Castlewarming Chapters 511-520 (updated)
by Hercules Forum Collective
Chapter 511
by Eeyoraus
A helpless Eeyoraus came to stand and stare beside Michael, embracing his
glorious pectoral with both of her warm hands, claiming possession of what
was so naturally hers. She lay her fiery crimson head upon his shoulder and
he in turn settled his golden head upon hers. This must have been some
arrangement her dear Daddy had made with the other gods, she had thought,
as by his side, she rested earlier, that she should come to own this
magnificent creature and own was not too strong a word. The love-greedy
half-goddess owned this masterpiece in gold as surely as he possessed her
own being; body, soul ,and spirit. Having exchanged fewer words than most
mere acquaintances their love was an all consuming new creation of them
both.
She, now, thought of Iolaus and sighed. Yes, her love for him had been
real. She doubtlessly understood the emotion, yet it must have been a
premonition , a foretelling of this man and this love, so much like him but
so much more like herself and only her own. Michael was the one perfect
being in the universe for the unique half-mortal daughter of the god of
love.
As her thoughts turned to the man she could not have, the love that caused
such pain, she was suddenly brought back to the moment at hand. The other
side of the coin called Iolaus lay captured in a tortuous dream ,perhaps
dying and her heart was not there. With a sudden gasp Eeyoraus realized how
wrong this was. "He's not here. He must be!" escaped from her with the
breath she had to force from her lungs.
Michael understood the cryptic speech of his eccentric lady as if he had
spoken the words himself. He knew every thought, every feeling in her and
knew all he needed to know about Aquillea's own heart through this "This
will be a hard time for your dear Iolaus ," he said without a hint of
jealousy, for he was as sure of Eeyoraus as she was of him. "He cannot
escape the pain of guilt. If he leaves Hercules' side to be with Aquillea
or if he stays to fight with his friend, he is already torn."
"There is no fairness here or among the gods. No one escapes pain and hard
choices, but I know his heart and as much as he loves his friend and his
valor, he loves this one thing more. He loves Aquillea more." Eeyoraus
whispered.
Shait spoke now to the pair of part-gods as they looked upon the one
Eeyoraus so loved, fumbling, lost, awake in a dream, writhed by the pain of
unsettled past. "You are correct, my friend." The half-goddess was slightly
taken aback by the title the mysterious one bestowed on her. To be called
Shait's friend was like being told one had passed some rigid, arcane test.
She was highly complimented but the pleasure was fleeting as she looked
back at her Amazon idol.
Shait continued, "Her own hope lies in him. There is a battle for the
warrior-hunter right here. And this is one only he can win. He has no hard
choice . He has no choice at all."
The new Celtic addition to this unusually mixed Amazon party looked deeply
and longingly into his newly found passion's eyes. They were oddest color.
Almost purely gold. He had never seen anything like them before and they
had burned a hole in his soul since their first chance encounter. His
desire for her was nearly overwhelming and he would have taken her then and
there but, he was both sensible and sensitive enough to know that although
they would have forever to love, every minute she spent with her beloved
friend could well be her last and he restrained his craving.
"You have to go find him then, Michael! I can't leave her, but you've got
to get him as fast as you can!" Eeyoraus exclaimed.
He turned to go but with a gentle hand on his massive chest Shait stopped
him in his tracks. "I've sent Gabrielle to do that." she explained. "I sent
her to the battlefield and when she sees him, she'll send him here. She,
also, knows his heart. She has loved him too."
"Popular guy." Michael interjected with a smirk.
"Really." His lady love added, rolling those golden eyes and nodding with
her special half grin.
Shait glared at them both as if she were visually reprimanding two
inappropriately silly children, then she continued, "She is not capable of
withholding such vital information from someone she loves, always wanting
to do what's right. She will serve her purpose."
"You mean you didn't tell her to find him?" The half-goddess Amazon asked
very seriously.
"There was no need to. I knew what she would do."
"Oh, yeah, that's right. I forgot. Well, I don't know how you do that but,
I just thank the gods you're here." said E!
"It's surely them you can thank for it." The Egyptian answered.
Eeyoraus knew there was more to that story. However, she only raised an
eyebrow and smiled in acknowledgment of her understanding. There would be
time to hear it later. She turned and sat down next in front of the one
whose tragedy was close at hand.
