Out Into The Daylight
[Image] By Aramis [Image]
The main characters belong to MCA/Universal. The writer is not making
any money from this.
[Image]
PART ONE: DARK SECRETS
A sunbeam dancing on his face woke the hunter. He opened azure eyes
and stretched luxuriously, looking lovingly at his bedmate. He rolled
over and began to kiss that beloved face, with light, tickling,
teasing kisses that gradually made their way around to an earlobe.
Reaching this prize, he began to nibble and suck. Unable to ignore his
lover's attentions any more, Hercules roused, opening sleep-blurred
eyes. "Is it morning already?"
"Yes, but no need to get up or perhaps I should rephrase that to no
need to get out of bed," Iolaus smiled, as his hands caressed their
way down the demigod's body.
"You're insatiable!"
"And aren't you pleased that I am?" Iolaus snuggled as close as he
could.
"I don't know. You're going to wear me out. You're older than I am, so
how come you've got so much energy?"
"Clean living!"
"You?" Hercules couldn't suppress a chuckle. He reached out and pulled
the hunter on top of him, his hands cupping Iolaus' buttocks.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Iolaus asked, busily kissing his
way back around Hercules' neck to the vulnerable spot below the other
ear.
Hercules gasped. He could feel himself growing hard against the
hunter. He slowly slid one arm up the blond's back and across his
shoulders, while wrapping the other around Iolaus' hips. He suddenly
clutched Iolaus tightly to him and twisted over, so the hunter found
himself pinned to the bed. "My turn!" Hercules grasped the hunter's
wrists and held them fast above his head with one hand. The demigod
then took over the teasing role: kissing, nipping, licking and
tickling, while Iolaus writhed helplessly beneath him.
"Please, Herc ... "
"Did you want something?"
"You know! Please, Herc!"
"Yes, I am quite pleased with what I'm doing, thank you." He smiled to
himself as he felt Iolaus raising his hips to press against him as he
sought some relief for his tingling body. Releasing the hunter's
wrists, he placed his hands on Iolaus' shoulders to keep him pinned
and then deliberately moved back so he was straddling Iolaus' thighs,
thus depriving the blond of the contact he was desperately seeking. "I
think I'll go and get some breakfast now," he said, his eyes dancing
as he watched for Iolaus' reaction to the tease.
Somehow, the hunter managed to force himself to meet like with like, "
Okay, I'm starving."
Not to be outdone, Hercules immediately swung himself off his friend
and stood up, his back to Iolaus, reaching for his clothes.
Iolaus was stunned. Surely Hercules hadn't been serious. Surely he
wasn't going to actually leave. But there he was pulling on his shirt
and trousers. Unfortunately, he could not see Hercules' smile, because
the latter was deliberately facing away from him, as he wondered how
long the hunter would be able to resist launching himself at him.
Even more unfortunately, at that moment, there was a knock at the
door. Hercules headed for it, while Iolaus frantically burrowed back
under the covers. Thus, the hunter missed seeing two forms fling
themselves upon Hercules, but he did hear shrieks of feminine
laughter. Bracing himself against the impact, Hercules managed to
clasp a girl in each arm and swung them out into the corridor, while
hugging both and kicking the door shut behind him.
"We just heard that you'd arrived in town last night and we had to
come to see you," one said, happily.
"Aren't you pleased to see us again?" the second asked, observing his
slightly flustered expression.
"Of course I am!"
"Where are they then?"
"Where are what?"
"Our 'happy to see you both again' kisses."
Smiling Hercules gave both a quick peck on the cheek. "That's not a
*very* 'happy to see you' kiss," remonstrated number one.
"You can do better than that," complained number two.
Now grinning broadly the demigod obliged, providing each with a far
more enthusiastic kiss on the lips.
"Now that's better," said number one, "but I'm sure there's still room
for improvement. We'll have to work on it while you're here."
"Well, come on!" cried number two, pulling at his shirt.
"Come on where?"
"Breakfast. We're famished. We haven't had anything yet as we were in
such a rush to get here to see you."
"Okay, just give me a moment to grab my boots." He turned back towards
the room and realized they were going to follow him. He couldn't have
that. It wasn't that they would see he had been sharing a bed with
Iolaus that worried him as that was a common necessity in inns. What
worried him was the state of that bed, which would suggest something
more than sleeping had been going on. "You two go on down. I'll join
you in a minute."
"We'll wait."
"Look, I'm sharing a room and ... "
Two faces fell. "We didn't realize you had a woman with you," number
one said.
"No! Nothing like that. It's just a friend of mine. He's still in bed
and I don't know if he'd welcome a room full of people at this hour."
"You should have said." Number one dropped her voice to a whisper,
"We'll be real quiet."
"Yeah, real quiet," echoed her twin.
Hercules gave in. After all, he figured Iolaus had had enough time to
cover himself or, even better, to dress while all this had been going
on. He just hoped he'd made some effort to straighten the bed up.
In the event, the bed looked much better and Iolaus had the covers
pulled over his face so only a few golden curls could be seen. He'd
either gone back to sleep or was, as Hercules suspected, shamming.
Either way he obviously wasn't ready for introductions, so Hercules
said nothing to him. He pulled his boots on quickly and joined the
twins, who were waiting in the doorway.
Meanwhile, under the covers, Iolaus was experiencing a range of
emotions. He had been unable to hear any of the conversation in the
corridor because the walls were thick and the door was a heavy one of
oak. Had Hercules been really intending to just leave him and go down
for breakfast? Iolaus has originally assumed it to be a jest, but now
it appeared that Hercules had had a breakfast assignation. If that was
the case, why had the demigod not mentioned it the previous night? The
hunter felt confused and hurt. 'I suppose I might as well get up,' he
decided, 'as Herc's obviously not coming back to me.'
He dressed slowly and descended the stairs, hoping to slip outside
without being noticed, but Hercules spotted him. "Iolaus!" he called.
The hunter pretended not to hear him and reached for the front door
handle. "IOLAUS!" That was too loud to ignore. The hunter reluctantly
turned back. "Iolaus, where are you off to? You haven't had any
breakfast yet. Come and join us. I've got two ladies here I'd like you
to meet."
Iolaus looked at the women for the first time and did a double take.
They were absolutely stunning and, from a distance, identical. Each
had long luxurious nut-brown curls to the waist, flawless skin and
rosy lips. They were seated on either side of the demigod. "Iolaus,
these are Graeci and Ledaea. They live just outside the town. Ladies,
this is Iolaus, a friend of mine."
'"A" friend,' thought Iolaus, unhappily. 'Just one of many.' He looked
at the women. From close-up they were, if anything, more gorgeous, but
not identical. Graeci had emerald eyes and Ledaea brown. "I'm ... I'm
pleased to meet you both," the hunter stammered. Once his words would
have been true, but not now, certainly not when both were clutching
tightly to *his* lover.
Both women smiled a greeting and immediately turned back to Hercules.
"It's so wonderful to see you again, Hercules," Graeci enthused. "It
must be four years since you were here."
"Yes, I remember you celebrated your sixteenth birthday while I was
here."
"That's right. Didn't we have fun?"
"We certainly did."
"Father has told us to invite you to dinner tonight," said Ledaea,
"and also to move to the castle for the duration of your stay here.
He's really looking forward to seeing you again."
"That's very kind of him. I'm happy to accept the dinner invitation,
but I'd better decline the second one because, as you know, I have
Iolaus with me."
"Well, I suppose he could come too," said Ledaea, with no great
enthusiasm.
Her sister, realizing that that sounded rather ungracious, said, "Of
course he can. There's plenty of room."
"Then we'll be happy to accept," Hercules responded, taking Iolaus'
agreement for granted.
"It's not necessary to ask me," Iolaus said. "I can stay here."
"It's no trouble at all. You are very welcome," Ledaea said. "After
all, you are a friend of our guest of honor."
'And you want to make a favorable impression on him,' Iolaus thought
bitterly.
Breakfast continued. Graeci, Ledaea and Hercules chatted about mutual
acquaintances that meant nothing to the hunter. He sat there feeling
unwanted and out of place as the others made no attempt to include him
in the conversation. He watched enviously as both girls cuddled up to
Hercules, who appeared to be enjoying the attention. Iolaus was
*never* allowed to touch Hercules like that in public. Hercules had
always insisted that they maintain a distance when with other people.
Indeed, since they had become lovers, Hercules had been more
particular about contact than before. Once he would not have thought
twice about putting an arm around his friend's shoulders, but not now.
Iolaus accepted this, but it hurt and it had never hurt as much as it
did at this moment. 'I know he must be ashamed of me and what we do,
but why does he have to do this in front of me?' he wondered.
He sighed inwardly. How he wished he had he courage to give Hercules
an ultimatum: 'Admit our love or ... ' Or what? He couldn't think of a
threat he could possibly use. He didn't feel sure enough of his
position to risk it. If he said he'd leave the demigod, the latter
might call his bluff and then where would he be? No, better a secret
love than none at all.
Finally, breakfast was over. Iolaus had hardly eaten a thing. The
girls had already planned Hercules' day for him in detail and he
seemed happy to let them do so. They were intending to take him around
to visit a number of mutual friends. When Hercules stood up, a twin
latched onto each arm. They headed towards the door. Hercules glanced
back over his shoulder at the hunter, who had remained seated. "Come
on, Iolaus!"
"No, you go ahead, Herc. I don't know any of the people you're going
to see. I'll just stay here. Maybe I'll go and do a bit of fishing."
Hercules would have tried to persuade his friend, but the twins were
pulling him on, so he merely said, "I'll meet you back here at
lunchtime then and we can move our gear to the castle." Then they were
gone.
Iolaus remained sitting glumly at the table. The landlord appeared and
started clearing the table around him. "Do you know the ladies who
were here with my friend?" he asked.
The landlord stared at him as if he was mad. "Of course I do!
Everybody around here does. Why do you ask?"
"They've invited my friend and me to stay at their home and I just
wondered about them. My friend obviously knows them well, but I've
never met them before today."
"Knows them well! I'll bet he does! And if their father has his way
I'll bet he'll know them, or at least one of them, even better."
"What do you mean?"
"I'd have thought it was obvious. Look, Hercules has known the family
for some years and when he was last here, four years or so ago, it was
clear to anyone with eyes that both young ladies were besotted with
him. Trouble was they were only just sixteen and he obviously felt
they were too young for anything serious, but everyone could see that
he liked them both *very* much. I suspect their father, Lord Demos,
rather fancied the idea of a demigod as a son-in-law and grandsons
with the blood of Zeus in their veins. People said he was virtually
throwing his daughters at Hercules." He paused, suddenly worrying that
he'd said too much. "You won't tell anyone I said this, will you?"
