier." With one
quick motion, the
canteen was depleted.
While replacing the empty canteen, a voice was heard in the in the woods
stretching out behind the rock. The shadowed jumped up, almost flying
towards the edge of the woods. Slowly and cautiously, the shadow hid from
tree to tree, trying to locate the voice. Could this be the end of the
traveling part of the journey? Could this be the start of the "fun" part?
The blue eyes scanned the forest floor. Finally, the eyes landed on the
origin of the noise. The eyes squinted, but to no avail. The shadow inched
forward, trying not to be seen. When close enough to the person, the figure
climbed a tree, trying to get a better view. When the line of sight cleared
the shrubbery, the figured stopped. The sky blue eyes scanned over the
fiery red hair of the woman. It's positive, it's here. But, who was that
old man standing with her? Oh well, it doesn't matter. All that matters is
that the woman was there. The figure crouched on the limb, muscles tense
with excitement. "Finally..." the shadow murmured. Suddenly, the cloak was
thrown back some, and an arm reached around. The rays of the sun gleamed on
a sharp edge of metal...
As Hercules, RainCloud and Aphrodite vanished, Alec walked inside just in
time to see them disappear in a flash of light. Realizing that RainCloud
was with Hercules and Aphrodite, he quickly went over to check on Lyrical.
What he saw concerned him. As he examined her, he found she was in a very
deep sleep. At first, he wasn't concerned, considering what she had been
through, sleep was the best thing for her. As he continued his examination,
however, he noticed that nothing seemed to rouse her, nothing at all.
Alec tried everything he could think of to get some reaction out of her,
but to no avail. He was just about to poke her with the tip of a dagger,
when Aphrodite reappeared.
"Look, buster, if you even think about hurting her, I'll send you flying
into the fortress wall." Aphrodite said.
"My name is Alec and I'm a healer from the city." he said, " I was asked to
help out until RainCloud was back on her feet. I have no intention of
hurting Lyrical I was just trying to help her."
"Ok, I'll buy that, but only cause your cute and I did see you helping
RainCloud earlier. Don't ask how, it's a goddess thing." said Aphrodite.
"Do you know what is wrong with her and is there anything at all that I can
do to help?" asked Alec.
"Well healer honey," Aphrodite said, "It's like this." She then explained
about Strife and the poison and how Hercules and RainCloud were getting the
last ingredient as she was speaking.
"So ya see, there is no need to start worrying, I have complete faith in
Herky." she said, "In the mean time I'll sit with Lyri and keep you
posted."
"I really appreciate you explaining all of this to me. I'm very fond of
RainCloud and Lyrical is a dear friend to her." said Alec. "If you need me,
I'll be in the next lean-to looking after Aquillea. Now that is a strange
case indeed."
"Look, healer honey, why don't you check on Aquillea is it?, and then come
back and fill me in." said Aphrodite, " A good mystery maybe just what I
need to pass the time till Herc gets back. And RainBurst…er…RainCloud too."
Alec left to check on Aquillea and Aphrodite, with a wave of her hand, made
herself a chair and sat down next to Lyrical.
"Listen, to me Lyrical," she said, "You are the closest thing to a real
sister I have ever had. You're my best friend, and I don't think I could
stand to lose you. Not to mention how awful I look when I cry. You hang on,
you hear me?"
Aphrodite checked Lyrical over and found the wounds on her ankles. The
goddess of love remembered how much pain Lyrical was in and decided to do
something.
"Little sister, I may not be able to get this poison out of your system,
but there isn't anyone or anything that will keep me from taking these
wounds away." declared Aphrodite.
The goddess of love, placed her hands just above Lyrical's head and started
a downward motion. As she moved, her hands emitted a soft healing glow that
took all of Lyrical's physical pain away.
"Oh I wish I could take this poison out of your system!" Aphrodite said." I
wish I could take it myself, so you wouldn't have to suffer."
"You must love her a great deal." said Alec as he reentered the lean-to.
"Lyrical is very lucky to have such a dear friend as you."
"Yes, well, that is ……"Aphrodite stammered.
"Don't worry," said Alec brushing away a tear, " I won't say anything to
anyone. I promise."
"Thanks," said Aphrodite, " So tell me all about this Aquilt..Aqule…This
friend of Lyrical's. What gives?"
