One Wild Ride
Part 20
Xena went almost a mile down the corridor, following thefaintest of tracks in the rock until the signs washed out as a race of watercrossed the path. She stood there in the middle of the narrow space, staringoff into the darkness and listening with everything she had for any signs shewas closing in on the hooters and Gran.
Nothing but the sound of water flowing came back toher. She thrust her hand behindher, with it’s torch fluttering and shaded her eyes, focusing
The shadows flickered mockingly at her.
All her instincts were driving her forward, and every stepshe took in reverse was an almost incalculable effort. Only the knowledge that people back there werecounting on her for protection allowed the retreat at all, and Xena spent mostof the time whacking herself in the back of the head for letting it happen inthe first place.
How could she have been that oblivious?
Xena herself made no sound, though she herself could clearlyhear her own teeth grinding. Itwas difficult to say what had hurt more, Ares laughing at her, or the look inGabrielle’s eyes when she’d come bolting back around the corner, findingGranella gone.
Her only consolation was that Pony had been even moremortified than she had, since the Amazon had been inside the cave without adoubt when the kidnapping had taken place. Xena had been outside, but then…
Well, she’d been outside, lazing around in Gabrielle’s lap.It just didn’t get any worse than that as far as she was concerned, with thepossible exception being the fact that it wasn’t Gabrielle who’d been taken.
That…
Xena blanked her mind and walked a few minutes in silence,her eyes picking up the faint suggestion of light as she headed for thecavern. Okay.
No more, let’s wait to see what happens.
Sure, she’d gone along with Gabrielle’s insistence that theyprotect the big animals. She’d liked them, after a fashion and what the bardhas said was true, since they’d shown the hooters fire. So she’d agreed to
Now, with Ares, and the possibility his sword was in theirhands, and Gran gone…
Xena paused by the pool Gran had been taken from, and satdown on a rock, pondering the reflections on the water’s dark surface.
She hated failure, any failure, but especially personalfailure and letting one of her friends, one of her family be taken from underher nose was about as profound a failure as she could think of off the top ofher head.
She exhaled, acknowledging the smack at her pride, and theembarrassment of it all.
There was a gentle scuff of leather on rock, not far off.Xena reluctantly lifted her eyes from her own reflection and found Gabrielle’sdim outline leaning against therock wall nearby. “I’m not in a good mood.”
Gabrielle pushed off from the wall and approached her,seating herself on a boulder almost knee to knee with her partner. “Me either.”
Xena set the torch into a crack in the rock and dipped herhand into the water, bringing it to her lips and taking a drink from it.
“Okay.” Gabrielle responded. “So, what do we do?”
Even though she expected the question, it made her headstart pounding. Xena rubbed theback of her neck with her damp fingers as she studied the ground between herboots, thinking about how few their options were, and how badly she’d let everyonedown.
The warmth of Gabrielle’s hand on her knee was almostshocking. Xena wrinkled her nose and glanced at her partner’s face, finding awry sympathy waiting there for her. “Gabrielle, I don’t think I should bemaking the plans here.”
“Xena.” The bard squeezed her knee. “Save the guilt routinefor someone else, okay? Of course you have to make the plans… you think eitherme or Pony know what to do?”
“Pony probably does.” Xena said. “I just feel like such anidiot.”
“Why?”
Xena focused on her face, with sudden intentness. “Why?” Sherepeated, her tone rising.
Gabrielle merely looked at her.
After a moment, the warrior’s eyes dropped, and she sighed.“We’ll have to go after them.” She said. “I’d rather go on the outside, but I’mnot sure where that passage ends, and I’m afraid we’ll miss em.”
The bard nodded. “So.. what do we do with Ares?”
Xena was silent for a few breaths. “What do you want to dowith Ares?” She countered. “Leave him here?”
Gabrielle hiked one knee up and rested her elbow on it. “We should.” She said. “He’sleft us in enough bad places before.”
Xena pondered that without answering.
“Except of course I can’t do that.”
The warrior chuckled faintly under her breath. “Neithercould I.” She admitted. “Especially since it was me that gutted him.”
“That’s why I can’t do that.” Gabrielle said.
Xena sighed again, and stood up, reaching over to get hertorch. “C’mon.” She waited for Gabrielle to get up and walk in front of her.“Let’s go play hero.” She put her hand on the bard’s back, feeling the bone andmuscle shift as she started to move.
She left her hand there, and Gabrielle leaned back into thetouch, as they both walked along the rock passage towards the light of thecavern. As she walked, she mulledover Gabrielle’s words, sensing a strain in them she hadn’t heard for a longwhile.
Her partner was no longer the bright optimist she’d beenwhen they’d met. Xena accepted that, and even accepted the fact that it was partly her own maturing thataccounted for some of it, and not all the terrible things the’y been throughtogether.
But even through all that, Gabrielle had managed to keepsome core of herself generally positive, seldom falling into the moraldepressions that often plagued her soulmate though she was more prone to boutsof self doubt.
Negativity wasn’t in her nature, and so – hearing tinges ofthat in her speech bothered Xena and made her more than a little anxious.
“Yeah?” Gabrielle paused as they were about to enter thecavern, her eyes straying to the skeleton, then back to Xena’s face.
What to say? “I’m sorry.”
Gabrielle tilted her head a little, a puzzled expression onher face. “For what?” She moved instinctively closer, reaching out to touchXena’s stomach with both hands.
“For not knowing everything.” Xena leaned forward and gently kissed her partner on thelips. “Even if I am Xena and I’m supposed to.”
Gabrielle’s expression shifted into a smile, her eyeslighting from within at the, apparently, well chosen words. “That’s okay.” Shewhispered. “I’ll kiss your behind anyway later.” She bumped Xena lightly with her head, and then turned andcontinued around the corner, her hand wrapped firmly around her partner’s.
Her reputation certainly didn’t need everyone seeing herholding hands with her soulmate, but Xena merely shifted her sword to her othershoulder and followed Gabrielle into the light, finding a tense Pony and a onceagain unconscious god of war waiting for them.
“Well?” Pony asked, as she spotted them.
Xena took a breath to start yelling, then released it as herfingers were squeezed firmly before being let go. She brushed past Pony instead, and went over to where Areswas lying, kneeling down next to him and checking the wound she’d sewn shut.
“Pony.” Gabrielle caught the weapons master by the arm.“Please don’t yell at Xena.”
Pony glowered at her.
“That’s my job.” The bard continued. “Because I love her,and I can do it without getting my butt kicked.” She paused. “Get my point?”
“Yeah sure.” Pony told her. “Now can we get going afterGran? We’re just wasting time here!”
“Pony.” The bard’s voice dropped in both timbre and volume.
“Well, damn it! We are!” The frustration was very evident inEponin’s voice. “Shoulda gone with her the last time! Now we’ve got candlemarksold trail to follow, and they coulda already done the gods know what with her!”
“Hey, listen..”
“I’m done listening!” Pony tried to shove past Gabrielle,but the bard grabbed her and hauled her back. “Let me the Hades go, damn it!”
“Pony!” Gabrielle tightened her hold, aware in her peripheralvision of Xena’s profound stillness, feeling the prickle of dark energy flowthrough their link as the warrior’s temper rose. “Don’t be a jerk! You can’tjust go charging down there alone!”
