LYKOS

by katharsis 9

katharsis9@hotmail.com

Disclaimers: The characters of Xena, Gabrielle, and everyone else that's been on the show belong to Renaissance Pictures and MCA/Universal Studios, yadda yadda yadda. British readers may or may not recognize Xena's cousin, never mind the inside joke. Thank the gods the lucky lisp disappeared in the latter generations. Lyrics © 1984 Sire Records. Fans of Smallville may recognize a scene, slightly altered, which I borrowed from an episode, which in turn snipped a bit from Witness (Death by Silo!) Other characters sprang forth from my twisted little mind.

© Stiffneck Run Werks.

Warnings: Rated R for some language, graphic violence, heavy drinking, graphic drug use, and two women in a serious relationship of a sexual nature. If reading such material is illegal where you live, then stop and turn back. If you’re under 18, good-bye. No need for you to see this. If it is legal and you are of legal age, and this sort of stuff bothers you, then do not read below this line and go back.

Spoiler Alert: This story takes place after CRUSADER.

Pronunciation Guide: K'Tai [translation of full name unavailable]: (Kay •TIE') Makhet: (Muh •KETT')

Please feel free to drop me a line at the e-mail address above. If you’re nice I’ll answer ya, but if ya flame me, feel the wrath of my adamantium claws. Are they gone? Really? Okay, now that we’ve lost the prudes, the kids and the confused, onward shall we go...

i beat my machine 
it's a part of me 
it's inside 
of me
i'm stuck in this dream 
it's changing me 
i am becoming
e


 


Chapter 
 two:


some 
 girls are biggerthan othersmeat 
 is murder 
reel around the  
FREAKS  
e fo hand untain 
in glove s till 
 ill how soon is  
now? well i wonder there is a light than never goes out ask


************************************


Toris, 
 where's Xena?"


 


The big guy awoke from a nice nap. 
 He turned to the source of the interruption.


 


Gabs didn't look too happy.


 


The moment his bloodshot eyes  
locked with the bard's, he mentally smacked himself for forgetting 
 something important. Like letting Gabrielle know that Xena had 
 taken off unexpectedly. Like, two hours ago. Oops. "Uh...ah...Xena! 
 Where is she?"


 


"That's what I just asked you," 
 Gabrielle patiently replied. "Have you seen her?" Once she sat 
 down, Lumpy the dog tottered over and put his paws on her leg, 
 silently begging to be petted. She scratched him behind his ears 
 and he hopped up on the bench and curled up beside her, his head 
 on her lap.


 


"Oh...uh...she...ah...stepped out 
 for a bit." After a really big. mean-looking guy. "She 
 should be back, soon." Like two hours ago.


 


Gabrielle uttered a frustrated 
 sigh and began scratching Lumpy's head. "Typical," she grumbled. 
 "We were supposed to have the day to ourselves and what does she 
 do? She just takes off."


 


"Oh yeah?" Toris shifted uncomfortably. 
 He didn't really want to tell her that Xena had gone racing off 
 after a stranger.


 


"I mean, she's been so distant 
 for the past year. I know there's something that's bothering her, 
 but for the life of me, I can't get her to tell me what. It's like 
 talking to a brick wall, sometimes." Lumpy whimpered sympathetically 
 and licked her hand before yawning and falling fast asleep on her 
 lap.


 


"Well, she's never been real good 
 at expressing her feelings. Did you know she didn't even talk until 
 she was three? Mother thought there was something wrong with her."


 


"I didn't know that."


 


"You just gotta give her some  
time."


 


Gabrielle put her head in her  
hands and sighed. "That's just it, Toris, It's been nearly a year. 
 Whatever's on her mind must be eating at her, and I can't help 
 but wonder if it has something to do with me."


 


Toris stared into his mug. If 
 only you knew... "Dunno. Look, whatever she's up to, I'm sure 
 she'll be back soon."


 


"Can you at least tell me where 
 she went?"


 


He sighed. There was really no 
 way around it. The bard would pick and prod at him until he told 
 her. "All right. There was this guy I met in town who asked me 
 if I knew Xena, and I said yeah, and then he hands me this scroll..." 
 He picked it up and handed it to Gabrielle. "I have no clue what 
 this means."


 


She unfurled the scroll and read 
 it. Her brows wrinkled in confusion. Attached to the parchment 
 with beeswax was a single piece of rope. There were also two written 
 words:


 


The 
 forest 


 


She shot a quizzical look at Toris, 
 who merely shrugged. "So you're saying that this guy wanted to 
 meet her in the forest? For what?"


 


"He didn't say. He just appeared 
 in front of me. Scared me an' Mor."


 


"I don't like this." Gabrielle 
 began to rise and reached for her staff. "I'm going after her." 
 Lumpy was jolted awake and whined when her lap disappeared from 
 under him. He hopped down and pranced about her feet wagging his 
 tail as if to say, Oooh! 
 Can I go? Can I? Huh? 


 


"Whoa!" Toris managed to grab  
her by the arm before she could bolt out of the tavern. "Where d'ya 
 think you're going? You don't even know if Xe's in the forest."


 


"Marf," said Lumpy.


 


She jerked herself out of his  
grip and shot him a glare of green fire. "How can you be so calm 
 about this, Toris?" She spat. "Xena could be walking into an ambush 
 right now, no thanks to you!"


 


"Okay, okay, maybe I screwed up, 
 but Xena can handle this guy. Besides, she'd probably kill me if 
 I let you go rushing after her and getting hurt."


 


 "Get hurt? Get hurt?!? I am MORE 
 than capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much! WHY 
 would she go off somewhere without telling me?!? Do you have any 
 idea what I've been through with her lately?!? She's been running 
 around getting into every fight she comes across! And then, right 
 after our run-in with Najara, it's just been getting worse! There's 
 something wrong with her and every time I try to get her 
 to talk to me about it she just shuts me out! I don't know...how 
 can I...?" The staff clattered to the floor as Gabrielle began 
 to sob into her hands.


 


Toris looked at her uncomfortably 
 before standing and enveloping her in a hug. "It's okay, Gabs. 
 She'll be fine. She'll be back. I promise." Don't you make 
 a liar out of me, sis. "I guess the thing to do now is wait."


 


Muffled sobs.


 


"I know, I know. I hate it when 
 she does that, too."


 


Sniffle. 
 Sniffle.


 


"Hey, I got some nutbread. Want 
 some?"


 


 


XXX


 


Deep in the forest with the twilight 
 lingering just a bit longer, Makhet stirred, spires of pain shooting 
 in his skull. He tried to get up, but collapsed back into the ground 
 with a groan. Blasted woman and her flying weapon! Summoning 
 his strength, he raised himself painfully into a sitting position, 
 his temple pounding. His right arm was still paralyzed. He tugged 
 at it with his good one, cursing. His eyes eventually adjusted 
 to the darkness, and he spotted a crumpled body. So I did kill 
 the bitch after all. Too bad. It was too quick, I would have loved 
 to have done to her what she did to me. He struggled to his 
 feet, pain arcing from every blow that had been landed on him.


 


You 
 just had to get sidetracked, didn't 
 you?


 


He whirled at the sudden intrusion 
 from behind him. He found a woman with hair the color of fire, 
 and dark green eyes. She was bathed in an unearthly glow in spite 
 of approaching night. "Circe?" he sputtered. "But...but...I thought 
 you couldn't leave the island."


 


Of 
 course not, you fool. This is an astral projection. A 
 scowl crossed her features as he reached out to touch her, only 
 to have his hand pass 
 though her. You can't 
 touch me, I'm 
 not even here. Why are you wasting time wandering around the forest 
 when you have a mission to complete? This is what I get for sending 
 a mortal.


 


"Mission," he sneered, tossing 
 his blond mane. "Here I am, lying half-dead, and all you care about 
 is your FUCKING mission! Find some broad, kill her, and grab her 
 bag. What kind of mission is that? You mind telling me what's so 
 special about what this frail's carrying?"


 


Circe merely gestured. A moment 
 later, a great tearing sound could be heard as a giant limb broke 
 from a nearby tree and came crashing down. Makhet barely got out 
 of the way, cursing.


 


How 
 many times do I have to tell you not to ask any questions? Remember 
 Makhet, my magic may not work on you, but I can use it on other 
 things to hurt you. And of course you ' 
ve managed to get yourself lost, or so you think. You have 
 no idea how close you came to finding that priestess. You are to 
 go back into that town and wait for her. She is due to arrive soon. 
 Now, how about getting on your way?


 


He grumbled something and tried 
 to shake his useless arm.


 


I suppose you'd like some help 
 with that, would you? She pointed 
 to a spot on his arm. Press 
 here, and the feeling will return to your arm within moments. He 
 did as he was told, turning over the regrets in his head. Was 
 all that pain worth it?


 


"Yeah. At least I got to kill  
that bitch."


 


Are 
 you sure? As mortals go, Xena is hard to kill.


 


"Was hard to kill. I  
managed to shiv her right before I got knocked out."


 


She glared at him with her arms 
 crossed, a smirk tugging at her mouth.


 


"What, you don't believe me? She's 
 laying right over th-" It was only when he turned to point at the 
 body...that there was none. "But...but...she was right over there!" 
 He looked back helplessly at Circe. "I saw her. She was dead!"


 


I 
 think you may have a problem, Makhet.


  


 


[


 


I 
 think I may have a problem. I should be dead, now. Makhet's knife 
 hit home in my gut, a sure killing blow. But here I am, up in this 
 tree, watching him and Circe. The wound's healed up now. And the 
 blood. It's already dried and crinkling apart like old papyrus. 
 The marks on my shoulder and leg have healed, too. Everything's 
 booming in my ears and I can see clearly as if it was day, it spite 
 of the night. And the scents. I can smell my own sweat, the rotting 
 of the leaves, and the essence of Gabrielle that clings to me still. 
 I have to concentrate hard to keep from going crazy. And those 
 hairs on my hands. What's happening to me? Too many questions, 
 too few answers. Right now, I have to find out what that bastard's 
 up to.


