Time to Kill
Part One
“Are you sure this is the right place, Xena?”
“Yep. This is the place.”
The two women stood in the leafy foliage and looked up at their destination. Where they stood, tall trees rose high into the sky, the dark brown trunks adding to the gloom of the woods behind them. At the edge where they stood, however, the sun was allowed an unhindered journey to the ground and it glistened off the lush green ferns that rose tall enough to reach the younger woman’s chest.
All this enhanced the scene in the clearing before them. In the middle of a huge, flat clearing stood a tall, gloomy, gray castle. The place looked run down -- moss and vines creeped up the decaying stone walls of the fortress. Chunks of rock littered the ground around the castle, having fallen from their lofty perches atop the walls. The windows were hastily boarded up. Planks of wood went every which way, leaving cracks of space for an outsider to look into the dark recesses of the castle. Up at the top of a high, prominent tower, torn, faded black curtains blew through the window. The fabric was shredded and looked as though a wild animal had gotten hold of it. All in all, the place wasn’t very inviting. Compared to the dark, forbidding forest that surrounded the castle on nearly every side, it still managed to look menacing. Any traveler who happened by would, despite conditions or need of shelter, continue past this hollow shell of a palace.
Gabrielle sighed as she looked at the desolate castle and shook her head in confusion. “Why in Zeus’ name would Hercules and Iolaus pick this of all places to meet us at? Couldn’t they have chosen a nice, cozy little inn somewhere? This place gives me the creeps.”
“Oh, come on. It’s not that bad,” Xena said lightly, putting her arm around the bard’s shoulders to calm her. “I’ll protect you from any spiders and vermin you find in there.”
Gabrielle shot Xena a dark look and softly backhanded her friend in the stomach. She shrugged the arm off her shoulder and resumed her trek through the leafy plants toward the castle. Xena laughed and in two steps caught up to the bard as she picked her way through the ferns.
“Look, I’m sure they must have had a good reason for picking this place. We’ll just have to wait until they arrive to find out what it is,” Xena said.
“That’s not supposed to be for several days yet. Xena, why don’t we go to that nice village we saw a while back? It’s only a few miles away and we could come back here when we’re supposed to meet up with Hercules. Honestly, Xena, I don’t want to stay here.”
“What could possibly go wrong? This place has been abandoned for years! Besides, would you really like having to walk through all *this* again?” Xena asked as she swatted a tall fern out of her face.
“We could always take the road like civilized people do, Xena.” Gabrielle pointed to the narrow dirt road that led up to the front of the castle. Xena grinned sheepishly when she saw the cleared path.
“Yeah, well I figured you could use the work-out,” she replied.
“Right,” Gabrielle said sarcastically, not believing a word of it. “And another thing. Why *was* this place abandoned? There must have been good reason for everyone to leave, and I’m not sure I want to find out what it was.”
“Gabrielle, nothing is going to happen. Trust me.”
Gabrielle sighed and shook her head slightly. “I do trust you, Xena, but you can’t control everything. Some things are even out of your power.”
Xena walked silently behind her friend for a few moments, thinking over what had been said. She dismissively swatted at some of the overgrown shrubbery before she spoke again.
“Look, Gabrielle,” Xena started, reaching out with her free hand and turning the young bard around to look at her. Xena rested her hands on Gabrielle’s shoulders and gazed into her eyes, searching for the words to relay her thoughts to her friend. “I promise that if we see anything suspicious in there, we’ll go to an inn. Let’s just look around here, though. Maybe you’ll change your mind about leaving.”
Gabrielle thought the offer over and closed her eyes resignedly. She was less than thrilled about the idea of going into the castle, but for Xena’s sake...
“All right,” Gabrielle acceded, nodding her head. “But if there’s anything even remotely strange, we leave right away, right?”
“Right.”
“Okay, let’s go then.” Gabrielle turned and started back through the brush. Just a few more feet...
The pair emerged from the tangled mess of plants, glad to be free from their unrelenting grip. Gabrielle sighed in relief before turning to Xena.
“Next time we take the road.”
Xena sheepishly smiled her agreement.
“Good. Now come on. Let’s get this over with,” Gabrielle commanded, pulling Xena along behind her towards the entrance to the castle. Xena laughed.
“Bossy little thing, aren’t you?” she joked.
“Don’t call me little,” Gabrielle told the warrior, her tone threatening. Still, she couldn’t help smiling a bit.
“Yes, ma’am.”
The pair walked briskly though the brown dead grass towards the castle. Gabrielle picked her way through the stones littered throughout the clearing with her staff and the two eventually came to the front door.
A tarnished brass door knocker hung loosely from the cracked, rotting wood door. The brown wood splintered in places and was weathered down all over. In the middle a huge gash mark was heavily indented in the wood, and in places the lighter colored wood could be seen beneath.
Gabrielle leaned forward and eyed the door knocker intently. It was in the shape of a ghastly, twisted face. The eyes were slitted evilly, the ears pointed up, and sharp looking fangs appeared in the being’s mouth. The lips were curved in a disgusting, sick smirk. The brass handgrip hung from the pig-shaped nose on the ugly face.
“What a nice, inviting place,” Gabrielle joked. Her spirits lifted by her light banter with Xena, and her resolve strengthened by the warrior’s earlier promise, Gabrielle playfully reached out and rapped the knocker. At once, the large door fell backwards and hit the ground with a resounding crash and a large cloud of dust. The brass knocker hung limply from Gabrielle’s hand as the young woman stared dazedly into the now-empty space before her.
