* * *

Iolaus stirred on the sand, surfacing slowly as his hunter's instincts warned him something was happening. Groggily lifting his head from the makeshift pillow of his tunic, he peered around him curiously through the starlit darkness.

They had landed on the island that afternoon, skimming Argo past the treacherous shoals off shore and into the safe harbour of the island. Jason wanted to run a few repairs before they became desperate and there was always the hull to scrape free of the marine life that accumulated on her planking. According to Pericles the island was uninhabited unless you counted the sheep and goats that bred unchecked in the lush forest that covered much of the shore.

Hercules was curled up a few feet away, his low mumbling under his breath as he squirmed restlessly drawing the hunter's attention.

Iolaus frowned. It looked like his friend was having a bad dream, normally something that happened to him rather than the demi-god. He hesitated, pondering the wisdom of wriggling over and waking him up. Like any warrior, Hercules tended to be bad at being woken up unexpectedly and if he lashed out without thinking Iolaus could end up on the other side of the island somewhat unexpectedly.

Still, he couldn’t very well leave him to it. For one thing, most of Argo's crew were asleep on the beach and he knew how embarrassed Hercules would be if he disturbed anyone. Scooping up a handful of sand, Iolaus edged to his knees and eased close enough to trickle the sand slowly onto the demi-god's chest at arms' length, staying far enough away to duck any sudden movements.

Hercules bolted upright with a wild yell and Iolaus ducked automatically. Fortunately for him, the demi-god didn't lash out this time.

"What…?" Hercules looked around in bewilderment, brushing damp sand from his perspiring chest. "What are you doing?"

"Waking you up without getting myself pulverised, " Iolaus answered cheerfully as he dusted his hands off. "You were having a nightmare."

"I was not!"

"Yes, you were," Iolaus said firmly, then grinned impishly. "Unless it was an erotic one…Which I guess it could have been from the way you were carrying on. Anyone I know?"

"It was a nightmare," Hercules told him firmly, blushing.

"Oh sure it was. I believe you!"

"I said it was a nightmare!"

"Knock it off you two!" Talaus' irritated bellow came from the far side of camp and was followed by a chorus of complaints for his volume.

Iolaus grinned in amusement, storing the swearwords for future use. When he looked round again, the demi-god had pushed quietly to his feet and was walking off down the beach with slumped shoulders. Frowning, Iolaus scrambled to his feet and dashed after him.

"Wait up, Herc!" he called.

Hercules paused and glanced back at him. "It's okay, Iolaus. You go back to sleep."

"Nah, I'm awake now." Iolaus came to halt and gazed up at him in concern. "What's up?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

Iolaus gazed after him in puzzlement as Hercules started to walk again, then bounded after him and fell into step alongside his long legged friend. "This nothing is definitely something. What kind of nightmare was it?"

Hercules sighed, lifting his head to gaze out to sea. It was a beautiful night. The stars were huge blue white diamonds on black over an indigo ocean crested with lace topped waves. There was enough of a breeze to keep the worst of the heat off but not to make it cold. Waves and wind ruffled leaves made a softly soothing susurration of sound that helped settle his nerves. So did Iolaus' effervescent presence at his side.

"Hercules?" the hunter prompted, never much of a one for patience.

"I don't know. Vague formless things as if something was chasing me in the dark."

Iolaus considered this thoughtfully. "A god?" he suggested.

"It didn't feel like a god," Hercules said slowly. "There were too many footsteps…" He could hear them now, a constant pitter-patter of claws on stone, like rain on the sea…

"What then?"

"I told you! I don't know!" Hercules caught himself, surprised that his temper should be so sharp. He took a deep breath to calm himself, aware of the anxious expression on his friend's face. "Sorry, Iolaus. I didn't mean to snap at you."

"No problem. Let's be logical about this…"

"You? Logical?"

"Funny. Where did you think you were in this nightmare?"

"I'm not sure…" Hercules paused thoughtfully. "Here I think…."

Iolaus glanced around them warily. "Here as in right here? Right now? Or on this island?"

Hercules came to a halt and dropped down cross-legged on the beach, picking up a handful of sand to let it trickle through his fingers. Iolaus knelt beside him, his impatience showing in his body posture even though he held his tongue and waited.

"I had a feeling it was now and soon. And I think I saw Pericles…."

Iolaus snorted. There was no great love lost between the hunter and the dark haired islander. Pericles had joined them a few islands back as a guide and pilot for the tricky waters Argo had to travel through and had been rubbing Iolaus the wrong way ever since. "So he's going to cause trouble somehow."

"I don't think it's that simple."

"Why not?"

Hercules shook his head, his long brown hair tickling his bare shoulders so that he instinctively ran a hand through it and lifted it off his neck. "I don't know. I wish I could remember more…" He glanced at Iolaus, catching the blond hunter in mid yawn. "Am I boring you?" he asked sarcastically.

"Sorry, no," Iolaus gave him a sheepish look. "But unless you think we're going to be attacked by a Kraken or something, maybe we should both get some sleep and think about your nightmare in the morning? It won't look so bad then whatever it is."

Hercules pursed his lips, drawing up his long legs and absently hugging his knees as he gazed out to sea.

"Look, if you’re still worried we can tell Jason about it in the morning. But if we go and disturb him now, he's going to kill us."

"You’re right," Hercules sighed, unfolding to stretch out on the sand.

"You’re going to sleep here?" Iolaus asked in surprise.

"Better than disturbing anyone else if I have another nightmare."

"Oh…" Iolaus cast a longing look back up the beach to their blankets, then sighed and settled down beside his friend, excavating a small hollow in the sand for his hip.

"You don't have to stay with me," Hercules said slowly.

Iolaus gave him a long look and a small grin. "No problem," he answered as he stretched out, folding his arms behind his head. He loved looking at the stars when they were so bright, remembering the stories that went with them. His smile widened a little as he heard Hercules sigh quietly in relief and make himself comfortable in the sand. Tough as he was, there were times when even Hercules needed some support.

* * *

The following morning Iolaus woke with a yell and an indignant splutter as a trickle of water splashed his face. "Hey!"

Hercules stepped out of reach with a grin. "Revenge is sweet."

"Why you…!" Leaping to his feet, Iolaus pursued the demi-god back up the beach, hurling imprecations at his broad back until they were both of breath and laughing. Coming to a halt by the broad buttress of rock that jutted out into the bay, Hercules looped his arm around Iolaus' shoulders as they started to walk back.

"You feeling okay, now?" Iolaus asked, glancing up at him.

"Yeah. Guess it was only a nightmare." Hercules lifted one hand, waving to Lynceus as the lookout spotted them and beckoned them back to camp. "Guess breakfast must be ready."

"Race you back!" Iolaus laughed and took off; haring back up the beach with sand flying from his bare heels as Hercules pounded after him.

Hercules' won their impromptu race, but it wasn't by much. Iolaus was fast on his feet and with the demi-god to pace him there were few mortals who could match him for speed.

"Where do you two get the energy from?" Archivus complained, yawning as he sprawled in his blankets. "It's barely morning!"

"It's been morning for some time," Jason snorted, toeing the bard's leg to stir him out his blankets as he passed. "Up and at 'em or you'll miss breakfast."

"Ah, how could I miss Talaus' gourmet efforts? How would I survive without more boiled sea bass?"

"It's baked!" Talaus yelled indignantly, hurling a stale bread roll at him. "And you were supposed to fix the bread!"

"Hey, I'm a bard! Fine literature takes time!"

"Yeah, so when are you going to produce some?"

Hercules grinned at their argument as he followed Jason towards the ship, leaving Iolaus to help Lynceus break it up. In the first warm light of day, his nightmares seemed foolish things made from shadows that evaporated in the sun. In daylight they were very easy to dismiss.

Jason had reached the ship and stood studying her, his hands braced on his hips and his shaggy dark brown hair whipping in the stiff breeze. They had beached Argo on the sand so they could examine her hull and see what needed to be done. "Archivus is right," Jason muttered as Hercules caught up with him. "We're all tired of sea bass. Good as Aseus is, we need more than fish! I'm going to send out foraging parties to see what we can round up. A day or two longer in one spot won't hurt and a break will do us all good." He glanced at Hercules; puzzled by the dark expression that had crossed his face. "Hercules? You okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, Jase, good idea." Hercules felt a cold shiver run down his back at the idea of foraging on this pretty little island. It was ridiculous really. After all, the place looked so pleasant. True, nobody lived on the island….

"Hercules, go eat something before I get Archivus to give you one of his concoctions. You look like something ate your best friend!" Jason scolded. "I only mentioned a foraging party. You don't have to go if you don't want to."

Hercules smiled weakly and headed back to join the rest of the crew. Pericles and some of the others emerged from where they had slept in the cave in the headland, yawning and scrubbing the sleep from their eyes. With a quick glance at Iolaus to check that the hunter was distracted, Hercules went to meet their guide.

"Pericles? Can I talk to you?"

The black haired young man glanced up, his expression indecisive for a second before he shrugged. "Sure. What's up?"

"I was wondering what else you could tell me about this island," Hercules began.

"Not much. There was a small fishing village on the other side last time I was here. Not much more than few huts really. It was being abandoned even then. I doubt if there's anyone there now."

"Any idea why?"

Pericles hesitated. He wasn't much of a one for small talk and rarely offered information to anyone except Jason unless asked. Hercules had done his best to get along with him, but even he was starting to find his aloof attitude hard to take.