 


I 
 should have known Makhet would come after me. After what I'd done 
 to him, I can't really blame him. But then again, if I had to do 
 it all over again, I would have gone ahead and just killed the 
 bastard. I thought he'd be dead by now, but when I read that scroll 
 from him with that piece of rope, it was like my worst nightmare 
 had come back to bite me in the ass. Seven years ago, when I was 
 still a warlord, there was this little town not too far from Jerusalem 
 that I was planning to invade. Gods, I can't even remember the 
 town's name, it was so tiny. The town itself wasn't much, but it 
 was situated in such a way that it would be a perfect stepping 
 stone to Syria, Persia, or perhaps Jordan. It was supposed to be 
 simple, go in, take over, if they put up a fight, kill a few folks, 
 end of story. Instead, a rival warlord by the name of Gryllus decided 
 to go ahead and invade that town before we could. By the time we'd 
 arrived at the town, Gryllus' army was already in the process of 
 slaughtering everyone they could find, man, woman, and child. Gods 
 I was pissed. I'd had plans for this town, and here was this sorry 
 son of a bitch who decided to ruin the town before I could get 
 my hands on it. So as soon as I saw what was going on, I had my 
 army dispatch Gryllus'. I suppose we were rescuing the town, but 
 it was already a lost cause, with its occupants falling dead left 
 and right. What's the point of conquering a village if there's 
 no one to conquer? It wasn't long before Gryllus ran straight into 
 the business end of my sword. His army was too busy dealing with 
 my army, or just too stupid to notice. Makhet, Gryllus' lieutenant, 
 was gutting a young girl with one of his knives when I first saw 
 him. Now, I may have been a ruthless warlord in my day, but I would 
 never willingly kill women and children, and I guess I just lost 
 it. I charged him, sword upraised, but he surprised me. He'd seen 
 me coming and simply whacked me with one of those oversized arms 
 of his. Hef on crutches, the guy's even bigger than Hercules. As 
 I went down, he followed with a tossed knife, which I barely dodged. 
 No time to play, I had to take care of him right then and there, 
 so I swept his feet from under him. I was just about to skewer 
 him when he slashed my thigh with a poisoned knife. The stuff wasn't 
 fatal, but it was enough to slow me down as he got away, the coward. 
 When it was all over, we were left with a empty town and piles 
 of dead bodies. I'd lost several men, but Gryllus' army was more 
 than finished. Makhet was the sole survivor. I considered going 
 after him, but I decided instead to simply regroup, grab what we 
 could, and move on. 


 


My 
 mistake.


 


He 
 showed up at my camp a few days later. To this day, I still don't 
 know how a man of his size could slip past my guards, but he did. 
 I was sleeping in my tent when I heard a rustling noise. As the 
 noise grew nearer, I tightened my grip on my sword under the covers. 
 I was out of the bed just as he plunged a knife into my cot. I 
 kicked him hard and he came crashing out the tent, rolling on the 
 ground. Some of my men came rushing and when they saw him, they 
 grabbed him. It took five men to hold him fast. I walked up to 
 him, pressed the tip of my sword to his throat and told him to 
 give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill him. Makhet had the 
 nerve to answer that he wanted to join my army. I had to laugh 
 at that. So trying to kill me was his way of demonstrating his 
 talents? That's a new one. So I grinned at him and said, Sure, 
 why not? Guy like you could be useful. Little did he know. 
 Before he could even blink, I jabbed some pressure points on his 
 neck to knock him out, then had my men drag him out into the middle 
 of the desert, where I bound his arms and legs between two poles 
 staked into the sand. He was spread-eagle and helpless, just the 
 way I wanted him. When the sun was high in the sky, I slapped him 
 awake. It's no fun being strung up with a hot sun beating down 
 on you, believe me, I know. He was definitely uncomfortable. He 
 asked me whether I was just going to leave him there, and I said, 
Oh,no. The fun's 
 just starting. That's when I got my whip and made stripes 
 across his back. He screamed, begging me to stop but I wouldn't 
 listen. I couldn't get the image of that little girl out of my 
 head. The bastard. I lost count after thirty strokes. I didn't 
 stop even after he passed out. Finally, my arm got too tired. Amazingly, 
 he was still alive. I wanted to kill him, but it would have been 
 too good for him. So I had him cut down, shackled in the strongest 
 chains I could find, and dragged away. The day before, I'd come 
 across a trading ship that needed a strong worker. So I had Makhet 
 dragged over to the port, and sure enough, the ship was still there. 
 In spite of the damaged I'd inflicted on his body, I got a very 
 good price on Makhet, which more than made up for the losses from 
 the nameless little town. And that's the last I saw of him. Until 
 now, seven years later. And he'd kept that piece of rope I'd used 
 to tie him to the stakes, knowing I would recognize it. Son of 
 a bitch.


 


 
I was conscious before he was, laying there wondering the fuck  
had just happened to me. I was hurting all over, and I had just 
 shit myself. Then he started coming around, I figured I'd just 
 lay there and watch his next move. Didn't take long. Circe showed 
 up, which surprised me. So that's how Makhet got off the ship, 
 huh? As soon as I knew they weren't looking in my direction, I 
 hauled ass into this tree two hundred fifty paces away, which happens 
 to be where my chakram ended up. Even from this distance, I can 
 hear every word they're saying. Turns out he's after some priestess 
 who's carrying something Circe wants. Ohhh-kay. What divine artifact 
 is missing this time? The Helmet of Hermes? The Hammer of Hephaestus? 
 But then again, what would a powerful witch like Circe, who's practically 
 a goddess herself, want with...whatever this thing is? No matter. 
 The bastard's heading towards my home town, and I'll be damned 
 if he's gonna even come near that unsuspecting woman. Circe vanishes 
 just as the sun has set. Not too fond of the dark, are ya, Red?


 


I 
 watch Makhet walk away, muttering to himself. Looks like he ain't 
 too happy with being a witch's whore. Tough luck, bastard. Got 
 his scent, now. It's foul, mixed with lingering sea salt, herbs, 
 a woman that has to be Circe, and wild beasts. Even with a head 
 start, I should be able to track him easily. Too easily. My senses 
 have never been this sharp before. Could it have something to do 
 with the hairs on the backs of my hands? I chance a look at myself, 
 and there's more hair on them. Now there's hair on my legs, too. 
 I'm at a loss to explain this. It must have started last night 
 when I had that dream. What's happening to me? Who's doing this 
 to me? And why? Not now. Got a bad guy to catch. Retrieve my chakram. 
 Find my sword.


 


Oh, 
 and clean the shit out of my breeches.


 


 


[


 


 


Will. This. 
 Guy. Ever shut the fuck UP?


 


Metrius never liked his job as 
 Amphipolis' constable, but he was stuck with it. His father and 
 grandfather had held the job before him. When he was a boy, Metrius 
 had wanted to join the elite Athenian Army, to see the world. Unfortunately, 
 his father had other ideas, and bestowed the title upon him, whether 
 he liked it or not, end of story. As a result, Metrius performed 
 his duties grudgingly, rolling his eyes at every little problem 
 the gentle folk of Amphipolis tossed into his lap. Metrius, 
 my husband's drunk again. Please drag him out of the tavern and 
 take him to the jail to cool off. Metrius, break up this fight. 
 Metrius, serve this writ. Metrius, my cat's stuck up a tree, get 
 him down. Why didn't anything exciting happen in this sheep 
 town? He sat at a heavy wooden desk in the tiny office that was 
 actually his living room, nursing a beer and staring hard at Stavros, 
 who'd barged on in hauling something heavy, babbling about-


 


"A wolf?" Metrius sighed. "You're 
 telling me there's a wolf prowling this shit town? Come on, there 
 hasn't been a wolf seen around here in a long time. I think you've 
 been smoking those flowers a little too long, old man."


 


"You callin' me a liar, boy?!?" 
 Stavros fairly shouted. "I'm tellin' ya, there's a beast lurking 
 around town. Last night, I coulda sworn I heard somethin' howl, 
 an' it weren't my nephew's dog. And this morning, my brother Xipphantes 
 said that one of his sheep turned up missing." 


 


 Metrius grumbled and took another 
 swig of beer. Out of all the folk in this town, with the exception 
 of loud Kentares, Stavros complained the worst. "All right. If 
 Xippy's missing a sheep, then how come you're here, and he's not?"


 


The former blacksmith glared at 
 the young man. "What, you think that the man has time to come down 
 here when he's gotta farm ta run? Besides, my buddy Cyrill found 
 this carcass out in the forest, looked like somethin' ate it alive." 
 And with that, he swung the heavy sack from beside his feet and 
 plunked it squarely on Metruis' desk.


 


The constable rubbed his temples. 
 This job was really starting to suck, with people coming from all 
 over and complaining about this and that. Why couldn't another 
 warlord blaze through town? Why couldn't there be some sort of 
 trouble where he was actually needed? This guy wasn't gonna go 
 away until... Sniff 
 Sniff "What is that smell?" He looked at the sack on his 
 desk, his nose wrinkling. "It's that what stinks?"


 


Stavros leaned forward and planted 
 his hands on the desk. "No shit, genius! How about taking a look?"


