Chapter 4

Two of the four mercenaries waited inn a quarter of a mile outside of the town. They rented rooms for each of them to stay in and are now going to get some much-needed rest. Before they do turn in to rest, they have a little get-together in Gravis' room to plan there down time starting tomorrow. Gravis and Roland were waiting for Saul and Darius to meet them there. Saul enters the room, which is lit by a few candles. He tells the others about Darius drinking himself to sleep and leaving him in the old tavern for the night. As expected, Roland doesn't take the news very lightly.

"You left Darius in the tavern?!" said Roland with annoyance in his voice. "That was a mistake. We will be lucky to get him out of there tomorrow!"

"What do you mean lucky to get him out of there? He does it all the time." Saul claimed jokingly.

"You know how hard it is to get him out of the inn once he gets drunk." Roland said. "He may start a fight in the morning and beat the stuff out of someone. That draws very unnecessary trouble to him and to us!" His voice was even sterner than before. "Go get him while he is probably passed out. It would make things so much easier."

"Let him sleep it off. The tavern keeper knows him and will watch him." Gravis claimed. "Relax."

Roland stopped to think for a moment as he watched Gravis. Gravis looked to Roland as if he was waiting for an answer. Roland took a deep breath and then spoke in a calm and peaceful tone.

"I guess your right." Roland said. "What could happen to him between now and tomorrow morning, right?" Roland grinned but inside, he felt that something was wrong.

"Wake up..." Callisto whispered into Darius's ear. She stroked the right side of his face gently and whispered to him again. "Wake up..." Callisto said in a soft and gentle voice. Callisto stood up and watched her prey like a Cobra ready to strike. She finally was tired of waiting for him to wake up so she did it the next best way. A slap across the face worked perfectly as Darius opened his eyes half way and started to look around. His head began to pulse with pain. Darius tried to hold his head but his arms and legs were tied to the chair that he was sitting in and his mouth was gagged. He struggled to move but his best efforts only caused the chair to tip over and cause him to fall on his left shoulder. Callisto walked behind the chair and pulled it back up to its standing position.

"Don't bother struggling." Callisto replied gleefully. "I made sure that you were not getting out of those ropes that easily."

Muffled profanity and anger could be heard coming from Darius's covered mouth. His breathing was fast and heavy as he continued to struggle. Callisto sat on the table in front of Darius and watched him struggle with a smirk on her face, her elbows on her thighs and her head in her hands. She simply waited for him to finally have a clue and realize that he wasn't going anywhere. After about fifteen seconds of fighting the ropes, Darius finally stopped struggling and watched the women he remembered killing almost a year ago smiling at him. The shock set in and his anger turned to fear.

"Finally." Callisto said in a calm yet playful tone. She got up and started pacing slowly around Darius like a snake circling its prey. "It's a good thing you stopped. You could get a really bad rope burn from that. I should know." Callisto rubbed her wrists. "You gave me one. I know what your thinking, Darius. Mind if I call you Darius? Good. You're thinking that you killed me. I should be dead." Callisto continued to circle. "Well, you are right. I should be dead and probably in Tartarus." Callisto stopped right in front him and sat on his lap putting her arms around his neck.

"But I got better! Amazing huh? From dead and buried, to alive and kicking! And I thank you for that, Darius." Callisto grabbed his hair and pulled his head back with great force and aggression. "You and your three other friends!" Callisto let go of his hair and stood up again. "I will thank them soon enough."

Callisto sat back on the table and started grinning to herself with clear-cut insanity in her eyes. She leaned forward and pulled the gag out of his mouth and threw it aside.

"YOU CRAZY BITCH! I WILL KI..." Darius's words cut short by Callisto's hand over his mouth.

"Now, now." Callisto said sternly. "Another outburst like that and I will have to put the gag back in. OK?" Darius paused. Callisto removed her hand slowly and waved her finger in his face signaling not to do it. "Now I am going to ask you a simple question nicely. If you refuse to answer, you will not like it. If you are cooperative, you might just walk out of here breathing...shortly, but breathing. Now, where are your friends?"

Darius spat in Callisto's right eye, making her flinch. "Go to Tartarus, you skinny, dried up dead bitch!" Darius slurred.

Callisto stopped for a second almost as to signify that she was considering what he said. "Fine." she said.

Darius looked puzzled for a moment as he heard the response. Callisto started humming to herself a song she never heard before, yet it was enjoyable for such a moment. Quickly and with ease, Callisto for the gag down Darius's mouth and tied the other gag around his head preventing the first from leaving Darius's mouth. Darius started struggling again, but was once again unsuccessful. Continuing to hum the strange tune, Callisto moved back in front of Darius and pulled out her dagger out of its sheath on her side. She sat down on his lap facing him and cut his shirt off of him like it was parchment. She neither grinned nor frowned while she worked. Darius looked down at her hand and saw that she was holding it like a pencil and began carving into his exposed chest. Darius was shocked at first and didn't feel any pain as yet. However, the pain came shortly after that and now Darius began to scream into the gag. All that was heard were muffled cries of pain. It was not loud enough to disturb the rat that was passing by Callisto's foot.

"Now then," Callisto said with a sadistic grin on her face. "I was hoping for you to tell me where they were, but since you had to be a stonewall about it, I guess I will have to make an example out of you."

Ten minutes passed and Callisto was finally finished with her artwork. She stepped back and looked at her art and smiled.

"I am good." Callisto spoke with glee.

Darius was barely holding on to his life. He was sweat and tears flowed down his face like a waterfall. He couldn't take anymore. Too tired to fight and too tired to scream anymore. No one heard him.

"Was it good for you as it was for me?" Callisto said. "Now I am guessing you are just screaming to tell me where your friends are, aren't you? Well you don't have to say anything. Because I already know..."

"However," Callisto said while walking towards the bar and cutting open a bag of salt open and grabbing a handful. "Don't worry about them. They are the least of your worries."

Callisto took the salt and walked over to a panicking Darius who was literally wetting himself. She stopped in front of him and waved the salt by carved up chest.

"This pain is nothing like the pain I have gone through. Tell Hades I'll be seeing him soon enough..."

With these last words, Callisto took the salt and rubbed it forcefully into her artwork. Dariuss' eyes opened wide as if they wanted to leave his pain-filled body. He was having an uncontrollable seizure and fell to the ground. Blood started to ooze out from his gag. Callisto watched his every moment hoping to feel some type of satisfaction. Hoping she would feel some type of victory. But she felt nothing. All she felt was emptiness. A void that she knew would only be filled if she were to get the others. Dariuss' seizure started to slow down and come to a stop. He was dead. His pain was over.

Callisto stood up the chair again and left him where he would be visible to anyone who entered the bar. She turned and walked towards the door with the Crow flying towards her and landing on her shoulder.

"One down," Callisto said. "Three to go..."