Chapter Thirteen: Crimson Green

The sun had crested the horizon hours ago and was now climbing high above the trees as Caelon's column of bandits moved steadily along the trail. Caelon himself was seated astride his warhorse, riding at the head of the column and doing his best to keep the animal under control. There was a nervous energy in the air, and the huge stallion could sense it. It snorted loudly as they rode, tossing its thick mane of hair with an accompanying whinny of excitement. Caelon could feel the tension too. It was like this whenever they rode into a raid of course, but this time was different. There had never been such pressure before. Where was Callisto and what was she planning? Why was she even here?

He gave a grunt and tried to drive the thoughts from his mind. Soon they would be attacking Penthos, and he could not afford to allow distractions to cloud his judgment. He tightened his grip on the reigns and glanced around them. The sixty or so men that made up the raiding party were stretched out in a long line, those mounted on horseback at its head while the men on foot strode along behind them never more than three of four abreast. The trail was simply too narrow to allow for anything more than that and it was slowing their progress considerably. It did not seem to be dampening spirits too much though. Most of the men looked eager, anticipation of the pillage writ large across their faces. A few looked less comfortable however, and in places he could hear wisps of dissatisfied muttering, mainly from those who had been loyal to Sev or Herriod. It was hardly surprising really. Both their little ring leaders had met fairly gruesome ends at the hands of Callisto, and the fact she was still at large was causing them concern. Still, he couldn't allow for any dissension, especially not now when they were so close to their goal.

"Tethis!" he called back conversationally to his most loyal surviving lieutenant. It had the casual quality of a friendly chat, but Caelon pitched his voice loud enough so that all could hear.

"Yeah?" Tethis replied.

"How much you reckon you can get for the village girls on the slave markets?"

Tethis gave a shrug. He had never been particularly bright and even simple speculation taxed his mental capacity to the point where he might break out in cold sweats.

"Fifteen dinars a head," he ventured finally. "Maybe twenty if they're pretty."

"You hear that boys?" Caelon said, twisting in his saddle to look back down the column at the other members of his gang. "Tethis here thinks we can make ourselves a pretty penny on the slave markets, and I say he's right!"

He turned and pointed at Milades, one of the newer members of the gang who had fallen in with Herriod upon his arrival.

"How many you plannin' on catchin' Milades?" he shouted.

The other man looked taken aback by the unexpected question.

"Uh... I dunno. Five, maybe six?" he said. The tone of voice was clearly uncertain, but Caelon treated it as if the other man were bragging.

"Oh ho boys!" he shouted in amusement. "Looks like young Milades here's gonna try 'n take 'em all for himself! Make sure to save some for the rest of us why don'ya!"

A ragged chorus of laughter ran up and down the length of the column, and Caelon smiled darkly at them.

"Just remember," he yelled over the top of the laughter, "when we take Penthos, when we burn it to the ground, what all those prissy fishermen think is theirs becomes ours to do with as we please! That's our right! And do you know why?"

The column erupted into an excited hubbub, as Caelon stirred at their ire. He straightened, standing tall in his stirrups, towering over them all from the back of his horse as they continued the march down the trail.

"It's ours because they can't stop us taking it! So today, we take it all!"

A rough and throaty cheer went up from the assembled throng of bandits, raiders and looters as they marched, and Caelon gave a satisfied smile.

"It's going to be fun watching you try."

A woman's voice rang out clearly, cutting through the cheering as sharp and sure as a freshly forged blade. Caelon whipped around, eyes narrowing as he did. It was her! She was standing just up the trail from the column, leaning nonchalantly against a tree, the thin stiletto dagger she carried unsheathed and being used to pick the dirt from under her nails. Caelon raised his fist, drawing his horse up warily. He made sure to keep his distance from her, but at the same time, tried hard not to look like he was doing just that. Behind him the rest of the column came to a halt, their gear clattering and clanking as they did so.

Callisto looked up at them and flashed them an impish grin that never touched her eyes.

"Such a surprise seeing you all here," she said, straightening and walking into the middle of the trail. She stopped a few meters from Caelon, feet parted with her shoulders turned ever so slightly off center to present a smaller profile to any watching archers and as an equally good lead in for a sword thrust.

Caelon twitched his reins, causing his horse to take a few steps forward and away from the rest of the column. There was a curious scent on the air. It tickled at the back of his mind, familiar yet just out of reach.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, unlimbering his sword as he spoke.

Behind him he could hear a number of other blades being drawn, the familiar rasp of leather on metal helping his confidence.

"I would've thought that it was plainly obvious," Callisto replied.

Her grin sharpened. It was a sly cat like smile that showed too many teeth and not nearly enough warmth.

"I'm here to stop you," she said.

