Chapter 3 - Hestocles

"Water!" Ephiny shouted. "Get some water on that hut before it spreads." She ran to the well and helped her sisters douse the flames that were growing. The archers seemed to know which huts to aim for. The dining hall, storage bunker and queen's residence were now in flames and burning wildly. A little more water and the bunker would be spared from total destruction. "Selena, get over to the queen's residence and..."

A giant boom was heard as the army broke through the main gate and began their assault. Swords flashed in the moonlight as Amazon and infantry clashed. Screams and cries filled the air and slowly, so did the smell of blood. Ephiny refocused on the bunker. "Whatever happens, keep this one under control." She pulled her sword and entered the melee.

Gabrielle fought off an attacker and knocked him unconscious with her staff. Another pounced behind her and knocked out her knees. She fell with a groan, rolled and raised her staff up to keep his sword from splitting her head. She lay on her back, kicked a leg up into his groin and he doubled over. With a twist, she knocked his head and he went down. She spied Jonus and Solari, fighting together. They would be fine. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Joxer come from Jonus's hut carrying the most beautiful sword she'd ever seen. She almost didn't see the punch that was coming at her, but ducked narrowly in time. The opponent went flying forward with his own momentum and she kicked his backside. He tasted dirt and roared in anger. He charged again, Gabrielle stepped to the side and swung her staff, hitting him squarely in the back. He was out.

"Solari!" Jonus yelled above the noise. "Get me to the wall. I need to get better aim at these guys." She strung another arrow and fired, hitting the man in his side. So far, none of her shots had killed anyone and she wanted it that way.

"Yeah, right!" Solari answered. "Any ideas on how to do that?" She parried another attack and kicked him in the face.

Jonus scanned the area. Her sisters were fighting well, but some were down. She didn't focus on that right now. Her mind had to remain on what she was doing now. She saw Joxer and called out. "Joxer! I need you over here." She aimed her bow again, but this man backed away. He turned and ran. Jonus wasn't going to shoot him or anyone in the back. "Joxer!"

Joxer heard Jonus calling to him, but was busy trying to keep two men from skewering him. Just as one went down, the other attacked. He tried to remember what Artemis had taught him and to keep his breathing regular, but it was hard. He smashed one's face with the hilt of his sword and he fell down unconscious. The other swung and Joxer was barely able to block. The large man pushed his sword down on top of Joxer's. Joxer gripped the weapon with both hands to try to throw him off, but he was too big. He could feel his legs buckling under the weight. Sweat poured from his face and he could see the man begin laughing. "A man in the Amazons? Guess you ain't much of a man, then, eh...woman?"

Joxer gritted his teeth. This was not the time to get angry. "What about you," he hissed between his teeth. "So strong that you have to fight women to prove your worth?" Joxer's face whitened when he saw that that was the wrong thing to say.

"I'm gonna slice off your head, eat your brains and use your eyeballs for target practice."

Joxer gulped.

Suddenly, the pressure was gone and the man fell forward onto Joxer. He staggered back and to the side to let the man fall to the ground with a thud. He looked over and saw Gabrielle with her staff ready. "Thanks."

"Sure." She nodded over to Jonus. "She needs your help."

"Right." He bounded off. "Jonus!"

"Joxer! Great!" She shifted her position. "I need to get over to the wall. Cover me and Solari."

The trio made there way to the wall, deflecting arrows and swords along the way. They reached the base and Jonus threw a nearby rope and hook over the top and tested the strength. "I'm going up."

"Be careful," Joxer warned. Jonus turned to him and saw something in his eyes. Those had been more than words he said to her. It was like she wanted a promise from him that she would be careful.

"Jonus!" Solari yelled with warning. "Get up there!"

"Okay." She slung her bow over her shoulder and began climbing. Two warriors charged the remaining pair, but they were easily deflected.

"You're good at this," Solari said. "Never woulda thought that of ya."

"Nice." Joxer answered. He kicked away an oncomer. He caught a quick glimpse of Jonus and saw that she was near the top. He then saw the arrow coming right for her. "Look out!" he screamed.

In that instant, the arrow was severed in two and fell useless to the ground. Joxer looked over and saw Xena replace her chakram on her belt. He nodded his thanks and she responded with the same. She pulled her sword and with a war cry, launched into battle.

