"This entire suite. You own it."

"I believe that’s what I said, Gabrielle." Impishly, she bent her head down, peering. "I think you need your ears cleaned out again."

Gabrielle slapped her away. "Forgive me for being surprised that you own a hotel suite in the middle of Athens," she said archly.

"Oh, I own a little bit more than just this suite, Gabrielle." The warrior was at great pains to keep her face somber.

The bard planted her hands on her hips, mock-glaring at her tall, smirking partner. "You are not going to tell me you own this entire hotel, Xena."

Xena shrugged amiably. "Ok, I won’t." She turned as if to leave, but was halted by a firm grip to her arm. "Yessss?"

"Do you, Xena of Amphipolis, own this entire hotel?"

A smile broke, finally, as the warrior slowly nodded her dark head.

"By the gods. But how . . . ? But where . . . ? Xena, how could you have done this without my knowing? I could hear your thoughts, remember?"

Broad shoulders shrugged, a bit sheepishly. "It wasn’t something I was really comfortable sharing."

"But why?"

"I dunno. This place was willed to me by the man who originally owned it. It was once his home. I only found out about it after he died." Deeply tanned features flushed slightly. "I spent an evening here with him and, apparently, he was so impressed that he left me this in his will."

Gabrielle paled slightly. "You didn’t . . . ."

"Please, Gabrielle. The man was ninety."

The look on the bard’s face told Xena exactly what she thought of that particular excuse.

"Believe me, Gabrielle, all we did that night was talk. It might not be all he wanted to do, based on the amount of liquor he was pouring into me, but it’s all we did. He was some kind of major military nut and so I gave him some information from a . . .unique . . .perspective." The warrior shrugged again. "That’s all. I don’t know why that impressed him enough to leave me this place, but it did. End of story."

"Don’t quit your day job, warrior."

"That’s why you’re the bard, bard. Now take your bath and let me attend to business. We’ve got a god of war to foil."

"Again."

"Again." Smiling and kissing her partner’s cute little nose, Xena turned from the room, leaving Gabrielle to her luxury.

Again in the main room of the massive suite, the warrior grabbed her bag and extracted her laptop and phone. Striding to the desk, she set the computer down and swiftly connected it to the data port, then fired it up. As it chittered through it’s warm up routine, she flipped open her phone and dialed to pick up voice mail. Six messages from Nigel and four from the Yuma police department greeted her. The police had taken the compound without difficulty and found Claiborne and Robertson as well as the desert graves. They needed her report as quickly as possible. Nigel’s messages sounded a bit more urgent, so she quickly dialed his number, wincing at the static that assailed her sensitive hearing. "Nigel, it’s Xena. What’s up?"

"Not the bloody satellite, that’s for sure," the Englishman complained. "It’s been down for five hours now. Last images I retrieved showed your friends within ten miles of the site."

"That’s not good news."

"Agreed."

"Were they moving?"

"Apparently not. Looks like they were dug in for the time being."

"Any signs of heavy equipment?"

"None. Just the vehicles they traveled in, Jeeps, by the look of them."

"Nothing more specific than that?"

"Afraid not. The pictures are quite fuzzy."

"Can you hook into another feed while you wait for our satellite to come back on line?"

"I’m trying my best. Traffic’s off the beam here."

"Alright. I’m keeping my phone close by so call me the minute anything new breaks."

"Will do. Bye."

Flipping her phone shut, the warrior drummed long fingers on the highly polished wood of the desk top, offhandedly listening to the sounds of merry splashing and off-key singing coming from the direction of the bathroom. She sighed heavily. All this time for thought and she was still in the dark regarding Ares’ motivations in this whole mess. He was luring her in, that much was obvious. But for what purpose? That is what still evaded her. And was it coincidence that the satellite was acting up? Could Ares have enough power and knowledge to interfere, attempting to force her hand? Her breath of frustration scattered the bangs on her brow. One thing was certain. If he had known the ambrosia’s exact location, he would have men there by now. She’d have to content herself with playing the waiting game and just hope the satellite feed was restored quickly.

A random thought flittered into her mind and her head snapped up. Of all her worldly possessions, only her sword and chakram were never far from her side. Until today. In her haste to depart for Greece, she’d left them in the trunk of her car. Her instincts, long and sharply honed, warned her that this might be a very big mistake. Flipping the phone open one more time, she quickly dialed Jarrod’s number. "Jarrod, it’s Xena. Yeah, we got here just fine, thanks. Listen, I need you to do me a huge favor. I left my sword and chakram in the trunk of my tan sedan in the long term lot at San Diego International. I need you to send someone down there and get them on the first available flight to Greece. Break the trunk open if you have to, but I need those weapons as soon as possible. . . .Yeah, thanks, Jarrod. I owe you again. Bye."

As she closed her phone for the second time, a discrete knock to the door told the warrior that dinner had arrived. Enticing smells wafted up gently from silver serving dishes as two tuxedoed waiters quickly and efficiently set the steaming platters down. The wine steward entered shortly thereafter, bearing bottles of red and white wines, pouring each into their own ornate cut crystal goblets and handing them to the warrior for inspection. Nodding graciously, Xena sipped a bit of each, letting them flavor her palate before swallowing. "Excellent, Cristos. Thank you very much."

"My pleasure, Xena," the tall, thin man said, bowing slightly. "Will there be anything else?"

"Not at the moment, thanks."

"Very well." Raising one white gloved hand, the wine steward beckoned his helpers and silently left the room.

Smirking, Xena counted silently.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

"Xena, I don’t have any clothes to . . .oh wow! Dinner!" Like a vision, Gabrielle entered the main room, hair wet and slicked back from her head, clad only in a white towel tucked in at her breasts. Despite the tantalizing aromas of the food before her, Xena felt her mouth go dry at the sight.

Totally oblivious to the stirrings she was causing in her warrior partner, Gabrielle headed for the table, her eyes round, her mouth watering. Xena swallowed audibly as her hands flexed under the table. Table or bed? Bed or table? Decisions, decisions. A rush of tingling warmth centered in her belly and flowed quickly outward. Her face flushed; pale blue eyes darkened to deep indigo.

Green eyes roamed over the veritable feast spread out before her. All of her favorites were there. Tzatziki, feta cheese and olives, pita bread and olive oil, roast lamb and vegetables and "Baklava! Mmmmm. My fav . . . ." Her words ended in a high pitched squeak as six feet of incredibly aroused Warrior Princess lifted her off her feet with one arm while relieving her of her cotton wrapping with the other. "Xena . . . .the food’s gonna get . . . ." Warm lips descended on hers and soon the bard’s train of thought was efficiently and erotically derailed. The resulting crash was exhilarating.

********

Quite awhile later, Gabrielle slumped back against the thick padding of her incredibly comfortable leather chair, patting her naked belly and groaning. "By the gods, I’m stuffed!" Not too stuffed, however, to keep from licking the sticky honey from her fingers just to see the look on her partner’s face as she did so. This having dinner naked thing has some great appeal, she acknowledged silently, watching her lover’s perfect breasts heave as she took in a deep draught of air at the erotic gesture. The light from the fire Xena’d built up before dinner licked enticingly across the warrior’s bare, rippling flesh, causing another type of hunger entirely to flow quickly through Gabrielle’s veins.

The sound of clattering silver caused Gabrielle’s entranced eyes to blink in startlement. Her gaze was then caught between the sight of the suddenly empty table and the hunger in Xena’s eyes as she rose to her feet like Aphrodite from the sea and began to stalk the smaller woman. Pinned by that intense, feral look as she was, the bard couldn’t have moved if she tried. To be truthful, thinking as she watched the coiled muscles of raw erotic power as they came closer, Gabrielle couldn’t come up with a single reason why she’d want to.

Before she could even draw a breath, hot hands clamped around her waist and she was borne up out of the chair and turned half-way around to sit on the now cleared marble table. The polished stone was chill beneath the naked flesh of her buttocks and thighs and contrasted sensually with the heated flesh at her waist and between her now widely spread thighs as Xena’s abdomen pressed up against the bard’s sensitive skin, rocking slowly against her. The warrior’s blue eyes changed colors as the flames flickered across her shadowed face, going from deep violet to an almost colorless steel gray, then back again, glowing as if lit from within. Warm full lips suddenly covered hers, pressing down hard and hungrily as one hand left her waist to thread long fingers into her tangled hair. Her head was eased back and Xena’s mouth lowered to feast on the arched, exposed length of her neck, nipping sharply at the tender skin, then soothing reddened flesh with darting strokes of a ravenous tongue.