"It's Aquillea and this is what I know." said Alec. He had gotten through
about half his story when……
Chapter 536 "The Cries Of The Shadow"
by The Shadow
The shadow remained as still as a stone. Many thoughts swarmed through the
head underneath the hood of the cloak. "What if this is the wrong person?
What if this doesn't work? What if she was wrong? Why, why must she die?" A
hidden tear slowly fell down the concealed check under the hood. "Why did
they all have to die? ALL OF THEM?" The shadow was almost at the point of
yelling. Nothing inside it's head seemed to make any sense. Then, the
familiar faces popped into the sway of thoughts, followed by many others,
the same ones that constantly reappeared, keeping the meaning of this whole
ordeal freshly imprinted into the memory of the shadow, the Avenger of this
wrongful doing. The hand of the figure was so tightly wrapped around the
sword, it was turning white. "No, she had to be right…besides, I have
nothing to lose for trying. I'll try anything if I can get at least ONE of
them back!!"
The dark man and Eeyoraus were talking below the hidden shadow. Well, not
exactly talking. Eeyoraus was basically…well…it looked like laughing at the
man. She must be really evil laughing at this man who looked like he feared
her. The shadow glanced around, trying to get things back into perspective.
Several yards behind the stranger, there was a camp fire, but other than
that, just trees as far as the blue eyes could see. Wait!?! The shadow did
a double-take. Looking at the camp fire carefully, the shadow saw that it
was exactly that, except for the camp. "No wood, just a huge fire. OK, this
Eeyoraus isn't an Amazon. She must be a witch! I must kill her now before
she touches this helpless person!!" The shadow inched out towards the edge
of the limb. The sword was turned downwards in a striking position. The
woman was laughing at this seemingly helpless man, when, suddenly, the man
let out a scream that pierced the silence of the forest. The woman almost
feel backwards, and the shadow nearly dropped the sword in its hands. The
sound of fleeing birds filled the forest. The shadow decided to wait a
second, to see what would happen next.
"How dare you laugh at me like that" the man roared. "Don't you know what
I can do to you?"
"You and me, both," the shadow thought.
"I can crush you with just a mere thought" the man bellowed. "I could make
it where you suffered until the end of time!" Nothing from Eeyoraus. She
just smiled at him and started giggling again, trying not to laugh, but not
doing a very good job of it. "You dare mock me? I should send this fire
over to engulf you now!! You wouldn't be laughing then!"
"No, she must die by my hands" the shadow screamed to itself. It
recomposed itself, and readied for the kill.
"Then, why *don't* you?" Eeyoraus demanded.
The man seemed confused by this question, not knowing what to say.
"Because, I, um…" he started to say, but the shadow wasn't going to wait
any longer for an answer. It decided the best thing to do was to take out
this wizard person first, then set the sights on Eeyoraus.
It leaped from the branch, sword aiming at the wizard. But, when the point
was only inches from his head, the wizard floated backward. The shadow
landed on its feet, and swung the sharp edge of the sword at the wizard,
but somehow missed. Before it could swing again, it felt strong arms wrap
around its body, and Eeyoraus screeched into the ears of the shadow "NO!!
He is the ONLY one who knows where she is!!" Then she flung her captive
backwards, into the same tree it leapt from. When the shadow leaped to its
feet, the sword came first, then the eyes. Surprisingly, neither of them
had made any type of attempt to retaliate. It dropped the sword, just a
little, and then searched for words to say. "Sorry, I didn't know" came
from the cloak. "Like I tried to say," Eeyoraus stated, "he has my
daughter. If not for that, I would have done the same thing long ago."
"Yeah," the figure said, pretending to side with her. "Well then, I will
join you, so that he doesn't try anything funny."
"Good idea," said the red-haired Eeyoraus. "Tell me, stranger, what is your
name?"
"I prefer to remain anonymous," said the shadow. "Just call me the shadow."
"Hey, the shadow, pass me that. It just doesn't work."
Deciding to gain some trust in the victim, the shadow said "My name…my name
is Aka…"
Cold silver gray eyes followed the amazon greensleeves as she helped with
the last of the prisoners. A sinister laugh escaped the full lips as the
man realized it wouldn't be much longer. Soon, he would have her once
again. Nothing or no one was going to stop him this time!
"Sire," the soldier shouted as he drew near, "King Iphicles is ready to
leave if all the prisoners are secure."