"No," the guide admitted slowly. "I guess the fishing catch was dropping off. That's usually what happens."

Hercules nodded thoughtfully. It was a common enough story. The fishermen followed the fish. When the fish stocks were depleted they moved on, returning when the fishing grounds had had a chance to restore their numbers.

"Why do you ask?" Pericles wondered, eyeing him with a faintly suspicious light in his eyes.

"I don't know," Hercules admitted uneasily.

"Hey, Herc! Pericles!" Iolaus yelled at them, beckoning them to the fire. "You're not going to make us eat all the fish on our own, are you?!"

"Coming, Iolaus!" Hercules relaxed with a chuckle, loping back to join his friend and missing the expression of bleak jealousy that crossed Pericles' face as he followed him.

* * *

"Foraging? But I'm a hunter!" Iolaus yelped an hour later as Jason gave his crew the good news. There was a bit of muttering among some of the Argonauts, but Iolaus - as usual - was the only one who let his mouth run away with him.

"Well, you can hunt for lettuces, can't you?" the dark haired captain told him dryly.

"Oh, yeah, I can hear it now. What did you do on the Argo? I hunted lethal attack lettuces waiting to leap out on the unwary. One quick fight and we turned them into tossed salad," Iolaus muttered, folding his arms and glaring at Jason in disgust. "Oh, I'm so scared…"

"You’re getting sarcastic," Hercules murmured

"No, I'm getting mad," Iolaus retorted. "I didn't come along on this trip to turn into a farmer…"

"Iolaus, you'd never make a farmer," Lettus chuckled. "First rabbit takes a bite out of your carrots and you'd be forming a war band."

"We need green stuff, guys. Vegetables, fruit…" Jason was explaining patiently.

"We need meat!" Archivus complained. "Any more fish and I'm going to grow gills."

"Any more complaints about my cooking and I'll give you gills!" Talaus retorted, fingering his sword.

"You and whose army?"

Jason sighed heavily. Sometimes he wished he had listened to advice and hired proper sailors instead a bunch of would be heroes. Of course, they were all getting pretty ship happy by now and the boring food supply wasn't helping. "That's enough!" he barked as Archivus and Talaus bristled at each other. "If you two can't get along, then you can both get off at the next port!"

The threat made both men look at him in alarm and subside, looking sheepish.

"That's better," Jason growled, bracing his hands on his hips as he stood over them. "You lot are going foraging and that's it. No arguments or I’ll pick some of the others. Hercules and Lettus, I want you to go inland and see what you can find. We need fresh water."

"There has to be a stream around here somewhere for the sheep and goats to use," Hercules agreed.

"Are we after meat or not?" Lettus asked, pressing on determinedly when Jason scowled at the red haired sailor. "We do need it, Jase. A goat or a sheep or two wouldn't hurt to supplement the stores."

Jason hesitated and nodded, ignoring the smug look Archivus gave Talaus. "Okay, see what you can catch. Iolaus and Pericles, you go up the beach, check out the headland…"

"Lots more caves up there," Pericles volunteered, glancing at Iolaus. "Should be plenty of birds' nests."

"Oh joy…" Iolaus mumbled sardonically. "I haven't been bird nesting since I was a kid."

"I was thinking of quail…"

Iolaus raised an eyebrow. "Nice thought, but wrong kind of territory. Rabbits now though…" he mused thoughtfully.

Jason snorted. "Iolaus, remember not to fall off the cliff," he retorted. "Archivus and Talaus, since you’re so keen on cooking, you can look for the fresh vegetables, fruit..."

"But…" Archivus began.

"You're the one always complaining we don't use enough herbs," Talaus pointed out with a triumphant smirk. "Now's your chance…"

"Assuming he doesn't poison us all," Hercules said darkly. The demi-god hadn't forgotten the Henbane incident yet.

"I said I was sorry about that," Archivus protested.

"We need fresh water as well," Jason continued determinedly. "Aseus and Tiphys are going to look for shellfish."

"Gee, fish in shells. That'll make a nice change," Iolaus commented.

Jason gave him a 'shut up before I force-feed you to a shark' look. "You want to stay here and help scrape Argo's hull?" he asked mildly.

"Uh no…"

"Then be quiet, suntop," Jason told him. Iolaus opened his mouth to protest the name, saw the captain's expression and wisely closed it again. "Polyphemus and Lynceus, you take the opposite end of the beach…" Jason went on blandly, handing out assignments to the rest of the Argonauts. "I think that's everything. Go. And let's be careful out there…."

* * *

It was getting warmer, the moist heat filling the air and sticking cloth to skin. Peeling his loose tunic away from the small of his back again, Hercules sighed and glanced up at Lettus. Seated on a rock up ahead, the sailor was waiting for him.

"Are you all right, Hercules?" he asked amiably as the demi-god reached him.

"Me? Yeah, fine. Why?"

"You've been pretty quiet since we landed here. Like something was bothering you?"

Hercules stretched and pulled his tunic off over his head, revelling in the instant drop in his temperature as the breeze curled around his bare skin. "I've been thinking about what that Oracle we saw said..." he said slowly.

Lettus frowned. "Oracle?" he repeated blankly. "I don't…Oh, wait, you mean that one Pericles took us to on Myros?"

"She said we'd lose someone."

"But we haven't."

"Yet."

"Look, Jason didn't believe it. Neither should you," the redhead told him firmly.

"She said there'd be trouble," Hercules reminded him doubtfully.

"Well, that was hardly a tough guess, now is it? She could have meant anything by that. You know what they’re like. Give you a load of gabble then insist you misinterpreted it when they turn out to be wrong. And as for losing someone, well, Pericles will be leaving once we get out of this chain of islands."

Hercules frowned, tying the arms of his tunic around his waist to make it easier to carry. "I don't think he wants to."

Lettus shrugged and slid to his feet. "He was hired as a guide. If he wants to stay, then he'll have to persuade everyone to split the profits again. Considering how unpopular he's made himself, I don't think that's very likely."

"He's not that bad!" Hercules protested as he fell into step with him on the goat track they had been following in search of water.

The sailor snorted. "Sure he is. He's even rubbed Aseus the wrong way and you know how hard he is to annoy. Pericles could give lessons in brooding."

Hercules sighed and said nothing. Pericles was annoying, even he had to admit that. He had done his best to keep Iolaus reasonable about the guide, but the hunter's instinctive reaction was simply not to trust him and no amount of persuasion from his friend was going to make him change his mind. And, as Lettus said, Iolaus wasn't the only one. Aseus went out of his way to avoid the guide whenever he could. Archivus left his name out of his scrolls. He knew Lynceus trusted him about as far as he could throw him. Sometimes Hercules wondered if he was at fault for being too trusting…

"Listen, do you hear something?" Lettus interrupted his thoughts.

Hercules lifted his head, pushing his long brown hair out of his eyes as he concentrated. A smile lit his face. "Water!"

"Sounds like a stream," Lettus agreed with a broad grin. "Should be close by too. Let's see if we can find it."

* * *

Watching Iolaus scrambling ahead of him up the hillside, Pericles frowned irritably as he came to a halt. The hunter annoyed him with the very fact of his existence. From the top of his blond locks - currently shoulder length and held out of his face with two neat plaits - to his blue eyes and bouncy personality, Iolaus was a direct contrast to Pericles. Where Pericles was darkness, Iolaus was light. Where Pericles was tall and strong, Iolaus was small, lithe and fast. Where Iolaus was all smiles and enthusiasm, most of the time, Pericles was silent tension.

Pericles' frown turned into a brooding scowl. He was sure that Iolaus had done something to turn the Argonauts against him. When he asked Jason the night before if he could stay on as part of the crew, the captain had looked at him askance and said no. Oh, he had been politely patient about it, explaining how the crew had been all carefully chosen as a team and how unfair it would be to ask them to split their profits again, how they all had their parts to play and so on. But it had all come down to no. There was no room and he wasn't a team player. Iolaus had been dripping words of poison in Jason's ear since they met. Of course Jason wasn't going to listen to his pleas.

Kicking at a loose pebble, Pericles' eyes narrowed and he glared at the hunter's back. He couldn't go back to the mainland, at least not for a while. He had been lucky to ship out with the Argonauts before his reputation caught up with him. It hadn't been his fault the last ship he had guided had sunk. His instructions to see them through the dangerous shoals had been accurate. If they hadn't given him short shrift and kept him aboard, he would have guided them safely through the treacherous narrows that lay beyond. They got what they had paid for and no more.

"Pericles? Are you coming?" Iolaus had come to a halt, perched on top of a rock with the sun blazing behind him. He stood with one hip thrust out aggressively, his hand resting on his sword hilt.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Pericles climbed after him, scrambling over the rocks and roots that made the ground rough and uneven. He was bitterly aware that Iolaus' doeskin pants with the lace up sides and dark brown suede beaded jerkin was far more practical for climbing about in open woodland than his own red shirt and tan cotton pants.

Iolaus offered him a hand, pulling the dark haired man up beside him. "Where to now?" he asked.

"How should I know?"

Iolaus blinked at him in surprise. "You’re the guide. I thought you told Jason you knew this island?"

"Not inch by inch," Pericles retorted, pushing past him to look down the slope into the vale beyond.

Iolaus stuck his tongue out at the guide's back, but he had promised Hercules to be pleasant to him today and kept his sarcasm in check. "Where are the caves you mentioned?"