Gabrielle moaned as her hips pumped a slow rhythm against the muscled plain of her lover’s abdomen, gliding against the wetness she’d already spread. The second hand left her waist and the bard felt it press flat between her shoulderblades as her body was urged downward to lie flat against the table. Xena followed her down, the great heat from her body contrasting deliciously with the chill of the stone table top causing Gabrielle to squirm against both, her eyes fluttering shut in sensual overload. Sharp teeth continued their attention’s to the bard’s smooth neck while crisp pubic hair now rocked against the center of her need, tickling, enticing, driving her steadily higher.

The strident bleating of the phone snapped the bard out of her erotic haze as Xena slumped down against her, groaning. At the second insistent ring, the warrior pushed herself up and away, striding to the desk and savagely flipping the phone open. "Yeah."

"Xena, it’s Nigel. I just wanted to let you know that the satellite’s back up again, though for how long is anyone’s guess. Your friends appear to be bunked in for the night. No further signs of movement."

"Thanks. Keep me posted with any changes."

"Will do."

Pressing the ‘end’ button, Xena slammed the phone back down on the desk, growling low in her throat at the untimely interruption. She turned her head to see Gabrielle’s form still stretched out over the table, light from the fire casting interesting shadows over smooth bare skin and striking prisms off fat beads of sweat dotting her heated flesh. Green eyes blinked dazedly at her. "Everything ok?"

"Yeah," Xena snarled. "Just perfect."

A sensual smile curved Gabrielle’s perfect lips as she stretched slowly, arching her body. "Then c’mon back over here, warrior. I think I can remember where we left off."

Xena’s anger drained at the dark melody of the bard’s voice. Returning the smile, her eyes narrowed. "Hold that thought." Striding over to the bed, the warrior opened one of the drawers in the antique bedside stand, extracting the first item her hands closed around. Shaking the straps away, she held it up for her lover’s inspection, one eyebrow raised in inquiry. Gabrielle nodded hungrily viewing it. "Oh yes."

Smirking slightly, Xena settled the straps around her waist and between her legs, buckling herself securely into the harness and letting the flat, cool base of the dildo rest against her engorged nerves. Her task completed, she stalked back to her waiting lover, watching as erotic hunger deepened the green of Gabrielle’s eyes, watching as her body was devoured by that hungry, half lidded gaze. The bard widened her thighs to accommodate Xena’s hips as the warrior placed the length of the toy on Gabrielle’s mound, lowering her body once again to meld with the enticing flesh of her lover. "Where were we?"

Lips met in a kiss so incendiary that Gabrielle was sure sparks were flying from the contact. Sharp teeth nipped at needful flesh as mouths opened and tongues dueled, conquering, retreating, conquering yet again. The bard could feel the dormant length of the phallus against her lower belly, lying in wait for what was to come. She moaned loud into Xena’s mouth, squirming, needing, demanding. The feel of Xena’s flesh sliding against her own sent explosions of sensation through her body as wetness coated her inner thighs, pooling on the cool stone of the table beneath.

"Is there something you want from me?" a low voice purred into her ear as a tongue darted inside, then withdrew as sharp teeth nipped at the succulent flesh.

"Yes. Inside. I want you inside me."

A low, growling laugh. "I think that can be arranged." Pushing herself up off her lover’s body, Xena stood between the bard’s spread legs, grasping the base of the toy and delving the head between glistening lips, bathing it in Gabrielle’s ambrosial fluid. The heady mix of their combined arousal wafted into the air and the warrior breathed deep of it, growling deep in her chest. She stood poised at the entrance to her lover’s willing body, taking in the look on Gabrielle’s flushed face. With one, long, smooth stroke of her hips, she was sheathed fully, watching as the bard arched nearly off the table, hissing out her pleasure into the flame-gilded room. The intense clamping of Gabrielle’s inner walls rocked the base of the dildo against Xena’s engorged flesh. She moaned, low in her throat, riding the exquisite sensations, letting them carry her along.

When the bard’s body relaxed against the sweet, sudden invasion, Xena grabbed the young woman’s hips, steadying herself and keeping her partner immobile against the table. With an excruciating slowness, she smoothly pulled back until just the very tip remained inside. Gabrielle tried to surge against the withdrawal, but she was kept firmly pinned. She growled out her disapproval, which caused a light, lilting laugh to fill the room. The bard knew that laugh well. It was the one Xena used when she was toying with an opponent. It promised that satisfaction would come at the warrior’s own time and no one else’s.

Blowing out a breath of frustration, Gabrielle slumped back against the table, only to gasp sharply as she was filled once again, strongly and fully. Then, thankfully, blessedly, Xena began moving against her, invading her with slow, smooth, long strokes, starting a burning that threatened to become a fire out of control.

Releasing her strong grip on her lover’s hips, Xena again bent over Gabrielle’s writhing form, resting on her elbows as she continued to thrust into the body beneath her. Her head lowered once again, long raven hair forming an opaque curtain around both of them, as she captured her lover’s lips, swallowing the moans and returning her own. Finally, needing more air with which to breathe, she broke off the kiss, turning her head to one side and gasping as her hips took up a faster, deeper rhythm of advance and retreat.

Gabrielle hooked her legs around Xena’s thighs, her heels digging into the muscled, sweat-slicked skin of the warrior’s buttocks, driving her lover forward more strongly, more deeply. She gasped out with each thrust, grunting as she felt her inner walls begin to expand, signaling the onrush of orgasm. And then it was there, gathering her up into an explosion of light and sound as the world grayed out around her, leaving her with nothing but sensation, swallowing her whole.

The steel strong spasms of Gabrielle’s orgasmic contractions sent Xena into her own release. She continued to thrust mindlessly into the body of her lover, her legs weak and trembling as she rode the wave of feeling, cresting, growling into the night air. Finally, spent, she collapsed against the bard’s heaving, sweaty body, gasping for breath as aftershocks rolled through them both, each involuntary movement setting off another round of intense feeling, each triggering the other’s pleasure.

After several minutes of calming breaths and decelerating heart-rates, Xena gently moved up and away from her partner, mindful of tender tissues abraded by her fierce loving. She released the harness quickly, then gathered up her lover in gentle arms and carried her over to the bed, laying her down on fragrant sheets and joining her. Melding her long body to the bard’s side, the warrior nuzzled into the space between neck and shoulder, burrowing into the soft scent of clean hair and hot flesh. Her hand came up to cup Gabrielle’s breast possessively, idly stimulating the already aroused flesh with gentle circles of her palm and fingers. "I love you, Gabrielle." The low-timbered voice was muffled. "No matter how many times I say it, it still won’t be enough. I love you."

Gabrielle closed her eyes to the softly spoken words, taking the feelings they brought to her soul deep within, savoring them as treasures beyond any earthly price. Shifting to her side, she tenderly urged her lover onto her back, stroking tenderly the flesh beneath her fingers. "I love you too, Xena. Let me show you how much I adore you, my beloved warrior. Let me reach deep inside you and touch your heart." With hands, teeth, lips and tongue, she stoked the fire in her lover, hearing every soft sigh, feeling even the most minute of changes as the woman beneath her began to sway to the melody of her touch. As she stroked and coaxed, the bard painted a soothing orchestra of sound, telling her dark partner how loved she was, how cherished, how needed. She explored taut peaks and soft, plush valleys, never changing the rhythm she’d started.

Xena’s release, when it finally came, was like a warm, soft blanket drawn on in the coldest part of the night; sweet, serene, cherished. She fell into a peaceful slumber even before her body had stopped responding, a gentle smile tracing across her features.

Gabrielle drew up alongside of her lover, keeping her fingers nestled in their warm haven. Placing her head upon the gently moving chest, she joined her partner in the comfort of Morpheus’ embrace.