The other banished god, Michael, followed suit and came to rest on the cold
ground next to the one whose heartbreak seemed to have finally reached a
blessed end.
This was the last thing Angel heard before the strange tribunal had whisked
her away. At least she thought that she had physically been transported to
that strange place. Maybe Morpheus was finally getting his own way and had
driven her insane. It wouldn't surprise her at all if that was the case.
She once again turned her attention toward the Angel who stood transfixed a
few feet in front of her. The woman was still crying, but at least she
wasn't wailing like a child anymore. In fact, although the tears still
streamed down her face, she didn't utter a sound or move a muscle. She even
appeared to be holding her breath!
Angel's eyes narrowed as she watched the woman regain her voice and ask in
an amazed tone, "H-how d-d-did you do that? Wh-where did you go?"
Angel crossed the short distance between them and grabbed Sierra by both of
her upper arms. She looked into the sad eyes of the frightened Angel and
said in a calm, but barely controlled voice, "I did disappear? Really? How
long was I gone? Does Morpheus know?"
"Y-yes, you left, but only for a moment. No," she shook her head, "Morpheus
couldn't know, time stood still while you were gone." The bewildered Angel
looked hopeful for a moment as she asked her next questions. "Does this
mean we may get out of here soon? Did you contact Destiny while you were
gone?"
Angel suddenly realized that she was squeezing Sierra's arms fairly
tightly. She let go and dropped her hands to her sides. She noticed that
bruises were already forming on Sierra's upper arms. Angel felt a tinge of
guilt for being the one who put those bruises there. She also realized that
the other woman had not uttered a word of complaint at the physical
discomfort. Angel figured that if Sierra still had enough of her wits about
her to hold it in, not even uttering a word of complaint, maybe Angel could
calm her down enough to be useful.
Angel carefully weighed her response before she spoke. She didn't want to
destroy the hope that the other woman had begun to feel, yet she couldn't
lie to her either. "No, I didn't get to talk to Destiny." She told the
Angel just what had happened to her, and what she'd seen.
Sierra's tears that only moments ago had stopped, started again. "So we
won't be getting out of here." She sat down in a nearby chair and put her
face in her hands.
Angel squatted down in front of her, placing one hand under Sierra's chin
and lifting it so she had to look into Angel's eyes. "No, we may not get
out of here soon. But, don't you see, if they were able to move me from an
Angel Cell, then the Supreme Being had to have helped them." Sierra's face
began to brighten as the truth of Angel's words began to penetrate her
brain.
"You mean HE knows we're here?" She frowned again. "Then why hasn't he put
an end to this? Why has he left us here?"
Angel shrugged, determined to calm the woman down. She knew she might need
her later, and besides, how could she think when Sierra was making all
that noise? "You know better than to question Him. He does things his own
way, and in His own time. Maybe He wants us out of the way, who knows."
Angel faked a smile that she really didn't feel. "At least you're safe, out
of danger, and comfortable. You know, even Morpheus isn't stupid enough to
harm an Angel!"
But Angel wasn't that sure of this any more. She thought that perhaps he
had finally lost it. After all, he *had *, she was sure, stolen the
technology to build the cell from her sister. Angel didn't think that
Destiny would just give him the knowledge to build one. And he not only
imprisoned her, but his own Guardian as well! To top it all off, he was
messing with Aquillea's mind. Angel wasn't sure if he was finally going
insane, or if he was desperate. Either way, he was proving to be very
dangerous.
With her body and spirit under siege by a ruthless Olympian, it took a few
moments for Aquillea to process the sea of words around her. The woman's
normally sharp mind was becoming increasingly unfocused from the burgeoning
pain and fatigue. When, at last, the analytical and oft reserved Amazon
comprehended what her sisters had said, it drew her out of her protective
withdrawal, throwing her into an uncharacteristic state of panic.
With a frenzied look in her wide, sunken eyes, Aquillea cried out, "No!"
She snapped her head this way, then that way, while gazing up, pleadingly,
at the shaken friends who were once again gathered around her.
"Stop her. . . You've got to stop her. . . somebody. . . please!!!"
Aquillea begged, forlornly. "Gods! She *can't* bring Iolaus here! . . . I
don't want him here. . . I don't want him to watch me d. . . I. . . He. .
. "
"Maddie?" Aquillea turned to the Celtic Amazon in desperation. "Bei?" But
her friends stood in mute and motionless anguish as they struggled to
contain their own emotions. The dark Amazon buried her face in her hands
and dissolved into tears.