"No, of course not."
"That's okay then. It's just that Lord Demos is a good ruler, but a
hard man if anyone crosses him and he might feel I'd spoken out of
turn."
"Thank you for telling me what you did. I promise it will go no
further."
Iolaus went up to the room and threw himself down on the bed. He
supposed he'd better actually go fishing as Hercules would be bound to
ask about it, but he'd never felt less like doing what was normally a
favorite pastime. All he could think of was what the landlord had
said. From the beauty of the girls and from Hercules' reaction to
them, it appeared that Lord Demos might soon be a happy man. Indeed,
Hercules' only real problem would be deciding which of the daughters
to select. Iolaus had always liked women and he could clearly see how
very attractive the girls were. Once, when obtaining the demigod's
sexual love had seemed impossible, he would have happily chased after
them himself, but having experienced the former he now wanted no other
and had foolishly dreamed that Hercules might feel the same way about
him. Well that had obviously been a stupid hope. 'Damn it! I should
have realized it couldn't last,' he thought. 'How could I expect to
keep the love of someone like Hercules. I should have learnt my lesson
over Xena. Why am I so stupid! I suppose I'm being selfish. If I
really loved Hercules I should want what he wants for himself and
should try to be happy for him, but I can't. It hurts so much.' He
could feel tears welling in his eyes. 'Come on, Iolaus, pull yourself
together,' he remonstrated. 'This isn't going to help. Let's go
fishing.'
He sat, lost in upsetting thoughts, staring at the river. He tried to
tell himself he was anticipating the worst before it happened, but he
kept returning to the incident in their room that morning when
Hercules had apparently been prepared to leave him in the bed and go
off to breakfast as if their relationship meant nothing. Suddenly he
glanced at the sun and realized midday had come and gone at least half
an hour before. He picked up his unused fishing-tackle and headed back
to the inn.
Hercules was sitting downstairs with their gear on the table in front
of him. There were a number of other patrons there and so there was no
chance for a private conversation. Iolaus had mixed feelings about
that. He had wanted to talk things through with Hercules, but he had
no idea how to start or what to say and so now, at least, he could put
more thought into the words before he confronted the demigod. "Where
did you get to? Have the fish been biting too well to leave?" asked
Hercules, cheerfully.
"Actually I didn't catch any." He realized Hercules was looking
expectantly at him. "What is it?"
"I was waiting for the 'One That Got Away' story."
"There isn't one."
"But there *always* is! Are you sure you're all right, Iolaus? You're
not sick or anything?" the demigod queried, teasingly.
"I don't make my stories up," Iolaus protested. "You're not getting
one because there isn't one."
Hercules broke into disbelieving laughter, unaware of how upset his
friend was feeling. "Well, after that shock to my system I'm not sure
how I can walk, but we'd better get going. The ladies are expecting
us."
"Couldn't I stay here, Herc? I don't know the family and they really
only invited me out of politeness to you."
"Don't be silly, Iolaus. They're expecting you. Anyway you'll get to
know them soon enough, you've seen how friendly they are and Lord
Demos is equally hospitable."
'To you maybe,' Iolaus thought, but he didn't say anything. He picked
up his sword and carry-bag and reluctantly followed Hercules outside.
The castle was about two miles from the town. As they walked, Hercules
talked enthusiastically about how he'd spent the morning and, at
length, about how much he enjoyed the girls' company. "You should have
come with us, Iolaus." He didn't seem to notice Iolaus' monosyllabic
responses to his comments.
Their host was ready and waiting for them when they reached the
castle. He expressed himself overjoyed to see the demigod again and
said he hoped he could have an extended stay with them. He greeted
Iolaus politely, but distantly.
The girls then showed them to their rooms. Iolaus was amazed when he
saw the luxury of Hercules' room. He'd clearly been given the best
room in the castle. He gazed with wonder at the huge four-poster bed
and couldn't help picturing Hercules and himself in it. 'Some hope of
that,' he thought, bitterly. He knew that there would have been no
chance of that under normal circumstances anyway as Hercules preserved
his distance rule when they stayed at private dwellings.
The afternoon was spent with the twins ostensibly giving Iolaus a tour
of the castle and grounds. In actual fact, it simply gave them the
opportunity to hang on Hercules' arms and to flirt with him. None of
the three seemed to notice Iolaus was not showing much interest in
anything and was hardly a part of the conversation at all.
He would have been surprised to learn that there was one person who
was giving some thought to him: Lord Demos. The latter had not been
pleased to hear that Hercules had a friend with him, especially the
golden hunter. In spite of all Hercules' precautions, there were
rumors about his relationship with Iolaus. These had started long
before there was any actual sexual relationship. Some people,
observing Iolaus' beauty and even possibly observing his love for
Hercules shining in his eyes (for the hunter had loved the demigod and
had desired a physical relationship for many years before what had
seemed an impossible dream had become a reality) and also seeing the
closeness of their friendship had long suspected the pair were lovers.
Iolaus was aware of these rumors, as he'd had comments thrown at him
over the years from men who were jealous of his friendship with
Hercules or were just looking for ways to upset or insult the hunter.
The usual taunts were along the lines that the only reason that a
demigod could be interested in a little runt like Iolaus was that the
latter was Hercules' whore. People did not usually dare to make such
comments in Hercules' presence and he seemed oblivious of them or, at
least, Iolaus hoped he was given his attitude towards any public
display of affection.
Lord Demos had heard these rumors, but until now had not given
credence to them. However, he was now not so sure. When his daughters
had returned home to report that Hercules would indeed be joining them
and that they'd had to invite his friend as well, he had sought more
information about the latter from them. They had not been favorably
impressed with the hunter and had said so. They were used to male
adoration and had been very aware that not only was Iolaus not
admiring and flattering them, he actually didn't seem pleased to be
with them. "It was almost as if he resented Hercules being with us,"
Graeci had commented crossly. Warning bells rang in her father's head
and he privately decided to observe this friend *very* closely as he
did not want anything or anybody to upset the chances of one of his
daughters with the demigod.
Lord Demos, confronted with Iolaus' golden beauty, was even more
concerned. He had complacently assumed no-one could rival his
daughters, but now had to hurriedly revise this opinion. He knew that
Hercules had been married twice and he had known him for some years in
which time Hercules had never, to Demos' knowledge, shown any interest
in his own sex, so he believed the demigod was basically heterosexual.
If there was a relationship between the two friends, he decided Iolaus
had probably initiated it and had tempted Hercules to go against his
natural inclinations. If this was the case, the source of the
temptation would have to be removed.
He still tended to feel the rumors were wrong, but seeing the way
Iolaus' eyes followed the demigod he knew that, if there was no
relationship, it wasn't from lack of interest on that side. Indeed, he
came to the conclusion that removing the hunter was probably the best
thing to do even if the two were no more than friends as Iolaus, as
jealous lover or as a jealous friend who hoped to be more or even just
as jealous friend, could still play havoc with his daughters' chances.
It did not take Demos long to think of a solution to the problem. The
captain of his personal bodyguard, Briseis, a tall, handsome man, was
a homosexual. This had never worried Demos, as the man was efficient
at his work, and now his proclivities could prove an asset. Demos knew
the latter would not hesitate to obey any order he gave, especially
such a congenial one as seducing Iolaus away from the demigod. Of
course, if the blond failed to respond to Briseis' considerable charms
some degree of coercion would be necessary, but he knew Briseis would
actually enjoy that even more.
Indeed, the method was unimportant. As long as the demigod believed
the hunter was a willing participant. If there had been a
relationship, he hoped that once the demigod became aware that the
hunter had a new interest, he would turn to one of his daughters
without hesitation. On the other hand, if there had not, Hercules
would become aware that he had a pervert for a friend and would
hopefully turn to one of the girls if only to safeguard his reputation
from any shadow of suspicion the incident might cast upon it.
Accordingly, he summoned Briseis and explained what was required. As
he had anticipated, Briseis, who had already spotted the blond during
the castle tour, was *very* pleased with the assignment. Since
sighting the hunter, he had already spent time imagining the things he
could do to Iolaus if he had his way and now he even had official aid
and encouragement to help him achieve his desires.
"The only problem," Lord Demos continued, "is the time factor. You'll
have to work *very* quickly in case Iolaus persuades Hercules to
leave. Obviously Hercules won't do that for three or four days out of
politeness, but after that they might go at any time so if you haven't
been successful after four days we'll have to try another method. One
way or another, Hercules must believe his friend is enamoured of you."
"Don't worry, my Lord, Argius and I will do all that's needed."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
So at dinner that night, Iolaus found himself seated some distance
from Hercules with two members of Demos' guard on either side of him.
After a few moments, one turned to him and asked, "Enjoying your stay
here?"
"I guess so."
"You don't look like you are."
"I don't really know anybody here."
"Well, I'm Briseis. I'm the Captain of the Bodyguard. This is my
second in command and friend, Argius." He indicated the large,
muscular man on Iolaus' left. Iolaus shook hands with both. "How do
you come to be here if you don't know anyone?"
"Oh, I meant the local people. I'm here with my friend." He pointed
towards Hercules. "He got invited as he's a friend of the family and,
since I was traveling with him, they extended the invitation to me as
well."
"You're with Hercules?"
"Yes."
"Have you known him long?"
"Since we were kids. It'd be over twenty-five years."
"I'll bet you've had some exciting adventures with him."
"Yeah, some."
"How about sharing some stories with us," Argius suggested.
Well, Iolaus always enjoyed recounting stories and these two were he
only people he'd met at the castle that had shown any interest in him,
so he obliged and soon the three were chatting away like old friends.
He had just finished a detailed description of a fight, when Argius
said, "I expect you know some special fighting techniques."
"Yeah. Actually I know some unusual ones. I spent a year traveling in
the East and I learned a number of tricks that few westerners know,
especially ones that help a man my size throw around big guys like you
two."
"Oh, *really*?" exclaimed Argius, in a disbelieving tone.
"Yeah, *really*."
"I'd like to see that."
"I'll show you if you'd like."
"Okay, come on!"
"Now?" Iolaus looked at him in surprise.
"Sure! Come on! Meals here are fairly informal. Nobody will mind if we
leave."
Iolaus glanced at Briseis for confirmation. "Yeah, he's right. If
you'll just wait a moment, I have to speak to one of my men and then
we can go." He stood up and moved to speak to a man a few seats down
the table and was soon back. "Okay, let's go."
