Hercules: The Legendary Journeys

And The Earth Wept

The Fourth Adventure In The Empath Chronicles

By Donna Eisner

Copyright September, 1997 By Donna Eisner. Please Do Not Alter Without Author's Consent.

For Stacey, My Biggest Fan.

Disclaimer: Hercules, Iolaus, Jason, Alcmene, and Salmoneus are the property of Renaissance Pictures, MCA/ Universal, and Greek Mythology. All other characters are the products of the author's imagination. No copyright infringement is intended. This story was written solely for the entertainment of the author and her readers.

This story contains scenes of violence and sexual situations but no more than you might encounter while viewing the average episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

It crept along the ravine, a thick vapor of green gaseous slime. Effervescent whiffs curled themselves around the grass and bushes. And where it touched, there was destruction. It smelled of evil and witchcraft, thick with the powers of the dark forces that had conjured forth its existence. The earth wilted and died at its touch, and as it died it wept. Its cry was sent out to its child, the one it had chosen to endow with its powers. The one in whom all its hopes and dreams were rooted.

Sira kissed the hunter's nose and he opened his eyes. "Good morning, sleepy head," she teased.

"Uhaa!" He moaned and closed his eyes. The girl giggled and kissed his nose again. He grabbed her and pulled her into bed beside him. "Where's Hercus?"

"Still in bed."

"Good." He rolled over to hover above her. He kissed her nose, then her mouth. The kiss lengthened and he took her lower lip lightly between his teeth. She whimpered when he tried to pull away from her, and with her hands in his hair she pulled his lips back to hers. He kissed her neck and the swell of her breasts, then took her mouth again.

"You kept me up late last night. Then you wake me early this morning."

She ran her hands over his chest, his abdomen, then lower. "Are you complaining?"

"No." He was breathless. "It was just an observation." He unfastened her top and pulled it aside. "I'm glad you woke me."

She drew in a quick breath as his lips touched her heated flesh.

They lay in each other's arms, the girl's head cradled on his arm.

"I like the way you woke me."

"I could not stand to watch you sleeping any longer."

"What? I don't deserve to sleep?"

"It was not that. I just could not keep my hands off of you any longer."

He grinned. "Well, then it's okay. So, you've been up a while. Is everything all right?"
"I thought I felt Hercus call to me. Not with his voice, but his mind. But when I checked on him, he was fine. I stayed with him a few minutes, but he was sleeping peacefully."

He could sense her tension. "And?"

She shrugged. "As I was leaving his room I felt it again. But it was not our son I felt. It gave me such a strange feeling. It felt as if the earth herself was calling me." She shrugged again and snuggled closer to the man she loved. "I thought perhaps it was an animal, maybe injured or hungry. I went outside to try and get a better sense of who or what had made the cry, but it was gone."

"You're really disturbed by this, aren't you?" At her nod his hold on her tightened. "I'll check around. It was probably an animal like you said, but I'll have a look anyway."

"If it is a sick or injured animal, we must try to help it. I cannot stand to think of one of the earth's creatures in pain."

He kissed her ear. "I know. My little child of the forest, mothered by the earth and fathered by the sun. Don't worry, child of Demeter. We'll do what we must to save the creatures we share this mortal plane with."

"Do not tease. I cannot help it. It is the way I am."

"I wasn't teasing," he said in sincerity. He rose and stood over her a moment then reached for his pants.

"Do not leave me yet. Hercus is still sleeping. Come back to bed."

He grinned at her. "Why?"

"Because when you stand before me like that, it makes me want you."

"What is it you want of me?"

"I want you."

He heaved a sigh of resignation. "Well, if I must, then I must." He pretended to be quite serious.

"And you must," she replied just as seriously.

The hunter returned from his search of the forest around their cabin. He had looked not only for an animal but also for tracks. An injured or sick animal could be dangerous. In fact, he had every intention of speaking to Sira. When she told him earlier that she had gone into the night to feel for the source of the cry she had felt, a stab of fear had shot through him. What if it had indeed been an animal? It could have so easily attacked her. He found her kneeling on the ground, grinding corn between two stones. She looked up at him with an expectant look.

"I'm sorry, Sira. I didn't find anything. No animal, no tracks, nothing."

She sat back on her heels. "I wonder what I felt then?"

"Well, whatever it was, it's gone now. You shouldn't have gone looking for it last night. A sick or wounded animal can be dangerous."

"I felt ahead with my mind. If there had been danger I would not have ventured out." She moved the rounded stone across the flat one. "You are sure you checked everywhere? We must be sure for Hercus' sake."

"There's nothing out there. I'm sure of it."

She sighed. "Thank you for checking. You are right. I do not feel anything now. I wonder what it might have been?"

He shrugged. "Why are you grinding more corn? I thought you had enough put aside."

"I do. But we are to have company tonight."

"Hercules?"

She smiled at him. "Yes. Did you feel it, or just guess?" she teased.

He grinned sheepishly. "I guessed."

"Perhaps your guess was born of thought."

"I was thinking of him, that's true."

"So see? It was not just a guess after all. You just need to be more in touch with your senses."

"Yes, my little telepath. I'll try and do better. That still doesn't explain the corn."

"Salmoneus is with Hercules. He loves my cornbread, so I thought I would grind the corn fresh and make some for him." Satisfied with the amount of cornmeal she had produced with her labor she rose to her feet. She took the offered hand of the hunter and stepped over the grinding stones.

She gasped, and her hold on his hand tightened. Her eyes were tightly closed. Then she went to her knees and placed both hands on the soil. Tears rolled down her cheeks to wet the dust, and with a cry of pain she laid down and placed her cheek against the ground. She spread her hands out to feel as much of the earth as she could.

"Sira?! What is it?" The hunter knelt on his knees beside her. "What's wrong?"

The girl whimpered but didn't speak. He had seen it before, when her mind had been touched with an urgent call. He knew she was entranced now. But he had never seen or felt anything this strong before. It was as if he could sense the pain in the air. Hercus came from the house and knelt beside his father. He had felt it also.

"Sira!" The words were torn from the hunter as his anxiety rose.

She reached for his hand and gripped it so tightly that it hurt. "Did you hear it?" she cried. "Oh, Iolaus. It is as if the earth is crying." She shuddered.

He pulled her up and into his arms. "I felt something, your pain if nothing else." He smoothed the hair from her face. "What was it?"

"I do not know." She shuddered again. "You did not hear the cry? It was the same cry I heard earlier, only louder. It hurt my ears."

"I didn't hear anything, Sira. I could just feel your pain."

"It is gone now. What could it be?"

"I'm sorry, Sira. I don't know what it was. Come on, we'll get you cleaned up."

Hercus put his arm around his mother, and the three of them entered the house.

"Why did the earth cry, Mommy?"

Sira looked down at her son. "You heard it also?"

"Yes. Why is the earth weeping?"

She hugged her son. "I do not know."

"Can you heal it, Mommy?"

She didn't answer him. She had no idea how to. She tightened her arms around him and sent him love and comfort.

The empath stood in the doorway with her back to the room. The food was ready and awaiting the arrival of the travelers. She had a few minutes to relax and had sought the outdoors in which to do it. But she found little comfort there and had come back to the house. A light breeze had sprung up as the day wore on. It teased the tree tops and sent leaves scurrying along the ground. The yosemin pushed the whiffs of hair from her cheek. The hunter came to stand with her and put his arms around her from behind.

"Are you all right?"

She let her breath out in a puff. "Yes. I will be. But it did frighten me." She turned around in his arms and leaned into him. "I am sorry I frightened you."

"As long as you're okay."

Kitty came and stood at the couple's feet. A plaintive meow was voiced.

"Where's your boy then?" the hunter asked. "I don't feed cats."

Sira laughed. "Hercus has gone a little way out to meet the travelers. They will be here shortly."

"Is that wise? I mean, with whatever it was you felt?"

"What I felt is not from here in our woods. And our minds are linked. He understands the forest. He will be fine."

His hold on her tightened. "Are you telling me, or convincing yourself?"

"He will be safe. He has not gone far... Oh, Iolaus, I should not have let him go."

It was unlike the healer to be so unsure of herself and her decisions. The cry she had felt must have unnerved her even more than he realized.

"He's okay. You're right. He understands the forest." Now he sought to comfort her. "But if you want me to, I can go after him."

"Yes, please." She released her hold on him. "But do not tell him you are checking on him. Just say you were anxious to be with Hercules."

He smiled at her then brushed her lips with a quick kiss.

The empath watched the hunter walk away from her. She almost called him back. She could sense that their son was well. There really was no need for his father to go after him. She let her breath out in a sigh. She knew her unease was born of the strange cry she had felt and heard, not from any danger to Hercus. I am just being foolish, she told herself. But then his father was also unnerved. It was the voicing of his doubt that had caught at her fears and twisted her insides.

She knew when her husband met up with their son. She sensed that they were going on to meet the travelers. And she knew when they were close. She started water to boil for tea and pushed the pot of stew closer to the fire to warm.

After Iolaus left, she set the table and cut up some fruit. She removed the blankets from the rope strung between two trees. They were clean but she had hung them in the warm sun to air out. She folded them and set them aside for their guests to use. She deliberately kept busy. If she was busy, it kept the thoughts from her mind.

She felt them in the clearing around the cabin and went to the door to greet them.

Hercules picked her up and swung her around. "I've missed you, my sister."

"I have missed you as well." She held out her hand to the salesman.

"What? I don't get a hug?"

"Of course you get a hug." The girl put her arms around him. "It is good to have you here, my friend. Come. There is food ready." She pointed to a bench by the door. "There is water to freshen up and fresh towels for you."

She went into the kitchen to serve the food. Little Sal stood in the door eyeing Kitty. "Little Sal, allow me to introduce you to Kitty. Kitty, Little Sal."

Kitty turned her back. Distaste and contempt were written in every muscle.

"You are a rude little cat," Sira scolded. "Make friends with Little Sal."

Kitty stormed away. Little Sal came into the room and Sira bent to scratch his ears. "Do not worry. She will come around. Sometimes we women like to play hard to get." Little Sal rubbed against her hand.

His namesake entered the room. "Sira, the food smells delicious." His stomach growled loudly. "Sorry," he apologized. "Someone kept me traveling all day, with nothing but jerked meat to fill my belly. I'm starving."

Sira grinned at him and motioned to a chair. "I have fresh cornbread ready for you."

He sniffed the air. "Ahhh. I'll have to visit more often." He scratched his chin. "A hug, cornbread. I will definitely have to visit more often."

Hercules took the seat the empath offered. "So, my sister. You knew we were coming."

"Yes. Despite your effort to shut me out, I felt it."

"I wasn't really trying to shut you out. Just surprise you."

She grinned at him. "Well, you failed, my brother. But I am glad you are here."

He could sense a tension in the air. "Iolaus treating you badly again?"

"Always. You know how he beats me and makes me work so hard."

"Humph," was the hunter's reply. "Beating a rebellious woman is the only way to keep her in line."

"Come away with me, Sira," Salmoneus offered in his most chivalrous tone. "I will never beat you. I will wait on you hand and foot. I will wash your feet and be your servant."

Sira couldn't hide her grin. "Alas, he would only beat me all the harder for running away."

The hunter caught her up and nuzzled her neck. "You need a good beating right now."

"We will do that later," she whispered, and he laughed out loud. Hercules had heard her comment and he laughed also. Salmoneus blushed.

"The food is excellent as always, my sister. Now I'm glad you knew we were coming. Thank you."

Little Sal was busy with his own bowl of stew, but Kitty had turned her back on the food. She was not at all pleased to have another cat in her house. And then her boy had petted the intruder. With great dignity she stomped from the room and out into the evening.

When the meal was complete Hercules insisted on helping with the clean up. He seemed restless. He talked as he worked. "My friends, I had another reason for coming here besides the pleasure of your company." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly to give himself time to gather his thoughts. "A little over a week ago a young man came to me and asked me to help his village. It's an old village that's been around longer than anyone can remember. Yucaipia. Iolaus, you've heard of it, I'll bet."

"Yeah, I've heard of it, but I've never been there. It's just a quiet farming community, isn't it?"

The big man nodded. "This young man's story isn't the usual bid for help I get. No giants or warlords. His story is that the earth around the village is dying."

A clay bowl fell to the floor at the healer's feet. She stood staring at the shattered pieces. Her face had gone pale and her hands trembled. Hercules was closest to her, and taking her hand he led her to a seat beside the hunter.

"Sira?" he questioned. "What is it, my sister?"

Iolaus took her hand. "You say this man said the earth was dying?" His and Sira's eyes met.

"Yes. That's the story. He says there are large areas where every living thing has died, and nothing will grow there now. Even the water in the dead area is poison. One person has died from drinking it and another one was made very ill. If they water their fields with the water it kills the plants." The demigod paused to see what effect his words were having on the yosemin.

She sat with her eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought. But when he paused she opened her eyes and looked at him. "Go on. There is more, is there not?"

He nodded. "People have started to turn up missing. First there was a loss of small animals. Then livestock and now people."

"Children!" Sira jumped to her feet. "You did not say it, but you thought it. Children are missing?"

The hunter stood and put his arms around her.

"I'm sorry, Sira," the half god whispered. "You're right. Even children have gone missing." He began to pace. "Look, I know this sounds unbelievable. But for some reason I can't explain, I believe this young man was telling the truth."

"No. No, it is true," the child of the earth whispered. "I have felt the earth's cry."

Iolaus sent her comfort. "What is it you wish of us?"

"I was in hopes that you and Sira could come with me on this." He ran a hand through his hair. "I almost thought about not agreeing to get involved. But..." He shook his head. "It was as if I had no choice. Anyway, I figured since Sira understands the earth, and since you and I work so well together..."

The hunter nodded. "You know we'll help."

"I hate to ask. It hasn't been that long since we tackled that giant. And I know you both hate to be away from Hercus."

Sira put her hand on his arm. "You have done the right thing, coming to us." Now she smiled at him. "We did all right with the giant, did we not?"

He grinned at her. "Yeah, we did."

"What about Hercus?"

"That's where Salmoneus comes in. I thought he could escort him to my mother's. She's expecting him."

Sira turned to the salesman. "You will do this for us?"

He bowed. "At your service, my lady."

The demigod had to smile. He remembered his friend's first reaction to the suggestion.

"Oh, no!" he had objected. "There's no way I'm going to take care of a child. I don't know anything about children."

"You took care of Lyla's son Keifor for a little while."

"Yeah, and look what a mess I made of that."

"This is important, Salmoneus, or I wouldn't ask."

"Well... No, I just can't. I have a business to run. Who will sell my cookware while I'm traipsing all over the countryside baby sitting a kid I hardly even know?"

"I'm asking you as a friend, Salmoneus."

"That's not fair, Hercules."

"I'll buy a set of cookware."

"No. I just... Really? You'd buy my cookware? I have a whole line of things... Wait a minute. I still can't do this. I don't even like kids."

The demigod said nothing.

"A whole set of cookware? Humm. Pots, pans, plates, everything?"

Hercules nodded.

Salmoneus scratched at his chin. "Maybe I could sell some to Sira. I've got a set of baking pans she could use."

