Castlewarming Chapters 671-680
by Hercules Forum Collective
Chapter 671
by Aquillea
The good-byes had been difficult for the couple, the few that were spoken
and the many more that were left unsaid.
Iolaus had watched uneasily as an emotionally spent Aquillea wrapped her
arms around the King of Thieves and rested her forehead against his chest
fighting back tears. Disturbingly, the mischievous yet good hearted rogue
seemed to have lost his ever-present vitality, worrying the Golden Hunter
all the more. Nonetheless, he felt the need to back discretely away several
paces to let the visibly distressed pair have a moment in private.
It had irked Iolaus immeasurably when Quilla's old girlfriend had
approached the couple so he followed, only a few steps behind. As the Greek
hero got within earshot of the group he sensed that the blonde had given
the other two a certain level of reassurance. ". . . And if that prophecy
is true," he heard Bei saying enthusiastically, "Maddie may be serving you
Bacchus' head on a silver platter when you get back."
"I'd rather have his liver, with a nice Chianti." Aquillea said dryly. The
comment was a tad unsettling, being so out of character for the 'peaceable'
Amazon.
Soon after, a pair of dark silhouettes on horseback disappeared into the
woods. Autolycus and Bei had already wandered back into the lean-to feeling
drained and a little lost, but from behind a tree, the Egyptian goddess
smiled in reflective satisfaction. Shait's whispered words, "Be well,"
became one with the still night air.
As the base camp receded behind them and the sound of the still unseen
river became more distinct, Aquillea couldn't shake the feeling that Iolaus
was acting peculiarly. He'd appeared edgy to her, almost nervous really,
and it seemed he'd gone out of his way to be sure they talked to no one
before their departure.
'I suppose he might have had an opportunity to touch base with Hercules
while I was. . . while I was. . . otherwise occupied,' she though with deep
shudder. Her mind went completely blank as she struggled to steer clear of
the daemon's grip and back to her original train of thought. She was trying
to remember what that was when the sound of Iolaus' voice broke through and
drew her out of herself.
"I'm sorry. . . Um, what did you say?" Aquillea turned to ask.
"Think maybe you could fill me in on the whole 'Jason angle' now?"
She should have expected the question of course but it drew her very
essence to a temporary halt. Then she blew at her bangs and let out half a
chuckle. Her smile was mirthless, but it was a smile just the same. Only
now, at this particular moment in time, could recounting the details of
Hera's plot against Iolaus feel remotely like a pleasant diversion. Still,
she found she had to take a deep breath to steady herself before she began.
"Well, it all started when Maddie and Autolycus showed up at Calee's. . . .
"
Iolaus and Aquillea had been wending their way northward along the river
for an unknown period of time when, at last, she reached the story's end.
They continued a short distance in silence, then the Golden Hunter spoke.
"Well, that explains alot," he mumbled mostly to himself. "Hercules knew
about this?"
Aquillea thought she could hear a trace of irritation in Iolaus' voice. "I
don't think he found out until the rest of us did. . . "
The blonde hero interrupted, "At the party?"
"Yeeeeah. . . at the party. . . The only ones who, for sure, knew about it
before then were Lyrical and Jason," the dark Amazon revealed. Then she
cocked her head adding, "But Autolycus musta known something. . . I mean
there's no way the King of Thieves would. . . "
"Just how, exactly, did they find out about it?" Iolaus cut his love off
yet again. "And what was Jason doing with the Chronos Stone anyway? . . .
And why in the name of Zeus would he give it to . . . "
"Oh, gimme a break, will ya," the exasperated Amazon broke in. "How should I know? . . People may call me Quills. . . that doesn't make me a member
of the Associated Scribes!"
"Yeah, and you're certainly no match for Gabrielle," he shot back causing
Aquillea to rein Mischief to a halt. Iolaus winced, quickly adding, ". . .
as a bard," but wondering if the addendum might have only made matters
worse.