"Great!" Kalas replied as he motioned to his Captain at arms to come
forward. "Darius, you will take the men and go with Iphicles to take the
prisoners to the nearest magistrate for justice. I trust you to handle the
necessary things for me. I will be staying here for awhile longer."
"But, Your Highness, shouldn't I leave a few men behind to stand guard with
you? After all you are King Bartok's only son and the heir to his throne. I
don't think he would want me to leave you alone like this."
"I'll handle my father when the time comes, Darius. Right now, what matters
is getting these prisoners safely behind bars."
"Yes, sire, as you wish," Darius bowed low and then turned to the men who
stood ready and mounted behind him. "You heard the prince, let's move out!"
The soldiers started forward into the heat of the day, closely guarding the
makeshift prison as it rolled along on the crude, hastily shaped wheels.
Kalas watched them go with a deep sigh.
"Did I hear you right? You're staying here for awhile? What on earth for?"
Joxer questioned with disgust in his voice.
"Now, Joxer, don't be so rude," Greenie said as she placed her arm around her prince. "Jealousy doesn't become you."
"Me, jealous? I don't think so! Not of this muscle bound freak!" Joxer
replied with a sneer. Greenie laughed at her Joxer The Mighty and turned
with a smile to Kalas who stood nearby with a frown on his handsome
features. "Oh, don't get all huffy! Can't we call a truce for the time
being? Please, for the sake of all our sanities."
She smiled at her comrades in battle, trying to coax them into a peace of
sorts. "Oh, alright! But remember I do this only because I love you so
much," Joxer ground out and thrust his hand forward, intending to make
peace with the tall prince. Kalas hesitated a moment, then grasped Joxer's
hand in his. "A truce then, my friend. Surely we can get along for the
short time I will be here." Joxer nodded his head in solemn agreement.
"Fine, now that that's settled, let's go find Xena and the others. I want
to let them know we're heading back to the base camp. I'm anxious to know
how my other sister friends are doing," greenie said as she headed to the
site where she had last seen Xena talking with Hercules before he had left.
Moments later they were on their way, a silent peace now made between the
two men who each walked beside greenie as they made their way to the olive
grove. As they entered the cool darkness, greensleeves became aware of the
silence. No birds chirped, no insects whirred through the cool breeze. That
was strange. She had never seen it this quiet before. She was just about to
mention it when suddenly their path was blocked by several riders on
horseback.
With a sickening lurch in her midsection, greensleeves recognized the dark
uniforms and curved swords that suddenly surrounded them. With a shrill
scream of fear, she fought the hands that reached for her. Her warstaff was
jerked from her numb fingers and tossed aside. Strong hands grasped her
waist and lifted her onto the jeweled saddle of the white stallion. She
twisted in the man's embrace and bravely fought his hold. With a feral
snarl he held her hands down. "No, you won't get away from me this time,"
the familiar voice whispered in her ear. With trepidation, yet knowing who
it was who held her, greenie turned her head and looked into the silver
gray eyes. No, it couldn't be. He had found her. Rasheen. The name brought
the same cold shivers down her spine as it always had. And now she was once
again under his power.
"Greenie!" Joxer shouted and tried to move forward. Several sharply curved
swords stopped him. Desperately, he turned to Kalas. "If you ever needed to
use your powers now would be the time, buster!" Kalas quickly agreed and
moved his hand. The soft golden glow of light appeared in his palm.
"Oh, no, that is not going to work this time, godly one," Rasheen gruffly
remarked. "I saw what you did earlier to the warriors on the battlefield.
Believe me, after what happened with this one," and he indicated
greensleeves, "I took precautions against anyone with special powers." He
motioned behind him and a robed figure moved forward. The hat and robe the
bearded man wore seemed to be alive as it moved with him, swirling with an
array of vivid colors. He spread out his hands and a sparkling flow of
energy grew between them. Suddenly, he tossed the energy at Kalas. The
power of the energy field knocked Kalas backwards, extinguishing his power
ball as it did so. Groggily, Kalas got up from the ground and looked at his
hand in amazement. Joxer groaned as Rasheen and his men turned in the
opposite direction, greensleeves still held in their possession. With sad
brown eyes, he watched them take her away.