"So, tomorrow then?"

"Wait a minute, Hercules. I never said I would," the salesman had called after the demigod's retreating back.

But the next morning Salmoneus was ready and waiting for Hercules. He had objected most of the way of course.

"So," the hunter grinned at his friend, "you have it all worked out." He turned to Sira, "Well, what's it to be?"

But the healer wasn't listening. She rose and left the room, stepping through the door and into the night. The hunter watched her back.

"What is it, Iolaus?" Hercules asked. "I've sensed something since I got here, and Sira's acting so strange."

"She's been hearing a cry. She says it's the earth weeping. And it seems to be calling to her." He turned to face his friend. "That's why we believed you so readily. Sira already knew."

The furrow between the big man's brow deepened. He nodded then followed the empath into the yard. He found her on her knees in the grass near the edge of the clearing. She had both hands on the grass, and in the moonlight the tears on her cheeks shown silver.

The demigod went to his knees beside her and placed his hands over hers. While her senses flooded over him as he opened his mind, he felt no cry. He could sense her pain and he knew she was entranced. But try as he might he felt nothing else. He touched the girl's mind and slowly she began to respond. She opened her eyes and searched his face.

"We must hurry, my brother."

"Tomorrow. Tomorrow we'll make a start." He rose and helped her to her feet. "I felt your pain just now. I'm sorry to involve you in this."

"You did not. The earth did. It calls to me." At his skeptical look she continued. "It brought you here. You said yourself, you could not turn your back on this."

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing more. They walked hand in hand back to the house. Salmoneus had finished the clean up and Iolaus had put Hercus to bed. The child wasn't happy at the prospect of being sent away. He didn't mind staying with Alcmene and Jason. He always had fun there. He could help with the horses and the other animals on the farm. He loved being close to Winnie. But he would also like to be with his parents and his Uncle Hercules. He knew they were going on an adventure and that it involved the earth somehow.

He turned over in his bed to face the wall. Then again, being with Salmoneus could be fun. And he would be traveling. He let his breath out in a sigh. I guess it is better than nothing, he thought. But someday I am going to go with them when they go on their adventures. Soon I must return to my grandfather of the soul and continue my study of the earth. Then I will grow strong and they will welcome me with them. He grinned into the night. It will be fun taking care of Salmoneus on the trail. If I do not object, then my parents will continue to go on adventures and I will soon be able to join them. He nodded. Yes, for now this is best. My mother may need all her attention to help the earth. His breathing deepened and he drifted to sleep.

There were preparations to make and Sira set about making them. She was too restless and nervous to sleep anyway. She worked into the night, refusing to rest until everything was ready for their departure in the morning. She hated the thought of being away from her son again. But she knew she must respond to the earth's call. It was past night and already morning before she went to her bed. She slipped carefully into the bed so that she wouldn't wake the hunter. She stretched tired muscles, willing herself to relax.

The morning dawned bright and clear. The empath was up first. She had tea ready and breakfast almost prepared when Hercules joined her in the kitchen. "Did you sleep at all?" he asked around a yawn.

"Yes. A little."

He yawned again. "You were up when I went to bed and up when I woke."

"I am sorry if I disturbed your sleep."

"You didn't," he grinned at her. "I was just worried about you. Besides, I don't want you slowing us down today because you're tired."

"I will out walk you today, my brother." She handed him a mug of tea.

The hugs were done and the farewells said. Hercus and Salmoneus left the clearing. Little Sal rode the salesman's shoulders while Kitty ran at the feet of her boy. She had refused to budge at first. Then seeing that Hercus was really going, she bounded ahead to join him, looking for all the world like a miniature lion.

The empath watched her son out of sight. She deepened her mind's touch. Now, and until they were together again, a part of her mind would be for him. She felt her son respond to her and she smiled to herself. Sometimes it was hard to believe he was so young. Yosemin children matured so quickly. But considering the harsh conditions they must endure in the forest, it was a good thing they did.

The hunter put his arms around her. "Ready, Love?" She nodded. "He'll be all right, you know."

"I know." She smiled at him, and rising on her tip toes she kissed his chin. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. She leaned into him and responded. The kiss deepened. The demigod cleared his throat. They ended their kiss and the hunter sent a sheepish grin to his friend.

Donning the packs Hercules held out to them, they were ready to go. The healer linked her arms through first that of her husband then that of the demigod and the three of them set out. Sira took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She felt the sun on her back and smiled to herself. It was good to be on the trail again. The hardships of travel, if they could be called that, were like a tonic to the child of the forest. She admitted to herself that getting away always brought her joy. She felt a thrill at new places. The changing scenery filled her heart with peace. Further more, she admitted, the thrill of yet another adventure had gripped her. She understood now why her husband and her brother found it so hard to walk away from the chance of the next fight, or from the promise of diversity. Once the thrill had gripped a person, it was almost impossible to turn one's back to it.

The empath had been born into a quiet village in the dense forest. She had lived for eighty years almost in solitude within the hall of healers. There had been no adventure to stir her soul. Although healing could sometimes bring her the same joy, nothing in those first eighty years had prepared her for the feeling of euphoria she experienced when she pitted her wits and her daring against a challenge. She wondered what the elders of her village would say if they were still around to sense her feelings. Her chosen father of the soul understood, but she doubted others would.

She smiled to herself. How different her life was from anything she had expected. She sent love to her son and felt his own joy at being again on the trail. Whatever had brought this to the empath had been passed on to her son. Then again, perhaps he inherited his love of adventure from his father. Whatever the case, it was there.

"What's so humorous?" the hunter asked her.

"Everything. The sun, the fresh air, you." She laughed and ran ahead to admire a flowering bush that had caught her eye.

The demigod shook his head. "Where does she get her energy? I don't think she slept at all last night. And look at her."

"She says it comes from the earth."

"Well, I wish she would give me some of it."

The hunter wiped the perspiration from his brow. "Yeah, you and me both." Shading his eyes he looked to the sun. "Good, it's almost midday. We can stop for a bit."

They found a place to stop by a small stream. There was shade to cool them and water to refresh them. The empath waded into the icy water. It brought a delightful tingle to her legs. She bent and splashed it on her face, then brought handfuls of the life giving fluid to her lips.

Iolaus came to the water's edge to fill the pot to make their tea and she splashed him.

"Hey you!" he pretended to object. She splashed him again. "That water's cold."

"How is it you can tackle a giant with a bow and arrow but you are afraid of a little water?"

"You push your luck, young lady."

She sniffed. "You talk so tough."

He gave her a good natured grin. "Wait until later. I'll show you who can be tough."

"I can have you eating out of my hand in less than five minutes."

He raised his eyebrows. "Humm."

She laughed and splashed more water at him. He sidestepped it, and shaking his finger at her he returned to the fire the demigod had made.

"You're right, Herc. She does have too much energy."

The demigod chuckled. "It cooled you off, didn't it?"

"Yeah, it did at that."

Sira ate some of the dried meat they had brought with them and drank a mug of the tea. Then she curled up under a tree and promptly went to sleep. The hunter watched her a moment, then let his breath out in a wistful sigh. He still couldn't believe she was his. He sometimes watched her while she slept and remembered how it had been before he met her. He had known lonely times. There had been women in his life, but only casually. He had found friendship and companionship with Hercules. Still there had been a void in his life. That void had been filled by a tiny, green eyed child of the forest. She always smelled of the outdoors and of growing things. Her hair smelled of jasmine.

The demigod handed him a second mug of tea. The hunter reluctantly tore his eyes from the sleeping healer and gave his friend a sheepish grin. The demigod gave him a tolerant smile in return.

They didn't stay long. There were still several hours of travel time left in the day and they all felt the need to use them to their advantage. The village they sought lay nestled in a green fertile valley southeast of the mountains where the hunter and the empath had their home. They must cross the mountain range to reach it. They had been climbing since they left the cabin. The trees began to thin out and the ground became more rocky. There was no trail to follow. They knew their direction and they simply walked where the footing seemed the best. Sira seemed to have a natural ability to find her way through the wildest country, and the son of Zeus was content to let her lead them.

The salesman slumped onto a rock and let his breath out in a great puffy sigh. "I need a rest, Kid. I'm beat."

The boy came to sit on the ground near him and placed his hand on the salesman's leg. "I am sorry our travels have made you so tired."

"Yeah, well, I'm not as young as I used to be."

The boy could sense the man's weariness. He looked around him. "We could stay here. There is water and wood. There is no shelter, but the weather is fair."

"There are only a couple of hours of sun left," Salmoneus nodded. "And I am tired."

The boy grinned at him. "Just relax, Uncle Sal. I will start the fire in a moment. You are better?"

"Now that you mention it, I am."

"Good. I thought bringing the earth to you might help."

"Is that what you did?" The boy nodded. "Like mother, like son," the salesman whispered.

Hercus began to gather wood to make a fire. He used a small knife from his waist pack to shave small bits of wood into a pile. He gathered pine needles and moss together. Then striking two bits of shale rock, one against the other, he soon had a fire going.

Salmoneus watched him. "I wish we had more of your mother's good cornbread."

"Me too. But I can make a stew with dried meat and the roots I found. With a little salt to season it, it should be good."

"I can't get over the way you understand the forest."

The boy grinned. "With the parents I have?" Now he chuckled. "I did not have a choice. My father is of the forest. He has lived and hunted in too many to be otherwise. And my mother? My mother 'is' the forest."

The salesman nodded gravely. "I never look at her without getting a sense of nature and the forest. It's hard to believe a being, born of two humanoids could also be a forest creature."

"She may have come from the womb of a humanoid, but the seed was planted by the earth."

The man's mouth fell open. "You're too young to think that way. Where did you come up with something like that?" He shook his head. "I can't believe I'm sitting here talking to a little child about this stuff."

The boy chuckled again. "I listen well. Grandfather Thysis told Uncle Hercules that one time." The boy cut chunks of dried meat and dropped them into the boiling water. He added a few leaves he had found growing near the river and a bit of salt.

"Where do your parents get the salt? I also saw your mother has wheat flour. Where does it come from?"

"We trade for it. There is a village about two and a half days from the cabin. We go there once in awhile and trade for what we need."

The salesman shook his head. "Never a dinar in their pocket and they don't even care."

"What is a dinar?"

Salmoneus was speechless for a moment. "Money. Currency."

Looking perplexed, the boy shrugged.

"What do your parents trade?"

"Lots of things. The moccasins my mother makes, the belt packs my father makes, the hides mother tans. Her weaving, some of the fruit she preserves. Even the clay jars she makes. My father's bow and arrows." The boy stirred the stew. "Sometimes, when Uncle Hercules stays with us he carves wooden toys and animals and he leaves them for us to trade. My mother's baskets are popular, and the dyes she makes." He shrugged. "There is always plenty to trade."

"Why not just sell the stuff and buy what you want?"

"Why do that when you can trade?"

Salmoneus scratched his chin. "What if, for instance, you want a certain knife a man has, and he's not interested in any of the things you have to trade?"

"Then you find out what he might want." The adult raised his eyebrows. The boy continued. "Maybe he wants a good sturdy wooden bucket. So you go to the man with the bucket and trade a hide for the bucket. Then you trade the bucket for the knife."

"What if the man with the bucket won't trade?"

"People will usually trade if you can find out what they need or want and can get it for them."

"It seems like a lot of work to me."

"But working hard for something you really want makes having it all the better."

"Humph. I still say selling your stuff and buying the knife would be easier, and definitely a surer way of obtaining the wanted item."

"Yes. Perhaps." The boy sounded very grown up and grave. "But if a person wants or needs what you have to trade, he will sometimes give up much for very little. Let us say, one hide for the wooden bucket. If you tried to sell the hides to make the... What was it you called it?"

"Dinars."

"Yes. Dinars. You might have to sell three hides to get the same knife. Where is the logic in that?"

Salmoneus chuckled. "If I talk to you much longer, I'll give up my business and come live in the forest with you guys."

"You would be most welcome, Uncle Sal."

"No. No, Hercus, I was only joking."

"I know. But you would be welcome all the same."

Sira found a place to stop for the night. There was a trickle of water from the rock bank on their right and trees to provide them with fuel for the fire. The water fell into a natural rock basin then spilled from this to form a small brook. Sira tasted the water then drank her fill. She walked into the trees, and digging with her knife in the soil she came back with several roots. She washed them then cut them up to go with the rabbits the hunter was roasting over the fire. She filled a pot with water for tea, then splashing some of the water from the rock basin she rinsed her feet.

When their meal was complete and she had cleaned the plates she sat on the ground at the hunter's feet. His hand rested on her shoulder. She leaned back against him and let her cheek rest against his thigh. She felt tired despite her nap earlier and closed her eyes.

She couldn't breathe. It was choking her. A green cloud of vapor surrounded and engulfed her, taking her breath away. She trembled, and the earth trembled with her. The cry rang in her ears to deafen her. Pain shot through her. She screamed, then screamed again.

"Sira?!" The hunter held her tightly against him. "It's all right, Sira. It's just a dream."

"It is dying! I am dying!"

Hercules laid his hand on her arm. "Sira, my sister. Wake up. She's entranced, Iolaus. We need to reach her mind. Help me with her."

The hunter nodded and tried to bring his mind to focus. Sobs shook the healer. The demigod sent his mind to the girl who cowered in terror beside him. It was late, or perhaps early was a better description. The hunter had carried the empath to their blankets, and laying down beside her he had drifted to sleep. Her first cry had awakened him and he had taken her into his arms.

"I cannot breathe. It is choking me!" The words were torn from a throat constricted with fear.

Hercules strengthened his mind. It was at times like these he wished he felt more comfortable with the telepathy he seemed to have. Sira said it came from the earth. He wondered if it was yet another part of his godly half. But he had avoided taking advantage of the gift, regardless of where it came from. He no longer blocked Sira's mind from his, but he had still not openly encouraged the use of his mind. He was unsure how to reach her now, but he kept calling her with his mind. Slowly she began to respond.

"It was as if the earth called to me, and when I responded I was choked by a thick cloud."

"It's just a dream, Sira." The hunter soothed her like a child. She trembled in his arms, still lost in the fear her mind had felt.

"Could you not feel it? When our minds were linked just now, did you not feel the pain?" She beseeched the demigod to believe her.

"I felt your pain. Very strongly. And... Well, there was something else, but I'm not sure what it was."

She cried silently. She couldn't seem to shake the dread the dream had left her with.

"Maybe some tea will help." Hercules started to rise.

"No! Do not leave me yet." Her grip on the hunter's hand tightened. "Both of you stay with me. Please, just for tonight."

Iolaus laid her down, and laying beside her he took her in his arms. The demigod sat on the ground beside the healer, his hand resting on her arm. Slowly the fear began to ease and she grew drowsy. With a shrug the son of Zeus laid down beside her.

"Thanks, Herc," the hunter whispered.

"Go back to sleep, my friend."

The demigod lay on his side watching his sister of the soul as she bent over the fire making their first meal of the day. She hummed a tune as she worked, seeming to have completely shed her gloom of the night before. She stood and stretched. She had tied her hair back from her face with a leather cord. She removed the cord now and let her hair fall around her in a cascade of silver gold, and taking a comb from her pack she began to comb her long tresses. He watched her a moment, and taking pity on her he rose and went to stand before her.