“Nice,” Xena commented, stepping past her shaken friend through the doorway. She looked up at the walls by the door and, upon finding what she was looking for, drew out a dagger and some flint and lit a torch upon the wall. Then she turned her attention back to Gabrielle. “Well, what are you waiting for? Come on.”
Her pulse racing, Gabrielle blinked her eyes rapidly and shook her head to bring herself out of her shock. Done, she dropped the gnarled knocker to the ground and stepped in to stand beside her friend.
Gabrielle looked around the mostly dark room, trying to determine where it ended and what was inside. Nearly 100 yards away, a faint ray of light shone through a crack in one of the half-boarded windows and left a faint yellow streak on the floor. Just off to the right about 15 short paces away was a staircase leading upwards. Gabrielle couldn’t tell how high it went since only the bottom two steps were visible in the torchlight, but she figured it must have been pretty high considering another ray of light shone in about 45 yards up.
“By the gods, Xena, this place is huge!” she whispered in amazement.
“Yes. Let’s find out just how huge it is,” the warrior replied, grabbing the torch out of the sconce and starting off along the left wall. Gabrielle hurried to get by her friend’s side.
After quite some time, their survey of the room was complete. Every torch on the every wall had been lit, the boards had been pried off of each window, and the whole room was now visible. Gabrielle rubbed her bruised shins which had managed to find every chair, table leg, and footstool long before the eye could.
“Xena, this place is magnificent! It really must have been something at one time,” Gabrielle uttered in awe, her pain forgotten. Xena merely nodded.
The two friends gazed at the monstrous room they stood in. The large chamber, despite being covered in layers in dust and cobwebs, still retained some of its old splendor. The floor was made of a polished white marble that, had it not been for all the grime, would most likely have shone brilliantly. The walls were covered with a thin wood paneling, the sconces jutting out at angles every so often so as not to cause fire. Large stone columns rose majestically from the floor to the ceiling high above in each corner of the room. Hanging down from the center of the ceiling was a grand crystal chandelier with unlit candles interrupting the dazzle of the clear rocks every so often. Gabrielle imagined that when the candles were lit or when the sun was in the right position, it probably cast a sparkling array of colorful beams down into the room.
Furniture was scattered in various places about the room. Comfy seats surrounded a large fireplace in one corner, and a nice dining area was set up in the back of the room where many narrow windows let light flow into. A small wooden table was positioned near the curving stairwell, right below the dusty banister that protected anyone in the area overlooking the large chamber from a long drop. The wall on that side of the room held several doorways leading out of the room, and the tall stairway, covered in red plush carpet, that led to the second floor.
“Do you want to go upstairs or keep looking down here?” Xena inquired of the awe-struck young bard.
The magnificence of the large room overrode Gabrielle’s earlier apprehension and her face lit up.
“Upstairs! I’ll race you!” Gabrielle shouted, taking off towards the stairs. Xena shrugged and jogged after her friend.
Gabrielle bounded up the soft stairs, taking two and sometimes three at a time. When she reached the top she breathlessly ran over to the wooden railing overlooking the room below. She stood there with her hands lightly resting on the creaky, unsteady wood frame, gazing down. A moment later Xena was by her side.
Gabrielle turned her face to look at her friend, her eyes wide with wonder. As Xena stared at her young companion, she noted how young, innocent, and beautiful she looked. The torchlight from downstairs glowed on the right half of Gabrielle’s face, making her golden hair sparkle. Coupled with the darkness upstairs that hooded the other side of her face, the contrasts gave Gabrielle a cherubic appearance.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it, Xena?” Gabrielle exclaimed, showing her perfect white teeth in her dazzling smile.
“Yes, it is,” Xena quietly replied, nodding her head slightly. Her pale blue eyes sparkled in the torchlight from below.
Gabrielle looked fondly at her best friend a few moments longer before her smile turned dangerous. “Don’t you dare say I told you so,” she warned.
Xena laughed in surprise. “I wasn’t...” she loudly protested until Gabrielle narrowed her eyes suspiciously at her. “Well, maybe I *was* going to.” She laughed again at the bard’s knowing glare.
“That’s what I thought,” Gabrielle admonished, jabbing her index finger playfully into Xena’s leather clad stomach. Abruptly, she grabbed Xena’s hand and led her off down the dark hallway. “Come on. Let’s see what other surprises this place has in store.”
“Yes ma’am,” Xena replied, chuckling as she was pulled down the unlit corridor.
It took hours to fully explore the castle and by the time Xena and Gabrielle had finished, the sun was gone from the sky and night had descended.
Nearly all the rooms had been explored -- the kitchen, dining room, pantry, and all the many bedrooms. Each room had been thoroughly furnished, and despite the layers of dust that covered everything, the place still seemed fit to be inhabited.
Gabrielle had been thrilled to see the large library upstairs. Scrolls and manuscripts were piled on huge bookcases, and they reached up to the ceiling. Before Gabrielle could delve into the piles, however, Xena had dragged her off to finish their explorations, promising plenty of time to read later.
When the two had finished their search of the castle, there had still been one room that Xena and Gabrielle had been unable to enter. In the main hall downstairs, every room except for this one had been accessible. No amount of physical effort could wrench the door open, and finally Xena and Gabrielle had to give up.
Behind the castle in a small walled off area they had found an empty stable, the roof threatening to cave in at any moment. Light filtered in through a large hole in the corner of the roof were the elements had done their work. Xena and Gabrielle had decided that any further inspection of the stable would be unwise.