For her part, Aquillea was too stunned to be angry. Having Iolaus snapping
at her was a far cry from the kid-gloves treatment she had been expecting,
but bizarrely, it was somehow preferable. Without a doubt, however, she
knew she couldn't allow the atmosphere to become too emotionally charged.
The pair began speaking simultaneously.
"Quilla, I'm sorry."
"It's all right. I knew what ya meant. And I'm hardly in any position to
argue the point." The dark Amazon clucked her mount forward, then added
over her shoulder, "It's not like I've had the benefit of your. . . vast
experience."
For nearly a mile, the clip-clop, clip-clop of horses hooves and the gentle
lullaby of the flowing river were the only sounds that broke the tense
silence. Iolaus almost wished that Aquillea had gotten angry with him. Even
yelling would be better than leaving her alone to the thoughts and images
that might haunt her.
The handsome hero wanted desperately to distract his love with a story, but
he was at a loss to find an appropriate one. Tales of the past could
trigger hurtful memories. Any adventure that involved one of her sisters
might prompt unwanted questions, maybe even a desire to return to Antianos.
So another half mile passed in nearly unbearable quiet.
The dark Amazon's superior horsemanship now had her several lengths ahead
of him giving the Golden Hunter an opportunity to pound his head in
self-disgust. "You're an idiot."
Aquillea's laughter rang out like music, unexpectedly hopeful. "Uh huh,"
she spit out before pausing to giggle again. "So. . . um. . . what's
'serendipitous'?"
"Well. . . Serendipitous?. . . Right. . See. . Serendipitous. . . is
thiiss. . . taaverrn owner. . . I stumbled across. . my last time in
Thrace. He made a rabbit stew like you would not believe."
"I see," Aquillea replied, completely unable to suppress a wide grin.
"Well, for *you*, I guess that would be serendipitous. . . For me too
come to think of it. I don't suppose you have any leftovers on you?"
The tentative relief on the blonde hero's face was replaced by puzzlement.
"Leftovers?"
The brunette's brow's furled a bit although her smile never dimmed. "Uh. .
. food. You know, like provisions that were 'left over'. . . Now, I
realize. . . " She paused to chuckle again before finishing, "with you. . .
that's. . . like, really wishful thinking on my part. But I'm sure you're
familiar with the concept."
"Provisions?" Iolaus shook his head, squinting at his beloved as if she
were speaking a foreign language. "Provisions from what?" Then his head
stopped and then it tilted slightly as he began to understand. " Whoa. . .
Wait a minute! When's the last time you ate?"
"That midday meal."
"On the way to Antianos?" the Golden Hunter gasped. "You mean that half a
turnip?. . . "
"And some bread."
"Yeah, right," Iolaus said dismissively as he rolled his eyes then rubbed
his temples. "So, in other words you haven't really eaten in two days. For
the love of Aphrodite, Quilla! Why didn't. . . you. . . "
Even in the deep shadows of moonlight, the Greek hero saw the Amazon's jaw
drop and her eyes go cold and narrow. She was waiting. . . just waiting. .
.
'Why didn't she say something in base camp?' He had to be kidding!
"Stop, Joxer, please!" Greenie exclaimed, struggling to loosen Joxer's
almost desperate hold on her as he pushed his way through the crowded room.
"I refuse to go another step until you tell me exactly what we are running
from." Suddenly, he stopped and turned to face her.
"My brother Jett is a professional hired assassin," he solemnly stated, his
voice dropping to an agonized whisper. "He kills people for a living,
greenie. I don't think you can get any lower than that."
"I'm sorry, I had no idea," Greenie replied, amazed that two brothers who
were so alike in appearance could be so different in nature.
"Yeah, and the really tragic thing is he has to be here for that reason.
Someone has paid him to end a life. I know the look he gets when he's fresh
on the scent of another kill. I've seen it too many times."
"By the Gods! We have to stop him."