“She did!” Pony yelled back. “I”d a kept going! Not comeskulking back here like a..” Shepaused, as Gabrielle’s expression altered, and her eyes narrowed. “Oh give me abreak! You’re not gonna pull that Queen when it’s convenient for you act outare you!”
For a moment, Gabrielle almost did what her inner temper wasurging her to do. Then she released Pony and stepped back. “Go ahead.” She toldher briefly. “Do whatever you want. Go get your self killed.”
Pony stood in shocked stillness for a moment, then shestarted forward, only to stop again when Xena rose and turned in one gracefulmotion, putting herself between Gabrielle and the oncoming Amazon.
“One more step, one more word to her, and I’ll break you inhalf.” Xena said, after a heartbeat of quiet.
Pony opened her mouth to answer, then paused, seeingsomething in the cold, blue eyes facing her that made her take a step backinstead. She lifted both hands up, palms out. “Gran’s in the hands of thosebastards! You forgetting that?”
“No.” Xena replied. “But all of us running headlong into thetrap they’ve set at the end of that road isn’t going to do a damn thing forher, now is it?” She continued in a low, flat tone. “So since we’ve got time towaste here, apparently, and you just challenged Gabrielle’s authority, youwanna get that cleared up?”
She took a step towards Pony, hands flexing.
Pony took another step backwards. “Lay off, Xena.” Shewarned. “This aint’ about you, or her. It’s about Gran.”
“That’s right.” The warrior continued to advance. “It’sabout Granella, who needs help, not half assed mindless action.”
“So why are we sitting here?” Pony shot right back. “Let’sgo help her!” She pointed behindXena. “Or is that god of yours more important than she is to you?”
“Xe?” Gabrielle’s voice cut through the tension. “C’mere.”
Without a word, the warrior turned and went back to whereGabrielle was kneeling, crouching down next to her as she saw Ares start tostir. She gave her soulmate alook, to find it returned by one equally somber, and fully as troubled. “Damn.”
Gabrielle patted her knee. “Tag, I’m it.” She whispered,getting up and facing Pony. “Welcome to the world of the greater good.” She told the Amazon. “Let mego over the ground rules with you.”
“What?”
**
“Keep still.” Xena knocked Ares hands aside as she worked onchanging the blood soaked bandage around his ribs.
“Ow!’ The god growled at her. “Happy now? Know you’ve been wanting to do that for a longtime.”
The warrior glanced at him. “Shut up.” She advised. “If I’dreally wanted to stick you, Ares, you’d be dead, not pissing me off.”
“Nice!” Ares rasped. “Bitch.”
Xena ignored him, and continued her work, cleaning the long,deep gash. “How’d it happen?” She asked.
“This?” Ares sounded incredulous. “You’ve lost it, babe. Yougutted me like a fish. Forget already?”
“How.” The warrior enunciated clearly. “Did you turn mortalthis time.” She replaced the bandages. “They finally get tired of you up onOlympus? Do one stupid thing too many and piss daddy off? What?”
Ares didn’t answer. He turned his head and casually lookedaround the cavern. “Where’s your girlfriends.. ow!”
“Sorry.” Xena finished tying the bandages in place.
The god looked around again. “So.. they’re out.. doing..?”
“What I told them to do.”
Ares attention fastened on her at that. “Those hairybastards have my sword, Xena.” He lowered his voice. “That’s not good.”
The warrior nodded. “I figured they did.” She replied. “Thatwhy you’re mortal?”
Ares looked around again. “As if.” He snorted. “You know whyI’m mortal, Xena? Let me tell you why I’m mortal, cause you’re gonna love thisone.”
Xena rolled her eyes.
“It’s all for you, baby.” The god managed a wan smirk.“There I was, hanging out in my pad upstairs, watching you babes get your asseskicked by those monkeys, laughing my butt off.”
“Nice.”
“Yeah, yeah.. well, so then Dite comes in, pets the dog,pets the dog’s other head, sits down, wants me to be ‘nice’” Ares grimaced, onehand going to his chest. “Damn you, Xena!” He glared up at the warrior.“Enjoying this?”
Cool, unemotional blue eyes met his. “All the times I hurtbecause of you.. yeah. I am.”
Ares gazed warily at her. “Thought we had all that.. “ Hemade a face. “whiny stuff worked out between us, Xena. Don’t backtrack on menow.”
Xena looked away, then back at him. “So what happened?”
The god of war winced, then relaxed a little, as an apparentspasm of pain faded. “My loving sister convinced me that maybe if I was..“nice’” His lip curled. “For a change, maybe I could get somewhere with you.”
“Tell your sister to stop sniffing the ambrosia.”
“Yeah, well, I shoulda.” Ares released a disgustedsigh. “But you know, she’s beenright.. like once before so I decided to pop down here, and being my usualmagnanimous self, get you all out with a snap.”
Xena stared at him. “I don’t believe a word of that.”
Ares rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” He tried to move, thenreconsidered and stayed still. “Next thing I knew, I was in some cave, no snap,and it was monkeysville all over.”
The warrior’s brow creased. “You mean to tell me just beinghere made you mortal?”
The god shrugged. “I’m here. I’m mortal. It sucks. Nexttopic?”
Xena got up, walking over to her carrybag
Ares regarded the skin distastefully. “What is that?” Hesniffed at it. “Ugh! No thanks.” He settled back down. “I’m sure you girls won’t mind if I stay aunatural?” A smirk appeared on his face. “You should be ready for some different scenery anyway.”
Xena leaned against the rock ledge and eyed him. “Suityourself.” She shrugged. “But if you’re gonna let it all hang out and Gabriellegets in the mood for some target practice, don’t come whining to me.”
Ares folded his hands gingerly over his stomach. “Ah ah ah..I’m not going anywhere.” He shook his head. “Not until you fix this hole,babycakes. So get over here and take care of me.”
Xena put her hands on her hips. “Quarter candlemark.” Sherepeated. “We’re leaving. You want to stay here by yourself, have at it.” Sheturned and headed for the opening to the cavern, wanting suddenly to be inGabrielle’s presence and out from under that mocking gaze.
“You wouldn’t do that to me, Xena.”
Xena looked over her shoulders, and managed a vicious smile.“Try me.” She disappeared into thesunlight, leaving Ares behind.
He watched the open space briefly, then he looked around andthen lifted his hand to examine the catskin again. Gingerly, he sniffed it.“Ugh.”
**
Gabrielle searched through the trees moving sideways up thejagged cliff, her eyes looking for something the pine trees just weren’t givingher. Pony was climbing doggedly behind her, but neither of them had spoken fora good half candlemark.
Nothing really much else to say, was there? Gabriellefinally spotted what she was looking for and ducked under some low hangingbranches to come up against a different kind of tree, one with long, slenderupright limbs. “Ah.”
Pony came up next to her. “What’s that for?”
“Well.” Gabrielle removed Xena’s stone ax from her belt andstudied the branches, selecting a spot on one and starting to hack at it.“Xena’s going to make Ares come with us.”
“Why?”
The bard looked at her.
“I don’t get that whole greater good thing.” Pony shrugged.“It’s all just bs to me.”
Gabrielle went back to her hacking. “Then why don’t you justgo collect rocks or something and let me do what I need to do.” She carefullycut around in a circle, the scent of the fresh, green wood making her nosewrinkle.
“Cause I’m hoping somethin’ll start making sense sometime.”