*******

Xena was awakened early the next morning by a gentle rap to the door. Disentangling herself from the sleepy grasp of Gabrielle, the warrior rolled out of bed, drawing a silken robe over her naked form while striding across the cool marble tiles to the door. Grasping the ornate handle, she twisted and pulled the door open a crack, spying the warmly smiling face of Stanos on the other side. He held her sword case reverently in his chubby hands. "Sorry to wake you so early, Xena, but a young man came with this for you. He didn’t want to give it to me, but I convinced him it was probably better for his life span if I were the one to wake you up."

Xena took the case from her friend with a great sense of relief. "Thanks. I had this shipped in from the States yesterday. Give the courier my thanks if you would."

Stanos bowed. "It would be my pleasure. Is there anything else I can do for you, my friend?"

Smiling, Xena nodded and leaned in close to whisper her request into the shorter man’s ear. Grinning widely and smoothing his moustache, Stanos nodded and turned from the door, promising to take care of everything for her.

After closing the door, Xena turned and looked longingly at the warm, soft haven she’d just left. A large part of the warrior longed to just forget the day’s troubles and crawl back into bed with her beloved bard. The more practical part of herself insisted on being heard and so it was with great regret that Xena bypassed the bed and instead made her way over to the desk, flipping the neglected laptop open. Settling her long frame into the chair, she quickly logged on to the Internet, checking through her multitude of urgent sounding e-mails and deleting most of them after no more than a cursory glance.

Next, she checked the news. The raid of Claiborne’s compound rated only a tiny blurb on the local and national servers. It appeared all agencies involved were keeping a tight lid on things until certain crucial bits of information floated across their desks. Information like the report Xena needed to write and hadn’t quite gotten around to. Sighing in frustration, she minimized the internet connection and brought up her word processing program, long fingers moving rapidly over the keys as she wrote up her overdue report. With her typical economical style, the report was finished quickly and, with a click of a button, transmitted over the internet to land in both the Yuma PD and FBI boxes. That done, she severed the internet connection and flipped the laptop closed, pushing it away from her and easing back into the chair, lost to her thoughts.

Another knock to the door roused her once again and she pushed herself out of the chair to answer the summons. Stanos had returned, his arms full of parcels and a large, covered basket which he handed over, smiling widely and warmly. "I trust everything will be to your liking, Xena. I’ve had your car washed and brought around to the front for whenever you’re ready."

"You’re wonderful, Stanos. Thank you very much for this."

"It is nothing but my pleasure, Xena. The only thing that I ask is that you stop and say hello to my Katherine before you leave. She’s pining to see you again."

"That’s a promise, my friend. Just as soon as I wake Gabrielle up and we get dressed."

"I’ll tell Katherine right away. She’ll be so pleased."

"See you in a bit then."

Stanos turned away as Xena closed the door once again, setting both the parcels and the basket on the table and looking at the remains of last night’s dinner still scattered on the floor. Reminding herself to leave a generous tip to the maid, the warrior strode over to the bed to rouse her sleeping lover. Entranced by the beautiful, open features, the dark warrior felt herself lured closer, bending slowly down to place the softest of kisses to sleeping lips. Pulling away briefly, she leaned in again, drawn in by the sweet taste of Gabrielle’s mouth. Sleepy green eyes fluttered open and the kiss was returned, deepening. After a long moment of tender exploration, Xena pulled away, bearing Gabrielle up with her. "Morning, sleeping beauty."

"Mmmm. Morning yourself." Yawning and stretching luxuriously, the young bard scratched the back of her neck and attempted to settle her tangled hair. "Sleep well?"

"Like a baby. You?"

"Wonderfully." Gabrielle’s voice was deep and husky with sleep. Xena felt a pulling in her groin. "Been up long?"

"A bit. Had some things I needed to take care of."

"All done?"

"Yes."

A small hand reached up and pulled a the silken belt to Xena’s robe, exposing the warrior’s flesh to her hungry gaze. "Good. Then come back to bed."

This time, the warrior didn’t resist.

*******

Some time later, Gabrielle lay on her side, head pillowed on Xena’s shoulder as she traced idle patterns over her lover’s smooth skin. "I must say, it’s turning out to be a wonderful homecoming."

"It has that."

"Is there anything pressing we need to do today? Or can I just lounge around decadently and feast on you all afternoon."

"Well, I thought maybe we’d get a little fresh air."

Gabrielle’s expression became serious. "Xena, I’m not sure if I can handle sightseeing right now. So much has changed and I can’t say I like any of it." She sighed. "Gods, I never thought I’d be thinking that, let alone saying it."

Xena caressed her lover’s cheek tenderly. "I know it’s difficult, my love. But the place I had in mind hasn’t really changed in the last three thousand years. What to you say to a day on the beach? I know a secluded little cove that you just might be familiar with." The warrior’s pale eyes sparkled.

Gabrielle caught the look in her partner’s eyes and, as if reading her mind, she was overcome with a wave of excitement. "You don’t mean . . . ."

"I do, indeed."

The secluded little cove was the place they’d first made love eons ago. A homecoming of another sort, but one as fresh with memories as if it had happened only hours before. "I’d like that."

"Then let’s get ready. Stanos brought up a picnic lunch we can take with us. My car’s around front, just waiting."

"There’s just a little problem with your plan, my love."

"And that would be . . . ?"

"Well, as I was saying yesterday before I was so wonderfully interrupted by last night’s festivities, I’m lacking one, small, accouterment. Clothes."

Xena grinned. "Already taken care of."

"Let me guess. Stanos."

"Exactly. Get up and see if you like anything he brought for you. If not, we can always do more shopping."

Rolling out of bed, the bard snorted softly. "Yeah, right. You. Shopping. Clothes. I don’t think so."

Xena rolled her eyes, snatched several garments out of the massive closet, and stalked into the bathroom. "I can shop if I want to," she was heard to mutter as the bathroom swallowed her up.

Grinning, Gabrielle walked over to the table and opened the bags set down there. "Oooooo." Her hands touched on cool, colorful fabric and she began pulling out the garments Stanos had selected. Shorts and skirts, jeans and tops soon sat on the table in a riot of color. There were even some delicate silken undergarments, the thought of Stanos buying them made her blush, and a beautiful bikini in shimmering turquoise. "Well, the man’s got taste, I’ll say that for him." Picking up a pair of white cotton shorts and a colorful half top, she went into the bathroom to take a shower. Xena was on her way out of the room, dressed casually in a white ribbed tank top and soft, worn bluejeans. Gabrielle looked on, smiling at the way Xena filled out her top, the play of muscles and flesh against the fabric and the contrasting tones of bright white and deep tan. "Lookin’ good," she said with a saucy wink as she passed by.

Crooking a smile at her partner, Xena rubbed the bard’s head and walked into the main room to begin gathering the items for their day.

*******

The two women stepped into the brightly lit atrium, making for the registration desk, when a shout rang out, echoing against the marble and statuary, and a tall, lithe and stunningly beautiful woman with streaming black hair ran across the marble tiled floor, almost launching herself into Xena’s strong arms. The warrior was forced to drop her baggage as the woman grabbed her around the shoulders and kissed both cheeks soundly, leaving a tinge of red lipstick behind to mark her presence. Gabrielle stared on, gape-jawed with shock. She’d never seen anyone greet Xena that way, excepting herself. More to the point, she’d never seen Xena allow anyone to greet her that way. Again, excepting herself. She fought down a tiny pang of jealousy, seeing the way Xena’s eyes lit up at the greeting as she returned the hug with feeling. "Katherine, it’s good to see you again, my friend."

"Xena! The joy is doubled for me! Stanos nearly drove me mad with jealousy, hoarding your secret visit all to himself!" She pulled away, hands clamped to the warrior’s arms. "Let me look at you! As beautiful as ever! You haven’t changed a bit. Not that you would." Stepping forward, she embraced the taller woman once again. "I’m so glad you are here." Then she pulled away once more, wiping the tears from her eyes and smiling through them.

Turning, Xena gathered Gabrielle in with an arm around the bard’s waist. "Gabrielle, I’d like to introduce you to Katherine, a dear friend. Katherine, this is Gabrielle."

Katherine turned her beaming smile on the smaller woman. "It’s a pleasure to meet the woman who’s held Xena’s heart in her gentle keeping all these years. You are just as she described you, though her words could never do true justice to your beauty." Katherine’s words, though flattering, held a ring of solemn truth to them and Gabrielle felt the jealousy fade away. When she realized she could easily understand the other woman’s speech, her eyes widened once again and she looked to Xena for answers.