Pericles glanced at him, suspicious of the way Iolaus gazed back at him ingenuously. "That way," he snapped and started to slither down the slope, swearing as his feet slipped and he went sprawling. He slid several feet, crashing into a bush before he could stop. Picking himself up, he refused to look back as he heard Iolaus giggle. A blood soaked darkness settled inside him at that moment, a cold grinding rage that bit deep into his soul. One way or another he has going to make the damn runt suffer for this. "Come on and stop dawdling," he snapped and stomped on downhill.

Iolaus padded after him, stepping lightly and practically skipping down the steep slope. Convinced that the hunter was showing off his balance to deliberately annoy him, Pericles' mood blackened even more.

* * *

Sitting back on a rock, Hercules blissfully let the cold water trickle down his bare throat. Lettus was sprawled on his back a few yards away, his feet dangling into the pool as he dozed in the sunshine.

"You realise that Jason is going to yell at us for not heading back straight away, don't you?" Hercules commented as his conscience bothered him. They were supposed to be foraging, not lazing around sunbathing in the peace and quiet.

Lettus opened one eye to look at him. "Only if you tell him," he pointed out amiably.

Hercules sighed, wiping his hand down his bare chest as he climbed to his feet and studied their surroundings. The forest pool lay at the bottom of a deep dell in the woodland, backed by trees on three sides. A cliff on the last side was steep enough to make the small waterfall that tumbled down it, burbling happily as it sparkled in the sunshine, spectacular. "I think I'll go take a look around."

"Suit yourself." Lettus wasn't going to move unless he had to. Folding his arms behind the back of his head, he watched Hercules skirt the edge of the pool and start to scramble up the cliff. Shaking his head, Lettus settled comfortably back down again. "No view's worth that much effort," he murmured to himself as he relaxed peacefully.

* * *

Crouching on the woodland path, Iolaus frowned, brushing his fingers lightly across the undisturbed ground. It had rained recently, not much, only a light scattering of drops, but enough to dampen the ground and make tracking easy. Yet Iolaus, who considered himself a pretty good tracker, had found no sign of any tracks at all.

Twisting on one knee in the dirt, he looked back down the slight slope to where Pericles was waiting for him. The guide was standing in the middle of the path, staring thoughtfully towards the cliff that blocked the way ahead. The dark holes of numerous caves gaped at them, reminding Iolaus of a many-mouthed monster, each maw gaping with hunger. The caves alone would have made him follow the side path up slope, suspecting that whoever had made it had had good reason to avoid the cliff. But Pericles was insistent that he had seen a fair sized deer heading towards the cliffs.

"Pericles?" he called.

"What?"

"Are you sure you saw a deer headed into the caves?"

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"You could have been mistaken. There are no tracks up here."

"So? I told you the island is probably deserted."

"All the more reason for there to be tracks. I don't mean people, I mean animals. There should be something."" Iolaus straightened up, wiping his hands on his thighs. "But there's nothing. No rabbits, no sheep, no goats…no deer."

"They probably don't come up this way. It's too steep. Besides, there's rock all over."

"Oh come on, deer would have no trouble with this climb!" Iolaus paused, aware that Pericles was glaring at him furiously. It made him uneasy. But then the guide frequently made him uneasy. With Hercules prompting him, he had done his best to be friendly towards the guide, but somehow he could never quite get past the cold expression in Pericles' eyes. "Look, you’re the guide, I'm the hunter. I know what I'm talking about…"

"You do?"

Startled by the interruption, Iolaus didn't react for a second then he scowled belligerently at the implied insult. "What did you say?"

Pericles gave him a strange smile. "I said you do. I agreed with you. Something wrong? Not getting paranoid, are you?"

Iolaus felt the coldest of shivers run down his back as he stared at the guide. "No," he said slowly.

"Good. Come on then." Pericles set off towards the caves.

"Hey, where are you going?" Iolaus called after him in surprise.

"There's a short cut through the caves. Maybe we can catch that deer. No point in wasting time and energy going around when we can go through."

"But…" Iolaus really didn't want to go through those caves.

"Not scared are you?" Pericles called back mockingly.

The warrior bristled in fury at that and stalked after him. No one called him scared and got away with it. "I suppose someone had better look out for you. Caves can be dangerous," he snapped as he caught up with the guide.

Pericles looked down his nose at him and grinned. "Only if you don't know what you’re doing."

"And you do, I suppose?"

"Definitely…."

* * *

"Lettus!"

Hercules' distant hail echoing above the sound of the waterfall made Lettus groan. There was no doubt about it. Hercules was an idiot and too conscientious for his own good, let alone Lettus'.

"Lettus!"

Hercules roared again, louder this time and with the kind of edge to his voice that told Lettus he wasn't going to be ignored. With a heavy sigh, the Argonaut sat up and looked around him.

"Up here!" Hercules yelled, waving at him from the top of the waterfall.

"Uh huh." Lettus cupped one hand over his eyes, shading them from the sun. "What is it?"

"Come up here!"

"Why?" Lettus mumbled under his breath. "I'm fine down here! You look at the view!"

"No! I found the village." Hercules beckoned impatiently. "We need to check it out."

"Why?" Lettus shouted aloud this time.

"It looks deserted."

"So?"

"So, I want to know why!"

"Maybe they're all inside napping? It's hot, Hercules!"

"Come on!"

Lettus sighed and climbed slowly to his feet. He had known Hercules long enough to know when the demi-god wasn't going to take no for an answer. Jason was always telling them not to go off alone in strange territory. If Hercules went, then he had to go with him. Besides, he wouldn't want to face explaining to Iolaus why he had let go the demi-god off alone if anything happened to him. On the other hand, a village meant people and livestock. They might be able to buy a couple of goats or sheep instead of having to catch them. Vegetables and fruit that they didn't have to gather sprang to mind. And then there was the possibility of wine….

"Are you coming or not?" Hercules bellowed impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Lettus started to climb reluctantly, wondering if Hercules had always given Iolaus this much trouble or whether he had hit it lucky.

* * *

It was pitch black in the caves, not so much as a glimmer of light creeping down through a handy crevice to light the way. Iolaus dithered in the entrance, peering uneasily into the shadows. The longer he stood there, the more unnerved he got. He was absolutely certain there was something waiting for him in there. And he didn't think it was a deer.

Deep in the darkness, there was a rattle and a cascade of pebbles tumbled from the roof, clattering noisily across the cave floor.

"Here." Pericles' curt comment made him jump in alarm and swing around to face the guide, half drawing his sword without thinking. Pericles flinched instinctively at the gesture, his eyes narrowing. "Jumpy, aren't we?" he observed sarcastically as he held one of the torches he had made up in front of him.

Iolaus stared at him silently, his fingers flexing on his sword hilt. "You shouldn't sneak up on me like that," he told him steadily. "I could have hurt you…"

"Don't even bother attempting to impress me, Iolaus," Pericles sneered. "I could have taken you easy."

The hunter raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh? Sure of that, are you?"

Gritting his teeth, Pericles shoved the torch at him, forcing the hunter to release his sword to take it. "You don't scare me," he said, attempting to push past him.

Iolaus wouldn't budge. "What is it with you anyway?" he asked darkly. "You've been pushing for a fight since the first day you set foot on Argo but as soon as someone pushes back, you run away."

Pericles froze and gave him a sidelong look. "Maybe I consider arrogant little would be heroes who annoy me beneath my notice."

"Like me, you mean?" Iolaus said softly. "I've never done anything to you, Pericles."

"No? You've made fun of me enough times."

"I make fun of a lot of people," Iolaus pointed out. "It's part of my charm. Your trouble is you can't take a joke."

"Your trouble is, you are a joke," Pericles sneered, his temper churning darkly out of control. "It's easy to mouth off and pretend to be brave when you've got someone like Hercules around to protect you."

"I don't need Hercules or anyone else to protect me!" Iolaus snapped, automatically adjusting his stance in preparation for a fight. Without thinking, he reached out and pushed Pericles hard in the chest, forcing him to stumble back. "Least of all from you!"

"Ah come on, we all know it's only because your Hercules' friend that Jason let you come along," Pericles said nastily, knowing exactly where to dig in the knife to hurt. "And why Hercules puts up with you, I don't know. You're more trouble than you're worth. Unless, of course, you're a lot more than friends that is…"

It was one insult too many. Iolaus dropped the torch and hit him, fast and hard in his smirking mouth. Pericles went down with a thump, landing hard on his rear end in the dirt and clutching at his jaw in surprise.

"You hit me!" he exclaimed in outrage.

"Damn right. You wouldn't say anything like that in front of Hercules and you shouldn't have said it to me neither." Bouncing on his toes, Iolaus stood over him, daring him to get up with his very presence. "Come on, Pericles, let's see you put your dinars where your mouth is. You think you can take me? Go ahead and prove it."

Glaring angrily at the belligerent hunter, Pericles felt the first flicker of common sense clash violently with the roiling of panic in his stomach. He had seen Iolaus fight, not only with weapons but with fists, feet and teeth on occasion. Small he might be, but he was packed with speed, muscle and a hot temper when roused. Pericles had pushed all his buttons and Iolaus was clinging to his self-control by a very fine thread. Now was not a good time to get into a fight with him. It would be very easy to get hurt. "I'm not going to give you the satisfaction," he forced out.

"You mean you're scared of me?" Iolaus mocked.

"I'm not going to give you an excuse to go telling Jason any more lies about me."

"Lies? Iolaus choked in amazement and backed off a little. "What lies? I've never told Jason anything of a kind!"