Unnoticed by Iolaus, the man Briseis had approached hurried up the
room to whisper to Lord Demos. The latter immediately turned to
Hercules, who was seated on his far side. Hercules had been speaking
to Ledaea and so had not observed the messenger. "Looks like your
friend's off somewhere. I hope he knows what he's doing."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Iolaus," Demos said, gesturing down the hall at the departing three,
"is off somewhere."
"It was actually the second part of your statement that I was
wondering about."
Lord Demos hesitated and seemed reluctant to speak. Then he said, "I'm
sure it's nothing to worry about."
"Now you *have* got me worried," Hercules observed.
"It's just that he's headed off with two of my bodyguard who both
happen to have ... to have ... er ... *different* tastes."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, let's put it this way, they wouldn't be hurrying out of here
with a woman." He watched closely for the demigod's reaction.
Hercules wasn't quite sure how to respond. He carefully schooled his
features. "I'm sure Iolaus will be okay," he commented, keeping his
voice carefully casual. Fortunately, at that moment, Graeci laughed at
some jest her neighbour had made and her tinkling laugh cut across
what might otherwise have been an awkward silence. With inward relief,
Hercules changed the subject. "Your daughters are more beautiful than
ever. You must be very proud of them."
"I certainly am. They will grace their husbands' homes."
"Husbands? Are they already promised?"
"Oh, no! I'm going to allow them an element of choice but, as you can
imagine, they've no lack of suitors." 'That should put the pressure on
a bit if he's got any ideas in that direction,' Demos thought.
Hercules continued to hold up his end of the conversation, but his
thoughts kept returning to Iolaus. 'There must be a reasonable
explanation for him leaving with those two,' he told himself, but
there was a niggling doubt. The hunter had been behaving oddly all
day. He'd been far too quiet and withdrawn. Normally he was anything
but. 'I hope he's not mad about this morning. He must realize I
couldn't have done anything about unexpected visitors,' he mused.
'Surely he wouldn't go off with someone else for such a trivial
reason.'
Meanwhile, Briseis and Argius had taken Iolaus to a nearby room and he
was demonstrating some eastern fighting techniques. He'd thrown off
his vest and soon his satin skin was glistening with a light sweat as
he fended both off in turn. Both men were looking hungrily at that
beautiful body and were enjoying the touch of it as they fought. They
had made a prior pact to make no direct sexual overtures that night,
unless in response to any Iolaus might make, in case of panicking the
blond for Demos had warned he was not completely certain of the
hunter's interest in such matters. However, both were having trouble
keeping to the agreement.
Finally, they tried a coordinated attack and Iolaus stepped back onto
a loose mat and fell. Then the two were on top of him, pinning him
with the weight of their bodies. "Okay, we win," Briseis laughed. "We
can now do what we like with the victim." He patted Iolaus' codpiece
meaningfully, but then immediately stood up with no further assault.
Argius followed his lead. The latter then reached down and grasped the
hunter's wrist pulling him to his feet. He slapped Iolaus playfully on
the backside. "Our victory! A triumph of western fighting methods!" he
cried, grinning broadly.
Both were watching to see if Iolaus would respond to the touches. The
hunter had been aware of these, but they'd been so fast and had been
made in such a lighthearted way he wasn't sure if there was any intent
in them, so he chose to ignore them. "You wouldn't have got me if it
hadn't been for that damned mat," he commented.
This was met with howls of friendly denial and an invitation from
Briseis to join him in a drink in his quarters, where he hoped the
relaxing effects of alcohol would give him an opportunity to take
those touches a little further. However, the blond felt he'd better go
back to the main hall as, "Herc, will probably lecture me for being an
ungracious guest if I don't."
"We've both got the day off tomorrow and we're going hunting. Would
you like to join us? We'll teach you a few things about hunting like
we did about fighting," said Briseis.
Hunting! Iolaus couldn't resist that, especially when there was an
element of challenge in the invitation. "Fine, but I don't think
you'll be able to teach me much about hunting."
"You'll be surprised," Argius responded.
Iolaus returned to the hall, but found himself isolated. No-one seemed
to want to talk to him. He was not to know that Briseis and Argius had
made their interest clear and so others hesitated to approach him for
fear of offending them. He looked around for Hercules and saw that he
was still happily talking to Demos and others that he obviously knew.
Iolaus had hoped to catch his eye as he wanted to speak to him, but it
was clear that the demigod was either unaware of his return or was
ignoring him. He hoped it was the former, but feared it was the
latter. So, after sitting watching for about twenty minutes, he
retired to his room and was soon asleep.
An hour or so later, Hercules headed for his own room. He had hoped to
speak to Iolaus, but there was no light showing and so he assumed the
latter was still off somewhere with his new friends.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Iolaus was up early the next morning ready for the hunting expedition.
To his surprise, there was a skinny, plain-looking youth of about
sixteen years waiting for him when he emerged from his room. "Excuse
me," the boy said.
"Hello, what do you want?"
"My name is Azides. I heard there was a hunting party going out and I
wondered if I could come. I'd carry *all* your gear for you? I
wouldn't get in the way, I promise."
"You're welcome to come along, but I think I can manage my bow and
hunting-knife."
"Can I *really*? I love hunting, but usually nobody wants my company."
"Well, I'll be pleased to have it. Have you done much hunting?"
"A bit."
'Which probably translates as "not much".' Iolaus thought. However,
since the boy was so keen, he was happy to have him with him. He knew
only too well what it had felt like when, on the few occasions his
father was at home, Skuros had made it clear his company wasn't
required. "Come on then. We'd better join Briseis and Argius."
"Are they the only other ones going?"
"Only ones that I know of."
"Perhaps I'd better stay here then."
"Why?"
"They don't like me much."
"That doesn't matter, you're with me."
They met the other two in the courtyard. "Where do you think you're
going?" Briseis demanded, when he saw Azides.
"I invited him," Iolaus said. "I hope you don't mind."
Briseis did, but felt he couldn't say so under the circumstances. The
presence of the boy was obviously going to hinder any opportunities
that might arise in his pursuit of Iolaus.
The hunt did not go well. Iolaus was soon aware that neither Briseis
or Argius was particularly skilled at tracking and Azides, for all his
good intentions, was clumsy and made too much noise in moving through
the bush. Iolaus spent much of the time talking to Azides about
hunting and explaining what he was doing when tracking. The other two
were most annoyed at the boy for monopolizing the hunter's time and so
reducing their contact with him.
After a few hours, Iolaus spotted a stag with a good pair of antlers.
He glided towards it, Briseis at his side, and was just about to loose
an arrow when Azides sneezed loudly. The deer darted away and the
chance of a clean shot was gone.
Briseis was furious. He slapped the boy across the face and would have
hit him again if Iolaus hadn't pushed between them. "Leave him alone!"
For a moment, Iolaus expected to feel the next blow, but Briseis
managed to stop himself lashing out. Iolaus could almost feel the
anger seething inside Briseis. He really didn't like the man much.
They decided it was time to pack it in and head back to the castle. It
was a long, hot tramp. A mile or so from the castle, they came to the
river. Argius suggested a swim. Azides declined, but the other three
stripped and plunged in. Soon Argius ducked his friend and this
developed into a free-for-all. Iolaus soon found the pair united
against him. Again, he was aware of wandering hands, but again the
caresses were ambiguous and so it would have been difficult, and
possibly unjust, to complain. However, even though he did not respond,
the other two felt his acceptance of the minor assaults without
complaint, suggested he was not opposed to their plans.
When they reached the castle, Iolaus found that the family and
Hercules had ridden out to visit mutual friends for the evening. He
politely declined an invitation to join Briseis and Argius for a
drinking session, inadvertently thwarting their plans once more, and
retired to his room. Hercules was very late back and so the pair
missed each other again.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next two days followed a similar pattern. Demos and his daughters
monopolized Hercules' time and Briseis and Argius, who to Iolaus'
surprise seemed to have as much free time as they wanted, monopolized
the hunter's. As a result, the two friends had no contact and only
caught fleeting glimpses of each other. Neither was happy about this,
but it was difficult to counter without discourtesy to such incredibly
attentive hosts. However, each had the nagging fear that his lover was
happy with this state of affairs.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Early on the evening of the fourth day, Hercules actually found
himself alone and decided to take the opportunity to approach the
hunter. He went to Iolaus' room. He knocked and Iolaus expected it
would be one or both of his two constant visitors. Hercules did not
miss the look of surprise on his face when he saw his caller.
"Can I come in?"
"Of course you can."
Hercules got straight down to business. "Iolaus, what's wrong? Why are
you avoiding me?"
"I'm not. I'd have said it was the other way around."
"I've tried to see you on several occasions, but you've been away with
your new friends."
The last part was said in a rather bitter tone and Iolaus reacted to
it. "*My* new friends! What about all the time you've spent with Demos
and his daughters? Am I supposed to sit in your room and wait until
you've got time for me?"
"You know I don't expect that."
"I know what you expect."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"That I make myself available when there's nobody else around and make
myself scarce when there is."
"Iolaus, you know that's not true."
"No, I don't! When have you ever acknowledged our relationship in
public." Having, finally voiced the issue that had upset him for some
months, Iolaus found himself starting to shake and knew tears were
near. He continued with some difficulty, "I just ... I just wish you
weren't so a-ashamed of me and w-what we do."
Hearing the catch in his friend's voice, Hercules tried to reassure
him, "Iolaus, you know I love you."
"I s-suppose I do, but I-I wonder at times. I think ... I think you'd
like to go back to how we were before ... before I told you how I feel
about you." He felt his eyes brimming and tried to will the tears not
to fall, but one escaped and he could feel it running slowly down his
cheek. The demigod reached out a gentle finger and halted its
progress.
"Iolaus, please don't cry."
"I'm *not* going to cry." He turned away quickly so his friend
couldn't see the stream of tears starting to flood his cheeks. "You'd
better get going. They'll be expecting you to escort the ladies in to
dinner. I'll see you later." His words gave the demigod a cue to
leave, but inwardly his heart begged, 'Please say you won't go, Herc.
Please say you'll stay with me. I *need* you to stay. Please say
you'll tell them you're staying with me.'
Unfortunately, Hercules took the words at their face value. "You're
right, I do have to go, but we'll talk about this later." 'Although I
don't know what the hell I'm going to say,' he thought. The trouble
was he had what he considered good reasons for his public attitude.
Firstly, there was his family to consider. Alcmene was always urging
him to remarry and had dropped hints about how nice it would be to
have grandchildren. He knew Jason and Iphicles were strongly opposed
to same sex relationships and would have difficulty accepting it.
