The island beach glistened with fine, white sand. Hercules, Xena and the four Amazons watched as the longboat rowed back out to the ship and their only means of transportation disappeared into the horizon. Calico sat down in the sand and took off her boots letting her toes wriggle in the sand.

"Well," she said, looking up at the blue skies, "at least it's not raining."

The others laughed at her lame attempt at optimism and they all sat down. Xena looked up at the grove of trees beyond the beach. The first order of business, the warriors agreed, was to find fresh water and food. They had no weapons to speak of as the crew had taken their swords, staves, bows and arrows. The Amazons and Xena each had a knife on them and Xena had her chakram.

"Of course, they didn't take it," Calee said laughing, "they didn't know what it was."

Hygea gave Hercules her knife and he went to the trees and found branches suitable for making spears. He set to working on this task while Calico, Calee and Kendaa set out to hunt and find water. Hygea set about the job of foraging for food in the vegetation. As with all the Amazons, she had been trained to live off the land if necessary, but the training had come easily for her, she explained, as traveling from town to town and being alone and unwelcome had made her good at living on what she could find.

Xena's task was to make a fire on the beach in hopes that some passing ship might see the flames and stop. Hours later, they had a found water near the beach, killed three rabbits and found a variety of fruits to eat. They sat around the fire as the sun set and ate quietly.

"All right," Calee said, "so what now?"

"Now we get some rest, I say," Calico answered. "I'll take the first watch." She looked over at Kendaa curled up and asleep already. She shook her head amazed and nudged Hercules. "That woman could sleep anywhere," she whispered.

He laughed softly. He curled up now himself and closed his eyes to sleep. Xena put another log on the fire and settled back on the sand. Hygea did the same. The sunset turned to darkness and the stars of a clear night spread across the sky. Calico thought about her daughter and the sisters back in the lands of the Amazons. She thought about Waart and the dark arts; and hoped the little woman would be careful. After a few hours, she could not longer stay awake. She woke up Calee and went to sleep. Calee took the next watch.

Hygea was gazing out at the sea when Hercules awoke. She had had the last watch and the sun had risen while she kept guard over the others. Hercules yawned and ran his hands through his hair to help him wake up. Hygea smiled at him and offered him half of the fruit she was eating. He sat up and ate with her as the others slept.

"Well," he said looking at the sea and the land, "I suppose we'd best get started building a raft. With only knives, this should be interesting."

"Things will turn out. I have always known it," she answered finishing the fruit. "We will all get through this."

"Really?"

"Yes, really!"

Hercules looked at her and crossed his arms over his chest disapprovingly, "Then why did you almost throw yourself into the sea?" he answered.

Hygea's eyebrows went up and she looked sheepishly at him, "I had...uh...an Aphrodite moment??"

Hercules laughed so hard he woke the others and they wanted to know what was so funny. Hercules explained the joke.

"An Aphrodite moment?" Xena said, chuckling.

"Yeah, poor girl. We Amazons pick on her all the time," Kendaa replied. Then she looked up at the sky, "but only in a nice way, dear."

Hercules went first into the trees beyond the beach to attend to the business of waking up and washing. When he returned the women went, and then the party gathered to eat fruit and roots that had been found and washed by the Amazons on their way. They sat around discussing their plans when a sea gull dropped onto the sand by Calee and she threw a piece of fruit to it. This brought more gulls and finally she sat surrounded by gulls and long-legged terns and other birds of the sea and shore. The birds around her were scuttling for the bits of fruit she threw. One came over and pecked at Xena's bracelet. She shooed it away and it waddled back over to Calee for a treat.

"Okay," she said finally, "everybody get out there and look for help." She shooed the birds and they took to the air.

Hercules wiped his forehead with the back of his arm and took off his vest and shirt. What had started as a balmy morning was growing hot with the sun overhead now. He looked down at the raft and pursed his lips in thought as he studied the sad craft. He was laying out the larger logs that had been found while Hygea and Calico were in the forest cutting more vines to use to bind the logs together. Xena, Calee and Kendaa had taken off inland to see if there were others on the island and if so, whether they had any boats.

By midday, Hercules, Hygea and Calico had finished the craft. The search party returned only to tell the others that the island was very small, and that there was so sign of human life.

"For all we know," Kendaa replied, "we may have just eaten the only inhabitants of the island." She looked at the drying hides of the rabbits being fashioned now into what the party hoped might serve as shabby water containers.

The party decided to take off into the sea at first light of the next day. Hercules had sailed but never navigated a ship. It was lucky, they all realized that the skies were clear as they would have to tell their way by the stars. Xena had learned navigation as a pirate but was uneasy in these strange waters.

They sat eating the last of the meal as the sun set in a spectacular red display. The beauty of the sky was lost on them as they prepared for the voyage ahead. They had spent the remainder of the day finishing the craft, curing the skins to hold water and gathering food for the voyage. The food and water would not last long among the six of them. Their grave concerns were made only slightly lighter by Hygea's prophesy of success.

As the final rays of the sun were swallowed by the sea, the party laid down to rest. As they appeared to be the only inhabitants on the island, they did not post a watch and everyone slept in preparation for their voyage.

They were awakened in the morning by a flurry of birds that landed on the beach around them. Calee was laughing at the flock of feathered greeters, but the others were not so accepting. The birds seemed insistent that the humans awaken.

"What is the matter with these foolish birds," Calico said laughing, "I can't believe how they are acting." They pecked gently as they waddled around the sleepers.

"It's as if they are trying to tell us something," Hercules said.

"Well, we can't feed them our food. We have to keep it for ourselves today," Kendaa replied as a small bird scurried over to her then scurried away.

Then the birds began to squawk and all took to the air. They headed out to sea and the war party stood up watching them. As their eyes followed the retreating birds, they saw the figures in the distance. Calico and the Amazons let out screams and began to jump up and down. Hercules grinned and let out a whoop of relief.

Powerful and mystical, the masters of the air approached. Dragons.