"You think I don't know what you've been saying about me?" Pericles demanded, deciding that it was safe enough to get up. His pride wouldn't let him sit in the dirt for long, however safe it seemed. "I know why Jason wants me off Argo. You've turned him against me. You've turned them all against me."

"I think you’re the one whose paranoid," Iolaus retorted in disgust as he retrieved the dropped torch. "Jason took you on as a guide through the islands. He made it clear that that was all it would be. There's nothing personal about it."

Brushing himself off, Pericles gave him a cold look. "Oh, of course not," he muttered sardonically, retrieving his own dropped torch. "You're like all the others. None of you will listen to a word against Jason. Has it never occurred to you that he's only using you?"

"Jason?" Iolaus half laughed, eyeing him doubtfully.

"Yeah, your precious Jason. He knows I know what he's up to. He's going to get you all killed and keep the profits for himself."

"That's crazy. Either I've turned everyone against you, or he has. You can't have it both ways."

Pericles glared at him, annoyed that Iolaus wouldn't admit the truth. "You’re working for him."

"Aren't we all?"

"You're in on his plan. You’re probably going to betray everyone, even Hercules, for your own gain." Pericles smiled to himself, wondering why it had taken him so long to see the real truth behind Jason's rejection.

"Me? Betray Hercules?" Iolaus laughed in disbelief. "You really are nuts. Are the Furies after you? You must have really annoyed someone to get the Furies this upset with you."

Pericles snorted and gave him a look of mingled disdain and pity. "Believe what you want. I'm going." Lighting his torch with his flint and steel, he headed into the cave.

"Pericles, come back, you moron. It's dangerous…" Iolaus called sharply after him. "These caves aren't safe…"

The dark haired warrior shot a filthy look over his shoulder at him. "I'm the guide," he reminded him. "I know all about these caves. If you want to go running back to Jason and tell him you gave up because you were scared of a cave, go ahead. I'll do the trapping by myself."

Pericles strode onwards; resisting the urge to look up nervously at the ceiling as a trickle of loose sand slithered from a crevice. The caves should be safe enough for his purposes. There was a veritable labyrinth of caves and tunnels hollowing the island's structure, with numerous ledges and pits for the unwary visitor. Plenty of places for an accident to happen.

Behind him the second torch flared to light and he heard Iolaus, swearing under his breath, start to follow him. Smiling to himself, Pericles entered the first tunnel. He knew Iolaus' ridiculous sense of honour wouldn't let the guide enter the caves alone. Now all he had to do was pick his time and place and he would come out of this with Iolaus looking like an idiot and Pericles the hero…

* * *

The village was silent as Hercules and Lettus warily picked their way along the dusty, unused main street past the abandoned, weather worn stalls of what had once been a thriving market place. Torn awnings flapped in the breeze churning up from the sea that could be glimpsed at the far end of the street.

"It's bigger than I expected," Lettus commented in a whisper as he peered around him, keeping close to Hercules' side. He had lost all hope of buying supplies here as soon as they set foot over the village threshold. The place gave him the creeps.

"Still say they’re napping?" Hercules teased.

"I think they all left…" Lettus retorted.

"And in a hurry." Sobering, Hercules studied an overturned market stall, its produce rotted into a smelly green heap underneath the planking. A tremor seemed to run up from the ground through his feet, sparking a strange tingly itch inside his senses. "Did you feel that?" he blurted without thinking.

"Feel what?" Lettus looked up at him blankly.

"Something…" Hercules looked around slowly, the odd sensation trickling out of him again leaving him uneasy without knowing why. "As if something was disturbed…"

"I didn't feel anything. You think we should go back and tell Jason?"

"Tell Jason what? All we've found is an abandoned village. Pericles said it probably would be. Let's take a look around first at least and see what we can find."

Lettus pursed his lips. "I suppose we can always salvage something," he mused, a speculative gleam entering his eyes as he looked around. He headed for the biggest house on the street, his avaricious instincts taking over. With a rueful smile, Hercules padded after him, knowing he would probably have to curb Lettus' sticky fingers. Despite his smile, he couldn't shake the memory of that eerie feeling creeping through him though. Something had happened. Somewhere on the island something was stirring…

* * *

Iolaus wasn't quite sure how it had happened, but he was once again in the lead with Pericles climbing through the rocks behind him. Having the guide at his back wasn't a position he liked. He preferred to have Pericles where he could see him. He hadn't felt like that when he first met him, he was sure. But there was something about the guide that made his skin crawl. Pericles found it too darn easy to make him lose his temper. It was as if he did it deliberately. Pausing indecisively where the tunnel split, Iolaus stared into his torch flame and waited for Pericles to catch up. Why would Pericles want to goad him into losing his temper? It wouldn't shock any of the other Argonauts. They all knew Iolaus had a hot temper and he was pretty sure that they knew Pericles asked for trouble when he pushed him.

"What's the matter?" Pericles asked sardonically.

Iolaus could feel the sneer in his Pericles' voice even if he couldn't see his expression through the shadows. "Which way?" he asked curtly.

"Don't you know?"

"You’re the guide, so guide. You take the lead for a while."

"Scared of the dark?" Pericles mocked, stepping past him and picking his way across the cracked and split rock of the tunnel floor.

Resisting the urge to beat him to a pulp, Iolaus took a deep breath and followed him. What was it Hercules always said he did to control his temper? Oh yes, count to ten….

From somewhere far off in the caves something moved, creating a weirdly sibilant hiss that echoed up from the depths and twirled itself around them, making the hair creep on the back of Iolaus' neck. "What in Tartarus was that?" he exclaimed uneasily as his skin prickled in alarm.

"The sea…."

"What?" Iolaus stared at Pericles' back in astonishment.

"The caves open on to the sea. Haven't you ever heard the sound of the sea before?" Ignoring him, Pericles climbed over the next pile of rocks to smoother ground and continued on down the tunnel.

"Harpy droppings, that wasn't the sea," Iolaus muttered under his breath, but moved slowly after the guide.

"What did you think it was? Some horrible monster?" Pericles taunted. "I told you I know this island. There's nothing to be afraid of. So don't be scared….

Gritting his teeth and clenching his fist on the torch, Iolaus hopped over the rocks and followed him down the tunnel. One hundred, ninety nine…

* * *

Something was stirring. There was definitely something happening somewhere on the island. Hercules could feel it on his skin. It tingled in his senses, making his teeth ache with subliminal tension and his hair tickle. He had let Lettus go into the dilapidated barn alone, staying outside in the sea scented breeze where he could listen for whatever it was his senses could hear that his ears could not. Whatever it was it had to be powerful if he could feel it from this far away.

"Hercules!" Lettus' wild yell of alarm startled him, snapping the demi-god out of his intense concentration. A moment later the red haired sailor burst out of the barn and flung himself on Hercules, his fingers clamping bruisingly tight on the demi-god's arm.

"Steady!" Hercules protested, wincing and hastily prying him off. "What's the matter?"

"In there! A body!" Lettus stammered.

"A body? Tartarus, Lettus, you've seen a body before. What's the big deal?"

"You don't understand. It, it…It's horrible! I've never seen anything like it before. Come and look…." Lettus grabbed his arm again and pulled, bodily dragging Hercules towards the ramshackle barn door. As they reached it however, Lettus changed his mind and let go. "Uh you go…."

"Aren't you going to show me where it is?" Hercules asked in amusement.

"You can't miss it…."

Pursing his lips, Hercules folded his arms and gave him a doubtful look. "This isn't some kind of joke, is it?"

"No…"

"I'm not going to walk in there and get a bucket of water dumped over me?"

"Nothing like that. Go on…."

"Iolaus hasn't talked you into setting me up?" Hercules continued suspiciously. That had happened a couple of times; until Hercules got wise to the evil sense of humour the pair of them shared.

"Hercules! Go and look! I'm serious!"

Studying the petrified expression on the Argonaut's face, Hercules finally shrugged and ambled into the barn. Lettus came as far as the door and then stalled, peering around the doorjamb nervously.

"It isn't going to get up and eat you," Hercules teased even as he checked for boobytraps.

"I don't know. I've heard of stranger things happening."

"You've been listening to too many of Archivus' ghost stories," Hercules chuckled. "I don't see any body…"

"It's there, in that rear stall…" Lettus pointed towards the shadows at the back of the barn. "I tripped over it…"

Shaking his head in amusement, Hercules padded through the straw and around the broken planking of the rear stall wall where he disappeared from view. There was one sharp indrawn hiss of breath and then only the rustle of straw.

Straining his ears to listen, Lettus craned as far around the doorjamb as he could get without actually entering the barn. "Hercules?" he called tentatively after a few moments. "Hercules?!"

"I'm here…" Hercules reappeared, backing out of the stall.

"Please tell me it's still there. Or don't, which might be better. Then again that might mean I imagined it so…" Lettus babbled in panic.

"You didn't imagine it, it's still there." Hercules told him, staring at his the sticky greyish strands that clung tenaciously to his hands. Scooping up a handful of musty straw, he wiped it off as best he could.

"It looked…eaten…"

"Digested," Hercules said absently. "The word you’re looking for is digested…"

"Uh actually no, I don't think that was the word I was looking for. In fact I was doing my best not to even think it," Lettus stammered, licking dry lips.

Hercules gave him a slow look, glanced back at the rear stall then very deliberately pushed past Lettus and out into the fresh air and sunshine. Breathing deeply, he looked up at the cerulean sky and forced down a spasm of nausea.