"Okay, big guy, we've got to figure out a way to get her back. Looks like
your powers are useless," Joxer observed as he stared at the vanishing
cloud of dust that Rasheen's horses had left behind in the pathway. "So,
you got any bright ideas?"
As Alec left Lyrical and Aphrodite, tumultuous emotions were running
through him. He had just withheld information from one of the twelve high
Olympians. Although it was an unsettling thought, he had felt compelled to
do so. "She tried so hard," he whispered, then continued, "I never would
have believed it. . . ." His thoughts picked up where his voice left off,
'. . . Not if I hadn't seen it for myself.'
The flighty Goddess of Love had put on a stellar performance of confidence
except for the truth which had shown in her captivating but worried eyes.
'Was that more for my benefit or her own?' he wondered. She was afraid for
Lyrical, much as she might pretend otherwise. And while Aphrodite seemed to
be unaware of the bond between his two gravely ill patients, he had to
wonder about that as well.
Perhaps she didn't want to know. Perhaps she had too much troubling her
already without worrying if RainCloud and Hercules would be successful in
their mission and Lyrical would wake up to find her sister-friend gone. The
prospect of the Greeks' failure probably weighed too heavily on the goddess
to take on any other concerns.
These thoughts brought the image of RainCloud's beautiful face so clearly
into his mind, it was as though she were standing beside him. Alec had
sensed that he wasn't the only one who knew more than then he. . . or she.
. . was willing to share. The Antianosan healer was certain that Hercules
would not have been sent to accompany his Amazon counterpart unless their
quest were a dangerous one. He had only known RainCloud a short while, yet
the fear that gripped his heart was no less than if they had spent all
their days together. The love goddess was not the only one who had a stake
in the heroes' return.
In a tension instigated reflex, Alec raised his clasped hands trying to
blow some warmth into them as he crossed the basecamp with long, swift
strides. But the hot blood of anger began to warm him as he spotted the
lean-to that sheltered the dark Amazon and her friends. This Aquillea woman
lay near death and not only were the gods doing nothing to help her, as
with his other patient, the gods were in fact responsible for her
condition.
This was not a first time occurrence for the handsome healer, far from it
in fact. As a result, Alec held the gods in greater disdain than even the
great Hercules himself. Under his breath he cursed in exasperation, "For
the love of Zeus!" He had no patience for those who would cause the
suffering of others, and harming mortals seemed to be a sport for far too
many of the Olympians.
Alec pulled up several yards before the shelter, his conscience slightly
disquieted as he reflected on his pretty misrepresentation. "Now that is a
strange case indeed," he'd said to Aphrodite. But how could he tell the
already troubled goddess that inside the lean-to before him he had, for the
first time in his life, looked upon the face of Death?
The Antianosan healer shook his head as he paused a moment outside the
basecamp lean-to and remembered. He had yet to begin ministering to the new
patient that young Lisa had led him to. In fact, Alec had never even
finished his examination.
The chalky brunette's pulse and breathing had been rapid and shallow, but
regular at least. That was something. For winter traveling, Aquillea wore a
long sleeved tunic and leggings in addition to the typical leather vest and
short skirt of an Amazon. Thus, although the injured woman had supposedly
taken a severe beating, the only immediately observable injuries were a
gash in her hand, reportedly self-inflicted and a couple of contusions on
her face. Shait had told Alec about the probable fractured ribs and the
healer unlaced the woman's vest to begin palpating the injured area.
It took only a moment for the healer from Antianos to confirm the damage,
and that was fortunate. A moment was all he had. Suddenly Aquillea went
into almost violent spasms and the only thing more shattering than the
woman's tortured writhing was the dramatically abrupt way it had ended.
There was a sense of motion inside the lean-to, some friends stepping
forward in desperate anguish, others stepping back.
Alec barely made out a, "No. God's no," as he reached for Aquillea's wrist,
her arm then dangling over the edge of the cot. The healer frowned, shaking
his head almost imperceptibly, then virtually let the arm fall as he moved
swiftly to her neck. He leaned over to listen to her breathing then slowly
stood, again nodding his head, this time in the affirmative. "She's still
fighting," he proclaimed, although it was with a great deal more assurance
than he actually felt.
It was only then that Alec realized that that a new member had joined the
group. The voice he had heard had come from the entrance to the lean-to
where a shortish blond man stood with grief-stricken blue eyes. The healer
thought it was the one called Michael at first, the one who had been
standing, and in fact, remained standing slightly behind and to the right.