Indeed, the latter had made one or two comments about his close
friendship with Iolaus giving people the *wrong* idea about them,
which made his views quite clear. There was no point in upsetting his
family needlessly and, worse, possibly turning them against Iolaus.
Secondly, he didn't feel such a relationship fitted his public image
and might make people react differently to him and perhaps feel
uncomfortable and so less willing to approach him for help.
Unfortunately, in all this, how Iolaus felt had been pushed aside.
Hercules had just taken it for granted that Iolaus would concur with
his opinions on the subject.
After Hercules had left, Iolaus lay on the bed weeping. He felt so
confused. Here was Hercules telling him he loved him and yet he still
wouldn't put his lover first in public. Here he was going to join two
women, who appeared to have marriage on their minds, when surely he
could see Iolaus needed him right now.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, Demos and Briseis were conferring. The latter had had to
admit he'd made no real progress. That being so, they decided to go
for approach "B"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Half an hour or so after the demigod's departure, there was another
knock on the door. Iolaus' heart leapt. 'Hercules!' Unfortunately, it
was a couple of members of the bodyguard, Lichas and Numicus, coming
to remind him that he had promised to show Briseis and Argius some
more Eastern fighting techniques and to tell him the latter were in a
different room to the previous occasion. He nearly sent his excuses,
but then decided he might as well go as Hercules was likely to be away
for some hours.
The two guided him to the new room, in an isolated part of the castle,
and stood back while he knocked. Briseis called to him to enter. As he
did so his escort followed him in blocking the doorway. Iolaus stepped
in and froze. The room was tiny and unsuitable for fighting. It was
fully furnished and was dominated by a large bed. He took an
involuntary step forward as his escort crowded after him, Lichas
reaching back to pull the door closed.
"Well, come on, Iolaus, what are you waiting for?" asked Briseis, who
was seated on the bed.
"What are ... "
"We thought we'd have a different kind of workout. One that we'd all
enjoy more."
"But ... "
"You know you like this sort of thing and, now your lover's lost
interest in you, you might as well take it from us."
"What do you mean?"
"Hercules has abandoned you, hasn't he? He's going to marry one of
Lord Demos' daughters so he doesn't want you any more, does he?"
It was difficult to respond. If he said Hercules hadn't abandoned him,
he would be admitting he was the latter's lover and Hercules still
hadn't given him permission to do that. In any case, he wasn't sure
that the second statement wasn't true. "What Hercules does is his
business. It doesn't mean I want sex with you."
"Be realistic! It's not really a question of what you want is it?
We're going to have you either way and it'll be easier on you if you
cooperate. Anyway, you know you want it." Briseis stood up and started
towards him.
Iolaus backed towards the door. The two guards behind him each grabbed
one of his arms. He flipped his body over using them as a pivot,
catching them unawares. He broke free and dived for the door-handle. A
hand shot out and grasped his vest, but he slipped out of it, shoving
the door open as he did so. However, the four men were upon him. He
fought frantically, but the four were trained warriors and the narrow
corridor gave him little room in which to manoeuvre. Nevertheless, by
the time he was wrestled to the floor all of his opponents looked the
worse for wear. However, what he couldn't understand was that none of
them punched him back. He didn't realize they were taking care not to
mark him. Eventually, he was spread-eagled on the floor with a man
pinning each limb.
Argius, who was kneeling on one of the hunter's arms, produced a rag
impregnated with some chemical and held it over Iolaus' mouth and nose
until he lost consciousness. They carried him back into the room and
dropped him on the bed. Argius immediately began to strip the hunter,
but Briseis intervened, "You can finish what you're doing, but he's
not to be touched yet."
"Why not?"
"Don't worry, you'll have your turn. We took all that care not to mark
him and I don't want you getting a bit carried away and doing so now.
After Hercules has seen him you can be rougher, but not until then."
"When will that be?"
"Not until about midday tomorrow."
"Why have we grabbed him so early then?"
"Hopefully Hercules will think he's spent the night with me. If they
are lovers that should put him in an angry and jealous frame of mind
and he'll be more receptive to our little tableau."
"What happens until then?"
"We need to keep Iolaus here out of sight. I don't want to restrain
him in case he marks his wrists by struggling so we'll keep him
drugged. We're going to have to monitor him and make sure we put him
back under if he starts to rouse. Nearer to the time, we'll have to be
careful with the dose as I want there to be some sign of movement when
Hercules sees us, but I don't want him conscious enough to object."
Later that night, Hercules went to the hunter's room for the promised
discussion. To his considerable surprise, Iolaus was not there.
Hercules wondered where he could be. During the evening, he had
suffered pangs of guilt as he kept picturing the hunter's tear-stained
face. 'I should have stayed with him and talked it through. I
shouldn't have left him when he was so upset,' was the thought that
had haunted him. Because his own mind had been so much on this, he had
expected the hunter's would be as well. He'd noted that the blond had
not joined the company for dinner and had pictured him waiting
forlornly in the room. To find that Iolaus had gone off somewhere was
very surprising. However, Hercules was not angry. Actually, if the
truth was known, he was quite relieved. For all that he hated to hurt
his lover, he had still not changed his mind about the desirability of
discretion carried to the point of secrecy. At least now he could feel
he had made the effort to turn up to discuss the issue and if Iolaus
couldn't be bothered to do the same, well that was his lookout. 'He
can't have been as concerned about the situation as he made out,' was
the comforting thought.
However, he decided to be fair he'd wait for half an hour in case his
friend turned up. Housekeeping was not one of Iolaus' strong points
and so the bed was, as usual, unmade. Hercules tidied it up and then
lay down upon it to wait. Thirty minutes or so later, he retired to
his room feeling at least he had kept to their appointment.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
When he awoke, early the next day, he decided he ought to call in on
Iolaus, if only to indicate to him that he had fulfilled his part of
the agreement to meet. He knocked and, receiving no reply, decided to
go in anyway . Not only was Iolaus not present, the bed had clearly
not been slept in as it was still tidy. Hercules was suspicious and a
little angry, but still hoped there might be a reasonable explanation
for this. After all, there had been more than a few occasions in the
past when a drunken hunter had gone to sleep lying over a table.
But he was still *not* happy. Demos' Plan "B" was going well.
When he joined Demos for breakfast, the latter told Hercules he
intended to go hunting with a small party that afternoon and suggested
the demigod and Iolaus join him. This pleased Hercules as he'd been
aware that his host had not shown the interest in and hospitality to
his second guest that he had shown to Hercules. He felt that an
awareness of this comparative neglect was part of the reason for the
hunter's dissatisfaction with their relationship. Perhaps he felt as
Hercules' acknowledged lover he would get more attention from others.
Hercules accepted the invitation and had tried to locate the hunter to
inform him of it. However, no-one seemed to have seen Iolaus. Finally,
Numicus had approached him and queried, "Did I hear you asking about
your friend?"
"Yes. Have you seen him?"
"No, but I know where he is. Follow me and I'll show you the way."
He took Hercules by a slightly roundabout route, while Lichas rushed
directly to Briseis to say Hercules was on his way.
Briseis was already naked. He lay down on the bed alongside Iolaus and
pulled the blond to him. With Argius' help he positioned the hunter so
the latter was lying on his side, his back to the door. Briseis
wrapped his arms around the hunter. One hand cupping his buttocks and
the other caressing his back. Iolaus was semi-conscious and was moving
against him, moaning softly. Having checked the tableau from the door,
the other two men then retired to the next room.
Upon reaching the door, Numicus did not knock, but opened it quickly
and quietly, exposing the occupants to view. As the door opened,
Briseis captured Iolaus' mouth in a kiss effectively silencing him.
From where Hercules stood, it appeared that Iolaus and Briseis were
locked in a loving embrace. Hurt and embarrassed, Hercules backed
hurriedly away and then turned and walked swiftly down the passage.
Numicus silently pushed the door shut after him.
Iolaus was barely conscious. He hadn't heard the door behind him open
quietly and Hercules gasp with shock.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hercules wandered blindly down the passage. He could hardly credit
what he had seen. It had only been the previous evening that the
hunter had been in tears because he would not acknowledge their
relationship in public. He had promised to talk it over, but perhaps
Iolaus had sensed his reluctance to change his position on this.
Surely that wouldn't have been enough to drive him into another man's
arms? How could Iolaus betray him so?
He joined Demos for the hunt, although his heart wasn't in it, saying
Iolaus had made other plans. Demos observed his air of abstraction and
the look of hurt in the demigod's eyes. Yes, he'd been right to take
action.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Once Hercules had gone, Briseis and Argius no longer needed to keep
Iolaus drugged. Indeed, they wanted him fully aware to add to their
enjoyment of what they were going to do to him. Accordingly, as soon
as Hercules had gone Briseis started to shake the hunter to try to
rouse him. Another half hour or more had passed before he was awake
enough for their purposes and, by that time, any patience they had was
long gone.
Eventually, feeling sick and light-headed, he opened azure eyes and
blinked to try to clear the haze. Before he could even focus properly,
he heard Briseis' voice. "You'd better be worth the wait we've had,
Blondie."
For a few moments, he was confused, but then he remembered with
horrible clarity where he was. He felt hands grasping his shoulders
and raised his own to fend off the blurred figure. His wrists were
caught and pinned above his head. "Which way up do you want him?"
"On his stomach first I think."
Iolaus began to struggle desperately. He heard Briseis say, "Come on,
you two, lend a hand here if you want a piece of him." 'Hell, how many
of the bastards are there?' he wondered.
He sank his teeth into a hand. The man yelped in pain and Iolaus
tensed in anticipation of a blow. "No! Don't hit him there! I still
don't want his face marked. Elsewhere doesn't matter so much now."
His vision cleared, but the four were still too much for him. They
flipped him over. Argius held his wrists, twisting his arms painfully
up his back, while Lichas and Numicus held his legs apart. Briseis
gagged him and then slammed into him without preliminaries. He
screamed in pain, but the sound was effectively muffled by the gag. A
nightmare of agony and humiliation followed as the four took turns at
him.
[Image]
PART TWO: DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN
It was midway through the evening before they finally released their
victim. They ordered him to dress and simply pushed him out into the
dark passage as though nothing had happened, as though he was of so
little account he could do nothing but accept what they'd done to him.
Iolaus' reeled against the wall. He felt absolutely devastated. He was
grateful for the dark as it enabled him to limp his way to his room
without being observed. Once there, he flung himself down on the bed
and wept the tears of pain and anger that he had somehow suppressed
during the seemingly endless assaults. All he wanted was Hercules. All
he wanted was to be in Hercules' arms, in that loving embrace where he
could sob out the pain and humiliation he had suffered.