In their minds, each witness to Aquillea's torment had finished her
sentence for her, 'I don't want him to watch me die.' Aquillea knew
first-hand the depth of suffering one felt when forced to watch helplessly
as those you cherished gradually slipped away, and the Iolaus was no
stranger to such misery himself. The failing woman loved her dear Golden
One far too much to be responsible for delivering him onto Tartarus in that
way. 'At least let me spare him this *last*,' Aquillea thought
despondently.
When exhaustion closed the floodgates of the dark Amazon's sorrow, she was
overheard to mumble inscrutably "It could have been worse. I could have
said yes."
Shait understood the words in the way that she mysteriously understood so
many things. Eeyoraus understood as well, for she alone knew of what had
transpired between the pair before the aborted farmhouse rescue. Without
thinking, the spitfire Amazon reached out to grab Aquillea non too gently
by the shoulders. It was only the fragile, rag doll like feel of the woman
in her hands that kept Eeyoraus from trying to shake some sense into her
dark sister-friend.
"Do you really believe that matters? If he loses you. . . do you think his
heart will break into fewer pieces because you weren't engaged?" the
emotional demi-goddess challenged in desperation, no longer able to
suppress her own tears.
Aquillea closed her weary eyes, retreating from the words she didn't want
to hear. 'I'll die before I'll bring him that kind of pain,' the Amazon
thought to herself then let out a tiny, mirthless laugh. 'Yeah. . . it
certainly looks that way.'
The Egyptian goddess knew the mind and heart of the her dark Amazon sister
and she worried. To survive this ordeal, Aquillea would need desire and
hope. Very little time had passed since Shait's discussion with Gabrielle,
yet the afflicted woman now seemed dangerously deficient in both these
things. Iolaus might hold the key to the one, and knowledge, Shait hoped,
might open the door to the other.
"That must have been a pretty powerful dream Morpheus sent you," the camp
guard mused aloud. There were several low and astonished exchanges as all
present turned inquiring eyes toward the mysterious Amazon. Even the lost
and injured Aquillea, already partially claimed by sleep, raised her heavy
eyelids half open to stare at Shait.
"Wh. . . What?" Aquillea stammered hoarsely. "Morpheus?" her
sister-friend's words made no sense to the stricken Amazon. She could think
of no reason the god of dreams would want to harm her. And yet. . . .
The goddess nodded imperceptibly, grateful to have at least piqued the
beleaguered woman's curiosity. Shait wanted to see her badly injured sister
resting comfortably, but she needed to command the attention of the
weakening Amazon now, before it was too late. With gentle insistence, she
drew Eeyoraus away from Aquillea that she might herself kneel before the
woman. The transplanted deity took two cool, infirm hands into her warm,
strong ones, and Aquillea was temporarily buoyed by the force that seemed
to radiate from Shait's fingers.
"The nightmares which assault you have an unnatural power to inflict great
harm. . . the dark and evil power of the dream god, Morpheus. . . His
dreams can kill, he tried to kill Xena." Then Shait held Aquillea's hands
tighter and leaned in closer to emphasize the next statement. "He tried. .
. and he failed!"
The declining Amazon's drooping eyes stared unblinkingly, meeting Shait's
penetrating gaze. The Egyptian goddess continued, "He can be defeated,
Aquillea. . . Resist him! . . .You must listen to me and remember. . . Your
own heart and mind are the weapons Morpheus uses against you. He cultivates
the seeds of pain already within. . . He cannot hurt you if you do not
allow it."
Unable to hold her eyes open any longer, Aquillea closed them and nodded.
Shait signaled Michael to return the semi-conscious woman to the cot, all
the while wishing she felt more certain that her Amazon sister had truly
heard and understood her words.
Before the Antianosan healer had arrived, Aquillea had once again slipped
into the sinister clutches of the god of dreams.
"Thermopoly!" Hercules and Iolaus cried out in unison as Herc flipped
Iolaus over his back. As Iolaus came down he flattened three of Maloran's
warriors with the force of his kick. Before you could say 'By The Gods'
Hercules had slammed two more warrior's heads together, knocking them out.
"Hey, it's just like old times, isn't it Herc? You, me, butt-kicking and
all that."