"Katherine is a linguist," Xena explained. "I first met her when she was attending the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. I tutored her in Ancient Greek dialects and we became friends."

Short and to the point as always, but Gabrielle managed not to scowl. Instead, she turned back to the other woman with a smile of her own. "I’m very pleased to meet you, Katherine."

"I am truly honored, Gabrielle. Xena has allowed me the great pleasure of reading your works and, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, perhaps one day soon we might sit and discuss them?" Her eyes twinkled. "That is if my husband over there can get over his drooling hero-worship long enough to have you all to myself for an hour or so."

Gabrielle smiled warmly, feeling slightly overwhelmed. While she was proud of her work as a writer and teller of tales, she never imagined her words would still be viewed so many long years from their writing. "I’d . . .that’d . . .be wonderful!"

Katherine grasped the bard’s hands warmly. "Then it’s a date, yes?" Darting a quick look over her shoulder, the beautiful woman laughed. "I think my visit with you is done for now. If my husband holds his breath any longer trying to eavesdrop on our conversation, he’ll surely faint and at his age, it will take the rest of the day wake him up again!" She switched her gaze to Xena. "Dinner, perhaps tonight?"

Xena looked at Gabrielle, who nodded. "Dinner it is."

"Wonderful!" Reaching up, she kissed Xena again, hitting each cheek and brushing her lips. Smiling at Gabrielle, she turned and walked back to her husband, humming.

It was then that the bard knew she’d just run into another of Xena’s lovers, but the thought didn’t bother her as much as it once might have. For everything she wanted for her warrior partner, a sterile life of enforced chastity was not one of those things. Deep in her heart, Gabrielle was glad her lover had found someone who cared so much for her and it was obvious that Gabrielle herself had been a large part of that relationship based on Katherine’s words. She hugged that feeling warmly to herself, her mood immeasurably brightened.

Unwinding her long arm from Gabrielle’s waist, Xena bent down and picked up her sword case and the picnic basket. "Shall we?"

"Let’s."

*******

The cove was exactly as Gabrielle remembered it, its wild beauty seemingly untouched by the passage of time. Because it could only be reached by half hidden pathways through jagged cliffs and slashing sea grasses, very few ever thought to disturb the tranquility of this place and so it sat, undisturbed by man or machine. The bard remembered an almost circular clearing in the sand hard by a towering sea cave and it was to that exact spot Xena led her, placing down the blanket she’d carried and setting the picnic basket atop it to keep the strong sea breezes from snatching it away.

"Oh, Xena, it’s perfect. Just like I remembered."

Smiling crookedly, almost shyly, the warrior reached out and grasped Gabrielle’s hand, leading her along another half hidden path until they were standing atop a rockface jutting out over the calm, shallow waters of the hidden cove. The tide was in and the cove was alive with the splashing of the denizens of the sea. Far beyond, the strong surf crashed violently against the cliffs, sending salty spray towering into the air, blurring the rocks in a misty haze. Sea birds cried out stridently against the crashing of the waves as the wind whistled and hissed through the long grasses behind them, their feathered tops tickling against the bare skin of Gabrielle’s legs. The two women looked out over the deep blue of the sea, hands clasped tightly and hair entangling wildly in bold strokes of raven and gold as it was blown back from wind-flushed faces. Their souls met and merged here along the great waters, settling into a peace neither had truly felt since their separation. All was right in this brief second of infinity and except for their clothes, they could well have been what they once were, the great Warrior Princess and her bard, the Amazon Queen. Xena took these feelings and forced them into a place where they’d always be remembered and cherished. She breathed in the scent of the sea as it whirled below, felt the rushing warm wind stinging playfully at her face, felt the warmth of her beloved’s small hand enfolded tenderly in her own, and vowed to keep this always in her heart, this one simple moment of this one simple day. To lose this would be to lose a part of herself that she could not afford.

Taking in a deep breath of warm, salt-scented air, the warrior’s voice rose to join in harmony with the wind and waves, singing out a song of love, of loss and of joy reborn. It had always been one of Gabrielle’s favorites and Xena put more feeling into it than she ever had before, singing as if from her very soul. When the last notes died out, snatched up by the breeze and borne out over the ocean, the warrior turned to her lover and kissed the tears from her eyes. "I’ll love you forever, Gabrielle," she vowed from the deepest place in her heart, a place that no one else had ever claimed. A place that no one else ever would.

Voice caught in her throat, Gabrielle crushed her body against the strength of her beloved, hugging her so tightly against the buffeting wind that not even the faintest of breezes could pass through between their close-pressed bodies. She stayed within the warm cocoon, feeling treasured beyond price and all reason and becoming one with the sensations.

After long moments, the two separated as if by common decision, Xena holding out Gabrielle by the length of her arms and staring into her eyes with a look of such absolute adoration that the bard would spend eternity trying to put the feelings that gaze drew from her into words. "You ready for some lunch?" Xena finally murmured, her voice low and velvet-soft.

Still struck dumb by the intensity of her emotions, Gabrielle could only nod, sniffling against the tears which continued to fall from her verdant eyes. Giving her lover an endearing half-smile, Xena took up Gabrielle’s smaller hand once again and led her back to the clearing, sitting her down on the soft blanket in the sand and unpacking the picnic lunch Stanos had had prepared.

The mood between them was peaceful, their mutual silence one of contemplation. Chewing her food almost mechanically, Gabrielle thought back to the day she’d first seen this special grove.

Xena’s shifting of position on the blanket caused Gabrielle to snap from her reverie. "You look like you were somewhere far away," the warrior commented softly, stretched out and propped up on her elbows, big hands folded complacently over her contentedly full belly.

The bard smiled. "Mmm. Not so far in distance, but in time, yes. I was remembering our first time here."

"Our first time ‘here’, or our first ‘time’, here." The warrior smirked slightly.

Gabrielle colored faintly. "A little of both, actually."

Xena was just about to reply when her phone chirped, the sound muffled in the pack lying on the ground. Gabrielle watched as her lover’s face turned from peaceful and open to tense and stony upon listening to whatever message was being given her. The somber mask of the Warrior Princess was re-donned. Savagely jabbing the phone, the warrior threw it back in the sack and began to pack up their belongings, anger flowing around her like a cloud of darkness.

"Xena?" Gabrielle asked hesitantly.

Xena looked up from her task, blinking as if she’d forgotten her lover’s very presence. She took a deep breath. "We need to leave. They’re moving."

"Who’s moving?"

"Ares’ men or whoever they are. They’re within five miles of the site and they’ve brought in heavy equipment."

"Maybe they’re . . .what did you call those people . . .archaeologists or something?" She scrambled quickly off the blanket as Xena stood, grabbing the material and balling it up under her arm.

"That’s a possibility, but I can’t take that chance. I need to find out who they are and why they’re there."

"I’m going with you, Xena."

The stone façade softened just slightly. "I know you are, Gabrielle. Something tells me we need to do this together."

"Ah . . .that would be me."

"And you. C’mon."

Hand in hand, the two women walked back through the half hidden pathways, scrambling over rocks and ducking under low hanging branches, until they came to Xena’s Land Rover. Opening the hatch, the warrior stowed their gear. Within moments, they were off.

*******

"If those are archaeologists, Gabrielle, I’ll eat my chakram." The duo was standing well hidden at the edge of the tree-line, shadow dappled and gazing on at the scene before them. Three individual hillocks, each rising to a height of almost twenty feet and nearly equal to that in width, arose from the flattened foreground like large breasts, their back-sides sunk deep into the foothills of the mountain which rose up behind them. The hills themselves were covered with dirt and fine grass. If there truly were caves beneath, the entrances were obliterated by massive landslides which had come down from above. A group of thirty men, all uniformed and armed, worked industriously at the site, ten to a hill. Heavy earth moving equipment sat off to the side, silent for the moment.

"What are they doing?" Gabrielle whispered, taking a firmer grip on the mostly straight tree branch she was using for a staff.