Caelon sat perfectly still for a moment. Around him all had fallen silent, save for the occasional distant cry of a bird and the soft rustle of the morning breeze in the trees. Finally, he laughed, a big bellowing guffaw that lent the men around him some measure of bravado. Tethis and a few other of his lieutenants began to laugh too, the idea of this sole woman, no matter how skilled she might be, being able to stand up to over sixty men was too patently ridiculous not to.

Strangely, Callisto began to laugh too. It was a rich, playful sound that stood in stark contrast to the more breathy roar coming from the bandits.

"You!?" Caelon managed finally, between the bouts of laughter. "All on your own, you plan to stop us?"

Callisto continued to laugh, her shoulders shaking with each racking giggle that came across her.

"Oh Caelon," she laughed, shaking her head as she did so. "You are just too funny!"

Suddenly Caelon could feel a cold dread settling in the pit of his stomach. He had just realised what that strange smell was.

"After all," she said, the laughter dying on her lips as a look pure rage filled her eyes. "Whoever said I came alone?"

She snapped her fingers loudly, the crack echoing through the trees like a thunder clap.

Caelon tensed as he heard the familiar creaking sound of bow strings tightening against wooden frames. He twisted desperately in his saddle.

"AMBUSH!" he managed to yell, but it was already too late.

There was a loud twanging sound as the unseen bowmen among the trees unleashed upon them, the air suddenly alive with a dozen or more arrows. These were not mere tipped arrows for killing though. Instead each arrow's tip had been wrapped in hessian, doused in oil and lit until it blazed angrily, like a shooting star streaking through the sky.

The arrows fell all around them but few of his men dropped to them. Instead each arrow seemed to find its way unnervingly toward a similarly oil soaked patch of undergrowth. One arrow even fell in the midst of his men. A series of muffled thumps echoed through the trees as each patch of oil ignited, and it was only then that Caelon realised the truth of the trap they had just walked into. Thin trails of blue-orange flame hurtled along paths of oil as if riding in Apollo's own chariot, running in a tight ring that hemmed he and his men in on all sides. The trees themselves began to catch fire as the flames licked hungrily over them, bark splintering and cracking in the heat. A number of the less well trained horses bolted almost immediately as a second round of arrows, this set more traditionally tipped, fell among them. A number of men dropped immediately, screaming as the second volley of arrows found their targets.

"Together!" Caelon yelled over the chaos. "Stay together!"

Already a thick, acrid smoke was beginning to settle over the trail, making anyone more than a few meters from him into hazy indistinct shape. It was a small mercy perhaps. It would keep the bow men concealed in the trees from picking their targets so easily. On the other hand, it would also prevent his men from being able to regroup quickly and his own archers from being able to return fire. He could already hear panicked shouts from some quarters of his group; Herriod and Sev's followers no doubt, many of whom were already fleeing into the trees as best they could manage through the ring of fire that continued to blaze hotter and hotter all around them.

Squinting through the smoke he could just make out a gap in the flames, wide enough for a few men at a time to pass through and continue on down the trail. Out in the smoke his lieutenants were calling to those men around them who still remained, attempting to get them to regroup around Caelon. Slowly but surely he could make out figures moving in closer, forming a tight knit square of bodies around him. Among them he could make out a couple of mounted men, but far fewer than he would have liked.

"Everybody, on me and advance!" he called to the them, and spurred his stallion forward at an easy trot. The huge animal's nostrils flared in barely contained panic as the fires blazed hot and heavy among the trees. For the first time he found himself thankful for the animal's training. A lesser horse would probably already have run. All around, the men who had stood their ground began to move with him, holding tight and looking about themselves warily. Those who clutched shields had them raised to guard against further volleys of arrows but no more seemed to be coming while those with bows were making a token effort to loose their own arrows back into the trees.

"Stay close and keep moving," Caelon snarled angrily.

Slowly but surely they emerged into a clear spot on the trail. It would not remain that way though. The fire would spread soon and they would need to keep pressing forward if they wanted to stay ahead of the flames which were already sweeping out from the original fire in all directions.

It was then he spotted her again, now seated on the back of horse she had clearly hidden in the dense trees just off the trail. It was the same one she had stolen from camp the night before. The animal pranced uneasily so close to the flames, but she controlled it expertly with a dig of her heels and a twitch on the reins.

"I promised I'd send you to Tartarus!" she called down the trail to him.

Her eyes lighted on the fire at Caelon's back and for a moment, he could see something else there. A glint of infernal madness hiding behind that pretty blonde face. She smiled darkly and Caelon felt himself shiver.

"How am I doing so far?" she sneered, and then with a loud cry, she dug her heels into her mount's flank and the animal hurtled off down the trail, her cruel laughter echoing between the trees.