A woodsman’s hut was also in the backyard of the castle. A large pile of decaying wood was stacked up on one side of the building, a rusty old axe lying on top. There was hardly anything inside the shack, though. A few empty, crooked shelves hung on the walls, ready to fall down, and the center of the room was completely filled by a large, dirty tub. Other than that, there was nothing.
The tired duo walked slowly up the winding stairway towards the bedrooms. Gabrielle looked down at the large room below. The torchlight flickered in the small breeze that wafted through the windows. Compared to the darkness outside, the glowing interior of the castle seemed eerie.
The two friends finished walking up the staircase and Xena murmured goodnight. As she headed towards one of the bedrooms, a hand on the arm halted her advance.
“Xena?” Gabrielle asked tentatively.
Xena turned to face her friend. “Yes?”
“Would you mind if I stayed with you? I’m not sure I like the idea of being alone in this place.”
Xena raised her eyebrow and looked her young friend in the eye. Finally she nodded and resumed her walk down the hall. “Thanks,” Gabrielle told Xena, relieved.
“You aren’t still having doubts about this place, are you?” Xena asked.
“Well, not really, but I’ve still got a weird feeling... like something’s going to happen.”
“Don’t worry. Everything is going to be fine.”
A loud pounding noise from downstairs woke Gabrielle up.
“Gods!” she exclaimed as the insistent clamor, coupled with the bright morning light, assaulted her still sleepy senses. She grabbed the pillow next to her and held it tightly over her face, hoping to drown everything out and perhaps catch some more sleep.
It was not to be, however. The bed which Gabrielle and Xena had shared had been untouched for uncountable years. Despite their persistent attempts at cleaning, some of the dust remained. Gabrielle gagged, coughed and threw the offending cushion across the room.
Gabrielle sighed and kept still in the soft bed a while longer, her eyes squeezed shut against the blinding light. Finally the nagging clamor from below got to her and she sat up quickly, scanning the room.
Xena was gone, of course. She was by nature an early riser, sometimes beating even the sun in the mornings. Gabrielle couldn’t remember actually seeing her friend sleep. Xena was always busy doing something when Gabrielle was turning in for the night, and Gabrielle never woke up earlier than the warrior either. Not that I really have any desire to, Gabrielle thought. I want as much sleep as I can get.
Gabrielle shook herself awake and took in her surroundings. The castle had been left pretty much as it must have been when it was occupied before, she surmised. Nearly everything in the room looked ancient and untouched. A large fireplace was on the far side of the room, ashes and dust mingled on the ground. A painting of a regal woman in emerald finery hung above the hearth, slightly crooked. Gabrielle wondered who the beautiful woman might be, but soon pushed the matter from her mind.
Over by the door rested a long wooden table, and a tall dirty mirror stood in the corner by the door. The ornately fashioned looking glass seemed to be ringed in an intricate gold weave, and Gabrielle marveled at the wondrous craftsmanship. It must really be something when it’s cleaned up, she thought.
Gabrielle slipped from the soft, feathery comfort of the bed and an involuntary shiver ran through her spine. Gods, that stone floor sure is cold in the morning, she told herself. Gabrielle pulled a baby blue blanket off the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders to keep out the cool morning air.
Gabrielle walked over to the narrow window by the bed and looked out upon the new morning. The sun was peeking over the horizon which was difficult to see in the distance. What made the horizon so hard to see was the huge, majestic forest which filled much of the view. The castle seemed cut off from the world and civilization so far away, but Gabrielle could just see the drifting smoke reach into the sky from the village at the edge of the forest.
After a few more lingering moments appreciating the view, Gabrielle tore herself away and headed towards the door. She stopped at the table, grabbed her boots from among Xena’s discarded brass armor, slipped them on, and was soon on her way out.
Gabrielle paused at the railing and looked downstairs. Xena had replaced the door in the wall and was now pounding on it. The bard bounded down the stairs toward her very loud friend.
“Hey, Xena, what are you doing?!” Gabrielle cried out over the clamor when she reached the bottom of the stairs. Xena stopped her pounding and turned to face her young friend.
“Well good morning sleepyhead. What are you doing up so early?” Xena said, grinning at her friend and wiping some glistening sweat off her brow with the back of her hand.
“This loud noise could have something to do with it. What are you doing?” Gabrielle repeated.
“Oh, that,” Xena responded, smiling sheepishly. “I was just putting this door back in its place. We don’t want any unwelcome visitors in the night, do we?” With that she pointed towards the forest.
“Oh, well I guess that makes sense. Did you have to do it so early, though?”
Xena just shrugged and smiled her apology.
Gabrielle gave her friend a menacing, playful glare before turning thoughtful.
“Xena, here’s one thing I don’t get. How come there aren’t already some sort of creatures in here. A bird or something could have slipped through the window cracks. There aren’t even any insects.” Gabrielle pointed up towards the cobwebs. “Those spider webs are even empty. It doesn’t look like there’s been anything here for years. W didn’t even find anything more unpleasant than dust in the bed last night.”
Xena narrowed her eyes. “That is strange,” she agreed. Xena looked thoughtfully around the large room around her before turning her eyes back to Gabrielle. “Hey, don’t get worked up over this, Gabrielle. We’ve already stayed the night and nothing has happened. Don’t worry.”
The two friends just stared quietly at each other for a few moments more before Xena broke the silence. She turned back towards the door, inspected it thoroughly with her eyes and muttered, “That should do it,” before tossing a rusty hammer noisily into a toolbox.
As Xena picked the box up and headed towards the kitchen, Gabrielle fell into step beside her. “Where’d you get that?” she asked Xena, motioning towards the toolbox.