"Searching for a way in." Xena settled her scabbard more comfortably over her back then reached down to absently caress the chakram which hung from a leather thong at her right hip. The comforting press of her handgun was felt in the waistband of her jeans. "They’re gonna dynamite the hills and hope to get lucky. Do all three of them have caves?"

"Hades didn’t tell me, but I don’t think so. He was quite specific about the one in the center. It leads way back into that mountain." The young bard looked over at her partner, watching the way the shadows created interesting patterns on her face. "What are we going to do?"

Xena didn’t answer her partner’s query immediately. Instead, she watched intently as a whip-thin man rolled wire from a fat spool along the ground. Several yards away from the middle hillock, the man set the spool down on the grass and with stout wire clippers, snipped the wires, peeling the insulation back to expose the twisted metal beneath. These he began to hook into the conductive leads of the transmitter as his cohort was setting the last of the explosive into the hill’s broad face. His task completed, the thin man picked up his wire spool once again, walking over to the hill to the left to repeat the process over again. The remaining nine men stood near the hill, eyes roaming over the grass covered mound, eyeing the explosive charges and making notes. The readied transmitter lay on the ground, forgotten for the moment.

Figuring the angles in her head, Xena untied the thong at her waist one handed. This chance might be the only one they got and she intended to make the most of it. "Be ready to run when I tell you, Gabrielle," she whispered, grasping her chakram close.

At her partner’s sharp nod, Xena released her weapon, watching as it flew inches from the rock covered ground. A second later, a massive explosion was heard as the chakram flipped the switch on the transmitter, exploding the hillside and sending rocks, dirt, grass and bodyparts flying into the air. Earth and gore rained down on the flattened ground and the other members of the raiding party threw themselves down on the ground, tossing down their weapons and covering their heads. "Run!!!" the warrior shouted, using the resultant confusion for cover, striding forward and catching her weapon as it rebounded off a tree. A gaping maw had revealed itself in the exploded remains of the hill and it was toward this that the warrior and bard ran.

Gabrielle choked on the rock dust that filled the air, wincing as she stepped quickly over a blasted and severed torso and then a head with everything missing from the nose up. Gagging, she tried to keep pace with the long legged figure who sprinted in front of her and whose broad back kept getting lost in the brown fog that had settled over the area.

Finally, through the smoke and dust, she could see the black mouth of the cave and she ran into it, wincing as a hard body pushed her aside, up against one of the rough rock walls of the cave’s interior. The light from the exterior illuminated a rock outcropping hanging precariously over the cave mouth, small pebbles detaching themselves from the greater formation and raining down on the floor in a brief torrent. Xena released her chakram again and the cave was filled with the sound of the rocks pounding down to earth, effectively sealing the entrance once again. The only difference this time around was that they were inside, trapped for the moment. "That’ll only delay them for a short time," Xena said in the newly dark cavern. "We need to figure out where to go from here."

"A torch would be handy," Gabrielle observed from her place by the wall, her mind still reeling with the images of pieces of human beings scattered throughout the clearing. Her guts rolled once again but she steadied them savagely, telling herself this was not the time to give in to the sensations. For good or ill, she’d chosen this path and she was bound and determined to stick with it to the end, whatever that would be.

The two women waited in silence, their eyes adjusting to the darkness. The cave smelled almost sterile, as if they were in a tomb whose occupant had long since dried into dust. No sounds of animals, flying or land-bound, came to their ears. A dusty beam of sunlight lanced through a narrow opening between the fallen boulders, illuminating only the very entrance to the cave and its attendant walls. A torch, set into an iron bracket in the wall, came into view. Sitting below this, in a niche carved into the rock, lay a flint and striker. Gabrielle reached in and took the tools. "Let’s see if I’m still as good at this as I used to be." It took three strikes, but finally a spark caught and set the torch aflame. The flame seemed to jump and then an entire line of torches lit, illuminating a long, dark and curving tunnel. "The old self lighting torches routine," Gabrielle murmured dryly. "You’d think the past three thousand years would’ve given them time to think up something new."

Turning her head to hide her smile, Xena peered down the newly lit tunnel watching as dancing torchlight painted sinister shadows on the cold stone walls. The sound of men shouting at the cave’s entrance caused the warrior to grab her partner’s arm and tug her down the pathway. They were, literally, stuck between a rock and a hard place. The only thing to do was to move forward, away from the known danger and into the peril of the unknown.

The two navigated the twisting, turning path through the tunnel cautiously, yet with a quickness to their steps. The sounds of working men behind them followed the women down the shadow-dappled pathway adding to their sense of urgency. A sharp turn to the left and the tunnel opened out into a massive cavern, its roof so high as to be unseen in the light cast by the torches. On the far wall, gigantic carvings of Olympians, looking much like the Titans of old, stood out from the walls in regal poses. Xena’s sharp eyes darted around the enclosure, seeking an exit. There was none, save for the way they’d just come. "Looks like we’ve hit the end of the line." Even whispering, the warrior’s voice echoed in the chamber.

"Did we pass any other passageways on our way in here?"

"Did you see any?"

"Well, no."

"Then we didn’t pass any."

Gabrielle shot a mildly hurt look at her partner, but the warrior was busy examining their surroundings. With a small, sad sigh, the bard began to look around as well, seeking the clue needed to get them out of their current predicament. Looking above the towering, intricately carved icons to the gods, Gabrielle noticed an ornate carving of a scroll. The words carved into the scroll were faint and the bard squinted her eyes against the moving shadows to read them aloud.

"’Above the earth . . .’ Oh! I get it! It’s a riddle. It’s . . . Xena? What are you doing?"

"Looking for the Muse of Incredibly Bad Poetry," the warrior remarked. "She’s gotta be around here somewhere."

"You’re a real cut up, Xena," Gabrielle responded, playfully slapping her partner’s arm as she strode over to the carvings. "Let’s see here. Ok, we’ve got Apollo . . . ."

"Gabrielle!! Don’t . . . ." Xena leapt over to the bard’s side just in time to grab the back of her top and prevent her from slipping into the chasm that had suddenly opened. " . . .touch that."

The bard held tight to Xena as she peered down into the blackness of the pit. "Well, at least we know what’ll happen if we don’t get the answer right, huh?"

"And you call me a cut up." Shaking her head, the warrior released her lover, turning to look at the carvings once again. "So, I guess we have to solve this riddle of yours to be able to get out of here."

"Hey! I’m not claiming credit for that piece of bad writing, warrior." She looked around, careful to keep well back from the carvings. "Alright, let’s see what we’ve got here. ‘Above the earth’ must be Apollo over here. That’s easy enough. ‘Below the sea’ . . . Poseidon. ‘The Key to Heaven belongs to me.’ Key to Heaven . . .Key to Heaven . . .oh! That’s easy! Aphrodite!"

Xena whirled, again halting the bard’s quick advance on the carving of the Goddess of Love in all her scantily clad glory. "Aphrodite!? What makes you say that?"

Green eyes rolled. "Isn’t it obvious, Xena? The Key to Heaven?" At her partner’s blank look, Gabrielle blew out a breath of frustration. "Warriors," she huffed. "The Key to Heaven, my dear pragmatist, is love! Hence, Aphrodite. I can’t believe you don’t see that." Shaking her blonde head, Gabrielle again advanced upon the carving only to have Xena slap her hands away. "Hey!"

"Wait a minute. It could just as easily be talking about Hades over there."

Gabrielle’s jaw dropped as her eyes widened in disbelief. "Hades!?!? I can’t wait to hear what explanation you come up with for that choice, Xena."

Folding her long arms across her chest, the warrior shot a mock glare at her dubious partner. "Hades is the god of the underworld, Gabrielle. It would only make sense that he’d hold the Key to Heaven."

"Oh, sure. For a somber literalist that might make sense, in a strange kind of way. But . . . ."

"What if a ‘somber literalist’ wrote the damn thing, Gabrielle?"

"Oh. Well. I didn’t think of that." She cocked her head in Xena’s direction. "So, what do we do now?"

The sound of an explosion rocketed through the cavern, sending down showers of rocks and dust to bathe the two women inside. "Whatever it is, we’d better do it soon," Xena muttered, waving a hand in front of her face and choking on the dust that filled her eyes, nose and mouth.

"Well," Gabrielle choked, fanning the dust from her face, "I’m not gonna give on Aphrodite and you’re to stubborn to agree with me, so . . . ."