 


With the tips of his fingers,  
Metrius opened the sack and peered inside. The stench hit his face 
 and he jerked back, gagging. "Damn, that stinks! This thing looks 
 as if it's been torn apart!" After grabbing a cloth to press to 
 his face, he peeled away the sack to reveal the rotting carcass 
 of a giant buck. Or, what was left of it after the scavengers got 
 a hold of it. It was mostly a bag of bones with strips of flesh 
 still clinging to it. The head was still intact, but the neck bore 
 what looked like distinctive- "What are those, teeth marks?"


 


"Oh, now you believe me! I say 
 we get together a search party and go after it!"


 


"Say what?" Metrius squeaked around 
 his cloth. "Ya gotta be shitting me! You don't even know if it 
was a wolf that did this! Man, the whole place stinks! 
 How about getting this shit off my desk?"


 


Stavros slammed his hands on the 
 desk, making the carcass jiggle. "I'm tellin ya, there's a wolf 
 running around here, and if you ain't gonna go after it then I'll 
 get Mor, Toris and Xena ta go."


 


Metrius glanced up at the last 
 name. And scowled. Not that name again. Anything but. "Oh, the 
 Freak's home again? How long this time?" 


 


Stavros glowered at him, angrily 
 tugging the sack off the desk. It fell to the floor with a wet 
SPLAT. 
 "You no call my niece that, boy." he growled. "No wonder she kick 
 your ass all the time while growing up. Ya don't wanna help? Fine. 
 Me an' the kids'll do it ourselves. Glad your father ain't around 
 to see his sorry excuse of a son that don't want to do his job. 
 I'm outta here."


 


The constable grumbled. The old 
 man just had to go there. Yeah, his dad would be disappointed. 
But so what? I never wanted this fucking job anyway. "Fine. 
 You guys wanna tramp around at night looking for this wolf, go 
 right ahead. No skin off my ass. Have fun." He got up from his 
 now-smelly desk and shuffled over to the barrel for some more beer. 
 "Oh, and don't let the door hit ya in the ass on the way out."


 


Stavros hauled up the heavy sack 
 on his shoulder with one hand and swung his cane with the other. 
 "Yeah, you have fun yourself, ya son of a bitch. You watch, we 
 catch the wolf and you look like an ass. Maybe you lose your job." 
 And with that, he turned and thumped and dragged out of Metrius' 
 house.


 


"Wouldn't that be a dream come 
 true," Metrius mumbled after him. He took a long draught of his 
 beer, just now noticing the putrid-smelling wet spots on the floor 
 and his desk. "Aw, man! Why'd he have to put that shit on my desk?"


 


 


XXX


 


 


Dinner rush was in full swing  
tonight One could only hope to squeeze through the bustling bodies 
 without getting squashed to bits. Elaina was making her usual rounds, 
 zipping here and there without missing a beat. The ale and port 
 were flowing freely, loosening tongues and lowering inhibitions. 
 The tavern was filled with the sound of many voices, punctuated 
 often with rich peals of laughter. The noise was so thick, it was 
 nearly impossible to pick out one voice.


 


Well, there was one voice that 
 soared above the rest.


 


Kentares, a short guy with a very 
 loud voice, was at a table with other men, screaming his head off. 
 Tonight he was hollering about his days as a young would-be athlete. 
 He bragged that in his day, he could out-run, out-throw, and out-(insert 
 appropriate activity here).just about anyone in town. Oh, 
and did he have quite the  physique back in the day, never mind 
that ol' Kent was now bald  and had a sizeable gut. By the time 
the port finally reached his  brain, he was bragging that even now 
he could best any man at (insert 
 appropriate activity here). One of the other men laughed 
 at that and asked how Kentares could even reach, much less punch 
 a man. Kentares, of course, took that as a challenge and leapt 
 to his feet with fists raised. Within moments there was a short 
 scuffle between Kentares and the other man. Everyone else watched 
 and laughed heartily, and some even began to place bets on who 
 would win. However, the fight was short-lived, and ended with both 
 men getting a large bucket of water splashed on them by a passing 
 Elaina. 


 


"You two just QUIT it, now!" She 
 yelled over her shoulder. 


 


The two men looked dumbfounded 
 at her retreating form, then at each other, then started laughing. 
 Eventually, they made up when Kentares offered to buy the man a 
 drink.


 


Over in the far corner, Gabrielle 
 and Toris were gorging themselves on a big meal. The lamb was quite 
 exquisite, and the ouzo was to die for. Lumpy the dog sat under 
 the table, happily munching on the scraps that were offered to 
 him. He got a particularly juicy bone, and lay on the floor with 
 it to gnaw at his heart's content. When he started making loud 
 slurping noises, Gabrielle started giggling, and ducked her head 
 under the table "Lump-EEEEE," she grinned. "Slow down, or you'll 
 choke."


 


Lumpy the dog paused in his gnawing 
 and looked up at the bard with a quizzical look. "Huuuuurrmrooooo?"


 


"Uh-huh. What if a bone gets stuck 
 in your throat? Can't have that happen to a cute little puppy like 
 you!"


 


The mutt shuffled forward, and 
 planted a wet kiss on Gabrielle's face.


 


In a heartbeat, the bard slid completely 
 under the table, and threw her arms around the dog, letting herself 
 be licked senseless. "Awwwwww," she cooed. "Little puppy. You're 
 so cute!" The mutt wagged his tail merrily. "Are you still 
 hungry?"


 


"Marf!"


 


"Good. There's this nutbread your 
 Daddy's been sharing with me. Would you like a piece?"


 


"Rrrrrrrufff! Ruff! Ruff!"


 


"Okay, here goes."


 


Toris was startled when he saw 
 a hand appear from under the table, and reach for the nutbread 
 spiked with cannabis that he'd been feeding Gabrielle. He stared 
 as the hand closed on its prize, and snaked back underneath. Shortly, 
 there was a loud slurping sound which could only belong to a certain 
 mutt. He ducked his head underneath, and spotted the bard cuddling 
 with his dog. Surprise, surprise, the nutbread snatched off the 
 table was gone. "Um, Gabs? I don't think it's a good idea to feed 
 him that."


 


"Well, why not?" Gabrielle slurred, 
 burying her face into the warm fur. "Did wonders for me, didn't 
 it?" Lumpy didn't have any complaints either. It wasn't long before 
 he got the canine version of a grin plastered on his face.


 


"You're seriously not trying to 
 get my dog high, are you?"


 


"Well you smoke the shit 
 around him, how is that any different?"


 


The big guy sighed. Now he was 
 starting to regert getting the bard stoned. It did little to lift 
 her from the funk she'd been in since finding out about Xena's 
 abrupt departure. Mood swings, too. Wonderful. "Gabrielle, 
 why don't you come back up? Your food's getting cold."


 


At the mention of food, Gabrielle 
 perked up. Her stomach growled as well, demanding immediate gratification. 
 "Oh yeah! I almost forgot!" In her mad rush to get back up, her 
 head met the edge with a BONK!"Ow, 
that hurt." She slid back to her seat rubbing her head.  "Wait. 
No it doesn't. Oooh, yes it does! Toris, pack a bowl, willya?  I 
lost my buzz."


 


He rolled his eyes. Mental 
 note. Kick Xena's ass when she gets back. "Sure, why not?" 
Anything to keep your mind off waiting for sis.


 


A young woman entered the tavern, 
 squeezing through the bustling crowd. She was a pretty young specimen, 
 with flowing dark hair and sparkling dark eyes. A few of the men 
 gave her appreciative looks, but she ignored them all. The crowd 
 seemed to part as she passed through, gawking at the pair of wiggling 
 hips. Elaina nearly blazed past her when she stopped and broke 
 into a wide grin. "Mara!" she cried. "How are you?"


 


"Hi, Ma." Mara said, pecking a 
 kiss on her mother's cheek. "Just fine. And you?"


 


"Oh just fine, dear. Why don't 
 you find a seat, I'll bring you something to eat, okay?" And off 
 Elaina went on her rounds.


 


Mara smiled as she left and began 
 looking around the tavern for a seat. There seemed to be no empty 
 spot in sight. Finally, she spied a table in the far corner. It 
 was the occupants that caught her attention, a tall one with a 
 shock of black hair, and a shorter one with long strawberry blonde 
 hair. She smiled to herself, and started towards the far corner.


 


Gabrielle and Toris were passing 
 his smoldering pipe back and forth. Every time the bard took a 
 hit, she would burst into a coughing fit, and hack up some snot, 
 which she spat into an empty mug. Toris would pat her back absentmindedly 
 with one hand while taking his hit with the other. Lumpy the dog 
 was studying a cloud. 


 


"Okay-KAFFKAFFF!" 
 Gabrielle choked out between coughs. "Just for shits and giggles, 
 let's ponder something. You know how big the universe is supposed 
 to be, according to Democritus?"


 


"Demo-who?" Toris slurred.


 


"Democritus. Any-kaff 
 kaff!!! ANYWAY! He had this theory that as large as the 
 universe is, what if...?" She held up one finger to make a point 
 and lost her train of thought. She froze in that position, searching 
 for a mental foothold.


 


"What if...?" Toris echoed, thoroughly 
 confused, now.


 


She remembered what she was about 
 to say, and began to move again. "What if, the entire universe 
 is nothing more than an atom of a giant being's fingernail?"


 


"Huh?"


 


"Yeah. Think about it. If that's 
 true, then a single atom of my fingernail must contain a..." She 
 got lost again. This time, she pressed her fist against her cheek, 
 and appeared to ponder some more.