Lettus followed him, shooting nervous glances back at the barn. "What do you think did that?" he asked anxiously. "I've never seen anything that could do that to a man…"

"A Chaos Spider could," Hercules told him grimly.

Lettus' jaw dropped then he shuddered. "No, no way. Those are only legends. Archivus' ghost stories…." His voice tailed off as Hercules shook his head slowly and firmly. "But…."

"There aren't many Chaos creatures left, but it only takes one. I think one of us had better fetch Jason."

"One of us?"

Hercules smiled faintly at Lettus' alarm. "I thought I’d stay here and take a look around, see what else I can find. Unless you want to stay?"

"Nooo…can't say as I do." Lettus shot another look at the barn. "We could both fetch Jason and come back with him?"

Hercules hesitated. It was a practical suggestion, but something told him he was in the right place already. "No, you go," he said firmly. "I need to stay here."

"Need?"

"Yeah, need," Hercules gave him a meaningful look. Lettus wasn't quite as quick as Iolaus at getting the point, but he nodded in understanding after a second.

"Oh right, need. Why didn't you say so? I'll get Jason…" Lettus took two steps and then paused, looking over his shoulder at him. "Uh, it is safe, is it?"

"It won't have had anything eat recently. It'll be hibernating to save its strength."

"What if it wakes up?"

"I suggest you run for it."

"Hercules?!" Lettus yelped in alarm.

"Sorry," Hercules grinned mirthlessly. "Why should it wake up? We didn't see anything on the way, did we?"

"Doesn't mean I won't on the way back."

Hercules smiled faintly. "Put it this way, if it's anywhere it'll be here in the village."

"Oh.." Lettus shot a quick nervous look around him and grimaced. "All right, I’ll go. But you’d better be right here when I get back with Jason."

"No problem." Hercules assured him, folding his arms and taking up what Iolaus called his patented hero stance.

"Be right back," Lettus promised and took off at a sprint, only too eager to hare out of the village.

After Lettus had gone, Hercules let out a slow shaky breath and looked around him. The village suddenly seemed a quieter and a whole lot emptier. He only hoped it stayed empty. Slowly and reluctantly, he walked back into the barn, his steps slowing even more as he approached the rear stall and rounded the wall to face the body.

It lay huddled in a cocoon of thick grey white webbing as if a very disturbed weaver had run amok with a loom and murdered someone. The body itself was shrunken, hollowed out by whatever had attacked him…or her. Even that was impossible to tell from the dried up, shrivelled remains.

Quashing his nausea again, Hercules knelt next to the cocoon and gingerly touched the webbing. Although still sticky it was dry and the shell was starting to crack, peeling back to reveal the body within. From what he could see of the body, the only sign of a wound was in the right hand side, where a deep hole had been punctured through the flesh. If it hadn't been for the webbing and he had been less experienced, he might have mistaken it for a sword wound.

Stretching his hand across it, Hercules did his best to estimate the size of what might have caused the wound. Assuming it had been a Chaos Spider, it had to be huge. Hercules had always assumed that there were actually fairly small, like most spiders. But this…

Something this size could easily wipe out the population of a village.

And the crew of the Argo….

* * *

Iolaus paused, glancing back over his shoulder with a frown. They seemed to be going downwards instead of across as he expected. If this was a shortcut, it seemed to be taking a very long time to get anywhere. Lifting his torch higher, Iolaus studied the lie of the ground. There was a definite slope uphill behind them.

"Pericles?" he called after the guide who had stomped on ahead.

"Now what?"

Before Iolaus could reply he was interrupted by the same sibilant hiss that they had heard before. It seemed louder now and was twice as menacing somehow. It didn't have the rise and fall cadence of waves that he would have expected, but the impatient snarl of something disturbed and hungry. "That is not the sea," he said firmly.

"Of course it is."

"No, no it isn't. What's down here with us, Pericles?"

"Nothing that I know of. And I should know. I'm a…."

"A guide, yeah, I know. So why are we going deeper?" Frowning, Iolaus broke into a lope and caught up with the dark haired warrior.

"We’re not."

"Yes, we are." Iolaus lifted his torch again, showing Pericles the slope they had come down. "You said this was a shortcut. A shortcut to where?"

"The other side," Pericles said mildly, half smiling at him.

For some reason Iolaus felt a prickle of unease run down his back at Pericles' smooth answer. "The other side of what?" he asked carefully.

"Why, the cliffs of course, where else?" Pericles answered innocently.

"It seems to be taking a long time," Iolaus said doubtfully.

"That's only because it's dark and you don't know the way. It isn't much further. Trust me."

As Pericles casually strolled onwards, Iolaus stared at his back in disbelief. Trust him? What kind of an idiot does he take me for?

* * *

Wiping his hands down his thighs, Hercules straightened up and cupped one hand over his eyes, studying the cliffs. The village lay in the bay between two curving promontories. One was the one he and Lettus had descended, following a well beaten path that the villagers had obviously used to gain access inland. The other was steeper and heavily overgrown with vegetation and precariously perched trees. It brooded over the village, casting deep shadows across the houses as the sun passed overhead. The shadows made the air cooler, for which Hercules was grateful. But the drop in temperature did nothing for his unease. The demi-god had explored the far end of the village, searching for a similar path up into the rocks. He had found nothing but a rough wood stockade erected around the back of the buildings. His first thought had been that it was part of a livestock pen for the goats and sheep that now roamed wild, but closer examination made him change his mind. The wall had been built to keep something out, not in.

How many of the villagers had actually escaped the Chaos Spider, he wondered. And how many had simply ended up as lunch?

Shaking his head, Hercules crouched and started to pick over what he had found. There wasn't much in the way of fresh edibles; the fruit and vegetables he had found were past salvaging. But he had found two salted hams, three sacks of grain that the mice hadn't gotten to, and a couple of casks of dried fruit. A smokehouse had yielded several racks of smoked and salted fish and he had found a store of nuts; which Iolaus, an ardent fan of almonds, would no doubt to be happy to see.

Thinking of his best friend made Hercules frown again and glance up towards the cliffs, aware of an increasing desire to go and find the hunter.

"Hercules?!"

Startled by the unexpected hail from Lettus, Hercules looked round to see the redhead jogging into the village with Jason, Castor and Polydeceus. "You're back fast," he greeted him in surprise. "What happened?"

"I met up with them halfway back," Lettus panted in explanation. "Have you seen anything?"

"No," Hercules admitted. "Did you?"

Lettus shook his head and sat on one of the casks to get his breath back.

"What's going on Hercules?" Jason asked sharply as he reached them. "Lettus was gabbling about monsters and a body…"

"Monster. I think it's a Chaos Spider, but it hasn't show up yet. I've found two bodies so far."

"Two bodies?" Lettus squeaked.

"Two," Hercules nodded grimly. "I found another one. And the cocoons are everywhere, but most of them seem to be empty."

"So the people got away?" Polydeceus said hopefully.

"No, I don't think the cocoons …preserved them very well." Hercules shuddered. The first one he had touched out of curiosity had crumbled in his hands, leaving a sticky green black goo that stuck to everything and stank like a combination of rotting, fish, eggs and vegetables. Hercules didn't think he would ever forget that smell and his stomach churned at the memory.

Something in his expression made Jason step forward and rest his hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Show me the first body you found…"

* * *

Pericles halted, sniffing warily at the air. An indefinable scent was wafting towards him on the feeble breeze that blew through the caves. He could smell the sea in it and something half sweet, half rotten. Probably the body of some large sea animal had been washed up into the lower caverns to rot. He hadn't entirely lied to Iolaus about the sound of the sea echoing through the caves. The sea hollowed out the base of the headland and waves constantly crashed though the lower tunnels. He had never risked exploring them personally. Warned off by stories of mysterious disappearances, he had confined his exploration to the upper tunnels. But he had memorised all the maps of the tunnels that the villages had. Part of his talent as a guide was memorising routes and maps that he had only heard or seen only once. It rarely failed him and had led him safely deep into the labyrinth this time.

By his reckoning, the short corridor ahead of them led into an open cave and a chasm that dropped straight down to the sea. The villagers had called it The Maw, claiming that the very rocks themselves would close on a careless climber, chew them up and spit out the bones. It wouldn't be too hard to cause a simple little accident. Even if Iolaus wasn't killed in the fall, he would be hurt at least. A broken leg would be good enough if it removed him from the crew.

A soft footstep made him jump nervously and shoot a quick look at Iolaus. Silent footed in his soft leather boots, the hunter had come up on him unnoticed. He lifted his torch enough to study Pericles' chagrined expression and smiled sardonically. "What's that smell?" he asked however.

Pericles shrugged and told him his sea beast theory. "We could take a look," he added. "The next cave opens onto the sea. It's called The Maw and the view is spectacular."

Iolaus tilted his head to one side. "I'm more worried about getting back to the others than a pretty view," he retorted. "This short cut of yours is taking too long."

"Suit yourself." Pericles said easily and strode on ahead.

"You…" Iolaus gritted his teeth on the explosion of temper and stomped after him, kicking viciously at a hapless pebble that bounced and skittered its way noisily down the tunnel, throwing back a thousand echoes.

The tunnel opened out a few yards further on into a spectacular expanse of cavern with huge stalactites hanging from the ceiling high above. Iolaus raised his torch for a better look and as the torchlight caught their tips the stalactites flashed white and startling in the gloom, glinting with flecks of gold. The rest of the ceiling remained in deep shadows but Iolaus was almost sure he saw some kind of moss or lichen growing in a huge patch above them. Curious about the faintest of green shimmers shining on the rock, he touched the wall and promptly snatched his hand away again, shaking his fingers as they stung. Whatever was growing on the walls was slick and wet and bit back like no lichen he had ever come across before.