"Both?"

"Both."

Gabrielle turned once again to face the goddess of love while Xena eased her long frame down the narrow shelf to stop before the carved form of the god of the underworld. "Ready?"

Turning her head, the bard locked eyes with her lover. If their guess was wrong, it would be a long drop to the bottom; a drop Gabrielle was sure she wouldn’t survive. The thought of Xena coming upon her broken and lifeless body almost made the bard change her mind. The sounds of angry men behind her forced her decision and, taking in a deep breath of rock-dusty air, she nodded.

Working as almost a single unit, the warrior and bard placed their palms flat against the ancient rock, pushing against the figures with equal strength and listening to the grinding rumble of stone on stone as the carvings began to move into the cave wall. At the same rate the figures began to sink into the wall, a stone beam began to jut out from the same wall, poised equidistant between the two gods. Light from the torches winked off of an object on the beam, causing the two women to cease their labors. Edging carefully over to the exposed rock beam, Xena reached up and plucked the glittering object from its surface. "The Key to Heaven, I presume." The object was a large brass key, its shining finish unmarred by thousands of years in its hidden tomb. "Now all we have to find is the Door to Heaven and we’ll be set." Whirling on her precarious perch at the renewed sounds of shouting and many booted feet clambering over the rocky cave floor, Xena tossed the bright key to her partner with one hand while freeing her gun from the waistband of her jeans with the other. "Find a keyhole this’ll fit into. I’ll try to keep our friends busy."

Gabrielle caught the key with both hands and nodded, her jade eyes already roaming the shadowed walls of the cave searching for the keyhole. Dancing light from the torches cast many curious images on the walls making her search difficult at best.

Her pistol grasped securely in one hand, Xena flipped over the wide chasm that had developed when Gabrielle had touched the statue of Apollo. Landing lightly on her feet, she ran swiftly across the broad clearing, stopping at the entrance to the tunnel and pressing her back hard against the chilled wall, listening intently and reviewing the twisting turns of the passageway in her mind. As the angry shouts and footsteps came ever closer, the warrior raised her weapon and started firing quickly into the mouth of the tunnel, listening to the high whine of the bullets as they ricocheted off the hard stone walls. Return fire came quickly from automatic weapons, but the sharp, blind curve of the tunnel prevented the ammunition from penetrating into the large clearing. Xena fired her clip dry, then reached into the pocket of her jeans to replace the cartridge, jamming it into place and firing again. "Gabrielle! Hurry!"

"Found it!" the bard shouted as her frantic eyes finally set upon a curious hole at the base of one of the flaming torches. Ramming the key into the socket with both hands, she twisted hard against the unforgiving metal. The lock squealed in protest and the key broke off in her hands. Gabrielle swallowed a shout of despair. "Xena!"

The warrior winced at the winking light that flashed off of the polished brass Gabrielle held in her hand. Squinting, she could just make out the shaft of the key protruding from the base of the sconce. "Try pushing the torch into the wall."

"I did! It won’t move!"

"Try pulling, then! Or turning!" The sounds within the tunnel started up again, causing the tall warrior to whirl back to her position at the mouth of the cave, firing blindly into the passage.

Gritting her teeth and muttering under her breath, Gabrielle pushed and pulled, tugged and wrenched, lifted and sunk, all with the same result. Nothing. Alright, Hades, I know you’re listening. You sent me back to bring her here. And now you’re gonna sit back and let us fail just because you can’t make a key strong enough to open this lock? I don’t think so, Mr. God of the Underworld. So get off your all mighty . . .throne . . .and HELP! Wiping her sweating hands off on her shorts, Gabrielle grasped the protruding shaft of the key and twisted with all her strength.

An empty click told the warrior she’d just run out of ammunition for the second time. Ejecting the spent cartridge, she dug for another, cursing when her probing fingers came up empty. "Gabrielle!"

"I’m doing the best I can over here, Xena!"

Muttering still more choice words under her breath, the warrior tossed her gun down the tunnel and freed her sword from its sheath at her back. She stood, both hands on the pommel and feet set wide in a stance of battle readiness. Having no life to give, she’d defend the entrance, and her lover, with her body and sword, praying in her mind that it would be enough.

The ease in which the broken key turned in the lock made a mockery of all Gabrielle’s previous attempts. The iron collar on the sconce loosened, causing the now freed torch to rattle in its holding, its flame bobbing and weaving dangerously. Gabrielle steadied the torch, then pulled it free from the bracket. Freed of its confining weight, the iron sconce shot upwards, triggering a counterweight that ran behind the stone wall of the cave. "Xena! Poseidon’s moving!"

Xena lifted an eyebrow at the apparent non-sequitor, but remained facing the dark tunnel, sword ready. Behind her, she could hear rocks rumbling and squealing as something very large moved within. Still she waited, weapon at the ready. When the shadow of a gun muzzle snaked around the passage, the warrior sprang into action, shouting out her war-cry. The echoing shout temporarily paralyzed the onrushing men, giving Xena enough time to turn the corner and run her sword through the soldier unlucky enough to be at the head of the line. As he fell, she grabbed the weapon from his hands, then kicked his body into the line of men behind him, forcing them all back with the strength of her blow. Sheathing her sword, Xena triggered the automatic weapon, shooting over the heads of the fallen men in an attempt to drive them back without killing them. The soldiers pressed their bellies flat to the cold stone floor, their hands crossed protectively over their heads and their throats open with screams of terror. Her mission for the moment accomplished, she turned and fled back into the large cavern, striding quickly over the rocky ground and leaping the chasm to land at Gabrielle’s side.

Grasping the bard’s arm, Xena urged her into the space that had been revealed when the carving of Poseidon had cantilevered on a hidden axis. Gabrielle’s torch snuffed of its own accord, as if the blackness beyond the wall absorbed all light. "Xena?"

"Don’t worry about it. Just go."

"But I can’t see!"

"Just go!" Xena pushed her partner into the darkness as gunfire erupted around her, a spray of bullets whining off the stone walls around them. Ducking her head, the warrior followed Gabrielle into the darkness, one hand on the bard’s strong back as they cautiously worked their way down the steadily narrowing passageway. Xena’s broad shoulders began to brush against the tunnel on both sides and she could feel the ceiling coming down closer to her head with each step she took.

Gabrielle stopped suddenly, her hands out before her like a blind woman’s. "End of the line, Xena." Her palms were pressed against an immovable stone wall. Unlike the walls of the cave itself, this barrier was smooth and faintly warm.

Another round of gunfire sounded, this much closer than the last. "Try and feel around for a switch or something," Xena muttered, turning away from Gabrielle and going back towards the square of light beckoning her. Blocking the entrance with her body, Xena fired blindly over the chasm separating herself and Gabrielle from the onrushing soldiers. She smiled grimly as several rounds found their intended marks, blasting one soldier back against the tunnel and sending another tumbling into the deep pit, his screams of pain and terror echoing in the huge cavern. The warrior didn’t dare press herself into hiding, knowing that if she did so, any ammunition fired into their newest tunnel would find her soulmate. So instead, she spread her feet, immovable as the stone surrounding her, and kept her finger pressed down on the trigger, feeling the weapon vibrate and grow hot in her hands. Four more men went down in bloody heaps before Xena heard her partner’s shout.

After searching frantically for what seemed like a minor eternity, Gabrielle’s flailing fingers finally set upon a raised stone switch to the left of the smooth stone barrier. Pressing down with all her might, the switch pushed into the wall, disappearing into the chilled stone as if it had never been there at all. Setting her shoulder against the barrier, the bard put her whole body weight behind the shove, succeeding in moving the stone door only a few scant, protesting inches. She pushed again, grunting and swearing, but the barrier refused to budge any further. A beam of radiant light shone through the minute seam her pushing had produced. One more mighty heave produced no further result and the bard banged her fist against the warm stone in frustration. "Xena! Need some help over here, please!"

Hearing her lover’s exclamation, Xena fired off one last round before beginning her turn to go back up the darkened passageway to assist the bard. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion then. Xena could feel body begin to turn; then she felt the icy hotness of lead entering her side, directly over her left hip. As she began to crumple to the floor, the strength gone from her leg, another burst of gunfire traced a path across her upper chest and shoulder, lifting her from her crouch and slamming her back down the blackened tunnel and into Gabrielle. The strength of her body’s collision with her lover forced the recalcitrant door wide open, causing them both to tumble through, landing in a tangled heap on the warm, tiled floor of the Ambrosia chamber.