 


Everything became mellowed out 
 and smoothed over. Eventually, the coughing fits ended, and Gabrielle 
 was able to hit the pipe with more ease. She blew a cloud of smoke 
 in Lumpy the Dog's face. He sat there, blinking, his wet nose 
 quivering. Deliriously happy, he took his place on the bench beside 
 the soft and cuddly human once more. It was so much nicer being 
 with her when that...other human wasn't around. He could have stayed 
 like this forever, if it wasn't for the scent that caught his attention. 
 He lifted his head, sniffed the air, and began to growl. Gabrielle 
 smiled down at the mutt, and stroked his head tenderly. Xena 
 must be back by now. And indeed, in spite of the crowd, she 
 could sense a presence approaching her. About time. She's just 
 going to have to accept that Lumpy likes me. "Took you long 
 enough." She said without looking up.


 


"You missed me? Really? How nice."


 


Huh? Bewildered, 
 Gabrielle looked up, and the smile disappeared. "Mara." She didn't 
 even bother to mask the contempt in her voice. The smile came back, 
 but tighter. She felt waves crash and recede within her. The room 
 had been spinning, but 
 not now. All of her green-eyed ire zeroed in on 
this new intruder in her space.


 


"Gabrielle." Mara answered with 
 a smirk. "And how are you?"


 


"Just fine." Through clenched  
teeth. "And you?"


 


"Oh, just grand." Mara took this 
 moment to look around the tavern. "And where is Xena, may I ask?"


 


"Not here." 


 


Uninvited, Mara plopped down in 
 the seat next to the bard. Lumpy the dog started growling again, 
 the hair sticking up from from his neck. He disliked this human 
 too, even worse than the other one.


 


"Hey," Toris called from the other 
 end of the table. "You quit that!" He reached over and grabbed 
 the mutt by the scruff of the neck, and dragged him off of Gabrielle's 
 lap. He gripped the furry paws and looked intently into shiny black 
 eyes. "Ya can't go around growling at people ya don't like."


 


"Arrrrooo?" said Lumpy.


 


"Yeah, and I mean it."


 


"Marf."


 


"Okay now, buddy. Now be nice." 
 Toris then placed Lumpy between himself and Gabrielle, and out 
 of Mara's way. Lumpy placed his head on the bard's lap once more 
 and kept a quiet, but close eye on the other human beside her. 
 "Uh, sorry about that, Mar."


 


"Oh no problem, Toris." Mara breezily 
 answered, ignoring Gabrielle's narrowed gaze. "How are you doing 
 these days?" She batted her lashes for added effect.


 


"Oh. Uh...uh..." Toris' face flushed 
 uncomfortably. "Just fine, Mara." He tensed, waiting for the explosion 
 that was bound to occur. The last time Mara was in the same room 
 with Gabrielle...well, it wasn't pretty. Maybe it's good that 
 Xena's not back yet. Then again...


 


"So how are things going with  
your warrior, Gabrielle?" Mara asked. "Just fine?"


 


"Yesssss." Gabrielle kept the  
smile on her face, but it was an effort. "I'll be sure to tell her 
 you said hi when she comes back." If THAT is not a hint...


 


"Oh, I'm sure I could say it in 
 person," Mara said. "After all, when Mother told me that Xena was 
 back home, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to come over 
 to see her. You know how it is. Old friends, that sort of thing..."


 


"Riiiiight." If she doesn't 
 leave now, I'm gonna fucking KILL her... "Emphasis on old. 
 You understand."


 


"Oh certainly." In a flash, Elaina 
 was there with a plate of food for her daughter and was gone again. 
 With waggling eyebrows, Mara began to eat, daintily placing each 
 bite of food into her mouth. When her mouth closed on one particular 
 bite, she closed her eyes and hummed as if she were sucking a finger. 
 No question as to whose finger she wished it was.


 


Gabrielle muttered darkly to herself. 
Great, now she'll NEVER leave. Lumpy the dog let out a 
 low growl in agreement. Maybe if I just ignore her... Closing 
 a hand around Lumpy's muzzle to prevent an unfortunate accident 
 (She wouldn't sic Lumpy on Mara. Really.), she turned to talk  
to Toris. "So Toris, you catch that giant buck, yet?"


 


"Huh? What? Ahh...no!" The big 
 guy had been lost in another daze. "Dunno if I'll ever bag it. 
 I just can't understand how something that big can move so fast. 
 Strange, though. I didn't see it this morning like I always do. 
 It must have moved on, to the the next forest over."


 


"Well, maybe you could set a trap 
 or something."


 


"For a buck? Especially in one 
 THAT size? I don't think so."


 


"Hey, you never know. Maybe when 
 Xena comes back, you can ask her to design a snare for you. You 
 know how she loves a challenge."


 


"And does she ever," cut in Mara. 
 "I was quite the challenge, if I recall. Or was it the 
 other way around?"


 


Gabrielle glared at her, her voice 
 pure venom now. "I'm 
sure. 
Don't you have someplace to be, Mara?" Gods, if she  
doesn't get it by now...


 


"Not while I'm still eating, honey." 
 Mara smirked. "So tell me. While we're on the subject of Xena's 
 ah...creativity, just how is she in bed?"


 


bitchwhorecuntsshitmotherfucker!!! 
"She does just FINE, thank you very much. If you don't mind..."


 


Mara leaned forward, hoping to 
 bait the bard some more. "Just what is it about you that she likes 
 so much? I mean, you're no bigger than a fart, you talk too much, 
 and you wave around that little stick! Sure you can tell stories 
 like no one's business, but I just don't see how that 
can appeal to someone who doesn't talk much."


 


"I must be doing something 
right, since she's with me and not you!"


 


Toris looked over at the arguing 
 women with growing alarm. At first, the exchange was almost funny, 
 but not anymore. This wasn't good, not by a long shot. These two 
 had to be separated, and fast. Not to mention that they were ruining 
 his buzz. "Uh...Gabs? Mar?"


 


They ignored him, and kept up what 
 was rapidly deteriorating into a cat fight.


 


"And I could have her with a snap 
 of my fingers, if I wanted to." Mara spat. "She's still got feelings 
 for me, you know."


 


"You just don't get it, do you?!? 
 Xena is MINE! Not yours! MINE!!!"


 


"Yeah, but for how long? She broke 
 my heart once, sweetie, what makes you think you won't be next?"


 


"Spoken truly like a desperate 
 SLUT who doesn't know when to quit chasing something she can't 
 have!"


 


"Marf!" Lumpy barked in agreement. 
 Okay, he still hated Xena, but so what?


 


"Uh...ladies?" Toris tried again, 
 to no avail. "Hello?"


 


Mara leaned in, a twisted smirk 
 playing upon her features. "A girl can't help but try, can she? 
 Once you've had a taste, you've gotta have more." Then she went 
 for the kill. "I'll have you know that Xena had me upside down, 
 underwater, everywhere, and if I can just get her in a room alone, 
 I could have her, again!" 


 


Gabrielle's grip on Lumpy's muzzle 
 grew tighter and he whined, moving his head to break free. "Why 
 don't you just FUCKING leave her alone!!! If you don't stay away 
 from her, I'll...I'll..."


 


"You'll...you'll...what, little 
 girl? Talk me to death?"


 


"That's IT!!!" In one fluid motion, 
 Gabrielle swooped up Mara's plate and mashed the contents on the 
 surprised woman's face.


 


Food was dripping down Mara's  
face as she sat there in shock. "You. You. Fucking BITCH!" She swung 
 at the bard.


 


"Whoa." Gabrielle ducked. The fist 
 sailed over her head, and landed squarely in Toris' face with a 
 resounding CRACK! 
Lumpy started at the noise and sudden movement. He wiggled 
 about, and rolled off of Gabrielle's lap and landed on the floor 
 with a "YIPE!" The bard took this opportunity to grapple Mara's 
 shoulders and dive forward, propelling them both off the bench 
 and onto the floor. Within seconds, they thrashed around, screeching 
 like banshees, trading the punches and scratches.


 


The crowd didn't really give much 
 notice.


 


"So, you wanna break them up, or 
 should I?" Elaina was taking her break leaning against the bar. 
 Cyrene was calmly wiping the counter.


 


"Oh, not yet," the tavern keeper 
 replied. "They might as well get it out of their systems. Oh dear. 
 Looks like Toris' nose is broken. Would you get a wet rag to him, 
 please?"


 


"Sure." Elaina reached into a  
barrel behind the bar and grabbed a sopping piece of cloth which 
 she wrung out. She then made her way through the crowd to the far 
 corner. In front of the table the Gabrielle was on top, wrapping 
 her hands around Mara's throat. Or at least she was trying to. 
 It was kinda difficult, with Mara trying to scratch her eyes out 
 at the same time. Poor Toris had his hands pressed to his face. 
 He leaned against the wall helplessly, while Lumpy the dog decided 
 that the blood pouring out from his nose was a nice, tasty treat. 
 Elaina stepped one way, then the other. They was no way she was 
 going to get past the two struggling bodies on the floor without 
 actually stepping over them. Finally she gave up, and simply threw 
 the rag in Toris' direction. It landed with a wet THWAP! 
on his face. He gratefully nodded and pressed the rag to 
 his face with one hand, and pushing Lumpy away with the other. 
 Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, Elaina went back to the 
 bar. "Kids today," she sighed.


 


"I'm telling you, Elaina." said 
 Cyrene. "Love is not blind. Love is stupid."


 


"I know what you mean. And the 
 person they're fighting about isn't even here."


 


"Why am I not surprised? I told 
 Xena to stay in bed today. She even promised me she would, but 
 noooooo. She had to go running off and-"


 


"HEY 
CYRENE!!!" 
boomed a voice from the 
 door.


 


Cyrene groaned and rubbed her  
temples. "Gods. Does he have to yell everything he says? 
 WHAT, KENTARES?!?"


 


"THERE'S 
 SOME LADY OUT HERE LOOKIN' FOR YA!!! IN A CLOAK!!! I THINK SHE'S 
 FOREIGN!!!"


