There was nothing remarkable about the house. A small dwelling in a small village, a mile or two from Thebes. It was well kept, the yard swept, the plain walls whitewashed, wood neatly stacked beside the door. In fact, Xena realised, giving the house a second, more searching, look, it seemed deliberately understated, as if someone had gone to some trouble to make the place seem ordinary.
Xena's sharp eyes saw someone inside the house come near to the window as she and Iolaus came near, and saw the woman draw away quickly when she spied Xena watching.
Xena waited with their horses while Iolaus approached the house. The woman appeared in the doorway. Iolaus seemed unsure of his welcome, although they obviously knew each other. After a few moments, Iolaus led her to where Xena waited.
He got as far as, "Nemesis, this is…" before she interrupted him.
"Xena, warrior princess. We've met, although I don't think you'll remember."
Xena looked at her more closely. She was tall, though not quite Xena's height, with dark hair, lightly streaked with grey, a slender figure and a face that would be beautiful at any age. Xena didn't recognise her. "No, I'm sorry. I don't recall."
Nemesis smiled briefly. "It was in Arcadia, about a year before you first met Hercules. You, or rather your army, did me a favour."
Iolaus raised an eyebrow at that.
"I didn't think we were in the business of doing good deeds back then," Xena said dryly.
"It's not important. Please, come inside." She led the way into the house.
This was the moment Iolaus had been dreading. He had gone to a lot of trouble to keep Hercules' death a secret in the aftermath of the battle at Mycenae. The first the world had heard of it had been Gabrielle's story, told for the first time only two days before. It seemed unlikely that the news would have reached Nemesis' isolated village. Iolaus wasn't looking forward to being the one to tell her what had happened.
But as it turned out, it wasn't necessary.
"I know," Nemesis said quietly, when Iolaus tried to raise the subject. She was pouring water into three mugs, playing hostess, playing for time. She'd cut off Iolaus' words before he'd even mentioned Hercules' name.
"Nemesis…" Iolaus wondered if they were talking about the same thing.
"I know he's dead. I know it happened at Mycenae. I can figure out it has something to do with why you're here." Nemesis spoke flatly. Then her voice softened. "Iolaus…are you alright?"
And that he hadn't expected. He shrugged. "About what you'd expect. Nemesis… how did you know?"
Nemesis gave a bitter smile. "Someone who took pleasure in how much the news would hurt me made sure I knew."
But no one knew except… Iolaus almost voiced his objection, but caught himself in time. No mortal had known. He had a good idea who had told Nemesis.
"So," Nemesis said, breaking the silence, "what is it you want from me?"
Iolaus and Xena exchanged a glance. With a gesture, Iolaus left the task to Xena. "I want," she said, "to make sure Ares pays for what he did."
Nemesis' eyes widened. "Ares has done many things in his life. He rarely pays for them," she evaded.
"I warned Ares a long time ago about going after the people I care about. I'm not about to let him get away with this one."
Nemesis nodded. "And what has that to do with me?" she asked softly.
Iolaus had to answer that one. "You were…close to Ares, once. To all of the gods. There has to be some way — "
"No!" She shook her head sharply. "Iolaus, even if I knew something, I couldn't tell you." She picked up the big water jug. Suddenly she had to get out of there. Nemesis mumbled something about getting more water and headed out of the room.
"Close to Ares?" Xena repeated when the woman was out of earshot.
Iolaus nodded. "Not quite the way it sounds. Xena, she's scared. I need to find out why."
Nemesis hefted the big water jug and walked out to the stream. She knelt beside the water, holding the jug tightly as it filled. She understood why Iolaus had come to her, but she couldn't help him. She couldn't. Nemesis had been a goddess, once. She was made mortal as a punishment. It had taken her a long time to realise it, but mortality had turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to her. Even so, Nemesis knew, perhaps better than any other mortal, the consequences of defying the gods. She was, quite simply, afraid of what would happen if she revealed the secrets Iolaus and Xena sought.
"You shouldn't be afraid."
For a moment Nemesis thought Iolaus had followed her from the house. But the soft voice answering her thoughts wasn't his. She straightened, lifting the jug before her almost as a shield. "What are you doing here?" she asked, clearly not pleased.
"Tell them what they want to know."
Nemesis stared. "No way. I stopped working for you a long time ago."
"No one will know they learned it from you. You have my promise."
She shook her head. "And what's that worth?" Nemesis began to walk away.
She was stopped by a hand on her arm. "Nemesis…"
"Give me one good reason," she said defiantly.