Less than a kilometer down the trail, Callisto reined in her steed, it's flanks heaving from the sudden burst of speed she had put it through. She twisted in her seat to stare back down the trail. So far there was no sign of pursuit. A sudden cracking of branches sounded to her right and she span in her saddle, her sword seeming to materialise in her hand, she drew it so fast.

"Easy, easy!" said Atrix, raising his hands in surrender as he emerged from the trees. "It's just us."

Tarthus and the remaining mercenaries were following close behind him, all clutching bows and arrows, their faces streaked with soot and their clothes stinking of oil and smoke.

Callisto breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Come on," she said, sheathing her sword as she began to trot her horse down the trail. "They'll be coming through here soon."

The mercenaries fell into step alongside her.

"The plan's working then?" Atrix asked, looking up at her as she rode.

Callisto nodded in return.

"We thinned their numbers a bit," she said. "A few scattered, and your arrow volleys downed a few more."

"Doesn't sound like enough," Atrix replied.

Callisto shook her head.

"Not really." she said. "I was hoping for a better result, but it will have to do. The good news is that we at least slowed them down a little. The bad point is that they'll be more cautious now."

They rounded a light bend in the trail to reveal a number of horses tethered to trees, all lined up neatly along the trail.

"Mount up and be quick about it," she ordered. "The sooner we can get back to the village, the more preparations we can make."

The mercenaries nodded and hurried off back to their individual mounts. Atrix and Tarthus' mounts were nearest and the two of them quickly set about unhitching their animals. Callisto turned to look back over her shoulder. Already a thick pillar of smoke was billowing skyward and she could smell its acrid scent on the wind. The fire they had set was spreading. She just hoped the ring of clear ground around the village was enough to protect it should the fire spread as far as the stockade.

"I don't understand," Tarthus was saying to her, as he clambered into his saddle. He still looked uncomfortable when he spoke to her, her threat to break his hands off at the wrists upon their first meeting clearly still vivid in his mind, and the revelation of who she actually was had not helped his confidence one iota.

"Why didn't we push the attack? We had them dead to rights."

"We had surprise on our side," Callisto said. "Not the same thing. There aren't enough of us to push a direct assault and they weren't about to let us keep shooting arrows at them. Caelon would have got clear of the fire and then mustered for an assault. We don't have the numbers to take them in a straight battle. This was just to hurt them, put some fear in them."

Tarthus frowned.

"But you said them being cautious is a bad thing. I thought that was the whole point of this? Make them scared, drive them off."

Callisto shrugged.

"Scared yes, cautious no," she said. "I want them terrified of what we'll do to them. Men like Caelon only know two ways to react to fear. One is to run, and the other is to fight. Caelon, won't run. He'd lose control of the gang if he did."

She glanced back down the trail, her eyes narrowing as she thought of the kind of man she was dealing with. Proud and arrogant, he had shown some degree of low cunning. He only knew one way to control his men though, and that was through strength and intimidation. She had seen it in the way he dealt with Sev and Herriod, and the razor thin veneer of calm that had threatened break at any moment. This battle was now as much about wills as it was swords and bodies. She had to make Caelon's men more scared of her than they were of him. With any luck he would throw caution to the wind and come bungling right into the trap she had set for him in an attempt to reassert his authority. It was hardly the finest plan and it relied a little too much on the few assumptions she had been able to make about his character, but it was the only thing she could think of that would get Caelon and his men fighting on her terms, rather than she and the villagers on theirs.

Around them the mercenaries were now all mounted. With a round of clicked tongues and light kicks they urged their horses to a steady canter as they continued on their way back to Penthos.

"What if he pulls back?" Tarthus asked nervously as they rode. "What if he decides to wait and try again when he's back at full force?"

Callisto shook her head at him.

"He won't," she said. "The fire is spreading, and its at his back. He can't retreat and it will damage his authority with his men if he does. The only other option is to break off into the forest, which would be equally crazy with the fire burning. We've forced his hand. The only option now is for him to push on and attack the village."

She gave a click of her tongue and spurred her horse forward, slightly ahead of the rest and leaving Tarthus to ponder in silence. She needed time to try and calm herself. The sight of Caelon had stirred her memories of Silas and it had taken all her self control to keep from throwing the plan to the wind and trying to ride him down. Even thinking about it now made her grind her teeth in frustration. He had been so close!