Gabrielle disentangled herself quickly, rising to her feet and wiping bloody palms on the dirty cotton of her shorts. She turned to Xena, jade eyes flashing. "A little advance warning next time would be nice, Xena." The anger drained from her eyes as she noticed the bloodless holes tattooing the flesh of her partner. "By the gods, Xena. Are you alright?"

"I’ll live," the warrior replied, scowling and attempting to regain her feet; failing miserably. "This just hasn’t been my week."

The bard helped pull her partner upright, steadying the larger woman as she swayed slightly, testing her weight on her injured leg. Both women lifted their heads to stare toward the center of the chamber, shielding their eyes against the blinding radiance flashing from its central core. There, borne up apparently by its own internal gravity, or lack thereof, was the ambrosia, glowing as if lit from within and emitting a spectral light which flashed and danced off the cave walls. An immense pit was sunk beneath the ambrosia’s resting place, marble walled and throwing off an intense heat.

The two women walked toward the pit, stopping at the foundation and looking down in fascination. A viscous liquid, emitting the same colorful radiance as the ambrosia, roiled below. Flames flared up and died, snapping and sizzling; bubbles, huge and tarry, broke on the surface, bearing the stench of sulfur as they erupted. In the exact center, the ambrosia hung under its own weight; untouched and untouchable. "How are we ever going to reach it?" Gabrielle asked, entranced by the display.

"We don’t have to reach it," Xena replied, untying her chakram and readying it for flight.

Gabrielle stopped the warrior’s motion with a hand to a corded forearm. "What are you doing?"

"I’m gonna knock it off of whatever pedestal’s holding it. That liquid underneath looks more than hot enough to destroy it."

"But what about Ares?"

Xena looked at her lover, pale eyes narrowed. "The ambrosia needs to be destroyed, Gabrielle. I’ll deal with Ares in my own way."

"But . . . ." Before Gabrielle could say anymore, Xena tore her arm away and sent the chakram off in the direction of the hanging ambrosia. Light sparked and flashed, then there was a sizzling sound and the air in the cave suddenly smelled like the air outside after a very intense thunderstorm. The chakram arced away from the ambrosia, sparked against one of the walls and came back into Xena’s hand, none the worse for its useless journey. Scowling and refusing to look at her partner, the warrior retied the weapon to her belt and removed her sword from its sheath. Jumping onto the low marble wall enclosing the pit, she reached out as far as she could, sword extended, and attempted to unseat the ambrosia from its hidden perch. Another bright flash of light and the weapon flew from her hand, twirling violently end over end to land on the floor with a musical clatter. Xena looked down at her empty hand, then back over at the ambrosia with narrowed eyes gone silver in the radiant light. Spinning on her heel, the warrior stalked off of the marble platform, walking over to where her sword lay and trying very hard not to limp. "Not one word, Gabrielle. Not . . .one . . .word."

"Wouldn’t dream of it, Xena," Gabrielle replied, drumming her fingers against her lips in an attempt to hide her smirk.

Sheathing her sword, Xena walked over to the open stone door and, with a vicious lash of her good leg, slammed the portal shut. The sound reverberated throughout the room in a rumbling roar.

"Feel better?"

"Yup."

"Glad to hear it."

Then the warrior walked back to the circular wall, peering closely at it, looking for imperfections as clues to obtain the ambrosia. The entire wall was done in slabs of black and white marble set in a fixed, checkerboard pattern. The colorful, blindingly bright light shifted randomly over the pattern, making perception difficult at best and so Xena resorted to touch, running the sensitive pads of her fingers over the smooth stone. Despite the obvious boiling heat of the liquid trapped within the enclosure, the marble was only moderately warm and completely smooth, having neither blemish nor seam to mar the symmetry of its perfection.

On the side opposite, Gabrielle watched her partner’s explorations and mimicked her actions, trailing her fingertips over the wall while closing her eyes to the brilliance of the light ever-shifting over the stone. She hesitated as she went over a certain region, then checked it again. Yes. There it was. A narrow area, no wider than her finger, but warmer, much warmer, than the stone to either side. Opening her eyes, she looked down at the space but could see no difference in the onyx-black marble she was tracing. "Xena? I’m not sure, but I think I might have found something."

Gazing up from her own study, Xena saw the perplexed look on her lover’s face and straightened, striding quickly over to the other side of the wall. "What is it?"

Grabbing the warrior’s hand, Gabrielle placed it down over her find. "Does that feel warmer to you?"

A raven eyebrow rose. "Sure does." Long fingers traced the line of warmth over the lip of the wall, an area no larger than a hand span in width. The stone cooled as she traced to the outside of the lip, but when she drew back toward the ambrosia, it heated up gradually, becoming quite hot at the very edge nearest to the boiling liquid that protected the food of the gods. Her curiosity piqued, Xena gingerly tucked the fingers of her right hand down past the lip, half expecting to find the flesh melted from her hand by the liquid that snapped and bubbled so furiously below. Feeling nothing, the warrior slowly explored the smooth surface, coming to another protruding lip almost four inches below the top which ran around the entire enclosure. Long fingers hooked under the protrusion, seeking any imperfection. Triggering something unseen, Xena quickly yanked her hand back as a high, cycling hum filled the chamber. A split second later, a brilliant beam of white light, brighter even than the sun, shot across the circle, extending in an unbroken line out from the wall and stopping directly beneath the hanging ambrosia. Both women stepped back, throwing up their hands to shield their eyes against the dazzling brilliance and seeing the imprint of that light as a negative against tightly clenched lids. The piercing whine continued to cycle upwards, finally coming to a blessed crescendo before softening and smoothing out. Even this sound drilled through the warrior’s ultra-sensitive hearing, setting her teeth on edge.

After several long moments, both women tentatively removed their hands from their eyes, squinting against this new, impossible brilliance. "What in the seven levels of Tartarus just happened?" Gabrielle asked, awed.

Xena, typically, shrugged. "Beats me." She took a confident step back to the wall, trying not to look directly into the beam, only to have her advance halted by a strong hand to her shoulder.

"What, exactly, are you planning here, Xena?"

"Gabrielle . . . ."

"No, Xena. You listen to me. Neither of us has any idea what happened here and you’re just gonna go charging in like it’s just another day at the office."

"I’m not gonna go ‘charging’ anywhere, Gabrielle. It’s obvious that this . . .thing . . .is the pathway to the ambrosia. I just want to see what it is and what it does."

"You can do that from back here, Xena."

"Gabrielle . . . ."

Releasing her grip on the warrior’s shoulder, Gabrielle crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot on the tiled floor. "Tell me something, Warrior Princess. When you were young, did you stick your hand in a snake pit just to see if you’d get bitten?"

Xena’s guilty flush came out too quickly to be hidden by her warrior mask.

"By the gods, you did, didn’t you!"

"Well, it wasn’t as if they were poisonous or anything! Besides, the bites healed up in a coupla’ days." Her expression turned to one of chagrin at the look on her partner’s face. "I learned a very valuable lesson."

"One you’ve obviously forgotten in the intervening years."

"Gabrielle, we need to get to the ambrosia. That beam, or whatever it is, is the key. Now we can stand here and argue like a couple of crazed harpies or we can do what we came here to do. That chasm isn’t going to keep those soldiers off our backs for very much longer."

After a long moment, Gabrielle dropped her eyes, studying the ground at her feet. "Fine. But if that light beam thing burns your legs to ashes, don’t come crawling to me."

"Ha. Ha."

"Xena, I’m serious. Please be careful."

"I will."