The misty isle of the Celts loomed up below them and the party, on the backs of their amazing transports, came to land on a vast plain. The skies above them were dark. Beyond, around the strange stone structure in the distance, lightening periodically flashed in bolts and sheets. It would have been beautiful if it had not been so eerie and foreboding.

The dragons lit and party crawled down their legs to the ground. It took a moment for the humans to get used to the feel of solid ground again after the flight. Hygea was the only one among them who had never flown on the back of a dragon and she was still in awe of the thrill.

The three mighty beasts said their farewells. The humans had learned that everywhere there was a building chaos as the Evil One grew closer to this plane of consciousness. They learned that the gateway to his prison domain was in the stone structure in the distance.

"You will have to go there by foot. We cannot take you any closer," said the leader, Emira. "If we go closer we will fall under the influence of the Evil One. Dragons are empathic and easily captured psychically by the will of higher beings. It is our curse," she added.

Hercules nodded and the others bid their rescuers goodbye. They watched as the massive beasts lifted into the air with the beating of their bat wings. The humans and the grasses of the plain were forced down by the gusts of wind as they took off.

"Some day I'm going to go to the home of the dragons and learn more about these beautiful creatures," Calico said quietly.

Off in the distance, the empathic ones heard her as they left. "Bring Tosh!" Emira cried out and the dragons disappeared into the horizon.

The walk was long over the tableland toward the stone structure. The plains appeared unending and the stone structure was the only visible thing on the horizon in any direction. The war party walked along in silence. The winds began to blow as they approached an outer ring of small white stones embedded in the ground around the structure. Each stone was about a hand's length long and protruded out of the ground about a finger length. The stones were laid side by side and made a ring that might have been a league or so in diameter. Within stood the structure about a hundred paces away. Large rough-hewn stone pillars rose into the air about the height of five tall men forming a ring. On top was laid a circle of stones that made crosspieces. There did not appear to be anything within the ring that the party could see at this distance.

Hercules, Xena and the Amazons stood outside the ring of small white stones that made the outer barrier of this strange place. They felt the air become even colder. They looked at each other. Within the ring, each knew he or she was entering a darker world.

Hercules looked at Hygea. "Do you hear anything from your messengers?" he asked.

"Only whispers," she said quietly. "All muddled up. Some good, some bad. Laughing from the lower order of beings, like they are taunting me. And from the higher order, just...." She struggled for words and tears came to her eyes. "Love."

They all nodded to each other. They had little to defend themselves with their knives, Xena's chakram and the spears they had made on the island. They stepped over the stones into the circle. On the other side, it did not look any different. But the feeling that they experienced told them that they entered Dahak's domain.

They felt completely abandoned. The dryad in Kendaa felt the sudden loss of all of her kind who had been blotted out, as if it had just happened. It was so great it took her breath away, and she fell to one knee. Calico was overwhelmed by the death of her hunter, and Hercules relived the moment of his family's fiery death. Calee remembered again the deep loss that she had kept from her sisters for all these years that had washed her ashore on the beaches of Greece. Hygea saw her mother turn her back on her again and heard her father's words that he had no daughter. Xena felt the loss of her brother again and the put her hands to her face. The six people each stood there in their private suffering unable to reach out to one another. Moments seemed like years. They seemed lost now.

Then they heard the singing.

The singing had no words. It was a sweet, haunting, melodic voice that called them back from their misery.

Xena looked at Kendaa. "Sirens?" she said.

"I don't think so," Hercules replied. "It is not drawing us to it. It's as if the voice is an anchor for us. Hygea, what do you think?"

Hygea closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I can't hear anything other than her singing. But it feels good to me. It gives me the same feeling I get when I get a message from a higher being."

"Good enough for me," Kendaa said and started off in the direction of the structure. The others followed in silent agreement.

The party approached the structure cautiously. It appeared deserted; they saw no one within the vast circle of stones. There was no other structures within, nothing but a grassy area.

"This can't be," Xena said. "Where is the stone? Where are all the lieutenants of Dahak that Ares spoke of ? I wonder if it's a trap."

They stood just outside the stones. Hygea touched the massive crag before her that rose into the air like a rough pillar. "This place is so strange," she said quietly.

"Well, if it's a trap....then the only way to spring it is to go in," Kendaa said. Hercules and the others nodded although each one secretly wished there was another way. Kendaa was going to lead the way but felt Hercules' strong hand pull her back. He went in first.

"Where are the damn gods when you need them?" Xena whispered. She reached back to unsheathe her sword and realized she had none. She snorted angrily and followed the others in.

Once the last of the party had stepped inside, they were swallowed up by the darkness. The ground beneath them gave way and they screamed as they fell into complete blackness. Gone were the images around them. Now they saw nothing. But as they heard each other scream, each took a strange comfort in knowing the others were still there.

Calico got the feeling again that she had gotten when she had been taken into the world of Set. Then as quickly as the darkness had come, they fell into murky green waters. Now there was light again. They swam to the surface and to see each other and smile with relief but the smiles did not last long.

They were now in a grim world of mist and gloom. The sky overhead could not be seen for the swirling mists in the air. The water was fetid and Calee felt something slimy swim past her leg. She started quickly for shore. As the warriors dragged themselves out of the water, they sank into mud and had to fight to get to solid ground. The air smelled of rotting things. Overhead in the contorted, leafless trees, lizard like creatures peered at them with beady eyes and scurried away.

Hercules stood up and gasped. He tore off his vest and shirt to find leeches attached to his chest and back. "Ugh, get them off me!" The others had come out of the water also and wherever their clothing had not been tight enough, leeches clung to them also. Calee pulled out her knife and began the lifting them from Hercules' skin. She could see a disgusted anger in his face.

"Calm down,"she said, " if we don't take them off carefully they will leave their suckers in your skin and cause a wound to fester."

"You don't need to tell me that! I'm not stupid." he snapped. Calee continued working as Calico did Kendaa and Hygea helped Xena. Calee felt afraid of Hercules for the first time in their relationship. He glared down at her as she scraped the bloodsuckers from his body, leaving little trails of blood behind. She was going to speak again but decided against it. "Hurry up!" he said.