In front of them the cave floor ended suddenly in a crest of jutting rock that seemed to have been cracked and split up from below by some titanic struggle. The sound of the sea filled the air, the vast boom and crash of the waves far below muffled by an acoustic trick of the rock.

Even the ever cynical Pericles was awed into silence as he stared around him. "I didn't know it looked like this," he murmured.

Iolaus padded over to the edge of the crest, staring down into the chasm below as the air rushed up to swirl his hair around his face. Pinning it back with his free hand, he lifted the torch higher to see what lay below. He hissed softly between his teeth and backed up, bumping into Pericles who had come up behind him while he was distracted.

Iolaus turned to face him, sparing only a second to wonder at the dark anger on the guide's face. "I think you said there was nothing in these tunnels?" he said sarcastically.

"There isn't…"

"Then I think you’d better take a look down there and think again."

Pericles glared at him, but circled round him and peered over the edge. The sea churned furiously below in froth of white foam and grey green water, but between them and it was a wide mesh of silvery netting that stretched right across The Maw. As he watched a sparkle of green light ran through it, flickering and glittering as it sped through the strands before earthing itself against the rock. Interspersed at odd points across the webbing were strange pods that seemed to be made of the same grey mesh. The whole web gave off an eerie grey green gold that cast strange shadows across the rocks.

"What is that?" he asked nervously, drawing back uncertainly.

"You're the guide. Don't you know?" Iolaus mocked.

"Don't be funny. Do you think the fishermen made it?"

Iolaus gave him a look of sheer disbelief and half-laughed. "No. It's a web. I think a monster made it and we'd better get out here."

Pericles bit his lip, weighing his plans against the possibility of an encounter with some kind of giant spider. Survival won. There would always be another chance to get Iolaus out of his way. "This way then…" He started quickly back across the cave and then froze as something moved above them in the darkness, what had seemed to be merely a darker patch of shadow unfolding itself into a many legged form that dropped towards them with terrifying speed.

* * *

Hercules dropped the cask he was lifting into the cart with a crash, oblivious to Polydeceus leaping out of the way as the cask cracked and split the grain across the dirt.

"Hey, watch what you’re doing there! That was nearly my foot!" Polydeceus complained then paused and peered anxiously at the ashen-faced Hercules. "Hercules? What's the matter?"

"I…" Hercules couldn't get the words out. His whole body was crawling with the sensation of tiny claws climbing all over him. "I…something…I…"

"Here, sit down." Polydeceus pushed him down to sit on the edge of the cart and turned to bellow for Jason.

"I'm okay," Hercules said feebly, knotting his hands together as they shook.

"Then what is it?" Polydeceus crouched in front of him, watching him anxiously.

"There's something on this island with us and I think it's awake…"

"What's awake?" Jason demanded as he sprinted up in response to Polydeceus' hail.

"The Chaos Spider," Hercules answered, shooting a worried glance up at him. "And I think it's hungry…."

* * *

As the giant shadow dropped towards them Iolaus and Pericles both froze in sheer shock at the sight. Iolaus was the first to recover, his warrior instincts kicking in automatically. "Look out!" Diving at Pericles, he tackled the guide out of the way, the two of them rolling in a tangle of limbs back across the floor as the creature landed on the rock behind them.

It hissed in annoyance at missing its prey on first pounce, its vivid green eyes glittering and sparkling like dark living emeralds as they caught the torchlight. Bobbing on its clawed toes, it stared at them, mandibles snicking together as it turned its round head this way and that to get a better look at them. Its oval body was covered in long green fur with darker patches and here and there flashes of green gold glimmered amongst the strands.

"What is that?" Pericles stammered, cowering behind Iolaus as the warrior scrambled to his knees and drew his sword.

"What does it look like?" Iolaus snapped back and shot a quick suspicious look at him. "Did you know it was down here?"

"What do you think I am? Stupid?"

"Yes," Iolaus retorted curtly. "I told you I heard something, but you wouldn't listen. What in Tartarus were you up to?"

Pericles tensed, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the warrior's back. "I didn't know it was here or I’d never have come…I’d never have led you here…"

"You were right the first time. You always save your own hide before you worry about anyone else's." Iolaus broke off, rising smoothly to his feet as the giant spider stirred.

The spider paused again and started to bob up and down thoughtfully. There was something terribly hypnotic about the motion, almost soothing...

Iolaus tore his eyes away with an effort. "Get up." he snapped at Pericles.

"Why? It'll only attract its attention."

"We already have its attention. It might back off if we seem threatening enough."

Grumbling under his breath, Pericles climbed to his feet, still staying behind the hunter. "Now what?"

The spider stayed right where it was, its mandibles clicking together rapidly as it bounced up and down on its many legs. But it didn't rush them.

"Start towards the exit," Iolaus urged quietly.

"Oh right! And you’re going to let it pounce and eat me while you get away?"

"We're not all as cowardly as you are," Iolaus retorted and took a step sideways, gradually easing his way away from the chasm towards the cave entrance. Pericles stifled a groan of fright and shuffled after him. The spider turned with them, still studying them in silent calculation.

"It almost looks like it's…thinking…" Iolaus muttered under his breath.

"It's a monster, who cares? Kill it." Pericles urged.

"I'm not that suicidal. If it bothers you that much, you kill it."

The spider made a sudden move; it's claws tip-tapping in a quick fandango on the rock as it turned to keep them in view.

Iolaus came to a halt; aware that the spider was closer to the exit than they were and it wasn't going to let them reach it. He swore bitterly and elbowed Pericles back behind him as the guide pressed too close.

"Come on, what are you waiting for?" Pericles demanded impatiently.

"I don't think we can get past it," Iolaus said doubtfully.

"Now, who's the coward?"

Iolaus scowled, his shoulders tensing in outage at the insult, but he kept his temper. Cheiron taught his students well. Now was not the time to let Pericles goad him into losing control. Anger lent itself to mistakes and a mistake now could get them both killed. "Shut up and let me think," he growled.

"To Tartarus with that!" Pericles yelped and dived past him, running for the exit.

"You idiot!" Iolaus leaped after him.

The spider was faster than both of them. With a casual hop it was in front of the exit, blocking Pericles as he scrabbled to a halt and went sprawling among the tangle of legs. With a hiss of annoyance, the spider danced around him, wanting the torch away from its vulnerable belly. It squirted spider silk at Pericles, to subdue him, smothering and extinguishing the torch's flames rapidly.

Pericles was screaming in terror as he flailed wildly at the spider's legs. Ignoring him, Iolaus attacked the spider, aiming for the green eyes blazing at him with eerie iridescence. A segmented leg blocked his sword and the blade slithered off the black chitin, while a second leg swept around and smashed into the hunter's ribs, knocking him to the ground and sending the torch spinning from his hand.

"Help me!" Pericles screamed in anguish as the spider turned its attention back to him, seeking to pin him down for wrapping.

Biting back a groan, Iolaus struggled to get up and was stepped on by a clawed foot that held him down. Black skin flexed between chitin and claw on what would have been a human ankle.

"Iolaus!" Pericles yelled again, his voice rising high pitched with terror.

Gritting his teeth, Iolaus drew his belt knife and drove it point first into the black skin, forcing it deep between claw and carapace. The spider let out a hiss like escaping stream and whipped its leg away, allowing Iolaus to roll to his feet.

Iolaus crouched, staring up after the spider in shock after its prodigious leap straight upwards. He hadn't expected it to be capable of such a jump. Retrieving his torch, he searched the shadows above them, wanting to see where the creature had gone.

A whimper from Pericles as the guide rolled over made him shoot a quick glance at him. "Are you hurt?" he demanded sharply.

"No thanks to you if I'm not," the guide retorted sarcastically.

"Save it for later. I don't have time right now. Are you hurt or not?"

"I don't think so…"

"Then stop damn well whining and get up! We have to get out of here before it comes back."

Pericles shot a rude answer back at him but climbed to his feet. "Why didn't you kill it?"

"I didn't get a chance. You've got a knife. Why didn't you kill it?"

Pericles barely hesitated. "I was acting as bait…"

"You were running away!"

The silken trapline dropped silently out of the shadows, encircling Iolaus' shoulders and trapping his sword arm. There was a satisfied hiss of triumph from above them and the warrior was yanked off his feet, dropping the sword as his wrist was constricted against his chest.

Twisting and turning, Iolaus was lifted into the air. He could see the spider above him, hanging upside down from its web. Below him Pericles had dived after the sword, but Iolaus didn't hold out much hope of the guide having any intention of helping him and didn't bother waiting for him. Instead he concentrated on working his left arm free to bring the torch to bear on the silken strands binding him. He could hear the hungry clicking of the monster's mandibles as he was drawn within biting range. At the last moment he jabbed upwards with the torch, stabbing the flames into its face. The spider squealed in a cacophony of indecipherable sound that almost deafened Iolaus, but it reacted instinctively and flipped its trapline to drop the hunter back to the floor.

Iolaus hit with bruising force and rolled, his head cracking hard enough against a rock for his senses to spin blackly for a second. He was dimly aware that he had landed on the edge of the chasm, narrowly escaping going over the edge.

Pericles' yell of panic from near by made Iolaus force his head up and gather his scattered wits about him to look round. The spider was back on the floor, chittering in rage as it sidled towards the guide in a macabre dance.

