The Campaign: Part Fourteen
From the Annals of Bastet

Mace sat in the barracks tending his sword and armor. It was late. Most of the men were still out in the city, carousing after the triumphant entrance of the Corinthian Contingent back into the city. He didn't feel much like celebrating although the idea of getting completely drunk appealed to him more and more as the night went on. He was worried. Everyone that he knew and cared about had been in the seiged city that they had left. Xastet, Hercules and Ares were all unaccounted for and no one but he knew of the involvement of the War God and the Sorceress. General Dorinides had told King Iphicles of his brother's disappearance and the King seemed to respond as if he thought Hercules could sort this out for himself. This troubled Mace all the more but he realized that Iphicles didn't know the whole story. The warrior was not sure he should tell the king anything. Mace ran the whetting stone along his sword's edge, feeling his jaw tense as he thought about his lover.

"Perhaps it is my destiny to be alone," he said out loud, examining the blade again in the candlelight.

"Not so, my love," said a woman's voice.

Mace turned to see a black-haired woman of mature years standing at the foot of his cot. He put down the stone and stood up. "Xas?" he asked quietly.

The woman walked over and put her hands on his cheeks. "I have had to take another form, my love," she said, kissing him softly. "Ares has lost his reason. He has killed Hercules in order to get the Book of Night. Now he's after me. We must run. Come with me, please!"

Mace brushed away the hair from her face. He saw the soul of his love shining through the dark eyes. "Of course I'll come with you. I'm stunned at what you tell me about Ares, though," he replied. She turned her eyes away quickly. Mace assumed that she had been deeply hurt by the betrayal.

Quickly the warrior gathered up a few things from his space in the barracks and put them in a satchel. Xastet watched, hurrying him with her words. Finally, he came over to her, slinging the sword hung on a heavy belt, over his shoulder along with the pack of his belongings. "I'm ready. Where are we going?"

"We must go somewhere where he cannot find us," she replied. "It will be difficult but I have found help." She took his hand and in an instant the two had disappeared as she conjured them into another dimension.

Ares vanished an instant after he took Hercules and the two remaining Amazons back to the Nation. He had dumped the three people unceremoniously in the courtyard in front of the mess hall as Amazon warriors came running from all directions to assist them. The God of War nodded once to Lessa as she dropped the staff she was holding to dash across the yard and help her sisters and her friend.

The War God willed himself into the celestial expanses between planes of existence, stretching out his senses to find what he was looking for. His strong desire was to hunt down the sorceress who has stolen her injured and weary sister but he knew that his first job was to locate Fayee. He needed to insure that the Book of Night was in safe place or destroyed forever.

The mysterious Amazon would not be easy to track down. Her ability to move through the world of stone made her difficult to trace. Ares hoped that she was thinking of him. Her thoughts would act as a beacon for him but she was also a private woman. Though she appeared open and friendly to her soldier sisters, there was much that they didn't know about her. Even for Ares, she was hard to read. The War God had the ability to peek into the thoughts of his devotees but he rarely did. He had found long ago that the private world of human's thoughts could be as dark as his own. The memories of what some of the women had been through were troubling to the immortal even though he did not want to admit it. He opened his senses to the woman's mind and was rewarded with her location at once. She had not gotten far from the Temple which had been located in a deserted valley in Persia. She was making her way now through a small village, shrouded in a ratty cloak that she had bought from a beggar. She shuffled along through the thoroughfare, quickly making her way west. The War God followed her with his senses until she got out of the village and into the desert. Sand dunes spread out before her and she was preparing to merge with the sands. The Amazon flung the cloak off her and stood up looking out over the hot desert. Suddenly, the War God materialized before her with a crackle of light and sound.

Fayee smiled, but stood calmly looking into Ares' eyes.

"How do I know you are who you appear to be?" she asked quietly.