"I'm going as fast as I can." she replied.

"Ouch," Xena said to Hygea, "You did that deliberately!" The warrior princess grabbed the smaller Amazon by the arm and twisted it. Calico and Kendaa were on her in a moment and the two Amazons forced the her onto the ground. Calico had her knee in the middle of Xena's back while Kendaa held a knife blade at her throat.

Hercules grabbed Calee's red hair and forced her face to his. "You Amazons think you're better than the rest of us. Well, you're not." He forced her down onto her knees.

Then the singing began again. The solitary voice dissolved their momentary insanity. The six warriors looked around at each other in astonishment realizing how quickly their basest instincts could surface in this place of misery. Calico got off Xena and the two women helped her up.

"I'm so sorry!" Calico said. "Please forgive me."

"Only if Hygea will forgive me," Xena replied quietly.

Hygea nodded.

Hercules had let go of Calee and helped her up. She had tears in her eyes. He struggled for words but none would come out. Then he took her in his arms and held her.

"I was afraid of you." she whispered.

"Yes, I was afraid of me too." he replied softly, stroking her hair.

"The voice, she seems to know when we need her," Xena said listening to the lilting sound that had calmed them. The party finished the unpleasant task of ridding themselves of leeches. Then they started through the trees along the only path that they found and toward the sound of the singing which had faded now.

They trudged through the underbrush of this unpleasant world. A dense fog hung around them and made the sky unreadable. They kept quiet, each feeling that every little effort and obstacle could trigger his or her anger. And the obstacles were many. The trees seemed to reach out and nip at them with sharp protruding branches and it was not long before they were covered with nicks and scratches that bled along with the leech bites. The way was slow going as the path twisted and turned. Felled trees had to be climbed over and the leading warrior would sometimes sink into thick mud and had to be pulled out. Soon they were covered with mud that stank, scratches that itched, and bites that bled. The warriors were a sorry lot.

The most unnerving part of the journey was time. The daylight never changed. There did not seem any movement in the light. It was hard to tell how much time had passed. They finally stopped to eat the provisions that the Amazons had carried from the island. The water they had brought was a relief from the taste of mud in their mouths.

Calico sat nibbling on the fruit that Calee had handed to her. Her first thought was that Calee had given her the smaller of the pieces. She closed her eyes and centered her thoughts again on her stalwart sister who shared with her a deep love of animals.

"Okay, sisters..."she said, "and brother..." She looked at Hercules. "Tell me about the best moment you ever had." She thought about her hunter. "Well, maybe not the best moment...but a good one. We need to brighten our spirits. Everyone take a moment and think. What is one moment you would love to live over?"

Each thought for a moment.

Then Kendaa began, "Well, I spent the night in a dingy cell..."

"And you want to do this again?" Xena replied.

"With the god Ares....he was human at the time."

"Oh..."Xena smiled and winked at Kendaa knowingly, "He's such a bad boy."

"Should I be hearing this?" Hercules asked.

The women all laughed.

Then Calico spoke. "If I could live another moment over it would be...when I delivered Amberlia. When I looked down at her and saw I had a bright, beautiful girl....of course, it also helped that an eternity of labor was over."

They all laughed again and then looked around, "Who's next?" Calico said.

"Well, if I had a moment to live over," Hygea said, "It would be the first time that Lessa picked me as her partner in the Rites of the Staff. When I stood with her, picked from all the Amazons, to be with one of the champions; I felt like I was the most important person in the world."

"And this is from an Oracle! I'm impressed." Kendaa replied. She looked over at the Warrior Princess, "Xena, how about you? What moment would you like to live over?"

The black haired warrior thought for a moment. It seemed difficult for her. Finally she smiled a little sadly, "You know, it's funny. So many happy moments I think about were always tinged with pain or grief. But beyond a doubt, the day that Gabrielle became my friend was one of the best moments I can recall. I'm not sure I fully understood it at the time. I recall thinking she was going to be a pain. I thought to myself, 'what the Hades am I going to do with this kid?'. But all that time also, I was glad I wasn't alone anymore." They all nodded smiling. "I hope she's okay," she added quietly.

Then Calico nudged Hercules. "Well?"

"I don't even have to think twice...talk about thinking someone was going to be a pain...that was the first time I met my wife. She was trying to help her people get fire from Hera's temple. She wanted to talk to Hera's soldiers, negotiate.." Hercules said, "I wanted to fight!"

"And who won?" Calee asked.

"We fought," he answered, "At the time, she didn't know that I was Hercules. She was not impressed. I'd won the fight but in the process, I accidentally put out the only torch left burning. She left with her people with this disgusted look on her face. Then later she came to my friend, Cheiron, to ask if he could help and he told her she should ask Hercules for help. 'Of course, Hercules, why didn't I think of that?' Deianeira said. Then Cheiron introduced me.... 'You're Hercules?' she said. 'We are in big trouble!'."

They all burst out laughing again.

All the party continued to enjoy the brief sharing of their lives. They laughed and talked on. Then Hygea turned to Calee. "Well, how about you? What is one moment you would like to live over again?" she asked.

"The best moment of my life was the moment I kissed the shores of Greece. I was in a shipwreck at sea and I thought for sure my life was over. But I was washed ashore and felt the sun on my face and sand under me. I didn't know what to make of this new place. Overhead a hawk circled and landed near me. Her black eyes looked at me as if to say 'welcome', (that is the hawk I have even now). Then I knew then I was home."

"You never told me your story and you promised you would," Hercules said putting his arm around her shoulders.

"I will someday..." she answered, "but not now. It will bring back sadness and there is enough of that. Let's go on thinking of the joyful times."

They finished their meager meal as they went on talking and laughing. Then the party started out again feeling renewed. Now they groaned and complained and made jokes about the weather and the landscape as they slogged on through the twisting paths.

Hercules led the way now watching carefully. Xena walked behind looking around as they followed the path. Her gait became slower and finally she stopped and bent down, picking something up.