"That's exactly what I plan to do. But first I have to find out who his
target is. I wonder who he might have talked to since he's been here. Maybe
he let something slip."
"Oh, I know a certain bar proprietress he was talking to earlier," Greenie
said with a sly grin. "Very intimately, I might add."
"Ah, the one and only Calliope. Great! Keep an eye on Jett while I go talk
to her. But remember, keep your distance, please, love. He's dangerous."
"Don't worry. Once bitten, twice shy," Greenie laughed, flushing slightly
as she remembered the nuzzling kisses on the neck Jett had given her
earlier. No, she wouldn't get close enough for him to try something like
that again.
They separated, each moving off in different directions, Joxer to the bar,
greenie in search of Jett. She spotted him near the buffet table, where he
stood talking to a pretty dark haired woman. Well, greenie thought, at
least he wasn't going anywhere too soon since he was so pleasantly
preoccupied. She watched him intently, absently caressing the jade heart
necklace. Greenie gasped out loud as she saw a soft green light slowly
began to surround Jett, blocking her view of everyone else. The necklace
became warm to her touch, the heart of the stone glowing like a green fire
as she clasped it firmly in her hand. Jett slowly faded from sight as the
green light filled her vision.
Suddenly, flashes of images filled her mind. A luxurious castle overflowing
with people, the ladies dressed in glittering gowns, moved through her
mind's eye. A man dressed in royal blue and gold walked into the crowd,
parting the sea of people as they made way for this very important person.
His back was to greenie as he raised his hands for silence, preparing to
speak. In the glow of the golden candlelight the cold silver flash of metal
was like something out of a nightmare as it arched downward, the blade of
the wickedly sharp knife plunging into the silky blue cloth. Jett
nonchalantly retrieved his blade as the man turned around, gasping for
breath. His golden crown fell from his head as he began to crumple to the
floor. Oh my Gods, greenie silently cried to herself as she saw the face of
the man who had just been killed in her vision. No-oo-o, it couldn't be!
The fates couldn't be so cruel to one who had only strived to help the less
fortunate.
It was Iphicles. Jett was going to kill King Iphicles.
Mischief whinnied as if in warning and Iolaus decided that getting Aquillea
angry probably didn't have quite the merit he'd originally thought. He held
up a hand then pointed back to his packs. "I'll see if I have anything,"
was all he said.
The dark Amazon took a deep, calming breath and waited while her hero
scrounged around in a sack. He pulled out a dried up biscuit half, the
likes of which would make hard-tack seem like Wonder Bread, and offered it
to her somewhat shamefaced. In the soft luminescence Aquillea could almost
see the slight, young thief, Hermes' favorite, with the dirty face and the
heart as golden as his tangled locks.
She smiled at him as she took the piece of bread. Gods, he was so adorable
sometimes.
Iolaus painted on a reciprocal smile thinking, 'She's probably gonna pass
out from hunger any moment if she can get that much enjoyment out of the
rock I just handed her.'
"The first thing we're doing when we arrive in Delios is getting some food
into you!"
It was a little more information than the physically and emotionally taxed
Amazon could process quickly. "First thing? . . . Delios?"
"Delios is a nice little town on the river. We gotta be almost there by
now. . . Anyway, there's a terrific inn that. . . um. . . I've heard of.
Sooo, first we're gonna get you a real dinner, then we're gonna get you a
real bed."
Aquillea thought about it for a moment then responded, "Dinner definitely
sounds good. I don't really see us doing the whole stalk and sizzle thing
tonight. But don't you still have that tent? If you wanna keep pushing
towards Corinth. . . "
"You're sleeping in a bed tonight," Iolaus interrupted definitively then
backpedaled a notch. "Please don't argue with me about this." Then he urged
his mount forward as if, in so doing, he could escape any objection the
dark Amazon might have.