 


"BE RIGHT THERE!!!" She wiped  
her hands with a cloth and took off her apron.


 


"Now?" Elaina asked.


 


"Now," said Cyrene. She reached 
 under the bar, brought up a large bucket full of water, and placed 
 it in front of Elaina. "I'll be right back. You know what to do."


 


 


[


 


 


The 
 fucker doesn't even know I'm following him. I've been tracking 
 Makhet for a few hours now. Well, it took me a while since I had 
 to clean myself up, but it was no problem catching up with him. 
 He's on his way to my town where his target is supposed to be. 
 Who is he after? All I got is that he's after some priestess. Priestess 
 of what, I wonder? Circe was smart in one sense, only giving him 
 just enough information to get the job done, no more. Not a problem. 
 Won't be long till I catch up with him, and oh, will he be sorry 
 when I do. I ain't about ta let him murder and rob an innocent 
 person.


 


There's 
 something about his scent. Something...like he doesn't want to 
 be here, but at the same time he's glad he's not where he was before. 
 Apprehension, that's what it is. It has a distinctive smell. He 
 doesn't really want to do this little errand, he just wants to 
 get it over with. Sounds like the guy's stuck. Or smells like it 
 anyway. Almost feel sorry for the guy.


 


Yeah 
 right.


 


I 
 still can't figure how he does it, be so quiet. From what I gathered 
 when we first met, he's a seasoned killer. Probably why Gryllus 
 chose him as a lieutenant. Vicious enough to fight for you, yet 
 not ambitious enough to lead. If I had met him before Gryllus did, 
 things would be different. Makhet would have been my lieutenant, 
 instead. 


 


Makhet 
 is not stupid by any means, though. He knows all the tricks and 
 turns, and has a smart mouth, to boot. I wonder if he sweet-talked 
 Circe into letting him retain his human form. He was probably on 
 his knees, offering himself in the most perverse ways, as the red-haired 
 witch was about to transform him into a pig. Frightening image. 
 More likely than not, Circe found him interesting and decided to 
 take a new lover. It's a seasonal thing with her. She'll latch 
 on to the flavor of the month, until they'll do something to piss 
 her off. Like leave her. I don't think I have to rehash what happened 
 to Picus. Poor guy. And Ulysses. In a cruel twist of irony, he 
 was killed by his own son. A son he'd had by Circe. It was their 
 first and only encounter. If Makhet wasn't already in deep shit 
 already, he sure is now. 


 


SNIFF 
 SNIFF 


 


What 
 is that smell coming from him? He stinks, there's something oozing 
 out of his pores. Something plant-like and pungent, like an onion. 
 Ulysses had a similar scent on him, but it was barely noticeable. 
 This one reeks of it. 


 


Holy 
 Moly. 


 


Of 
 course. If Makhet was on a trading ship, then he probably came 
 across a batch of moly and ate some. Maybe. I'm only guessing. 
 Regardless of how he got the stuff, that makes him invulnerable 
 to Circe's shape-shifting magic. However, as I saw earlier, she 
 can move other things to hurt him. Makhet may be big and tough, 
 but hit him in the right place, he's on the ground rolling in pain 
 like everyone else. Bastard. 


 


 


[


 


Makhet picked up on the trail that 
 Circe had pointed out to him. In a way, he was glad that she had 
 only appeared before him in the daytime. He liked the night anyway, 
 and in fact preferred to sleep all day. Sometimes, when Circe was 
 having one of her more violent tantrums, he would hide in the woods 
 where the animals that were once human resided. The tamed beasts 
 would lie beside him as he slept They followed him everywhere he 
 went. He hunted for their food on the island and fed them. Even 
 though they lacked the power of speech, the animals made him welcome 
 when Circe didn't. As much as he hated tramping around in a strange 
 territory following tracks, he was glad he was off the island for 
 now. He scanned the footprints before him, and wondered about his 
 prey. Who is it? Priestesses don't usually travel, much less 
 alone with one horse. Strange.


 


Oh well, it's 
 business, nothing personal.


 


He froze in his tracks, listening 
 hard. He was being followed, he could feel it. He twisted his wrist 
 slightly, and a blade slid out from underneath his sleeve. He wrapped 
 his hands loosely on the blade, ready to toss it.


 


It had to be Xena. If she survived 
 their last encounter, then he was in trouble, warned Circe. "She 
 heals fast," she'd explained. "I know not how, but she does. And 
 yet, she's fully mortal." He concentrated for a split second then 
 flung the knife to his right.


 


She landed right on top of his 
 shoulders, propelling him face-first into the ground. He spat out 
 some dust as she planted two feet into his upper back, rendering 
 him immobile.


 


Xena grinned down at her quarry. 
 "Hi there. Remember me?"


 


"But..but...you're dead!" The  
bear-sized warrior sputtered.


 


"I got better."


 


"What do you want?"


 


"Let's review, shall we? You're 
 after somebody. Well, guess what? You ain't goin' near her!"


 


"I don't know what you're talking 
 about."


 


She shifted slightly, putting some 
 more pressure on his back. He stifled a groan. "Wrong answer." 
 she growled.


 


Makhet grimaced at the pain in 
 his back. "Hey, I'm just doing a job!" he choked out.


 


"Are you, now? And Circe sent you? 
 How pathetic!"


 


"When she finds out about this, 
 you'll wish you'd stayed dead!"


 


"I'm trembling."


 


"You don't even know whom I'm after!"


 


"Does it matter? But now that you've 
 mentioned it, how about spilling it? Who are you after, Makhet? 
 Must be someone special." She pressed juuuuust a little 
 harder.


 


"Aaaargh! A priestess! Traveling 
 alone! Came in from Egypt!"


 


"Is that so? Could the tracks  
you've been sniffing at be hers?"


 


"Yeah. YEAH!"


 


"All right, Makhet." she drawled. 
 "You've got two choices. Return to Aeaea under your own power, 
 or in chains. Either way, you're going back to Circe empty-handed."


 


"She'll kill me."


 


"Not my problem. So, what's it 
 gonna be?"


 


"You let me up, I'll kill you."


 


"Again? I don't think so." Grinning 
 savagely, the warrior princess somersaulted off his back with a 
 whoop.


 


Makhet leapt to his feet and tossed 
 knives in her direction, but she had already moved. She moved in 
 just long enough to smash her fist into his face, then moved before 
 he could react. His hands flew to his nose and reset it with a 
CrrRUnCH 
Xena moved in again, this time behind him, and snapped two punches 
 into his lower back. Makhet grunted and whirled about. He lunged 
 at her with a knife in hand, swinging downward. She jumped into 
 the air, just as the knife slammed into the earth. She somersaulted 
 high over Makhet and landed neatly several paces behind him. Roaring, 
 he charged her again. At the last second, Xena stepped sideways, 
 grabbed him by his cloak, and swung him face-first into a nearby 
SPLAT 
tree. He staggered back when she let go, bright little spots whirling 
 in front of his face. He felt more than saw the fist zooming towards 
 him, and he grabbed her wrist. He yanked hard and turned, bashing 
 her against another nearby THWOK 
tree.  The moment she dropped, he grabbed her firmly by the 
neck, squeezing  hard. Xena strained against the pressure, clutching 
at his massive  fingers. She began to see spots, too. Makhet hauled 
her up in the  air, his hand still closed tightly around her throat. 
"Any last  requests, warrior?" he asked.


 


 "Yeah," came the croaked reply. 
 "Tell me how you did it."


 


"Did what?" he growled.


 


"Get a hold of some moly. How  
else could you resist Circe's magic? Did you know that too much 
 of the stuff can make you go mad? Maybe make you see things that 
 aren't there?"


 


"You're lying."


 


"Am I? Are you sure you saw me 
 die?"


 


"You're nuts."


 


"No," Xena's foot whipped forward 
 and connected squarely with THUNK 
certain sensitive parts. "Your nuts." 


 


Emitting a shriek, Makhet dropped 
 his would-be victim like a hot potato. He sank to his knees, clutching 
 his injured crotch. Before he could even blink, Xena's hands darted 
 forward for the briefest of moments. He stiffened, his eyes bugging 
 out. His arms began to flop about uselessly. It felt like someone 
 was squeezing his head in a vise. "I've just cut off the flow of 
 blood to your brain." she informed him. "You'll be dead in seconds 
 unless you tell me what it is you're after this priestess for."


 


Seeing his life flash before his 
 very eyes, Makhet was more than willing to talk. "Circe wants something 
 that the priestess is carrying in her bag."


 


"Which is...?" she prompted.


 


"I don't know! I swear it!"


 


Deciding that he was telling the 
 truth, she took her time releasing the pinch. It hurt the victim 
 more this way. And he grunted accordingly. "Looks like you want 
 it the hard way, Makhet. Nighty-night."


 


THWACK


 


 


XXX


 


"I 
 would go out toniiiiiight, but I haven't got a thing. Tooo Weeeeaaaaaar. 
 Thith man thaid ith gwoothome that thomeone tho hanthome thould 
 caaare..." 


 


Mor came home after a long day 
 at the smithy, having repaired several objects and shod at least 
 seven horses. He was tired, dirty and sweaty, wanting nothing more 
 than to drag himself home and collapse on the nearest pallet. He 
 kept himself going by singing little tunes that ran in his head. 
 He sang with a pronounced lisp, of course, but his voice was so 
 lovely, no one who listened cared. As he walked towards the house, 
 he saw his father Stavros out front waiting. As he got closer, 
 he saw the giant bag resting by the door.


 


"Hey Pa!" he called. "What'th  
up? What'th in the bag?" Mor stopped in his tracks, his nose wrinkling. 
 "What thitinkth?"