"Gods in almighty Hades!!!" she exclaimed angrily. She dropped the skin of the fruit they had eaten an unknown time ago. "We have been walking in circles!"

They all started to look around and confirmed her fear. Kendaa remembered the tree beyond and Calee remembered the little curve in the path. They all sat down to rest. Frustration was apparent. Hercules slammed his fist into his other hand.

"I can't believe I didn't notice before," he said angrily.

"We all should have!" Kendaa answered. "I should know the trees.....although these trees are not like ones I'm use to....they're not....friendly."

Hygea closed her eyes for a moment. "It was made this way. It was made to repel us," she said quietly. "Something wants to grind us down...dampen our spirits."

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you but...this whole thing is beginning to annoy me!" Xena said. She climbed up on a rock and took out her chakram. With one thrust, the weapon sailed through the air from tree to tree ricocheting off them and back to her. "Aaeeeeiiyya!" she cried out catching it and stepping down again.

"What did you do that for?" Hercules asked, looking confused.

"Just because I can!" she answered and grinned at Kendaa. The Amazon smiled and gave the warcry of her people. The others joined in.

Hercules looked around at the women as if he thought they had all gone mad. "What is going on with all of you?" he asked beginning to laugh.

Calee stood up on the rock now and surveyed the dingy world. She shook back her auburn ringlets and cupped her hands around her mouth, "All right, Dahak, you sorry excuse for a godling! We're here and we've come for the stone! Hercules is here! Yes, the Hercules! And he's coming to get you!!" she screamed out. She stepped back down and looked at the others. "Well, I feel better now. What's the plan?"

They all sat around discussing the next move. It was frustrating to think that they had wasted time and it was equally annoying to realize that they had no way of gauging how much time had elapsed. They agreed that the best course of action now was to rest.

Hercules, Calee, and Kendaa gathered wood while Calico and Xena made a fire. Hygea was looking over the provisions. All were hesitant to eat anything in this world. They made camp in the clearing. The meal was quickly served and eaten, and then they set out first watch. Xena volunteered and rebuilt the dwindling fire as the others laid down to sleep. Usually at this time, she would sharpen her sword. It helped to pass the time as well as make the weapon ready. It was difficult for her now with nothing to do so she called for each of the party to give her their knives before they fell asleep and she busied herself with sharpening the blades on a stone she had found that she thought might serve that purpose.

Hercules went to sleep right away but found himself in the dark dream world. He was kneeling in the middle of a large room. All around him stood dark figures robed in black. He was dressed only in the scantiest loincloth. He felt vulnerable as their eyes looked him over. He looked up and before him was the beautiful and terrible figure of Hera dressed in black; fanning herself with a peacock fan. Beside her sat Deianeira, her long auburn hair falling around her face and down her white shoulders. She was dressed in black also and smiled as Hera grasped her hand. They sat together looking down at him.

"Deianeira," Hercules cried out, "Are you alive? Why...why are you with her? She killed you."

"She never killed me," Deianeira replied. "That was never our plan. Your children, yes. They had to be sacrificed."

"Our plan?" he asked weakly.

"Yes. I have been the agent of Hera, Queen of the Heavens, since the beginning. Why did you think you met me at her temple? I was sent to you by Hera."

"My children. Our children! This isn't happening...." he cried, feeling himself losing control. The image of his little ones, their bed ablaze, flooded his mind. He threw back his head and opened his mouth to scream. He tried but no sound would come out. In that instant, he woke up to Xena shaking him.

"Oh, gods!" he said sitting up gasping for breath. "I had the most horrible dream." He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. Xena offered him some water and he drank enough to wet his mouth.

"You looked like you were having a bad dream but I wasn't sure if I should wake you since we all need the sleep."

"Not that kind of sleep," he replied. He waited for a moment until his heart stopped pounding then lay down again. His sleep continued to be fitful and like the others, he woke frequently. Xena tried to keep her movements to a minimum and soon gave up making any noise as a result of the light sleep of the others. She entertained herself by recalling all the warlords she had defeated in her old days.

She was thinking about a particularly rude man called Gull when she looked up to see a child standing in the distance on the path watching her. She started and woke Calico next to her. They stood up slowly, trying not to frighten the little girl.

"Hello," Calico said quietly to the child. "Don't be afraid. We're soldiers who have come here to help you."

The others were waking, taking their cues from the two already engaging the girl; they moved slowly trying not to startle her. Hercules got up and approached her.

The little girl looked about six or seven. She had long blonde hair and a sweet, pale face. She was dressed in a simple shift of white cotton that covered her from neck to foot.

"What are you doing here?" Hercules asked squatting down so he could look her in the eyes. He smiled at her. She reminded him of his own daughter and he fought the urge to reach out and pick her up in his arms.

"Help me," she said quietly. "I'm lost."

"How did you get here?" he asked.

"I fell in a hole, where the big stones meet."

"We fell in that hole too," he replied.

"Can you help me?" she asked. She reached out for him and Hercules took her in his arms. She giggled and put her small hand on his face. "You're strong," she said quietly.

The others approached her. She had such an innocent manner; reminding each of them of the helpless, unconditional love of children. Her appearance was such a contrast to the grim world into which they had come. She touched each one as he or she came to her. It appeared to them that she did not believe they were real. Only Hygea stayed back. The little girl reached out to her but she stayed just out of reach.

Kendaa turned and looked at the Amazon. "Isn't she sweet...she reminds me of.." Her voice trailed off. "Come meet her, Hygea."

The quiet Amazon was usually shy. But her face now showed that she was wary.

"You can fool them but you can't fool me," she said clearly. She stood with one hand on her hip and in the other, the spear Hercules had made for her. While the others had approach and met the girl, Hygea had taken not only her own knife but all the others. She had put them away in her belt.

The little girl laughed under her breath and her tiny hand grasped Hercules' hair and forced his head back. She turned and looked at him. "You never learn, do you, boy?" Now the sweet smile turned dark and worldly. With her fingernail, she scratched a wound in his cheek and blood ran down his chin and throat. She scooped up a fingerful and licked it. "You all have come to me of your own free will, and now you are mine."