"May I?"

She nodded eagerly. "Yes, please."

He took the comb, and going to stand behind her he began to gently comb the tangles from her thick hair. It smelled clean and faintly of Jasmine. He could feel the energy flow from her as he worked. His hand tingled when it touched her. He stopped and handed the comb to her, and without a word he left the clearing where their camp was located.

The empath turned to watch his back. She had felt the emotions behind his abrupt departure and she sent comfort to him, but he blocked her attempt with a firm denial of his mind's touch on hers. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Pulling her hair behind her once again she secured it with the cord and went to stir the boiled oats she was preparing.

The demigod stood near the small stream. He let his breath out in a sigh. It wasn't always easy being near his sister of the soul. The emotions she sometimes stirred in him were anything but brotherly. Guilt rode him, and he had been unsuccessful in his attempt to accept his feeling as a natural part of their souls' involvement. It sounded fine when Sira suggested it. He knew their soul's touch had brought them closer than many married couples. He admitted he found her attractive. It wasn't that he felt lust for her. It wasn't a driving animalistic force. He shook his head. There was simply no way to explain his feelings. The yosemin was not embarrassed by his body's reaction to her at times. But he was. The empath admitted she also had moments of desire for him.

He had also been unsuccessful in controlling his body's reaction to the girl he called his more than sister of the soul. He had at times considered staying away from her and the hunter. He had even tried it. The simple truth was he couldn't stay away. Besides, it hadn't worked anyway. His body wasn't stimulated to betray him. But the tie between the three of them hadn't been eased. It had, in fact, been strengthened. He needed them, and he was beginning to realize they needed him as well.

He kicked at a pebble then bent and picked it up. It was a pretty thing. He took it to the stream and washed it. Sira will like this, he thought. He sighed again. How could three lives have become so intertwined?

He returned to the camp and held out the stone to the healer. She grinned with delight. "Thank you, my brother. It is beautiful."

"I thought you might like it. Is there tea?"

She poured him a mug of Tassis tea and handed it to him. She knew he was deliberately keeping things on a casual basis. She wished she could find a way to help him deal with his feelings. She gave a mental shrug. For now, the best she could do was follow his lead and pretend she was unaware of his turmoil.

The day was warm and the sun glared in their eyes. They stopped in the shade of a small grove of trees near midday but they didn't stay long. The yosemin found some berries as they walked and gathered them. They tasted of the summer sun and of the earth. Sira gave thanks to the earth mother for her abundance. She sighed with contentment. It was good to be traveling. Seeing and experiencing new places seemed to fill a void in her life. She should have been born long ago, back before the remembered time, when the yosemin people were explorers and nomads. She could envision herself in the primitive life of a wanderer of the forests. She smiled to herself.

Their camp that night was in a hollow near a small river. The stream was wide and deep in places and their camp was near one of these pools. Sira stood watching the water a moment, then she pulled her dress over her head and waded into the cold water in her undergarments.

The demigod said nothing. Neither did he look away. He had long since learned to accept his sister's lack of inhibition. She felt no shame in exposing so much of herself to either Iolaus or himself. A human girl would have been mortified. This acceptance of informality was necessary. An empath often found herself in what could be considered compromising situations.

The son of Zeus remembered when he had first met Sira. He had had to help her in her healing of Iolaus, and he was called upon to perform tasks for her that were sometimes personal in nature. It had been hard for him at first. But seeing that she was unaffected by it had eased his discomfort.

The child of the forest let the cold water wash around her. She shivered with delight at the sensation of the life giving fluid on her skin. She closed her eyes and prayed to the water mother. There was a comfort in the liquid earth that surrounded her. She opened her eyes and stood poised. A moment later, seemingly without effort she thrust her hand into the water and came up with a wriggling fish. She laughed and tossed the creature of the water onto the bank. Seconds later a second fish joined the first.

"I'll never figure out how she does that," the demigod commented. "I can catch fish with my hands but she makes it look so easy. It's like the fish jump into her hands. I could be in the damn stream an hour and only get one fish."

The hunter chuckled. "She says the water mother gives her the fish."

Hercules shook his head, and stacking the wood together he set about making a fire to cook the fish. Sira dug up several of the white tubers she found in a patch near the water. They would taste good roasted in the coals. She rinsed one, and pealing it with her knife she ate it raw. The hunter cleaned the fish, and running a stick through their gills he set them to cook on the fire. The healer wrapped the roots in a thick layer of leaves and put them in the coals. She ground some fragrant leaves between two rocks and sprinkled the powder over the cooking fish. The cooking meat smelled wonderful and the demigod's stomach growled.

"Remind me never to travel without you, Sira. We always eat so well when you're with us."

The hunter had been watching Sira at the fire. She was still clad only in her underthings. The warmth of the fire had flushed her face a becoming pink. "She's good at other things also," he commented.

The girl blushed at his implication and sent her mind to his. He also blushed and the demigod shook his head.

When the meal was complete the healer excused herself and returned to the pool. She stripped and waded into the water. She loved the freedom she felt as the water caressed her naked flesh. She wet her hair and washed it. The hunter joined her and together they bathed. Hercules tried to keep his mind to himself but it wasn't easy. He went downstream to find a quiet place to bathe. The cold water did help a little.

The morning brought a coolness to the air. A strong breeze tickled the tree tops and sent dust scurrying along the trail they traveled. The empath pulled her hair to the side and tied it there with a bit of cloth. Clouds were building over the mountains and the cool morning soon gave way to a warm sticky afternoon. The child of the earth felt the rain in the air and warned the others. They had both seen her predictions of a change in the weather come true too many times to doubt her. Still, there was time yet to travel and they took advantage of it and continued their trek toward the storm.

The clouds on the horizon had turned black and menacing. The air was charged with energy and the breeze of the morning had turned into a strong wind that beat and buffeted them. The day turned dark as the clouds that blew toward them obscured the sun's brilliance. Still they continued on. Walking against the wind was a struggle and it blew bits of sand and rock at them to sting their skin.

The empath sent her mind ahead to seek shelter, and with a touch on the minds of both men she turned more north than east now. The sky was lit with brilliance. The sound that followed echoed against the hills and rumbled down the valley to crash against the mountains they had left not too long ago.

Sira led them to a cave cut in the side of a rocky hill. The place was small and cramped but it would keep the rain off. They took the offered shelter and were glad. Both men gathered wood from a small grove of trees nearby and the healer started the fire with the first arm load. There was no water near, but their flasks were full and the water skin was half full. It would do. She had started the fire near the entrance to the cave and under a slight overhang. It did little to keep the wind from playing at the flames but it should keep the worst of the rain off and allow them to keep a fire burning throughout the night. It wasn't cold, and yet there was a dampness to the air that raised goose flesh on the yosemin's human and half human companions. As she set a pot of water to boil for tea the first few drops of rain fell. The men returned with their arms full of wood and stayed near the fire a moment. The rain stopped after only a few scattered drops and the demigod ventured out for more wood. Lightning flashed and Sira counted only to three before the sound followed.

"You're gonna get caught in the rain!" the hunter shouted to his friend.

"I won't melt!" the big man shouted back.

With a grin the hunter filled their larger pot with water and set it on the fire to boil. When it was ready the healer cut up chunks of the dried meat they carried and dropped it into the water. The rain began again with earnest this time and Hercules raced back to the shelter. He dropped the wood he had gathered and shook his head to get the rain out of his face.

"I told you you'd get wet."

"And you're just as proud as punch that your prediction came true, aren't you?"

Iolaus grinned at his friend and put another log on the flames.

When their meal was complete the healer set the dishes out in the rain to wash and joined the others in the cave. The storm raged about the puny shelter. The thunder shook the ground and hurt their ears. Sheets of rain fell and churned the earth to mud. Sleep was impossible so no one even tried. They sat in silence watching the fury mother earth had unleashed. The hunter's arm was around the child of the earth god and he sensed her awe and wonder at the tempest that erupted around them. His hold on her tightened. His love for this child of nature swelled and engulfed him and left him feeling humbled by its intensity.

She rested her head against his shoulder and sent her love to enfold and caress him. He drew a ragged breath and let it out slowly. At times, the magnitude of his love for her frightened him. The demigod laid down and pulled a blanket over him. He knew he wouldn't sleep but he hoped to give the hunter and the empath a little privacy. He had felt their unspoken declaration. He smiled to himself. He was glad for his friend. The golden hunter of the forest, former thief, friend of his youth, and more than brother of his adulthood.

He closed his eyes. He felt weary and wished that sleep would claim him. He felt the soothing comfort of his sister of the soul and opened his mind to her. She chanted in her mind, rocking his thoughts as a mother might rock a colicky baby. And the son of Zeus did find slumber. Iolaus took her into his arms and laid down with her. He planted a kiss on her hair. He loved the smell of her. She always smelled clean and faintly of flowers and growing things. He loved the warmth he felt from her skin on his. Their life force melted together and became one as their minds touched and joined. The blending of soul was like a caress and their oneness brought them together in a silent non physical lovemaking that slaked their desires at least a little.

The furor of the night before was gone and had left a light rain in its wake. Sira had set their large pot in the rain to clean it. During a slight lull in the storm during the night, she had gathered the dishes and the pot and finished cleaning them. Then she had returned the pot to the storm to gather as much of the rain as she could. She was surprised to see how full the pot was. She had finally fallen asleep and had missed the torrential downpour that had deposited most of the water she found in the pot. She looked around her. The earth was torn from the fury of the storm leaving gullies and fissures of newly exposed earth to mark its passing and scar the surface of her mother. The girl sent healing to the earth and was knocked to the ground with the intensity of the energy that seemed to grab onto her. The wet grass at her knees seemed to tighten around her and hold her in subjugation rather than in welcome. The girl was frightened by what she felt. The others, still sleeping, were unaware of the tension in the air. Then just as quickly as it had possessed her, it passed, leaving her feeling shaky and nauseated. She rose to her feet and shivered with reaction to her fear rather than from the cold. She had felt desperation and despondency in the earth's touch. She shook her head to try and clear the gloom she felt. But it seeped even deeper into her and took hold of her thoughts. Something was grievously wrong, and for whatever reason, she was being led to the source of the disturbance. She shivered as her thoughts returned to her enemy of old, the sorceress who had plagued her grandmother and stolen the lives of those she loved.

She returned to the rain, and sitting on the grass she sent her mind out to feel for the source of her disquiet. But she found nothing. And the very lack of sensation was a warning in itself. The grass bent to caress her this time rather than possess her and she found some comfort in this. Try as she might, she couldn't get a feel for what seemed to nag and pick at her. Finally in frustration she gave up and set about fixing them a meal to break their fast. She was soaked from the misty rain that fell steadily around her. Leaving the tea to steep, she visited the woods and returned with her arms loaded with wood. The hunter joined her at the fire. He poured a mug of tea and handed it to her. She absentmindedly took the offered tea and stood cradling it in her hands.

"Is everything okay?" She didn't seem to hear him. "Sira? Are you all right?"

She took a deep breath and let it out in a puff. "Yes," she nodded. "I just got a strange feeling earlier when I prayed for healing of the earth for the storm damage." She sent him a smile. "It is nothing." She didn't believe her words, but she felt his concern for her and hoped to ease it.

He put his arms around her and she leaned into him. "You didn't sleep well last night, did you?"

"I slept soundly toward morning. Do not worry. I will be fine. It may take an extra mug of tea this morning to clear the cobwebs, but I will be fine."

When they left the cave they turned back to the southeast. They stuck to high ground whenever possible since the ground was muddy and treacherous. They found no place to stop for their nooning so they kept walking.

"There is a river ahead that cuts across our path," the empath announced. "It may be difficult to cross after the storm."

The demigod nodded. "Well, we're still a little north of where we need to be to pass through the hills and reach the Yucaipian valley. We can follow the river for now and see if we can find a safe place to cross. If it looks like we're getting too far south, we can always stop and wait for the water to calm down."

No one said anything. They knew waiting for the river to recede could mean a delay of several days. No one was anxious for that. The hunter was concerned for Sira. He could see the dark circles under her eyes, and sense her anxiety. For her sake he hoped to reach the village quickly, and hopefully just as quickly put a stop to the source of her pain. The yosemin felt the same urgency. Not because she was concerned for herself, but rather for the earth. She knew she was being drawn to the village of Yucaipia by a force she didn't understand. The demigod was concerned for his sister of the soul as well. He too could sense her disquiet. Whether it had come from her or another source, a sense of unease had ridden him almost since the first moment he had spoken with the young man from the village. He had liked the farmer immediately. He was the straight forward, honest type of hard working farmer that kept the cities supplied with their produce, meat, cheese and so much more. Simtose had told him that once a month, a small caravan of wagons came to their village and supplied them with their needs, while taking the offerings from the farmers in return. The nomads that came to the village brought their families with them. There had always been friendliness among the villagers and the people they traded with. But now, with the areas of dead earth and the seeming poisons around the village, the people of the caravan were no longer friendly. Where before they might stay a few days, now they did not. And the last time they had come, they had not brought their families with them.

"We all worry that they will stop coming all together," the young farmer explained. "We rely on them to supply our needs. But I can't blame them for being frightened. We have deliberately not said anything about the people disappearing, but I wonder if they know it anyway. I have a wife and two small ones to worry about, and another one on the way. I don't know that we could make it through the winter if the supply wagons stop."

Listening to the young man talk had stirred the demigod. He recognized the feeling. The plea for help had always sent a tingle up and down his spine. Sira had said that he helped people because he was a healer, and in helping people he healed them. Maybe she was right, and like her he couldn't turn his back on the summons anymore than she could turn her back on a healing. But he was honest with himself. He also craved the adventure. What he had said to the hunter and the empath about his reasons for involving them in this were true, but it went beyond this. He and the hunter had been through so much together that he had come to rely on his friend. The thrill of the adventure was more intense with the hunter at his side. And now he found the same heightening of the thrill with the empath. He marveled at her abilities, but it was not just that. He was, he admitted, rather surprised at the changes he had noted in the quiet little yosemin healer. Her chosen father, Thysis, had voiced the same surprise so he knew it wasn't just that his feelings for Sira had changed. Thysis called her a throw back to the time before remembered time, when it wasn't unusual to find an empath, when the people of the earth were war like and nomadic in nature.

"There are legends of our people being able to do the things that Sira does. There are legends of fierce warriors who ruled great numbers of the earth's people and fought the Titans for a place on their mother earth. Sira is a warrior. A warrior empath."

The demigod wanted to help Simtose and his village. Hard working people shouldn't have to live in fear and danger, and he had agreed to help. Now it was up to him to keep that promise, and he would not find a delay pleasant either.

They found their way through a screen of brush. The river lay before them, angry and menacing, churned brown with its fury. They looked at the water then they looked at each other. Without a word they turned south to follow the rushing water. Their water flasks were dangerously low but the water of the river was so muddy they had no desire to drink it if they could avoid it.