“I found it in the pantry this morning.”
“You’ve been busy. What else have you done today?”
“I had a little morning work-out and then caught us some food. I had to go deep into the forest before I could find anything, though,” Xena mentioned, pushing open the kitchen door to allow Gabrielle through before following behind.
“How early did you get up?” Gabrielle asked incredulously.
“Early.” Xena set the toolbox down in a corner of the kitchen and turned to face Gabrielle. “I’m going to go wash up at a spring I found nearby. Would you cook breakfast?”
“Yeah, sure, but I’m not so sure I like the idea of being alone here...”
“You were alone all morning and you’re still breathing, aren’t you?”
“It’s not the same, Xena. At least then I wasn’t *consciously* aware that you were gone.”
Xena grinned and put a hand reassuringly on Gabrielle’s shoulder. “You’ll be fine. I’m sure you’d rather I was gone a short while and came back clean than if I stayed here and smelled like a hog all day.”
“I can see your point,” Gabrielle asceded, waving her hand beneath her nose to shoo the odor away. Xena rolled her eyes.
“Ha ha. Look, after breakfast we’ll go up and look through the library like you wanted. How’s that?” Gabrielle’s face brightened and she nodded her head in assent. “Good. I’ll see you later.” Xena smiled and quickly disappeared out a door that led to the backyard.
Gabrielle sighed and looked around the room, her eyes pointing skyward. “What could happen?” she assured herself before she set to work preparing breakfast.
“This place is amazing!” Gabrielle exclaimed, looking over the vast library. Plain wooden bookshelves reached to the ceiling 30 feet above, hiding each wall. Every inch of space was covered with a scroll or bound book, and then topped off with dust. A tall ladder lay against one of the shelves, and in the center of the library a sturdy oak table with two chairs laying askew on the floor. Underneath it all lay a thick, red plush carpet. As Gabrielle stepped onto the soft fabric she sighed in delight. She spun quickly on her heels to face Xena, who stood cautiously in the doorway.
“Isn’t it wonderful, Xena? Look at all these scrolls!”
“It’s nice,” Xena said quietly before stepping into the room. For the life of her, she couldn’t see what was so exciting about a bunch of dusty old manuscripts.
Gabrielle ran over to one wall and excitedly pulled out a scroll. She opened the parchment reverently and scanned its contents with a skilled eye. Xena couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the happy bard.
“Hmmm, the syntax is rather old fashioned, but other than that I recognize the tale.” Gabrielle returned the scroll to its place and picked up another. After reading the first few lines of that one she said, “Same here. It must have been written a long time ago but the plot is familiar to me.”
“I’m not surprised. You know a lot of stories,” Xena said absentmindedly, looking at a large leather bound book which had been haphazardly thrown onto the shelf. It was easily four times the size of any of the other books.
“Thank you.” Gabrielle returned the scroll to the shelf and turned to Xena. She noticed the huge book that had caught her friend’s attention and stepped towards it. “Now *that* looks interesting.”
Gabrielle grabbed one end of the book and tried to lift it. It shifted slightly but there was no way Gabrielle could carry it. “Xena? Come help me with this thing,” she grunted.
“It’s a book, Gabrielle, not Mount Olympus,” Xena teased as she watched her friend struggle with the tome. She went over to help the bard and lifted the opposite end a little bit, groaning. “What in Zeus’ name is this thing made out of?” she exclaimed.
Gabrielle just grunted and lifted her end of the book. Together they slowly carried the huge volume over to the table in the center of the room. They tossed it onto the table top and sighed in relief that the heavy burden was off their hands.
“Here.” Gabrielle handed the light blue blanket she’d had wrapped around herself to Xena and began a thorough examination of the book. “Look at this cover, Xena,” she said, moving her trembling hand lightly across the leather. “It’s so strange. It looks like...”
“Human skin?” Xena replied. Gabrielle just nodded her head as Xena wrapped the blanket tightly around herself.
“And look at the writing. I think it’s blood.” Gabrielle quickly took her hand away. “This is disgusting!”
“Can you read what it says?” Xena asked.
“No, I’ve never seen anything like this before. This writing is totally unfamiliar to me.” Gabrielle shook her head. “This is so sick!”
“Aren’t you going to open it up? Maybe there’s something inside.” Xena, her curiosity piqued, examined the book and the strange red symbols that adorned it.
“I’m not touching it!” Gabrielle exclaimed, stepping away from the table.
Xena looked at the frightened bard amusedly. “Are you afraid it will bite?” she teased. The warrior moved closer to the book. As she looked at it, she could have sworn she saw the symbols on top move in a fascinating pattern. Nonsense, Xena thought, and she threw open the book.
A shrill, piercing cry emanated from the open book and a thick black cloud arose, enveloping Xena’s face. A fierce wind blew through the room knocking scrolls from shelves all over. Gabrielle screamed in alarm and held her hands over her ears to keep out the ear-splitting sound.
Gabrielle turned her attention to Xena. The warrior stood transfixed in her place, eyes fixed on the book before her. She seemed oblivious to everything around her -- the loud, wailing siren, the strong wind blowing her raven locks straight back, and the dark cloud which moments before had hit her straight in the face. She merely stared at the pages open before her, limply hugging the blanket to her body.
Gabrielle, eyes wide in confusion, stared at her unaware friend. Finally she pulled her hands off her ears and slammed the strange book shut.
The shrill cry ended. The wind ceased to be. The two women stood blankly in the library. Finally Gabrielle found her voice and spoke.
“By the gods, what was that?!”
Xena merely stared down at the closed tome on the table.