Hopping up onto the ledge, Xena squatted her long form down, her hand slowly reaching out to the beam of light jutting so steadily from its place in the wall. The light gave off no heat that she could detect. She could feel her hand almost being drawn to the beam, as if the light was a magnetic source feeding on her very flesh. The ozone smell was sharp and Xena could feel the power radiating from the beam, causing the hair on her arm to stand on end as if she were standing just beneath a nest of humming high-power lines. Curiously, she felt no sense of danger though every instinctual sense within her told her that she should. Her internal alarm bells were sending series of dizzying sparks up and down her spine, yet her hand continued to be drawn downward, if not explicitly against her will, certainly counter to it. Flesh finally met insubstantial light, but did not go through it. Rather, Xena’s fingers cupped around the beam, as if holding some solid thing. A tingling and not unpleasant warmth entered her palm, spreading up her arm and into her injured shoulder, calming the aches instantly. She cocked head curiously, noting how the flesh of her hand had attained the same radiance as the light she was holding. After a moment, she let go, fighting down a curious feeling of disappointment as she did so. Slowly, she straightened back up to her full height, flexing and releasing her hand and feeling the tingling warmth dissipate through her skin.

"Are you alright?" Gabrielle whispered from right next to her.

"Yeah. Fine."

"Did you get your answers?"

"Well, I’m still not sure what it is, but I think it’s strong enough to hold my weight if I use it to cross over the pit."

"You think?"

"I can’t be positive until I try it."

"And what if it’s not? Xena, if you’re wrong, you’ll die!"

"Gabrielle, I’m an Immortal. I can’t die, remember?"

The bard’s face flushed with anger. "You might not be able to die, Xena, but if you fall into that pit down there, I highly doubt you’ll want to live with what’s left of you. And I know I won’t."

Sighing, Xena turned away from her study of the ambrosia to face her lover. She opened her mouth to protest, but was silenced by the touch of Gabrielle’s fingers to her lips. "No, Xena. I know what you’re going to say, and you’re right. I know we have a job to do and I know we need to get it done. Just please, please be careful."

Kissing the fingers at her lips to seal the pledge, Xena smiled into the eyes of her soulmate. After a last, long look, she turned away, her attention now focused totally on the task ahead. Standing at the very edge of the lip, the warrior gently eased the weight of one foot down onto the beam. It accepted her weight like a lover, engulfing the boot on her foot in wondrous light and holding her as steadily as if she were walking along a paved road in Athens. Sliding her first foot out slightly, she brought her second foot down. The beam instantly centered her, keeping her balance perfect, her full weight steady upon it. Tingling warmth spread from her feet to her calves, then up to her thighs, caressing her nerves and, again, soothing her aches. The curious sensations seemed to pool at the juncture of her thighs, but she ignored that feeling as best she could, concentrating instead on sliding carefully across the beam toward the ambrosia which hung, beckoning, before her.

It seemed to call out to her, this woman who only moments ago tried to destroy it. For the first time, Xena could truly understand just why men, and women, fought and died in an attempt to obtain it. She was pulled to the ambrosia like Ulysses to the Sirens, her entire focus upon it and none other. The ambrosia used that focus, that strength of purpose and unwavering, unbreakable spirit, that very thing that defined Xena, the Warrior Princess, to draw her forward into its seductive, tantalizing web. The entire spectrum of colors played across the chiseled features of her face; her blue eyes were wide and unblinking.

Her hands drew upward of their own volition, reaching out to cradle the food of the gods almost reverently. Touching the outer skin, her entire body became frozen as if she’d grasped a live electrical wire in her naked hands. Incredible power, living, breathing power, raced through her, filling her completely with boundless, holy energy. Nothing else existed. How could she want to destroy this single, perfect thing? How could she even think of it? To destroy it would be to destroy herself! Her mind flashed back to a time long ago when she had done exactly that; to a time when she had thoughtlessly thrown the ambrosia into a lava pit and watched it die without an ounce of remorse. Her mind cried out in silent agony over those past actions, but the essence of the ambrosia soothed her tortured thoughts once again, calming her, comforting her, centering her.

From her post by the wall, Gabrielle watched in horrified fascination as Xena seemed to meld with the ambrosia, the older woman’s face frozen in a mask of rapture the bard had never before seen. The warrior’s muscles stood out in bas relief against the swirling colors as her large hands cupped and caressed the skin of the ambrosia as if stroking a lover. "Xena?" Her partner gave no outward sign of hearing her. "Xena? Xena, what’s wrong? What is it? Xena!"

A loud shuddering boom to the wall behind her caused Gabrielle to whirl around, hands up in a defensive posture. It was obvious the soldiers had found a way to cross the chasm. The stone door still held, but for how long? "Xena! Our friends are outside, Xena! They’re knocking!" A shuddering blast shook the chamber. "Loudly!!"

Still no response from the entranced warrior. Another loud boom sounded from behind the door, causing the chamber to rumble unsteadily again. Gabrielle jumped up onto the marble wall, staring down at the beam of light currently holding her partner hostage. "Ok, Gabrielle, show time. There are a lot of very ticked off soldiers behind you and your partner is having a love affair with the food of the gods." The bard shrugged. "Granted, it’s not something you see happening everyday, but . . . ." Wincing, she gingerly put her foot down on the beam, half expecting to be blown off like Xena’s weapons. A huge gust of air left her lungs when the beam bore up easily under her weight. "Thank the gods. One down, one to go." Sliding her foot carefully out as she’d seen Xena do, the bard placed her other foot down, her eyes screwed tightly shut. "Well, now that wasn’t so hard. WOAH!!!" Pinwheeling her arms wildly, Gabrielle tried to regain her balance on the thin beam of light that seemed, suddenly, to be doing its level best to dump her into the pit of boiling . . .whatever . . .beneath her dancing body. Several heartfelt prayers to gods known and unknown later, the bard finally regained her balance. Breathing heavily, she wiped the sweat from her brow. "Alright, alright, I can do this. It’s all in the attitude. I’m as graceful as a . . .as a . . .oh c’mon words, don’t fail me now. Think, what’s graceful? A . . .a . . .a swan! Yes! I’m as graceful as a swan. I’m as light as a feather, I’m as graceful as a swan. Light as a feather, graceful as a swan. Light as a feather . . . ."

So intent was she on her chanted litany that Gabrielle almost dumped herself into the pit when she brushed against the warrior’s broad back. Yelping high in her throat, she shot out a sweating hand to grasp the back of Xena’s tank top for support. The warrior stood immobile as stone, still caressing the ambrosia with bold, gentle strokes. Steadying herself against her partner, Gabrielle lifted her chin and crooned soothingly into Xena’s ear. "C’mon, Xena, snap out of it. We’ve got a job to do, remember?"

Xena stood unmoving, still deep within the focused trance of the ambrosia. Gabrielle’s voice blended smoothly with the music playing through her soul. Another loud rumble sounded through the room, causing Gabrielle to wrap her hands tightly around the warrior’s trim waist to keep from falling. Time to whistle a different tune, here. "Oh, Xena," she said in a sing-song voice, "the soldiers are coming for the ambrosia. They want to take it from you."

The warrior stiffened. "No."

"Yes. They’re coming, Xena. Hear them? They’re gonna take it away from you if you don’t snap out of it."

"Protect . . .the ambrosia."

"That’s right, Xena. You need to protect the ambrosia." Taking in a deep breath, the bard prepared to play a cheap card, one she’d never deal if she could find a way around it. She had some pride, after all. "But who’s going to protect me, Xena? I know you aren’t much for noticing right now, but I’m what’s standing between you and the door over there. And, unlike some people I could name, but won’t, I’m not immortal."

Dirty trick it might have been, no matter how true the statement, but it worked, exactly as Gabrielle had known it would. "Gabrielle?" Xena’s voice sounded as if it were coming from the bottom of a very deep well.

The bard squeezed her lover tightly, a broad smile creasing her beautiful face. "Yes, Xena. It’s me. I’m right here."

"What happened?" The warrior released the ambrosia as if it had suddenly grown poisonous fangs, carefully keeping her balance on the no longer enticing light beam.

"I think it was another one of Hades’ traps. I haven’t seen you that focused on anything in a long time. You were in some kind of a trance, I think."

"And you snapped me out of it. Thanks."

"Think nothing of it, love. It seems to be a skill of mine." Gabrielle’s tone was just a hair short of smug.

The corner of Xena’s lip curled in a wry half smile. "Yeah, but you usually have a pitchfork in your hands at the time."

Gabrielle laughed warmly. "Next time, alright?"

"Deal."

"Um . . .Xena?"

Continued...Part 6 (Conclusion)

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