Gabrielle finished cutting the branch. She tucked the stoneax back into her belt and wrapped her hands around the limb, twisting itquickly with a powerful jerk. The limb came free from the tree and she backedaway from it, taking the limb over to the nearest rock and laying the top endof it down.
“So why’s he coming with us?” Pony asked again. “I’d justleave him here.”
The bard removed the ax again and started trimming the topof the branch. “Because he needs to get out of here.” She said, with a smallsigh. “I wouldn’t leave my worst enemy in this place, and believe it or not,he’s not it.”
Pony snorted, and shook her head.
Gabrielle continued her task, feeling the sun warm her back.“Look at it this way, Pony. If we get Ares out of here, he’ll owe us a favor.”She finished trimming the branch. “You never want to turn one of those down.Believe me, they do come in handy sometimes.”
“I don’t’ care about him.” The Amazon stated succinctly. “Icare about Gran, and I just get the feeling you don’t.”
“Pony.” Gabrielle took a careful breath, feeling her owntemper rise, flushing her skin with warmth. “We’ve been through that.”
“Well, y’know..”
The bard picked up the newly shorn branch and simply walkedoff, leaving Eponin there talking to herself. She figured it probably wasbetter for her to do that, than do what her instincts were urging her to do, aprickly tendency to violence that surprised and somewhat upset her.
That constant feeling of irritation, it reminded her ofsomething. Gabrielle’s ears picked up Pony following her, but she set thataside for a moment and concentrated on the sensation instead.
Was it like when they’d fought, the last time? Her browcreased. No, she remembered that mostly as being a time of a long descent intoan utter darkness of her soul, a time of tears, not of cursing.
Ah. “Duh.” Gabrielle stopped in the middle of the path andsmacked herself in the head with one hand. “Of course.. now it makes sense.”
“What?” Pony had come up behind her. “What was that for?”
The bard turned to gaze at her. “Better me than you?” Shecommented pointedly. “Listen, we need to find any food we can carry. None of usknows how long that tunnel is, or what we’ll find when we get to the otherend.”
“And?”
Despite her private revelation, Gabrielle couldn’t preventher body from reacting as she came up over her center of gravity and the newlycut stick found it’s way into both her hands, her fingers sliding down therough bark. “And you’re going to make me prove a point of Xena’s I particularlyhate, aren’t you?”
“I don’t want you to prove nothing!” Pony shot back. “I’mjust real tired of having to take orders from people who are half nuts anddon’t know what the Hades is going on!”
“Pony, what the Hades do you want from me?” Gabrielle’svoice lifted in anger. “I’m not the one who took her, and I’m not the one whowas in the cave sleeping when it happened!”
Pony advanced on her, anger now visible in her face. “Nowyou listen, I’m not gonna take that, I’m not the one to blame for this, youhear? It’s not my fault! You take that…”
She caught motion from the corner of her eye and tried toswing around to meet it, but Xena’s hand caught her on the neck before shecould move. ‘Hey!” The word was cut off as the warrior’s fingers jabbed, andPony dropped to the ground, her body twitching.
“Xena!” Gabrielle inhaled in shock.
The warrior stepped neatly around the Amazons paralyzed bodyand crouched next to her. She rested her hands on her knees and regarded Pony’sjerking head. “I’ve cut off the flow of blood to your brain.” She said, after abrief silence. “You have thirty seconds to live.”
“Xena.” Gabrielle dropped the branch and took hold of herpartner’s shoulders.
Pony’s eyes widened in shock and real fear.
“Now, I’m not gonna let you die, mostly because it wouldpiss off Gabrielle and because I like Ephiny.” The warrior continued. “But sohelp me, Eponin, if you don’t get your head out of your ass and cut the crapout, I’ll cut your tongue out of your head. You understand me?”
“Grk.”
Xena hand moved casually down and released the block.
Eponin drew in a ragged, huge breath and half rolled ontoher side. “You…”
“Save it.” The warrior cut her off. “Whatever it is, I’vebeen called it before and I’m not impressed.”
“Xe.” Gabrielle leaned against the warrior’s back. “Listen..I think I figured out what’s going on.”
Xena straightened in reflex. “Have you?”
The bard leaned closer and lowered her voice.
Xena peered over her shoulder at her partner. After amoment, she issued a half laugh, and nodded a tiny bit. “Damn, shouldarealized.”
“What the Hades..” Pony rasped. “Have you gone nuts?”
Gabrielle knelt down next to her, and reached out, putting ahand on her shoulder. “It’s… when theres no God of War.. it affects people.Makes them angry.”
“Violent.” Xena agreed. Then she paused, and cocked her headto one side. “More violent than usual in some cases.”
Pony stared at them.
“I’d forgotten.. what it was like last time.” Gabriellecontinued, in a gentler voice. “So much has happened to me since then, it tooka while to dredge it up.”
Xena’s eyes shifted and she looked off into the distance,then she looked back at Pony. “You got off lucky.” She told her. “Last timeGabrielle beat up an entire tavern.”
“I did not.”
“Yes you did.” Xena contradicted her.
Gabrielle made a face. “I’m not entirely sure that wasn’tbecause I was just so pissed off you were in Callisto’s body.”
Pony’s jaw dropped. “What?”
“Let’s save it till later.” Xena said. “We’ve got to get outof here. I’ve got some nuts I found.. grab everything we can and fill all thewaterskins and we’ll get moving.” She stood up and dusted her hands off, then, after a long pause, sheextended one down to Pony.
Pony stared at her. After a few empty seconds, Xena let herhand drop and walked away, shaking her head.
“C’mon.” Gabrielle offered her own hand instead. “Fightingwith each other gets us nowhere. We’ve got too much to do.”
Slowly, Pony reached up and took her hand, and let the bardpull her up to her feet. She gazed warily at the bard. “My freaking headhurts.”
“I know, mine too.” Gabrielle picked up the limb and gesturedto the path. “But that’s why we have to get Ares out of here. It’s more thanjust us, Pony. We’ll go after Gran, but this thing’s gotten bigger than weare.”
Pony walked alongside her. “So.. that’s the whole greatergood thing?” She asked. “Because everyone else gets all freaked out?”
“Something like that, yes.”
They walked up towards the cavern, following Xena’s solitaryform.
“You really beat up a whole tavern?”
Gabrielle rubbed her temple. “Well, I tried.”
Pony walked a few more steps. “Xena was in Callisto’s body?”
The bard merely nodded.
“Never heard that story before.”
Gabrielle glanced at her. “I guess there’re some things Idon’t like to remember, much.”
“Mm.” Pony nodded. “Musta sucked.”
“It did.” The bard answered softly. Then she straightenedher shoulders. “But you know.. believe it or not, Ares made it right at the endof that.” She said. “Because Xe did him a favor.”
“Ooohh.” Pony finally nodded, this time more positively.“Okay.. now.. I’m sorta getting a clue here.”
A clue. Gabrielle allowed herself a moment to remember thatwalk on the beach, that shift from disappointment and half hidden grief to joy,and a sense of possibilities reborn there in a hug betraying both of themunexpectedly.
You never could tell about people, could you?
Pony’s eyes dropped, then after a moment, lifted to meethers again. “Yeah, I know.” She muttered. “I just keep thinking about hersaying that stuff about not wanting to die here.” With a sigh, she eased past Gabrielle and continued walkingafter Xena, leaving the bard to bring up the rear.
“Yeah.” Gabrielle murmured to herself. “I remember that,too.” She followed the two others towards the cavern, her brow creased inthought.