Ares smiled. "Because only I would know what you, Laurissa and Kendaa did to me at the inn outside Thebes after the battle at Lartia." He crossed his arms over this chest and pursed his lips.

Fayee smiled back. "We swore to you, Lord Ares, that we would never reveal that incident to any soul, living or dead."

"And I would appreciate it if you kept your word," he replied. He leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

The Amazon smiled again and shrugged. "God of War it is!"

He held out his hand. "Give me your charge."

The Amazon pulled the scroll from inside her bodice and handed it to him. He took the small scroll from her and held it in his hand. Both looked at it for a moment. Ares looked up at Fayee.

"Many died for this," he said solemnly. "Bastet may have died for it also. Its secrets are too dangerous for this or any plane." The scroll began to burn and in an instant, ashes fell through the War God's fingers onto the sand below.

"Way to go, bro!" giggled a voice. Ares and Fayee turned to see Aphrodite approaching, her diaphanous outfit waving in the breeze.

"Sister mine," Ares said, smiling. "What are you doing in this uncomfortable heat?"

"Oh, you know," the Love Goddess replied, waving her arms expansively, "I like to keep track of my dark brother." She walked over and leaned affectedly on his shoulder. "You seem to be the only one doing anything exciting these days. I mean, what have you done to mommy? She's got her panties all in a wad over something. She's up there on Olympus right now, ranting about how you ruined everything." She smiled up at him. "You're such a brat."

"I try," he replied. "Now, little sister, since you're here, do me a favor."

"Anything! Oh, except wear clothes like that." She motioned to the beggar's cloak on the ground.

Ares laughed under his breath. "No, I would never ask such a sacrifice from you. I want you to take Fayee back to the Amazons and see that the Amazons and Hercules are all right. I have something to do."

"Can do, big bro," Aphrodite replied. She waved her hands and her skimpy pink chiffon turned to an Amazon's war vest and skirt. She had matching bracelets and thigh high boots of the same leather. "I've been meaning to check in with Lyrical! Must make a fashion statement!" she said pulling on the front of the vest so that her breasts were shown to their fullest extent without falling out. "Toodles!"

Fayee looked over at Ares who smiled back, shaking his head at his sister. The two women disappeared in a flash of light, leaving a stream of rose petals in their wake.

Part Fifteen

Mace and Xastet materialized in a vast room with rough hewn walls and a black marble floor. Mace put her arm around the waist of his lover.

"Where are we?" he asked, drawing his sword with his free hand. The cold air in the room made the hair on his neck stand up. The room had an unsettling feeling.

"Not to worry, my love," Xastet answered, putting her hand on the blade. "Sheathe that thing before you hurt yourself." Her words were curt.

Mace looked down at her, frowning, but put his sword away and watched as the sorceress walked toward the center of the large room. She stepped up to the red symbol in the middle of the floor, positioning herself in its center. Suddenly, five points around the edges of the symbol glowed and a pentagram burst into flames around the sorceress. She raised her arms.

"There was darkness before there was light. In the beginning, only the darkness ruled. We call upon that darkness now," Xastet said.

Mace felt a wave of panic come over him. He circled around the flaming symbol. "Xas, what are you doing?" he screamed, watching as she began to chant and sway.

She opened her eyes. They were the eyes of the serpent now. "My dear!" she cried out as Mace backed away, horrified. "We must fight fire with fire! Ares will be here soon and he brings a powerful darkness with him. His sword swallowed up a strong evil and we must arm ourselves with an equal force in order to be ready!" She raised her arms and the flames around her leapt up. The room became an inferno as she chanted out the spells that marshaled the darkness. "Our powers are not yet at their peak! We must …"

Suddenly she screamed as Mace's sword plunged through her. The blade stuck out in front as she looked down at it, amazed. The sorceress turned to the man who had circled around and attacked her from behind. Her eyes were black pits.

"How dare you!" she hissed. "You insignificant bug! We gave you life! We gave you purpose! Before you met her, you were nothing. And you will return to nothing." The flames began to die down now and the room smoldered as the sorceress staggered toward the man.

