Rosaleón threw more wood into the fire and stirred it, making the flames to slowly grow in front of his blue eyes.

“Why don’t we have dinner inside?”- Asked Glam to the man, while closing her jacket to fend off the cold and looking at the fire, captivated by the wild and destructive beauty of the flames’ dance at the rhythm of the sound mad by wood burning.

“It’s a nice night, and I missed to eat under the stars. You’ll like it.

“Well, it’s really cold out here, so I’ll get some blankets and check on Mercuria”

“That girl’s tough as nails. She would die standin’ up”

“Yeah, pretty much”- Said Glam after a short and slight laugh, petting Hades’ head afterwards.

The singer walked forward to the door and climbed up the stairs, receiving a surprise as she crossed the door.

“Mercuria, darling, you’re awake!”- Said to the wounded woman after they bumped against each other, hugging her as strong as she could and lifting her in the air- “You had us so worried”

“Stop, it hurts, it hurts a lot!”- Mercuria shouted to her friend, who had forgotten her injuries and the pain that some pressure over them could cause.

“Oh, shit! I’m sorry, I was so happy I completely forgot”- Said Glam as she took her hands away and placed them in front of her mouth- “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine”

“You been unconscious for hours, since the dragon’s cave”

“I remember how I dislocated my arm”- The guitarist said as she looked at the extremity, with the shoulder immobilized and resting in a handkerchief tied to the back of her neck- “It would have been much worse if you hadn’t helped me. Thanks”

“You also broke a couple of ribs, so be careful with how you move. Let’s go outside, Rosaleón is determined to eat outdoors”

As she finished her words, Glam took a pile of blankets and helped her friend go down the stairs, taking the hand of her good arm.

“Hey gramps, look here!”- Shouted the singer at Rosaleón, diverting his attention from the cooking pot in which he had poured the content of two cans of beans and bringing a smile to his face, while his dog got up at ran towards the guitarist, moving in circles around her.

“Mercuria! It’s so good to see ya standin’ on your two feet again”

The women approached the roadie and sat alongside him, extending a blanket on the ground and covering themselves with another.

“You city-slickers are so delicate”- Said Rosaleón as he poured the content of the pot into three deep dishes and the dog’s bowl, from which a tempting smoke escaped, accompanied by a delightful smell; and passed two of them to the women.

As soon as she got hers, Mercuria began to blow and remove the beans in an effort to cool them done faster, possessed by an incredible hunger and the desire to introduce something war into her body. When she deemed that the temperature was the appropriate, she began to eat like it was her last meal, cleaning the dish in a matter of minutes and feeling a reconforting warmth inside of her.

“Well look at her, moppin’ her plate and all”- Said Rosaleón while looking with at Mercuria eat- “This things are what me make happy for being the cookie. Hope ya still have room for the second course”

The man ate from his dish before taking the guitarist’s and putting grilled meat and a slice of toasted bread on it. He placed it in front of her, gave her a fork and took her spoon.

“Y’know, the first thing I taught Glam back in the day was to fix someone with music. She always wanted to go for the big stuff, but I told her that first aid was in the basics”

“Stop it, you were right and I’m ashamed. I was somewhat dumb back then”- Said Glam with shame in her voice.

“Of course you were, it’s comes with youth”

“Shut up”

As she finished her food, Mercuria enjoyed the spectacle that displayed in front of her and the look on the singer’s face.

“It was awesome, you’re a great chef”- Said the guitarist when she ate all the food on the dish.

“I defend myself”

The conversations continued through the night, with stories from the past and Mercuria’s encounter with two Gods of Rock, which surprised the listeners to the point that they associated with a concussion, until she showed them the sheet and their eyes opened wide open, dismissing any doubt about the veracity of the story.

“My gods…”- Said Glam.

“Literally”- Said Rosaleón as he put a cigar in his mouth and took out his zippo to light it.

“How were they”- Asked the singer to her friend.

“Lennie, the tall one, was kind and reasonable, while his brother Ronnie could be a prick, although he could say some words of true wisdom”- Explained Mercuria as her mind rebuilt the experience she had lived- “When I’m fine again, I have to practice the song they gave me”

“True, but don’t rush it girl, ya had a rough one and must let your body recover”- The roadie’s words came out of his mouth mixed with grey smoke- “What a hog-killin’ time”

“That means that he’s having a good time”- Said the extravagant singer to Mercuria.

“You have place for one more?”

As an unknown voice sounded in the dark, the three of them looked to the place where it came from as Rosaleón reached for his razor cannon. A woman with her head shaved, holding a pair of glasses joined to an elastic strap, in a black leather jacket and matching trousers and boots came into the light, holding a black chain attached to a still beating dark red heart covered in thorns. The woman looked to the organ as she pointed it towards the group and the beatings aggressively accelerated.

“Actually, I think we’re going to be more”

After those words, she whistled and the roar of engines igniting sounded not far away. When Rosaleón already pointed at her with his weapon, a stampede of motorcycles reached them and surrounded the camp in a matter of seconds, with many of their occupants drawing their weapons out and pointing with them to the trio and other readied their instruments.

“Lower that thing cowboy, or my boys here will end you”- Said the woman as her face was adorned with an arrogant smile.

Reluctantly, the roadie did as said while fantasizing with getting his hands around her neck. With the group at her mercy, the gang leader advanced towards them and put one of her feet over the weapon and got her face closer to Rosaleón’s.

“That’s one big weapon you carry. I wonder if you’re overcompensating something”- She took a step back and grabbed the modified razor cannon, studying it and pointing afterwards to the members of Dream Palace, removing the safety lock- “Listen closely, nobody has to end up dying in a disgusting way, you just have to give us the Devil’s Pick and we all go away happy and alive”

“You’re wastin’ your time, that thing’s a fairy tale”- Said the roadie, focusing on remaining calm.

“Look buddy, don’t fuck with me. This little creepy thing I’m holding is attracted to The Pick, so you better give it to me now or I’ll take it from your corpses”

Rosaleón, Glam and Mercuria examined their surroundings, each one of them thinking about ways in they could turn the tides, with frustration building up as every possible idea was dismissed, until they admitted to themselves that there was no way in which they could surpass this adversity.

“Mercuria”- The drummer turned to the guitarist, who understood without the need for more words and reached her arm for The Pick.

Before Mercuria could take the necklace from her neck, something hit the ground at a great speed, raising a cloud of dust and turning off the fire. When everything cleared, the place was surround by blades that came from the ground, pulling the vehicles to the ground or destroying them, and killing some of the gang members in the process. In the centre of the circle of knifes was a towering woman with two great curved horns on her forehead, wings made of sharp steel and a mechanic arm, wearing a red bra, ragged jeans and armoured boots. On one of her hands rested the neck of a white and golden guitar whose body resembled that of a harp, with both sides displaying blades, allowing it to be use as a battle axe.

“Worry not humans”- She said as she hold her instrument with both hands- “You’ve got a valkyrie on your side”