She took a deep breath and looked at the forest around her, again reminded of how similar it was to the forest near her own home. She had used to love playing in those woods and could remember climbing a particularly big birch tree near their center. None of the others children had dared climb to the top, preferring instead to stay on the lower branches, safer and closer to the ground. She had tried though and had gone scrabbling up from branch to branch, knuckles grazed, fingers worn and blistered from the climb, closer to the top than any of the others. She had almost made it too. Then, less than a meter from the top, she had been stretching out to reach her next handhold when she had overbalanced and tumbled from her perch. Going down had been decidedly more painful than going up. She must have hit every branch on the tree, and maybe even one or two of the other kids who had been cheering her on. Miraculously she had survived the fall almost entirely unscathed, and she suspected it was the tree inflicted bruises and scrapes that were to thank for it, her fall having been less a straight plummet and more a series of minor impacts all the way down. As usual her mother had been furious at her impetuousness. Callisto had done her best play the humble daughter of course, but the very next day she had been eyeing the tree again, thinking of how best to tackle it next time. She had never been easily deterred.

She sighed quietly to herself. All these years later and she could still remember that sickening, lurching sensation in the pit of her stomach at the precise moment she had lost her balance and toppled from the tree. It was the same feeling she had had months later when Xena's army had swept into her village, burning and murdering everything in sight and changing her life forever.

A light cough sounded behind her and she turned to see Atrix riding at her back. She nodded to him and he moved alongside her.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" he asked quietly so as not to be overheard.

"You asked me to lead, so I'm leading," she replied flatly.

"I know, I know," Atrix said, his tone one of exasperation. "I didn't mean it like that."

Callisto shot him a look out of the corner of her eyes and he gave a frustrated exhale as he tried to put his thoughts into words.

"I just meant we got the drop on them before, but now they know we're ready for them. This won't be an easy fight."

Callisto raised an eyebrow at him.

"Y'think?" she sneered sarcastically then took another breath to calm herself.

"Look Atrix, I wasn't exactly a great military leader like Agamemnon or Odysseus," she said, trying to sound a little less harsh and failing miserably. "I led a band of marauding thugs and killers, and most of the time I was on the opposite side of situations like this. I've never had lead a rearguard or even a defence before."

They rounded the final turn and Penthos came into view. At Callisto's instruction, the gates had been left wide open and the hanged bodies of the bandits taken in the previous raid strung up against the stockade. The hoods they had been wearing to cover their faces had been removed to reveal their hideous death masks. She could sense Atrix stiffen at the sight of them.

"This is what I know how to do," she said, pointing to the bodies and giving him a hard stare as she did so. "Take it or leave it."

She spurred her horse forward, riding up to the village gates where Dahlia and few other villagers were waiting patiently. She frowned at the sight of them. Dahlia was clutching a bow, though where she had got it she was not sure.

"Is everything ready?" She asked, dismounting as she did so.

Dahlia nodded in response.

"We've done as much of what you asked as we could," she said.

"You're all ready to fight if you need to?" Callisto said, eyeing the pregnant woman's stomach meaningfully.

Dahlia nodded again.

"We are," she said.

"Okay then," Callisto said. "Get to your positions. They'll be here soon and we didn't spend all this time and effort making a welcome mat not to lay it out for them now did we?"

A couple of the villagers chuckled at that, but Dahlia remained grim and stone faced.

"I just want this all to be over," she said. "Maybe then I'll have the chance to grieve properly for my father."

Callisto felt that same guilty pang clutch at her stomach again, and she looked at Dahlia steadily.

"I'll make them pay for what they did," she said.

Dahlia looked back at her, her eyes cold and unreadable.

"That's for the village to decide," she said simply, then turned on her heel and headed back through the gate to her assigned position.

Callisto watched her go, feeling a little confused. Had she said something wrong? Try as she might she could not figure the other woman out. Was she not aching for revenge against her father's killers?

Atrix appeared at her side and she gave a brief start.

"We should put a bell on you or something!" she said.

Atrix only tilted his head and gave her an 'in your dreams' look.

"Care to tell me what your wife is doing with a bow?" she asked.

He shrugged.

"I've been giving her lessons," he said.

"Well isn't that just lovely." She rolled her eyes at him. "If she hits me with it, I'm coming back from Tartarus to kill you."

"Maybe we'll get lucky," Atrix said with a wry grin. "Maybe she'll miss you and hit me."

"Oh, how I live in hope," Callisto replied sarcastically.

Caelon's horse stomped along the trail excitedly, its thick tail swishing in agitation with each step it took. Their march had been slow and steady since the ambush and the heat of the flames had now faded behind them, calming the horses considerably. A brief headcount once they had cleared the smoke revealed that they had lost around twenty men, the majority of whom had simply fled following the lighting of the fires and the second volley of arrows. To his surprise, a number of Herriod's men had stood their ground, including young Milades, who had managed to grab one of the horse's reins when its original rider had been killed. Now he sat astride it, riding close by Tethis who in turn rode alongside Caelon. Neither looked entirely at ease, but at least Tethis wore a look of grim determination. Caelon smiled inwardly. At least he knew one of his men was not about to break and head for the hills. The battle had clearly become personal for him following the ambush. Milades on the other hand, looked nervous. His eyes flickered from left to right, and a cold sweat beaded on his upper lip as he watched warily for any further ambushes.

