"Well done!," Zeus roared. "Every task completed!"
He paused. "Hmmm! I've lost count. Every task . . . . Well,
I'm sure you won't mind just one more to, eh, help me out."
"Yes, yes, every task, that is, except one, a minor one I
overlooked."
Chagrined he listened as Zeus stated the Final task.
"Perhaps you have noticed, in your sojourns, that you have had
a companion. An unseen watcher. A sneaky follower. A sly,
disreputable creature! Destroy it! That is your final task. Now,
begone!"
Imperiously he waved his hand, and as it fell he faded slowly
into oblivion. Why was he smiling so happily?
It happened so quickly that Demo had not time to complain, not
even time to think. He stood on the mountain path once more,
alone.
Or, perhaps, not alone. The wind gusted, leaves rustling along
the pathway. Above the tree tops bowed in obeisance to the
intermittent breeze. The smell of rain was in the air. And a
sulfurous smell. One he had noted to often before.
He sensed, rather than saw, the unseen companion. In anger he
raised his bow, but could not decide where to dispatch the
arrow. With a shrug he lowered it, returned the arrow to its
pouch.
"In due time I will succeed. I must!" he breathed.
He felt tired. He had labored mightily through the twelve
tasks. Rest was delayed for their completion. And now a further
task lay on him.
For a moment he leaned against the trunk of a tall pine, his
eyes closed. His arms ached, his back and neck, and his felt the
need to lie down, to rest.
But he dare not! Somewhere, waiting, his nemesis. And when and
how he might strike he knew not.
He trudged disconsolately along the mountain path. In the
distance the howl of a wolf broke the silence. The quivering
wail was answered quickly from neighboring hills. The pack was
assembling for some nightly raid. A dust devil traveled a
crooked path on the trail ahead, ended with leaves falling on
the floor. A deer stopped at the edge of the trail, sniffed at
the air, then retreated.
Demo moved cautiously forward, each step a chore. Strong though
he was his energy seemed to be waning. Startled, he remained
motionless. This is not right, he thought. I have gone days
without rest, and still felt stronger than today. Am I ill, have
I eaten something that has weakened me.
He felt a vertigo, nearly stumbled. He shuffled forward, each
foot scuffing along the pathway.
As Demo proceeded he noted a shadow on his path. The sitting
sun limned the figure of a young girl sitting on a log by the
path, rubbing her ankle. Plainly she was suffering, and with the
approaching night, in dire circumstances. Exhausted though he
was, he could not ignore her plight.
"My lady, you are in pain. Can I help you?" he inquired.
"No! No. Begone, handsome youth! I carry with me dangers you
cannot understand. Even to talk to me invites disaster. Go
quickly on your way!"
Her voice was taut with emotion, with fear. Her breath came in
quick pants, and her face was distraught. She bowed her head in
hopeless resignation.
He started to turn, noted the tears in her eyes, and so
remained.
"Here, I have medication for your ankle. It will ease the pain."
He rubbed the ointment on the red swollen skin, and her eyes
widened as the pain began to recede.
"Oh, sir, I am fleeing from a most horrifying creature. There
are no words that can describe it. Should it finds you with me,
it will destroy you. Please, go on your way. You have been very
kind, now leave quickly. Let me climb down the mountain alone."
For a moment he hesitated, took a step away from her and down
the mountain. If I stay to help her it will endanger my chances
of completing the final task. I must go on now!
His thoughts said leave. His heart said stay. The sad face of
the hapless maiden held his eyes. He could not walk away.
"I too have known fear and loneliness. I cannot leave you thus.
I will help you, no matter what pursues. And should it overtake
us, I shall leave my mark on it." He touches his arrows for
reassurance.
They slowly descend the mountain, and she leans heavily on him
as she hobbles along the rock-strewn path. At times winding
steeply, narrow. Then leveling and wide. When they reached a
precipice overlooking the site of a beautiful, dark pond they
paused.
A gnarled pine grew on the crag, leaning outward. In time the
wind and rain would loosen its roots and would plunge off the
overhang. For now a swallow nested safely within its branches.
Demo looked down at the tarn so far below. For a moment he
closed his eyes, drew a deep breath. This is the place. The
wait is over. He sighed.
There are ponds where birds sing in happy summer frolic. Where
nests are built in bordering bushes, and eggs laid. Ponds where
the fish leap, and frogs sing their merry songs of night. Here
lightning bugs brighten the surface, court the light of
reflected stars. Here the waters are clear and cool. The farmer
stores milk here to keep it cold. Children play along its banks
with happy laughter. By summer day they swim in its depths. Here
by night lovers sit 'neath honey moon and whisper soft words of
adoration.
And there are ponds of rougher nature where the fisherman plies
his trade. Ponds where flowering plants hide snakes that glide
upon the waters and feed on the creatures swimming below. Where
turtles wait for unsuspecting geese or ducks and drag them to
their death in waters deep. Here young men come to gig frogs, to
seine for bait for tomorrow's fishing, to joke and carouse and
wrestle man to man.
There, too, are tarns hidden in dark recesses and grottoes.
Tarns deep and still where legends grow and strange stories are
whispered. Here in the eventide one sees the will of the wisp.
At times the call of the loon breaks the evening air. Stories
better left untold are found here. Of strange sights in the dark
of night. Of spirits of those gone. Of evil incarnate, and hate
incessant.
Such a one was the tarn that lay below. Tales were told of
blood mingling with the murky waters. Tales of bands of evil
note frequenting its shores. Tales of bodies weighted with
stone, resting forever on the bottom.
The escarpment extended outward from the mountain, formed a
lookout overlooking the dark waters. The escarpment, of solid
rock, attracted those despondent, invited them to end their woes
with a plunge into the waiting waters. Too many responded to
that fatal invitation.
"Here is the land of my mother, Ceres. I am Persephone, her
only daughter. And I have been away so long." She sobbed.
Ceres. He knew the name. Where had he heard it? Ah, his Mother.
A nursemaid, long ago, and a weak and sickly child. Was this
then the needed task, to protect her daughter from a ruthless
enemy? How strange the fates! Every move seemed programmed,
every action preplanned long ago. And the results? Were they too
preprogrammed? Our lives it seems are in the stars, and we
neither control nor understand our fate. There was now no
question in his mind. This is the Tarn of Eternity! It is here
all shall be resolved!
"Finally, now I am getting closer to home. I shall see her once
more before she dies. The trip has been long. Soon it is over."
He felt the sadness in her words. And felt something else,
something more foreboding.
A hint of a strange odor, a scent that he knew too well. The
unseen companion was close, very close!
Even as she spoke a dark form emerged from the heavy bushes
beside the path.
Unthinkingly he knew. This was the unseen companion!
Demo's mother slept fitfully throughout the night. Dreams,
rather, nightmares, repeatedly aroused her. She saw, again and
again, her son. And something else.
Something huge and grotesque, evil and deadly. Something with
an unreasoning hatred for her son.
She arose before sunrise, sat on the edge of her bed in deep
thought, spoke aloud to herself. "I could try to go to him.
Sadly, I am old, weak. I would be but a further burden.
Rough sat at her feet, licked her hand. She reached down
absently, patted his head. Her eyes widened.
"Rough, go to him. What I cannot do, you can. Protect him with
your life. Quickly now! Find your master! Go!"
The dog whined as she opened the door, looked up at her. Then
turning, with a low growl, Rough loped quickly toward the high
mountains.
Whatever danger threatened Demo, he would share. Whatever enemy
imperiled his master, he too would face.