Mace backed away as she approached him. "We?" he asked in a whisper. "Who are you? You're not Xastet!" He backed up until his back was to the wall and swallowed, feeling himself trembling. He clenched his jaws to keep himself from loosing control. He had acted on instinct so quickly that he had not had time to think.

"Fool," the sorceress said. She grimaced, tugging at the sword. The sharp blade cut her hands, and the hilt now rested against her back. She growled as she struggled impotently with the blade. The sorceress looked up at the warrior. "You want your sweet little lover? She's a dream you had! She doesn't exist! She never existed." She looked away for a moment, as if hearing something. Mace searched for a door but saw none. He looked back at the horror that he was trapped with.

"YOU!" Xastet screamed, now looking as if she was talking to someone else standing next to her. "Do you think you can best US?" Her face took on a mask of angry madness. "Shut up, I tell you!" she cried out as she put the bloody hands to her ears. "Shut up, stupid woman. You never understood. You never understood!" Her face began to age. The black hair turned gray and thinned as the woman became ancient before the warrior's eyes. She looked down at the blade sticking out of her. "The blade of a lover! The power of a scribe! Bested by insignificant mortals," she wailed as her form decayed. She began to laugh hysterically. "Damn all of you to Hell!" she said laughing.

Mace watched as the figure before him lost life. She fell to her knees, aged and infirm now. Finally, the creature breathed its last and fell to the side, laying still. Mace stared at the stranger's face. He stood for what seemed like an eternity, motionless and unable to think, then he slid down the smooth marble to sit slumped over on the floor as despair overtook him.

The God of War returned to the ether to focus on locating his prey. He opened up his senses only to be overcome with a wave of emotion that he could not put a name to. It was wretched, confused, angry. A feeling of betrayal came over him, he felt shame. He focused on these sensations and willed himself to their source, intuiting that they were connected to what he was looking for.

He found himself in a vast room and before him lay the body of Vita skewered through the back by Mace's sword. Ares reconstructed the events from the tragic evidence. He shook his head as he realized the choice that Mace had made.

Ares looked over to see the man slumped over on the floor. Mace had not looked up at the noise of his entrance. The War God knew the sense of anguished indifference that he was feeling.

All souls were gone from Vita's empty shell. Ares felt a brief instant of pity but it was overtaken by his anger at the loss of the little scribe. The comments that Kendaa had made about the funny little woman, and his own relationship with the elegant and witty tabby cat came to his mind. He looked toward the ceiling for a moment with his hands on his hips and sighed, then he walked over to where his friend sat.

Ares kicked Mace gently on the boot. The blond warrior looked up, not bothering to hide his tears.

"I killed her," Mace whispered.

"I know," Ares replied quietly. "I don't know as you had a choice."

Mace looked off for a moment. "Xas once said to me that we always have choices."

Ares shook his head sadly and put out his hand. Mace took it and stood up tiredly. "Is Hercules all right?" he said, straightening out his jerkin.

"He's fine. I left him with the Amazons," Ares replied. He patted Mace on the shoulder. "I'll take you back to my fortress."

Mace nodded once and they disappeared in a flash of lightening.

Epilogue:

Dorinides waved an arm expansively. "The city was an easy victory for troopers such as ours," he said, standing before the king. Iphicles sighed and looked around the throne room. The general was giving his official report before the king and the nobles. As usual, the pompous man was taking personal credit for the laborious struggles of his warriors.

The officers, including Celaus, stood behind him at attention. As commander under Dorinides, the young man should have been at his right but the general had ordered him to stand with the other officers and Celaus was only too happy to blend into the group. The nobles sat in a semi-circle with Iphicles in the middle, on a chair draped in purple. Behind him the fabulous golden fleece sparkled in the morning light.

"And my brother?" Iphicles asked, curtly.