He stood up and headed out into the passage in the direction of his
friend's room. He had just reached the door when Hercules emerged,
carrying a lantern to light his way down to the hall. He started when
he saw Iolaus and looked as if he was going to turn away. "Herc,
c-could I speak to you please?"
"What is it, Iolaus?" The voice was harsh.
"Could we go into your room?"
"Look, Iolaus, the girls are waiting for me. Just say whatever you
want to say and get it over with."
"I can't. Not here."
"Well it had better wait until later then. I'm in a hurry."
"Please, Herc." He grasped Hercules' arm.
"No!" Hercules shook him off. "Actually I'm not interested in any
excuses you've got."
Excuses? Iolaus was mystified. "W-What do you mean, Herc?"
"Surely I don't have to spell it out," the demigod snapped.
"I don't understand ... "
"Iolaus, I saw you today with Briseis. Is that clear enough for you?"
he added sarcastically.
The hunter was stunned. "You ... You *saw* me?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't ... Why didn't you help me?"
"*What*?"
"Why didn't you help me?" Tears began to trickle down the hunter's
bone-white face.
"Iolaus, stop play-acting! It's no good trying to kid me that you
weren't a willing participant in what went on. I saw you just lying
there letting him kiss and caress you."
"Herc, it *wasn't* like that, he forced ... "
"Yeah, it *looked* like it. You look in pretty good shape to me, not a
cut or bruise in sight. You must have put up quite a fight," he added
caustically.
"Herc, please don't ... "
"You know I was stupid enough to believe our relationship meant
something to you. That it wasn't just sexual."
"It did! It *does*!"
"Not from where I'm standing."
Stung, Iolaus found himself blurting, "And I suppose you thought
abandoning me for your breakfast assignation on our first day here
doesn't count."
"I wondered when we'd come back to that. You went off with Briseis
originally just to get at me for that, didn't you? Now, when you've
had a little tiff with him, you think you can come crawling back and
... "
"No! Please, Herc, it *wasn't* like that."
"What then?" His voice was icy. "It was only last night you were here
crawling around me trying to get me to acknowledge our relationship
publicly. I said we would talk it over, but that wasn't good enough
for you was it? No, you obviously decided to try to force my hand by
throwing yourself at Briseis. Well, maybe he gave you a bit more than
you wanted, but that's your hard luck. That's what happened, isn't it?
Refute that if you can! Come on, let's hear your explanation?"
Iolaus stared at Hercules. It was like looking at a stranger and a
hostile one at that. Hercules was shutting him out. He lowered his
head. "It doesn't matter. You're not going to believe me anyway.
You've already made up your mind."
"If that's all you've got to say, I'll go and join the ladies." He
stalked off.
Iolaus stared mutely after him. He wanted to run after Hercules, to
beg him to listen, but what was the point? Hercules obviously believed
him to be a liar as well as a sexual cheat. The one person he had
believed truly loved him didn't care enough to trust him or even to
listen to him. The bitter anguish that flooded over him at this
rejection exceeded even that engendered by the sexual assault.
'There's nothing to stay here for now. I might as well leave," he
thought bleakly. He went to his room and picked up his sword and
carry-bag. He slipped quietly down the stairs and out into the
courtyard.
The portcullis was raised and the drawbridge was down because there
were guests due to arrive, but the gate-house was manned. Three guards
moved to intercept him. "Where are you off to at this time of night,
Blondie?" one asked.
He tried to push past them, but one caught his arm. "We're talking to
you."
"Let go or ... "
"Or what?"
Iolaus tried unsuccessfully to shrug the hand off. "Let go!"
"When we're ready. Numicus here tells us you're free with your favors
and we'd like a taste," Rhenus sneered.
"Damn you! Get out of my way!"
"Come on, Blondie, you know you love it." Rhenus began to pull him
towards the gate-house door. Iolaus dropped his bag and smashed a fist
into the man's face. The guard dropped like a stone. The hunter jumped
over the body, whirled around, crouched slightly and launched himself
feet first at the other two. Saronis took a boot fair in the middle of
his face and fell, but the other twisted to one side and avoided the
kick. Iolaus landed on the man he had kicked. He scrambled to his
feet, only to have to fling himself backwards as Numicus swung his
sword. He wasn't quite fast enough. The sword cut deeply into his
right shoulder. He bit back a scream and clumsily dragged out his own
weapon, transferring it quickly to his left hand.
He'd had enough. His opponent was one of the bastards who had raped
him and he was going to die for it. Hardly bothering to keep his guard
up, he advanced casually towards his enemy. Numicus was little more
than a youth with a youth's cockiness, but this faltered as he looked
into the hunter's eyes and saw his death reflected there. He began to
back away. The hunter followed, his eyes locked on his opponent's
face. Numicus backed up until he was against the outer wall of the
castle. In desperation, he lunged at the hunter. At the last moment,
Iolaus sidestepped and brought his blade up and into the Numicus'
throat. The force of the thrust pushed the blade right through his
neck. With a vicious twist, Iolaus withdrew the sword and dropped it
to the ground.
It was only then that he became aware of the blood flooding down his
chest. He raised his left hand to the wound. It was deep and needed
urgent attention, but it would have to wait for any real care. He
staggered back to his carry-bag, pulled out his blanket and used his
hunting knife to quickly cut off a piece to wad the wound. He couldn't
do more. He had to get out before anyone came as a wave of dizziness
warned him he wasn't up to another fight. Clutching the pad in place,
he moved swiftly across the drawbridge and off into the night.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hercules spent a most unpleasant evening. His mind kept going over and
over what had happened. Upsetting images of the hunter's pale,
tear-stained face and disheveled hair kept intruding on his thoughts
but, balanced against those, was the hateful vision of Iolaus' smooth,
ivory body trembling under Briseis' caress.
Ledaea and Graeci kept up their usual flirtatious banter as best they
could, but they found it hard-going as the demigod sat stony-faced and
inattentive. He obviously had something on his mind and, since they
knew nothing of their father's machinations on their behalf, they were
both mystified, not to say miffed, at his failure to appreciate their
sallies. He hadn't even complemented them on the new dresses they had
had made especially for his benefit. At one point an exasperated
Graeci suddenly asked bluntly, "What's on your mind?" and, to his
horror, Hercules blurted, "Iolaus!" That had not been well received by
either twin. How could Hercules ignore all their best lines and their
gorgeous looks and think about the scruffy, little blond?
Relations became more and more strained as the evening progressed.
Hercules was grateful when the hour finally arrived when he could
excuse himself and retire to bed.
As he walked along the dark passage, he saw a figure standing in the
shadows by his door. His first thought was that it was Iolaus, but he
realized it was too tall. "Hercules?" it asked. The voice was little
more than a whisper.
"Yes."
"My name is Azides. I need to speak to you. It's urgent! I don't want
anyone to see me."
"Come inside."
Once inside and a couple of lamps lit, he turned to the youth. "How
can I help?"
"It's ... It's about Iolaus."
"Has he sent you to see me?"
"No."
"I'm listening."
"Please, will you promise not to say it was me who came here. Briseis
would kill me if he knew."
"I promise."
"You see Iolaus was kind to me. He took me hunting and stopped Briseis
hitting me. He didn't deserve what they did to him."
An icy hand clutched Hercules' heart. "What do you mean?"
"Lichas, he's one of the bodyguard, was laughing about it in the
barracks tonight. He said ... He said ... "
"Go on," Hercules encouraged.
"Last night, he and one of the other guards had helped Briseis and
Argius trick Iolaus into going to a part of the castle that's not used
much. He said they'd been trying to seduce Iolaus and it hadn't worked
so they decided to ... to force him. The four of them got him down and
drugged him and then ... then ... he said they all ... It's not fair!
They just do what they like to people because everyone is scared of
Briseis."
Hercules had been listening in horror. Gods, Iolaus had been telling
the truth. He'd come to him for help and he hadn't listened. Iolaus
had needed him and he'd turned him away. "Do you know where Iolaus is
now?"
"No and I'm really worried because he's hurt."
"You mean from the attack?"
"No. Not long after Lichas had finished telling us, Saronis, one of
the guards from the gate-house came in. He had a broken nose and his
face was all bloody. He told us he and two others spoke to Iolaus as
he was leaving the castle and he attacked them for no reason. I don't
believe that. He wouldn't do that. Two of them are battered and one's
dead. We all rushed out to see the other two. The dead man was Numicus
one of those Lichas said was in on the rape. Iolaus' sword was there
all covered with blood and there was a trail of blood across the
drawbridge. They're planning to go after him as soon as it gets light.
I didn't know what to do so I came to you because he told me all about
you and how you were his best friend."
"Thank you. Don't worry, I'll find him. I'll see he's okay. You'd
better get back before someone misses you." The boy hurried off.
Hercules sat down heavily on the bed. He felt sunk under a weight of
guilt. The boy had called him Iolaus' "best friend" and he didn't
deserve that title. All he could see was Iolaus' desperate
tear-stained face as he'd appealed to Hercules to listen to him. He
wouldn't have turned anyone else away under those circumstances. He'd
allowed his own feelings of hurt and jealousy to dictate his behavior
and had ruthlessly pushed aside any feelings of compassion and love.
However, now was not the time to waste on regrets. He had to find
Iolaus quickly.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
His local knowledge stood him in good stead. He hurried to the home of
a villager, who owned a dog renowned for its skill in tracking. Nothus
did not hesitate when he saw who had awoken him and quickly got the
dog for him.
He took the dog back to the castle and found a piece of Iolaus'
blanket in the courtyard. After that, the dog demonstrated its worth
and it was only about half an hour before the dog located the hunter.
Iolaus was lying facedown in some long grass, having fainted from
blood-loss.
"Iolaus!" He knelt and gently rolled his friend onto his back.
"Iolaus, can you hear me?"
"Herc?" His voice was a whisper.
"Thank the gods." He reached for the rough, blood-soaked bandage.
"Leave that alone!" Iolaus' voice was weak, but determined.
"I'm just going to look at your injury."
"No! Leave it! I don't want *you* to touch it."
"Iolaus, it needs attention."
"I know, but I don't want *you* to do anything."
"Why?"
"You've made it quite clear what ... what you th-think of me. Now just
leave me alone."
"Iolaus, you've lost a hell of a lot of blood. If I don't help you,
you might ... might ... "
"Might die? What do you care?"
"Damn you, Iolaus, just stop it! You *know* I care about you." He
reached for the bandage again. Iolaus tried to push him away. A wave
of fear went through the demigod when he realized just how feeble the
hunter was.