Gabrielle could see Jonus scaling the wall and knew what she was up to. She then looked around and saw that many of the Amazons were winning the battle. The fires managed to be contained and Ephiny had joined the battle. Xena was back and the sound of returning hooves could be heard nearby. The Amazons were going to win. But who started this? And why? She had little time to ponder the questions when three men encircled her. She pulled her staff close, twisted and knocked them out with one rotation. "Xena!" She ran to her companion. "Who did this? What's going on?" She batted another opponent, while Xena rammed her sword through another.

"I don't know. I haven't heard of anyone wanting to make war with the Amazons." She deflected another onslaught. "Those horsemen weren't much competition. Like they were some kind of deflection from what they really wanted. Ahhhh-yiiiaaah." Another fell limp to the ground.

Both turned as the roar of the returning Amazon cavalry filled the air and shook the ground. The battle was now almost over.

Jonus set her sites and fired. The arrow struck cleanly through the man's fighting arm and he screamed in pain, grabbing his arm. Ruth looked up and thanked Jonus for the help. She touched her hand to her head, then resumed scanning the area for other attackers. Joxer and Solari were still below her, slashing and defending.

A movement around her hut caught Jonus's attention. She gazed in horror as a soldier emerged carrying her golden arrow. "NO!" she screamed. She readied her arrow and was about to fire, when a great force shook the wall. She tried steadying herself, but she was losing her balance. Remember the logs back home. Balance! she screamed at herself in her mind. She tried with all her might, but she was losing. Another cubit and she would be over...

Joxer and Solari shook their heads trying to clear away the dizziness each felt over the force of the blow they received. Solari looked up and saw a huge bulk of a man grinning maniacally at them, his missing teeth added to his hideousness. He was close enough to smell his hot, sweaty body and feel his dirty breathe on her face. "You two are going to stay right here." He pushed the log further into them, checking them in place, the wall Jonus was on behind them, the log in front. A terrifying thought ran through her head. If this man has done anything to jeopardise the baby within her, no man or god would be albe to stop her. She seethed through clenched teeth.

Joxer could feel broken ribs and prayed to every god he could think of to relieve the pain. He had dropped the sword with the blow, but realised that it would have done little good against the behemoth. He looked at Solari and saw her anger.

A sword came up and sliced at the monster's arm, but didn't cut to the skin under the layers of leather. He casually lifted his leg and kicked out, hitting Ephiny full in the stomach. She flew back and landed heavily against the well, unconscious.

"Ephiny!" Solari cried. "If she's dead," she looked at her captor, "I swear by all in Olympus that you'll be wishing you were in Tartarus."

The man laughed, a deep, mocking laugh. "Don't threaten me, little girl." He leaned in further. "I could snap you in two right now." Bits of spit flew out of his mouth onto Solari.

"Joxer!"

Joxer craned his neck upwards and his eyes filled with fear. He could barely see Jonus, but saw her arms waving about as she tried to keep her balance. He tried to reach up, but the log held him in place. "Jonus!" he screamed. "Hold on!"

"Jox..."

He saw her arms disappear. "Jonus!" Nothing. "Jonus!!" He was afraid now. The wall must have been thirty feet high. A fall from that height could...No, don't think that! She'll be okay. She's Jonus. His eyes turned from fear to fury. With a strength he didn't know he had, he kicked at the beast in front of him, knocking out a knee. The beast howled in pain and let his grip go. Both Joxer and Solari stood on their toes as the log fell, but they quickly jumped over it. Solari pulled her sword and ran the man through. "I'll meet you in Tartarus, animal." She pulled the blade out and kicked the form. She then winced in pain and held her lower chest. She could feel the pain overcome the adrenaline rush. She staggered over to Ephiny and was relieved to find her still breathing. Gabrielle quickly joined her.

"She'll be okay. She's just unconscious," Solari said after looking at her leader. She winced again as she tried to life Ephiny up.

"No, you're hurt. Let me." Gabrielle pulled on Ephiny's arm and managed to get her draped around her. Solari led them to the storage hut which was now turned into a triage centre.

The battle still continued, but with fewer and fewer soldiers, it wouldn't last long. A horn sounded and the remaining soldiers left, dropping their weapons and running. The Amazons were left speechless, then cheered for their victory. It was short lived when they saw the casualties and dead left over.

Joxer left his sword and ran to the entrance. "Jonus?" he called out. The moon may have been out, but outside of the fires of the village, darkness reigned. He whirled as soldiers ran past him. He cursed himself for not having retrieved his sword, but Jonus was all he thought of. He jumped out of the way and pressed himself close to the wall. When they left, he continued his search. "Jonus," he called. "Please, Jonus, answer me."