Caelon glanced back over the rest of the group and felt his lip curl in a disgusted sneer. Their total number now stood at just over forty. At least they still outnumbered Methades' mercenaries, not that they should be a problem anyway. The corrupt mercenary captain had assured him he would deal with his own men when the time came.

Ahead the trail curved right and Caelon knew from his year spent raiding and pillaging that they were about to emerge from the trees and onto the open stretch of land before the village gates. He wasn't expecting much resistance as they rounded the bend and Penthos came into view.

What they got instead was something that made his stomach turn. The village stockade stood before them, the gates, surprisingly, were wide open and inviting. That was where the good news ended though. Three bodies of men he recognised hung limply from the pointed tops of the stockade, clearly days dead, their broken necks lolling hideously in the mid morning sun. A chorus of mutters sounded from the men at his back as they caught sight of the corpses. Below them standing in the gate to the village was Callisto, two of Methades' mercenaries flanking her on either side. The three of them sat astride their horses, weapons at the ready.

Caelon held up a clenched fist and the whole of his force drew to a stop. What was Callisto doing with them? This was the last thing he had expected. Did this mean there was no army? That Herriod had been wrong? He could feel a deep seated rage boiling over inside him and a dark sneer lit his face. He had been had! This was all wrong! All of it!

"What's the matter Caelon?" Callisto called from her horse. "You thought Penthos was just going to roll over and play dead for you?"

She pointed to the bodies hanging from the stockade with the tip of her sword.

"This is what we'll do to all of you!" she shouted to the rest of the bandits. "One by one or all at once, it really doesn't matter."

She leveled her sword at the rest of them, her eyes glinting wickedly.

"Soooo..." she said, her mouth rolling the 'o' sound playfully. "Who wants to go first?"

Next to him Caelon heard Tethis let out a snarl of anger as his temper overcame his admittedly not very sharp senses.

"I'll see you dead witch!" he yelled at her, enraged spittle flecking his chin. He tugged his sword free from its scabbard, his hands tightening in a white knuckle grip on the reins of his horse as he booted it to a gallop before Caelon had chance to stop him.

Callisto's gaze shifted to the lone charging bandit and she gave an amused grin.

"Looks like we have a volunteer," she said gesturing to the mercenary on her right. "Atrix."

The mercenary gave a curt nod and lifted his bow, sighting along the arrow as the drawstring pulled tight. Tethis was so close, he barely had to aim. The arrow loosed with a piercing whistle and a moment later the big bandit was tumbling backward off his horse, the arrow clean through his throat.

Caelon could hear his men shift uneasily behind him.

"Hold steady boys," he said. "Even if these mercs are working with her, we still outnumber them."

"So far," Callisto shot back with a sly wink. "But we plan to change all that."

Then, gesturing to the two mercenaries, they turned their horses as one and trotted off into the village.

Caelon watched them go, frowning as he did so. Something wasn't right here. Milades spoke up suddenly echoing his own thoughts.

"I don't like this," he said. "We should get out of here. She's up to something."

Caelon turned on the man with a snarl and seized him by the neck of his boiled leather breastplate. Milades gasped in surprise as he found himself face to face with the lead bandit's scarred visage.

"There been a change in leadership that no on told me about?" Caelon snapped harshly. "Because last I checked, I was the one leading this raid, not you!"

Milades shook his head desperately.

"No change boss! None at all!" he said.

Caelon gave another snarl and shoved the younger man roughly away from him.

"Good!" he snarled, his voice dripping with venom, before turning to address the rest of his men.

"Hear that?" he snapped, gesturing to Milades. There was no way he could back down now. The young idiot had challenged his authority and in doing so, had guaranteed the course of action he had not wanted to take. "He says there's no change, and you know what, there won't be none neither. Now come on!"

He span his horse on the spot and drew his sword from its sheath.

"We got ourselves a village to burn!" he hissed.

With that, a half hearted cheer went up from his men, the only exception being Milades who merely sat his horse darkly as the remains of the bandit gang charged toward the village gates.

Callisto stood alone on the gallows at the center of the village green while Atrix and the rest of the mercenaries waited in one of the side streets, all of them mounted, their horses shifting nervously as the tension of approaching battle mounted. Atrix alone carried his bow, a single blazing fire arrow nocked and ready to let fly.

Carefully, Callisto lifted her sword and gazed at the blade. It was not exactly the finest craftsmanship she had ever seen and she would have happily taken her old sword over it any day of the week. It was a thick bladed heavy thing, clearly meant for a big man like Herriod had been, and she would have little choice but to swing it two handed. It was not too much of an issue, but she would have preferred the flexibility of being able to switch between the two as she was used to.