They stopped among some rocks to eat some of the dried nuts and berries they had brought with them. Then by mutual consent they started on their southerly trek once again. The demigod was beginning to get worried as the day wore on and no place to cross presented itself.

"There," the hunter pointed. "Maybe we can cross there." He had spotted a possible place to cross the river before the others. A massive tree had fallen across the river and wedged among some rocks. It didn't reach quite all the way to the opposite bank but the last little bit could be jumped.

Hercules patted him on the back. "Good job, my friend. It looks doable." The demigod looked over the natural bridge carefully. "Let me try it out first. Then if it's safe, send Sira. She may need help. I'll be on the other side to lend it, and you'll be behind her if she should need you."

The hunter chuckled at the look on his wife's face. "She'll find it easier to cross than either of us. You forget, she's of the forest."

The demigod grinned. "Okay, but let me at least pretend she needs our help. My male ego needs the reassurance."

He stepped carefully onto the log and tested it with his foot. It seemed steady enough. He made his way across easily and stood on the rocks at the far side. It was a hell of a jump. Still, the water wasn't too swift here. If he had to, he could wade to the other side. And if needed he could carry Sira across. He flexed his knees and jumped. One foot hit the solid bank, the other hit the edge of the water. He waved to the others, then sending his mind to the yosemin he asked her to wait a moment. He took time to remove some of the rocks from the bank so that if Sira did indeed jump she wouldn't be hurt by any sharp objects. This place in the river was more like a small back water. Hercules doubted that water made it this far back except when the river was at flood height. There was a sandy place to land that would cushion a fall. He motioned for the healer to start. She bounded up on the log and marched smartly across. She stood on the rocks, smiling down on her brother.

"Do you want me to wade out and carry you over?" he shouted to be heard above the roar of the river.

She stuck her tongue out at him and tossed her pack to him first. He caught it easily and turned to set it aside. As he turned back she jumped. She landed further up the bank than he had and she stayed on her feet.

"You little monkey. You were supposed to wait for my help."

She grinned at him and turned to watch the hunter cross the log. He also threw his pack to the demigod. With a shrug he jumped. He landed at the edge of the water and splashed himself, but he stayed on his feet.

"How come you did not offer to help Iolaus across?"

"You did such a great job crossing I was going to let you take care of him."

"I could have too."

The demigod handed her pack back to her. "Well, maybe I should've let you carry me across."

"I would have except you are too damn big."

"Will you two stop bickering at each other? We all made it across. We're all great woodsmen. Sorry. Woodsmen and woman. Now let's see if we can find some clean water."

"He started it," the girl pretended to pout.

"I just wanted to help. You started it."

"You did."

The hunter threw up his hands in mock exasperation. The demigod and the yosemin laughed.

They walked on. The ground was sandier now and the mud less of a problem. The empath sent her mind out to search for water. They hadn't gone far when she stopped. She turned her head from side to side as if listening for a faint sound rather than a vagrant thought.

"This way there should be water."

She turned from the game trail they had been following and made her way through a screen of small trees and bushes. A large granite boulder lay before them. In its center was a deep depression. Rain water had collected there and overflowed to clean the depression. Still quite a bit of water remained. Once they drank their fill, there was enough water left to fill two of their flasks. It wasn't a lot but it met their immediate needs. They stayed near the boulder long enough to eat some of the roots the healer found, then they rejoined the game trail and continued on.

The day was well past its zenith when Sira again led them to water. It was a natural spring nestled in a small oasis of trees and berry bushes. She tasted the water that bubbled to the surface from an underground source. It was slightly brackish but drinkable. It was early yet but they hadn't stopped at midday.

With a sigh the child of the forest lowered her pack. "Could we not stop here? There is water and fuel for the fire."

The demigod grinned at her. "I was thinking the same thing."

"I'll see if I can't scare us up some rabbits or some quail," the hunter offered. He could see the weariness in the girl he loved. She hadn't slept much the night before and he hadn't forgotten her mood of this morning.

"I'll get the camp set up while you do, my friend," the half man, half god volunteered. "Sira you look beat. Rest. We can handle the dinner tonight."

She smiled at him, and taking what she needed from her pack she went to the spring. Scooping water up with a gourd she stepped away from the water and proceeded to take a sponge bath. She knew she would feel better once she had washed the dust of the trail from her tired body. She piled her hair on the top of her head and held it there with two polished sticks. When her absolution was complete she sat cross-legged on the grass in the shade of an ancient birch tree and willed her mind to relax. She smiled as the thoughts from her son flooded over her. He and Salmoneus had reached Jason and Alcmene's farm only a short time before. His mind spoke of the salesman, Alcmene and Jason. There was a new colt on the farm. Her son's active mind soothed and comforted her. She admitted some of her weariness had come from her loneliness for him. It was hard to be separated. She sent a prayer of thanks to the earth that her son had made a safe journey, and also in thanks that she could so easily feel her son's mind and soul. It helped to ease her longing for him.

The hunter returned with two plump juicy rabbits. When he had them cooking he went to the healer, and sitting in front of her he laid his hand over hers. She turned her hand over and wove her fingers around his. She led his mind to that of their son. She sensed his own pain at being separated from his son and tears slipped from the corners of her closed lids to drip down her chin. Her mind called to the demigod.

He had sensed whom the girl mind spoke with. He had closed his mind to it to give them privacy, but also because the emotions he felt were hard for him. Now Sira called him to join in the communication with the boy. He hesitated. Raw emotions like this often left him feeling empty and lonely. It seemed to open his own wounds and leave him feeling vulnerable. He was very close to his nephew of the soul. He still didn't understand how it was possible for the soul's involvement to make such a profound difference in the bond between people, but he had experienced it. He knew it was real.

Still he hesitated. Then he felt the boy's mind on his. A sad smile crossed his face and he came to sit with the hunter and the healer. He got a sense of his mother and of Jason through the mind's link. He felt relief that the boy and the salesman were safe. He hadn't even realized he had been worried for them until the worry was no longer necessary.

The meal was complete, the food and dishes packed. Night had descended on the ebony wings of the evening breeze. The tree tops swayed and rustled. The child of the forest took to her bed, and pulling a blanket over her she was asleep almost immediately. The hunter and the demigod sat over the fire nursing mugs of Tassis tea. They should make the village sometime tomorrow. Hercules knew the pass they must cross to reach the long narrow valley where the village of Yucaipia rested. He had been through the pass that made crossing the low lying hill so much easier. He had never been to Yucaipia before, but he had been to the valley. The village, like several others in the general area lay on a caravan route. The nomad people that traveled the route in their huge wagons drawn by teams of six to eight large mules were the villages' life's blood. They took the farmer's wares to the cities and towns and left supplies the farmer needed behind. They traveled with their families, living in the wagons and in tents, never staying for more than a few days in any one place. They were people of strong emotions, fiercely loyal to their way of life and protective of their independence. Their heritage was steeped in legend and superstition. The demigod could well understand Simtose's concern that the caravans might not return to Yucaipia.

The hunter lay down carefully beside the healer. He had no wish to wake her. She rolled over to curl herself around him. "I love you," she whispered sleepily.

He kissed her hair. He said nothing with words but his love spilled over to engulf her in its protective shroud. Bathed in the warm misty vapors of his love and her fatigue she drifted to sleep. Her dreams were pleasant. She dreamed of Kitty, the little lion of the forest. The cat had quickly adapted to the life she led in the dense forest. She supplied herself with field mice, often bringing them to her people as a show of affection. Then slowly the image of the small house cat was replaced by a much larger animal, larger even than a lion, a fierce beast with long fangs and huge clawed paws. Its eyes blazed fiery yellow. The animal was surrounded by a green vaporous light that swirled and eddied around it lending a greenish phosphorescent glow to the creature's pale yellow coat. Dread seeped over the empath. Evil and death seemed to stalk along side the demon beast. Gray skeletons draped in dusty cobwebs screamed for release from their bondage of fiery chains. Snakes slithered and wound themselves around the discarded bones of people long dead, and yet still living. Blood oozed from their empty eye sockets and pooled on the floor. The huge demonic cat like beast licked at the blood. The screams of the long dead echoed in the empath's ears. The roar of the beast shook the ground and rattled the bones. The sound of bone against bone and bone against cold wet stone grated against the earth child's nerves. Her screams joined those of the dead to echo forever down a greenish tunnel of wizardry and evil.

The hunter took the girl into his arms. He rocked her and soothed her. Her scream had awakened her but she was still lost in the terror of her nightmare. She shuddered with revulsion. The demigod sat next to her and laid his hand on her. He sent his mind to comfort her, and in the transfer of his mind to her he got a brief glimpse of what had so unnerved her.

The Underworld.

But how could she have gotten such a clear picture of Tartarus? It was not her hell. She didn't worship the gods of Olympus. The yosemin people went to the earth when they died, not to the human's place of eternity. He sensed an ancient death obscured by evil.

The girl's mind cleared and the demigod lost the image. He shook his head to clear it, and now he doubted his perception of his more than sister's dream. When she was calmer he returned to his blankets. He lay on his back watching the stars through the canopy of shifting branches. He tried to again picture what he had seen and felt in the brief exchange of thoughts with the frightened girl, but he couldn't seem to grasp it. It was like a vagrant thought, like a word hovering on the tip of the tongue. The harder he tried to remember the dream, the more obscure it became. In frustration he gave up and turned onto his side. He hadn't picked a very even place to make his bed. Something bit into his side and he turned the other way. He wasn't comfortable here either. He sat up and put another log on the fire. He shook the pot and finding some tea left he moved it closer to the coals to warm. He pulled his knees up under his chin and wrapped his arms around them. He let his breath out in a sigh. After a few moments he checked the tea and pouring himself a mug he cradled it in his hands.

A badger moved toward the water, but smelling man he moved away. A mouse cowered under a mound of leaves, the rustle of wings had warned him of the owl just in time. A pebble knocked loose as the ground around it cooled, rattled down a slight incline. The man who was also god finished his tea and lay back down. He stretched tense muscles slowly, willing himself to close his mind to the nagging foreboding his sister's dream had left him with.

The morning brought a return of the clouds. The sky shown almost white with the thin layer of cirrus clouds that obscured its face. The morning was already warm and sticky, giving promise of a humid day. They made the pass before midday, and starting down the far side they stopped at a small brook that bubbled from a jumble of rocks to follow the trail the travelers traversed. The water was sweet and cool so they emptied their flasks and the water skin of the brackish water and replaced it with fresh water. They munched on cheese, dried fruit, and nuts and washed it down with water they scooped from the brook in a drinking gourd.

The demigod had questioned Sira about her dream, but like himself she couldn't really remember it. Thinking about it at all gave her the jitters. Seeing this he didn't push her. They made the valley floor and walked in a meadow of summer grass and wild flowers. The brook led them on. Heat waves shimmered before them and the hunter wiped perspiration from his brow. The air felt heavy. Tall billowy clouds rode the horizon, lending their moisture to the atmosphere and doing their part to make the day a misery.

The sun at their backs seemed to sear their skin through their clothing. The packs felt heavier than ever but they walked on. Topping a rise they stood looking into a valley surrounded almost completely around by low rolling hills. The farming community lay in a bowl of green fields of corn and melons. One side of the bowl had broken away to make a gap and where the ground was level through the gap dead dry land could be seen. Trees stripped of life littered the parched earth and heat waves danced across its surface in whirls of haziness

Sira gasped and went to her knees. She shuddered, then shuddered again. Waves of nausea swept over her, leaving her skin feeling clammy. "What could have done this to the earth?" Her words were shaky.

The hunter pulled her into his arms. "It'll be okay. We'll put a stop to this. You must be able to help otherwise the earth wouldn't have called you here."

His words soothed her and she pulled back from his arms. "You are right. We can do no good standing here looking down on it. Let us get down there and see what is to be done."

"That's my girl," he winked at her.

As they approached the village, a dog left the porch he had occupied and came to bark at them. The empath sent her mind to touch that of the dog and he sat down on his haunches with an apologetic wag of his tail. An old man came to his door to watch their passing. As they made their way to the center of town, a young man came striding toward them.

"You made it then," Simtose grinned.

The son of Zeus offered his hand. "I told you I would."

The farmer nodded. The demigod introduced him to the hunter and the empath.

"I have a place for you to stay. It's not much, I'm afraid. Just a stall in my barn. But we live simply here." He shrugged.

"I am sure it will be fine," the healer assured him.

"We saw the dead earth as we approached," Hercules offered. "Has there been anymore trouble since we spoke last?"

The young man nodded. "More dead earth and another person missing. A shepherd. He kept a couple dozen sheep out near the contaminated area. One morning his dog showed up here in town without his master. Those two were inseparable. We went looking. We found his camp but nothing else. No sheep, no shepherd, nothing. It rained in the night so we couldn't even follow the tracks. Not that any of us are good at that sort of thing." He stopped and let his breath out in a sigh. He had motioned for them to follow him. As he talked he led them to his farm. "And the caravan hasn't made it. They're late by at least a week."

"I'm sorry, Simtose," the demigod said. "I know you rely on the supplies they bring you."

"I doubt any of us will make it if we can't get them to return." He ran an agitated hand through his hair that was receding slightly from his forehead. "We've talked about going for supplies ourselves. But it would be so time consuming. Getting to the city, then selling or trading our goods. We have no money. It would mean leaving our farms unattended." He shook his head.

A young woman stood framed in the doorway of the small cottage. Two children flanked her on either side, one standing beside her holding her hand the other one sitting on the ground holding onto the woman's leg.

"Mary, come meet Hercules and his friends. They're here to help, just like I said they would."

The mother said something to her children, and detaching herself she came forward shyly. Her middle bulged with a third child on the way. She looked tired and hot. Her lips were cracked from the sun, her hands roughened from hard work. The little girl that had been holding her hand followed her mother through the gate of the picket fence that surrounded the house. The other child crawled in their wake.

"Thank you so much for coming." Sira gave her a warm smile. "I wish we had a better place for you to stay, but there is fresh hay and plenty of clean blankets."

Sira offered her a hand. "I am sure it will be most comfortable. Thank you for the welcome." She squatted and peeked around the mother's skirt to smile at the child hiding shyly there. "Hello."

The girl withdrew even further. The other child had now reached her mother's side. She grinned boldly at the empath. The healer could see now why she crawled despite being, Sira guessed, six or seven. Her left leg was deformed. The limb was painfully thin and useless. The yosemin's heart went out to the girl. She was a beautiful child. Her large brown eyes were framed by the longest lashes the healer had ever seen. Her hair was a rich warm auburn.

"Hello, Little one."

"Hello. Are you here to help us save the grass?"

"I hope we can."

The child crooked her finger at the empath. Sira bent lower so she could hear the secret. "Who's that?" She pointed at the hunter.

The empath whispered back. "That is my husband, Iolaus."

"He has pretty eyes and a nice smile."

"Would you like to meet him?"

The girl's eyes got big and she nodded.

"What is your name?"

"Megan."

Sira stood and laid a hand on the hunter's arm. When he turned to her, "I would like you to meet Megan. Megan, this is Iolaus."

The hunter grinned at her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Megan."

