Maybe Angels

Maybe Angels
Part V
By Trey
trey@pumkin.globalnet.co.uk

See Part I for full disclaimers.

The figures of Rel and Toak, framed with anger and hate, illustrated themselves with fervent gestures and spiteful words beside Ephiny, as Xena neared the edges of Amazon territory. She dropped from the saddle in time to catch the former's words:

'So you're just gonna let them attack?! You're just gonna sit and - and wait for them to attack?!!'

Ephiny seemed as convinced as Toak of any assault on the Amazons, 'Rel, listen -'

'No, you listen: the Raiders and Drays are already coming, we have to form a defence now!'

The mention of the legendary Drays only seemed to hinder her efforts, Rel found her

words met with cold stares as more Amazons fronted the invader.

'Ephiny, you believe me...you have to believe me.....'

She stared pleadingly into her friend's eyes - was she still her friend? Surely her exile hadn't lost all their years of laughter, it couldn't erase the fact that she was Miaska's best friend...they were all Amazon sisters, Ephiny had to believe...

'You're not an Amazon anymore,' came the avoiding reply, 'and you're trespassing on our land. We are not your people, this is not your tribe - you have no obligation to us and we have none to you. Therefore, leave now or we will have no choice but force.'

The supporting Harlots drew their swords, but Rel made no move. The tone of Ephiny's voice cut deeper than their blades ever could: not her tribe? Not her tribe? They thought this was some kind of plot, that she wouldn't accept her exile; what was she suppose to do - just leave? Just ride - walk - off and never look back? They were about to be slaughtered, and all they could think of was their anger at her?

'Look, there's an army headed towards this valley even as we speak. The moment the sun lines with the shrine, they attack. What part of this aren't you understanding? What do I gain from making this up?'

Toak stepped forwards, 'Attention, of course.'

'Toak...' Ephiny warned.

'No,' came the hateful drawl, 'this time we fight. You're on our land, Rel, our land. You weren't happy with merely killing my sister, you're trying to act the innocent - just as you always have - well, this time you're not getting away with it.'

Toak's sword glinted in Rel's wide eyes as the older woman circled her.

'You remember when we found you?' she continued, 'Alone and afraid in the world; no one to turn to, no shoulder to cry on - do you remember?'

Rel was beginning to feel ever-closer to that past life, and it wasn't so much remembering as re-living.

'Yes, I see you do. Back then you had nothing, were nothing. Your home had been destroyed, your dear brother killed, but we pitied you. Your charlatan-innocence and rueful youth made you so angelic, so believable. And it has always been so since, has it not? You lived in the power of knowledge, the knowledge that you could get whatever you wanted with a click of your fingers, but this time that's not going to happen.'

Ephiny was getting edgy, 'Rel, leave now - we have no fight with you unless you choose to make one.'

'Oh no, Rel isn't going anywhere.'

'Toak, put down your sword and return to the tribe. We still -'

'I said she stays!' Toak challenged.

The group fell silent, Xena watched with them - what was happening? Was Toak really willing to disobey Ephiny to fight Rel?

The blonde herself kept shifting from foot to foot, as if inpatient about something, 'If you want to fight, fine. If you want to stand around swinging swords at me, go ahead. Go on - I can see you all crave my blood, so take it, but Niakari's death was an accident.'

She began to pace in front of the group of Amazons, holding each with a brief stare as she spoke and presenting her case almost as to a jury.

'You're right, when you found me I was nothing, but you gave me life, a new purpose. I accepted everything you taught me without question, learned to fight as good as any of you so I would fit in - I even grew so trusting that I started to think you actually cared about me. Real dumb, huh? And when I found out who it was who had destroyed my first life - I was torn by what I knew was right and what you'd inspirited me to be believe.'

'What are you talking about now?' Toak drawled with both sarcasm and boredom creeping into her words.

'I'm talking about your laws. The Scrolls state that, and I quote, ''all blood and oath- bound members are entitled to the Act of Vengeance.'' '

'Neither of which describes your brother. Both, however, apply to Niakari.'

'But I am - ' she glanced at Ephiny, 'was - bound by that oath, and Jason to me by blood, therefore - '

'Therefore nothing. Accept it Rel, this time you lose. This time we - '

'Wait,' a soft tone turned all vision to one of the jury, 'maybe...maybe she's right.'

Toak was taken aback, 'Right? Right about what?'

'Amazon law was set up to protect not only the members of the tribe, but also our families. In finding the person guilty of her brother's murder, Rel was granted Right to the Act.'

'She's doing it again! Why doesn't anyone else see it?'