She turned and glimpsed Dahlia in one of the upper story windows of the inn, her bow propped neatly beside her, a quiver of freshly flighted arrows strapped across her back. She gave Atrix's wife a questioning 'ready?' thumbs up. Dahlia nodded in return, her face a mask of cold concentration. Callisto turned away, her eyes scanning the village green as she made a last minute check of their preparations. She was not really sure why she was bothering. If they had missed anything or made any mistakes, she would hardly be able to fix them now. Maybe it was just for her own peace of mind. She had seen far too many of her plans go awry in the past because she had raced in without thinking things through fully, or had failed to anticipate one of Xena's potential courses of action.

She bit her lower lip and tried to concentrate as she eyed the cluster of oil barrels arranged just to the left of the street where Caelon and his men should be emerging from. Of course that was if the villagers had correctly blocked off all the other streets in the village. Her instructions had been explicit, and she was sure they had done as she had told them. She had even checked the blockades as she had both ridden out of the village, and back in mere moments before. Still she couldn't shake that horrible sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach, the same one she had had all those years ago when she had fallen from the tree, and again when Cirra had burned beneath a pale dusk sky.

Suddenly, her ears pricked up as she caught the first sound of galloping hooves. She steadied herself, closing her eyes for a brief moment and letting out a long soothing breath. Her shot at Elysium was riding on this.

No, she realised, more than that.

This was not just about her. This was not just about Elysium or her own peace and freedom from the nightmares of the burning village and dead family that had plagued her for so long. This was about Penthos, and Dahlia, and Atrix and all the other villagers who would be just like her family if she did not, just this once in her whole misbegotten life, try to stand up and be counted for something other than revenge. For a brief moment she heard that same laughter in the back of her mind, the laughter that haunted her and made a mockery of her every effort to change. With a great effort she opened her eyes again, her grip on the sword tightening as she did her best to shut it out.

"Here we go," she muttered under her breath.

Caelon and the other mounted bandits were the first ones to round the corner, their horses charging out onto the village green in a spray of dirt and churned turf. With no one in direct sight save her, they quickly stopped short. Caelon was frowning darkly, his eyes taking in the whole of the green as quickly as he could.

Callisto adopted her most infuriatingly ingratiating smile and released one of her hands from the grip of her sword to wave at them cheerfully.

"Hey guys!" she called, her voice all forced sweetness and light. "Welcome to the last day of your lives!"

As on the trail, she snapped her fingers loudly, and reliable as ever, Atrix loosed his fire arrow just as the last of Caelon's mounted men emerged onto the green. The bandit leader's eyes widened in alarm as they darted to the barrels at his right.

"YOU BI..." he began to shout, but was cut off when the arrow thudded into the oil soaked barrels.

The sound of a dull 'whump' filled the air as the first barrel roared into life. For less than a second the barrel blazed hotly under the mid morning sun, then with a concussive boom, it exploded in a lethal cloud of splintered wood and burning oil. Callisto gave a satisfied smile as the second and third barrels were lit up by the explosion, and moments later two more thundering explosions hammered into the cluster of mounted men.

The screams of man and horse alike filled the air as the sharp splinters of wood and burning oil droplets hit home, and a thick cloud of smoke washed across the green. A nearby house had been caught by the blast, and the fire had spread to its thatched roof which it was now devouring hungrily. Callisto could hear the villagers hidden in the back streets away from the fighting shouting to each other as they ran to combat the flames. Good. That's why she had stationed them there.

She raised her sword high above her head as the first bandits on foot began to emerge from the smoke along with the one or two who had managed, amazingly, to stay mounted through the whole thing. Caelon was not among them.

"Ready!" she called, then dropped her sword as if it were an executioners blade.

"Loose!" she yelled.

Dahlia and the other villagers secreted away in the top stories of the taller buildings around the green let fly with the bows and slings they had managed to gather from around the village. Most of the shots of stones and arrows went wide, the villagers lacking any real training for the most part, but a few managed to strike home, felling still more of the bandits and thinning their numbers still further.

"Again!" Callisto yelled as she stepped off the edge of the gallows and dropped nimbly to the ground. A fresh volley of arrows and stones filled the air, and still more bandits fell.

"Atrix!" she shouted over the chaos of the battle. "Time to cut 'em down!"

The mercenary nodded and gestured his men forward as they emerged onto the green, their horses forming up in a perfect cavalry line. For a brief moment they sat still, some clutching swords while others hefted long spears. Then as one, they lowered their weapons at the enemy.

"Charge!" Atrix bellowed and the horses leaped forward, their hooves churning the earth beneath them as they covered the distance in mere moments. The bandits desperately tried to form up into some kind of defensive line but all to no avail as the charging mercenaries smashed into them with all the thundering force of Zeus' own lightning bolts. The bandit resistance broke and they scattered in all directions, some running for the village gates while others found themselves sprinting across the green in complete confusion. The mercenaries wheeled their horses and turned back to ride down the survivors.