The general seemed to be surprised at the question. "The legendary Hercules was taken prisoner. We found no sign of him in the city. He is the enemy of the forces of darkness that plagued us at every turn. I assumed that he had been taken away," Dorinides replied. "As our job was done, I thought it best to return home to defend my city. Hercules is half god! He can persevere."

Iphicles looked back at the general with mixed feelings. He understood the thinking of this man. So many revered his brother and came to believe that he was undefeatable that men rarely considered coming to the aid of the demigod. It was assumed that he would win and if not, then it was far beyond mortal men to assist him. Iphicles also knew that this thinking was both erroneous and personally disheartening to his brother. Hercules, however, had learned to accept it long ago. The one who had the most trouble with it was Iolaus who paced now at the side of the room, fuming as he heard the general dismiss his friend in the usual manner. Iolaus was about to speak when the throne room doors opened and Hercules strode in. Iolaus beamed and went over to his friend, shaking his hand as Hercules smiled and greeted him.

"You see, my lord!" Dorinides said waving his arms again. "The gods have smiled again on their favored son!"

"Not THE gods!" Hercules replied, sourly. "A god! If it had not been for Ares, I might still be prisoner now." Iolaus frowned, the crowd began to murmur, and Iphicles raised an eyebrow, knowing the relationship between his brother and the ferocious and merciless war god.

Dorinides beamed. "I knew it! My patron god has blessed this campaign under my command!"

Celaus felt his heart jump. He wondered if the War God was listening and if he would be called again to account for the campaign. He swallowed heavily.

Hercules looked over at the self-centered man. "I wouldn't say that too loud if I were you."

Dorinides looked over at the tall warrior. "What ever do you mean, sir?" he said, offended. He puffed up his chest and stepped up to Hercules as if to confront him.

Hercules looked down at the man, who was considerably shorter than he was and began to laugh quietly. "Are you going to challenge me?" Iolaus was giggling softly.

"I am the servant of the War God of the Greeks," Dorinides called out proudly. He looked around at the nobles who were talking amongst themselves now in some confusion. Iphicles was watching, amused.

Hercules looked down at him. "I am … happy for you," he replied, laughing.

"You laugh but you should know better than any that to defy the great and fierce God of War is to seal your fate forever," the general orated, stepping away from Hercules carefully.

Hercules thought for a moment, as the whole room waited. "Whatever," he answered quietly.

Then a flash of light and a crackling sound made everyone in the room jump. Beside Hercules, the great and fierce War God appeared, hands on hips. He looked over at his half brother and nodded once, then he looked at Dorinides with a frown of displeasure.

"Who the Hell do you think you are?" Ares bellowed out.

The general fainted.

The sun was setting in the city of the Amazons. In the main courtyard, an enormous funeral pyre had been erected for the service that would start when the sun was swallowed completely by the earth. The sister soldiers had labored all day at building the memorial which would commemorate the death of the scribe of the Amazons. Hercules had told them the news three days ago when he had been brought there with Laurissa and Baeori, then he had left to go to Corinth. He had promised to be back with Iolaus by the lighting of the pyre tonight. Fayee had also returned in the company of Aphrodite who had stayed to visit with Lyrical. The mood in the city was somber as the Amazons prepared for the funeral rites.

The wind blew, and overhead it looked as if it would rain. The Amazons began to assemble in small groups around the large structure of wood. Many Amazons were noticeably absent as not all of the warrior women had been accepting of the little sorceress. Some had even objected to the funeral on Amazon soil as they protested that the sorceress had not been a true Amazon. Their protests had been considered by the Queen who was torn between the two factions but the members of the Forum were so vocal that the Queen feared there might be civil strife over the matter. She finally agreed to the funeral but stated that it had to be at night and that the sacred dance of the Amazons could not be performed.

Calico looked up now at the pyre. She had been crying off and on all day and knew that she would cry again tonight. She sighed and turned to Lessa who smiled back at her sadly.