Iolaus laughed, the adrenaline of the battle flowing through his veins.
While the battle raged he could forget his anxiety over Quilla, at least he
was doing something constructive. These bad guys didn't stand a chance
against the combined forces of the Amazons and the others who fought to end
their tyranny. The number of Maloran's warrior's still standing was fast
dwindling. Soon, the battle would be over and Maloran would be defeated.
Thank the Gods for that!
"Yeah, Iolaus, I love a little butt kicking now and then," Herc replied
as he picked up a man and threw him into a group of warriors headed their
way. They all hit the ground as if they were playing a game of roll the
stone. Hercules grinned as he turned to face the other direction, looking
for more troublemakers to squelch.
He stopped right in his tracks when he saw the tall dark haired man in the
silver trimmed black leather fighting to his left. The features of this man
looked so familiar. Where had he seen him before and what was he doing with
greenie and Joxer? As the battlefield slowly cleared Hercules walked over
to the small group of fighters. He was about to say something to the
newcomer when something strange happened.
The man in black heaved a deep sigh and Hercules could hear him say, almost
under his breath, "Enough of this, already!" He moved his hand and a soft
golden glow of light appeared. With an almost casual gesture he tossed the
light onto a large group of Maloran's warriors. It spread out and
encompassed them in its warm glow. The men stopped fighting and slowly, one
by one, sank to the hard, gritty ground. Hercules watched in astonishment.
This was definitely something new.
Greensleeves stopped her warstaff in mid-whack. What had just happened?
Kalas had incapacitated a large number of Maloran's warriors. And the
powers he had used had looked so familiar. But, it couldn't be could it?
Surely, she would have told her if she'd had a son?
“Is that water safe?” shana asked wearily as she delivered a high kick to
the chin of a charging soldier. The waterskins had been tossed aside as she
and Arkie had been attacked from behind.
“I...doubt...it,” Arkie huffed as she drew back her whip and let it fly,
crumpling a beefy opponent double from the painful sting to a particularly
delicate portion of his anatomy.
“Oooo, that HAD to hurt,” shana grinned. “Good shot!”
“Wasn't too hard,” Arkie slyly smiled remembering the crossed leather
straps on the soldier's pants. “X marked the spot.”
Shana spread her legs in a readying stance to take on the next comer while
Arkie cocked her whip in preparation. The soldiers advanced toward them,
but a blinding light momentarily forced the two to shield their eyes as
they desperately tried to see through it to located the oncoming attackers.
When the glow faded, they were stunned to see the six men headed toward
them slumped on the ground.
Looking at each other in confusion, shana shrugged and took a couple of
steps toward the abandoned waterskins. Carefully she pulled out the stopper
and sniffed. It didn't smell bad.
“I could really use a drink right now,” shana grumbled as she wiped the
sweat from her forehead and contemplated trying the liquid contained
inside.
“Me too,” Arkie groaned as she twisted her neck in an attempt to relieve
the tension. “But the last time I sucked some of that down, I ended up
drunker than Cooter Brown.”
“Who is Cooter of Brown?”
“Whoops. I did it again, didn't I? Aww, 'shana, you really have to be from
Arkansas to understand. Gee, let's see, in New Greeceland, I guess you'd
equate him to a cross between Falafel and a impotent Strife,” Arkie
explained, still not convinced she caught the essence needed.
Shana just stared at her for a few moments, then began to giggle and
finally guffaw as she imagined the image.
“Now that is an image to be totally forgotten,” Aphrodite cooed as she
waved her hand over the waterskins to remove any possible contamination.
“Have one on me, Girls. Later.”
With that, she disappeared as quickly as she had arrived.
Arkie and 'shana looked at each other, cut their eyes to each side, then
glanced down at the waterskin 'shana was still holding.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Aphrodite's voice laughed.
“A nice long swig...” 'shana replied before Arkie cut her off.
“And a nice lonnnnng shower,” Arkie added dreamily.
“Ask and you shall receive.”
Shana was now glaring at her future friend, who might soon become her
former friend.
“Be careful what you ask for...”
“Because you might get it. I know, I know,” Arkie moaned.
With that, the two drenched fighters returned their concentration to the
battle which literally seemed to be paused at the moment.
~Wike had just finished with the last of the group of morons to attack her
when she looked around to see how her Sisters were doing.