Callisto wasted no time herself, hefting her heavy sword and charging into the throng of battle with an ear piercing banshee shriek that turned all eyes to her. She ducked the first sword swing that came at her, not even bothering to attempt a parry and instead bringing her blade around in a vicious cross cut that split the bandit in a slanting line across his torso.

The next man put up more of a fight, circling her warily and making probing jabs with his weapon which seemed to be a good two inches longer than hers. She batted each strike away with little effort, each time feinting left as she did so. When he moved left in anticipation of her after one his jabs, she quickly moved right, stepping inside his guard as if it were not even there and ramming her sword cleanly through his gut. The man barely managed a pained gasp as he dropped back, his eyes already glazing over.

Suddenly from over her shoulder she heard the sound of pounding hooves and she turned just in time to see a bandit on horse back, much more fresh faced than the rest, bearing down on her, his narrow bladed sword cutting a thing line through the drifting wisps of smoke. Callisto barely had time to get her own too heavy blade up in a defensive parry. The power of strike was amplified by the speed of his mount and sent a painful shock through her hands as her wrists twisted viciously with the force of it, causing her sword to sail from her grip and disappear into the smoke.

She span desperately in an attempt to avoid the follow through slicing her head clean off and found herself rolling on her back in the dirt, the sky spinning dizzyingly above her. She had no time to waste. Her attacker was probably circling back for another charge at her already.

She had managed to get herself up to one knee when she heard the sound of the horse's hooves pounding in the dirt behind her again. She twisted just in time to see that she was too late. The young bandit's next strike would not miss its mark and she had no time left to react.

Then suddenly, the rider straightened bolt upright in his saddle, his sword sliding from between limp fingers as his animal continued its headlong dash straight past her. As he passed, Callisto could clearly make out the outline of a black and white feathered shaft planted squarely through the base of his neck. His horse carried him a few more steps before he tumbled from the saddle, crashing lifelessly to the ground.

Following the flight path of the arrow she turned to see Atrix, still mounted and lowering his bow as he reached back for another arrow. She flashed him a quick nod of thanks and in return he gave her one of his 'what can you do' shrugs.

And that was when Caelon jumped him.

The bandit leader emerged from the drifting clouds of smoke that had engulfed the village green, a long bladed dagger more akin to a short sword than anything else clutched tightly in his right hand. He took Atrix by surprise, seizing him roughly by the arm and dragging him down from his horse and to the ground with him.

Callisto was up and sprinting almost immediately. She could not let this happen! Not again!

Atrix struggled desperately as the tall bandit leader held him down, one hand clamped like a vice around the thrashing mercenary's throat, the other lifting the dagger to gleam wickedly as a stray ray of sun pierced the wafting smoke. Callisto was only a meter away when he brought it down, stabbing Atrix squarely through the heart.

"Atrix!" Callisto cried, but Dahlia's husband could only cough and splutter in return, his life already ebbing away as Caelon pulled the dagger free. The bandit leader's face was alight with blood lust and he was about to bring the dagger down for a second strike when Callisto hammered into him with a cry of purest rage and anguish, carrying him viciously to the ground with her.

The two of them rolled in the thick grass of the green, fingers clawing at one another as they desperately sought purchase around their opponent's throat. Caelon twisted violently beneath Callisto, his knee coming up into her spine and sending her sailing over him in awkward flip that landed her square on her back with a thud powerful enough to drive the wind out of her. He wasted no time in scrambling on top of her, using his weight to press her down as he searched vainly for the dagger he had dropped. Callisto rocked her hips back, managing to rap her thighs tightly around his waist and lever him up off her. He responded by attempting to grip her by throat but she bit down hard into the skin of his grasping hand, causing him to draw back with a pained hiss as she went for the stiletto dagger still concealed in her bracer. Caelon's eyes lit up in realisation as she wrenched it free, and in an instant he had the wrist of the hand clutching the dagger in a vice like grip. With a vicious snarl of hatred he lifted her hand and slammed it hard and repeatedly against the ground. Callisto howled in agony as she felt the pain become unbearable, and the dagger tumble free from suddenly numb fingers.

Caelon snatched it up out of the dirt, a triumphant smile flashing across his face as he hefted it over her.

"I remember this thing!" he said. "Sev took it from you when we caught you at the Headstone. Must be pretty important to you for you to have taken it back."

Callisto spat at him defiantly.

"What?" he sneered in return. "A boyfriend give it to you or something?"

He lifted the dagger, ready to strike her through the heart as he had done Atrix when the familiar whistle of an arrow being loosed filled the air. It struck him hard through the bicep of the arm holding the dagger, and he let out an agonised cry of surprise as the it fell from his grasp.