The girl giggled. "Come meet our new friends, Helen. They won't hurt you. They're nice."

The other girl moved shyly forward and watched the strangers through a fringe of shaggy bangs. "Helen is shy," Megan explained.

The mother smiled at her younger daughter. "But you're not, are you?"

The girl shook her head and the hunter laughed. "Want to show me our sleeping chamber?"

The child giggled again. "It's not a sleeping chamber. It's just an old barn." She held her arms out to the hunter. "But I will show you."

He picked her up and swung her over his shoulders. "Lead on."

"Come on, Helen."

The mother sent a smile of encouragement to the older daughter, and the girl followed her sister and the hunter to the barn.

"You must be hot and tired. Come in, and I'll get you some lemonade."

The demigod and the farmer were deep in conversation. The healer left them to it and followed the woman to the cottage.

"You have two lovely children."

The mother smiled. "Thank you. They're my blessing. They are so different. Not just the physical differences, but the different personalities. Megan got the charm and the beauty. Helen got the whole body and a tenderness of soul." The mother chuckled. "Megan leads her around like she is the older of the two and Helen is happy to be led." The mother smiled at Sira and poured four mugs of lemonade. She handed two to the empath and took up two herself. "Shall we take some to the men?"

Sira smiled at her. "By all means."

The hunter had joined the others back in the yard and gladly accepted the mug. The girls were with him and he winked at Megan then saluted with his mug. "Here's to four of the most beautiful women in the world. And they're all four right here, right now." The mother blushed and Megan giggled.

The travelers left their belongings in the barn stall they would call home for a time.

"I think we should take a look at the area of dead earth and see if we can get any clue to what's going on here," the demigod suggested. "These are good people. I'd really like to help them." Sira shivered and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Are you up to it, my sister?"

She nodded and headed toward the door. The three of them headed out of town in the direction they had seen the contaminated earth. The yosemin had covered her feet before entering the village. She wished now she could remove her foot covering. She needed to get a feel for her mother, but she was still somewhat afraid of exposing her obvious differences to the humans she shared the earth god's surface with.

Simtose was busy feeding his livestock and Mary was fixing a meal. None of the villagers accompanied them as they made their way south. The closer they got to the place they sought, the more uncomfortable the healer became.

"Did you learn anymore from your talk with Simtose?" the hunter asked the demigod.

"Not really. They're at a loss to explain the strange events."

"I hope we can help them. It's a large village, but Simtose is right. They do live simply. I wonder if you could find two dinars to rub together in the whole village."

"They seem like good common farm people. There is no shame in that," the healer reprimanded her husband.

He smiled at her. "I meant no disrespect, Sira. It was more an observation. Simtose is right. I can't see how they can make it if the trade lines aren't reestablished."

The demigod watched his sister a moment, his brow furrowed. It was unlike her to be snappish.

She let her breath out in a sigh. "I am sorry. I guess I am just touchy today."

The hunter grinned at her and linked his arm through hers.

When they reached the edge of the dead soil Sira went to her knees and placed her hands on the earth. She jerked them quickly away and wrapped her arms around herself. Closing her eyes she began to sway. Two tiny tears slipped from the corners of her eyes to fall on the soil at her feet. The hunter put his hand on her shoulder to give her comfort and to lend her strength. Again she placed her hands on the soil. She cried out in pain and the hunter pulled her back and into his arms.

"Come away, Sira." He led her back from the place of dead earth. She went with him willingly.

"What did you feel, my sister?"

The girl shuddered. "Death."

"Could you get a sense of where this is coming from?"

"No," she shook her head. "Only pain and death."

They had turned their back to the place of death. They didn't see that where the child of the earth had placed her hands, new grass had sprung up.

"You're tired, my sister. You and Iolaus go on back to the village. I'm going to look around a bit. I'll join you there in a little while."

The hunter put his arm around her shoulder and they moved away. The son of Zeus stood watching their retreating backs for a moment then he turned to follow the edge of the dead brown soil. It ended abruptly only a little to the west but he followed it to the south again. It seemed to be following the natural contours of the land, much like flood water might do. It came through the low place in the lip of the bowl the valley lay in and followed the low ground to spread out once it reached the valley floor. He topped the ridge and stood looking around him.

It was late when he returned to the village. He found the others sharing a simple meal with the farmer and his family. "Come, join us," the young man invited.

The demigod took the offered stool and the mug of tea Mary handed him. She set a plate of food before him, and with a sigh of fatigue he pulled it close and took a bite. It was a combination of meat, vegetables and cornmeal that didn't look very appetizing. He took another bite. He was surprised that it was really good. He broke off a chunk of bread, and taking a bite ate in silence for a moment.

"This is great, Mary. Thank you."

The farmer's wife blushed. "It's simple food, but it fills the stomach."

"No. It's really good." He turned to the farmer. "What's that old castle I could see from the south ridge?"

"Just that, an old castle. This village was founded by those who served the castle. But that was decades ago. No one here remembers those days."

"From the ridge it looks like the poisoned soil comes from there. Who lives in the castle now?"

"No one lives there. None of the villagers ever go there. It's said that bad things used to happen there. You know how an old place can have legends and superstitions about it. But that's not why we stay away. It's dangerous. The place is falling apart. The land over there has never been any good for growing things. The original owner of the castle had been gone for who knows how long, when a man came to claim the place. He was a funny bird, I guess. There are a few old timers that still remember him. He started fixing the place up, and for a little while he was pretty prosperous. He kept large lions in the castle with him." He shook his head at the oddity of some people. "I guess at one time there was a forested area near the castle. But you sure couldn't tell it now. Like I said, it's not much good for growing things. Thin soil, I guess."

The demigod drained his mug of tea and the farmer's wife rose to refill it. He gave her a winning smile by way of thanks. "The food was excellent," he told her.

Mary set a plate of cookies on the table and placed the biggest one on the demigod's now empty plate. He winked at her and she blushed again. "Tomorrow, I think I'll scout around the place and see if I can determine if the contamination is really coming from there, and just how extensive it is."

Sira helped Mary clean up from the meal. She could see how weary the woman was. With two little ones and a third on the way, the empath could well understand her fatigue.

"You don't have to help, Sira. You've traveled far today. Rest."

"I insist. We did not come here to make work for you."

"If you can stop the spread of that poison and the disappearance of our people, it will be worth any extra work involved."

The healer was tired. She couldn't wait to remove her moccasins. She excused herself early and headed to the barn. Iolaus accompanied her. "Tomorrow, Hercules and I are going to scout around the old castle. Do you wish to come with us?"

"No, I think I will stay here. Mary is going to introduce me to some of the other villagers. Maybe I can learn something from them."

"Good idea." The hunter didn't say it, but he was glad she had chosen not to accompany them. He had seen how the dead earth had affected her. If he could spare her this, he would.

They had reached the barn and the empath sat on the fresh straw. The barn smelled of the animals they must share the limited space with and of leather and straw. The girl let her breath out in a sigh. The hunter knelt before her, and picking up her foot he untied the lace that held the suede shoe in place. He knew how much she hated to have her feet confined. He removed the shoe then kissed her toes before placing the brown spotted foot on the straw and removing her other shoe. He kissed the toes of her second foot then ran his tongue across them.

"You know Hercules will be here any minute," she reminded him.

"Uh huh," he replied as he kissed her ankle.

"You should not start something you will be unable to finish."

"Send Hercules a message to find something to keep himself busy for a while," he suggested as he kissed and licked the back of her knee.

"He is here now, my love. You can tell him for yourself."

The demigod entered the barn and the hunter sat back, a sheepish grin on his face.

"Am I interrupting something?" The big man had tried to keep the humor from his voice but he had failed.

"As a matter of fact..."

"No, my brother," Sira interrupted her husband. "We were just discussing our activities for tomorrow." The blush on her face, said otherwise, but the half man didn't point this out.

The morning came too early for the daughter of the earth. She had been so tired, and yet she hadn't slept well. It wasn't that she had awakened or that her sleep had been invaded by disturbing dreams, it was more a state of mind, like something rough chafing against her skin, or a vagrant thought at the back of her mind. She felt sluggish and out of sorts, but she rose early and went to the farmhouse to help Mary fix their first meal of the day.

When they had eaten, the men set out to explore the castle. Sira knew they must cross the place of the earth's discomfort. She sent a prayer to the earth and sent her mind along with the men.

The empath helped the mother bathe the girls. Mary looked tired and drawn. The morning wasn't really hot since a breeze had sprung up in the night to cool the air, but the woman's face was bathed in perspiration. Lines of worry showed white through the tan on her face. The children were unperturbed by the tension in the air. They laughed and giggled at each other and at their mother's effort to make them presentable. Being with the girls made the healer miss her son even more so she sent her mind to touch his. He sent his love back to her and her gloomy mood lifted. She joined in the children's fun and got thoroughly soaked.

Mary gave a tolerant smile to the three of them and pulled a pale blue dress over Megan's head. "I thought I would take you to meet my friend Lizzy. She lives out near the contaminated area. We grew up together. We've stayed friends despite the fact she lives out so far and seldom gets a chance to visit." The mother combed the long dark waves of her youngest daughter. She was gentle and the child sat quietly for the procedure. "We have a lot in common. She has a little girl just about Megan's age and the child has a deformity of the hand and arm. We can load Megan in the hand cart and the children can play while we talk."

The children were dressed so the mother sent them outside to play while she cleaned up the mess left from the bath. "Lizzy gets lonely. Her husband isn't very supportive of her. And she hasn't had it easy. She only has the one child. She had a miscarriage first, then a stillbirth of a baby that was just too deformed to live. She had little Annie and then two miscarriages after that." Mary shook her head. "She gets fanciful ideas, living out there so isolated."

Sira lifted Megan into the cart then insisted on pushing it before her. "You should not lift or carry heavy things, Mary. I can do this."

Mary gave her a warm smile. "You're so thoughtful."

Sira smiled back.

"Do you have children?"

"Yes. I have a son. He is but three summers. He is staying with family while we are here."

Mary sent her a guilty look. "I'm sorry our trouble has taken you from your family."

Sira lightly touched her mind. Not an intrusion, but a gentle caress of friendship. "We will be together again soon. We came to help because we wanted to. I am not sorry we have."

Lizzy was most happy to see her friend and to meet the empath. Mary had told her that Simtose had gone to seek help from the demigod Hercules. Later she had told her that Hercules had agreed to come but he wanted to enlist the help of his best friend and of his sister. Somehow Lizzy hadn't really believed any of them would come.

"I'm so glad you came over today. Cadmus is busy getting water for the fields." She turned to Sira. "The spring we've always relied on to help water our crops is contaminated. My husband has to haul water from the river now. It isn't an easy task. We have the well here at the house for our needs, but it's not a deep well and has gone dry a few times. Cadmus doesn't want to take a chance on that happening again."

"Is Little Bit still sick?"

"She died yesterday," the girl sighed. "Little Bit was our calf," she explained to the healer. "She drank some of the spring water and became ill. I hope you can put a stop to this. Cadmus is beside himself with this, whatever it is, coming closer all the time." The girl shrugged nervously. "He gets upset with me too. He says I daydream too much and get fanciful ideas."

Mary squeezed her hand. "Did you and Cadmus have another fight?"

"He just won't believe me when I tell him what I hear and see at night." The girl turned to Sira. "Cadmus is a good man. He works hard. Our farm has never been as good as some here in the valley. Our soil is just not as productive. My husband blames himself. He just wants a stop to all this, as we all do."

"What is it you see and hear at night?" Sira questioned her.

"I can't always sleep well at night. Sometimes taking a walk helps. Quite often at night there will be a greenish fog that comes down through the lip of the valley and spreads out over the land. Everywhere the fog touches, the ground dies."

Sira narrowed her eyes at the girl. She could sense that what this lonely woman was saying, she believed. She wasn't simply making up a story. "Go on."

"I know it sounds bizarre, but it's true. Sometimes I feel the ground tremble also. And it happens at the same time the fog moves into the valley. Then..." The girl hesitated. Sira gave her an encouraging smile. "Then sometimes I hear a roar, like from a large animal of some kind. That's the part Cadmus finds the most unbelievable. But I swear it is true. Now when this happens..." Again she hesitated.

When they had reached the farm the healer had set Megan on the ground. A little girl with blond curls had joined Mary's girls and the three of them played on the porch that surrounded the wooden farm house. Lizzy had shown Sira and Mary into her kitchen then poured them a mug of tea. She poured one for herself and joined them at the table.

Sira took her hand. "Go on, Lizzy. I want to hear what you have to say."

"Now when the disturbances occur, people turn up missing." The girl's voice shook.

"Now, Lizzy," Mary soothed her. "I'm sure you think you hear a roar, and that on the nights you can't sleep, by coincidence, people have gone missing."

"You sound like Cadmus," Lizzy interrupted her. "We all agree, there is something strange going on, something frightening and sinister. The nomads believed in it. Why do you think they stopped coming around? They have a sixth sense about things that are evil. They could feel it in the air."

With a sigh, Mary sat back in her chair. "Still, Lizzy, you have to admit your story sounds incredible."

"If it's so unbelievable, why did Simtose go for Hercules?"

"I'm not saying there isn't something going on. It's just that..."

"It's just that you don't trust me, just like Cadmus doesn't. You both think I've lost it because I've been unable to have more than one child, and the one I have is deformed." The girl's voice had risen as she spoke. Her breath caught on a sob. "I'm not mad, Mary. Don't you find it rather odd that there are so many stillbirths and miscarriages in the village? Then look how many babies have been born with deformities. And it's not just the humans. The same is true for the animals."

"I'm sorry, Lizzy. I never meant to upset you. You have enough to worry about without my skepticism to add to it. It's not so much that I disbelieve you... Well, maybe I just don't want to because it scares me so much."

Lizzy nodded. "I know. I'm frightened too. And I know I had a bad time after my second baby was born so deformed." Tears stained her cheeks. "I still can't think about it without being torn apart. He... She... I don't even know which because it was so deformed. It wasn't really stillborn. We've always said that it was because Cadmus was so ashamed of it. But it lived for almost two days. It could suckle. It cried so pitifully." The girl wrapped her arms around herself.

Sira sent her mind to comfort the girl. She could feel the pain from the young woman that sat next to her.

"Maybe I have gone mad," she whispered.

Tears filled the empath's eyes. "No. You have not gone mad. You grieve. That is natural. You are lonely. That also is natural. And I believe what you have said about what you see at night."

"Sometimes I wake up frightened and so empty. I think at those times I am a little insane."

Mary cried also. "Don't talk like that, Lizzy. You're just over tired. You have to work so hard to make it out here. I wish Cadmus would give this place up and move you closer to town."

Lizzy shook her head. "He'll never give this place up. It was his father's. He loves the place despite the poor condition of the soil."

"Perhaps," the empath speculated, "the soil you farm is also contaminated. Not as badly as the dead area, but still not healthy."

Both women looked at the empath. "I've wondered that myself," Lizzy whispered. "But when I say stuff like that to Cadmus, he gets angry."

Sira squeezed the girl's hand and strengthened the touch on her mind. "Do you sometimes think you hear a cry in the night?"

Lizzy shuddered. "How did you know that?"