The warriors she had touched stood around her helplessly. The expressions had drained from their faces and they stared at the little girl.

"Do you have the stone?" Hygea asked.

The girl nodded. "And these heroes will help me use it in the last leg of my journey to your world," she replied.

"It is written that the final days are coming. So be it."

Hygea began to back away. The little girl grinned. "Get her!" she cried out pointing. The war party took off after Hygea as she ran.

Then once again, a haunting voice began to sing. The captured warriors seemed suddenly confused and stopped their pursuit. This gave Hygea time enough to get away. The little girl's face contorted in rage.

"Damn you, Cassopeia!" The child screamed. "I will find you and put an end to your interference with my plans!"

Hygea ran up the path and into the brush. She ran until she was lost and out of breath. Only then did she take time to stop. She knelt down on one knee and gasped for breath. It had been a long time since she had felt such fear; the terror of being cast away from the group and hunted by those who saw her as an enemy. She fought back tears.

"I don't have time for this." she said angrily. "Whoever you are out there whose voice comforts us. Speak to me now!" She put down the other knee and sat back folding her hands in her lap. Closing her eyes, she reached out with her soul and listened to the voices that whispered. The messages were mostly a jumble of dark, foul taunts. She let them have her attention and their messages increased.

"They are ours now." the voices said. "You are worthless. Alone."

Hygea started to sense something else in the corner of her consciousness. This was what she sought. She waited and allowed the dominant voices to increase their mockery.

"Die now. That's the best plan."

"Go to the girl. She has the stone. She is the one."

"You'll never win. You haven't the skills the others do. It is hopeless."

"Come to me now." Hygea said to the feeling that was growing. The voices increased and became more angry.

"Bitch!! What hope do you have? Even among the Amazons, you are not quite one of them. Calico and Kendaa, they laugh at you behind your back. Calee thinks you are a freak! Hercules is a hero among men. Why would he want to be with someone like you?" Hygea smiled now as she knew their slurs were lies meant to hurt her. There was the oddest sound of desperation in their tone.

Then suddenly they were quiet and it surprised Hygea so much that she gasped. She opened her eyes and looked up at a woman standing before her.

The woman was short, barely five feet tall, and slim. She had long brown hair that fell in soft ringlets down her shoulders and back. Her eyes were a deep brown in contrast to her pale skin. Dressed in a robe of sky blue, torn and dirty now; she looked at the Amazon and smiled hesitantly.

"You are the voice of the siren that we have been hearing." Hygea said.

The woman nodded. "Your spirit has called me to you. Like you, I have resisted Dahak's capture but I am quite lost; I'm not a warrior." The woman shrugged and looked around. "I don't know what I can do to help. I will be useless in the coming struggle."

"I think not." Hygea replied "I don't think that the skills of war will be the deciding factor. I think it will be a test of spirit and will. You and I are suited to this struggle."

"How do you know this?" said the woman. "How can you know me?"

"I know it from your voice." the Amazon stated. "I have the gift of sight. You have the gift of healing with your voice. When you sing.."

"The madness goes. Yes, it has been my fate to quell the demons in men's souls with my singing." She replied. She put out her hand. "My name is Cassopeia."

They shook hands and Hygea got up stretching her legs and looking around. "Is that why Dahak has taken you prisoner here in this world?"

Cassopeia nodded. "I was offered to Dahak by my people. They have always been frightened of my power. When Dahak's lieutenants came to this island to call him forth from the Stones, they told my people that I was cursed. My people are simple and superstitious; and they believed them. I was taken to the Stones and left. I fell into this place. Dahak claimed me for a while. He took the form of someone I trusted and enslaved me; but then he felt you and your comrades come into the darkness. His angry raging at your arrival give me hope and I sang to call you. It freed me momentarily from his power and I got away."

"Well, your singing kept us from killing each other." Hygea replied. "You and I may be all that stands right now against the coming storm. Do you know where the stone is that Dahak took from the temple of my people?"

Cassopeia frowned and thought for a moment. "Hmmm...that must be the object that Dahak hid."

"Where?"

"The creature hid it in his temple when he, or she, or whatever it is captured me. It has a temple in this dark world. I'll take you there. It is surely where the other warriors were taken." The siren motioned up the path. The two set out for the temple.

The siren led the Amazon through the difficult pathway. They struggled over fallen trees and had to make their way around quicksand-like mud holes. As they walked, the trees became larger and more twisted. They came to a clearing and beyond was a huge tree with a huge gaping hole in the bough where it met the earth.

"There. That is the entrance to the temple." Cassopeia said. The Amazon shrugged and led the way now. The two women crossed the clearing and went into the dark hole of the bough and into the world of Dahak.

The entrance in the tree led them to a cave shaft that wound around and down and up. The walls were had an odd eerie glow that gave them enough light to see but made the world of the black cave strange and forbidding.

"Are you sure this is the way?" Hygea asked.

"Yes, it took me a while to get out. I remember these rocks." she answered and pointed to her footsteps in the dirt. Hygea bent down noticing that there were other footsteps now going in the direction in which they walked. Some were her size indicating women with boots on; her sisters and Xena. One set of boots was much larger. They belonged to Hercules. She took comfort in knowing he and her sisters were somewhere around even though they were of no use to her in their present enslaved state.

"It's odd." she said, "If it were just me, I'd be mad with fright at facing this creature. But knowing that I have to save my sisters and the others gives me an odd kind of courage. How is it we can save others when we cannot always save ourselves?"

Cassopeia smiled and nodded her head in agreement. "I was so afraid when I was here alone with Dahak. Then he sensed your presence and his anger was my relief. Who is this man he calls Hercules? Why does his presence anger Dahak so much?"

"Hercules is the son of Zeus, King of the gods. Well, at least he is king of our gods. This god thing is becoming confusing to me. Hmmm...perhaps," she said as they continued down the path, "that is the beginning of wisdom."