“Xena, are you all right?” Gabrielle asked, concern overwhelming her. She hurried over to her friend and put an arm around her waist. She looked up into empty, glassy eyes. “What’s wrong?”
Xena stared forward a few moments longer before she started blinking her eyes repeatedly. She moaned and held her eyes closed a while before opening them and looking right into Gabrielle’s tender face.
“Hmmm? What’s wrong with you?” Xena questioned.
Gabrielle stared at her friend incredulously. “Do you have any idea what just happened here?”
“What? What are you talking about?” Xena asked, obviously unaware of recent events. Gabrielle looked worriedly at the warrior.
“Maybe you should go lie down,” the bard offered, steering the warrior out of the library.
“Good idea. For some reason, I’m exhausted.” Xena allowed herself to be led out of the room by Gabrielle. Neither noticed the dark clouds lurking high up in the corners of the room. The shadowed objects swirled slowly before thinning out and dissolving into the air.
The sun had nearly set but Xena still was in the midst of a deep slumber. Gabrielle was worried. Xena was by nature a light sleeper, the slightest sound was enough to wake the warrior princess and cause her senses to be fully alert. After the incident in the library, however, Xena slept like a rock. Nothing could wake her. Even Gabrielle’s stumbling through the room and causing all of Xena’s armor to crash to the floor went unnoticed by the sleeping warrior.
Gabrielle was both worried and panicked. What had happened when that book was opened, and what had it done to Xena? Gabrielle sat vigilantly by Xena’s side when she wasn’t pacing the room and wearing a hole in the floor. She watched as her proud warrior friend lay quietly on the long, white bed, occasionally having involuntary muscle spasms. Xena’s face increasingly looked haggard and worn down, almost as though she was fighting a losing battle. Gabrielle could only watch and wait.
When Xena finally awoke, Gabrielle was right by her side. The bard looked down into confused, cloudy eyes. Xena stared up into Gabrielle’s worried face.
“Xena, are you all right? You’ve been out for hours. You really had me worried there.” Gabrielle brushed the bangs out of Xena’s face to feel for fever. Xena felt cold and clammy and she looked pale.
“I’m fine, Gabrielle. Just tired.”
“Do you remember anything that happened before?”
Xena arched her eyebrow and looked toward the doorway inquisitively, searching for an answer. “I remember opening that book and getting hit in the face with something, that’s it.”
“Well, at least that’s something. You’re all right now, though, aren’t you?” Gabrielle asked, gazing seriously at her friend.
“Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know, you just seem different somehow. I’m not sure how but you are. Maybe I’m just overreacting. You were in a trance there for a while, then you nearly pass out in exhaustion and now when you’re awake I’m surprised that you seem a bit strange. I must be imagining things.”
“Yeah, that must be it.” Xena glared suspiciously at Gabrielle for a second before changing the subject. “Hey, do we still have any food from this morning? I’m starving.”
Gabrielle caught the odd look Xena gave her and sat deep in thought a moment, wondering what it meant. She finally passed it off as one of the side effects of the earlier mishap in the library. “Yeah, we should still have something. It’ll be cold though. I’ll go get it and warm it up for you... but I’m not sure I should leave you alone.”
“I’ll be fine, Gabrielle. Go on and get the food. Oh, and while you’re down there could you get some firewood? I chopped some new wood up this morning, and it’s freezing in here.” To emphasize her point, Xena started to rub her arms with her palms to warm them up.
“Okay, I’ll go and do that right now. Is there anything else you need?” Gabrielle stared at Xena, waiting for an answer. She couldn’t help but notice the flush appearing on Xena’s cheeks or the sweat on her brow despite the insistence that it was cold. Maybe she was sick.
“No, that’s it,” Xena said sharply.
“All right. I’ll be as quick as I can. I’ll be back soon.” Gabrielle patted Xena’s arm before exiting the door.
As soon as Gabrielle was out of sight, Xena hopped out of bed. “Don’t hurry back on my accord.”
Xena quietly ran to the door and looked out in the direction that Gabrielle had gone. Her eyebrows bent wickedly and she grinned evilly at the retreating figure. When Gabrielle had disappeared she jumped back into the room and took in the appearance of the room with a glint in her eye. “It’s great to be free again,” she chuckled as she headed towards the window.
Downstairs, meanwhile, Gabrielle slowly turned the events of the day over in her mind. What had happened in the library earlier? Even after all this time thinking it over she couldn’t come to any conclusions. Whatever it was had sure messed Xena up pretty good. She sure didn’t seem to be herself just a moment ago.
Gabrielle pushed open the door to the kitchen and walked in. Everything was as she left it that morning. The morn seemed so long ago to Gabrielle. It had started off better than usual but now things seemed utterly wrong. A feeling of dread assaulted the bard and she shivered suddenly.
After setting up the morning’s leftovers by the firepit to heat, Gabrielle shoved open the rusty back door. She walked over to the small woodsman’s hut and got an armful of fuel for the upstairs fireplace. After turning back towards the castle she paused and looked up to inspect the place from the back.
Streams of yellow torchlight poured forth from the windows. The light softened the decrepit face of the stone walls, and the castle didn’t seem quite as bad as yesterday. Looking skyward, Gabrielle once again noticed the high tower she had seen the other day. She cocked her eyebrow thoughtfully. When Xena and she had searched the castle, they hadn’t found any staircases leading up to another level. Gabrielle gazed thoughtfully at the mysterious tower, wondering what was inside and how to get there.
