As Xena stretched and sat up, she glanced around their small camp and realized that Gabrielle was missing. Everything else was in place and Argos was grazing happily, but there was no sign of Xena’s best friend. And something about the morning silence made the Warrior Princess very uneasy.

“Gabrielle!” she called as she stood up and reached for her sword. “Gabrielle, were are you?”

Hearing a sound in the trees, Xena swung round, sword in hand. A figure, covered completely in dark robes, stepped forward and held up a hand.

“Greetings Xena” he said, looking straight at her with his cold blue eyes. “I’ve come to give you a warning. Don’t mess with us. Not now, not ever”

“Who are you?” Xena spat. “Where’s my friend?”

“I’m someone even the Gods fear” the man said with a cruel laugh. “My intentions will become clear to everyone in time. As for your friend…well look behind you,” With that he disappeared and Xena turned round, only to be faced with the motionless body of her dearest friend. Her glance moved to the strange symbol craved on Gabrielle’s body and in her head she heard the man whisper, “Soon”…

Xena sat up, her heart pounding. The first thing she heard was Gabrielle snoring and she gave a sigh of relief.

“It was only a dream,” she whispered to herself, getting up and going over to check on Argos. But she couldn’t shake off the feeling that it was more than that. She resolved not to let Gabrielle out of her sight for at least the next few days, just in case.

Gabrielle soon woke up and not much later, they were moving again. Gabrielle chatted about this and that, but Xena couldn’t concentrate. Her mind kept drifting back to her dream although she firmly told herself to forget it. She didn’t want to tell Gabrielle unless she really had to and so she attempted to focus on what her young friend was saying.

Suddenly Xena felt a cold breeze blow around her. Argos and Gabrielle didn’t seem to notice a thing so Xena didn’t mention it. But a minute later when it stopped, she noticed that she had a note in her hand. Pausing just for a second, she took a deep breath and opened it. There was no writing, just a symbol. Looking at it filled Xena with horror.

“So it wasn’t a dream,” she whispered to herself. “Something is going on”

“What is it?” Gabrielle gently touched her friends arm. “Xena, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing” Carefully Xena folded the piece of paper, then changed her mind and held it out to Gabrielle. “Have you ever seen this symbol before?”

“Where did you get this?” Gabrielle took the paper and looked at it for a moment or two. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before” she said finally. “It looks like something a tribe or group might wear to identify themselves”

“That’s what I thought” Xena took the paper back and tucked it away for safekeeping. “Well, never mind. It’s not important. Lets move on. There’s supposed to be a small village around here somewhere and I’d like to reach it before dark”

“Are you sure? You’re not hiding anything from me are you?”

“No Gabrielle. Now come on”

“Okay, okay, I’m coming”

Despite making good progress, it was beginning to get dark as they entered the village. Xena headed straight for the tavern, Gabrielle following. The villagers eyed them warily, keeping their distance. The two women sat down and had just started on their drinks when a loud scream came from outside. Several of the men looked at each other and shook their heads before returning to their drinks.

“Come on Gabrielle” Xena stood up and drew her sword. “Lets go and see what the fuss is about”

“I wouldn’t go out there if I were you” one of the men said. Xena gave him a brief look and shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, you’re not me” she pointed out. “Why are you so afraid?”

“They’re…evil,” the man said slowly. “They killed my wife and son…I couldn’t do anything”

“I’m sorry” Gabrielle said slowly. “I really am” She was about to say more but another scream pierced their ears. Xena ran outside and Gabrielle followed her.

At first they could see nothing in the darkness, but Xena’s sharp eyes suddenly noticed something moving in the trees. As she moved closer, sword in hand, a shadow of a man darted out in front of her. Xena slashed at it with her sword and the man gave an inhuman howl. Before Xena could strike again, he jumped out of the way and crouched down on all fours. As the two women watched in horror, he changed into a wolf and looked at her with glowing red eyes before disappearing into darkness.

“Xena” Gabrielle’s voice was shaky. “What was that thing?”

“I don’t know” Xena replied softly, her eyes drawn to the dead woman on the ground. She didn’t like what she saw. “But tomorrow, I intend to find out”

“Oh. And how do you plan to do that?”

“That thing couldn’t have been alive Gabrielle” Xena pointed out, trying to keep her voice calm. “And where do things go when they die?”

“The Underworld” Gabrielle wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. “And how do you plan to get there?”

“Don’t ask so many questions. I’ll find a way to get us there. Now, we’re going to find a room and you are going to get some sleep. Okay?”

“Okay” Gabrielle agreed reluctantly. However, when she got into bed, her eyes closed and she fell asleep immediately. Xena looked at her friend and gave a small smile. The smile faded as she remembered the strange events of that day and what they had to do the following morning. She just hoped that Hades was in the mood for visitors…