Overhead, the clouds started to move in, a rumble in the fardistance promising bad weather that, at the very least, they’d be out of.
She hoped.
**
The thing about torchlight, Gabrielle had discovered, wasthat it didn’t really provide enough true light to see by without strainingyour eyes.
It was giving her a headache. She rubbed the back of herhand over her face and blinked, as a waft of smoke made her eyes water.
“Waste of time if you ask me!” Ares muttered, his handsgripped around the limb Gabrielle had cut earlier. “You don’t think monkey boysleft anything useful of her, do ya.. hey! Ow!”
“Oh. Sorry.” Gabrielle tucked her staff back along her otherside. “Guess it’s dark in here.”
“You did that on purpose!” The god of war accused.
“No she didn’t” Xena’s voice floated back to them. “I’d besetting bones if she did.”
Gabrielle smothered a grim smile, and kept her eyes on thedimly seen ground, putting her boots down with care on the uneven surface.There was a good deal of racing water underfoot, and the rocks were slippery asthey sloped downwards.
So easy to slide down into the darkness, wasn’t it? “We’llfind her, Ares.” Gabrielle told him. “They won’t kill her.”
Ares laughed, the deep sound echoing softly off the rocks.Then he fell silent as the path grew more uneven, his labored breathingaudible.
He had lost a lot of blood, Gabrielle knew. Xena’s swordthrust had been typically well placed, and only Ares’ height had saved him fromdeath at the warrior’s hands, that and the close quarters that had preventedXena from sweeping around fully.
The fact that he had gotten up and was walking wasunbelievable. The bard had wondered if he was just going to let them go on without them, but with a mocking, insolent expression he’d donned Xena’s discardedcatskin and gone with them, only accepting Gabrielle’s present of a walkingstick grudgingly.
In public, anyway. Gabrielle could see he’d have been flaton his face without it by now. But she hadn’t gotten a thank you for it either.
Pony was up with Xena, finding the best route for them. Shewasn’t sure exactly what to make of that, whether they didn’t think anythingwould come up behind them, or that they felt she and the injured god of warcould handle whatever did.
Gabrielle glanced at the struggling man next to her. Well,that she could handle it, since she doubted Ares would be much help.
“Gabrielle?”
The bard looked up, to see Xena’s figure dimly outlinedahead of them. “Here.”
“Careful.” Xenapointed down. “Crack here, under the water.”
“Gotcha.” Gabrielle eased closer to Ares and put a hand on his elbow. “Watch outthere.”
“Get your mitts off me, you punk.” Ares growled at her.
Gabrielle didn’t let go. “Y’know, Ares… you gotta rememberthe effect your not having your sword has on people. It makes them reallycrabby.” She guided them both over the gouge in the rocks. “Crabby people getdangerous.”
“Oh, I’m scared.” Ares rolled his eyes. “Listen, sweetpea,even mortal I can squash you flat as a drunk sailor.”
The bard gently cleared her throat. “I wasn’t referring tome.” She took a firmer hold on him as the ground sloped more steeply, and shefelt the strain in her thighs. “Though, I’m really not a total creampuffanymore.”
Ares accepted her help as they inched down the rocky slope,heading for a more level area where Xena and Pony were waiting for them.“Yeah.” He commented suddenly. “You’ve given me a thrill or three the lastcouple’la years.”
Gabrielle looked over at him, unsure of exactly what hemeant, then as he met her eyes and smirked, she decided she really didn’t wantto know.
They joined the other two, and came to a halt. “Now what?”Gabrielle asked, as she watched the shadows chasing over her partner’s face.“Is this as far as you went before, Xe?”
The warrior nodded. “Problem.” She lifted her torch and tooka step forward, exposing the passageway beyond. The sound of water had gottenmuch louder, and as they looked past Xena’s tall form, they could see why.
The passage was cover in it, a fast, racing stream thatemerged from a crack in the mountain and surged rapidly downhill. “Gottendeeper.” Xena commented, sparing Ares a brief look as he hobbled up next to her.“Not going to be a picnic.”
Ares cocked his dark head, seeming a trifle puzzled. “Whendid this happen?” He asked. “Lemme tell ya, beautiful, I didn’t swim up for thepriviledge of getting gored by you.” He clutched his walking stick and peeredpast the warrior.
“You sure?” Xena asked him.
Ares merely looked at her.
“Just asking.” The warrior shrugged. “Gabrielle, let me useyour staff a minute.” She took the weapon from the bard, handed her the torchin return and walked forward into the stream, cautiously probing ahead of herwith it’s tip. As she got up to her knees in the water, the staff dipped infront of her, and disappeared to half it’s length.
Xena stopped, and prodded further, then took another fewsteps, pausing when the water was up to her hips. “Think that’s about as highas it’s gonna go.”
Gabrielle could see the force of the water pushing againsther partner, the flow so powerful it was making Xena sway as she stood in it.Knowing how strong Xena was, Gabrielle had serious doubts she’d make out aswell.
“Damn.” Pony exhaled. “Every damn thing’s working againstus.” She looked up at the dark ceiling. “Probalby that rain we heard comingon.”
Gabrielle recalled the thunder, and nodded. “Probably.”
Leaning on the staff, the warrior paused before she turnedher head, squinting a little into the torchlight. “Careful.” She released onehand off the staff and extended it towards Gabrielle. “There’s a d.. yeah.”
Gabrielle winced as her boot slipped off the rock andplunged into a hole, jarring her entire body. “Ah.” She looked around. “Pony,can you grab this, please?”
Pony stolidly waded in, and took the torch in her free hand,having a matching one in her other. She surveyed the path, giving Xena ansideways look. “That why you stopped, huh?”
Xena ignored the question, pushing back against the currentas she went to Gabrielle’s side, handing her the staff as she got around behind her and circled her waistwith both arms. “Don’t worry, I gotcha.”
“Xena.” The bard cleared her throat delicately. “It’s notthat dangerous.” She muttered.
“So, you want me to let you go?” The warrior murmured back,into her ear.
“Didn’t say that.”
“Okay.” Xena hauled her partner out of the crack in therock, and backed them both out of the water. “We can make it through that, but we’ll have to sticktogether.”
“You can stick to me anytime you like, babe.” Ares had founda ledge, and was leaning on it, his hands clasped around the walking stick.“But I’m not going into the splash. I don’t do wrinkled tootsies.”
A small, awkward silence fell, as everyone looked at Xena.The warrior shrugged. “Good. That improves our chances.” She tightened thestraps holding her carrysack onto her back. “Gabrielle, you go first. Pony andI’ll lock arms and go behind you.”
“Right.” The bard stood up from where she’d been tighteningthe laces on her boot and took a firm grip on her staff. “Bye, Ares. Goodluck.” She squared her shouldersand got ready to re-enter the water, feeling the comforting grip of Xena’sfingers on her shoulder.
“Leave him one torch.” Xena directed Pony. “You hold theother one.”
Pony hesitated, then she turned and trudged over to Ares,holding out one hand with a torch in it. “Here.”
Ares merely looked at her, one eyebrow lifting.
Pony stared back at him. Then she turned her head and looked at Xena in question.
“Put it between his legs.” The warrior instructed her.
Pony turned back around. “You sure?”
“Sure.” Xena said. “There’s nothing there that can getdamaged.”