"All right, calm down. I won't touch your shoulder, but I *will* take
you to the village healer. He can look at it."
He swept Iolaus up into his arms. The blond started to push against
him, but realized he could do nothing against Hercules' strength and
gave up. Truth to tell, Iolaus felt so much better in Hercules' arms.
His shoulder was aching badly and he was very weak from loss of blood,
but lying in his erstwhile friend's arms was like reaching a safe
haven after the hell he'd been through.
He allowed his head to flop back on Hercules' shoulder. For now, at
least, he didn't have to think or act. He could just let go. He
allowed himself to release his tenuous hold on consciousness.
Hercules felt him go limp. His blood went cold. Surely he hadn't been
too late. He quickened his pace.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dolichaon was sleeping soundly when the pair arrived, but he got up
without complaint to see to the hunter. The wound he exposed when he
removed the sodden blanket bandage was both jagged and deep. By
contrast to its angry red, Iolaus' ivory skin looked paler than ever,
dangerously so. "I'll have to clean this quickly and cauterize it.
He's lost a worrying amount of blood by the look of him." The hunter
never moved while this was done. 'At least, he wasn't aware of the
cauterization,' Hercules thought. He'd had to watch his friend suffer
that in the past and was sure he felt all the pain Iolaus had borne so
stoically.
Dolichaon bandaged the shoulder firmly, immobilizing the hunter's
right arm as well by binding it to his chest. "I don't want him to be
able to use that arm at all. Now could you raise him slightly please?"
Dolichaon requested. "I want to get a potion in to him that will help
prevent infection setting in. I've also put some poppy syrup in it as
we need to keep him as quiet and still as possible so he doesn't
thrash around, if he becomes feverish, and break the stitches."
That done, Hercules suggested the healer go back to bed. "I'll watch
over him. I'll wake you if necessary."
"You look like you need the rest more than I do."
"No, I *need* to look after him. His injury is largely my fault." He
didn't explain further. He settled down on a chair beside the bed, his
eyes never leaving his friend. "Iolaus," he whispered, "I'm so sorry.
I should have listened to you. This is all my fault."
As the hours passed, he became aware that Iolaus was developing a
slight fever. He sponged his face and held him gently when he started
to move about. The hunter seemed to calm when Hercules held him, but
if the contact was broken he began to move restlessly again. In the
end, it was easiest to settle himself on the bed with Iolaus' head on
his shoulder. 'And Dolichaon can think what he likes about us,' was
Hercules last thought on the subject as he dozed off as well. Iolaus
would have been amazed if he could have read that thought.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Nothing goes unreported in a small village and, not long after
daybreak, the news that Hercules and his friend were at the healer's
house was already common knowledge. Of course, Hercules had seen no
need for secrecy. He knew Iolaus had been treated very badly at the
castle, but had no idea that Lord Demos had any part in this and so
anticipated a fair hearing for Iolaus from his friend.
By mid-morning, news of the pair's whereabouts had reached the castle
and had been relayed to the guards, who had been conducting a
fruitless search for the hunter since daybreak. Accordingly, a group
arrived at Dolichaon's home to take charge of Iolaus.
Iolaus was asleep. Dolichaon had given him more drugs to quieten him
as he'd become more restless as the night had progressed and, once
Hercules had arisen for he day, had began to thrash around in the
absence of the comforting arms.
Both Dolichaon and Hercules had opposed the order that Iolaus be
handed over to be returned to the castle. Neither felt he should be
moved. The guards were adamant. He'd killed one of their number and
should stand trial before Lord Demos. It looked like the argument
might escalate into conflict, when a boy came panting up seeking the
healer. He had run from a distant farmlet to seek aid for his mother,
who was very ill.
"I'm sorry, Hercules," Dolichaon said, "I'll have to go and I may be
away some hours. I'm a bit worried that Iolaus' fever might build, so
it would be as well to take him to the castle as Lord Demos has his
own healer there. I've got a litter you can use. After the drugs I've
given him he should be out for another three hours. If you carry him
slowly and gently his stitches should be okay."
Iolaus was still wearing his leather trousers as Hercules had felt
awkward about stripping him the previous night after his earlier
insistence that he did not want Hercules to touch him. Hercules put
his boots back on him and then gently lifted him on to the litter. The
party slowly made their way to the castle once more.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
On arrival at the castle, Hercules ignored the guards and carried the
hunter carefully to the healer's quarters. He explained to the elderly
physician what the village healer had done. He placed Iolaus on the
bed, but decided not to attempt to remove his trousers or boots in
case he woke him.
The old man made it clear that he did not want him hanging around
getting in his way and, in any case, pointed out that the drugs
Dolichaon had given the hunter should, hopefully, keep him asleep for
some time. He suggested Hercules go and get some sleep himself. This
advice was given more from a desire to get him out of the sickroom
than from any concern for the demigod..
Iolaus was awake. He lay very still, keeping his eyes shut, trying to
identify where he was from the sounds and smells around him. He felt
feverish and very weak. He was aware that his right shoulder and arm
were bandaged. His head was muzzy from the drugs Dolichaon had given
him. Accordingly, knowing his vulnerable state, he hoped to determine
his location before alerting possible watchers that he had recovered
consciousness. He could smell herbs, but the only noise was someone
occasionally moving across the room. He gave up and opened his eyes to
find himself in an unfamiliar room. An elderly man was standing by the
bed. "You're awake at last, are you?"
"W-Who are you?" he asked shakily.
"I'm Macherus. I'm Lord Demos' healer."
Iolaus was aghast. "I'm ... I'm back at the castle?"
"Yes, Hercules brought you to me earlier this morning."
Iolaus' mind was in a whirl. He had no recollection of his time at
Dolichaon's house. It appeared to him that Hercules had taken him
straight back to the castle and had handed him over to his enemies.
'How could he do this to me?' he wondered. "He must blame me for all
that's happened.' He had a vivid, heart-wrenching memory of being in
Hercules' arms and how good it had felt. 'I'm a bloody fool,' he
thought. 'I still love him so much. I know he doesn't care about me
any more, but I can't help wanting him.'
"Where is Hercules?"
"I advised him to get some sleep, as he looked worn out, and I told
him you would probably not regain consciousness for some time so it
was no use hanging around here getting in my way. He said he was going
to see Lord Demos."
"How long ago was that?"
"About two hours so it looks like he must have taken my advice."
"W-Was he *really* going to wait with me?" Iolaus asked, hopefully.
"I don't know. I just thought he might have intended to do so. I don't
like friends and relatives of patients hanging and getting in my way,"
said Macherus, effectively extinguishing the small flame of hope that
had flared in Iolaus' breast.
Iolaus tried to raise himself to get a better look at his
surroundings. Macherus reached out and gently, but firmly, pushed him
back. "You must lie still. You've lost a lot of blood and I don't want
you to start the wound bleeding again after all my work to close it."
Iolaus lay back. He tried to think of what to do next, but his brain
didn't seem to be functioning very clearly. Staying at the castle was
definitely not an option, but he knew he wasn't going to get far in
his condition.
However, a short time later any freedom of choice was gone as the door
burst open and Saronis and Rhenus entered. "What do you mean by coming
in here without my leave?" Macherus demanded.
"Your leave?" Saronis laughed, " Lord Demos' personal guard goes where
it likes, old man. We've come to relieve you of your charge. A
prisoner belongs in the dungeons, not lounging around being waited
on."
"Prisoner? What do you mean?"
"Surely you've heard that that little bastard killed Numicus in an
unprovoked attack last night. You treated my injury so you must know
about the incident."
"Yes, but Lord Demos' guest, Hercules, delivered him to me for
treatment so I thought that ... "
"It doesn't matter what you thought, now you *know*." He turned to
Iolaus, "Okay, runt, get up!"
The old healer tried again. "You can't move him. If his shoulder
starts bleeding again he may die."
"What does it matter? Lord Demos is certain to sentence him to death
anyway. Anyway, after what he did to me, I'm planning that he'll lose
quite a bit more blood before he comes to trial. Now get out of the
way!" As he spoke, he gave the old man a hard shove that caused him to
stumble against a small table covered with his precious instruments
and jars of medicines. All went flying. With a cry of horror, the old
man knelt to try to salvage his treasures, forgetting his patient in
the face of this disaster.
Iolaus had been listening to the exchange with apprehension. Under
normal circumstances, the two men confronting him would have given him
no difficulty at all, but, with a sinking heart, he knew he wasn't
going to be able to resist them. He didn't have the strength to obey
them either. But what did it really matter either way? He felt so
alone, so confused and depressed that he'd just about given up. His
body and spirit ached for rest.
They yanked him off the bed, but he couldn't stand unaided. The room
seemed to be tilting around him and he fell back against the bed. His
legs gave way and he sank to his knees. With a grunt of annoyance,
Rhenus bent down, grasped the blond and flung him across his shoulder.
Iolaus couldn't bring himself to even try to make a token resistance.
Let them do what they liked, he didn't care any more.
They took him to the dungeons and into a cell. Once there, they
removed the bandages that had bound his arm to his chest, so they
could use the manacles on the cell wall. Because of the height of
these, Iolaus could barely touch the ground. The pain from the strain
on his wrists and shoulders was excruciating. His shoulder wound
immediately began to seep as the stitches gradually parted.
"Unfortunately we're both on due to attend Lord Demos so we can't stay
here to keep you company, but before we go we'll give you a taste of
what we've got in store for you," Saronis said. With that he laid a
whip across Iolaus' back. The force of the blow slammed Iolaus into
the rough stone wall. He was unable to bite back a cry of pain as his
shoulder wound opened further. Several other lashes followed before
the two left him alone in the dark. He could feel the blood pulsing
out of his shoulder wound and running down his chest. 'The way I'm
bleeding, I'll probably cheat them of their fun,' he thought wryly,
closing his eyes and submitting to the demands of pain and exhaustion.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, Hercules had been searching unsuccessfully for Lord Demos.
He finally located Graeci and Ledaea, who informed him that their
father had been called out on estate business and would return in an
hour or so. The demigod would have gone after him, but the girls were
vague as to his location. "Don't worry, we'll entertain you until he
returns," Ledaea smiled, observing his distracted air.
"Anyway our father had you away hunting yesterday and so it's our turn
to enjoy your company," Graeci added.
The girls tried their best, but he was as unresponsive to their
flirtation as he had been the previous evening. "What's wrong,
Hercules?" Graeci asked. "Have we upset you in some way?"
"Of course not, I'm just worried about ... " He trailed off
remembering the ill-concealed hostility the twins had shown at the
mention of the hunter the previous night.
