"I'm getting sick of the looks and the screams we get from these damn females." Constantine said irritably as he walked into a large tent followed by his newest ally. He studied the gargoyle female that was now turned to stone.
"That tends to happen when you force a woman to do what you want." The Hunter grinned at Constantine's annoyed expression. Then he thought over the problem for a moment.
"Why not get our stone shapers to seal her eyes and mouth shut." The Hunter suggested. Constantine thought over the idea for a moment and then grinned wickedly.
"You truly hate them don't you, my friend?" Constantine asked.
"Look at what they did to my face. Yes, I hate them. I will hunt them until there are none of them left in this world." The Hunter stated angrily.
"That's the thing I like about you. You have complete dedication to achieving your goals." Constantine laughed and turned to leave. "Have the stone shapers do as you suggested and send that girl we captured last night to my tent."
"What do you want her to be wearing?" The Hunter sighed. He detested being Constantine's errand boy and he had grown tired of disposing of the bodies every morning. To him Constantine's brutality was wasteful. These girls would make fine servants if he would just let them live long enough.
"Nothing," Constantine answered and then walked outside. The Hunter snarled and cursed under his breath. He went to find a stone shaper to carry out Constantine's orders. After the stone shaper used his magic to erase the gargoyles eyes and sealed the eye lids he brought her lips together and made them meld together. When he was finished her eyes and mouth were completely sealed.
"Good work, now go back to your task." The Hunter said and then left the tent and headed to where the prisoners were caged. They had several from the few farms they passed on the road. He walked inside and all the women in the room backed away and tried to avoid the Hunter's gaze. He walked over and grabbed a young blonde woman who looked to be in her late teens. She was still wearing the blue dress she had been wearing when she was captured.
"Know that if I had it my way I would do this differently." He said. He tore her dress and under wear off in front of the other women who all turned their eyes away. He ignored the pleas and screams coming from the blonde woman as he dragged her out of the prison tent and towards Constantine's.
He threw her in and then stood guard outside. I can't wait to take charge. I would do things differently. He heard the woman scream and beg, but he had become numb to those sounds as he had heard them daily since he joined the Warlord's army. The screams lasted until nearly dusk and then he heard the sound that he had been waiting for as the woman inside was fighting to breathe. Soon, after the tent became silent and the broken and bruised body of the blonde woman was flung out of the tent.
The Hunter went to pick up the body when Constantine's voice stopped him.
"Have the men use the gargoyle until the mage says it's ready to develop an egg." Constantine ordered.
"Considering how rough those brutes are with her, they could kill her if we don't give her a break." Gilcomgain reminded him. Gilcomgain was the Hunter's true name, but he rarely went by it.
"Then we'll find another if she does." Constantine said coldly. Gilcomgain muttered under his breath while he carried the broken woman's body to the pit near the camp and threw her in. The dogs immediately attacked the corpse and tore the meat from her bones within seconds. Gilcomgain used to feel pity for the women that Constantine brutalized but now he just felt hollow.
The gargoyles awoke an hour later. Demona walked towards the entrance to the cave and waited impatiently for their allies to arrive. Brooklyn walked up to join her.
"How can humans treat each other that way?" Demona asked in disgust. She pointed down to where the dogs were ripping apart the young woman's corpse. Brooklyn quickly looked away. He started to feel sick by what he just saw.
"Not all humans are that way." Brooklyn pointed out. Time froze suddenly and the Weird Sisters appeared in the room. The sister with hair the color of a raven's wing spoke first.
"He is going to change history. We should stop him."
"Perhaps, but maybe we should let this play out. I don't like the original story." The sister with hair that shone like the sun replied.
"We will let this play out for now, but if it goes too far we will put a stop to it." The sister with hair that was the color of fresh fallen snow stated definitively. "I would also like to see how this turns out."
Time began again as the sisters disappeared. "Perhaps not, but all the ones I come across act like barbarians." Demona snarled. Before Brooklyn could respond they heard several thuds on the roof of the cave and when they came out to investigate they saw that three dozen gargoyles had arrived to assist them.
We're still outnumbered. Brooklyn thought after he counted them.
"We're going to still be outnumbered." Demona sighed. "We'll just have to make do."
"We came as quick as we could my queen." A tall green gargoyle said. He stepped forward to greet her.
"Where are the rest?" Demona asked in an irritated tone.
"I'm sorry my Queen, but we had to leave some behind to protect the rookery. Several eggs just hatched." Demona nodded slowly and turned to Brooklyn.
"If you have any ideas I would like to hear them." Demona snarled.