“Oo.” Gabrielle mouthed silently, glad her back was turned.She could well imagine the expression on Ares face, and took some mild pleasurefrom the image.
“You’re cruising, Xena.” Ares warned. “I know you’re notgoing to leave me here.”
Pony found a crack to one side and stuck the torch in it,then she turned and made her way back to where Xena and Gabrielle werewaiting. She joined Xena andshifted the remaining torch to her right hand, putting her left on Gabrielle’sother shoulder. “Ready.”
“Let’s go.” Xena gave the bard a gentle nudge.
“Xena.” Arescalled out.
The warrior paused, as they entered the water. “We’re going,Ares.” She stated. “I’ve got a friend to help. You can come with us, or you canstay here. I don’t really give a damn either way.”
They moved off into the rush of the water, a sturdy tripodlit by the fluttering torch. Xena took hold of Pony’s shoulder with her freehand as they walked into deeper waters, her nostrils flaring as the chillsoaked through her leathers.
“That’s a lie, Xena!”
Pony leaned forward. “Psst.” She hissed at Gabrielle.
“What?” The bard hissed back.
“I thought.. what about all that greater good stuff?”
“Shh.” Gabrielle shushed her. “Remember what I said abouttrusting Xena?”
“Xena!!’ The god of war bellowed. “Get back here!!!”
“Good luck, Ares.” Xena yelled back. “Watch out for thespiders!”
They walked into the roaring water, it’s noise effectivelydrowning out any further sound from behind them. The underground stream wassurging against the rock walls, forming whitecaps as it swirled around halfhidden rocks and breaks in the stone passageway.
All they could see further down was more water, and moredarkness. Xena took a breath, andreleased it. Was this really a good idea?
Or.. was Ares right?
“Getting really strong here, Xe.” Gabrielle warned.
Xena took a firmer hold on the bard’s shoulder and pushedthe doubts aside for now. If she wanted to follow where Granella had beentaken, then they had to risk it.
Didn’t she?
Only her sense of the space around her warned her before apowerful hand gripped her on the shoulder, and stick batted her on the butt.“Ares.”
“Who’d you think, Zeus?” The god of war retorted. “You’regonna pay for that, Xena. Believe me.” He tightened his grip. “I won’t forget.”
And he probably wouldn’t. Xena sighed inwardly. She wouldlikely pay for it, somehow, somewhere, and Gabrielle along with her.
At least she’d gotten a laugh out of it.
The water’s roar got louder, and Xena felt a rock beingpulled along by the force of it slam her in the back of the knees. “Watch outfor.. “
“Ow!”
Xena’s reflexes were just barely enough to catch the torchas Pony nearly went headfirst into the stream, saved by Gabrielle’s quick gripon her.
“Oh yeah, I feel safe.” Ares snorted. “Shoulda brought theFuries with me.. they’d have been more useful than you three.”
“Shoulda aimed higher.” Xena shot back. “It would have savedus a lot of trouble, and we wouldn’t have to be listening to a uselesswindbag.”
Ares stared at her. “Like I said, Xena. I”ll remember this.”
Xena stared right back at him. “Good.”
Gabrielle cleared her throat. “Can we get going, hon? Myknees are freezing.”
The warrior put her hand back on Gabrielle’s shoulder, andgave Pony the torch. “Lead on.” She faced the darkness again as they started to move down the channel.“It’s gotta get better from here, right?”
No one answered.
**
It hadn’t gotten better. Gabrielle had left discomfort in the dust and was nowworking on true misery, the icy cold water chilling her so badly she could nolonger really feel her legs.
Not for the first time in her life with Xena, she wonderedexactly how smart it was for her to travel around wearing little more than whatmost of her village friends thought of as underwraps. Of course, in this case she hadn’t had much choice, but shewas starting to rethink the idea of wearing something sturdier when she was outin the world with her partner.
Right now, she was wishing for her thick double knittedtunic and her lined cloak. Anything to stop the shivering that had taken over herbody, and was giving her painful cramps and a whopper of a headache from herjaws clenching.
With a sigh, she continued on, stolidly poking her staffinto the water and leading them on, conscious of Xena’s and Pony’s handsclasped firmly on her shoulders. Ahead of them, and behind them, was just a bigdark mystery.
It was just darkness, and water, and the flicker of thetorches. Xena was now on the third one, and they’d all stopped talking toconcentrate on saving their strength for moving forward.
Gabrielle felt her staff hit something underwater, and shepaused, probing cautiously. “Hang on.”
“What is it?” Ares voice was a mixture of exasperation andexhaustion. “We don’t have time to fish, blondie…ow!”
“Shut up.” Xena’s tone was definitely several steps intopissed off. “You got somethingthere, Gab?”
A headache. A backache. Frozen feet.
Pony fought her way through the water to the bard’s side,crouching down to put her hand, and then her arm into the rushing stream.“Yeah.” She edged forward, then climbed up onto the rock, now only up to herankles in water, but in a far more powerful surge as it coursed over the highpoint. “Yeah?”
“Let’s just get past it.” Xena said. “Damn things’ got toend sometime.”
Ares snorted. “For all you know, it’s the Styx and it endsup in Hades’ basement” He jibed her.
Pony stepped off the other side, and promptly almostdisappeared into the flow. Xena realized what was happening and dove over therock to grab her by the back of her leathers with one outstretched hand as shelanded hard on her belly.
Gabrielle scrambled around the rock, forgetting about herchilled legs as she fought against the current and thrust her staff underPony’s flailing arms, giving her something to hang onto as Xena hauled herbackwards.
“Crap!” Pony spluttered. “I freaking hate water!” She reeledbackwards and fell onto the rock next to Xena, who still had a grip on her.“Son of a bacchae!”
Ares laughed. Gabrielle whipped her staff around and dug itdeep into the water, jerking it up and swamping the god of war with an icywave. “It’s not funny, you stupid bastard!”
“Hey!” Ares rounded on her, only to pull up short as Xenarolled over and got up into his path, the warrior’s eyes already sparkingdangerously as she reached for her sword. “Oh.. whoa whoa whoa…hold on there,lassie. Put the pigsticker back in the barn.”
“Stay away from her.” Xena warned. “I’m not in the mood,Ares.”
“Bitchy bitchy.” Ares leaned on his walking stick, the waterjust reaching his kneecaps. “Are you ever in the mood, Xena?”
Xena turned her back on him and put her hand on Gabrielle’sshoulder. “You okay?”
For a moment, Gabrielle seriously considered lying. Then shesaw Xena’s expression change and knew it was a lost cause. “I could use a break.”
“Aww… poor baby.” Ares taunted her from behind Xena.
“Why?” Xena moved closer and put her arms around herpartner, immediately feeling the chill of her skin and the shivers runningthrough her body. “Because I love her.” She went on, looking down into thebard’s eyes as all the irritation in her simply drained away.
“Oh give me a break.” Ares went over to the rock and satdown on it, ignoring the layer of water racing over the top as he turned hisback on the direction they were traveling. “Remind me again why I bother withyou?”
He glanced at Pony, who eased away from him, seating herselfon the other side of the impromptu shelf they’d found. The god of war snortedsoftly. “Artemis really has you bunch whipped, doesn’t she?”
The Amazon was now dripping wet, and she stolidly beganwringing the water out of her dark hair. She returned the glance. “Huh?”
“Never mind.” Ares folded one arm over his injury andgrimaced. The bandage covering itwas soaked through with blood and he drew his hand away, studying the reddishstain with a puzzled expression.