"A reason? Try this: for the first time in seven hundred years, the king and the queen of the gods are on the same side." An amused smile. "Oh, you look surprised. It's true. But we dare not move against Ares directly. That would cause the war we are trying to prevent. I've been watching the warrior woman. She has it in her to succeed."
"What is it you want me to tell them?"
"What you know."
"And what's that? You're asking me to do your dirty work: at least give me a clue!"
"What is the difference," her visitor asked, "between the Titans and the Gods?"
Nemesis frowned. The answer to the question came easily to her: there was very little difference, beyond outward form, but the point seemed irrelevant. She opened her mouth to ask further, and…
"Nemesis! Let me help you with that."
Nemesis was startled and almost dropped the jug: she hadn't heard Iolaus approach. As Iolaus deftly caught it, she glanced back to where her divine visitor had stood. As she expected, she saw no one there now. Typical.
"Are you alright?" Iolaus asked her.
She wiped the irritation off her face and tried to smile. "I'm fine."
They began to walk back. "Nemesis, I think I owe you an apology. We shouldn't have come here."
I wish you hadn't, she thought, but what she said was, "Yes, you should have. I owe you and Hercules both. I will help you if I can."
He gave her a quizzical look. "Who changed your mind?"
She shook her head, dismissing the question. Then suddenly, she realised how he'd phrased it. Not what changed your mind. Who. "How did you know?" she asked with a sideways glance.
"I've seen that look on Hercules' face a few times."
"Tell me why the woman who killed Callisto needs help to destroy Ares."
Xena's startling blue eyes narrowed. "I don't want to destroy him," she said. "I want to humiliate him. 'Make him small', as they say in Ch'in." She wasn't looking at either of them. "I just want to see Ares pay for what he's done. I'd lock him up and put him on trial if I could. But somehow," she flashed a brief, cynical smile, "I can't see that happening."
"Maybe you can do exactly that," Nemesis said thoughtfully. "Lock him up, I mean." The riddle suddenly fell into place in her mind.
Xena considered the idea. "I don't think so. I managed to imprison Callisto, but she was new to her powers. Ares wouldn't be so easy to fool."
"I had in mind something more permanent that a rockslide," Nemesis told her and Xena leaned forward with interest. "What do you mean?"
"How much do you know about the war between the Titans and the Gods?"
Xena flashed a smile. "My best friend is a bard."
"What the bards don't tell is how close the final battle was. The gods don't like mortals to know that they almost lost. The Titans, like the gods, are immortal: they couldn't be killed, and there were many more of them than gods. In the end, the defeated Titans were imprisoned in a cavern."
"Turned to stone," Xena commented. "I know that cavern." Briefly, she told Nemesis — and Iolaus, although he surely knew the story — about the time Gabrielle had accidentally freed three of the Titans from their imprisonment.
"Did you ever wonder why Zeus made it possible for a mortal to free them?" Nemesis asked when Xena finished.
"No." Xena sounded surprised.
"One of the Titans, just one, refused to fight against the gods. Instead he worked with Hephaestus to devise a way to defeat the Titans, for the sake of humanity."
"You're talking about Prometheus," Iolaus put in.
"Yes. The key to everything they devised was its use by a mortal. Zeus and Hera felt that was too dangerous, because a weapon effective against the Titans could possibly be turned on the gods. Two of Hephaestus' weapons were rejected before the gods settled on the chants that Gabrielle discovered."
"What's the point of this story?" Xena asked.
But Iolaus had heard the point. "A weapon devised for use against the Titans could be used against the gods."
"Then there is something?"
Nemesis nodded. "Whatever happens, you didn't hear this from me, understand?" Her dark eyes bored into both Xena and Iolaus. She waited for both of them to promise.
"The thing I'm thinking of is…the easiest way to describe it is like a lock and key. You bring them together to activate the power." Nemesis held up a hand, stopping whatever question Xena was about to ask. "Just how important is this to you, Xena? What are you willing to give?"
It was a familiar question. Xena answered honestly. "It's the most important thing there is. And I'll give my life, if necessary. Just as long as I can see this done." Her blue eyes were hard and cold as ice.
"Your life," Nemesis repeated. "No, that's too easy. Dying is easy. This is like Pandora's box: once you open it there's no going back. Are you willing to risk that?"
The words sent a chill through Iolaus. "Xena," he began, for the first time, uncertain.
But Xena didn't hesitate. "I'm not willing to risk the world. For myself, though…whatever it takes," she said firmly.