"We could perform a sneak attack." Brooklyn suggested. "We could catch them off guard by releasing their dogs from those leashes." He advised as he pointed to where the chain leashes were all nailed to the side of the mountain. "We may not be able to kill Constantine today, but we will severely limit his numbers if we can use stealth to our advantage." Brooklyn advised. Demona slowly nodded.
"Very well," Demona replied before she pointed to a blue and green gargoyle that were shorter than the others and looked a little like Lexington. "You two will unchain their dogs." She turned towards Brooklyn then. "You and I will take this tent. It's where they keep their prisoners."
"Why does he get to go with you?" The big grey gargoyle asked angrily.
"He's my mate that's why." Demona snapped back. The big gargoyle glared at Brooklyn but remained silent. "Now, the rest of you will take advantage of the distraction to take out as many of their people as you can." Demona continued. Brooklyn stood there in shock and he tuned out the rest of the planning and continued to stare straight ahead until Demona tapped him on the shoulder. "Are you ready to go, my love." Demona chuckled and the gargoyles all left the cave.
"I…I… yes, I am." Brooklyn had always dreamed that she would call him that when he was a hatchling. Hearing it now brought him back to the old days. "I'm fine. Let's go."
The group waited for the two gargoyles to unchain the dogs. Once the dogs felt the leashes begin to slacken they sprinted for the camp to eat the food they could smell cooking. As predicted the soldiers began to chase the dogs allowing for Demona and Brooklyn to glide to the tent that the green gargoyle was in from the back side. They heard the soldiers making crude jokes and the muffled screams coming from the gargoyle that was inside the tent.
Brooklyn caught a sight from inside the tent as the wind blew the flap open slightly. What he saw made his blood boil. He leapt into the tent. His eyes began to glow a deathly white and the man that was violating the gargoyle backed away slowly. The other soldiers went to grab their weapons, but Brooklyn concentrated on the half-naked man in front of him.
"You dare to commit such an act against one of my kind." Brooklyn shoved him up against one of the supporting poles of the tent so hard that he nearly knocked the tent down. Brooklyn reached down and gripped the man in a vice like grip and pulled causing him to scream and fall to the ground. "You will use this to violate my kind no longer." Brooklyn then threw down the hunk of skin that he held in his hand before delivering a vicious kick to the soldier's ribs. Demona was about to stop him when she saw the condition her friend was in. She let out a roar that sounded like a tigress enraged and she began to cast a spell. Every other human in the tent fell to the ground clutching their faces as they felt their eyeballs being pulled from their sockets and their upper and lower lips beginning to meld together.
"Brooklyn, help me with her. We need to get her out of here." Demona called out to him. Brooklyn glanced at her not comprehending what she was saying as he grabbed a mace off the wall. He walked towards the nearest soldier that was still squirming on the ground and glared at the human as he raised the mace in the air.
"Stop," Demona rushed forward and grabbed the mace from him. "I know how much it burns but you need to regain control." She pointed at the gargoyle that was still tied to the table. "She needs our help… I need your help." Brooklyn shook his head to clear it and slowly nodded as he walked to the table with Demona. They quickly untied the green gargoyle and Brooklyn gently lifted her off of the table.
"Let's get out of here." Brooklyn snarled. The green gargoyle sobbed violently and began to wiggle around in his arms, thinking he was one of the soldiers. Demona and Brooklyn rushed to the entrance of the tent and watched the soldiers trying to get control of the dogs as Constantine was barking orders at them.
"We need to leave now before someone else comes in here." Demona said hurriedly as Brooklyn picked the young gargoyle female up off the ground. Outside of the tent was chaos. Several men that were trying to get control of the dogs were ripped apart. One look told Demona that it wasn't the dogs that clawed their way through the chainmail armor. She grinned with the knowledge that her army was winning.
"We'll take her up this path. The soldiers aren't guarding it." Brooklyn advised as he pointed to a small foot path on the side of the mountain that would take them close to the cave.
"Go, I'm staying with my army." Demona grabbed him and hugged him tight for a moment. "You were amazing in there." She said after the hug and then grabbing the mace she had taken from Brooklyn she went to join the fight. Brooklyn shook his head to clear it and slowly made his way up the path.
As Brooklyn walked up the path Demona saw a soldier notice them. He drew his sword and ran forward. Her eyes burned red while she waited for him to get close. He swung his sword in a downward arc that she dodged easily and using the mace she broke the sword in two. The man nearly fell as he stopped running and Demona took advantage of the time it took for him to catch his balance by twisting around and bashing in the back of his head with the mace. When he fell to the ground Demona heard the horn from the cave and knew that Brooklyn was safe.
"Finally, I found you monster." Gil walked towards Demona with his sword drawn. She noticed it was already covered in blood. "When I caught some of your foul kind sneaking up on my men that were chasing the hounds I knew you had to be involved." He grinned and they circled each other oblivious to the fighting and the fires raging all around them.