"There's no shame in crying," Lessa said, comforting her friend.

"I know, but it gives me a headache and makes my eyes all puffy," Calico responded, half joking. Lessa laughed under her breath and patted her on the shoulder. Tosh chuffed quietly at the Amazon's side.

Baeori and Fayee joined the two. Lady Pegasus nodded to them from across the way as she stood quietly with Shoshana and Lyrical. Lyrical was nervously going over her preparations in her head, considering whether she had made enough food for everyone who might come. She worried that the wine might not be mulled enough by sunset. Finally, she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over to see the Goddess of Love next to her, dressed in the traditional Amazon war garb.

"Come on, babe," Aphrodite said smiling. "Worrying gives you frown lines and bums everyone out! Everything is going be perfect!" Lyrical smiled.

Bona Dea joined them as did the Wolf. Calee was readying the torches in a large brazier that had been set up next to the entrance to the mess hall. She looked up at Tedras who was stoking the fire with her. They both looked up as it began to rain.

"Well, damn," Calee said. "We'll never keep the pyre lit at this rate." She looked down to see the fire in brazier petering out.

Tedras smiled. "If it comes to that, I will give the pyre the dragon's breath. It won't go out after that, you'll see." Calee grinned back. Laurissa and Klio joined them at the brazier. Klio had brought a torch in good flame to add to the brazier. Calee thanked her as they stood now watching the sun set completely over the horizon. Everyone turned toward the entrance to the mess hall.

Kendaa walked out dressed in the traditional war garb of the Amazons. She raised her arms, looking around at the women who made up her family now. "I was wearing this outfit when I met the little woman, so long ago. Her skin was pale, her hair, white. She lived with us, fought by our side in her own way. Her weapons were different. She used the dark arts when she had to but usually she used the pen, setting down our trials and our triumphs, giving a voice to our joy and sorrow. She wrote of victory and of defeat, holding back nothing but making all events honorable. I …" She stopped for a moment, gathering her breath again from a momentary pang of sorrow. "We will miss our little scribe." It began to rain heavily. The torches went out under the force of the water from the heavens.

Calee cursed under her breath as she watched Kendaa go over to the funeral pyre and touch it once. She turned and walked over to the brazier.

Tedras smiled at her sadly. "Do you want me to light the fire?" she asked quietly. "It's only fitting as the dragons were her mentors."

The Dryad Queen thought for a moment. A crack of lightening made the assembly jump. Kendaa looked up at the sky, puzzled at the turn of the weather so quickly. "Perhaps the sky itself is unhappy," she mused as she looked back over at the human-turned-dragon. She began to nod when the air began to whip with a new wind. Overhead, a black shadow shown through the gray clouds and through them came the Corum, the last remaining of the black dragons.

He lit in a space in the courtyard that the Amazons cleared for him. His ruby eyes blazed as he lit.

"Greetings, friends of mine," he said a deep voice. "I have come to deliver a gift by flames from an ancient friend." He looked around. "Allow me to light this pyre." He took a deep breath and aimed at the pyre as a stream of flame shot over the pyre, setting it ablaze. Even the heavy rain could not put out the dragon's fire. As Corum sat back and watched the fire, his eyes were gleaming.

Kendaa nodded her thanks and stood with the others as they gathered around the burning pyre in a circle.

Hygea stepped forward from the circle and spoke. "We have been ordered not to dance to honor our friend," she said, addressing the group, "and we will reluctantly obey the order of our Queen. But no order was given about singing." She turned to Cassopiea who stood next to her.

Cassopiea stepped forward and gathered her thoughts, bowing her head for a moment, as Hygea stepped back into the circle.