Slowly, Nemesis nodded. "Then I'll tell you where to find it. The rest is up to you." She took a deep breath. "The key will be in the Cave of Hephaestus, under Vulcan mountain."
"Gods, not there again," Xena muttered.
"Again?"
"I went there to get the sword we used to free Prometheus," Xena explained. "The place was in a bit of a mess when I left."
Nemesis laughed suddenly. "Oh, Hephaestus will have tidied up. He won't leave his toys unprotected. At least you'll know what to expect."
"Oh, yeah." Xena remembered the cave well: it had been filled with tricks and traps to prevent anyone stealing the treasures the cave held. "That's the key. Where's the lock?"
"After the Titan war, Ares claimed it from Hephaestus. Since it was technically a weapon of war, and since Hephaestus still had the key, he let Ares have it. It's beneath one of his temples."
"Which one?"
"Near the border of Thrace. It's about half a day's travel east of Pella."
Xena heard what she said, but almost didn't believe it. Of all the places… "You're kidding!" she said, unable to stop herself.
"What's the matter?" Iolaus asked her. "You know the place?"
"Know it?" Xena suddenly felt profoundly uncomfortable. "That's where it all began for me, years ago."
Fire and smoke. A woman screamed as a masked warrior ran her through with a sword. Her limp body fell at Xena's feet, her final scream imprinted forever on her features. Xena stared up into the masked face of the warrior, staring into the eyes of death. He raised his bloody sword to kill her, too. Xena did the only thing she could think of: grabbed a hunk of wood from the burning house at her back and threw it, not at the man, but at the horse.
The horse reared, a scream of pain coming from its mouth. She hadn't known horses could scream. The rider was thrown from its back, shouting a curse.
As the horse came down, Xena grabbed its reins and dragged herself inelegantly into the saddle. She kicked the horse hard and it began to gallop. Xena hung on for dear life, her heart pounding with a terror she had never known. One thought filled her: They'll be coming to Amphipolis next!
Who were they? The warriors had swept down on the unsuspecting village as if they'd appeared from Hades itself. No warning. Masked men who delighted in slaughter. Were they even men at all? Could those masks conceal some unknown horror worse than she had seen?
Somehow, Xena made it home. Her scorched clothing and the lathered horse told their own tale of battle. Cyrene wanted her to rest, but Xena knew there was no time. They had, at most, a day to prepare. To build some sort of defence for the village, to gather what weapons they could find or make.
Opposition came from an unexpected source: her brother, Toris, who heard Xena's story and told them they should run, abandon Amphipolis to the raiders, save themselves while they could.
Abandon Amphipolis? No! Never. If they ran now, they'd be running forever. But Toris was older than Xena, and he was a man. His words began to sway the others to his point of view. In front of them all, she argued with her brother, bitterly, speaking to him, but directing her words to those listening. She spoke with all the passion that would one day make her such a magnetic leader. They listened. Her words set them on fire. Lyceus was the first to declare for her side. Others followed. Toris, in anger and injured pride and in fear, left them to their fate.
The villagers pulled together. Under the leadership of this untried girl, they marshalled the defences of their tiny town. At dawn, when the masked raiders attacked, they fought back. Xena, a borrowed sword in her hand, fought as hard as the rest, with a strength she had never known she possessed. She was fighting for her home. She killed one of the raiders single-handed. And discovered they at least died like men.
Amphipolis won. They drove the raiders off, but at a great cost. Much of the village was destroyed. So many buildings razed. The fields would take months to recover. And lives had been lost. Worst of all, Lyceus, Xena's younger brother and her closest friend, was one of those who never saw the noon of that day.
The villagers were jubilant. Xena felt only the loss. Grief and guilt tore at her heart, and none could offer comfort. She rode out of Amphipolis into the sunset. She should have been crying. But that would have been hypocrisy. She had caused Lyceus' death. Is an executioner allowed to mourn?
She rode as if she could somehow outpace the flood of pain that drowned her soul. Into the dying sun she rode, toward a sky red as blood. Her brother's blood, now on her own hands. Blindly she rode, drawn, though she didn't realise it, to one inevitable destination.
It was dark when she came to the building, and she was tired, so very tired. Hardly knowing what she was doing, she left the horse untethered outside and walked up the steps and through the invitingly open doors. Her footsteps echoed in the vastness. Torchlight cast long, dancing shadows on the walls. Except for Xena's footsteps and her breathing, the place was silent as the grave. And then she saw the altar.
