Chapter 3

The crow flew across the afternoon sky smoothly and freely as it looked down at the passing trees, searching for its targets, Callisto's targets. The time has come for revenge, for the hunt to begin. It was time for the reckoning. The crow found a small and bright village. It was full of activity and life. People walked around the town. The crow perched itself on a nearby branch of a tree and began looking, searching, hunting. There were about fifty people all together walking around. The crow simply kept looking until it found the first of its two targets. Both walked together towards a tavern. The first was a about 6'2", dark hair, stout-muscular build, scruff, unshaven face, wearing brown leather armor that looked like it could hardly contain him. The same could be said about his shoes and pants. It was Darius. The person walking next to him was the same height, but had a thin-muscular build and had a much better looking face but it was also not shaven. He did not wear armor like Darius, but instead wore rags with large rings woven into them. This was Saul. They both walked into the tavern talking to each other in a joking manner. Both had no idea that a black bird in a distant tree was watching them. Neither would even know that whatever the crow saw, Callisto saw. Callisto was still sitting in her old hut on the floor Indian style with her painted face towards the closed door. Her hands clasped together and resting on her folded legs and her eyes were closed as she watched what the crow was watching. She saw everything as clear as the day. She just rocked back and forth, back and forth as she saw the two mercenaries. She grinned to herself in delight and insanity.

"So, they are still close to the scene of the crime, hmm? Good...Tonight three will enter, one will leave." She kept her eyes closed and continued to rock and grin.

In an army fortsite on the outskirts of the town, Gravis and Roland walked towards through a group of warriors towards the general's tent. Gravis gave Roland a simply hand gesture that told Roland to stay outside while he went inside. Roland understood and waited outside. Gravis entered the tent slowly almost as if he were expecting a trap at the door. Instead he looked around and saw that the leader of the army was taking a bath in a large tub. The steam from the water told Gravis that this bath just recently started. The general's head was the only thing above the water's surface. All Gravis could see however was the black hair of the general. Gravis saw that and decided that now was probably not a good time to bring news of their finished work. He started to turn around and make his first step when a dagger hit the ground in front of Gravis and forced to quickly turn around. He looked and saw the general's arm slowly go back into the water. His head still facing away from the door.

"I didn't want to disturb you." Said Gravis in a low and respect-filled tone.

"The second you walked in, you already did." Said the general in his low and hissing voice. "Did you finish?"

"Yes." Gravis quickly answered. "There are no more witnesses. It is now a clean job."

"It was supposed to be a clean job from the beginning." he answered back quickly. "Maybe I should hire better mercenaries for the job."

Gravis quickly retaliated. "With all due respect, my team is the best there is. We have completed more jobs than anyone in this..."

He raised his hand signal for him to be silent and he quickly shut his mouth.

Gravis paused with a frown and began to turn away.

"Oh by the way, Gravis." Gravis turn around once again and saw the man looking at him from the tub, but he was still up to his neck in the water. He had a slight smirk on his face. "Did Saul run this time?"

Gravis nodded his head no with full seriousness on his face.

He continued, "We don't need a repeat performance from the last job. He can't have a heart and be on my side. Got it?"

Before he could answer a female came from outside and walked passed Gravis, removed her robe and walked toward the tub. She was totally naked. She was about 5'10, blonde hair, smoky-gray eyes, and an athletic build. Gravis not wanting to show his arousal to the site looked away as she walked into the tub.

"Whatever you say..." Gravis finally answered.

The night came quickly and quietly as if it were creeping up on the earth. Saul and Darius were still inside the tavern, but both were not the same. Darius was wasted drunk to the point where he couldn't even keep his head up for more than a few seconds. Saul just watched and grinned to himself. Knowing that it was very late and close to midnight, Saul tried to get Darius and leave the tavern. However, Darius was too wasted to see that and instead saw as an insult.

"Come on Darius. Lets go." Saul said as he stood and tried to pull Darius up. Darius, however, wasn't moving from his position. His head was down on his crossed arms on the table. He looked up for as long as his vision wasn't blurred, which wasn't long at all.