"Because I have heard it also," she whispered.

"It's a cry of pain and desperation. You've heard the cry since you arrived in the village?"

"Yes, and even before that."

Lizzy jumped to her feet and began to pace. "Sometimes I wonder if it's my dead baby crying."

"No. No, it is the earth crying."

Both girls gave her a quizzical look. Then Mary turned back to her friend. "The thing is, what you say you see and hear is so much like the old stories of the castle. Maybe you're not completely awake when you walk, and you're really dreaming. The castle's been empty for so long. Let's see. Grandmother is ninety two. She worked there when she wasn't yet in her twenties. The place has been empty for seventy years. And the man Granny Bess worked for was old then." Mary shook her head and turned back to Sira. "We have to find out what this is. It's tearing us all apart."

"Sometimes I think it's going to come for me." The mother who looked so much like the blond child who played so earnestly with Mary's children turned from her pacing to search the eyes of the empath.

The pain and anguish Sira saw in that look tore at her sensitive heart and she went to take the woman in her arms. "You should not walk at night. Not for a while. Or if you just cannot stay confined in the house, seek me out at Mary's."

The girl cried openly. "I think I've gotten to know the land in my walks at night. It brings me comfort somehow."

"Just for a time. Give us a chance to try and figure out what is happening here."

Lizzy nodded. "I am frightened to go out there now, at night and even during the day."

"Then you and little Annie should come stay with me," Mary offered.

Her friend shook her head. "No, that would hurt Cadmus. He does try, Mary. I know you've never really liked him, but he is my husband and I won't do anything to deliberately hurt his feelings."

"Lizzy, I don't dislike Cadmus. It's just that he... Well, I wonder if he's as considerate of your feelings as you are of his. But I've said enough. We really need to get back." She hugged her friend. "The offer stands. Come stay with us. Or, like Sira said, come talk to us rather than wandering the hills at night."

Lizzy nodded and gave her friend a smile. "I'll be fine. Really. I'm sorry I was so emotional."

Sira stepped out on the porch to give the friends a moment alone. She stood watching the girls play. Lizzy's words echoed in her mind. 'Look how many babies have been born with deformities.'

The empath left the porch and approached the area of dead earth. She studied the plants and vegetation as she walked. She stopped and examined a plant closely. She took a leaf of the plant between her fingers and opened her mind. She dropped the leaf and stepped back. Her fingers seemed to tingle. She shivered and turned back to join the others at the farm. She loaded Megan in the cart and they headed back to the village.

"Don't mind Lizzy, Sira. She gets so lonely." The girl shook her head.

"She has a very strong mind. I believe what she told me, Mary."

The farmer's wife walked on in silence for a moment. "You're not like us, are you?" She blushed. "I mean no disrespect. But... Well... I'm sorry," she finished lamely

"No, Mary. I am not like you or Lizzy. You are right. I am most definitely different."

"You were very good to Lizzy. Thank you."

Sira smiled at her. "Thank you for not condemning my differences."

"No. I like what I've seen. You're a good person, I can tell."

"Thank you. Do you think I could meet your grandmother?"

"I bet she'll want to meet all of you. She is blind and doesn't get around too well anymore. But she perked right up when she thought she might meet Hercules." Both girls grinned. "She's an old flirt, and loves male attention. I'm sure she would just love to have you visit her. Maybe tomorrow. It's too late now. She usually naps the afternoon away."

The women were in the kitchen fixing the evening meal when the demigod and the hunter returned. Iolaus handed Mary four plump rabbits, and Sira a bouquet of flowers. Sira had brought several of the white tubers she liked to her new friend. The girl was surprised they could be eaten.

"We used to play with these as kids, but I never knew we could eat them."

"You can also feed them to your livestock and even grow them as a crop." The healer had also brought the girl some of the branches of the bush the yosemin called "Tis Ehat", or tea bush. The small twigs and branches could be crushed and left to seep in boiling water, they made a tea with a cinnamon taste. It was one of the hunter's favorites. Sweetened with honey, it could be drunk hot or cold.

"Thank you so much for the food. With the caravan late it is really needed."

When they were seated for the meal Sira turned to her brother. "What did you find on your quest?"

"Damn... Uh, darned little. I'm more convinced than ever the contamination is coming from the castle, although there are some growing things just inside the outer wall, weeds and moss. But the place is surrounded by the dead earth. We crossed it and went into the castle. It's falling apart like Simtose said and it is dangerous. We really didn't find anything there anyway. No tracks. No evidence of occupation by anything bigger than a rat, and there were several of those." He shrugged. "It seems okay to walk across the dead stuff. We avoided drinking any water from the area." He shrugged again. "The day was wasted."

Megan crawled to the hunter and pulled herself up to him. He picked her up and put her on his lap. She leaned back against him with a satisfied smile and a sigh. "I missed you today."

He grinned. "I missed you too."

"Thank you for the rabbits. They tasted good." She raised up and kissed his cheek.

The hunter chuckled. "Well, if I can get a kiss for my efforts, I'll hunt more often." He winked at the healer.

He is so good with children, she thought and she sent her love to him. He looked up and studied her face seriously for a moment. She could see his love shining back at her. Then he winked again.

When the meal was complete and the clean up done, Sira again excused herself. She took a bucket of water with her, and letting her brother know with her mind that she intended to bathe she made her way to the barn. Iolaus was wrestling with both girls on the floor. Hercules was playing chips with Simtose. Mary was resting. The house had never been so full of people, and yet somehow the day had flown and the work had seemed easier. Mary enjoyed Sira's friendly helpful companionship. There was laughter and fun in the day, and Mary realized this had been missing from her everyday routine. Everyone was so concerned about their troubles that they had forgotten to have fun. Mary smiled at the children and the hunter. She felt relaxed and drowsy.

The hunter and the demigod excused themselves once Sira let them know she was finished with her absolution.

The girls were put to bed and Simtose put his arm around Mary to lead her to their bed. "Have you noticed that Sira seems different? I mean, her way of speaking and her strange eyes."

"Yeah, I've noticed," he nodded.

"Hercules doesn't talk like her."

"He explained that they aren't really brother and sister. But they're so close that they think of each other that way. He says they're closer than brother and sister."

"Now what's that suppose to mean?"

"I don't know, Mary. But don't start second guessing them. They're good people and I like them."

She put her arms around him. "I like them too. I don't give a hang that Sira is different. She was so sweet to Lizzy today. You're right, they are good people."

When the hunter and the demigod were comfortable on the hay in the stall they shared, Sira turned to her brother of the soul. "Now, what were you holding back from me in talking about the castle?"

He grinned at her. "We found where several sheep had been led toward the castle. Then their tracks disappeared before they actually reached the place. The contamination seems to follow the natural contours of the land, like water might flow. It comes down the low area and out into the valley."

"Mary's friend, Lizzy, says that at night a greenish fog comes through the pass, and where it goes the earth dies."

"That makes sense. There must be something in the fog that kills the land. And a fog would follow that path. What else did you learn from Lizzy?"

Sira told all that the lonely girl had discussed of the strange events that had so gripped the village with fear.

"Is it just me?" the hunter asked, "or does the girl's tale sound like the legends of the old castle?"

"No," the half god shook his head, "it does sound like what Simtose told us."

"Tomorrow I want to talk to Mary's grandmother," the empath stated. "She worked for the last residents of the castle. Then I would like to go out there myself. I might be able to sense something. I have tried to send my mind out to the source of the disturbance, but it is like there is a barrier keeping my mind away. There is a void there that should not be."

The demigod studied her face. "I hate to ask you, but I do want you to accompany us when we go back out there. I also seemed to feel a barrier."

"You did not ask. I insisted." She grinned at the son of Zeus.

The hunter shook his head. "This whole thing gets more strange by the minute."

The demigod raised his eyebrows. "I was just thinking the same thing."

Sira let her breath out in a sigh, and the hunter put his arms around her. "What is it?"

She shook her head. "It is just that I feel so sorry for Lizzy. She is so frightened, and while she defended her husband to me, the things that were said by both her and Mary and the things I felt from them leads me to believe he is not very good to her. She has lost several babies, their farm is not producing." She paused. "I think the contamination goes further than we think. Remember, Simtose said there used to be a forest around the castle? I wonder if its disappearance was caused by the same contamination. Lizzy made us tea, but when I tried to drink it..." She shook her head. "It was not that it tasted bad, it was more a feeling I got. I hope we can help her. She is so lost."

The hunter tightened his hold on her. "My little healer."

"I cannot help it."

"I know."

"Lizzy brought up an interesting point. She mentioned how many miscarriages and stillbirths there have been. She also pointed out how many children are born with deformities. And it is not just the people being affected, the animals are as well." She stopped to gather her thoughts. "On a hunch I examined some of the plants near the bad soil. They are also deformed."

The demigod's brows were furrowed in their habitual way. At the healer's words the frown deepened. He didn't voice it but the thought in his mind was one of concern. Could they really do anything to stop the spread of this thing? He thought of Megan's deformity. She was such a sweet child. He had felt the fear in the people around him. He wanted to help these people. His old hatred of injustice swept over him and left him feeling cold and empty. Anger rushed in to fill the emptiness. But anger at what? His ire had no direction. He had an almost uncontrollable urge to grab onto something and force it to his will. But grab onto what? He let his breath out in a puff of frustration. He was, he admitted, more comfortable with a physical fight than with a subtle investigation.

Sira sent him a smile of understanding. She knew how sensitive he was. She knew he felt the pain and fear around him, as she did.

The hunter woke to the empath's scream. She was on her knees, both hands on the soil before her. She cried out again. He tried to run to her but the earth trembled beneath his feet and he stumbled. He could hear a rumble almost like distant thunder and the earth pitched again. With each shake of the ground the healer cried out in pain. He grabbed her up and held her against him.

Seconds later, Hercules joined them. "What in Tartarus was that?" he exclaimed.

He put his hands on his sister's shoulder to send her comfort. He grunted with the intensity of the emotions that flooded him. The big man's strong mind called to her. He was stronger of mind than the hunter, and there had been times when he could reach past her entranced state and call her mind back. The hunter possessed a strong mind as well, and he had the tie of soul with the healer. But his mind simply couldn't match the strength of his half god friend and he welcomed his help. The earth pitched and Sira's screams joined those of the frightened animals in the barn.

Then as quickly as it had come, it was gone. The pain and anguish that had possessed her was gone, and she felt as if she were falling into a black hole. Her mind grappled for a hold on the strong minds she could feel about her. Getting a hold she pulled her mind back. She lay whimpering against the hunter. Slowly she became aware of shouts and cries in the night. Animals bellowed in fear. She began to tremble.

"You two stay here." The demigod rose. "I'll see if there's anything I can do." Things had been knocked to the floor. Rakes and other farm tools had fallen from where they had stood leaning against stalls. One of the mules had gotten loose. The demigod returned the frightened animal to its stall before he left the others and went into the night.

It was just past sunrise when he returned. He brought two mugs of Tassis tea with him.

The hunter gladly accepted his. "What did you find?" He had wanted to join the demigod. He hated not being a part of something like this, but he couldn't leave the girl he loved. She had stayed quiet throughout the past few hours. She had clung to him and he didn't need the perception their close link afforded him to know she was still frightened and lost in some kind of pain.

"It's happened again," the big man sighed. "More dead earth."

Sira reached for his arm. "Someone else is missing?"

He nodded. He wished there were a way to save her this. "I'm sorry, my sister. It's your friend from yesterday. Lizzy."

"No!"

"The earthquake woke her husband and he found her gone. We haven't found her yet."

"Take me there." She held her hand out to him and he pulled her to her feet."

"There are several villagers out there. We're going to break up into small groups and search for the missing girl." He hesitated a moment. "Maybe you should cover your feet."

She let her breath out in a huff of annoyance at the necessity, then sitting back on the straw she hastily pulled the moccasins over her brown spotted feet and rose again.

"How much damage was done to the village?" the hunter asked, seeing that the fence around Simtose's cottage lay at a crazy angle.

"Quite a bit. There are a couple of huts destroyed completely. Some roofs have fallen in."

"Is anyone hurt?"

"No, Sira. Some minor injuries, but nothing serious."

"Nothing serious physically," she whispered.

The demigod and the hunter looked at each other over the girl's head.

"I told her not to wander around in the night." The healer's voice caught. "I told her to come to me. Maybe if she had stayed indoors..." Her words trailed off.

"Sira, you can't blame yourself for this." The demigod put his arm around her. "Second guessing yourself isn't going to do her or anyone else any good."

When they reached the outlying farm Mary came up to Sira. Tears shown in her eyes and the healer put her arms around her new friend. "I am so sorry, Mary."

"Oh, Sira, why'd it have to be her. She was so loving and good." The woman's voice broke.

"What are you doing here?" A man stood behind Sira and Mary. "Come to admire your handy work?"

Mary pulled back. "Cadmus, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about her." He jabbed a finger at the healer. "My poor Lizzy's head was full enough with the dreams and fantasies. Telling her you believed her and filling her head with even more nonsense only made things worse."

"Maybe if you had believed in her she would not have needed her dreams." The healer's voice was low, the tone one of compassion.

"You're a part of this. We didn't have earthquakes before you came, saying the earth was crying." Hercules and Iolaus had joined the others near the house to try and decide the best course of action. They hadn't heard the angry voices. "You're a witch, and you've stolen my Lizzy." His voice was filled with hate. He grabbed the healer by the upper arms. "This is your fault!" He shook her.

He was jerked roughly from Sira. With a roar the demigod threw him across the yard to land hard against the porch railing. It gave way and he slumped to the ground. The demigod pulled Sira into his arms. The farmer lunged shakily to his feet and moved toward the healer and her brother of the soul.

"Touch her again," the hunter stopped him, "and it will be the last thing you ever do."

Simtose tried to pull Cadmus back. "You're not doing Lizzy any good this way, Cadmus. Come away. We're going to look for her. We need your help."

The distraught man pulled away from him and started for the hunter. The fist took him square on the chin and the farmer sprawled back on the ground. Simtose pulled him to his feet and led him away.

"Sira," the hunter's voice was filled with compassion. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

The demigod stepped back and let the healer melt into her lover's arms. Mary cried openly and the big man put an arm around her. She shook with sobs, and without thought Hercules hugged her.

"Forgive Cadmus. He's distraught. I've never really liked him but in his own way he did love Lizzy."

"Come on, Sira." The hunter started to pull her away. "We're getting out of here."

"No. No, we cannot leave. We have to find out what is happening here."

"You don't have to take abuse by some two bit moron."

"I do not care what he thinks. We came here to help, and we must."

"If he comes near you again..." There was real anger in his words.

She reached up and smoothed a finger across his furrowed brow. "Then I will zap his mind. And if that does not work, my fierce protector, you may have a go at him."

He pulled her tightly against him. "Oh, Sira. When I saw his hands on you..." He shook his head, unable to complete his thought. But words weren't needed. The healer could feel his emotions.

"I am fine, Iolaus. Go with the others and see if you can find Lizzy."

"I'm not leaving you."

"Do not be silly. He did not hurt me, and he is not going to. Do this for me. Finding her will make up for any harm he might have done."