"Hercules." Cassopeia reminded her.

"Oh, yes. How could I forget!" she replied. "He is a hero. Instead of acquiring power and glory as other mortal men with his strength and skill would do, he has dedicated his life to using them to help others. He uses his strength to stand between mortals and the evils created by our gods to punish us when they please, or are displeased. Oh, who knows why!" She added annoyed. Then she paused to think of Hercules on the beach with his shirt off, sweating in the sun. " It doesn't hurt that the man is absolutely gorgeous."

Cassopeia laughed. "I can't wait to meet him."

"Count on it." the Amazon replied.

The child rode along in strong arms of the son of Zeus like a lady being carried by her mount. She looked over his shoulder at the rest of the day's acquisitions. Dahak had anticipated the arrive of a party to retrieve the stone but never thought that heroes such as these would fall into his grasp. Behind the Lord of Darkness marched Kendaa, the tall, strong champion among the Amazons, and a favorite of Ares. The foolish Warlord of all Warlords had let his heart stray toward this mortal woman, it was said. Dahak smiled. She would be useful. Behind her marched Calee, slender and auburn haired. The Amazons did not know the secret she possessed which gave her the power of many languages, even the language of some animals. Calee was an unknown in this equation. She had some useful powers but also possessed some skills that Dahak might not be able to control. He wondered if she, herself, was even aware of the powers she possessed. Then marched Xena, Warrior Princess. She had terrorized the land with her army once, but Hercules had set her free from her rage. Dahak looked at the face of the man who carried him and thought about Xena's future.

"We will see who will win this struggle." Dahak said to Hercules. Hercules frowned and looked at the child. He said nothing.

Dahak looked back again. The last person in the march was Calico. Dahak looked at the Amazon as she walked along behind the rest; slender and strong, kind and careful. This one Dahak would have to watch closely, very closely. She was powerful and allied with the shadowy, ancient one, Bastet. The immortal being that took the form of a black cat would certainly not let her mortal lieutenant go without a fight. But Dahak smiled again for fighting and chaos was the stuff of his existence. Perhaps he could use this Amazon to draw Bastet further into the struggle.

The temple of Dahak loomed up around them as the five captives stood in the throne room of the Evil One. It was a huge cavern of stone. It had no trappings or adornments. In the center was a rough hewn stone altar. Around the sides of the cave, braziers burned to give some light but it was still dark and wet and cold.

Hercules set the child down and stood up.

"Do you like carrying me?" She asked in a sickly sweet voice.

Hercules looked at her and again said nothing. Once long ago, he had been in the thrall of a sorceress. He had learned that the baser emotions, such as hate and fear, fueled the bond between the demon and the mortal. He cleared his mind of the replies he might have given and stared back ahead disciplining himself to think and feel nothing.

Her face changed from sweet to menacing in an instant. "Idolla was a fool." The child said reading his thoughts. "She died because she could not foresee the dangers. I am the lord of danger, the master of all travail. I create the chaos! Fools like Idolla and Hera only use it. Be warned, boy." Her eyes went from person to person. "All of you heed me now. This is the end of all things you have known. You can join me or you can be swept aside in the current that will wash away those who are not compliant to my will."

"We won't let you get away with this." Xena said, though she was not sure where she got the power to reply.

Dahak smiled. "You got the power from me." He replied to her unspoken question. Her face paled at his answer and she began to speak again.

"Don't say anything, Xena." Calee said softly. "Empty yourself of everything. You can't actively fight this thing, but you can become passively strong. Serve now by waiting."

The child grimaced in a terrible mask of fury, and a roar came from deep in her small body. "You cannot resist me!"

Calee smiled. She put her hand in the hands of her sisters at her sides. They stood together. "Who said we would?"

The child left the room, disappearing through the wall as if by magic. Before she left she waved her hand in the direction of the entrance in which they had come. The entrance disappeared.

"There are still two out there; but no matter," said the child, "for this is my world and it obeys my commands." She left them alone.

The party was now free of Dahak's immediate power but knew instinctively that he could reassert his domination in an instant. Hercules felt the helpless anger that he had before when he had been a captive in the fortress of Idolla. Calico came over to him and put her hand on his arm.

"Now I know how you felt." She said, shaking her head sadly. "I hope Hygea is all right."

Kendaa was looking at the altar. She approached the primitive stone centerpiece. "I wonder where he has put the stone." She said absently. "We need to look around the room. Perhaps it is here." They all began to look but there were not many places to explore. The room had no other furniture. Nothing on the walls. No entrances or exits. The altar was a huge rock cut roughly into a rectangle with no adornments at all. Kendaa examined the floor.

"Look," she said to the others, "there are marks where the stone has been moved."

The others came over and looked at the floor. It was clear that the altar had been pushed aside by the marks left on the floor. Hercules knelt down and pushed it, groaning at the rock's enormous weight. The altar moved aside slowly to reveal a secret hiding place beneath. There nested in a simple burlap cloth was the stone. They all gasped to see it again.

Hercules reached out to touch it but Calico held him back. "What a minute." She said. "We came all this way and the stone falls in our grasp just like that! What is wrong here?"

"Who cares? It is what we came for." Xena replied.

"And now what?" Calico retorted. "We can't leave. We are under his spell when he returns. This is part of his plan. He wants us to find it!"

"Excellent." said a deep, hollow voice. An image formed, floating above the altar in an eerie green light. The image was of a human but it was hard to tell whether it was male or female. It was dressed in a long robe to hide its features. It had long white hair pulled back away from its face. The face would have been attractive if it were not for the presence of evil that it projected. The warriors felt themselves invaded again by the power of the creature. They all stood up.

"The stone was placed there by my lieutenants." He said smiling. "It took them an hour to move the altar far enough to place the stone within. But you, Hercules, moved it alone in much less time." He laughed. "You would almost think that the Lord of Light wants me to win this battle. He has supplied me with such appropriate victims." He paused for a moment as if to think. "I cannot touch the stone. But you can. You will bring it forth and help me to use it in the coming ceremony." Dahak said. The image disappeared and the group was left again to wait.