She was in a temple?
A dim memory of her mother's voice, warning her always to show respect for the gods. An admonition Xena had always obeyed. But not tonight.
"The gods!" she raged to the unfeeling temple walls. "Where are you when we need you? Why don't you help us?" Courage born of desperation, defiance born of overwhelming loss.
"But I did. I did help you today, Xena."
It was a male voice, but it belonged to no man. She looked all around her, straining to see the speaker, but there was no sign of anyone. "Who are you?" she demanded, determined not to show fear.
The voice came again, from all around her, smooth, hypnotic. "I gave you your victory today. I am Ares, god of war. And I am your destiny, Xena."
"I guess this is where we part company," Iolaus said, as they both drew up their horses at the crossroads. This road would take Iolaus to Athens; in less than an hour he'd be home. Xena's journey…well, only the gods knew where that might take her. "You could still come home with me, Xena," he offered.
Xena met his gaze firmly. "I can't."
Iolaus said nothing. This could be the last time he'd see her…gods, he didn't want to lose her as well. But he knew better than to try to change Xena's mind once it was made up.
She seemed to know what he was thinking. "Iolaus, I made a promise, remember? I'll have to pass this way on my way to Pella anyway. I'll call in at the farm them."
If you survive, Iolaus thought, but didn't say it. He leaned forward in the saddle, offering Xena his hand. She took it. As each grasped the other's wrist, words rose automatically to Iolaus' lips: "Be safe, Xena." Remembered words, not his own.
She frowned slightly as she released him. And then, without another word, she turned her horse and galloped away.
Be safe, Xena. He repeated the words in his mind as he watched her go.
Hephaestus won't leave his toys unprotected…Don't forget that he's a god. He'll know you're there, Xena.
"Well, I've fought gods before," Xena said aloud, looking into the dark cavern. "I can fight one more if I have to." Resolutely, she walked in.
The narrow entrance opened into a large, high-ceilinged cave. Around the walls were a number of torches, otherwise the cave was empty. Ahead there was a single, open archway. On her previous visit to this place, searching for the sword she needed to free Prometheus, Xena had encountered all kinds of traps in the labyrinth that was through that archway. This time she was prepared for them. Xena took one of the torches and moved slowly through the maze, her eyes constantly seeking out the traps she knew were there. Not all would be as obvious as a tripwire; a loose stone might be a pressure point, or a crack in the ground could conceal a pit trap.
She became aware that the maze of passages wasn't leading her anywhere. When looking for the sword she had found it easily, perhaps too easily. She could only speculate about that...could it have been Hephaestus' small act of rebellion against Hera? Or, given that freeing Prometheus should have been a suicide mission, was Hercules supposed to find the sword? Either way, this wasn't going to be so easy.
On her second circuit of the labyrinth, Xena noticed one wall that was solid rock, not the cut stone that made up most of the walls. Cautiously, she examined the rough surface more closely. There was a fissure in the rock where it joined the stone-built wall: hidden in plain sight by the shadows cast from her torch. Clever. Carefully, Xena squeezed through. It was a tight fit: she had to push her weapons through ahead of her.
Once through the crack, she found herself in a new passageway, the roof just high enough for her to stand without stooping. The passageway sloped downward slightly; she followed it, all of her senses alert for possible danger. There was some kind of light ahead. The passageway began to widen. Xena kept going, cautiously. Then, abruptly, she stopped, looking around her in wonder.
She stood on a narrow ledge on the edge of a huge chasm. There was still a roof above her head: the rock relatively smooth. Opposite, there was another ledge, leading to another passageway: almost a mirror image of where she stood. The light was coming from the chasm: a mild glow of phosphorescence, enhanced by the torch she carried. Xena looked down into the gorge. Could this be some sort of illusion? She was within, or beneath, a mountain. Surely, if this chasm were real the mountain wouldn't be able to stand? Xena glanced around for something to throw, but there were no loose stones, and all she carried with her were her weapons and the torch. C'mon, Xena, she reminded herself, "impossible" doesn't mean much to the gods.
Best to proceed as if it is real, she decided. She stared across to the opposite ledge, trying to judge if she could jump the chasm. It seemed unwise. If she had a rope, or even a decent handhold… She looked up at the roof. No help there. Or was there? She reached up to touch the rock, holding the torch near her hand for extra light. The rock felt like sandstone: when she withdrew her hand some grains of rock stayed with her. The barest glimmer of an idea came to her, but she dismissed it. Xena stood there a few minutes more before realising that her only other option was to turn back.