“C’mon.” Xena clambered up onto the rock as well, gentlypulling Gabrielle up with her and then enfolding her with her arms again,rubbing her back as the bard leaned gratefully against her.
The close darkness was getting to her, too. Xena closed hereyes and let her cheek rest against Gabrielle’s head, hoping the bard’sshivering would abate.
She could feel the warmth of Gabrielle’s breathing againstthe curve of her breast, and after a few minutes of sullen silence around her,the bard’s tense muscles relaxed, and she felt lips nuzzling the skin she wasleaning against. “Better?”
Gabrielle found herself able to breathe now, without feelinglike she was going to bite her lips from shivering. Xena’s body, though wet,was warm as always and it felt good to be up out of the water for a fewminutes.
“How much longer?” Pony asked, suddenly. “Fore we’re out ofthis damn place?”
Xena stared over Gabrielle’s shoulder into the darkness,narrowing her eyes and hoping foreven a hint of light in the distance. All she could see was pitch black, brokenonly by the faint light of the torch on the frothing white water past the rock.
Didn’t look good.
“It has to end sometime.” Gabrielle commented, projectingher voice around her impromptu hot water bottle. “We’ve come quite a ways,haven’t we Xena?”
Since she had no idea how long the tunnel was, Xena merelygrunted. Then she half turned her head toward Ares. “You’ve been here. How longis it?”
Ares didn’t answer.
“C’mon, Ares. It’s your fault we’ re all pissed off so wh…”Xena turned fully, one hand dropping to steady the god as he wavered, thenslumped against her leg. “Damn it.”
Gabrielle released Xena and ducked around her, grabbing Aresshoulders and easing him down as Xena dropped to one knee next to him. His eyeswere closed, and as she laid him down in the sheeting water, his hands fellaway from his chest covered in blood. “Oh my gosh, Xena.”
Xena got down off the rock, plunging back into water thathad risen in the meantime, and was now up to her mid thigh. She unstrapped andhanded her pack to Gabrielle, leaning against the stone as the water pressurebuilt up behind her. “Stitchesbroke open.”
“He’s lost a lot of blood.” Gabrielle cupped a few handfulsof the coursing water, and washed it over Ares chest, the dark liquid swirlingaway red stained. “Can you restitch that.. gods, Xena.. the skin’s ripped cleanaway.”
Pony half turned and hitched her leg up, leaning on it asshe peered past Gabrielle’s elbow. “Know what?”
“Hm?” Gabrielle glanced at her.
“He’s an ass.” Pony said, bluntly. “We should leave himhere.”
Xena removed her bone needles and a thin string of gut. “Wecan’t.”
Pony rolled her eyes.
“We really can’t.” Gabrielle told her. “Like him or not, hedoes serve a purpose, for all of us.” She turned back to her washing task,catching Xena regarding her from the corner of her eye. “I used to think thesame way.. hey, get rid of war, who needs it, right?”
“I didn’t say that.” Pony said. “Sometimes ya gotta.”
“Exactly.” Xena carefully threaded the needle, then she bentover Ares chest. His breathing seemed labored, and she wondered if the woundwasn’t getting infected. “If he’s not around, there’s no focus for all that ‘yagotta’”
“Here.” Gabirelle got up and retrieved the torch from thecrag she’d thrust it in. She brought it closer to where Xena was working,lifting it up to shed light on Ares chest. “That looks bad, Xe.
“It is.” The warrior replied. “It’s bad enough to kill himif it gets nasty. I don’t have herbs with me.” She studied the wound. “Can’tbelieve he lasted that long with this open like that.”
Gabrielle tilted her head and looked down at the unconsciousgod of war, the pallor of his face evident even in the low light. “Yeah, well.”She murmured. “Didn’t want to look like a weenie in front of us, I guess.”
Xena snorted softly, and shook her head.
“So.. now whatare we gonna do with him?” Pony asked. “I ain’t carrying him.”
Xena patientlysewed the wound back up, after she poured water all in it to clean it out. Theedges were swollen, and sure enough her fingtertips detected the unhealthy heatof infection around both sides. Part of her knew Pony was right, of course. Ares was a big man, and shedoubted all three of them could reasonably carry him and the rest of theirgear, and expect to navigate the water.
So, now what?
“Let Xena worry about that, Pony.” Gabrielle said. “I’m sureshe’s got something in mind.”
Great. Just great. “First things first.” The warrior said.“When I finish this we’ll discuss what happens next.” Damn it, damn it.
Gabrielle’s hand fell on her thigh, giving it a gentle pat.Oh well. Xena sighed silently. She had about fifty stitches to come up with aplan and not look like an idiot.
Plenty of time, wasn’t it?
“Water’s getting higher, Xena.”
Damn it.
**
Xena washed her hands off, carefully cleaning the driedbloodstains from her fingers and watching the water carry the residue away fromher. She gotten Ares wound closedagain, but he hadn’t regained consciousness, and now he’d started to show signsof fever.
Not good. Sheglanced around her, where the water had risen again to cover the rock by overthree hand spans, just barely allowing Ares to lay without being washed off.
She was at a loss, truly. She was almost at that place in her head where she was readyto abandon Ares, despite everything, and get the rest of them out of thecorridor and on to finding Gran.
Almost at that place.
“Xe?” Gabrielle waded over to her, arms full of somethingbulky. “I’ve got an idea.”
Xena shook the water off her hands and turned to face herpartner. “Let’s hear it.” She said, willing to listen to anything at themoment, but not really hoping for much since though she loved Gabrielle dearly,she did tend to come up with some hairbrained schemes sometimes.
“Look.” The bard shifted part of her burden to one arm. “Howabout we take these two sticks, see?”
“Uh huh.” Xenacrossed her arms over her chest. “Two sticks.”
“We put the hide in between them, sort of like a hammock?”
“Hammock?”
“Like this.” Gabrielle juggled the two sticks and the hide,producing nothing immediately recognizable. “You know what I mean.. c’mon,Xena!”
Xena’s brows creased. “Um.. okay.”
Gabrielle gave her a slightly exasperated look. “Are youhumoring me?”
The warrior waved both hands, then gave her some assistancein wrangling the hind. “No no.. not at all. G’wan.”
The bard managed to wrap a bit of the hide around the twosticks. “Then we put Ares in it, and float him behind us. Sort of like a raft,see and ..”
“Oh!”
Gabrielle glanced at her partner. “What?” She answered.“No?”
Xena walked forward, brushed the sticks and the hide out ofthe way, and kissed her partner soundly on the lips. “Love you.” She bumpedforeheads with the bard and took the sticks from her. “Pony, give us a handhere.”
The bard closed her mouth, her teeth hitting with a tiny click.“Bu..”
“Awesome.” Xena turned around and kissed her again. “You’rea genius.”
Pony had been wrapping one of their two remaining torches,and now she reluctantly put the torch into a crevice and sloshed over to them.“You setting up a tent?”
“Need three sticks for that.” Gabrielle said, succinctly.“Let’s get him on here, and get moving. I’m so over this place my skins aboutto wrinkle right off me.” Shelicked her lips, tingling lightly from Xena’s kisses, just like her ego wastingling lightly from the compliments.
Xena and Pony held the sticks while she wrapped the skinaround them, making a litter, which they eased over to where Ares waslying. The idea had come to hersuddenly, as she’d been digging in the pack for some nuts and had to haul thehide up out of her way.