Callisto twisted her head, and caught sight of Dahlia, kneeling in the grass over Atrix, her husband's bow raised, string still vibrating after the shot. Tears streaked through the soot covering her cheeks as she dropped a hand to settle lightly on Atrix's unmoving chest.

"Not a boyfriend!" she cried at Caelon as he turned to see who it was that had shot him. "My father!"

Callisto seized the moment's distraction and heaved with her hips, her thighs still clenched around Caelon's waist as she thrust him him sideways with a grunt of effort. He crashed head long into the ground with another yell of pain as the impact drove the arrow deeper through his arm. For a moment he could only lie there stunned, as Callisto clambered to her feet, and moved to stand over him. Around them the battle was dying down, the majority of the bandits having either fled, been captured or killed. Meanwhile, the mercenaries moved back and forth mopping up the last vestiges of those who were still fighting.

She turned her glare on Caelon, where he lay groggy at her feet, her lip twisting in a furious snarl. This man had taken two good men out of the world and he had done it as easily as drawing breath. He had killed and maimed across the face of Greece with no cause save his own gratification, and he had done it without a moment's hesitation. She could feel the anger and hatred building inside her and for the first time since Tartarus she did not try to hold it back.

Her foot lashed out savagely, catching him hard across the temple. His head snapped to one side at the force of it and he groaned groggily. Unsatisfied, she lashed out again, this time driving a volley of brutal kicks, one after the other, into his ribs.

"You!" she cried as he doubled over in an instinctive attempt to protect himself. "You killed them! All of them! They were good people and you killed them!"

She kicked him again and again, as in the back of her mind that same mocking laughter sounded louder and louder.

"Callisto." A voice said softly at her back but she ignored it.

"I killed them!" she snarled again, not even noticing the slip as the laughter in mind stoking her rage until it burned like volcano in her gut. "All of them! Every last one! What did they do? They did nothing! DO YOU HEAR ME? THEY DID NOTHING!"

She was practically screaming now, her breath coming in ragged gasps between shouts as she continued to kick at his face and chest, Caelon only curling into a tighter ball in response.

"Callisto!" the same voice said again, shouting this time, and she felt a hand grip her tightly by the shoulder.

"What!?" she snapped viciously, spinning to plant a flat palmed strike against the throat of the person interrupting her. She only managed to arrest the blow when she saw it was Dahlia, instead clenching her fist tightly at her side.

"Don't kill him," the other woman said, streaks of tears still staining her face. "It's not right."

"Right!?" Callisto gave a sarcastic laugh of mock astonishment. "Right!? He killed Silas and Atrix both, Dahlia. He killed them, and we would have killed everyone else here! He deserves to suffer long and hard for all the things he's done!"

"No," Dahlia replied firmly, shaking her head as she did so. "He deserves justice, to be punished for his crimes, like all the rest of them. Suffering isn't justice!"

"No it's not," Callisto agreed with her, "but it is retribution!"

"That's what this is about? Revenge?" Dahlia shook her head again. "No. You don't get to take revenge."

Callisto glared at her, her eyes blazing fire.

"And why not?" she demanded.

"Because they weren't your family to avenge!" Dahlia snapped, her composure finally breaking as her anger boiled over to match Callisto's. "Silas was my father, and Atrix was my husband! I think I'm the one who has the right to decide how to deal with this, don't you?"

Callisto could only glare at her, her fury still seething in her gut like some great and terrible monster as she wrestled for control of it. She was right of course, but that was what made it all the worse. How could she just give Caelon up after all he had done? How could she not make him suffer for all the pain he had caused? But then what? What difference would it really make whether he suffered or not? It would not fill the emptiness, would not make the pain and hate go away, or chase that demonic laughter from her soul. She ground her teeth hard against one another as she tried to calm herself.

"Alright," she managed finally, taking a deep breath as she felt the rage start to die inside her, and that familiar aching hollowness begin to return in its place. "Do whatever you want with him. I..."

She trailed off then sighed and shook her head tiredly.

"I just don't care any more," she finished.

With that she stooped and picked up her dagger from the ground where it had fallen before beginning to walk away, leaving Dahlia alone with her grief.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well here we are, the final update of this story. From this point on any further changes made will just be proofreading to remove errors from the text. I've given all these chapters and extra once over but may have missed a few grammar or spelling mistakes here and there. These final chapters were a lot of fun to write and they came so easily that I ended up doing them in one day long binge. Once I got going it was hard to stop, and they were just tremendous, particularly since we get to see Callisto being a little more of her old self at times.

Anyway, hope anyone still reading this is enjoying it, and that the ending is as satisfying for you to read as it was for me to write.