Demons, by Lanea Zimmerman

     Jon Castaway, as he was now called, quickly scanned the fair grounds.  Someone had
given him a tip that Elisa Maza was going to be here.  She would know where the gargoyles were
hiding.  With a little persuasion, he would soon know too.
     "Canmore!"  Someone called out.  He looked towards the sound, but saw nothing but and
old fortune teller in her tent, polishing her crystal ball.  As if she could sense his gaze, she looked
up.
     "Aaah!  Jon Castaway, am I correct?"
     "You are."
     "Come in, come in!  I've been expecting you."
     Jon hesitated, then went in.  "What do you want from me, old woman?"
     She closed the tent flap, then settled herself slowly in her seat.  "I want nothing from you. 
That silly mustache of yours makes you look older from the outside, but has done nothing to the
inside of you.  Sit, sit!  I cannot tell your fortune if you pace like that."
     Jon sat slowly.  "I do not want my fortune told."
     "Hmph.  That is because you believe I will tell you silly lies.  I do not need to.  I offer you
a gift.  If you use your knowledge wisely, it will be a great help in your life."
     "I don't need help."  Jon got up to leave.
     "You will not succeed in your quest!"
     Jon turned and looked at her.  "What do you mean?"
     "Even if you succeed in killing the gargoyles who live here, you will not find all of them. 
Even if you kill the Demon, you will have only succeeded in destroying yourself."
     "How do you. . . ?"
     "I know more about you than you do of yourself.  Are you willing to share my
knowledge?"
     "I -- yes.  What do I need to do?"
     "Nothing, I will do everything necessary.  Sit.  What I will show you is not your life, but
one that parallels your own.  So it begins."
     Jon's eyes unfocused.  The gypsy smiled and watched him.  "What are you seeing?"
     "I am in a castle, filled with humans and gargoyles.  The humans mock me, and treat me
like I am a dog.  The gargoyles -- are my friends, my kin.  Why do you show me these lies?!"
     "I show no lies.  What you see is the truth of the one who's life you will follow.  Tell me
more of your vision."
     "I cannot stand how the humans treat me and my clan any longer.  I have made a plan
with our only human friend that will let the vikings destroy the humans.  We will live in peace."
     "That is not you talking."
     "No, but her reasoning makes sense, in a way.  But she will be betraying the people she
swore to protect.  I am not surprised that a gargoyle would act this way."
     "So, you know you are seeing the life of a female gargoyle.  Continue."
     "The plan did not work, my clan -- her clan -- has been destroyed.  I -- she -- is the only
one left, except for the one called Goliath.  I do not wish to see him, I fly away.  No, she does.  I
come back, hours later, and he is stone, at night.  What have I done?  I've . . . No!  The humans
did this!"
     "Ahh, now you see something, don't you.  Did the humans do this?"
     "Ye-- no, they didn't."
     "This is where you are now in your life.  Do not be angry, it is true.  You do not have to
talk any longer, just watch as her life plays out before you."
     Jon scowled and continued to stare blankly.  The gypsy was quiet, and just watched and
waited for almost an hour.
     "NO!"
     "What do you see?"
     "The hunter.  No, it is my father!  No!  You have shown me the life of the Demon!"
     "True."  The gypsy waved a hand, and Jon's eyes cleared.  "You have seen enough.  If you
continue down the path you are following, you will become what she has become."
     "I will never become like her."
     "She said that herself once.  Do you remember?"
     "Yes."  Jon buried his head in his hands.  "This cannot be true.  I am nothing like the
Demon."
     "How can you be so sure?  You quoted her exact words when you mistakenly paralyzed
you brother."
     "But that gargoyle had been hunting us!  I had to save him!"
     "The gargoyle you speak of thought Elisa was dead because of you.  Elisa had been made
part of their clan years ago.  And . . . the gargoyle loves her."
     "Is that possible?"  Jon searched the walls of the tent with his eyes, as if they would make
the nightmare go away.  He sighed.  "So we brought his vengeance upon ourselves.  What have I
become?  What have I done?"
     "Amends can be made.  Hearts can be mended.  Most importantly, the feud can end."
     "But Jason is paralyzed for life!  How can I atone for that?"
     "You can't.  You don't really need to, you only have to try.  Jason has already forgiven
you."
     "How do you know all this?"
     "I know many things, you need not know how.  You wish to prove the truth of my words? 
You do not need to.  You know on your own that they are true.  Now you must go, and stop the
evil that you have begun to spread.  If you are lucky, you may even change the heart of the
Demon."
     Jon grimaced.  "Her heart cannot be changed.  She is to evil."
     "Perhaps.  But if I can change you, there is hope for her yet."
     Jon shook his head and left without saying a word.  The gypsy did not care.  Living
someone else's life would not change him so quickly as that.  In time, he would wish to thank
her, but she would not be there.
     One or two people noticed the disappearance of the strange fortune teller's tent, but when
they asked what had happened to it, people would look at them strangely and tell them that there
had never been a tent there.  Besides, weren't fortune tellers banned from the fair this year?

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