'The sentence, by order of Queen Melosa, has already been passed.' only now did Ephiny herself draw her sword, 'Exile, Rel, is exile. If there's one last thing you do for the tribe, take heed of Melosa's words, ''walk and don't stop. Find another life, and live it.'' If there's one last thing you do for me, I ask it be that you find happiness.'

Rel gazed around the group. She saw Xena, but didn't look at her, instead she inhaled a breath and re-focused on Ephiny, '...okay.'

The Amazon jury sighed with silent relief as the girl backed away a few steps.

'But if there's one thing you all do for me, it's that you grab every bow and sword you can, and prepare to defend yourselves for one of the bloodiest battles the Gods have ever witnessed.'

A few of the onlookers faltered slightly at the eveness of her voice, but held Toak back as the young girl faded into the forest. Despite the crime against her, they couldn't help but grip their weapons tighter and wish to return to the village at haste; though now a murderer, no one could accuse her of ever being dishonest. The disease of doubt infected them all, but each hid it from one another and simply urged their horses homewards. All were well aware of the sun advancing higher into the sky, being pulled ever-nearer to its daily destiny above Artemis' holy shrine...

***

Xena stood alone at the spot where all had departed. Leaves swirled around her like gold-tipped angels in a fantasy dream, if only this were all but part of her imagination. If only she had let two survive and not one...

'Oh don't think like that - you put us to shame!'

The warrior didn't have to turn, she felt the cool touch and smooth words of Aries, God of War, and knew them too well not to recognise them now.

'What are you doing here?' she growled.

He pulled back and pretended to be offended, 'My dear, why do you persist in neglecting my heart? Is hope and love not your new policy?'

Her eyes glared into him, and he rejoiced in their darkness, for it was a sight he only held memories of, 'I won't repeat my question.' she forewarned.

'And I wouldn't have you do so - which has us in agreement.'

'But doesn't give an answer.'

He chuckled, his Princess had never been one for chat, though that seemed to be changing as she grew closer the little bard. He didn't understand their friendship, didn't see how two from such paradox lives could now have merged into a single existence.

'The God of War always arrives just before the show.'

Xena's thoughts span wildly, 'Show? What show? What's about to happen?'

A grin lit his face at her myth, 'You see me as a profiteer now? I'm flattered, though I suppose a little gratitude is due - under the circumstances.'

The warrior wasn't in the mood for his games; she held no God in any higher esteem simply because of his powers. Aries sensed her loosing interest, and temperament.

'This Vengeance Act the Amazons hold so dear, as a general rule I'm all for it - others could learn from the Harlot openness - but there are always exceptions to any rule.'

'Such as...?'

'Such as where my dark Warrior is in danger.'

He lavished her expression, knowing that he needn't read her the last chapter of the scroll.

There was a pause, a moment where the angels held their breaths - waiting in forethought for Xena to draft ideas together.

'Niakari,' came the whisper, 'you killed Niakari.'

Aries seemed slighted, 'Me? No, no - Rel's hand delivered the poison, and that's the truth. I merely - how shall I say - re-directed her efforts.'

'You killed her,' Xena's eyes blazed, 'you split the tribe, had Rel exiled, and now Toak's bent on her Vengeance...'

'A job well done, I feel, but as for Toak,' he shrugged, 'right now I'd say "Vengeance" is the last thing on her mind.'

And with sinless mockery and the hell of the Elysian Fields shimmering in his eyes, he vanished. Xena was, once again, left isolated with her desolate thoughts - the angels murmuring his last words nervously to each other. She listened to their worried whispers, distant from their concern - too wrapped in her own theories - and imagined their halos spinning like chakrams. They didn't appreciate her lack of concentration, began to circle her, their voices chorusing in unparalleled unison, weaving webs of words which trapped her - forcing her to focus.

'The Drays...Rel wasn't lying,' she finally realised, 'the only possible explanation for Aries being here is that she wasn't lying.'

The spirits rejoiced, casting off their nets and setting her free - singing sweet hymns which drove her vision skywards towards the heavens. But praising the Gods was not her motive, the sun - in its steady pace - struck noon. It clicked like the lock on Pandora's box, and Hope was released. The attack had begun.

Xena leapt on Argo as the mount began to head for the village, smoke was already rising from the valley and she could feel Aries' presence pressing her on.

Rel whirled round as hoof-beats shook the ground. The chestnut horse skidded to a halt and an arm extended out to her, she glanced back at the wisps of battle, and then up into Xena's expectant eyes. 'They are my tribe,' she thought, grabbing the hand and pulling herself up behind the dark woman, 'no matter what they say, they are my tribe.'

***

The earth was alight. They fled along the ravine, trees animated with flames and angel screams ringing out as the Elysian Forest burned around them. Flashes of orange and black were all Rel could distinguish of the rising Tartarius they now twisted through.