Aquillea fell into place alongside the handsome Greek and something in his
voice had her studying him silently, his shadowy figure framed by the
moonlit sky. He no longer seemed youthful or even golden. With his
shoulders tensed and his head slightly bowed, he was clearly tired and
grim. . . and afraid?
For the first time since Aquillea had awakened from the nightmare, it
struck her how hard the ordeal must have been for Iolaus as well. She
thought back on the story she'd just found so unpleasant to tell. Once
again the Amazon recalled those horrible, desperate hours spent not knowing
if she would lose the man she loved. Still, she had not been forced to sit
by and watch helplessly while, in agony, he slowly slipped away.
Iolaus never did do 'helpless' very well.
Aquillea could feel the tears welling up inside her and had to look away in
order to push the dangerous flood waters back. It occurred to the dark
Amazon that perhaps there had been good reason not to wait for morning to
make this trip. Being a man of action, maybe Iolaus felt that the best way
to put what happened in base camp behind them was to, quite literally, put
it behind them. Maybe he needed this, or at least felt that he did.
It was a small enough gift, not to make any more fuss about it, given
everything he meant to her. He meant everything to her. Her was her life.
Aquillea turned back to Iolaus and quietly offered, "It's a nice night for
a ride after all."
There was silence again, a little less worrisome, a little more tolerable.
Still, both Iolaus and Aquillea understood that Darkness thrived in empty
places, and each yearned to protect the other by filling the void with
conversation. The trouble was, neither one knew what to say.
'Gods, just say anything,' Iolaus scolded himself. He opened his mouth to
speak, with no idea of what was going to come out. What he heard was
Aquillea's voice.
"So, what do they serve at this inn, anyway?"
A bit startled, the Golden Hunter somehow made just closing his mouth a
comical production. But the next moment it was open again complete with
twinkling eyes and gesturing hands. "Why? Does it matter? I mean, they
could be dishing up ground hydra tartar. . . and deep-fat fried sand shark.
. . and you knoooww you'd be lining up for thirds!"
"Fried sand shark?" Aquillea muttered quietly with casual disregard.
"Please?!" Then her tone changed completely, becoming mockingly emphatic.
"Sand shark is broiled. . . 'kay, sometimes poached. . . but never, never fried! . . Honestly. . . you can sure tell Hercules does the
cooking."
"You're right, of course," the mischief maker warbled melodramatically.
"How foolish of me." Then adopting a more rough-and-tumble manner Iolaus
continued, "Not to mention, those suckers are damn near impossible to
catch. . . without. . . the right. . . bait."
Iolaus had his arms folded and was eyeing the dark Amazon up and down for
'dramatic' effect. He nearly toppled over when the sound of distant
screaming caused his horse to jostle about nervously.
"Sand sharks are out of season... right?" Aquillea asked. "Just checking."
Moving in unison, the pair of heroes prodded their steeds to a gallop and
raced forward to confront the unknown danger that lay ahead.
"Greenie, you won't believe what I found out," Joxer said as he hurried
towards her. He stopped short when he saw the glazed look in her jade green
eyes.
"What's wrong?" he questioned, a worried frown creasing his brow. He took
her by the shoulders and shook her slightly. She shivered as the warmth of
the necklace left her, her eyes focusing on the man who stood in front of
her.
"Joxer, I-Iphicles. It's Iphicles," Greensleeves softly whispered, trying
to shake the shock of what she'd seen.
Joxer looked at her with surprise in his dark brown eyes. "That's right.
Calliope said Jett had been asking about Iphicles. I knew he had to be his
next assignment. But how did you know?"
"I saw it. I saw Jett kill King Iphicles," she groaned as her voice
trembled with the raw emotions she had just experienced.
"You saw it? But, greenie, how could you have seen something that hasn't
happened yet?"
"I can't explain it, Joxer, not even to myself. It had something to do with
the necklace. All I know is we have to stop your psychopathic brother.
Starting right now!" She turned towards where she had last seen Jett. To
her horror, he wasn't there. With a small shriek, she broke away from Joxer
and began a mad search for Jett among the crowd. He was nowhere to be
found.