The wind started howling as dark storm clouds moved in from the north. Gabrielle’s blond hair began to whip into her eyes, and the whistling wind brought her out of her melancholy mood. She cast one more contemplative glance up at the tower before running back into the castle, the mysteries of the place weighing heavily on her mind.
The lightning flashed brightly in the sky followed seconds later by the heavy sound of crashing thunder. The wind blew through the small window, blowing the fluffy blankets up into Gabrielle’s face. The bard snorted, absently pushed the covers away and groaned. It was just impossible to get a good night’s sleep here.
“Xena?” she sleepily called out, stretching her arms out above her head and yawning. “Xena, where are you?”
Gabrielle turned over on her side towards the middle of the bed, and half opened her heavy eyelids. Glaring down at her were intense, electric seas of blue. Gabrielle yelped in surprise and scuffled back a few inches.
“Xena?! How long have you been awake? Why didn’t you say anything when I called for you?” Gabrielle asked, wide awake now.
Xena lazily propped her head up on her arm and stared at the bard. Gabrielle nearly started to tremble at the intense scrutiny of the warrior’s gaze. “Long enough, and I didn’t feel like it,” she answered curtly.
Gabrielle opened her mouth to speak but no words would come. She was too shocked by the condescending tone of Xena’s voice.
“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue? That’s a first.” Xena rolled her eyes in contempt for the bard and turned on her back to look at the ceiling.
Gabrielle stared at her best friend, hurt and confusion evident in her features. After a few moments she came out of her stupor enough to speak. “Have I done something to upset you, Xena?”
“No, of course not. What could some one as *perfect* as you do?” The words seemed to drip from the warrior’s tongue like venom.
“What... what’s wrong then?” Gabrielle gulped for air, fighting her growing panic at her friend’s attitude. What could cause Xena to act like this? Xena turned over and glared victoriously into the dejected bard’s face. She smiled dangerously before answering.
“Nothing’s wrong. What makes you think anything is wrong?” Her toothy grin widened.
“Why are you acting like such a... Why are you being so harsh this morning?”
“Harsh, huh?” Xena laughed. “There’s nothing ‘harsh’ about honesty.” Gabrielle just stared wide eyed at her friend. After a moment of reveling in the bard’s torment, Xena kicked off the covers and jumped out of bed.
“Where are you going, Xena? You can’t leave me alone in this place. Something really strange is going on. I just know that something isn’t right,” Gabrielle pleaded. She neglected to tell the warrior that *she* was mostly what didn’t seem right.
Xena leaned in close to the bard until their faces were only inches apart. “Maybe you shouldn’t feel too safe around *me*.” A confused look crossed Gabrielle’s face and Xena smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t be far.”
With that she stepped away, laughed, and left the room. Gabrielle sat up and stared at the doorway, stricken.
What had just happened?
Gabrielle had sat alone in bed for some time pondering Xena’s behavior that morning. The warrior certainly wasn’t herself today. In fact, she seemed even stranger than yesterday. Instead of the warm, caring friend Gabrielle had come to know over the past few years, Xena had seemed cold, distant, and even cruel. Finally, Gabrielle decided to go find her friend and figure out what was going on.
Gabrielle exited the bedroom and headed downstairs. “Xena?” she called out. There was no response.
Gabrielle pushed open the door to the kitchen and stuck her head in. There was no sign of Xena there. Gabrielle stalked back to the pantry and looked there. Once again, Xena was no where to be found.
“Maybe she’s still upstairs,” Gabrielle told herself. She ran back across the room, past the door neither Xena nor she could open, and bounded up the stairwell.
“Xena!” she yelled. Gabrielle checked the numerous bedrooms with no luck before she decided to stop by the library. Cautiously, Gabrielle walked into the room and looked for any trace of her friend.
The book that had caused so much distress the other day now lay on the floor about 20 feet from the table. Gabrielle looked curiously at the tome that lay propped up against one of the bookshelves. How had it gotten off the table? It had taken both Xena and Gabrielle to move it the day before, so how in Hades had it been moved ... and why?
Gabrielle stood entranced by the mystery before stepping closer to the book. When she was only a few scant inches away she stopped and examined it fearfully. Finally, she reached out a trembling hand and grabbed the book. She lifted it easily. Gabrielle looked surprised for a few moments before she remembered what she held in her hands and tossed it onto the bookshelf, knocking a scroll to the floor.
The book flung open as soon as it impacted the sturdy wood and Gabrielle tensed up and readied herself for the onslaught she had seen previously ... but nothing happened. There were no shrill ear-piercing screeches, no fierce winds, and no black clouds erupting from the pages. The book just lay open quietly on the shelf.
“What the...” Gabrielle quietly murmured, taking her hands off her ears. She stepped closer to the book to examine the pages, her curiosity piqued. The pages were all blank. Gabrielle turned them one by one, slowly at first, then furiously, before giving up on finding anything written inside.
“This just doesn’t make sense,” Gabrielle told herself as she slammed the empty book shut. She shook her head and turned to leave the eerie library but her boot kicked the scroll she’d displaced earlier, catching Gabrielle’s attention.
The bard leaned down and picked up the yellowing, frayed scroll and, curious, opened it. She read the first few lines before deciding this was one story she’d never heard before.
“I tell the tale of Thaddeus, lord of the woods, who raised a great castle amongst the trees and created a bright and prosperous future for his people before his desires destroyed all he held dear, as well as his own life...” Gabrielle read the words out loud before the sound of a door being slammed shut downstairs interrupted her. Gabrielle rolled the scroll up, hid it in her waistband, and ran out of the library.