 


"Son," Stavros pointed his cane 
 at the bag. "We've got a wolf stalking the village. Have been for 
 a day or so."


 


"Thay what?" Gods, does he 
 smoke the stuff all day, or what? "A wolf? Thewe haven't been 
 one 'wound here for yearth."


 


"But one's here now! Look, I have 
 proof!" Stavros poked the bag open with his cane and bade Mor to 
 look inside. Shrugging, his son leaned forward and peered in.


 


The stench nearly knocked the young 
 blacksmith backwards. Pinching his nose shut, he looked again at 
 the rotting buck corpse. "Holy THPIT, Pa!!! Whey-a find THAT?!?"


 


"Cyrill found it this morning. 
 And last night, yer Uncle Xippy lost a sheep. Not a lock of wool's 
 been found of the beast. Wolf must've ate it alive! Now son, what 
 kind of creature kills and simply leaves the body to rot?"


 


"Umm..." Mor was at a loss on  
that one. Maybe Pa had been smoking just a little too much.


 


"Was a wolf that did it, Morry. 
 Why don't we go get Xena and Toris an' hunt for it?"


 


"Thay what?" Mor's eyes grew wide 
 at that announcement. Oh, no. Not again. "Anotha huntin 
 twip? Pa, lath yeah, you thaid there watha chimeewa on the looth! 
 You had me up until the thun wothe lookin fer thumpthin that wath'nt 
 there!"


 


"This is real this time, son."


 


"But why go after thome poor innothent 
 animal like that?"


 


Stavros rolled his eyes and sighed. 
 "Son," he began, bracing himself for an argument. "That wolf ain't 
 no fluffy thing looking to be petted. It's a vicious beast. We 
 can't let it harm our home."


 


"But how do you know there'th  
even a wolf around? Have you theen it?"


 


"No. But the buck, son! Nothing 
 but a wolf would do that!"


 


Mor looked over at the carcass 
 again and sighed. It did look as if the wolf had mauled it. And...then 
 was something else that caught his attention... "Hey. Ith'nt that 
 the buck Towith been runnin' afta?"


 


[


 


I 
 hope these vines are strong enough. Too bad I don't have any chains. 
 They're not good enough for him, the sick bastard. I've got him 
 tightly bound, and I'm hauling him behind me as I walk. The road 
 we're on's kinda bumpy, so hopefully he banged his head along the 
 way. Makhet is one of the few people I don't regret hurting. Killing 
 him outright sounds like a viable option, but the last thing I 
 need is some red-haired witch tearing after me for killing her 
 current lover. I'm dragging his ass over to the constable's to 
 cool his heels until I'm done visiting home. Then I'm hauling him 
 over to the nearest port, and ship him back to Circe, special delivery. 
 In the meantime, I gotta find this woman and warn her. From there, 
 I dunno what, but I'll jump off that bridge when I reach it. 


 


I'm 
 following the trail he's been on, and sure enough, it leads straight 
 into town. One traveler, on a horse. The horseshoe imprints are 
 brand new, which means the horse was rented from a livery. SNIFF 
Sea salt. Definitely traveled by ship. From... SNIFF 
Huh. Looks like the bastard was telling the truth after all. Egypt. 
 Yep. I recognize the scents from that land. Hmmmm. Definitely a 
 her. 
SNIFF Funny. I don't smell the usual incense and oils you'd 
 find in a temple. That stuff tends to linger. Yeah, it's oils, 
 all right, but it's the stuff used for bathing. This ain't no priestess, 
 that's for sure. So. who is it? SNIFF 
Let's see...ink...parchment...cannabis...a cat that stayed 
 home and is missing her now...fresh linen...SNIFF 
heavy cloak...metal...smoke? From the smell of things, looks like 
 this one survived a fire recently. Like, a few months ago. Can 

 it be...? I'll be damned, I know who it is now. She's no priestess...but 
 her mother was. K'Tai.


 


Grrrrrrrr. 
I was mad before, 
 but now...I'm really pissed. The bastard was after a friend of 
 mine. 


 


 
I yank at the vine and pull him upright. He's still unconscious 
 but it doesn't stop me from pounding a few punches into him. I 
 might be able to stop him now, but what's stopping Circe from sending 
 someone else? One more punch and he's on the ground again. Damn. 
 I sure stepped in it this time. I gotta get home, find K'Tai, warn 
 her, and protect her.


 


But 
 why do I get the feeling that she might not let me?


 


[


 


It took a while, but Metrius finally 
 cleaned up the mess in his office. He had to use an entire barrel 
 of scented oil to kill the stench, but it was worth it. He nursed 
 his mug of ale while he glanced around. Through a heavy door, towards 
 the back and down a narrow hall were a few cells lined with bars 
 There, the occasional drunk or rabble-rouser would sit until the 
 magistrate decided their fate, usually a few licks with the lash 
 in the public square. It had been years since there was a hanging, 
 and the case had been pretty extreme. The poor unlucky bastard 
 had killed five people, two of them children, before he was caught. 
 That was the one exciting moment in Metrius' career. Then it got 
 boring again. The cells were empty now, with dust lingering in 
 the corners. They stank of piss, shit and puke, and one could die 
 from the smell alone, unless they were too drunk to notice. Metrius 
 never really bothered to clean the cells. He would leave the refuse, 
 figuring he'd let his "guests" feel as miserable as he did. The 
 heavy oaken door to the hallway of cells usually shielded him from 
 the worst of the stench, but the odors would always find their 
 way out into the outside air. Once every so often, the towns-people 
 would complain about the smell, and he would reluctantly clean 
 the mess up.


 


It had been two moons since the 
 last complaint, and he was now working on a new pile. It wouldn't 
 be long until the folks complained again. Oh well. Metrius 
 took another drink from his ale. It was well past dark, and even 
 further past his bedtime. He went around his office looking here 
 and there, blowing out the candles that were spread around the 
 room. He was about to blow out the next to the last candle when 
 there was a THUMP 
 THUMP 
 THUMP 
at the door. He groaned aloud. Not another one. He 
 snatched up the lit candle and went around re-lighting the others.


 


THUMP 
 THUMP 
 THUMPTHUMP 


 


"Keep yer britches on, will ya?" 
 he hollered at the door. "I'm coming!" When the room was lit again, 
 he made his way to the door, cursing under his breath. He yanked 
 the door open. "WHAT?!? Oh. It's you."


 


Metrius stepped aside, and Xena 
 came in, dragging behind her a man tightly bound in vines. "Nice 
 to see you too, Metrius. Got one fer ya, and ya didn't hafta do 
 a damn thing fer once. This one-" She yanked Makhet upright. "Was 
 on his way over here to kill somebody. Name's Makhet. Nasty fella, 
 surely you've heard of him. Fought under Gryllus, remember him? 
 Now he's a free-lance killer."


 


"And?" Metrius' reply disappeared 
 into his mug.


 


Xena glowered and him and released 
 the vine, allowing Makhet to crumple into a heap. "And?" she snarled. 
 "I practically drop a wanted man into your lap, and believe me, 
 there are quite a few villages who would love to have his head 
 on a pike, and all you can come up with is 'and'? What the fuck 
 is wrong with you?"


 


"Has he actually done anything?"


 


"You're serious, right?" Xena  
advanced the constable, towering over him by a few hairs. "I just 
 got through tangling with him. He fucking stabbed me!"


 


His eyes flickered over the warrior 
 and narrowed. "Where? I don't see any blood on you."


 


She glanced down at herself and 
 swore. She'd forgotten the wounds had healed. "Look, all I need 
 for you to do is to keep him here for a few days before I'm ready 
 to move on, and I'll take him with me. Can you at least do that?"


 


He sneered back at her. "What  
is it with your family? Ya know yer uncle came barging in here with 
 some story about a wolf prowling town? And if that wasn't enough, 
 he hauled in this rotting buck corpse that stank up my office!"


 


"Oh, is that what it is? And here 
 I thought you forgot to clean up your cells. Again!"


 


"Oh yeah? Since you find the so 
 smell appealing, how about staying back there for a while? I might 
 as well arrest you for filing a false report."


 


Xena got in his face, baring her 
 teeth. "Arrest me, huh? I'd like to see you try, you miserable 
 piece of shit!"


 


Metrius slammed his mug onto his 
 desk and raised his fists. "I think I will. I've been working out 
 lately, so I can take you now!"


 


She snorted. "Not that shit again! 
 You never could beat me when we were kids, what makes you think 
 you have a chance now?"


 


"What's the matter, warrior? Scared? 
 You never had a problem before. And don't forget there are quite 
 a few villages out there who would love to have your head 
 on a pike."


 


"If you don't wanna take him,  
fine! I'll just stash him somewhere else!" She began to turn away.


 


Undaunted, Metrius grabbed her 
 arm and spun her back. "Oh no, you don't! You ain't walking away 
 from a fight are ya? You think that-" He stopped short when he 
 happened to get a good look at her arm. "What the fuck?!?" He let 
 go and backed away.


 


Xena glanced down at her arm and 
 her face paled. The hair on her arms was thicker and more noticeable. 
 "Metrius..."


 


He moved behind his desk. "No. 
 You stay the fuck away from me." 


 


"Dammit, Metrius! I don't have 
 time for this! If I let this man go, he is going to kill someone!"


 


"I always knew you were some sort 
 of freak! You got a curse on you or something?"


 


"Now's not the time to be worrying 
 about me! Can't you at least-"


 


fffFFFFSShHaaAAaaPPP


 


They didn't notice the tiny bomb 
 until it was too late. It exploded in a brilliant flash, blinding 
 them both. Thick, black smoke blanketed the air. Xena grabbed Metrius 
 and got them both to a corner of the office where there was a patch 
 of clear air. Tears stung their eyes and they bent over, coughing. 
 Recovering first, Xena held on to the constable's arm and helped 
 him up, patting his back as he coughed. He wrenched himself from 
 her grip. "Don't touch me, Freak!" he sputtered.