However, his reference was clear. "Don't you *ever* stop thinking and
talking about him?" Graeci asked, pouting. "Under the circumstances, I
would have thought you'd have preferred to forget you'd ever known
him."
"What on earth do you mean?"
"Well everybody's been talking about him." She lowered her voice and
shivered deliciously at the thought of the scandal. "It's said that
he's been *sleeping* with Briseis and with *any* of the other guards
who are interested. Just think, sleeping with other men! What a
*disgusting* thought!"
"And what about his attack on poor Numicus and the others?" Ledaea
added. Her voice was sober, but her eyes were sparkling with malice.
"Please stop it both of you! You're wrong! You know nothing about
Iolaus," Hercules protested.
"We know all we need to know. I didn't think you'd have anything to do
with a person like that Hercules and," she added primly, "I'm very
surprised you'd bring someone like that into our home."
"You should have more concern for your own reputation," Graeci
commented. "People might think you're like him if ... "
"Stop it! If people thought I was like Iolaus, I wouldn't mind at all.
I'd be proud to be likened to him. He's brave, honest, loyal ... "
Graeci interrupted, "You might *believe* that, but I overheard father
saying ... " She trailed off, wondering if it was wise to admit
eavesdropping on her parent.
"Well go on! What did he say?"
"I probably shouldn't repeat it."
"Go on!"
"I can't remember his exact words, but he was saying to one of his
friends that he thinks Iolaus has completely hoodwinked you as to his
true nature. He said you're too trusting and you've taken him on face
value."
"He's right," Hercules observed, with some bitterness, "I have been
too trusting in *some* of my friendships, but *not* with Iolaus."
There was no reaction. The sarcasm was lost on the two spoilt girls,
who could not imagine for one moment that he could possibly be
referring to their family. After all, they were only speaking out in
the demigod's best interests, weren't they?
Hercules excused himself and retired to his room to think things over.
The conversation he'd just had had shocked him. The twins had shown a
side to their natures that he had not suspected to exist. 'Of course,'
Hercules, always ready to see the good in others, thought, 'they're
only young and they are parroting their elders and are trying to
appear to know more than they do.' The trouble with that thought was
that it implied others had obviously been making such comments, if not
to them then in their presence. Even worse, if Graeci was to be
believed, her father had accepted the rumors as true. What chance did
that give Iolaus of getting a fair hearing over Numicus' death?
He lay back on the bed and closed his eyes as he mulled over all that
had happened. Unfortunately, he had had little rest the previous night
and so, in spite of all his worries, he fell asleep. An hour or more
had passed when he awoke with a jolt. Iolaus! He had a dreadful
feeling that the hunter was dying.
He rushed back to the sickroom. To his horror, the bed was empty.
Macherus was busily tidying up a various items that had been tipped
onto the floor. He was muttering to himself and didn't even turn
around when the demigod entered. "What's happened? Where is Iolaus?"
"I don't know. I'm busy."
"*Where* is he?" There was a threatening undercurrent in Hercules'
voice.
Macherus went on the defensive, protesting, "It wasn't my fault. I
couldn't do anything. They wouldn't listen to me."
"What wasn't your fault? *Where* is Iolaus?"
"A couple of guards took him."
"*What?*"
"They said he was dangerous and was to be locked up until Lord Demos
has a chance to hear the case against him."
"Dangerous? But you saw the condition he was in."
"Yes, but they wouldn't listen to me. Anyway who am I to gainsay Lord
Demos' orders?"
Hercules didn't know if the orders had been given by Demos or not. As
far as he knew Demos had not returned to the castle unless he had done
so when Hercules was sleeping. "Where did they take him?"
"The dungeons, I suppose. Now please, I'm busy. I have to sort out all
the things that were knocked over."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
There were two men guarding the stairs that descended to the dungeons.
"I'm sorry, no unauthorized people are allowed past this point."
Hercules was going to brook no delay. "I'm going down there now, with
or without permission. We can make this easy or hard. Choose quickly!"
One started to draw his sword. That was enough. The demigod grabbed
one man in each hand and smashed their heads together. He stepped over
them and bounded down the stairs.
It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the dark, the only
illumination being a single candle flickering fitfully in a wall
sconce. He called his friend's name, but got no reply. Then he heard a
faint groan. He peered into a cell and could see a dark figure
suspended in shackles against the far wall. He tried the cell door. It
was locked. He wasn't going to waste time going back to seek the key
on the guards. He grasped the door and ripped it off its hinges. He
then grabbed the candle and hurried into the cell. He could see thin
red lines criss-crossing Iolaus' back, but worse was to come. He
pushed Iolaus as gently as he could against the wall and pinned him
there with his body so he would not fall. Then he reached up and
snapped the shackles as if they were mere twigs. He wrapped his arms
around Iolaus to lower him. The hunter's body was wet and slippery and
he realized his chest and stomach were covered with blood. He was
alive, but his pulse was very faint.
Hercules felt a surge of blind panic. What should he do? He would have
preferred to take Iolaus to Dolichaon, but the village was too far and
there was no guarantee that the healer would have returned. Macherus
was the hunter's only hope. He swept Iolaus into his arms and hastened
for the sickroom, feeling his friend's blood soaking through his
shirt. The greeting he received was not encouraging. "Why have you
brought him back here?"
"He needs urgent attention. His stitches have broken."
"I can't treat him. I'll get into trouble."
"If you don't help him, he'll die and then you'll find out what
trouble really is."
"I'll have to check with Lord Demos."
"There isn't time. I'll do what's needed myself. Just give me
something to wad the wound while I heat a knife. I'll cauterize it and
stitch it."
However, rather than see someone else usurp his position, the old man
grumpily took over. To Hercules' relief, once underway, he worked
surprisingly quickly and efficiently and soon had the wound closed and
bandaged firmly. With Hercules' help, he forced a herbal concoction
down the hunter's throat. "I've done all I can. He's so weak from
blood loss he's probably going to die anyway, but you can't blame me
for that, I've done my best," Macerus pronounced pessimistically,
looking at the hunter's skin, which was so pale as to be almost
translucent.
"He'll make it. I won't accept anything else. I won't let him die
again." The old healer did a double-take at the last word, but said
nothing.
Hercules sat by the bed watching each shallow breath, willing Iolaus
to keep fighting. He bathed the blond's face, smoothed his tousled
curls, held him gently but firmly when he tossed fretfully and
constantly murmured words of endearment and encouragement to him. The
words left no doubt as to their relationship, as Hercules poured out
all his love for the hunter.
The demigod had no sense of the hours passing. His world had narrowed
down to this one man who *must not* die. He concentrated his whole
being on Iolaus. He was *not* going to let him go.
A message arrived from Lord Demos to say that he had returned.
Hercules sent one back saying he could not leave Iolaus. He made no
apology for this. He was determined that he was never going to leave
*his* hunter again. Nobody was going to have an opportunity to hurt
*his* lover ever again.
Iolaus was floating in a dark sea. He wanted so much to surrender to
it, to let the tide drift him gently away, away from all his pain and
anguish, away from a harsh and lonely world where the one person he
loved no longer cared for him. The trouble was there was someone
stopping him. He kept hearing a low and soothing voice. Its words were
indistinct, but he knew it was forbidding him to go, telling him he
*had* to stay. He felt the soft touch of the hands that went with the
voice. Gentle, but firm and compelling, they were holding him back
from the welcoming darkness. He managed to reach for one of the hands
intending to push it away, but found himself grasping it tightly.
Holding it made him feel safer. He heard the voice lift with joy in
reaction to his touch. Now he could feel lips brushing his.
He tried to force his eyes open. He blinked several times. The room
was blurred. He could recognize the shape bending over him as a
person, but couldn't identify him.
Hercules watched the struggle, his heart contracting at the sight of
the dull, unfocused eyes and the dark rings beneath them, which stood
out in sharp contrast to the ashen face.
The hunter's lips moved as he tried to speak. "W-Where ... "
"It's all right, Iolaus."
Hercules! Iolaus flinched at the voice. "Where am I?"
"In the healer's room at the castle." Hercules had intended the words
to be reassuring, but to Iolaus they were anything but.
"How did I get here?"
"I brought you."
"Herc, c-couldn't you have ... have just left me in the woods? Why did
... Why did you make me c-come back here?" he gasped brokenly. This
was Iolaus with his defenses down. He sounded so weak, so completely
defeated.
Hercules looked into Iolaus' eyes and saw the fear and anguish there.
He knew he'd hurt him terribly by his earlier rejection and now
realized that the hunter felt bringing him back to the castle was a
further betrayal. "Iolaus, please listen ... " he started.
Iolaus interrupted. "Why couldn't you have left me?" His voice was so
bleak, so weary, it wrung Hercules' heart and he felt tears forming in
his eyes. "Why did you make me come back?"
A tear rolled down the hunter's cheek. Hercules put out a gentle hand
to intercept it and Iolaus flinched away. "Please, Iolaus, I'm not
going to hurt you. I'm trying to help you." The confused and doubting
look on the blond's face cut the demigod to the quick. He didn't know
what to say to start to make amends.
At that moment, Macherus bustled into the room and started. "He's
awake?" he said, in an incredulous tone.
"Just," Hercules responded, undecided whether to be annoyed or
grateful for the distraction. Had he known just how grateful he was
going to be in a few moments he would have been amazed. Unwittingly,
Macherus was about to confirm the demigod's love for the hunter.
"Well, that really surprises me, I didn't think he had a chance. I
hope you'll now be able to go away and stop cluttering up my sickroom.
It's bad enough when I have patients' relatives in here getting in my
way, but having lovers moaning and sighing is the outside of enough.
"*Lovers?*" Iolaus gasped, his eyes now wide open.
"Yes! I can't say I approve of such goings on, especially in public.
I'd have thought considerably more discretion would be advisable under
the circumstances."
"How ... How does he know?" the hunter stammered. He was confused by
Macherus' words, which implied that the demigod had not been his usual
circumspect self. *That* couldn't be true. 'I must have misheard him,'
he thought, very aware that his mind was still fuzzy. Suddenly, the
thought struck him that he must have been delirious. He was horrified.
"I-I'm sorry, Herc. Please forgive me. I didn't ... I didn't mean to
say anything."
"It wasn't you," Hercules said, hastening to reassure him, "it was
me."
The hunter could only stare at him.
"I was so worried about you, I couldn't help caressing you and talking
to you about how much I love and need you. *Anything* to keep you with
me. I was so scared you were going to leave me. So now he knows, just
like Dolichaon does."
"Who?"