They all looked down at the stone within the hidden vault. Calee knelt down and picked it up. "'Am the Lord thy'." she read again. "What did Hygea say on the ship? Something about having 'no other gods'."

"Bastet said there was only one supreme being and that all others are subordinate to it." Calico recalled. "She was quite clear about this." She looked around the room. For a moment she thought she saw the entrance. She began to speak but then it was gone. She went to the wall where she had seen it. But her hand met cold stone.

Hygea and Cassopeia continued through the caves. Hygea stopped after a while and sat down. "I don't mean to doubt you, but are you sure you know where we are going?" She said quietly.

The siren looked hesitant and sat down beside her looking around. "It didn't take me this long to get out of the caves." She replied. She shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps we took a wrong turn back there somewhere."

"There were no turns." Hygea answered. "This is all very confusing." She thought for a moment. "Gods!" She said, jumping up. "That's it! We are confused. That's the secret right there!" She looked over to her new companion and took her hand, helping her to stand. Cassopeia looked very unsure now, as if the Amazon had lost her mind.

Hygea looked at her smiling. "Sing. Sing your favorite tune."

The siren cleared her throat and from her came the sweet, haunting sound that had continually grounded the warriors from their rages and hurts. Cassopeia sang a song that she had known since childhood:

As the siren sang, the entrance to the altar room appeared and they saw their companions. The sound had quelled the illusions of Dahak's making. Calico realized the brief image she had seen was reality, not illusion. For a moment, she had seen the entrance.

The Amazon ran to her sisters and everyone embraced. Cassopeia approached the party shyly. Hygea took her by the hand and led her up to Hercules.

"This is the man I spoke of." She said. "The strength of the Greeks and friend to the Amazons." She turned to Hercules. "Meet Cassopeia. It is her voice that has saved us from our fury."

Hercules took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. He nodded and smiled. Hygea introduced each person in turn. Then on the altar swirled a familiar blue light and the image of Bastet appeared. "Greetings, my children. You have done well. Now there is one final task for you before you return to your homes. You must break the stone and all will be right."

Xena reached into the vault and brought out the broken tablet piece. It was the size of a man's hand but heavy for its size. She handed it to Hercules.

Hercules looked around. He decided to break it against the side of the altar. He went over and sat down on the altar's edge just below the Bastet's image. The cat's green eyes surveyed him closing, watching expectantly.

Calee came over to him. "I just want to see this one more time." She said. She took the stone and moved her hands over it.

"Quickly!" Bastet said. "There is no time to waste. You must obey!" The cat's voice turned angry.

Calico frowned. "Hold on." She stated. She looked at the image of the cat. "Tell me who you are?"

"You know me well." Replied the cat, her voice soft and tender again now. The tiny gold earring twinkled in her ear. "I am Bastet, cat goddess of the Nile."

Calico smiled now as her suspicions were confirmed. "Bastet would never refer to herself as a god. She even corrected me."

The image changed in an instant to Dahak's eerie figure. "Fools! I will punish you for your insolence. Now break the stone and free me."

Hercules felt the Evil One invade him but Cassopeia began to sing and the feeling slowly retreated.

Dahak frowned. "This is not over." It said and disappeared.

And as it did, Hercules fell over as the altar disappeared. He found himself sitting, unceremoniously on the grassy ground. The world they had been in collapsed into illusion and they found themselves sitting in the middle of the ring of ancient stones. They all looked around in wonder.

Hygea grimaced and put her hands to her ears. "Aaa!" She exclaimed laughing. "One at a time, please." They realized she was hearing the voices again. The look on her face, a smile that glowed, told them the voices were from what she called a 'higher order'. She turned to the others after a moment.

"They are pleased, overjoyed really, with what we have done." She said.

Xena snorted and put her hands on her hips angrily. "Could you please ask them exactly what in Hades that was?"

Calico shook her head. "I don't think you need to. I think I understand." She went over to the stone and looked at the object in Calee's hands.

"It's not the stone. The stone is just a piece of rock. It's what is written on the stone." Calico explained.

"Exactly." Hygea said. "The power of darkness is in illusion. All of us, even our 'so called' gods are subject to that strange aberration of thinking. There is only one power. How we use it is up to us; from Zeus and Bastet on down to the lowliest of living things. Some have more power than others. But each of us, every living soul, has some power and it comes from the same source. In the end, each one will account for their use of it."

"Wait a minute," Kendaa asked, "what about all the weather and the odd behavior of people; and all the strange occurrences? Wasn't that the magic of Dahak?"

"I think we all did that." Hygea explained. "The world became afraid. It believed Dahak's lie. That is his power, the power of the lie. He had been fostering it for years. He commanded his lieutenants to steal the stone to reinforce that lie. The stone was not important to begin with. We made it important with our belief. Even Ares must have been caught up in this. What did Bastet say, 'put your faith in love'; not in objects nor in power, and not in magic."

"But Dahak wanted us to break the stone!" Xena said. "Didn't the stone, then, have power?"

"No." Hercules replied, thinking about the strange turn of events. "The power rested in our belief that breaking it would free Dahak."

They all stood for a moment thinking about what had transpired. The end to it all had come so quickly and seemed so simple. It was hard to believe that something that looked so complex and overwhelming, could be so easy. But they all knew that this easy lesson would be one that would have to learned over and over by mankind.

"What should we do with the stone?" Calee inquired of the rest. She looked around. They all shrugged.

"Leave it here with the rest of these stones." Hygea replied. "Let's go home. Cassopeia, will you come with us? There are enough demons in our land to keep you singing for a lifetime."

Kendaa put her arm around the smaller woman who seemed unsure of the invitation. "You are welcome in the Nation of the Amazons. We take all women who are willing to be free equals under the our laws. I think you'll find are laws are just."

"We even take hunters, if they behave." Calee added looking at Hercules.

"And are good looking." Kendaa added. Hercules snorted and crossed his arms over his chest.