Downstairs, Gabrielle saw Xena exiting the kitchen, and sighed in relief. “Xena...” she started.
“Why don’t you go get washed up, Gabrielle?” Xena said contemptuously. “If I have to smell you much longer I may need to take drastic measures to preserve my *sanity*.”
“What?!” Gabrielle exclaimed, shocked. She put her hands on her hips and opened her mouth with every intention of letting Xena have a piece of her mind.
“I cleaned and set up the tub in the woodshed. Now be a dear and go.” Xena nearly spat the words out, and when she was finished she forcefully pushed her way past the startled bard and went upstairs.
Gabrielle stood open-mouthed, fixed in her position. Finally she shot a dark look up the stairs towards the warrior and stalked out to the woodshed. She just wasn’t in the mood to be around Xena at the moment.
The small band of raiders looked greedily toward the obviously occupied castle, their teeth bared in delight. “Looks like we have some prospects,” the leader sneered at his two compatriots. They laughed and he quickly joined in.
As the three trudged up the muddy path towards the front door the leader looked once again at the menacing stone structure. “Place doesn’t look too friendly, but if other people are managing to stay here, we shouldn’t have any problems. On the contrary, this could be good fortune indeed. We’ll get out of this damned weather, and we’ll have the opportunity to restock a few things,” he said, patting his money pouch. He snickered and reached up to straighten his rain-slicked mustache.
The small party moved through the darkness, their black cloaks and tunics helping them to blend in. Despite the fact that it was mid-morning, the land was nearly painted black. The dark storm clouds above blocked out nearly all the light.
The three stumbled over rocks and tree roots that had crept up out of the soil, but finally arrived at the battered wooden entrance. The leader turned to his two followers, smiled wickedly and slowly pushed open the creaking door.
He stopped the door when there was just enough room to slip his thin body through and entered. The two others quickly followed and closed the door. The group shook the excess rain off their cloaks, threw back the dark hoods of their cloaks, and drew out their short swords.
They blinked to get used to the bright light inside the castle, but once they could see their eyes opened widely. They turned slowly in circles, inspecting and admiring the grand room and gaping in awe at its splendor. This place was just ripe for the pickings, they decided.
“Hey boys, wanna play?” came a luring voice from upstairs. The bandits turned quickly to see who called to them but soon smiled. A sexy raven-haired woman in leather leaned seductively against the wall at the top of the stairs, beckoning the men and looking them over unabashedly. The leader turned to the other two and whistled.
“It looks like we’ll have more fun here than I thought!” he said, his voice dripping with lust. He turned back to the woman and leered. “Don’t worry, sweet thing. We won’t hurt you ... *too* much, anyway.”
The group quickly ran up the stairs, occasionally tripping on their long woolen cloaks before finally ripping them off and flinging them away. When they reached the top they found that the woman had moved back a bit further down the hall.
“Come and get me boys!” she laughed, and she took off running. She was quickly down the hall and ducking into the last room on the right.
The three bandits laughed evilly, replacing their short swords to their sheathes before giving chase. The shorter of the two followers growled out, “I hope she puts up a fight,” while patting a dagger at his belt.
The group arrived at the room in which the woman had dashed in to and sauntered in. A large canopied bed dominated the room, light blue ruffles protruding from the covers at the edges of the bed. A fireplace was on the near wall, a stand full of instruments pertaining to it, including a poker, shovel and vise, nearby. Close to the hearth, the woman sat on a short stool, her long legs crossed seductively. She smiled enchantingly, her perfect white teeth bared. The wind blew in from the slender window behind her, blowing her dark hair forward slightly onto her chest.
“Who’s first?” she asked, looking at each dark, unattractive fellow before her. She enticingly licked her lips in anticipation.
“I am!” the leader said decisively, stepping forward to claim his prize. The woman stood up and beckoned him closer. He advanced toward her, his eyes heavy with lust. His eyes ravenously took in her slender body.
When he was within reach, the woman grabbed hold of the man’s tunic and spun him around, flinging him at the narrow window. Right on target, the man’s head went through but his broad shoulders prevented him from flying out to his death.
The woman growled menacingly, her lips curled in a sneer and her eyes full of bloodlust. She jumped forward, gave him another firm shove to be sure he was as far through the window as possible, then twisted his body to where his neck was trapped in the small opening. With a tremendous yank, the woman wrenched the man terribly enough so that his neck snapped loudly, sickeningly. His limp body fell heavily down to the floor, his head still caught in the window.
“Are we having fun yet? she asked as she turned to the two shocked bandits by the door. She grinned wickedly and stretched out her arms, cracking her knuckles. “I’m sure you two are much better at this than he was.”
“Get her!” the taller bandit screamed, taking control. The two men pulled out their short swords and spread out, treating the woman with a bit more respect and caution than before.
The shorter man charged forward, swinging his blade, while the other bandit stood back. He yelled a short guttural scream before swinging wildly at the woman’s head. She ducked the blow and his sword went crashing into the wall, sending terrible reverberations up his arm and numbing it. He cried out in pain and dropped the sword from his now hyper-extended fingers.
The woman had taken the opening and grabbed the fireplace poker from its stand. She stood up again to face the pained bandit, laughing. “You haven’t quite got the hang of it either,” she admonished him, twirling the metal rod in her hand. She stopped it and inspected the end. It came to a sharp point, but another blade also curled off at an almost 90 degree angle. She fingered the metal appreciatively before turning her eyes back to the man, glaring at him. “This should come in nicely.”