"Gods above, Joxer, he's gone! He must have left for Corinth while you and
I were talking."
"Right! Well, we will just have to follow him, that's all. Don't worry,
love. We won't let him complete the job he was hired to do. Let's get our
things together and we'll leave right now."
"Okay, I need to get my pack from the baths. Stock up on some supplies and
meet me at the stables."
"Will do. See you there, greenie." He moved off into the crowd as
greensleeves walked towards the door that led to the connecting corridor.
Once back at the baths, she hurriedly pack her things. Placing her black
leather gauntlets on her forearms, she tossed the pack across her shoulder
and exited quickly. She moved off in a slow, loping run down the long
corridor, her Amazon warrior instincts taking over. She was out of the Inn
and into the cool night breeze before she had time to think about what she
was doing. As she made her way to the stables, she suddenly remembered she
had no weapon. Rasheen had taken her warstaff earlier that night and she
hadn't seen it since.
With a grateful sigh, she spotted some vendors booths off to the right of
the village wall. One was stocked with weapons of all sorts. She moved
towards it, checking to see if her money pouch was in her pack as she went.
Good, it was still there. She desperately needed a weapon right now.
The vendor, a short, stocky little man with greedy dark eyes, smiled as she
neared his booth. "Ah, yes, little lady. What can I do for you on this
lovely night?"
"I need a weapon? Do you have warstaffs?"
"Do I have warstaffs?" he chuckled and led her down to the end of the
booth. "I have any kind of warstaff you might desire." He waved his hand
over an array of staffs in every shape, form and fashion. Some were adorned
with brightly colored feathers and decorations. One even had a sharp blade
on its end.
"I just need something simple, nothing fancy," she said as she picked up
one of the staffs and balanced its weight in her palms.
"Wait, I have just the one for you. What do you think about this beauty?"
He picked up a staff and held it out to greenie. She couldn't help but
admire the beauty and functionality of this weapon. It was made of ebony
black wood, smooth to the touch, yet, when she moved her hands along it it
seemed to give slightly to fit the indentions of her small palms perfectly.
Balancing the staff in her hands, she stepped back from the vendor's booth
and whipped it through the air, loving the swooshing sound it made as it
sliced downwards.
"I'll take it. How much?"
Dinar signs glowed in the vendor's eyes. "Oh, that's a very special staff.
I couldn't take any less than 20 dinars for it."
"You must be joking. I'll give you 12, no more."
"You drive a hard bargain, Amazon. But it is getting late and I must close
soon. Okay, done. 12 dinars it is then."
Greensleeves paid the vendor and once again started towards the stables.
She felt much better with the weight of the warstaff in her hand. An
unarmed Amazon was like a God without power.
Now, if only she and Joxer could catch up with Jett, she thought, and
change his mind, her prayers to the Gods would be answered. She shivered
again as she thought of what Jett was capable of. And she and Joxer were
going to try and go against him? What were they thinking?
Shaking off her strange feeling of foreboding, she walked into the stable,
where Kalianna greeted her with soft whicker. Walking over to her faithful
horse, she rubbed the soft, black velvet nose and leaned her forehead
against the silky smooth, yet finely muscled neck. Releasing a soft sigh,
she gave way to the fears that had haunted her since her vision. Gods
above, if we ever needed you, we need you now. No godly blaze of light
answered her prayer. It would seem she and Joxer were all alone on this
one. For better or worse, no matter what the outcome, the two of them would
fight this battle to its bitter end.
While hunting in the nearby woods an Amazon named Rhyanna heard crying
nearby. Thinking it was one of the children, she ran over to see a child
sitting near some rocks. She looked around and saw nobody. Rhyanna walked
up to the child and told the child not to be scared and that she would not
hurt her.
"What is your name?" Rhyanna said with a smile
"KoriAnna." replies with a tearful tone in her voice
"Where is your mother? Where is your home? I will take you there, your
mother must be worried."