She sang:

The rains poured on as the Amazon warriors stood silent now after the haunting song of the Siren. Her voice had brought serenity to their sorrow. They stood shoulder to shoulder, each remembering the odd woman who had come to them six years ago. As they waited silently, the circle was increased quietly as Hercules and Iolaus joined them, still breathing hard from the marathon run to arrive in time. Hercules looked sadly into the fire's light thinking of all the loved ones he had lost.

Iolaus seemed less affected. Hercules had noticed this when he had told his friend of the loss. Iolaus seemed anxious to get to the funeral. Now Hercules put his hand on his friend's shoulder, hoping to comfort him.

"Are you sure you're really dead, furball?" Iolaus asked as he looked at the funeral pyre that was finally losing its flames under the torrent of the rain. He looked over at the dragon who nodded once. Iolaus put his hands on his hips. "Well, isn't that just fine," he added. "She died the way she lived. Never could do anything right."

Hercules slapped him hard on the arm. "What is the matter with you?" he said. He frowned at his friend. The Amazons began to whisper. Kendaa walked up to the two men. Her green eyes were blazing.

"I don't mean to be rude but have you lost your mind?" she asked angrily. Calico was crying again now.

Iolaus looked up at her and then at his friend. Both warriors towered over him. More were coming over to inquire about his comments, so out of place at the solemn event. He smiled at the group now gathered around him. The rains had turned to a drizzle.

"Sorry," he said with a sheepish grin, "it's just that I know that, as usual, she has gotten us all upset over nothing. She's not gone." Hercules looked at him, eyes wide with surprise. The Amazons began to talk and fire questions at him all at once. Iolaus shouldered his way through the group, excusing himself with each shoulder he bumped. Women were demanding an explanation and talking back and forth.

"You see," he said, going over to the funeral pyre, "after the battle outside Thebes was over, I made my way toward Alonia, hoping that I could catch up with Hercules and help him out." He began to pull away the timbers and debris from the funeral pyre. "On the way to Alonia, I had to camp out one night." He was clearing a small passage for himself into the heart of the pyre. "Now, I don't know if any of you know this. Oh, you do, Herc, I told you, but Joxer is a dream warrior. He came to me in a dream and told me what was going to happen, in the dream, of course, not in real life because in real life, he doesn't know diddly." Hercules began to throw timbers that he was leaving behind him farther away and the Amazons, now intrigued and excited were helping with the clearing. "He told me that Bastet, that's Waart who's Furball," He tossed a board over the top of the pyre to get it out of the way, and was surrounded now by the structure that did not appear too stable. "was going to have to fight her sister who was going to go to the dark side."

"Could you cut to the chase here," Hercules said, handing Lessa another timber. "This pyre isn't too safe."

"Herc, work with me," Iolaus replied tersely. He turned back to the smoldering wood. "Ouch, these are hot."

Kendaa threw up her hands in frustration and snorted. Others cursed.

"Oh, as I was saying," Iolaus went on, now lost to view in the tangle of the timbers. "So Joxer, the dream warrior told me that Bastet, the Ancient one, not the furball, would go with her namesake and watch over her because she had to go with her sister to defeat her." There was a pause. Everyone watched the hole in the funeral pyre.

"Iolaus?" Hercules said, starting to follow his friend into the recesses of the pyre.

Iolaus walked out with a small, brown tabby cat in his arms. Soot and rain had made the fur mottled and dirty.

"Hey, furball," Iolaus said, shaking the cat gently. He pulled his vest up and wiped her mouth and nose. "Are you going to wake up or what?" He stroked her head as the crowd closed around him, talking and laughing. "Come on, make your grand entrance."

Suddenly the cat sneezed. "GAG!" she said. "That's it! No more magic for me! I'm through, it's over. History!" She sneezed again. "What I have seen, believe me you don't want to know."

She looked up at Iolaus. He smiled. "I saved you, furball. You owe me your life."

The cat looked up at the faces around her. Everyone was beaming and reaching out to greet the scribe. She looked over at Hercules. "Can I go back onto the funeral pyre, please. Just light me up."

Finis