He nearly tripped over her in his search. "Jonus!" he exclaimed and knelt down to her. Her body was limp and she made no movement or response to his touch. He felt her neck and breathed out when he found a pulse. He put his arms under her, lifted, turned and stopped.

There before him was the most terrifying man he had ever seen. His body was covered with the skin of a lion and his head was masked with a wolf's face, teeth bared as though ready to kill. Shadows filled in the void. A sword was held confidently in his right hand and a dagger in the other. "Give her to me," the wolf's head said.

Joxer gulped and tightened his hold on Jonus. "No."

The form made no move. "Then you die." With unexpected quickness, the dagger pierced Joxer's chest and he crumpled. Joxer's last vision was of the figure enveloping them, and then nothingness. His last thought was that he failed; failed Artemis, himself and Jonus. Blackness then overcame him.

The storage hut was controlled chaos. Low moaning mixed with orders to create a kind musical rhythm to the place. Solari was helping out the best she could, keeping her right arm close to her body to keep it from moving much. She still didn't know if her child had been harmed, but so far, nothing felt out of the ordinary. She was praying to Here to let the child be safe.

"Solari, over here," Danthea's voice called out. "I need some help wrapping these bandages." She made her way over, carrying a load of fresh bandages.

"Oh, Xena," Gabrielle said softly as she walked the room, "look at all of this. Why did this happen?" She faced her friend. "Who would do this?"

Xena face remained stoic. "I don't know, but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." Xena strode past and examined a wounded woman. Gabrielle took Xena's lead and did the same. Nothing ever changes, she thought, war will always bring death. She sighed, squeezed out a rag and gently placed it on the forehead of a woman lying near her.

"Where is she?" a voice carried above the noise. "Solari? You were with her."

Gabrielle glanced up and saw Ruth talking with Solari in a loud voice.

"You were supposed to help her. Now where is she?" The tone in her voice conveyed her urgency and fear.

"The last time I saw her, she was..." Solari stopped, remembering. She looked directly at Ruth. "She was on the wall." Both women looked out the window, but could not see anything through the smoke and darkness of night. They looked back at eachother, then made a dash for the outside.

Gabrielle followed them out. "What's going on? Who are you looking for?"

The women ignored her, searching the base of the wall. "Look on the other side," Ruth instructed Solari. The younger Amazon nodded and sprinted through the main gate.

"Ruth," Gabrielle grabbed her arm. "Who are you looking for?"

Ruth faced her queen. "Jonus. She's missing." The two stared at eachother for a moment, then Ruth continued her quest, spreading her light around the base of the wall. Gabrielle then began to help.

"Zeus and all the gods of Olympus!" Solari cried out. Gabrielle and Ruth ran to the sound skidding to a halt before they ran over Solari.

"What? What is it?" Gabrielle asked. Solari looked at her queen, then at Ruth.

"It's...it's Jonus." She raised a trembling hand and the trio looked in its direction.

There before them, on a small knoll, was Jonus's prized bow strung up with her cermonial mask and an arrow jammed between the eyes. Flying in the light wind was a small piece of lion's skin and the jaw of a wolf.

"By the gods!" Gabrielle whispered.

Ruth brought the torch closer, tentatively reaching a hand out to touch the marker. She pulled back before she made contact. "Hestocles," she whispered. "It's him." She drew back.

"Who's Hestocles?" Gabrielle inquired.

Both women turned to look at their queen. "A sorceror of sorts," Ruth answered.

"Why take Jonus? What's so special..." Solari didn't finish her sentence when Xena joined the group.

"Joxer's missing," she said flatly.

Gabrielle began to worry. "Xena, if anything's happened to him, I'll never forgive myself."

"Easy, Gabrielle. We just don't know where he is, that's all." She tried to comfort her companion. "There's something different about him now. Somehow I think he's going to be able to take care of himself." She strode over to the marker. "What's this?" She faced the three women.

"A message from Hestocles," Ruth answered.

"What's it say?" Xena now faced them full on.

"He's got Jonus."

Xena raised an eyebrow. "Solari, didn't you say that you were with Jonus?"

"Yes."

"And I saw Joxer with you. That was the last time anyone saw them, either of them." It was a statement of fact more than a question.

"Xena, what are you saying?" Gabrielle asked.

The warrior princess straightened and even in the dim light, everyone saw the ice that crossed into her eyes. "Hestocles has Jonus and Joxer."

Onto Chapter four

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