A huge redwood crashed into their path, its mutated evil causing Argo to buck unavoidably. Rel was thrown, her cry of pain sending a bolt of desperation through Xena. The smoke swelled as she jerked her mount round, she couldn't see anything, Rel, where was Rel?

Waves of heat and torture rose higher, nearer, their retreat cut off by fire and love. Forwards was the only choice, Gabrielle was fighting on the other side of that smoke, the Amazon village wasn't far now, where was Rel?

For the second time that day, the blonde couldn't breathe. The smoke left her blind, choking and terrified. Never since that one Day had she known fear, but now it burned through her skin, through her heart and spirit, through every thought and hope she had ever held. It wasn't the selfish horror of death which scared her, it was the acknowledgement that if she died now, she would be remembered as nothing but a traitor. Had Xena saved herself? Where was she?

Rel tried to stand, the flames licked her arms, but she didn't care. Glowing shapes and leaping shadows met her dazed vision; she was dying inside. Her legs gave way as all faith was abandoned, and she knew that as soon as she hit the ground, she would never again see the dawn hit Artemis' shrine.

She fell.

Angels cried out in sorrow and fear as they too plummeted down from the heavens, illuminated not by innocence or purity, but by lustrous ashes.

Rel couldn't fight it anymore; she had never been a strong believer in Fate - she had always thought that things happened only because you made them - but...but now things were far beyond her control. Something, some force, was bent on her death, and now she just didn't have the will nor strength to resist it.

Joy to Sorrow. Love to Hate. Peace to War. Life.....to Death.

Wherever innocence doth throw us.

Innocence? This war her friends were now dying in, it was her fault, how could she ever claim innocence?

Darkness beckoned, but to her anguish an arm grabbed her only inches from death, jerking her sharply upwards. She hung loosely to Xena's waist and tried to make sense of something - anything - through the haze of her mind.

'Hang in there, Rel.' the warrior called, spurring Argo to what the referred assumed was an escape.

They began to gallop, the blonde opened her eyes and blinked, shock guillotining her breath as she realised the real meaning of Xena's words: they were heading straight for the burning redwood.

'Wha - '

Argo jumped.

Dark eyes of fire glared up as they passed over. Hands outstretched, slashing and clawing at Rel's boots as she clung to her saviour.

Streams of guilt and

Streams of lies

Burn glares of hate

In calm blue eyes

But never near their silver wings

Where innocence doth sin us

There were no notes to her tune; the melody became a focus, the words were her way of escapism simply because there were so many things she wanted, needed, to escape.

They landed heavily. Rel slammed into Xena's back as Argo crashed to the ground, but far from stopping, the mare grunted and dragged them onwards. The smoke billowed as flames roared on all sides, and Xena's white knuckles gripped the reins as she tried to direct Argo's terror-stricken gallop.

If Rel had had time to pray, she would have, but all her energy went on trying to move with the horse and grip Xena. Besides, she had nothing to say to the gods. They hadn't helped any so far, and a plea of mercy was hardly likely to sway her fate, whatever that was.

As if in scorn for this thought, the village gates abruptly loomed through the smoke, or, at least, what remained of them. The sounds of war rang death knells beyond as the Warrior Princess reached across her back and drew her sword. Rel suddenly realised she had nothing to defend herself with...but did she truly have anything to defend?

'The village,' she steeled, 'the tribe, Miaska, Ephiny, Melosa, Gabrielle.....Xena: I have everything to defend.'

She caught her first glimpse of the battlefield over Xena's shoulder, the shady figures indistinguishable through the clouds of ash, and something inside her shifted. It was her fighting instinct, only now it had an unwavering intensity about it, a purpose.

She lifted her head to Xena's ear, 'May the gods be with you.' she whispered, and dived from the saddle.

Thinking played no part in battle, there was merely reflex and inherent actions. Rel kicked her leg high and powered it between the shoulder-blades of a Raider, he fell into the sword of the Amazon he had been duelling. Her arms crossed in an X above her head as she blocked the handle of an axe which swung behind her, then drove both elbows hard into the attacker's chest: the dance had began anew.

There was a change of form though. All her previous performances had been free-style, she had always gone with the single rule of beating the opponent. You had to be able to anticipate their next move even before they made it, think two steps ahead all the time, had to see their mistakes before they happened, and be ready to judge the exact moment to strike. This part she had learned through Amazon life and teachings, but what separated her from them, what made her such a formidable fighter, was the fact that she cared not whether it was her that lived, or her opponent.

Until now.

She knew now how much she had to live for, and though she'd been exiled from it all, it still existed. And what was still part of the world, she could still love. With that to lose, her motions became accurate and consistent, they lost the wild recklessness previously her trait.