 


When the smoke finally cleared, 
 Makhet was gone. In his place was the heavy vines that had been 
 cut away. "Dammit!" Xena roared. She hauled Metrius up by his shirt 
 front and slammed him against the wall. "You incompetent FUCK!!!" 
 His head swimming from booze and trauma, he slowly raised his head 
 and fixed a weak scowl on the warrior. "Assault on an officer of 
 the law." he groaned. "Now I can arrest him. You, too." Grunting 
 in frustration, Xena let him drop and raced out of the building 
 and into the night.


 


Sitting with his back against  
the wall, Metrius coughed some more and rubbed some sore spots. 
 "Fucking freak..." he muttered.


 


XXX


So much for 
 a short visit. 


 


K'Tai only intended stay in Amphipolis 
 for a few hours, no more. All she carried with her was a leather 
 bag and the horse she'd rented from the seaport livery. The scribe 
 had just entered the town, all the way from Alexandria, on a mission, 
 of sorts. In his will, her foster father Philolaos had left a few 
 items to his old friend Cyrene, and K'Tai thought it was best if 
 she delivered them personally. She had been to Amphipolis once, 
 years before with Phil. The town was a lot smaller than she remembered, 
 and to her surprise, quite a few people recognized her. "Phil's 
 little girl", they called her. Cyrene had welcomed the scribe with 
 open arms. She was saddened to hear of Phil's death, bursting into 
 tears when K'Tai presented her with several boxes full of jewelry, 
 gold, scrolls, and oils. She insisted that the scribe stay at the 
 inn for a while. Before K'Tai knew it, she was parked at the table 
 with Gabrielle and Toris, with a plate of food in front of her. 
 The dinner crowd had just wandered out of the tavern, leaving it 
 nearly empty. Gabrielle's hair was still damp from getting drenched 
 earlier (Mara had decided to retreat to the other end of the tavern), 
 and was now working on her third plate of lamb stew. Toris was 
 still holding a bloody cloth to his face. The big guy wasn't much 
 on conversation at the moment, but K'Tai was glad to see the bard. 
 After a brief reunion, they quickly fell into chattering about 
 the latest scrolls that had arrived at the Library of Alexandria 
 since the fire. Lumpy the dog had sniffed with curiosity at this 
 new person, and decided that she was an okay human. He took his 
 now usual position on Gabrielle's lap, while his furry tail thumped 
 against K'Tai's thigh.


 


Toris was gracious enough to hand 
 K'Tai his pipe, which she promptly stuffed with cannabis from her 
 pouch. The three of them passed the pipe again, creating yet another 
 giant cloud over the table. K'Tai was unused to smoking and the 
 cannabis she'd brought was about ten times stronger than Toris' 
 stash. She coughed and hacked several times. Gabrielle and Toris 
 took turns patting the scribe's back. The buzz hit them very hard. 
 Toris found himself in a heavy trance, which he liked, and considered 
 asking the scribe for a few seeds to grow in Uncle Stavros' garden. 
 Gabrielle picked up on the last philosophical thread she had been 
 on, rambling about Democritus again. K'Tai, having read all of 
The  Laughing Philosopher's work, joined right in, and the two of 
them  began to discuss in detail Democritus' Atomic Theory. Poor 
Toris  had no clue as to what the two women were talking about, 
but he  smiled and nodded when a comment was tossed in his direction. 
He  glanced at Lumpy the dog, who looked right back at him.


 


Eventually, the conversation drifted 
 to the fateful encounter with Najara. K'Tai listened to the story 
 thoughtfully, considering all of the details. "Well," she said 
 after Gabrielle finished her story, "I do have a few thoughts about 
 this Najara person. You said that she talked to...these spirits?"


 


"Actually," Gabrielle answered. 
 "They talked to her."


 


K'Tai appeared to be in deep thought. 
 "Hmmm. Well, I happen to know a few things about the jinn."


 


"You do?"


 


"Yeah. A lot of people believe 
 in them. The jinn are spirits who inhabit a world very much like 
 ours, but on a different level. And like us, they can be good or 
 evil, male or female. But since their world is in a different dimension, 
 they have knowledge and abilities which would be akin to magic 
 to us."


 


"Don't they visit our world?"  
The bard couldn't help but wonder. Perhaps Najara had had access 
 to some otherworldly ability.


 


"All the time." The scribe took 
 a sip from her mug. "Hey, this is good stuff. What's it called 
 again?"


 


"Ouzo," Gabrielle said. "But uh...be 
 careful. It'll knock you on your ass. About the jinn?"


 


"Oh yeah. Anyway, they're said 
 to be made of smoke and fire and therefore invisible to the naked 
 eye. On occasion, they'll let themselves be seen by people. But 
 here's the thing. They don't usually talk to people unless they're 
 summoned. And even then, other people would be able to see and 
 hear them too, even if what they see is a column of smoke."


 


"So...the voices in her head...."


 


"Weren't the jinn. You said earlier 
 that Najara claimed they started talking to her as a child? Well, 
 there's this other thing I read about. It's a disease of the mind 
 where some individuals have an altered perception of life. You 
 could say that they're in a whole different world. And...in most 
 cases they hear voices in their heads, telling them to do things, 
 sometimes destructive. Another thing I've read is that people with 
 this affliction tend to be more perceptive than normal, picking 
 up on emotional states, or perhaps even the thoughts, of other 
 people. That would probably explain how she knew certain details 
 about you. Nope." K'Tai took a long swallow from her mug. "That 
 warrior was no mystic."


 


"She wuz a fuggin' nut!" Toris 
 finally spoke up, still holding his nose. "I coulda told ya that." 
 Lumpy whined in agreement.


 


Gabrielle sat poking at her lamb 
 stew, mulling over what she just heard. "I suppose that should 
 be a relief to hear." she said softly. "I really believed that 
 Najara was this ultimate force for good, someone that could help 
 me find the peace I've been looking for. I guess I was wrong. It 
 was so stupid of me to believe her."


 


K'Tai patted the bard's shoulder. 
 "You weren't stupid. You just didn't know. There's always going 
 to be someone that does harm in the name of their god. But that 
 doesn't mean you should give up looking for inner peace. That is 
 a good thing to aspire to. You know, I've read some scrolls from 
 India about a man named Siddhartha Gautama, who was said to have 
 attained enlightenment. If you like, I could give you a few scrolls 
 about his beliefs the next time you're at the Library."


 


Gabrielle smiled ruefully. "Thanks. 
 I just might do that. I'm sorry for dumping my troubles in your 
 lap like that. It's just that Xena and I have been through so much 
 lately..."


 


"It's okay, Gabrielle." The scribe 
 took another sip from her ouzo. "Really."


 


"And what about you?" The bard 
 placed an arm around the Alexandrian's shoulders.


 


"What about me?"


 


"How are you holding up? You know, 
 after..."


 


"I'm fine." K'Tai stared into  
the mug in her hands, her face becoming an impenetrable mask.


 


Like Tartarus 
 you are. "K'Tai, ever since 
 the fire, you haven't said a word about it. It's like you've shut 
 yourself completely off. You're obviously in pain and and I just-"


 


"I don't want to talk about it." 
 The scribe's voice became quiet. She continued to stare at the 
 table, as if it would help her shut out the line of questioning. 
 Her lower lip began to tremble, and her brown eyes threatened to 
 fill with tears. "I think I'll go on to bed now." She set down 
 her cup with a quivering hand. "I'm sorry, Gabrielle. I'm still 
 not over it." And with that, K'Tai got up from the table and went 
 towards her room. Lumpy the dog lifted his head and whined after 
 her.


 


"She okay?" asked Toris. He sniffed 
 and felt his tender nose, satisfied that it wasn't broken after 
 all. 


 


Gabrielle sighed, stroking Lumpy's 
 head.


 


 


[


 


Stupid. 
 Stupid. STUPID!!! I should have known. As many knives as he was 
 hurling, he had to have a bunch stashed on him. It's my own damn 
 fault for not searching him before I tied him up. And that smoke 
 bomb. That's a new one. I'd never would have guessed he'd have 
 that up his sleeve. I honestly didn't think he'd be smart enough 
 to even identify, much less use, a bomb. If I wasn't so damn busy 
 arguing with fucking Metrius... I don't even know why I wasted 
 the time. We go back, me an' Mets. He's been calling me the Freak 
 ever since we were eight. It all started when he decided he was 
 gonna bully me and made a crack about my height. I in turn cracked 
 him up side the head. I was always big for my age. If you bunched 
 all us kids together, I would stick out like some overgrown wart. 
 My hands were huge. And I was stronger, faster, and meaner than 
 any boy in the village. One time, when Metrius decided to pick 
 on Lyceus, I whipped some vine around his legs and started running 
 in the rough part of the forest, dragging him behind me. He was 
 covered in cuts and bruises when I was done. Boy, was Mom pissed. 
 She made me clean the tavern by myself for a moon. If things were 
 bad between me an' Met, they got ten times worse with the entrance 
 of one person.


 


Mara.


 


Short 
 version. Mara was supposed to marry Metrius. I thought she was 
 cute, but I was all for the wedding. Then one night when I'd drunk 
 too much, Mara and I somehow wound up alone in an empty barn. One 
 thing led to another and...no question where I'm going with this. 
 As a result, Mara decided that she didn't want to marry Metrius 
 anymore. When he found out...well, it wasn't pretty. He challenged 
 me to a duel right then and there. We would have if his father 
 hadn't charged in and dragged Metrius home, in front of the entire 
 village. Talk about embarrassing. 