"My foul kind?!" Demona snarled. "I've seen the way you treat your own females Hunter and you dare to speak of my kind that way."
"You're nothing but a filthy, disease-ridden, animal." Gil swung his sword in a wide arc, and she blocked it with the mace.
"You murder your own females. Ogres have more humanity than what I have seen from you and your kind." Demona swung her mace in an arc to connect with the side of Gil's head. He quickly sidestepped the blow but that allowed Demona to trip him with her tail. He fell to the ground with a thud and Demona turned and swung her mace downward. He rolled to the side and kicked her mid-section forcing her to back up so he could get back to his feet. He underestimated Demona's speed however and she brought the mace around and struck him on the side of the head knocking him back to the ground unconscious. Demona stepped forward to finish him off, but then the other gargoyles tore down the tent that contained the human female prisoners and broke the chains that were attached to the women. The prisoners quickly picked up weapons from a few of the dead men and began to fight. Constantine sounded the horn to retreat and all the soldiers began to expeditiously retreat down the mountain side as the gargoyles went back to the cave.
"Up you go, Hunter." Constantine said irritably as he lifted Gil on his shoulders before he put him on the back of his horse. He then got on himself and rode down the pass after his army.
"What do we do now?" A red-haired woman with pale skin and bright blue eyes asked a brunette woman that stood next to her glaring at Constantine as he rode off. The brunette woman with blue eyes turned towards her friend before she replied.
"I don't know what we should do, Gabrielle. I know those creatures that saved us came from up there so I will join them in the fight against those monsters." She pointed her sword at the retreating army down below.
"I'll go with you, but Xena do we know that we can trust them?" Gabrielle asked suspiciously.
"They're enemies of Constantine's. That's good enough for me." Xena and Gabrielle had the other women ransack the camp and they found all their possessions. After getting dressed Xena left Gabrielle and the other women to setup camp and dispose of the bodies as she walked up the trail to speak with the gargoyles.
"We can fix what happened with her mouth, but unfortunately she will never be able to see again I'm afraid." An orange gargoyle female with white hair was advising Demona of the green gargoyles condition.
"I'm sorry my friend. I should have attacked sooner." Demona could feel tears running down her cheeks as she held her young friend in her arms.
"It's alright sister. I knew the risks when I agreed to spy on them." She replied as the orange gargoyle cast a spell that removed the covering the human sculptors had used to keep her lips together.
"It's not your fault." Brooklyn said as he pulled Demona close to him as she struggled to remain standing. The battle had taken a toll on her and she was physically and emotionally drained. He helped her to sit down to relax, and she put her head in her hands and started to cry uncontrollably. He sat next to her and allowed her to rest her head on his shoulder.
"I should have led the attack sooner… We should have killed them all." Demona said between sobs.
"We did all we could." Brooklyn rubbed her shoulder as he talked. She looked up at him and leaned forward and he was surprised to feel her lips on his. He could feel her tongue work its way into his mouth and he started to kiss her feverishly. She began to purr and started to stand to go to the back of the cave. Brooklyn rose with her but gently pushed her off him. "We… we can't do this now." Brooklyn said.
"I understand. There is too much to do now. Thank you for stopping me." Demona said. She started to blush a bright purple and she shook her head to clear it. "It's just been an emotional day. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. It was great. It's just…" Brooklyn began.
"…The wrong time." Demona finished for him. He nodded and she smiled at him.
She really does have the loveliest smile. Brooklyn remembered doubting that when Goliath had told him that. Oh no, Goliath… How could I betray him this way?
Brooklyn growled and shook his head to clear it when he realized that he couldn't take his eyes off Demona's backside as she walked away. What he couldn't know was that Demona was feeling just as guilty for betraying Goliath.
"I need to speak with your leader." Demona and Brooklyn turned towards the door when they heard the voice from the cave entrance.
"Kill her." The grey gargoyle said in a menacing tone. Xena drew her sword and chakram and prepared to defend herself as the gargoyles advanced on her.
"Wait," Demona called out. "The human females were not with Constantine. They were his prisoners." Demona turned to Xena. "What do you want? We don't have time to take care of you." Demona stated in a cold tone.
"We want to help you take down Constantine." Xena replied.
"You let them take you prisoner. What help could you possibly offer to us?" Demona chuckled and Xena's eyes narrowed.
"We're all capable. I was visiting a friend of mine when Gabrielle and I discovered that she had been killed. While I was looking through the house for clues I was struck from behind. I only found out later that Gabrielle had been knocked out by two men when I left her outside." Xena informed her.
"Again, I ask you. What help would you be to me and my kind?" Demona growled impatiently.