As she made a sweep of the battle field she got a glimpse of Arkie working
her magic with that whip of hers..."I gotta learn how to do that" Wike
thought "Maybe in between sword lessons with 'shana I can get Arkie to show
me a trick or two."
Wike was just about to approach her friends when a blinding light made her
stop and cover her eyes.
Almost as fast as it had appeared it was gone. "Odd, I must'a taken a
harder hit than I thought" she said as she rubbed the bump on her head.
But as she looked towards her friends again, she saw the group of warriors
on the ground. And with a frown she looked around the battlefield and saw
that all the warriors were in such a state.
"Uh oh...." she sighed. Wondering what was happening this time, she walked
up to 'shana and Arkie with a grin and asked "There wouldn't happen to be
any ale in one of those would there?" nodding towards the waterskins. "I
think we're gonna need some after this gets explained."
'Shana slapped her new Amazon sister on the back and pulled her close,
"Aaww C'mon! Where's your sense of adventure? This is just gettin' good!"
Wike snorted, "Adventure I can handle, even seek it out, but all these gods
popping in and out...." she said with a sigh and a shake of her head. "Give
me a couple of baddies to knock around and a good ol' fashioned battle any
day!"
Arkie looked at her new friend and laughed, "You want a battle? Try living
with a teenager!"
"Kalas?" Hercules questioned in a shocked voice as he looked around at the
fallen warriors on the battlefield. Kalas turned and saw Hercules standing
there. A surprised smile crossed his handsome features. Moving forward, he
put out his hand and clasp Hercules' strong arm in greeting. "Hercules, is
it really you? It's been such a long time!"
"Yes, I haven't seen you since that time in Olympus when Apollo took me to
my father's palace. What are you doing here?"
Kalas took a step back. Standing there next to Hercules he saw he longer
had to look up to converse with his friend. They were now of the same tall
height. Kalas took a deep breath and tried to explain why he was here in
the middle of this battle. "My father, King Bartok, received a message from
Iphicles about the warlords Maloran and Stygnos. He sent me and his
personal army to assist King Iphicles. Since my father's region borders
Iphicles' providence they are on good terms with each other. I thought I
might help to end this farce a little sooner."
Hercules laughed and indicated the fallen army of Maloran's warriors.
"Well, it seems you just did that. Exactly, what did you do to these men?"
"It's nothing that won't wear off in time. Right now they are in a peaceful
slumber. Courtesy of powers passed down to me from my mother."
Greensleeves walked up to the pair of tall, strong men conversing in the
middle of a battlefield of fallen enemy warriors. She caught the last of
Kalas' words and couldn't resist adding, "And your mother never told me
about you. I wonder why. I would have thought as close as we were she would
have said something." Greenie looked a little hurt.
Kalas reached out his hand and placed it on her arm, trying to comfort her
in some small way. "My mother is a very private person. Even though she and
my father were only together for a short time, she visited me on a regular
basis. When Zeus forbade her to see Bartok any longer she reluctantly
complied. I believe she feared for our lives. Zeus can be lethal when
crossed."
Hercules' handsome features became grim. "Don't I know it!" he ground out.
The Gods in your life can be a complication you don't want or need."
"Yes," greenie agreed, "but, why didn't you tell me the goddess Harmony was
your mother when we met?" She looked up at Kalas with accusing eyes. Kalas
smiled down at her and quickly answered, "I didn't think it was relevant at
the time and I had no idea you knew my mother."
"Greenie and my sister have been friends for several years now," Hercules
interjected. "Ever since Harmony came to greenie's rescue once when Joxer
wasn't around. He had left their camp to go into town to get provisions.
While he was away a small group of wandering rebel warriors tried to attack
greensleeves. Harmony came to her rescue and put them out of commission. No
one hurts the innocent while Harmony is around. Don't get me wrong, she is
all for peace, but as she's said before, there comes a time when you have
to fight."
"Hey guys, so what's happening? Why are all these warriors lying around
like dead flies? Did it have something to do with that blinding white light
earlier?" Joxer asked as he walked up and placed his arm around
greensleeves, drawing her near to him and away from Kalas. Kalas didn't
miss the sly move and his full lower lip tightened as he watched Joxer's
fingers caressing greenie's shoulder.
"It's a long story, Joxer, my friend," Herc replied. "One that will be
explained after we gather up these goons and get them secured. Looks like
that's going to be a big job," he added as he looked around at the
slumbering bodies on the battlefield.