Once she’d thought about it, it all seemed so simple thatshe wondered why Xena hadn’t thought of it first. Gabrielle studied her partnerout of the corner of her eye, noting the deep circles and the visible to herexhaustion. Maybe she was tired.
Gods knew, they all were.
“All right.” Xena slid around to one side. “Gab, grab thatend.”
The bard ducked under her arm. “Got it.”
The warrior got her hands under Ares shoulders. “Grab hislegs. Pony. Lift when I do, and Gab’ll slide that under him.”
The Amazon hesitated, then she wiped her hands on her thighsand gingerly closed her fingers around the god’s ankles. “All right.”
They lifted Ares up just enough for Gabrielle to slide thepallet under him, the water half supporting his weight until he was bracketedby the two sticks. Then they let him down and Xena sloshed around to the frontof the rock, taking hold of the protruding ends of the sticks. “Right.”
Gabrielle tightened their pack, now much lighter without thehide and then started to move up to the front again. “Let’s go, Boo.”
A faint smile flickered on and just as rapidly off Xena’sface. “Stay there.” She indicated the middle of the pallet. “I’ll go in frontnow. Just hang on to the pole.”
Pony waded over against the current and grabbed the torches,then she returned to the back of the pallet. “Guess I go back here.” She handedGabrielle the lit torch, and tied the two spares on her back. “Least we’removing.”
Xena took hold of the two poles and started off,
She hadn’t really wanted to leave Ares, but the knowledgethat Gran was slipping further and further from them, and the dour glares fromPony had been wearing on her unmercifully, making her grudge the carefulstitches, and wish again she had better, or at least more choices.
Gabrielle cleared her throat gently. “Anyone want to hear astory?’
“You ever had anyone say no to that?” Xena slogged ahead,keeping the pallet steady as she moved forward, using her finely honed sense ofbalance to make up for the fact her hands were pretty much tied up behind her.
“Well.” Gabrielle was glad she had the pallet to hang on toas the current became faster as they approached a bend in the corridor. “You, actually.”
“Me?” Xena couldn’t chance turning around, but she edged herbody sideways a little, feeling the ground sloping more deeply as she gotcloser to the turn. “I don’t think so.”
“You did, when I was going to tell that town about you andthat duck and..”
“Gabrrrrieeellle.”
Gabrielle chuckled softly. “I thought it was an adorablestory.”
“You would.”
“Mm.” The bard grimaced as the deepening water hit hermidsection. “Gods, that’s cold.” She sucked in a breath. “How much deeper is itgoing to get, Xe?”
Xena was starting to wonder the same thing. She pausedbefore the bend and cautiously inched her head around the corner, frustratedwhen all she could see was more frothing white water until it faded into utterdarkness.
How much damn rain could there possibly be out there?
“Hon, just please keep in mind we’re shorter than you are,okay?” Gabrielle felt the water creep up her ribcage and hoped it stoppedthere. The chill was starting to make her cramp up again, and she wished theywere moving faster.
“Yeah.” Pony spoke up briefly. “I’d like to hear a story.”
Gabrielle sorted through a few different ones, and decidedon one of her own favorites, a funny tale she hoped would lighten up the moodand provide a distraction for all of them, her included. “Okay.” She drew in abreath. “One day, when Xena and I were traveling in the southlands, we cameupon a chicken coop.”
Xena started chuckling.
Pony gripped the back parts of the sticks and listened insilence, the water just up past her navel. With Xena leading, and Gabrielletalking, she really had little more to do than steer the back of the pallet andhold it back so it didn’t slam into Xena’s rear end.
She’d gone from being pissed, to being confused, to notknowing what the Hades to think about anything. She’d run out of anger for now, she was tired, she washungry, she was worried half to death about Gran and it felt good just tomindlessly go along with what was happening and listen to whatever nutso taleGabrielle was rambling on with.
The bard didn’t have it easy. Pony could see the goosebumpson her bare shoulders and the faint tremors in the arm that was holding up thetorch. The water was higher up onher than it was on either Xena or herself by a handspan and Pony abruptly feltkind of bad for her.
Felt kind of bad for what she’d been saying to her.
She hadn’t quite know how to interact with Gabrielle for thelongest time. The bard was a warm and friendly person, so different from mostof the Amazons – but there was also a definite reserve there, and she knewGabrielle kept this mask between her and everyone else.
Everyone except for Xena. Maybe it was the fact she wasseeing past the mask the last few days that was freaking her out again. Shefelt like Gabrielle had changed the rules up on her, and wasn’t it the suckiesttime for that to be happening?
She wished Ephiny was around. Her partner knew how to handleboth of these guys a lot better than she did.
“Careful.” Xena’s voice interrupted the tale.
Pony looked up and past the still, floating body of the godof war to see the warrior’s outline in the torchlight. “What’s up?”
“Crack up there.” Xena paused, releasing one stick andreaching up to shade her eyes from the gods only knew what light. “Might be alittle drop.”
“I can hear it.” Gabrielle spoke up. “Is that light upthere?”
Pony strained her eyes. “Where?”
“Let me go check it out.” Xena released the front of thepallet. “Just hold here.” She waded off into the darkness, as Gabrielle grabbedthe pallet tighter to keep it from rushing after her.
“I hate when she does that.” The bard sighed, shaking herhead. “Be careful!”
Xena raised one hand in lazy answer, and ducked behind a lowoverhanging rock, peering past it to whatever lay behind.
Then in a flicker of motion, she disappeared.
**
The corridor crooked twice, and then opened up and when itdid, Xena found herself abruptly in an alien landscape that widened even herwell traveled eyes.
Gabrielle had, somehow, seen the reflection of light andhere it was, a chimney in an unlikely place letting in sunlight that reflectedover rocks in a thousand shades of algae and the churning water that bubbledover them.
Xena blinked, and rubbed her eyes, squinting against theunexpected but welcome light to see a crazy tumble of half rounded boulders andcrags that promised a very dangerous passage.
Well, damn. Xena hesitated, then, unable to resist, sheclimbed forward into the light, reveling in it’s touch on her skin.
Very brief. “Gabrielle?” Xena let out a holler. “C’mon.. but easy!”
She could hear splashing coming closer, and she turned towait for her companions, seating herself on a green stained rock warm with thesun’s light. It felt wonderful onher legs, which started to lose their chilled tingling as she drummed herbootheels lightly against the mossy surface.
Gabrielle emerged from around the bend first, and Xenasmiled as she watched the bard react to the unexpected sight before her. Shelifted one hand to shade her eyes, then squinted as she made out Xena’s backlitform. “Whoa!”
“Yeah.” Xena agreed. “Too bad we can’t enjoy it.”
Pony edged out into the light, peering around. “Hey.” Shepointed. “Let’s just go up, yeah?”
Instead of immediately rejecting the idea, Xena leaned backand peered up at the chimney. It was an irregular, twisting column that went upand up. “Can’t.” She said.
“Too slick?” Pony noted the moss on the inside of the rocks.
“No.” Xena tilted her head back down and gazed at her, thebacklight framing her head in an almost halo. “They didn’t take Gran that way.Or did you forget about that?”
Pony stared at her in silence. Gabrielle wedged the twosticks around the edge of a stone to keep the pallet still and eased past theAmazon, climbing up on the rock next to her partner and laying back on it. Shespread her arms to collect the sunlight and groaned softly.