"Iolaus," one of the women said, but it was Michael who now held Alec's
attention. The novice demigod was looking in exactly the opposite
direction, toward the unoccupied back section of the shelter.
Michael continued to fix his gaze on empty air, a look of anger and
mistrust etched vividly across his face. He raised his hands as if to
unleash some power of the Celtic divine, but nothing happened. His new
situation would clearly take some getting used to. Spotting one of the
Amazon's warstaffs abandoned on the ground, Michael dove for the weapon and
began advancing on his own shadow. In a tone that matched his aggressive
posture he challenged, "State your business, stranger."
Everyone stared at the demigod, certain that his partial fall from grace
must have pushed him beyond the edge of sanity, everyone save for Shait.
Having divine blood meant that she and Michael could see certain things
that the assembled mortals could not. Unlike the Celt, however, Shait could
put a name, albeit not a Greek one, to the vision.
"Death," Shait announced matter of factly, but traces of sadness and fear
tinged her voice.
Although Iolaus was no more capable than the rest of seeing the god, he did
not for a moment doubt that death was near. He quickly shouldered past
Autolycus, unsheathing his sword as he moved. Taking a protective stance in
front of his love he declared, "You can't have her!. . . You'll have to
come through me to take her."
After a few moments of painfully tense silence Iolaus spoke again. "Show
yourself Hades!" he demanded.
"Hades?!" came the disembodied exclamation, exasperated but not angry. It
continued to speak as a form materialized in a flash of shimmering light.
"If you ask me, the entire Greek educational system has gone to Hades!"
Then the god sighed, he'd been through this so many times before. He
adopted a moderately condescending, very fatherly tone as he explained,
"Hades, my dear boy, is Lord of the Underworld. . . "
Alec moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with Iolaus, equally prepared to
safeguard his defenseless patient.
". . . I am the God of Death. I am. . . "
"Thanatos!" pronounced the dedicated healer with unconcealed scorn.
"Ares, like what brings you here?" asked Aphrodite.
"Where is Angel?" demanded Ares.
"How should I know. It like wasn't my day to watch her." declares
Aphrodite, "Besides, I have more important things to worry about. Duh!"
She nods her head toward the cot and Lyrical.
" Great, what's wrong with her ?" Ares asked, " And why isn't that
brother of mine here taking care of her. Or did he lose interest already?"
"As if!" says Aphrodite, "Like if you'll be quite long enough, I'll fill
you in."
Aphrodite told Ares about Strife and the poison. Then informed him that
RainCloud and Hercules were off getting the final ingredient for the
antidote and then relayed Zeus's story about its location.
"So you see Bro, Hercules is out trying to save her life." finished
Aphrodite.
While this exchange was going on, Alec tried to quietly slip out of the
lean-to intending to check on Aquillea. He had little desire to be around
Ares, especially when he was not in a good mood. As he was going through
the doorway, Aphrodite called out. "Come back later and finish telling me
about Lyri's friend."
"I will," said Alec starting his trek to the other end of camp.
"Getting back to this poison thing," said Ares. " In order to think up
something this elaborate you would need to have a cunning mind, and we both
know Strife doesn't have one. For that matter, does he even possess a
brain?"
"Well duh, bro, it's like obvious he has someone telling him what to do,"
she said, " The big question is who ?"
"I don't know but I intend to find out." said Ares, " This is just great,
now I have something else to solve along with finding Angel. Didn't you
mention one of Lyrical's friends is sick? Which one?"
"I think it's Atilla no, Aqinta, or darn you know I don't do names, Ares!"
declared Aphrodite. " But I would know it if I heard it again. I think."
"You aren't talking about Aquillea, are you?" asked Ares.
"That's the name, Aquillea!" said Aphrodite. "That's where Alec was heading
when he escaped being in the same room with you."
"I don't have time to discuss this any more, I have to go and find Angel."
said Ares, "If you come up with any possibilities of who is helping
Strife call me"
In a burst of light he was gone. Aphrodite went back to her chair and sat
down. Reaching out, she took Lyrical's hand and held it tightly.
"Don't even think about leaving me, little sister. I don't think I could
stand it if your weren't here." she said softly, " Come on Hercules, hurry.
Please hurry."
Posted on Jul 28 1999, 10:36 PM
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