 


There 
 was one instance when we put aside our differences. And that was 
 when Cortese came to town. Now, it's business as usual. 


 


Sniiiiff-Snort! 
 Snort! Damn! 
 That smoke went up my nose, I can barely smell anything! I can 
 still see Makhet's tracks. They're headed towards the tavern, where 
 K'Tai is also likely to go. I hope I'm not too late...


 


[


 


K'Tai entered the darkened room 
 with a candle. The light wasn't much, but it was enough to let 
 her move around without bumping into things. After settling the 
 candle on the nightstand, she peeled off her cloak and placed it 
 on a chair. She sat down on the edge of the bed and let her nearly 
 empty leather bag slide from off her shoulder. It went to the floor, 
 beside her feet. After carrying the boxes she'd given to Cyrene, 
 it only held personal items, a small sword, as well as a handful 
 of scrolls. K'Tai reached inside and pulled out one scroll and 
 began to read. It was a letter that Phil had written to her long 
 ago.


 


She missed him. He'd raised her 
 from childhood and taught her everything she knew. Growing up in 
 the Library was a wondrous experience. Phil read to her often  
while she was growing up. When she learned to write, she was allowed 
 to sit and watch while the copiers worked, and eventually became 
 an apprentice. She became one of the best scribes, in the Library, 
 and patrons began to request her services. One such patron was 
 Julius Caesar. Seventeen-year old K'Tai was given the task of chronicling 
 a meeting between Caesar and a man from a land called Madripoor. 
 The Madri was seeking an alliance with the Roman, and made a very 
 generous offer of furs, rare jewels, and bear oil. Caesar smiled 
 at the Madri and offered his hand. K'Tai had been going over a 
 few lines when she heard something heavy drop to the floor. When 
 she looked up, a smiling Caesar was standing over the now dead 
 Madri calmly wiping his blade. "This never happened. You will burn 
 the scroll," he said. K'Tai immediately tossed the scroll she was 
 working on into the torch beside her. "What scroll?" she said, 
 hoping he would dismiss her. Thankfully, he did, with an understanding 
 smirk and nod of his head. The scribe ran all the way from Caesar's 
 Alexandrian base to the Library. Phil shook his head sadly when 
 she told him. From then on, whenever Caesar entered the Library, 
 K'Tai avoided him. 


 


Other than her brush with harsh 
 reality, K'Tai's life growing up was a daily learning experience. 
 Phil believed in a well-rounded education and insisted on her learning 
 various skills besides that of a scribe. She learned to ride a 
 horse, sail, weave, and other other things. But the lessons she 
 could have done without were those of combat. K'Tai never saw the 
 point in it. She never could understand point of one person raising 
 a hand against another. Still, she carried her sword to defend 
 herself. Traveling alone was dangerous, especially for women. Thankfully, 
 she'd never had to resort to violence to avoid trouble.


 


A soft sound caught her attention. 
 She stood and looked around, her eyes trying to adjust to the darkness 
 in spite of the lone candle. "Who's there?" she called.


 


For several minutes, she stood 
 in the darkness. She couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary. 
Maybe I should have paid better attention to Uncle's lessons.


 


She felt the barest of movements 
 behind her and turned. There was a shape there, a large one. Her 
 eyes kept going up and up until they settled on a mass of thick 
 long hair. It wasn't she felt the dull pressure that she looked 
 down. There appeared to be a knife sticking out of her chest. But 
 there was no pain or puncture of skin. No blood. Instead, there 
 were tiny shards of metal floating in the air. She watched in fixed 
 fascination as the shards fanned out before they dropped to the 
 floor. The assailant lifted the knife off her chest and stared 
 at the empty hilt with confusion. Then he suddenly vanished from 
 her sight and the sound of fists punching flesh could be heard.


 


There was another person in the 
 room.


 


THUD 
CRACK 
WHUMP


 


K'Tai could barely make out the 
 shadowy figures struggling on the ground. She reached for her sword 
 in her bag. When the fight was over, she swung her blade forward 
 and and pointed it at the throat of the figure that was getting 
 up. "Don't move." She said.


 


"It's me, K'Tai."


 


The voice was familiar. Puzzled, 
 the scribe lowered the sword. "Xena? Is that you?"


 


"Yeah. You all right?" Xena drew 
 nearer, but stayed out of the light.


 


"I'm fine. I think. Let me see 
you."


 


"No."


 


"Why not?"


 


"I can't."


 


"Since when are you worried about 
 your looks?"


 


"Trust me, K'Tai, you don't wanna 
 see me like this."


 


Did she just...growl? 
"Okay. You wanna tell me who 
that guy is and what he's doing here?"


 


"You're in danger, K'Tai. This 
 man's name is Makhet. He was sent to kill you by a witch named 
 Circe."


 


"You're kidding, right? Why would 
she want me dead?"


 


"You're carrying something that 
 Circe wants."


 


"What is it?"


 


"I don't know." Then, she said, 
 "I saw him stab you." 


 


"I'm fine. Really." K'Tai shifted 
slightly.


 


Xena cocked her head to the side. 
 "Really, now? I saw that knife shatter against your chest. Explain 
 that."


 


Uh-oh. "Ummm...body 
 armor?" K'Tai lied.


 


"Under that flimsy linen? I don't 
 think so." Xena seemed to edge closer into the light, but remained 
 silhouetted. 


 She appraised the scribe 
 with a curious gaze. "And you look just as surprised about it as 
 I was."


 


Maybe I'm off 
 the hook? Oh, whom am I kidding? Nothing 
gets past this warrior. "Well, 
 uh..."


 


SNIFF 
SNIFF "And 
you're not part god, you're fully mortal. I can  tell that from 
your scent."


 


Scent? Did 
 she just...sniff me? "It's...kinda 
 hard to explain."


 


"Try me."


 


"I...." K'Tai pondered this new 
 dilemma. No one but Phil knew of her secret. Sharing it with a 
 virtual stranger didn't sound appealing at all.


 


Xena picked up on the scribe's 
 hesitation and realization dawned on her. There had been some unusual 
 instances that occurred the last time they'd met. Her voice softened. 
 "You were born with this ability, weren't you?"


 


K'Tai blinked. At least she 
 didn't freak out and call me a demon or something... "Yes. 
 I can manipulate matter." She answered carefully, letting the warrior 
 absorb this. "You're not real surprised, are you?"


 


"Well," Xena answered. "It would 
explain how you could run through a burning hallway without keeling 
 over from smoke inhalation."


 


"Oh. yeah. That." The scribe peered 
at the shadowy form before her. It looked vaguely like Xena, but 
 bigger, somehow. "Will you let me see you?"


 


"No."


 


K'Tai rolled her eyes. "If you're 
not the least bit surprised about me being what I am, then whatever 
it is about you can't be  that bad."


 


"Okay, I warned you." Xena stepped 
slowly into the light.


 


K'Tai swallowed a gasp. The warrior 
before her was not the same one she'd met nearly a year ago. The 
 long black hair was the same, as were the piercing blue eyes. But 
 the leather-clad body looked more muscular. Xena's face was all 
 but covered with facial hair, with sideburns jutting out grotesquely 
 down her jaw. Her arms and legs were covered with thick black fur. 
 Long nails tapered from her fingers. And were those...fangs? The 
 scribe stared at Xena until her scholastic instincts kicked in. 
 "Are you turning into a wolf, or something? What happened to you?"


 


"I don't know, but it doesn't matter. 
 I gotta figure out a way to keep you safe from Circe."


 


"What about him?" K'Tai looking 
 warily at the large lump on the floor.


 


There was a twitch beginning at 
 the side of Xena's face and a low growl rumbled from her throat. 
 "I'll take care of him. He's not gonna hurt you again, K'Tai, I 
 promise you that."


 


"Thanks. But what about you?" The 
 scribe edged forward, fear slowly giving way to fascination. She 
 thought she knew what the problem was, now. There were scrolls 
on  this kind of transformation, although this one was a lot slower. 
 And nearly all of such scrolls said that there were divine influence 
 or magic involved. Perhaps if I could recall a spell...


 


"Let me worry about it."


 


"What are you going to tell Gabrielle?"


 


"Hhhhrrrrrrrr, 
 I said, let me worry 
about it!" Xena bared her fangs and snarled savagely at K'Tai. 
 "I...don't know...how much longer...I can hold this back. All...of 
 my instincts...are telling me...to kill you." SNIFF 
SNIFF She grinned, her teeth gleaming in the dim light. "I 
 can smell your fear."


 


K'Tai didn't flinch. "I'm not afraid 
 of you," She said quietly. "I know you wouldn't hurt me. You're 
 my friend. Let me help." She reached out to touch the warrior. 
Her  fingers brushed against a hand covered in fur.


 


The reaction was immediate. With 
 an unearthly howl, Xena snatched her hand back as if she'd been 
 burned. She clutched at her hand as she dropped to the floor, convulsions 
 ripped through her body. K'Tai looked on helplessly, wondering 
what  was happening. "Xena?" She called. "Xena, are you all right?"


 


Slowly, the fits abated, and Xena 
 stood on shaky legs, looking bewildered. She glanced at her hands 
 and blinked in surprise. The fur was gone. She reached up and touched 
 her face. It was smooth. "I'm normal." She said in wonderment. 
She  looked up at K'Tai. "I don't know what you did, but I'm normal. 
 You've cured me."


 


K'Tai glanced at her own hands, 
 then back at the warrior, just as puzzled. "Well, that's never 
 happened before."


 


 


To 
  be Continued


 


 


NEXT: 
  SIDEEFFECT


  


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