A Dray, discernible by his dark blue cloth as opposed to the Raiders' maroon, reeled backwards at her punch, and she caught his sword on its counter-flight.

A cry of pain, Amazon pain, made her whirl round in time to see Toak fall. Three Drays closed in like vultures calling death, and a protective growl erupted from Rel's throat. She swung her new blade across their necks in one stroke, never granting them the luxury of seeing the enraged soul of their killer before all went black.

Two more advanced. Rel edged back while eyeing each and keeping her sword held tightly in both hands before her. The Drays exchanged a glance, the vital clue to predicting their plan. A hesitation lingered mockingly into a nerving pause, and they attacked. Both at once raised their weapons and brought them down with malicious force, Rel twisted her sword upwards in line with the ground, blocking the twin blades only a hair's-breadth from her head before jolting them away. Her wild fighting style had not completely deserted her: she continued her movement, launching herself into a back-flip and kicking both men callously in the jaw. One's head snapped back unnaturally from the impact, the other squinted as his companions mangled body landed with a dull thud.

His eyes gleamed black. He swung, she vaulted, she thrust, he dodged. Suddenly her sword, her defence, flew from her hand in his strike. She lurched her arm up, evening the odds as his weapon followed hers. She sneered, a while ago she had been questioning her compassion and being swallowed by guilt for their loved ones, now she longed to see the look of horror in each one as he died at her hand. War used to be fun, now it was a matter of personal vendetta.

The Dray stooped for his sword, she threw her weight forwards, crushing him into his dead friend. He rolled over her, turning the tides, and grabbed her throat. She tried to resist, tried to claw his grasp away, but it only tightened. Her mouth gasped for air but his snaking fingers denied it access, her vision began to fuzz over, blood pounding in her head and sending her body into fitful seizures. In a feral movement, her right hand knocked against something cold, something hard: the dead Dray's dagger. With a last effort, she pulled it from his belt and stabbed it upwards, she couldn't see where, but it sank into flesh, and the pressure on her neck was instantly released. He collapsed on top of her, she felt blood wet her face. Disgusted, she pushed him off and hauled herself a foot or so away.

She blinked, trying to get her sight back, while rasping breaths sucked in smoke and dust. A distant moan called weakly to her, she strained to see Toak lying nearby. She crawled over, ignoring her own pain, and reached out to lift the Amazon's hand from her chest. It revealed a sword-wound irreversibly deep and unhealingly bloody. The other woman saw the look of helplessness pass over the blonde and strived to bring a smile to her lips.

'You...you saved...'

'No,' Rel leaned closer, 'don't try to talk, just - '

'You tried to saved me.' came the whisper.

A Raider sprawled in the mud near the Drays, and Melosa looked over at them. She knew war could bring people together, a crisis was known to strip humans down to their purest nature at times, but never in all of Hades did she expect to see Rel and Toak hand in hand.

'Take...Rel, take my Rite of - of Caste.'

Rel was stunned, 'You don't mean that, I can find another Amazon, I can find - '

'No. You...' she was fading fast.

'If you're sur -' Toak nodded in reply, '...well...o-okay, but don't, but just don't...'

The wounded woman's eyes glazed over, her hand went limp in Rel's.

Melosa nodded to the girl, acknowledging the act, before turning to face another Raider. She left Rel, fire smouldering lower now, but still alight, and war raging around her, kneeling over her ex-enemy.

'Thank you,' she murmured, 'I hope you find peace with Niakari, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.'

A white glow descended around them. It wasn't the light of angels, no hymns or halos, it was simply the glimmer of freedom; the glimmer of joy that comes out of sorrow, love out of hate, peace out of war, life...out of death; for light always shines brightest in darkness. But Rel...Rel had always used that dark as cover, hiding herself in its boundless wrath and cowering from the truths which tumbled through the purity of awed radiance under which she now knelt.

A shadow invaded the light, intruding the solitary spirits that found refuge within its asylum of dreams. The white evaporated, leaving Rel's vision to re-focus on the slight smile which still held on Toak's pacific face.

She lifted her head slowly, straining to identify the figure against the blinding flames; was it friend or foe?

'Well doesn't this scene just touch your heart?'

She steeled at the words, grabbing Toak's fallen sword and jilting the light to face her opponent.

He chuckled, 'And you expect me to believe you'll fight? You: the beggar of forgiveness, the revived Amazon; fight? You had not the courage nor strength to face a true enemy, possessed not the heart to avenge the loss of your own life, and you'll stand there with a sword and prepare to fight me?'

The intermission of the performance had ended. Competitors took to the stage once more as a curtain of smoke lifted abruptly with a gust of wind. But this dance would be different; it would separate the supreme champions from the mere novice talent, the judges being not people, but blades.

Rel took her stance, and began.

Continued Part VI