Finally she decided to trust to luck. She'd done this before with a wooden roof, just never before with rock. Xena drew her sword from its sheath, moving as close to the edge as she dared and balancing her torch on the edge for safety. The torch she would have to leave behind. She gathered all the strength she had, and threw the sword, like a javelin, into the roof of the cave. Sparks flew. The sword was half-buried in the rock.
Next, Xena took the whip coiled at her side and, taking careful aim, cracked it toward the sword hilt. The crack echoed through the cavern. The tip of the whip wrapped around the hilt perfectly. Cautiously, Xena tugged, gently at first, then harder. It seemed like it might take her weight. Glancing down into the chasm, she took a deep breath. Then holding tight to the whip she launched herself into the air.
It seemed to take forever. Xena felt the cold air pass her as she swung across the chasm. Just as she reached the far side, she felt a jerk and heard the ominous scraping sound as her sword came loose from the rock, dragged out by her weight. Her feet felt solid ground beneath, but the sudden drop as the sword came loose overbalanced her. Instinctively she curled her body into a ball as she landed, rolling and springing to her feet safely. She turned, intending to retrieve her sword, and was forced to watch as it fell, slowly turning end over end, into the chasm.
Xena drew in a shuddering breath as she re-coiled her whip. If that was an illusion, it was a good one. And she had lost her sword. Well, she could mourn the loss later. At least she had survived. Shrugging inwardly, she continued on her way. This passageway was wider and taller. The ground beneath her feet was terribly uneven, with plenty of loose stones scattered around. She stepped as carefully as she could, only able to see shapes in the dim light.
Click. The sound was sudden and distinct. Xena froze, knowing she'd triggered something, but with no way, yet, to know what. Then she heard a whoosh from behind her, turned and saw the blade swinging toward her body. She avoided it the only way she could: by moving quickly further into the cave. She found herself running a gauntlet: spikes in the ground beneath her feet, blades scything across her path from each side, and no way to tell what lay ahead. Xena ducked and dived, twisted and leapt, moving ever forward. One blade passed so close she was sure it cut her hair. And then it stopped. Not completely: she could still hear the sounds of whatever mechanism she'd triggered, both behind her and ahead of her. But there was nothing in the place where she stood.
The apparent safety of her current position worried Xena. It couldn't possibly be safe, could it?
A rattling sound reached her ears, and Xena looked up suddenly. There was a huge block of stone coming down on her!
The constant whoosh of the blades behind her made that route unattractive. She couldn't go forward either. With no time to make a decision, Xena did the only thing she could. She froze.
Xena didn't reason it out at the time, though later she realised it made sense. The labyrinth, the chasm, the gauntlet, these were tests, challenges. Each of them potentially fatal, certainly, but not inevitably so. If Hephaestus objected to her presence, he could have made the chasm impassable, or simply killed her where she stood. No, it made no sense that she could get this far, only to meet a different death. This was a test of a different kind.
The falling rock, large enough, heavy enough to crush her flat, stopped its descent inches from her skull. Xena stared up at it, her heart pounding. The constant whoosh of the swinging blades stopped dead. And then she heard the sound of slow applause.
"Well done, warrior." A man, robed and hooded, stood where a moment ago, she was certain, had been solid rock. "You have shown determination, in crossing the chasm. You have shown courage and skill, here. What do you seek?"
Xena, her heart-rate back under control, faced the man calmly. She didn't seem to have much choice but to answer. "I am looking for a key," she said.
"You seek revenge."
"I seek justice," she corrected.
"You seek to conquer."
"I seek to contain," she disagreed.
"You seek an ending."
"I'd call it a beginning."
He made no further comment, but moved away from her, beckoning with one gloved hand. Who in Hades was this man? He wasn't Hephaestus; at least, she didn't think so. Yet he didn't seem quite mortal, either. Whoever he was, he led Xena through a narrow passageway, and through a door at the end.
Xena blinked several times, shielding her eyes against the sudden increase in the light. When she could see again, she looked around in wonder. This was a cave of treasures. An open chest was filled to overflowing with gold. Weapons lined one wall: swords, shields, bows, spears. Weapons forged by Hephaestus himself. There were jewels of great beauty, structures of crystal and metal. And other things too; mechanisms so strange Xena could not even guess at their purpose. No wonder that this cave was so carefully protected.