"Go away..." Darius responded drunkenly. "Leave me alone…" Saul continued to pull up on the dead weight of Darius.

"Look. We got to get to the inn. Gravis is waiting for us." Saul continued to plead but it was to no avail. Finally Darius responded by pulling his arm back.

"I'm not leaving…Go away!" Saul just stood back and watched Darius. In the back of Saul' mind, he would have probably dragged him out by his arms, but instead he decided that he could probably sleep off the ale in the inn and come get him in the morning.

"Drunk bastard." Saul told Darius in a low, but joking tone.

"Like your mom, Saul!" Darius retorted.

With a grin, Saul turned and headed for the door. Saul knew that Darius was going to be ok because he knew the tavern keeper well. He would let Darius sleep off the ale. Saul left the lighted safety of the inn and entered the unpredictable cold of the night.

Darius took another sip of his ale and looked around the tavern. There were about a few people in the tavern. Some were talking with others. Darius couldn't make out how many people were there all together due to his blurred and doubled vision. His head dropped to the table and passed out.

The night seemed long and cold. Darius was still passed out on the table when he heard a strange sound. It was like a screech of a bird, only louder. Gravis looked up slowly because of his head full of ale. The room looked darker than before. The people were gone and the tavern was empty. The screeching continued and startled Darius. This time it was closer than before, like it was right in his left ear. Darius looked over and saw a blur that looked like a large black bird perched on the top of a table next to his. He tried to focus his eyes but before he could the bird flew off the table and landed on the bar top at the far end of the room.

"Good, your awake..." a female voice behind Darius spoke. It was right from behind him and was light yet cold. This startled Darius enough for him to look around and see what the voice was. Unfortunately, his blurred double vision was preventing him from seeing the face in full focus. "Hello there." Darius said in a drunken, slurred tone and a grin on his face. "Who might you be?"

"Someone from your past." the voice said. "Where is your friend?" This humored Darius even though he still couldn't see or figure out who this person was. By this time the female figure walked to the other side of the table and sat in front of Darius with her legs on top of the table and arms folded in front of her.

"My friend? Oh, you mean Saul… I sent him home. It was…. Past his bed time." Darius spoke in such a slurred tone that if Callisto weren't so concentrated on him, she probably wouldn't have understood a single word he said. "Have we met before?" he asked.

"We've met before. We met about a year ago in a hut on the outskirts of this town. You don't remember me?" the voice said.

"Nope. But.... Uh..." Darius slowly moved his hand towards the woman's leg. "You could remind me.... If you like."

His hand touched Callisto's ankle, then her shin, and then her calves. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she cooed with his gentle yet drunken touch. Callisto grinned but not because of his touch but because it brought back the memories of the night she and Petris died. She saw the beating that Darius put on Petris. She saw the blood from Petris' face all over the hands of Darius. She heard the laughter from the others as they all took turns utterly dismantling and disfiguring Petris. The horrible and severe beating he suffered.

Callisto returned from her trance-like state and opened her eyes. She gazed upon Darius with bitter hatred on her face and a smile from ear to ear. Callisto removed her legs from the table and stood up slowly. The smile still on her face and the hate and anger still in her eyes, but she dared not show it to Darius. He simply followed the movements of the female blur with his half-open eyes and a drunken smile. She sat in his lap and placed her arms around his neck. Darius continued to smile and placed his arms around her waist with care. He watched her face closely.

"Are you sure that we met before?" Darius asked softly. His vision cleared up enough to see her face and he still couldn't recognize her right away. "Why is your face painted like that?"

Callisto adjusted the way she sat and was now sitting face to face with Darius. "My name is Callisto." Darius's smile turned to a frown, as he looked her in the eyes. "Now you remember?"

Darius's face turned to sheer horror but before he could react, Callisto grabbed his hair and gave him a hard and fast headbutt turning Darius's world black.