Xena threw her Chakram and it struck the wall to the right, the wall behind everyone, the wall to the left and then struck the three gargoyles advancing towards her in the head before returning to her hand. The three gargoyles fell to the ground clutching their heads. Demona glared at her for a moment and then grinned.
"You have courage. I'll give you that, but…" Everyone around Demona and Xena froze in place. They looked around to see what was happening and the weird sisters appeared in between them.
"It is an honor to be in the presence of the weavers of history." The white-haired sister said as she looked back and forth from Demona to Xena. They looked at each other not comprehending the meaning of what the weird sister said to them.
"What do you mean by weavers?" Demona asked curiously.
"It may not be the most descriptive term, but it is accurate." The blonde-haired sister replied.
"Indeed, it is sister." The black-haired sister said. "You see time is like a raging river." She pointed to the wall and they could see a flowing river with a child throwing rocks into it. She froze the picture just as one of the rocks went into the water. "This is what happens when Warlords, World Leaders, and other people who shape the world make choices. They cause ripples that affect many people, but as you can see the water continues to run down the same path." The picture changed to a boulder in the center of the river causing it to fork in two different directions.
"What is that supposed to be?" Demona asked. Xena walked forward and felt the wall and was surprised that her hand was still dry. The sisters laughed at their stunned expressions.
"You two are boulders. Where you land the current changes course and you control the destiny of all the people around you." The white-haired sister informed them.
"Your destiny is to die in this war." The blonde-haired sister advised Xena.
"Your army will be defeated and you will run from hunters for the rest of your life." The black-haired sister advised Demona.
"However, working together you can thwart your destinies and make a better life for both of your species." The sisters said in unison.
"If you are the Fates why are you telling us this?" Demona asked suspiciously. "Aren't you supposed to be the keepers of destiny?"
"We are curious. We want to know what you two are capable of if you work together this time." They replied.
"…And since I die in the future I would really like to avoid that." Puck said. They turned, surprised to see him there. He grinned and walked in. He quickly gave a hug to each of the weird sisters.
"We told you that we would handle this, brother." The black-haired sister stated irritably.
"I know, but how could I resist seeing these two in action." Puck gave them a mock bow and stood back up grinning wide.
"Who are you?" Demona and Xena asked simultaneously.
"Oh, where are my manners? I keep forgetting that we haven't met yet, at least not officially." Puck laughed and the sisters glared at him. "My name is Puck and I've recently learned that the future has something rather nasty in store for me."
"I don't know what they are saying but you seem to be a warrior. So, I'm asking you one warrior to another. Will you help me defeat him?" Xena held her hand out to Demona while she waited for a response. Every instinct in Demona told her to throw the human, the strange little girls, and their brother out of her cave but she looked at Brooklyn and sighed deeply before shaking Xena's hand.
"The last time I extended my trust to a human my clan was destroyed, and my beloved was frozen in stone." Demona said in an ominous tone. Xena nodded and shook Demona's clawed hand firmly.
"Betrayal and I are well acquainted." Xena drew her sword and stuck it in the ground. She kneeled before the awestruck gargoyle as she spoke. "I give you my vow here and now, that we will follow you until this war is won. Then we will negotiate this alliance further."
"Very well, in order to defeat this threat it couldn't hurt to have allies. It is nearly dawn and we must sleep soon. Tell your people that we will gather tomorrow evening to plan our attacks." Demona said as time started again and the sisters along with Puck disappeared. Xena nodded and left to go tell the others. "Brooklyn I need to speak with you alone." Demona walked back to the back of the cave expecting him to follow her.
Xena arrived back at the new camp and saw smoke beginning to rise from the western side. They must be burning the bodies. She thought while she looked around the new camp that the women had hastily set up. She looked around until she saw Gabrielle who now was wearing her usual green halter top and leather leggings. She was also carrying a nearly six-foot-tall staff.
"Gabrielle, I need to talk to you." Xena said as she got close to her. They both walked away from the camp so they wouldn't be overheard.
"What's going on?" Gabrielle asked when they were out of earshot of the other women.
"I've decided to wait until nightfall tomorrow to begin our revenge on Constantine." Xena replied.
"Why? I thought we were going to ride out as soon as the gargoyles turned to stone and track him down." Gabrielle said confused by her friend's change of heart.
"We are joining the gargoyles on this hunt." Xena said in a plain tone. Gabrielle was shocked by the change and she looked at her friend to see if she was serious.
"If they find out that you and Constantine used to…" Gabrielle began.
"I know dammit, but this is the best way to kill that horse's ass." Xena said irritably. "Tell the others to get some rest and see if we can find any food. Tomorrow night you and I will meet with the gargoyle clan to plan our revenge."