Before he knew what hit him, the women swung the poker around and the curved blade caught in his neck. A strange, gurgling shout erupted from his mouth and his eyes opened wide in pain. His scream was cut short as the woman pulled viciously on the poker, ripping out his throat and spraying blood all over. The contorted body fell in a heap to the floor.
The woman spun on her heel to look at the remaining bandit. He was whimpering in an odd, fearful voice as he stared at the carnage before him. All he had wanted when he came here was some quick dinars. Now, however, he just wanted to be far away from this horrible place.
The woman saw the frightened look in his eyes and chuckled. She raised the poker blade into the air to show it off. The woman admired the red gleam that trickled down its length and onto her hand, occasionally dripping to the cold, stone floor. The bandit, however, was not nearly so thrilled about it.
“Your turn,” she said merrily, laughing in pure delight. The man’s eyes turned to stare deep into her own. He was stilled by what he saw there. Cold, pure evil.
“Who ... who are you?” he whispered, his voice failing him.
“Oh, that’s right! We haven’t been properly introduced.” The woman threw the poker to the floor and extended her blood covered hand towards him. “I’m Xena,” she said. Then, more quietly and menacingly, she added, “Your worst nightmare.” Her hand shot out quickly and the bandit was knocked to the floor, unconscious.
“Xena?” Gabrielle called out, stepping into the kitchen and out of the pounding rain. “Xena!?” Gabrielle hugged herself tightly, trying to stay warm despite the soaking clothes clinging tightly to her body. A strong gust of wind erupted furiously and slammed the door shut behind the bard, startling her and causing her to jump forward.
“This is getting old real fast,” she murmured. “Where is she? Xena!?!” Gabrielle rubbed her hands over her arms insistently to warm herself up before setting out to find her friend.
Gabrielle pondered the wisdom of seeking out Xena. Lately, the warrior had seemed cold and distant. It wasn’t so long ago that Gabrielle could look into the warrior’s pale blue eyes and see the love and care that were apparent there. All that Gabrielle had seen lately, however, was contempt.
Gabrielle pushed open the door to the main chamber and walked in. The room was empty, of course. Xena just couldn’t possibly be anywhere out in the open. “She always has to make it difficult, doesn’t she?” Gabrielle mumbled to herself.
She walked over to the stairwell, all the while shivering, before something caught her eye and gave her another reason to shake. Three wet, muddy pairs of boot prints led up the carpeted stairs. None of the prints could have been made by Xena. They were all too wide, one was too short, and another set was too long. Someone else had been here.
Gabrielle quietly and cautiously walked up the stairs, listening for the slightest sound. She kept her back to the wall as Xena had always instructed her to do. If there was any trouble, Gabrielle would be ready for it.
When she got near the top she peered around the floor before silently stepping off the stairwell. She stealthily walked down the hall, peeking in every doorway she passed. As she moved by the room she shared with Xena, she ducked in to check on whether anything was missing. Xena’s armor and weapons still lay on the table, unmoved. Gabrielle’s staff was propped up against the near end of the table, and the bard grabbed it before heading out into the hallway again.
She turned and continued down the hall. She was nearly at the last doorway when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Gabrielle spun quickly and swung her staff at the bold intruder.
Xena, at the last moment, caught the staff and prevented it from striking her in the face. Angrily, she yanked it out of Gabrielle’s hands and tossed it to the floor. “What was that for?!” she questioned.
“Xena! I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was you!” Gabrielle whispered loudly.
“Who else did you expect? There’s no one else here!”
“I’m not so sure about that. I saw three pairs of muddy, unfamiliar boot prints leading up the stairs. That’s why I had my staff. You didn’t answer when I called for you earlier so I thought maybe something was wrong.”
“You thought you could handle something with your little staff that *I* couldn’t?” Xena laughed heartily at that before turning serious. “You must be hallucinating, Gabrielle. I just came up the stairs and there weren’t any strange footprints there.”
“What? That’s impossible! Come on, I’ll show you!” Gabrielle leaned down, scooped up her discarded staff and hurried to the staircase to prove that she wasn’t crazy. She pointed down at the steps when she saw Xena get close enough to take a look. “There. What do you see?”
“Nothing, like I said. Just your boot prints and my own.” Xena folded her arms across her chest and looked inquisitively at Gabrielle. “Are you sure you’re all right? Imagining things doesn’t speak well for your sanity.”
Gabrielle glared up at Xena before turning her head to the stairs and looking at ... nothing. As Xena said, only their footprints were visible.
“I ... I don’t understand,” Gabrielle stuttered in disbelief. She could have sworn she’d seen three unusual pairs of bootprints earlier, she *knew* she did. But to look at it now, there wasn’t a hint of them. They couldn’t possibly have disappeared. “This doesn’t make sense.”
“Gabrielle, maybe you should go lie down. All that craziness from yesterday must finally be catching up with you.” Xena forcefully grabbed the bard’s arm and pulled her along to their bedroom.
“But Xena...”
“But nothing. Go to sleep. I’ve got things to do.”
“Like what?! What could you possibly have to do?” Gabrielle argued.
“Things!” Xena shoved Gabrielle into the bedroom and pointed threateningly at her. “Stay here and go to bed if you know what’s good for you. You don’t want to make me mad, now do you?” With that, Xena disappeared in the direction of the stairs.
“What are you up to, Xena?” Gabrielle quietly murmured to herself. She contemplated following the warrior, but then, considering Xena’s mood, decided it would be best to stay put. Xena wouldn’t dare hurt me, Gabrielle reassured herself. But for practically the first time since she had known the warrior, doubt creeped into her mind. Would she?
Go to Part Two of Time to Kill
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