"Choose carefully, warrior." The deep voice broke into her reverie. Xena stopped looking at the treasures in the cave and looked at him. He was standing quite still, his hands clasped in front of him. Obviously, she was meant to find the key without help.
She walked slowly around the room, her eyes taking in everything. There was no reason to expect the thing she sought to look like a key. It could be anything. She looked at her guide again. "I may choose anything?" she asked.
"You may choose as you wish."
And that odd phrasing gave her the clue. Trusting to luck or destiny, Xena turned her back on the many treasures of the room. "Then I choose to look elsewhere. What I seek is not here."
His mouth broke into a smile. "Well done again, warrior. Come." And he led her through a door which appeared in a section of blank wall.
"I'm tired of these games," Xena told him irritably.
"What you seek is no small thing, warrior." They entered a small room, barely more than an alcove. In the centre of the room, a single stone pillar supported a small chest. The man stood beside it, waiting. Tentatively, Xena lifted the lid of the chest. Inside, a collection of pale turquoise jewels glowed with their own inner light. It resembled a necklace: a ring of jewels held together by silver wire so delicate it looked as if it would break at a single touch. This was Hephaestus' work, however: that silver wire was stronger than camel-hair rope.
Xena lifted the ring out of the chest. There was no doubt in her mind that this was the key she sought. It was almost alive with power, she could feel it through her fingers. But possession of the key was only a part of it. How did it work?
"You hold the key that will open the Eye." The hooded man's voice answered her unspoken question. "They have been kept apart for a reason, warrior. It is no small power you hold. Merely bringing them together holds danger. When they touch, even the gods are vulnerable to what you will release."
"Good. That's the idea." Xena placed the key on her belt beside her chakram.
Now, she had to find her way out. She walked back through the cave of treasures without so much as a sideways glance. There had been a time in her life when the power promised by such treasures would have been a powerful temptation. Not now. On the other side of the cave, the gauntlet of swords was still. With care, Xena made her way back though it, but her caution was unnecessary: the mechanism that triggered the gauntlet was at the other end. Then she was on the ledge overlooking the chasm.
Here, Xena had to pause. She remembered watching her sword falling into the chasm and felt a chill. Without the sword she had no way to get back across. It was surely too far for her to jump. Xena let out a hiss of frustration. Was she to reach her goal only to be stopped by a challenge she had already passed? No. If this chasm had to be crossed she would do it. It wasn't as if she really had a choice.
She had a promise to keep to Gabrielle.
Xena checked that the key was secure next to her chakram. She took a few steps back. She drew a deep breath. Then she ran at the ledge and launched herself into the air.
It was an incredible leap. She somersaulted over the chasm in a high arc. She should never have made it. The chasm was too wide. Yet somehow, as she reached the zenith of her flight and began to fall, Xena felt herself lifted, like a bird of prey riding a thermal. The extra lift was just enough, and the far ledge was within reach as she began to come down.
She landed…just an inch short of the ledge. Xena scrabbled desperately for a handhold as she fell. She was hanging over the abyss by her fingertips. There was no foothold, nothing she could use to take the pressure off her fingers. She had no way to start climbing up. Xena's eyes were drawn down to the dark chasm that was about to claim her.
Oh, Gabrielle, I'm sorry. I tried… She felt her fingers begin to slip.
And a strong hand grasped her wrist. Xena caught her breath, looking up into the face of a stranger as a second hand grabbed her other forearm and held on. It was enough. With that support, Xena was able to find a foothold in the cliff below. She started to climb up.
Dragging herself onto the ledge finally, Xena muttered, "I'm getting too old for this." She stared down into the chasm while she caught her breath and got her heartbeat under control. Only then did she turn to the person who had saved her.
It was a woman, though she wore men's clothing: leather trousers and a dusty white shirt. Her hair was about shoulder length, dark brown and curly, her eyes grey-blue. She wore a silver pendant around her neck: it was hidden beneath the shirt and Xena couldn't see it clearly. There was something familiar about her, but Xena was sure they had never met.
"Who the hell are you?" Xena demanded.
"You're welcome."
Xena realised how that must have sounded. "Thank you for saving my life," she said, a little sarcasm creeping into her voice. "Now…who are you?"
The woman offered her hand. "My name is Alani. Does that mean anything to you?"
Xena took the offered hand in a warrior's grip. In answer to the question, she shook her head: no.
Alani raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised. I thought Hercules or Iolaus would have mentioned me to you." She shrugged, dismissing the matter. "Well, I guess it's not important. Come on. Let's get out of here."