What the hunter didn't say, but what she felt anyway, was that they didn't hold out much hope of finding the girl. Reluctantly he left her side, and with a glance back to check on her he joined Hercules and the others. Simtose and Cadmus had already started out across the dead earth to search for any clue to the whereabouts of Lizzy.

Mary was busy with her own children and with Lizzy's little girl. Sira watched the children a moment. What would happen to little Annie now? The yosemin couldn't help wondering how successful Cadmus would be as a single parent. She wrapped her arms around herself and turned away. Despair rode her. She sent her mind out to search for Annie's mother but it hit the hidden barrier and found nothing else. She strengthened her mind. There was definitely something repelling her thoughts, something blocking and concealing the evil force behind the malignancy that threatened to consume the entire valley in its smothering grasp. Somehow Sira knew that something was sinister and evil. She got a brief sense of death and decay, then nothing.

She walked to the dead earth and went to her knees before it. "Where is she?" the child of the earth asked of the dry lifeless soil. Then she placed her hands on the soil. White hot pain shot through her palms and up her arms. She gasped but kept her hands on the earth. Despite the pain, she forced her mind into the earth and out beyond.

The hunter and the demigod heard the healer's scream and ran to her. Iolaus pulled her away from the place of death. "By the gods, Sira. Why did you do this? Your hands?"

The child of the forest turned her hands over and stood examining them. They were burnt. Great blisters had already formed and the tender flesh in the center of her palms was black.

"Sira?"

She turned pain filled eyes to him and he drew her into his arms. He ran his hand over her hair and soothed her like a baby. His love enfolded and ebbed around her. She could sense his pain at hers.

After one brief glimpse of the girl's hands the demigod had turned away. He made a show of examining the earth where Sira had knelt, but he really needed the time to get himself under control. He feared he would be ill as nausea gripped him. He felt a very real physical pain, not to mention a mental one, through the link of mind and soul he shared with the empath. His hands shook and he took several quick breaths to try and swallow the bile that came into his throat. He put his arms around the healer and the hunter.

"Let's get her back to the barn."

"Sira?" the hunter questioned her. He started to pick her up.

"I'll do it. I'm stronger." The demigod picked her up and turned his back on the source of the girl's pain. He reached his mind out to her. He wasn't really comfortable with the workings of the mind and the telepathy he seemed to possess. He hadn't actively sought to improve it or to learn the intricacies of using what Sira called his earthly powers, but he no longer deliberately shut them out either. He had learned a lot simply by being near his sister of the soul. He touched her mind now and was shocked to find confusion. Her mind was unfocused and vague. She was entranced in the pain of her injuries and the pain of the earth itself. Through the link he had with her he also felt the pain. It blended and molded itself around the pain he felt at the fact that she had been hurt. It tore at his heart to see her like this. The love he had for the girl he carried swept over him and left him feeling shaky. It sent a painful tingle up his spine and brought a return of the nausea. But it also opened his heart to a deeper compassion and the combining of such strong emotions strengthened his mind and his thoughts reached her. He felt weak in the knees from the realization of just how deep his feelings for her ran. Now as he felt her mind respond, he felt relief wash over him, leaving him feeling vulnerable. His emotions felt raw and exposed.

The daughter of the forest felt his emotions. She always did. She also was a little shocked by the depth of his feelings for her. She had known her own love ran as deep as what she felt from him. But somehow he had shielded the depth of his feelings not only from himself but, her as well. She pulled his love to her and used it to ease her pain. He gave it willingly. Now the yosemin wept openly. She had ample reason to cry. A woman she had touched, however briefly, was gone, and Sira knew with certainty she would not be found. The earth was dying, and in that death it called to her, beseeching her to save it. Her hands were charred and burned, the pain a living, breathing entity that possessed her and threatened to overwhelm her. Her encounter with the contaminated earth had made her ill. She felt feverish and weak as the poison from the soil seeped through her and poisoned her as well. She wept for none of these reasons. She wept because she now felt the pain her more than brother of the soul endured at the losses in his life. The last barrier was down, and as it crumbled she was flooded with such pain and despair that her heart bled with compassion for the half man, half god she called brother.

It is given by the earth to those strong of mind to love more than one. While there could be only one mate truly of the soul, there could be others in the life of a person with a strong mind who came very close to that same joining of the soul. An empath possessed the strongest mind of all. She had always known that she would most likely outlive the mortal human that had become part of her. She knew that the part of her that had become part of him would always be locked away and untouchable by another. But she was honest enough with herself to admit that there might come a time when she could and would find another who stirred her strong emotions and would possess a part of her. Not, perhaps, with the same oneness of soul an empath could achieve with the one true mate of the soul, but still a joining of soul beyond that achieved by those not one with the powers of the earth. Somehow she had never expected she would find both of these loves at the same time. She knew that the love the demigod and the hunter had for each other played a part in her bond. It formed a triangle of strong emotion that her sensitive mind couldn't ignore, and her strong heart couldn't turn away from.

The realization of their feelings for each other left them both in awe. With an insight born of her understanding of her brother she knew he would find it difficult to deal with this new realization. It was so hard for those of human mentality to look beyond the physical involvement a close relationship also brought and see the deeper touch of the soul. For them, to have one meant to have the other, not so with those of the earth. Their stronger emotions and sensitive minds could see beyond the physical side of a deep love and embrace the true feelings behind it. She knew that guilt would be a part of his thoughts now. Guilt that he loved his brother's wife, guilt that he was moved by her physically. She dreaded the wedge his guilt might drive between the three of them. Now that she had acknowledged the depth of her own feelings, and felt his in return she couldn't bear the thought that something might come between them.

And what about the hunter, who possessed a part of her? Without him she would not be whole. The loss of soul she would experience should she lose him might well overcome her, and could quite possibly destroy her. But would he be willing to accept the love she had for his more than friend and companion? It wasn't that she expected a physical relationship with Hercules. He was, she admitted, most appealing in a very masculine way. She found him stimulating and at times, exciting. But that part of her was for only one. To feel the emotions that making love brought her she must also be in true soul's link with her mate. That, she knew would only come to her from her "Anmchara," her soul mate. The earth had brought them together so completely that no other love could touch that part of her, perhaps even after she lost him. So while she found the magnificence of the demigod aroused her, she felt no lust for him. It was more an animalistic reaction to his perfection. The real problem lay in both the hunter's and the demigod's ability to realize this and accept it.

He laid her gently on the straw of the stall they shared and picked up her right hand. The eyes he turned to her were full of anguish.

"My pack." Her words were torn from a throat constricted with pain. "The green liquid. Dilute it with water and soak a needle and thread in it."

The hunter moved to do as she asked. He felt sick and empty. It stabbed him to the bone to see the woman he loved injured and in pain. The hands that dug through her belongings shook with shock. When it was ready he ran the needle through the blisters on her hands and left a bit of thread in each so they could drain.

"Put my hands in the water."

He helped her sit up and put her hand in the bucket. She moaned as her hands touched the liquid.

The son of Zeus was unsure how to start a healing. He had helped her a few times and knew some of what he must do. He began to talk to the empath, repeating himself in a rhythmic tone. She was too lost in her pain to be of much help. Closing his eyes he began to chant the yosemin word for earth. "Cantos, cantos, cantos." Her mind focused on his. He held her arms just above the wrists, and where his hands touched her she felt heat.

She began to join him in the chant. The hunter sat beside her and placed his hands on her leg. She touched his mind and led him into the healing. She was soon lost in a trance of the mind. The hunter helped her to lay down on the straw of the stall. While the demigod couldn't transfer her pain to himself, he could feel her pain, and when her mind asked permission to give some of it to him so that she could more easily focus her mind, he readily agreed.

The morning slipped slowly into afternoon. The barn grew hot and stuffy. In an effort to quiet the animals, Iolaus put the horse and cow in the fenced area behind the barn and gave them some hay. He fed the goat some oats and tossed a couple of handfuls of corn to the chickens. Then munching on some fruit and taking more with him in case the others might want it later, he returned to the barn. He propped the door open to give them air, and joining them on the straw he once again joined in the healing.

The farmer came to the barn and stood watching them for a moment. He was curious about what they were doing but he said nothing and left them, slipping quietly out of the barn. He was pleased to find the animals fed. He felt drained emotionally and physically. They had searched the entire morning for the missing girl but had found nothing. Cadmus had been so hateful toward Sira. The things he had said had planted a shred of doubt in Simtose's mind, and he hadn't liked finding it there. He felt he was being disloyal to the demigod and the others. Just now, seeing them in the barn, some of the things the distraught man had said came back to him. "No," he said out loud. "I refuse to allow someone else's twisted mind to convince me of something I know in my heart is untrue."

He made his way to the house. Mary stood at the side board, her back to the door, but he saw her shoulders shake and he went to her and pulled her into his arms. She cried against his shoulder. He knew how close she and Lizzy had always been. They had been inseparable as children. Then when Lizzy's mother had died Mary's mother had practically raised the girl.

When the men had returned from their search Mary had tried to convince Cadmus to let her take Annie home with her. He had refused, and he hadn't done it in a very nice way. He had accused her of being a part of what had happened because she was friendly with Sira. Simtose had been tempted to punch the man in the face just as the hunter had. It had torn at his heart to see the hurt look on his wife's face at the man's words. He had barely controlled himself, and seeing his anger Mary had hurried them away from the isolated farm.

"Is Sira all right?"

"I'm not sure. They're with her in the barn. They..." He wasn't sure how to complete his sentence.

"They what?"

"Well, they're all kind of together, and they seem to be in a trance or something."

"It must be some kind of god thing. After all, Hercules is part god. Maybe they're praying to Zeus or something."

"Yeah." A smile broke over the farmer's face. "I hadn't thought of that. I'll bet that's just what they're doing." He ran a hand through his thinning hair and his wife reached up and smoothed it back down for him. His arms tightened around her and she rested her head against his chest.

The healer built a barrier between her mind and that of the demigod. She could feel his fatigue. Despite bringing the blue light of healing and the earth's energy into the healing, it still took a lot from the one doing the healing.

The son of Zeus laid down beside the empath, and while physical contact was not a necessity since no transfer had been done, somehow he knew instinctively that it would help to maintain their bond and aid in the healing. The empath lay on her side and he rolled over to lay on his side behind her. His hand rested on her waist. The hunter also felt drained. Seeing Sira hurt was agony to him. He still hadn't found a way to cope with who and what she was and the pain she must endure at times because of these things. If she were not yosemin she would not have been burned by the contamination of the earth. But then if she were not who she was, they wouldn't be together. He went over and over it in his head but it got him nowhere. The plain and simple truth of the matter was he couldn't bear to see her hurt. Her pain stripped away his defenses and left him naked and exposed to the possibility that he might someday lose her. He thought he had lost her that time in Acubus, and he remembered all too well what it had been like. He seriously doubted he could go on without her. He knew without question he wouldn't want to, and so his doubts left him feeling selfish and disloyal to the most important thing in his life.

He laid down in front of her. He studied her face a moment, then said a prayer to the earth for her. He reached out an unsteady hand and lightly touched her cheek. "My soul," he whispered. He laid his hand on her arm, and closing his eyes he drifted to sleep.

He was only vaguely aware that Simtose returned the animals to the barn and pitched them some more hay. He knew he should offer to help, but his mind, still muddled with the fatigue of the healing and the disquiet he felt at his own inability to deal with Sira's gifts, refused to respond and his sleep deepened in defense of the noises the farmer made. It was almost dark when he woke. He laid where he was for a moment, watching the woman he loved. Some of his inner turmoil had eased. The love he felt for her washed over him and left him feeling humble. Sometimes he still found it hard to believe anyone so wonderful, so special, could be his. That she was his he had no doubt. He could always feel her touch on his mind and on his soul. She had filled a void in his being, and the comfort she brought him was very much a part of him.

He rose and made a trip to the forest. The evening was cool. A slight breeze had sprung up and it sent the leaves on the ground in little swirls. He desperately felt the need of some strong tea. His stomach growled. Other than some fruit he hadn't eaten all day. He returned to the barn to check on Sira and Hercules. He remembered that the farmer had come to the barn twice. Knowing how much the empath hated her feet covered he had removed her moccasins shortly after he had bandaged her hands. He wondered what Simtose might be thinking. The farmer would have seen them in the healing and then after, as the three of them lay so close to each other. Convention must surely consider this improper. Thinking back to the other healings he had seen her involved in, he smiled to himself. None of them could be considered conventional. He'd never really given it much thought before. She needed his friend's help right now to heal. If people found that improper, then to Tartarus with them.

He made his way to the cottage and knocked lightly on the door. Mary opened it to greet him. He was ready for a fight. If they chose to condemn what the farmer had seen in the barn then he would deal with it.

"How's Sira?" There was real concern in the woman's voice.

"She's resting now. She'll be fine, I think. She's a healer. She can heal herself remarkably fast."

"Is there anything we can do?"

The hunter smiled at her. "Thank you. I'll let you know if there is."

She handed him a mug of tea. "You must be hungry. Sit. I'll fix you something to eat."

"Thank you. I am hungry." He took the offered chair. "When she's better, I'll hunt again."

"Don't worry about it. I know Sira was hurt trying to help Lizzy and all of us. I'm so sorry it happened."

The farmer grinned at him. "I'm sorry for intruding earlier. We were worried about your wife, then I had to feed the animals."

"It's okay." He let his breath out in a sigh. "Thank you both for understanding."

Megan pulled up to him and he lifted her up on his lap. "Is Sira going to be all right?"

"Yes, Megan, she is. She's a very special person. She has powers that most people don't. She can heal herself and others."

"She's different than us, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is. But her heart is made of love, and while she is different she could never harm anyone. She's good and kind, and she sometimes gets hurt because she loves people so much and she tries so hard to help them."

"We know she's good. Helen and I talked about it. You can see the good part of her, it kind of shines around her."

"You're a very observant little girl. Thank you for being her friend, and for being mine."

She planted a moist kiss on his cheek. He swallowed twice to clear the lump in his throat. He had been sure he would meet with hate and prejudice. Instead these people had shown only friendship and understanding.

Mary set a bowl of stew before him. She sliced some cheese and apples onto a plate and put it next to the stew. He smiled at her by way of thanks. "I take it the search turned up nothing?"

Simtose shook his head. "I guess none of us were really hopeful it would. But we had to try."

"I'm sorry. When Sira's better we still want to try and help."

"I was in hopes you'd say that. You'll probably think we're very foolish, but somehow we believe your wife may hold the key to helping us. Lizzy felt that way too. She told Mary so. Lizzy sometimes seemed to know things, and, well..." he gave an apologetic shrug for what sounded even to him like foolishness.

"Yes, I have that same feeling. Sira has a special bond with the earth, and we want to help."

When he left the farmhouse he took a pot of stew, more fruit, and some cheese wrapped in oil cloth. His gloomy mood of earlier was gone. The simple friendly people whose barn they shared had made him feel welcome, and now he was even more determined to get to the bottom of what held this small farming community in bondage.