"I don't know who my mommy is or where I live."
"Come with me, I won't bite." Rhyanna says holding out her hand hoping that
the child would take it, KoriAnna thinks for a moment, smiles, and leaves
with Rhyanna.
The Amazon tribe Rhyanna was part of was the Malateans. The Malateans broke
off from another tribe many years ago. Rhyanna brought the child to Queen
Thalia who asked the child a few questions.
"KoriAnna, how old are you?"
"seven."
"Do you remember how you got to the forest?"
"No . . . I woke up this morning and I was in the forest." Kori says.
Thalia felt sorry for the child who sat in a chair eating a piece of bread
and drinking some water.
Later that day after Thalia thought long and hard about what to do she
called for Rhyanna who she knew wanted children but could never have any.
Rhyanna entered the Queen's hut and greeted her.
"You called my queen?"
"Will you be willing to take Kori in as your own daughter until we find out
where she came from?"
"I will be glad to do that" Rhyanna says. "I will take good care of her"
Rhyanna continued.
15 years later . . .
KoriAnna who is now all grown up, she is about 5'5" with shoulder length
reddish/brown hair and one of the tribe's best warriors. For the past few
years she has had dreams and in these dreams she always sees the same two
people, a man and a woman and sometimes a third person comes into the
picture but she can never see who it is, usually when the person comes into
the picture she wakes up.
One day while she was helping her mother with some chores around the hut...
"I had another dream, last night the third person, the one I can never see,
entered the dream again, that's when I wake up. Could these people be the
key to my past?", Kori says.
"Maybe" Rhyanna replied with a smile
"I want to find my past and find these people"
."You mean you want to leave the tribe" Rhyanna says nearly dropped the
vegetables
"No, I mean, I don't want to leave the tribe and never return. What I mean
is I want to search for my past. What if my parents have been trying to
find me all these years? I know Thalia tried hard to find out information."
"I worry that you will find something and won't like the results."
"I want to know who the other person is in the dream . . . and why was I
left in the forest."
"All right. You can go but wait till morning, I can pack you something for
the rode." Kori hugs her mother and continues with her chores.
The next morning Rhyanna had some things packed for Kori to take on the
road. She told Kori to be careful and to write every few weeks. Kori took
her sword, a dagger, her archer's bow and some arrows, she told her mother
goodbye and headed off in search of answers to the many questions she has.
Nearby someone is watching Kori and her mother. The figure moves up closer
to hear what they are saying careful not to be noticed.
"Be careful my child."
"I will. If I find anything that may help me in my search. I will tell
you."
"I know you will."
The figure quietly leaves and walks away wondering what she was talking
about, then it hit the mysterious stranger.
"Oh no..I can't allow her to gain her memory back, that was not part of the
plan." The figure thought as they walk away.
"Well, it's a shame .... it's a terrible thing," Ioannes thought to himself
as he sat near the horses, Archon and Zesza. He and Shamba had ridden into
the Amazon's camp north of Antianos with Kendaa that afternoon. It was now
past sunset. Kendaa had found few actual battle wounds from the fight for
Antianos, but some Amazons were seriously ill.
Raincloud had come over to the two Greek yogis and told them in terse,
short sentences that Lyrical and Xena were poisoned. She and Alec had not
found a remedy that either one of them would respond to. She obviously
didn't like telling them this and was upset and concerned about the two
women. Of course this was perfectly understandable, she was a friend of
Lyrical's. And healers don't like losing patients, whoever they are.
The Amazon healer had returned immediately to the lean-to where her
patients were. Shamba turned to him and said something about with all the
gods associated with this group why couldn't one of them help. She had
looked at the ground then and was silent for a while.
One seriously ill Amazon had recovered. Aquillea, Iolaus' dark Amazon,
stopped short of Hades' waiting grasp on the other side. She recovered,
according to Raincloud, by the combined efforts of several healers.