"Pericles…" Iolaus called shakily, struggling to get to his feet. "Get away from it…"

The guide shot a look over his shoulder at him and ran to back to the hunter. "You've got do something, Iolaus. You've got to get me out of here!"

The spider was coming after them, stalking swiftly across the rocky floor with implacable menace. The emerald eyes glittered emotionlessly, their emptiness all the more terrifying for the lack of feeling. It was almost on them.

"We have to split up. You go that way," Iolaus decided grimly. "Keep the sword…" He figured that while he could protect himself with his knife and the torch, Pericles would be better off with the sword.

"I have a better idea," Pericles snarled and lunged, grabbing for the torch.

"What are…?!" Busy watching the spider's approach, Iolaus was taken by surprise as the guide ripped the torch from his hand. He had no time for anything more than a token protest as the guide slammed his shoulder into his midriff and hurled the hunter over the edge into the chasm below.

Staggering on the edge of the rift, Pericles flailed wildly to catch his balance and swung around as the giant spider loomed over him. This was not how he had planned for things to happen. Sheer terror made him drive the torch into the spider's face and it reared back with a squeal, lifting its front legs to protect its eyes. Seizing his chance, Pericles ducked past the creature and ran for it, dropping the sword in his panic-stricken need for speed. He heard the spider's shrill hiss as he fled down the tunnel, desperately bolting for cover…

* * *

A shadow swept across his mind, an ice-cold chill that made Hercules shiver violently and drop the water barrel he had been lifting onto the stone edge of the well.

The village well had proved to hold sweet clear water and they had decided to fill the barrels from it rather than the pool. Castor had discovered two small but sea worthy fishing boats drawn up on the beach and it was Jason's plan to sail the water barrels and salvaged foodstuffs back around the island to Argo.

"Oh great," Hercules heard Polydeceus complain, his exasperated voice seeming to come from far, far away. "Hey! Jason! Hercules is at it again!"

Hercules ignored him, concentrating instead on the images that crept stealthily across his mind's eye. The sensations bothered him, made his skin creep and crawl as if a thousand spiders were tiptoeing across his flesh. He had never felt anything like it before.

It was power and darkness...

It was a lethal embrace that tempted him...

A poisonous kiss that provoked him…

It called to him…

And it scared him….

And darkness engulfed him…

For a split second he thought he heard Iolaus scream, then the image broke and shattered like the surface of a pool disturbed by a thrown pebble. Fragments of reality colliding with shards of darkness…

Hands clamped tight on his upper arms and shook him hard. Opening eyes he hadn't realised he had closed, Hercules winced as the light blazed back into them and he swayed, dropping limply to his knees as all the energy seemed to run out of him at once.

"Hercules?" Keeping his grip on his arms, Jason crouched in front of him and peered anxiously into his glazed eyes. "What is it?"

Hercules gurgled incoherently, clutching at the captain for support.

"Here," Polydeceus knelt beside them, shoving a wineskin at the younger man. "Take a swig, it'll help…."

Hercules grabbed the wineskin and gulped gratefully, the sharp sweet taste of the wine chasing away the last shards of shadows from the edges of his vision. Jason released him slowly, sitting back on his heels as he watched the demi-god warily. Hercules could guess why. Facing a berserk demi-god would worry anyone with any sense.

"I'm okay…" he mumbled, shakily wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and letting Polydeceus take the wineskin back.

"You don't look it. What's the matter?"

Hercules gave him a hesitant glance, wondering if he looked as strange as he felt. He could feel a strange pulling sensation inside him, as if something deep down was responding to a call. He was drawn to look at the steep cliffs at the far end of the village. "I think…I had some kind of a vision…"

"A vision?" Polydeceus echoed in surprise. "You've never done anything like that before."

Hercules coloured in chagrin. He wanted so much to be ordinary and treated like everyone else but somehow he always gave himself away. "I think it's because there's background level Chaos Energy here," he said awkwardly. "It's concentrated in the Chaos Spider and that's why I'm…aware of it…"

"What's it doing?" Jason asked sharply, his first thought the safety of his crew.

"It's in the caves," Hercules said slowly, feeling that strange pull inside him increasing with every second. It dragged him to his feet. "I have to go…"

"Woah, I don't think that's a good idea." Leaping upright, Jason blocked his way. "You don't know how you're going to react if you run into this thing. It's better if we simply stay right away from it and get off this island as soon as possible."

"I don't think I can do that."

"You want us to hog-tie you and throw you in the back of a boat?" Jason snapped impatiently. "I'm captain here, remember? Now, come on. We're going to finish loading and get out of here." Taking his cue from Jason's' tone, Polydeceus righted the barrel Hercules had dropped and lifted it back to the well edge where the captain steadied it.

Hercules didn't move. "Iolaus is up there somewhere," he said simply.

"What?" Jason froze and the barrel crashed back down for a second time. Polydeceus leaped out of the way barely fast enough and shot a murderous look at the captain.

"Iolaus is somewhere in the caves," Hercules repeated steadily and his blue eyes were drowning deep with a haunting darkness. "And Pericles was with him…"

Jason swore, long and vehemently, gesturing violently with his clenched fists in frustration. "I should have known!"

"It isn't Iolaus' fault…" Hercules surfaced enough from his inner turmoil to protest.

"I never said it was," Jason snorted, giving him a quick frown. "All right, forget the supplies. We can come back for them later. We'll go back to Argo and get the others before we enter the caves."

"There may not be time," Hercules said flatly and took a step towards the cliffs, pointing. "There's a way in up there…The spider uses it…"

Shading his eyes with one hand, Jason studied the cliff face and shook his head. "We can't get up there…"

"Maybe you can't, but I can," the demi-god reminded him grimly.

"You can't. You’d be on your own…"

"So's Iolaus."

"You said Pericles was with him."

"Same difference," Polydeceus muttered, then rushed on when Jason glared at him. "Come on, Jase. We all know he's a coward!"

Jason scowled. "We need weapons to fight a monster," he argued.

"Jason, please?" A note of pleading entered Hercules' voice as he focused on the dark haired older man. "I know I can get to Iolaus and help him."

"And fight a giant spider on your own, bare handed?"

"Yes," Hercules said softly. "I have to…"

Jason stared into the demi-god's anxious eyes for a long moment then swore and shook his head again. "I must be some kind of a fool. All right, if you think it's that important and you think you can do it, then go."

"I’ll go with you," Polydeceus said promptly.

"No," Hercules refused him flatly. "Sorry, but I can move faster alone. I'll need a rope, a torch and a sword…"

* * *

Struggling wildly, Iolaus could feel his skin abrading where the web clung tenaciously to his bare flesh. His efforts to free himself made it stick ever more tightly, wrapping itself around his legs and clinging to his jerkin and pants like glue. Realising that the tickling sensation running down his arms and bare back where his jerkin had ridden up and his skin had met the web was actually his own blood, Iolaus forced himself to stop struggling and take a deep, shaky breath to calm himself.

The words came silent and unbidden into his mind, forming their own mantra as he repeated them over and over. It stopped him screaming out loud in terror as he heard the chittering sound from above him and looked up. It the weird light glowing from the web he could see the spider as it perched above him on the wall. The silky strands clung stickily to the side of his face, gluing his hair to the web and preventing him from pulling his head free.

The spider started to descend the wall, mincing downwards on its claws with a fine disregard for gravity.

Clenching his fists, Iolaus wrenched again, feeling muscles pop in his shoulders to no effect. He was stuck tight, helpless prey for the predator. He had lost his knife when he slammed into the web.

The spider reached the web and stood poised at the edge, delicately caressing the silken strands that held Iolaus fast as it sensed his position on the web. It watched the hunter, its mandibles masticating on fresh air as it contemplated him. Then it stepped onto the web and came towards him, tiptoeing with eerie grace closer and closer…

It paused to step over a pod, its toes flexing as they snagged on the webbing and it tore, spilling human bones to drop through the web and vanish into the waves below.

Iolaus choked back a yell of terror, feeling it close his throat tight as he yanked frantically at the web.

The spider paused and hissed, bobbing up and down on the web in excitement. Its claws flexed on the strands, feeling the vibration of the prey, experimenting with how tightly he was held. Satisfied, it tensed and crouched a little.

Iolaus froze, holding his breath in fear as he stared at the spider.

Maybe if he didn't move…

Or breathe…

Or blink…

Or think….

Maybe it wouldn't jump.

Maybe it would get bored and go away.

Maybe…

The spider jumped, landing astride the trapped hunter. So close that the chitin of its legs brushed his face.

Iolaus screamed, the cry escaping him despite all his good intentions to hold silent. He gulped it down, choking himself into silence as a single sob of mindless fear escaped him and he struggled desperately to tear free.

The spider ignored him, examining the web that held him with quick precise touches of its claws. At the same time, it started to spin more web, slathering the fresh strands over his face, legs and body. Its touch was dainty as it held him, spinning the cocoon around the young man, trapping his arms against his body without ever removing him from the web.

Unable to move, with the warm wet web filling his nose, eyes and ears, Iolaus was plunged into a muffled world of increasing darkness. The pressure of the tightening web crushed his ribs and stomach. Webbing gagged him, unable to stick to his tongue but choking him so that each breath became a desperate struggle to draw breath. There was no point in fighting any more; all he could do was hold still and concentrate on breathing. He could feel the tapping of the spider's claws, testing the silken shroud for security, plucking at the strands like some insane harpist. It seemed to be nuzzling him, its mandibles nipping at the strands across his chest until they were smoothed to its satisfaction.