“Anyway.” Xena turned and indicated the rock strewn, tumbledwater path before them. “That ain’t gonna be easy.”
“Is our life ever easy?” Gabrielle inquired.
Xena draped one arm over her and gave her a pat on thebelly. “Let’s go.” She hopped off the rock and back into the water. “Pony, yougot that rope in your sack?”
“Yeah.” The Amazon handed it over after a moment of sullensilence.
Xena tied off one end of the rope into a knot the size ofher fist, then she wedged the end into a cleft in the rock and started to makeher way forward. “I’ll find apath.” She said. “So we don’t go through this blind.”
Gabrielle felt a touch guilty watching her go, but notenough to jump back into the freezing water and follow since she knew shewouldn’t be much help anyway. Sheactually suspected her beloved partner had found a very practical way ofletting her warm up a little longer.
Which she fully appreciated. “Ugh.” She wriggled into a bitmore sunlight, finally feeling some sensation coming back into her legs. “Pony,why not come on up here.”
“I’m fine.”
Yurg. Grumpy Amazon. “Okay.”
“You’re just gonna feel worse when you get back inhere.” Pony advised.
Gabrielle remembered her experience on the mountain, whenthey’d first arrived. “Yeah.” She agreed. “You’re right, but maybe I’ll have ahalf candlemark before my legs freeze solid again.” She let her hand rest onher stomach, her fingers tracing the ridged muscles just under her skin.
She felt the rumble in there, and tried not to think abouthow long it had been since she’d eaten. It was getting a little old, at leastto her, and she was getting pretty annoyed at herself for this weakness thatwas impeding her contribution to the team.
“Gabrielle?”
The bard rolled her head to one side. “Yeah?” She blinked afew times until Pony’s face came into focus, her eyes a little dazzled from thelight.
Pony came forward, putting her hands on the rock Gabriellewas sprawled over. “Listen.” She studied the rocks’ surface, avoiding thebard’s eyes. “I got a problem with all this damn water.”
Gabrielle scratched her cheek. “We all do, Pony.” Shereplied. “You think I like it? It’s creepy and freezing down here. I told XenaI wanted to move to a desert when we get out.”
Pony stared at the rock. “No.” She shook her head. “I don’tmean that.. I.. “ She hesitated. “I can’t swim.”
The bard rolled over on the rock, exposing her back to thesun as she rested her chin on her hand. “Well.. .we’re not swimming.” She said.“I didn’t used to really like it myself, but..”
“Gabrielle.” The Amazon finally looked up at her. “I’mscared of this shit.”
Gabrielle wasn’t sure what she was more surprised at, thatPony had admitted her fear, or that she’d cursed at her while doing it. “Oh.”She murmured. “Wow.. I didn’t know that.”
“So if I freak out or something, you’ll know why.” Ponymuttered. “Don’t expect you to understand.”
Gabrielle snorted. “Please.” She pushed herself up tositting position. “Me, the one who’s afraid of getting up on anything higherthan a log, who used to get dizzy sitting on Argo?”
Pony merely grunted.
Gabrielle peered into the distance, where she could seeXena’s back as the warrior worked out their path. The water was up to herarmpits, and it wasn’t looking good. “Know what Xena’s afraid of?”
“Nothing.”
“Wrong.”
“Your temper.”
Gabrielle had to smile. “Gods, I hope not.” She shook her head. “No.. it’s this.” Shepointed at the rocks. “Close in places.”
Pony looked around them, then back at her. “You’re kiddingme.”
“No.” Gabrielle let her legs dangle over the edge of therock. “She’s always been… but we were up in the northern mountains once and shegot buried in a rockslide…she was trapped in there and almost died.” Her handssmoothed out the skin over one knee, which was criss-crossed with scars. “Gotworse after that, for a while.”
Pony studied her face. “Don’t think I heard that storyeither.”
“No.” Gabrielle felt her eyes fill with tears, even all thistime later. “I usually don’t tell people what it’s like to feel your heartbreaking.” She paused for a breath. “Kind depresses everyone, y’know?”
Pony lifted her hand and reached out, then paused andpressed her fingers back into the rock, inches from Gabrielle’s leg. “I gottaask you.. is this all worth it?”
Gabrielle seemed to understand the vague question, and sheremained silent for a long time before she cocked her head to one side and metPony’s eyes. “Moot point.” She answered, in a very quiet voice. “It’s what Ilive for.”
Pony shook her head a tiny bit, and took a breath to answer,then subsided when a nearby splash alerted her to Xena’s presence.
Xena wrapped another loop of the rope up in her hand, andpaused near the rock, looking over at Pony, then up at her soulmate. Oneeyebrow arched sharply in question.
“S’allright.” Gabrielle lifted a hand and smoothed the wetbangs off Xena’s forehead. “We were just talking. Did you find a path?”
Xena loosened the knot. “We need to tie ourselves together.”She replied. “It gets deep past those rocks. Over my head.”
Gabrielle managed not to look over at Pony. “Okay.” Shesaid. “How can we do that.. how can we swim, and hold on to Ares, at the sametime, Xena? Isn’t there another way?”
The warrior shook her head. “It’s a cavern.” She said. “Atthe very far end.. I think I can see a little light.” She put her hand onGabirelle’s leg. “We’re almost outta here.. but like always..”
“It gets worse before it gets better.” The bard nodded,hitching herself of the rock and grimacing as she landed in the water with asplash. “Oh, sheeps tails. That’s cold.” She took hold of the rope. “You first.. um.. Pony second? That way I canhang on to the back of the pallet.. since I’ll be swimming the longest.”
Xena thought about that for a minute, then nodded. “Goodidea.” She tied one end around her waist and headed for the front of thepallet. “Let’s go. I’m over this.”
Gabrielle handed Pony a loop, then tied the other end aroundherself as she circled around behind Ares. She leaned forward to look at thegod of war, but after a few restless motions, he seemed to settle again. “Gods,I hope he doesn’t wake up in the middle of this, or in a fever, Xe.”
Xena put her hands on her hips and glared at her.
“Sorry.” The bard cleared her throat, and took hold of thesticks. “Ready, Pon?” She met the Amazon’s eyes, as she finished tying herselfoff and winked.
The hazel eyes gazed back at her. “Sorry I was a bitchbefore.” She said, briefly.
“It’s all right.” Gabrielle felt the pallet start to move.She removed the torch from the notch in the wall and handed it to Pony, beforeshe resumed hold of the pallet and started forward.
“She’s used to it.” Xena chimed in from the front. “She’smarried to the biggest bitch in Greece.”
“Honey, you’re not a bitch.”
“Don’t make me prove you wrong, shepherd.”
“Gods.” Gabrielle felt the water getting deeper, as theywound through the rocks and the current surged past her on both sides. Thenarrowing of the space made the stream much faster, and she was glad she was inthe back because it was near to knocking her off her feet.
They passed slowly out of the light, and back into thedarkness, the colorful rocks fading to gray on either side as they rounded aboulder in the middle of the path, and she saw what was before them.
“Bacchae!” Pony yelled, as they were pulled forward and intoa churning whirlpool of water.
“Just keep moving!” Xena yelled back. “I’ll get youthrough!”
The roar of the water filled their ears, but it was unableto drown out the faith that filled Gabrielle’s heart. Xena would get them through.
She was sure of it.
**