Calico laughed. "Kendaa! You have ruined a great ending!"

"No, I didn't! It was just a thought." The tall amazon replied.

They continued to bicker jokingly over how good looking a hunter had to be, to be admitted into the Nation of Amazons.

"You are so bad!" Hercules said, as Kendaa outlined her requirements in detail.

They all started out of the ring of giant stones. Calee put down the stone and walked away. She couldn't help but give it one glance before she left the ring. As she looked at it, she thought that, just for an instant it glowed. She shook her head and followed the others.

The Hall of the Amazons was busy with the great feast put on for the returning warriors. Around the table of the hall, set like a great horseshoe around three sides of the room, Amazon sisters and their guests sat eating what could be foraged from forest and field and even from other kingdoms, to celebrate. The rains had been gone now for weeks. The war party had returned on the backs of dragons that Waart had summoned. Cassopeia had been in a daze, taking in the new land to which she had come. Hygea had taken her into her hut as a guest until she was settled in a home of her own. Then she would begin the training that would make her one of the sister soldiers for which this small Nation was so famous.

Now a celebration of victory and thanksgiving was in full swing. Music played and young women danced the traditional dances of the Amazons, twirling staves and swords. Around the table, the guests talked and ate.

"I still can't believe I said that!" Gabrielle said, staring at her tall, dark friend. "I said 'Dahak will protect me.' And you just let me walk out."

The warrior princess took another sweet cake from the plate the Hebea passed to her and bit into it, nodding. "That's right," she said, swallowing. "You scared the Hades out of me. I didn't know what to do! You're a big girl. You can take care of yourself."

"Oh, fine time to test that theory!" Gabrielle replied digging into the dessert that Lady Pegasus was serving to her. The Amazon was laughing quietly to hear the exchange. The look on Xena's face alone was priceless.

The Warrior Princess's eyes were round with indignation. "You are always telling me you can take care of yourself. You're always griping about how I treat you like a child! Will you make up your mind?"

Gabrielle wiped the cream pudding from her mouth, and gave her companion a look of annoyance. "I just think it was a bad time."

"You're fine! Nothing happened. You went home..."

"I fell in a ditch and turned my ankle," the younger woman answered quickly.

Xena's blue eyes blazed. "I fell in a deep, black pit; landed in a murky swamp lake, and spent an hour pulling leeches off myself! Would you like to have been there with me?"

Gabrielle grimaced with disgust and took a sip of wine. Then she smiled and nudged her friend. "It'll make a great story though," she said.

Xena shot the younger woman a look of disdain. "I don't think I'll tell you."

"Oh come on. You're dying to - I can tell."

The two went on with the discussion as the party wore on.

At the head of the table, Hercules and the Queen sat talking with Calico and Kendaa. The three Amazons could nothelp but notice the hero's distracted glances toward the door as he followed their comments. Finally Calico spoke up.

"I'm sure he's coming. He's just been delayed," she said.

"I'm just worried," Hercules replied. "He left during the rains. I sent word but my mother, Iphicles and even his family haven't heard from him since I last saw him. It's not like Iolaus to be gone this long." The others agreed and tried to reassure him but he was not alone in his worry for his friend. Hercules tried to shake off the feeling and celebrate with the others. He imagined Iolaus was probably in the arms of some lovely farm girl and would be annoyed at his friend's concerns. But the feeling stayed all the same.

Kendaa drank the last of her wine and excused herself from the table to get some air. The night sky was cloudy and the moonlight came and went as the clouds passed over the moon's full face. She walked out behind the hall and into the forest that lay just at the perimeter of the village of the Queen. Now she was alone in the world she loved. She went to one of the old trees that rose into the night and put her long golden arms around its rough trunk. She could smell the wet bark and hear the leaves shiver.

"Hello, my friend," she said quietly.

Then she gasped as from behind, someone's body pressed against hers. Strong hands slid down her arms and grasped her wrists. She could feel the coarse hair of a beard against her cheek. The dark God of War whispered in her ear and she laughed. She turned and looked at him, smiling.

"There's a hot spring in a glen near here," he said, inviting her.

"I have been over every fingerlength of this land," she replied laughing. "There is no hot spring anywhere around here!"

"There is now," Ares answered back taking her by the hand and pulling her into the darkness of the forest.

At the request of Queen Apollena, Cassopeia got up and went to the middle of the room. All around her the guests sat quietly as every eye was upon the small woman in her new blue robe. Her brown hair was brushed away from her face and plaited down her back. She cleared her throat and began to sing. Any sadness or discord was swept away as the voice of the siren sang:

There was a bold silence after the siren finished the tune. The guests thought long on all hat they might have lost and a few on what they had seen and learned. Then applause broke out and the Amazons stood up to hail their new companion. The Queen toasted the siren and the guests returned to their celebrating.

Hercules excused himself and went out into the night air. He looked up into the night sky and watched the moon's face disappear behind the clouds. A wave of anxiety washed over the hero as the sky darkened for a moment. He thought of his life and the periods of darkness that had come when he lost someone he loved. Then he thought of Iolaus again and sighed, shaking his head.

"I've got to go after him," he said quietly to himself.

"After who?" said a voice. Hercules turned to see his friend standing in the door of the hall, coming out. He was still panting with exertion.

"Where the Hades have you been?" Hercules exclaimed. They embraced, laughing.

"Don't you think I can take care of myself?" Iolaus said. Lady Pegasus came out bringing a plate heaping with food and a tankard of ale. The wiry blonde warrior smiled broadly and sat down across a bench, diving into the food. Hercules sat down across from him.

"I knew you would say that!" Hercules replied. "But after what I have been through, I'm not sure that I can take care of myself!" He laughed.

"Well, I have quite a tale of my own. I'm sorry I didn't get your message but after I tell you my story, you'll know why," Iolaus answered between mouthfuls. "But you go first."

Hercules began telling the story of the stone and its message.

Finis

*Lyrics from the song "How can I keep from singing" by Enya on the album Shepherd Moons.