Then it bit him.

Iolaus was both expecting it and not, half-fearing abandonment as the latest addition to the spider's living larder, half dreading that he would not be merely cocooned but eaten alive. He didn't expect the sheer pain as the powerful jaws bit through the silk and sank into him, popping through his skin like biting into a plum. He screamed instinctively in agony, inadvertently inhaling more of them web. As the jaws sank deep into his side, he felt something probe into him, snake like and sickeningly warm. After a moment a strange suctioning sensation began. It was acutely painful at first, then gradually the fire of the bite faded and the darkness crept closer. Distantly he sensed that the spider was going to drain him dry, but although some part of him knew it was wrong, he no longer cared as a delicious, warmth and lassitude slipped through him. A giggle of fearful madness slithered up on the edges of his consciousness before he slipped over the edge into unconsciousness.

* * *

In the torchlight, Hercules studied the grey green strands he had dragged in a tangled mess from the wall. If it hadn't been for the faint shimmer of light that sparked through them as he brushed accidentally against the rock he would never have seen them at all. He was glad he had. Destroying them would create a blind spot in the spider's web if he was lucky. If he wasn't, it would merely attract the creature's attention.

He hoisted his torch higher and peered warily down the corridor, half wishing he had accepted Polydeceus' offer to come with him. Climbing the all but vertical cliff hadn't been easy even for him however and he didn't think Polydeceus would have been able to keep up with him. The man was a marvellous warrior, but he wasn't much of a climber.

Taking firmer grip on the torch, Hercules moved closer to the wall. The webbing shimmered with light and he felt a strange prickling sensation run across his skin, urging him to touch it. He was aware that power lay in the strands, responding to his presence as a flower turns to the sun. It knew him, wanted him to touch it…

The demi-god took a deep breath and touched the flames to the strands, then leaped back with a yelp as the webbing exploded in a blaze of emerald flames, running up and down the wall in a rush of liquid light.

It wasn't quite what he had meant to happen, but as the flames shot off down the tunnel, brilliantly illuminating the way in a blaze of magical light, he took off at a run to follow it. Sooner or later, he guessed, the fire would lead him to the centre of the labyrinth where the Chaos Spider lay in wait in its lair….

* * *

It was all he could see. The strands that bound his face glued his eyelashes down tight and he longed to be able to rub them free. His muscles ached with the strain of tensing against the web and it took a physical effort to stop himself and lie still, conserving his energy.

Silence was all around him, the rush of his own blood in his ears sounding like the far off sigh of the sea. The beating of his own pulse threatened to drown him in its rhythm.

He couldn't move. His arms and legs were completely trapped by the strands wrapped around him. The webbing was tightening as it dried, holding him immobile and helpless in the spider's web. As it constricted around him, it got harder to breathe. And the harder it was to breathe, the more he yearned to gulp down more air.

He couldn't feel anything except the web, slick now as it cooled and dried. His skin seemed to be going numb under its touch. He had been able to feel vibrations in web itself, feel the touch of the spider's claws as it spun its silken shroud around him, but now there was nothing. No movement. No vibration. Nothing….

The only sensations came from within himself. The pounding beat of his pulse. The faint rush of his breathing. He couldn't even feel his tongue…

He clutched at straws, shards of memories, of pleasure…

Enough! There was only the here and now.

He had to stop thinking about it. Stop thinking at all. Turn inwards, listen to the sound of his own blood pulse….

His side was starting to hurt again, burning painfully as whatever the spider had done to him slowly wore off…

No doubt when it came back it would return to him to feed…

Alone in the darkness, Iolaus started to scream silently inside his own head and once he started, he couldn't stop….

* * *

Hercules could feel an ache building up inside him, a frustrated need to scream and lash out. He was running as fast as he could, pounding along the darkened corridor with his torch streaming flame in a banner of golden light behind him. He had overtaken the burning sensory strands, aware of the green glow of their flames casting eerie shadows ahead of him.

He was close to Iolaus, he knew he was, could feel it as the Chaos energy around him heightened his senses. It was almost as if he could touch his presence in the darkness, feel his terror, sense the panic stricken pounding of his pulse….

Rounding the corner into a large cavern, Hercules had one split second to register there was something lurking in the shadows above him, then he slammed straight into a sticky morass of webbing that dropped from the ceiling and smothered his face and shoulders in a damp clinging mass. With a yell of panic he dropped both sword and torch and lashed out wildly as he felt himself being bodily hoisted off the floor, squirming to free himself of the slick strands that clung to his skin. A moment later the flash of green fire caught up and swept through the net, charring it instantly. Hercules dropped from its silken trap and landed in an ungainly heap on the rocky floor.

Panting for breath, Hercules dragged his arms and legs under him, frantically untangling himself from the rope that had uncurled and entangled his body.

The shadows moved and bunched overhead.

Terrified by what he sensed, Hercules dropped the rope and dived forward, shoulder rolling away from the menace as the Chaos Spider dropped from the roof.

It hissed in disgust as it missed its target, twisting its round head around to study him from its glistening emerald eyes. Its pincer like jaws opened and closed thoughtfully.

Moving slowly in the hopes of not provoking it any further, Hercules climbed warily to his feet and looked around him. He could hear the sound of the sea echoing up from below, the rhythmic surge and suck of waves sending the tiniest of vibrations through the rock. A ridge of rock thrust up to mar the floor, cracking and splintering it as if a Titan had stamped its foot in rage and broken it. A grey green glow was glimmering up from beyond the rocky crest and Hercules could half see, half sense the sensory strands pouring over its edge. The strands were every where in the cave, clinging to the pure white stalactites adorning the ceiling and shimmering with green lustre around the walls. The fire Hercules had started was still burning, but slower now, creeping along the strands as if unwilling to be noticed by the maker of the web. The eventual target of all the strands and therefore the fire too seemed to be the centre of the cave and whatever lay on the other side of the rock ridge. He needed to get over there to see what was going on.

As he took an instinctive step towards the edge, the spider made an odd chittering hiss and bounced towards him on its toes, lifting its front legs in menace as it parted its mandibles.

Hercules retreated warily, in no mood to take any chances. He wasn't sure how intelligent this creature might be and right then he didn't care. If it jumped him, then it got squished.

Firmly crushing the stray thought, Hercules looked round for his weapons. The Spider was between him and his sword and torch. The rope lay where he had dropped it, writhing across the ground like a thin snake and curling amongst the spider's long legs. That held possibilities…

Hercules crept closer in a hunched over crouch, edging towards the rope. With a final quick dash, he grabbed it and jerked, hoping to entangle the arachnid and ensnare it.

The spider leaped elegantly into the air, avoiding the rope as it writhed past its legs with a crack. Hercules promptly dropped the rope again with a curse of frustration; glaring at the creature and rethinking his hastily formed strategy. He should have realised it would be aware of the dangers of being entangled. After all what was a cobweb, but a glorified rope?

Moving stealthily, he sneaked around it, hoping to get closer to his weapons.

The spider seemed to be dancing as it turned, keeping him in view as he sidled around it. As it moved, the light of the torch caught its face and Hercules froze, staring at the bright splash of blood glistening garishly on the fur around its jaws.

Iolaus' blood…He knew it, sensed, felt it…

A moan started to tear its way out of him. The pitter-patter of claws on stone, like rain on the sea. He had been here before, in his nightmare…

The spider sprang; seizing its moment as Hercules was distracted to jump him.

At the very last second, Hercules dropped flat and the spider sailed over him. Landing on the wall behind him, it twisted its head to glare after him as he ran for his weapons. Then it jumped again and this time it hit its target.

Hercules yelped instinctively as the creature slammed into his back, flattening him face first to the rock and splitting his chin with the impact. Its weight held him down as its clawed toes scrabbled for purchase on his body, crouching to bring its mandibles into play on his throat.

Driving his elbow back into the snapping jaws, Hercules felt the skin on his biceps rip on sharp chitin but the spider reared back from the impact, startled by the blow. Seizing his chance, the demi-god arched under its weight, further disrupting its balance as he flung himself sideways against the thin bony legs. They gave way and the spider scrabbled sideways, struggling to right itself. Grabbing for a leg, Hercules twisted and wrenched as savagely as he could and was rewarded with a cracking noise. The spider screeched and jumped, hopping away from him with one leg dangling uselessly. Panting for breath, Hercules scrambled upright, feeling safer on his feet.

The spider was crouching against the wall, front legs raised in menace and the wounded leg kept safe against the rock.

"Not so happy now it's your turn, are you?" Hercules mocked as he eased past it towards his weapons again.

The spider twitched, bunching its long legs under it in preparation for another jump.

The demi-god broke into a run and dived the rest of the way as the arachnid sprang at him; sliding across the rock to grab his weapons as the spider landed. It had calculated its jump with precision, landing beside the torch to block him from reaching it even as he slid across the ground. Hercules settled for snatching up the sword and rolling, slashing backhanded at the spider as it attempted to ensnare him with a jet of sticky webbing. The blade connected with its belly, slicing through emerald fur and drawing a spurt of fiery green gore. The rising wail that escaped the spider made the hairs stand up on the back of Hercules' neck as he scrambled backwards on his hands and knees to get out of reach.

The Spider scuttled towards him abruptly making a vicious lunging move at him that Hercules dodged to escape and ran straight into a skilfully cast web that glued his arms to his sides.