"The village healer. I took you to his home first. I'm afraid you
slept in my arms that night, so now he knows all about us as well."
"I'm so sorry, Herc," Iolaus apologized, in a tone of hopeless
resignation, aware how upset Hercules would be at having their secret
exposed.
"No, Iolaus, *you* have nothing to be sorry for. If people know of our
relationship that's too bad. I'm not going to make an effort to hide
it any more. I'm sorry I was stupid enough to try to do so in the
first place. I am not ashamed of loving you."
"Herc, you don't have to do this."
"I *want* to."
Iolaus tried to raise himself so he could put his arms around
Hercules, but the effort was too much. He fell back gasping, tears of
weakness flooding his eyes.
"Iolaus, lie still, you might rip your stitches out again. Do you want
something for the pain?"
"Yes, *you*"
Hercules smiled in relief. "*That* will definitely have to wait."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Three days had passed. Days in which Hercules' lived in the sickroom,
nearly driving Macherus to distraction. Days full of explanations,
tears, apologies and gentle caresses.
Iolaus was still dreadfully weak, but he was determined to leave the
castle and would not be truly at his ease until he had done so.
In truth, Hercules was also uncomfortable. He still had no idea of the
part Lord Demos had played in events and he was guiltily aware that he
was hardly acting the part of grateful guest, but he could not bring
himself to let Iolaus out of his sight and so, as Demos did not
apparently choose to visit the sickroom, they had no direct contact.
However, now that he'd allowed the hunter to persuade him, against his
better judgement and Macherus' professional opinion, that he was fit
enough to leave, he felt it was time to meet Demos face-to-face.
Demos had been anticipating the meeting with some trepidation as he
was not sure if Hercules suspected his complicity in events. From
reports he had received from Macherus, he was aware that Hercules and
the blond were as close as ever. Indeed, far from driving a wedge
between the two, if Macherus was to be believed, all he had done was
to lead the two to decide to abandon any public discretion in their
relationship.
Obviously any hopes he had cherished about having a demigod as a
son-in-law were long gone and he hoped to just get the farewells over
as quickly and quietly as possible, avoiding any possible
recriminations. Unfortunately, for this plan to work, he needed to
have confided it to several other key players in the affair and he
hadn't done so.
When Hercules and Iolaus approached him he was in the castle's hall,
surrounded by his daughters and his attendants. Various rumors had
been flying about and so many of the castle's occupants had gathered
in silent anticipation to see what would happen. They were immediately
rewarded with a juicy bit of scandal.
The hall was some distance from the healer's quarters and Iolaus, for
all his claims to the contrary, was still feeling very fragile. The
walk had really been too much for him and his head was spinning.
Hercules heard the hunter softly gasp his name and spun around just in
time to clutch the blond to him as he started to slump. He held Iolaus
tightly against him. "Are you okay, Iolaus? You'd better sit down, my
love," he said, as he helped Iolaus into a chair and embraced him
briefly.
The words had slipped out without thought and, although spoken
quietly, they rang through the silence of the hall. The listeners were
riveted by this public acknowledgement and no-one was more stunned
than Iolaus. Even though he knew Hercules had sworn off secrecy, he'd
*never* anticipated this openness. The endearment was one he'd heard
Hercules use when speaking to Deianeria, but he'd never used it, even
in private, when addressing Iolaus.
Graeci gave a short, theatrical shriek of disgust, while Ledaea asked,
"Father how could you invite people like *that* to our home?"
Saronis decided it was time to speak up as well. He had been very
concerned that Lord Demos seemed to be meeting the pair merely to
farewell them rather than to try and punish the hunter for the broken
nose he had suffered. He had chosen to forget the cause of the fight.
So now he called out, "My Lord, surely you are not going to let the
vicious attack that Iolaus made on members of your guard go
unpunished."
"Of course he's not! You're going to see he's punished, aren't you,
father?" Graeci appealed.
"And he must answer for his unprovoked attack on Numicus that led to
his death," Lichas added.
*That* was too much for Azides. He stood up, knees shaking and voice
trembling. He pointed at Lichas and cried, "He's lying! That fight
wasn't unprovoked. Lichas boasted in the barracks how he, Briseis,
Argius and Numicus had raped Iolaus. Everyone there heard him,
although they might not have the guts to say it."
"I have." A grizzled warrior stood up. He wasn't going to be put to
shame by a mere boy. "I heard him."
That started a flood. Man after man rose to support Azides. Briseis,
in particular, was not a popular man and so many chose to vent old
grievances against him. Demos was being forced into a corner. "This is
all news to me. I will have to look ... " He was about to say "into
the allegations", although he had no intention of actually doing so as
that would bring his own activities to light.
However, Briseis did not realize this. He could see himself being made
the scapegoat for the whole affair and he wasn't about to accept that.
"My Lord," he interrupted, "you know I was only carrying out your
orders with regard to Iolaus!"
All eyes turned to Demos. Many felt no real surprise at the revelation
as they knew how Demos and his Captain of the Bodyguard always worked
hand-in-glove, but all were keen to see how the warlord would react.
Hercules was one of the few who had had no idea of the warlord's true
nature. He was stunned speechless.
Demos rose abruptly and looked at him. "I think we might continue this
discussion in private," he said.
Hercules could only nod agreement. He glanced at the ashen-faced
hunter. "You go, Herc. I'll be okay," Iolaus said.
"No, I want you with me," Hercules said, and offered the hunter his
arm.
They followed Demos to his private chambers. Once there, Demos, to his
credit, did not attempt to prevaricate. "All I can say is that I acted
from what I believed to be good intentions. I wanted you for one of my
daughters. This had been a dream of mine for some years. I had heard
rumors about you and your friend, but had not believed them. However,
when I saw him, I feared there might be some basis to the stories. I
saw Iolaus as a threat to my daughters' chances and decided to remove
him as a possible rival to them. I hoped Briseis could simply seduce
your friend away from you but, as you know, that didn't work and so we
decided to try more drastic measures. However, there was no intention
that he should actually get hurt."
"No intention? How does a pack rape fit into the picture then?" asked
the demigod, heatedly.
"I thought Briseis might take advantage of the situation, but I didn't
expect he'd invite others to join him." Unfortunately, he could resist
adding, in a show of bravado, "Anyway Iolaus probably enjoyed it."
As soon as he'd said that he could have bitten out his tongue at the
expression of murderous fury on Hercules' face. He had a feeling his
last moments had come and, indeed, that was nearly the case. Hercules,
grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground. He could
hardly breathe and he could feel the demigod's fingers tightening. His
world was going black.
Iolaus looked on in shock. Hercules was going to kill in cold blood
and for him. As much as he desired revenge on Demos and the others, he
couldn't allow that. If Hercules took an action so abhorrent to his
true nature, he might suffer from regret in the future. He grasped his
friend's arm and begged, "Please, Herc, don't! He's not worth it.
Forget him. I just want to leave."
For a few moments, it appeared as if his plea would go unheeded, but
then the demigod suddenly released Demos. The latter fell, gasping, to
the floor. A trembling Hercules turned to the hunter, who opened his
arms and drew him into an embrace. "Thank you, Herc. Thank you, both
for the thought and for not carrying it out," he whispered.
They left quietly, but not before Hercules had supplied Azides with a
letter of introduction that would assure him of a welcome and a place
at Iphicles' court.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The two traveled in easy stages over the course of the following week.
Hercules was very loving and attentive and was concerned that the
hunter should rest frequently and not overtax himself. Although they
slept in each other's arms, the demigod made it clear that any further
activity was going to wait until he was certain that Iolaus had
recovered. The blond objected long and strenuously to what he
considered an over-solicituous, ridiculous and, given how he was
feeling, even inhumane ruling.
By the time they reached the tavern, Iolaus was getting quite
desperate and was even wondering if Hercules had decided against
resuming their old relationship. The demigod was also feeling the
strain, but he was managing to successfully hide the fact from the
hunter. He was determined that not only would they wait until Iolaus
was well, but that all would be right for their first night and that
included having comfortable surroundings and a proper bed.
As they entered the inn, a surprised hunter felt Hercules take his
hand. The demigod then approached the landlord, who was serving at the
bar, and openly asked for a room with a double bed, totally ignoring
the looks and comments from other patrons of the tavern. He then swept
the hunter into his arms and fairly charged upstairs with him. Caught
completely off-guard, Iolaus was too stunned to make any of his usual
complaints about being carried.
Before he could gather his wits, they were in the room and he found
himself on his back on the bed with the demigod rapidly undressing
him. The gentle and attentive traveling companion had been replaced by
the eager and demanding lover. Soon the demigod's hands and lips were
roaming teasingly over all of the hunter's body except for the parts
that most desired them. Iolaus was getting desperate again. "Please,
Herc," he implored, as he raised his hips trying to push against his
lover.
"There's no hurry is there?" Hercules inquired sweetly, enjoying
Iolaus' need.
"Yes, there damn well is!"
"Well, if we must," the demigod replied, pretending reluctance. "Over
you go." He rolled Iolaus onto his stomach but, instead of the action
the hunter was frantically craving, began to tantalize with his tongue
once more.
He waited until Iolaus was desperate enough to start to take matters
into his own hands. As the blond grasped his own cock, Hercules
reached over and pushed his hands aside. "*My* prerogative," he stated
firmly, as he began to pump the hunter. The latter exploded helplessly
almost immediately.
"Thank you," Hercules said, as he used the cum to coat his own penis.
Then, in contrast to his earlier behavior, he slammed into Iolaus and
began to thrust hard. Iolaus screamed as he was engulfed in an ecstasy
of commingled pain and pleasure. "Do you like this, my love? And this?
And this?" Hercules asked, grinning broadly as he observed the shaking
wreck he was making of his golden lover.
The hunter could only moan in response. He was beyond speech, beyond
reason, consumed in a maelstrom of exquisite agony.
This was the demigod at his most possessive, asserting his claim to
his lover. This was the demigod who would brook no opposition, who
imposed his will on the object of his love and lust. This was the
lover that the hunter, though independent to the point of perversity
outside the bedroom, often secretly dreamed about. Occasionally it
could be so comforting to be dominated by someone one trusted
completely.
They climaxed simultaneously. Iolaus' world was black with tiny
pin-points of colored light exploding around him. Hercules shouted and
then collapsed back on the bed breathing heavily. He pulled Iolaus
into his arms and gently kissed his lips.
Iolaus curled sleepily against the demigod and almost purred with
happiness as he felt Hercules begin to stroke his golden curls. He was
in a state of absolute contentment for Hercules was now *his* lover by
both day and night.
[Image] The End [Image]
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