Whatever had been wrong with her, Iolaus and she had ridden out of camp on
the way to Corinth. This seemed like a pretty fast recovery even for an
Amazon.
Shamba had a chance to speak to Aquillea before she and Iolaus rode away to
Corinth. Iolaus and Ioannes had stood and watched the two women talk. It
was obvious to Ioannes that Iolaus adored Aquillea and was more than ready
to get her away from the Amazons and the camp. He wanted to be on the road
as quickly as possible.
"Are you and Shamba going to Corinth soon?" Iolaus suddenly had asked of
Ioannes.
"I suppose we could have left this afternoon and been there in a couple of
days," Ioannes replied. "But with this situation, I can't see us leaving
until we know how ... Xena and Lyrical will be. I'm sure Shamba simply
won't go until she knows what happens here."
"Iolaus, you and Aquillea, are welcome in my house in Corinth anytime."
Ioannes offered the Golden Hunter as the two men clasped hands in a gesture
of farewell. "If there is anything I can do for you, or Hercules, you have
only to ask."
"Yes," Shamba added with a smile. "you are welcome in whatever house we are
in."
Iolaus smiled and thanked them. Aquillea and Shamba hugged each other. Then
the Golden Hunter and his Dark Amazon were gone, riding down the road.
'Ecstasy! Murlock against our united front ! How cool!' Eeyoraus thought.
She felt a hand on either shoulder. Seth was beside her. Who was behind
her?
Without even looking back she knew and it made her smile. Daddy and Granny
had come to support her. The thought, 'How long have they been here?'
struck her and she blushed and giggled.
Then came eye to eye contact with this despised bastard child of the
darkness. "Do you feel the love Murlock? Does it feel good?"she teased.
The feeling of power she had before Aka showed up came over her again. She
seemed to grow in stature before his eyes and the smile on her lips and
glint in her eye was the first thing that had ever frightened the wizard.
A white light swirled to the other side of the red-haired half goddess. She
knew before the light took shape that it was her own flesh and blood…and
spirit, Amora. The love she felt at that moment nearly burst her heart.
"You!?! Dixie? Why would you betray me? I have been good to you" the wicked
one shouted.
"Good to me? Huh? You took me away from my mother and a loving family and
raised me as a hostage, keeping me in reserve just in case you were never
able to find and kill my mother and that's supposed to be good? I'm glad
you were being nice! I'd hate to see what you do for mean!" his niece
retorted "… BUT you have been my family." she added after a glance from her
long lost beloved mother.
"Hey, Mr. Wizard. Over here." came a voice from behind Eeyoraus. "I think
you need a hug." It was Aphrodite's lilting voice.
"I'll hug him." Seth and Cupid chimed in together.
Murlock could feel his power slipping away. He tried to avoid Eeyoraus'
stare but could not. Then he made that fatal mistake of looking into her
eyes once again. What he saw there was not evil but it was much too strong
for him to fight it. He started to shiver uncontrollably. This was what he
had wanted to take from her, not love's gentleness but it's power and now
she would use it to end him.
Without a word, the Amazon half-goddess stepped forward and concentrated
all the power of herself and her loved ones into one steady stream. It was
a sensation she had never known, an ability she didn't know she had. She
continued to stare down her opponent.
"You can be saved, Murlock. You can be changed. All you need is someone to
love you. I can do that." she pronounced.
He squirmed as she put a hand on his cheek. "By the power of love, I can
forgive you and love you. Can you handle it or will you wither from it and
die? The choice is yours. Do you choose death or love?"
The servant of greed and hatred feel to his knees crying like a baby. He
had once been a human child. He never remembered feeling love but after all
this time he realized how much he desired it. Not to consume it for the
sake of power but to feel it, to give it, to take it. "I'm sorry. I can't
deny your weapon is more powerful than mine. You have the strength to
forgive me? Amazing. I surrender…love me."