"Yeah, and maybe you can knock out this creep while you're at it!" Xena
growled as she walked up dragging a protesting Maloran behind her. She
withdrew her sword and held it to his throat. "Make another move and you
won't have to worry about what you're going to have for breakfast tomorrow
morning," she threatened in a softly dangerous voice. Maloran instantly
stilled his jerky movements. He knew the warrior princess meant every word
she said.
"Great!" Hercules shouted as he saw Maloran was safely captured. "Now,
let's wrap this thing up!"
A sudden sharp pain hit her chest, impaling her and taking her breath away.
She turned towards the flap of animal skin that protected the refuge from
the bitter wind. Michael reached to grab her arm, but she pulled away.
"I…I need some air" Eeyoraus gasped
Shait had turned to surmise the situation and quickly called the Celt to
her side.
"Leave her. Let her go. I need you here." She lied
Stepping out into the bright of day she was surround by pitch darkness. A
hard wind whipped her long hair across her face. It sent a gut wrenching
shudder through her body but not from the chill for it was hot as a desert
at midday, but from disdained familiarity. She opened her eyes
half-expecting the sting of harshly blown sand. There was none, of course
and as a new shudder hit her she looked for him… and he was there as she
knew he would be. The darkness was washed away by a blazing and
uncomfortable light. She could not stare. She closed her eyes again and
awaited the impassioned sound of his voice…the voice that had hunted her
all her life, the one and only reason she'd had to be grateful to her
grandmother for her years as a donkey, her years of freedom from him.
She ultimately forced his name from her lungs that still ached, "Murlock?"
quivered from her trembling lips.
Eeyoraus best kept of a life of deep secrets had returned.
"Yes, my love. I suppose you've been expecting me." the wizard hissed.
"No…no...I had forgotten you." Eeyoraus spat, eyes now wide with the terror
forced from them .His searing laugh met her words in mid-air.
As he stepped from the center of the fire, his brilliant white teeth
glistened in his light like so many well polished swords. He was still
breathtakingly handsome, dark and unequivocally evil in his appearance. The
sight took the breath she only just caught back away. The blaze
illumination of his blue eyes pierced her mind. It had always been so,
since the first time.
She felt his depraved magic carry her back to that time. A tiny toddler
left to play with a few other girl children while Mama hunted for food. She
was transported into his world, only briefly, yet her on world was thus
transformed. Brutal malfeasance had plunged into her heart and twisted and
squirmed there like botulism of the soul.
"WHY?!" she screamed, "WHY HAVE YOU COME BACK?"
"Why? Why but, to take what is mine. I waited so long for you to reach
womanhood, then your grandmother, that hideous wench, with her guise of
petty retribution robbed you from me. She knew I could not break her curse,
for I am no ordinary man to kiss you and I cannot surpass the power of her
domain…not alone but when joined with you…"
Her heart raced. He never wished to enslave her, was incapable of loving
her. His meaning was crystal clear as it had always been. When she reached
the height of her powers ,when she was fully grown, as part of an ancient
evil spell, he wished to devour her to increase his own.
The townspeople had come out of hiding and were helping with the wounded
and the prisoners.
Wike, never one to stand around when work needed to be done, was directing
setting up of the "holding pen" for the prisoners when one of them decided
to try and make a run for it. Acting out of pure instinct, Wike swung her
warstaff around and hit the buffoon in the chest and sent him flying
backwards. With the staff in the middle of his chest and her booted foot on
his throat, she gave him a bored look and shook her head.
"Tsk tsk. You don't wanna do that."
While the warrior was trying to catch his breath, Wike looked up and saw
she had gained everyone's attention. "Great" she sighed. "Nothing like
making a fool outta yourself" she groaned.
Xena had been dragging the Warlord Maloran over to the would be holding pen
when she saw the new Amazon take the warrior down.
"Nice work." she said, nodding toward the man on the ground. "But you might
want to let up on the foot, unless you're trying to choke him to death"
she finished with a shrug, "One less pig to have to haul in as far as I'm
concerned."
Walking towards the two women, Herk heard what Xena had said and chuckled.
"Xena, you'll never change." With a grin he turned toward the green-eyed
Amazon.
"Thanks. You saved me the trouble of having to go after him."
With a shrug and a wink Wike said "No problem. I do what I can."