The demigod stirred and woke when the hunter entered the barn. He sat up, still maintaining a touch on the healer. He looked dreadful. He was unused to using his mind for such a long time. The effort had drained even his remarkable strength. He looked drawn and haggard.

"You okay, Herc?"

The big man smiled at him. "I feel like I've been dragged through Tartarus backwards."

"Hungry?"

"I've been eyeing that poor cow. A little salt..." He grinned at his friend.

"Thanks for helping Sira."

The half man swallowed his first bite of stew. "You know damn well I had to. Her hands are a lot better. The charred flesh is almost completely gone. I checked." He took another bite. "When I saw how bad they were..." His words trailed off.

"I know. I just can't find a way to cope with the pain her healing brings her." The hunter jumped to his feet and started to pace. "Damn it, Herc, I can't stand to see her in pain."

"I know. I can't either. But whether we like it or not, I think we're going to have to live with it. I don't think we can change her, and I don't know that I would want her any different if we could."

"Stuff like this tears me apart. Why did she do this? What did she hope to gain by hurting herself?"

The big man let his breath out in a sigh. "I don't know, my friend. But it was the strangest thing. Where her hands touched the soil, new grass sprang up. There were two distinctive grassy hand prints on the contaminated earth."

The hunter turned to search the demigod's face. "You mean she healed the earth?"

"It looks that way. But at what cost to her?" His voice was grave. "We can't let her do it again."

Something in his friend's voice made the hunter frown. The depth of feeling behind the words sent a stab of jealousy through him. Now where did that come from? he asked himself. I've never been jealous of their closeness. He shook his head. I must just be tired.

When Sira woke later, the hunter helped her eat. But she had little appetite. Her hands were much better and the pain was less, but she was still entranced and she seldom felt the needs of the body at these times. The demigod had gone back to sleep beside her. His hair was tousled and straw clung to the dark blond strands. He needed a shave and a bath. The healer grinned at his sleeping form. "Has he eaten?"

"Yes. Not long before you woke up."

The girl moved her head from side to side. Her neck felt stiff and her head felt heavy. The illness she had felt from the poisons in the soil had passed, leaving in their wake a dull pounding in her right temple. It wasn't the first time the injury she had sustained at the hands of Pollux had come back to haunt her.

When she was through eating the hunter took her right hand in his and gently removed the bandage. The blackness was gone but the palm was still raw, looking as if the skin hand been torn away to leave the flesh exposed. The hunter turned anguish filled eyes to her.

"They will heal, my lover," she whispered. "Do not despair." He said nothing. She could read the pain he felt at her pain. She understood it. She knew it would be the same for her if he were hurt. "You and Hercules have done wonders. I am very proud of you both. I have always said men could be healers."

"Oh Sira, why did you do this to yourself?"

"I am sorry I have brought you so much pain," she whispered.

"I don't give a damn about me. It's you I'm worried about."

"I know. I wish there was a way I could help you deal with all of this. I feel your dilemma. If I could, I would take it from you."

"I'm sorry. I know I'm being selfish."

"It is not selfish to love me. I know what my healing can do to you. I know that my bond to others in the healing can make you jealous. The life of the mate of the soul to an empath cannot be an easy one. Please try and understand. I need you so much." Tears stung her eyes.

"Sira, forgive me. You have enough to worry about without being concerned about my foolishness."

The demigod sat up. He yawned and stretched. "Sira, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Better. Thank you, my brother. You have come a long way. You are truly of the earth."

He grinned at her. "Flattery will get you another healing. But first I need to visit the woods. If I break contact, will it jeopardize the healing?"

"Not unduly. Contact is better, but if you have needs..." She shrugged.

"Don't break the contact. I can bring a pot," the hunter offered.

The demigod blushed and grinned at his sister of the soul.

"It will not embarrass me. Go ahead."

"No, but it will embarrass me." But he waited for the help of the hunter. When he was finished he sat back down beside the healer. "How do you get used to this kind of thing?"

She laughed. "We yosemin feel much differently about such things. And I was trained since childhood to deal with whatever might come in a healing."

"That's not fair." He blushed again. The hunter turned away to hide his smirk. The healer laughed.

The demigod took her hands lightly in his. He closed his eyes and touched her mind. The healing continued through the night and into the morning. Finally, in exhaustion the demigod built the barrier needed to slow the healing. As before, he continued to touch her. He laid down beside her and she leaned into him. Then she held her arms out to her mate of the soul and he laid down with her. He had helped with the healing also. He felt drained mentally and physically. He closed his eyes. The last thing he remembered as he drifted to sleep was the healer's mind on his, sending her love to caress him and soothe his mind into slumber.

The healer woke. She laid quietly where she was. The hunter's hand was on her right side, the demigod's was on her left. She smiled in the darkness. On one side was the man she loved beyond all others, her soul's mate, the other half of her. On her other side was the man she also loved, her more than brother. Also a part of her soul. She wasn't quite sure how this had come to be, but she couldn't doubt it. The tendrils of love had wrapped themselves around her, intertwining around her soul and mixing together to form a bond between the three of them that went beyond friends and lovers. It went beyond brother and sister to a deeper blending of three souls. They had each known loneliness, and that very fact had made the fusing of their souls so much more. It was a timeless, boundless manifestation of their need, made stronger by their strong minds and the power the healer credited the earth with endowing to those worthy of her bounty. She gave up trying to explain it, realizing it just was.

She gave her prayer to the earth, thanking her mother for her healing power and for bringing these two special loves into her life.

Mary came to the barn to see Sira. The empath's hands were much improved and the demigod no longer felt compelled to maintain the physical contact. He excused himself, and finding his way to the woods and a brook that ran through a small meadow he bathed and changed his clothing. He felt better when he had completed his absolution and returned to the farm in search of a meal. Simtose dished him up a bowl of corn mush and placed the honey jar next to him. There was bread baked fresh the day before and his hunger was soon satisfied.

The farmer's wife seemed shy around the healer. "Your husband said you were a healer. But I had no idea you could heal this quickly." She smiled at the yosemin. "I'm sorry you were hurt. Why did you let yourself be burned?"

"I had hoped to get a feeling of where Lizzy might be."

"I thought it might be something like that. It was very good of you to suffer so much to try and help her."

"It is who and what I am. But it is not truly suffering. To help others makes me whole."

"Even at your own expense?"

"Quite often that is the case. But to not help others brings me pain also."

Mary shook her head then changed the subject. "When you're better, my grandmother wants to meet you."

"I know you said she sleeps in the afternoon. But I would, I think, feel up to a visit with her, if Hercules will consent to another healing."

"Is someone taking my name in vain?" The big man walked into the barn as Sira made her last statement.

"I was telling Mary that we could visit her grandmother this afternoon if you would consent to another healing, and if her grandmother is up to it."

"You know I'll help. Simtose is making you and Iolaus breakfast."

Mary moaned. "My poor kitchen."

"That's okay, Iolaus is supervising."

Now Sira moaned. Mary grinned despite herself. "Maybe I had better check on them. I'll see if Granny Bess is up to a visit and come for you later."

The demigod stood over the healer, a grin on his face.

"What is so humorous, my brother?"

"You, my sister, are a mess."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "If you would bring me water instead of standing over me criticizing my appearance, perhaps I could do something about it."

He laughed. "Your husband is bringing the water and a fresh dress from Mary. He's already bathed in the brook as I have and he can help you."

Her lips were pursed in a slight pout. "Could you bring some tea?"

"Maybe."

"Please?"

"I'll bring it." But he made no move to leave her. "Hmmm."

"What?"

He headed out of the barn. "It's hard to believe that you're the same girl I saw in that green silk nightdress of my mother's."

She threw her moccasin at him. He sidestepped it, and whistling a tune he left the barn.

The bath took a long time. The hunter brought a bucket of hot water and a bucket of cold and stayed to help the empath. The demigod helped Simtose with his morning chores and kept the farmer away from the barn.

"I need to get to my things in there," he complained. "How long does it take to wash up?"

The demigod did a good job of hiding his humor. "Remember, Sira can't help herself. Her hands are still too bad." He wasn't fooled for a minute about what was taking so long, and the sheepish grin on the farmer's face spoke his doubt of the big man's explanation.

The farmer scratched at his chin. "Well, until they're through, that is, until the bath is done, there's not much I can do. You up to a game of chips?"
The demigod grinned at him and held his arm out. "Lead on."

The empath sent her mind to that of her brother so he would know when it was safe to return for the promised healing. He entered the barn, a broad grin on his face. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, much," the girl assured him.

"I must say, you look better. I guess there must be something to be said for a two hour bath."

The hunter laughed. "There certainly is."

With a shake of his head the demigod took a seat on the straw of the stall. The farmer came into the barn with an apologetic grin and quickly grabbed the things he needed.

The healing went well. The empath was no longer in constant pain and she could concentrate her efforts on healing herself. It was past midday when Sira brought a stop to the healing and the three of them went to the house to find something to appease their hunger. No one was home so the hunter scrounged about looking for something for them. He was shocked by how empty the cupboards were.

"After we visit the grandmother, I need to do some hunting. These people are damn near out of food."

Sira frowned. "Later in the year there will be the harvest to help. But right now there is little they can glean from their gardens. Some squash perhaps. While Iolaus hunts, would you be willing to help me?" she asked of her more than brother.

"Sure. What is it you need?"

"We can find berries and more of the roots the earth offers. There are plants that grow in the brooks that can be eaten. There are fish there also. I do not understand why these people do not take advantage of what the earth has to offer."

The half man shrugged. "For years they've traded for what they want. They've forgotten how to fend for themselves."

"But if there is so little to eat from the farms. What do they trade?"

The big man frowned. "You have a point. I suggest we ask them"

When Mary returned, Sira did just that. "Well, we trade the grain we've grown. There is a community silo and we all pool our grain and trade that during the leaner times of the year. Then there's the squash, and some of the melons are ready."

"Then why is it so hard for you to feed yourselves?"

"The grain is really no good to us. But now that it seems apparent the caravan isn't coming I guess we'll have to rely on our produce to feed ourselves. We always traded for dried or preserved meats, but there are sheep that can be slaughtered. We do make our own cheese, but our cow is with calf now and we are without milk."

"Then trade with someone who has extra milk. You and the girls could catch fish to eat or to trade. You can set snares for rabbits to eat or to trade. Why not grind your own grain and make your own flour?"

"We never have. We don't have a mill."

"Grain can be ground by hand, just as corn can. But I dare say we can make a grinding wheel that the village can use."

"I guess we have come to rely on the caravan too much, haven't we?"

The empath smiled at her. "It would not take much to make yourselves self sufficient. I will see what Hercules can do about a grinding wheel."

"You are so good. You're still not well, yet you're worrying about us."

Sira smiled. "How is your grandmother? Is she up to a visit?"
Mary giggled. "She's dying to meet you all. I told her how handsome and charming Hercules is. Megan said the same thing about your husband. Granny Bess is most ready to meet them. Then I told her about you and how kind and generous you are. She insisted I bring you to meet her this afternoon."

Simtose stayed at the farm to watch the girls and Mary walked them to the cottage that her mother and grandmother shared.

"Granny Bess can be a bit feeble minded. She lives in the past, and I'm not sure that what she remembers really happened the way she tells it now. Her mind sometimes wanders. I hope you won't mind too much."

"Do not worry," Sira rushed to assure her. "In my village we revere our ancient ones. They are treated with the utmost respect, and they are the grandparents of all the clans. Everyone contributes to their needs and their presence among us is considered the greatest honor."

They approached a small cottage nestled among tall birch trees. There were flowers of all descriptions growing among decorative rock. The ground within the small white fence was grassy and inviting, and the healer squealed with delight when she saw it. There were hanging baskets of flowering plants around the porch and vines growing up the porch railing. A hummingbird helped himself to one of the many flowers that adorned the path that led to the steps and the cool shaded porch beyond. It was welcoming and friendly and the daughter of the earth felt warm with comfort from the pleasant display of her mother's beauty.

An older and slightly heavier version of Mary opened the door to them. Mary introduced her to her new friends.

"Your garden is so lovely," Sira smiled at her.

"It's more mother's garden than mine. She spends time there each morning, working and loving it. She may be blind but she knows her flowers and what to do to make them happy. Come, I'll introduce you to her."

They entered the house. Sitting on a straight backed chair was a very thin and very fragile looking woman. Her hair was pure white. It was braided in a long plait, then the woven hair was wound around her head in a halo of silver. Her cheeks were still smooth skinned and pink surrounded by wrinkled grayish flesh. The contrast gave her even more a semblance of frailty. The dark brown eyes framed by long white lashes were only slightly dimmed and distorted by her blindness. Now Sira knew where Megan got her beauty.

Mary introduced the demigod first. He took the ancient one's hand in his and was surprised by her firm grip. "Mary, you didn't tell me your grandmother was such a beauty."

The old one chuckled. "You're right, Mary. He is a charmer."

The hunter came next. He raised her offered hand to his lips and planted a light kiss on her knuckles. "A house full of beauties, if you ask me."

"Well, it's about time someone paid us the respect we deserve. Don't you agree, Daughter?"

Mary's mother blushed. "Yes, Mother. And they are every bit as handsome as Mary and Megan said they were."

Sira came next. She laid her bandaged hand on the old one's arm. "I am most happy to meet you, honored grandmother."

"Mary told us of your hands. How are they?"

"Much improved. Thank you for asking."

The old one placed her hand on the girl's wrist just above the bandage. "Come sit by me. I can't see but I can feel, and it's much easier to talk to someone if I can feel their emotions." The empath was a little surprised by the strength of mind she felt behind her gentle touch on the old one's thoughts.

"I want to tell you all a story." She paused to be sure she had their attention, then she continued. "The story begins long ago, back when the castle on the far side of our little valley was first built. No one is alive who can remember that time. It was before my grandmother's time, even before her mother's time. But her grandmother told her the story and I will start with the tale that was told to me. The original owner and builder of the castle was, so the story goes, a wizard of some renown. It is said that he had been around since the Titans ruled the earth and that some of their power had come to him because he had helped one of them with his sorcery. He built the castle and brought people here to keep the castle and to farm to provide him with food. He was a good master and the people were happy. He gave them land in exchange for the services they provided him. But some of the wizardry he meddled with was of an evil nature. He could, it was said, conjure forth large beasts." The old one was silent a moment, as if gathering her thoughts. "He could also control lightning, and as we know that is the power of Zeus."

The demigod and the hunter looked at each other. Granny Bess continued. "The old one brought forth an evil that killed the forest near the castle. He hadn't meant to, but sometimes he couldn't control the power he had been given from the Titans and things went wrong. Then one night the people of the village were attacked by a huge beast that had gotten loose from the castle. The old wizard tried to use his power to stop the creature. But it was, after all, a beast of his own making and he failed. The Titans were no longer in power. A young god, destined to be the king of the gods had long ruled the earth. He was angry that the old man used powers given him by the Titans. He was angry that the wizard could control lightning. So when the wizard called upon the gods to help him stop the beast and save the people of the village, the king of the gods agreed. But he exacted a heavy toll for his help. The old man was stripped of his power and his wealth and sent to beg in the streets of a far away city."

Granny made herself more comfortable on her chair. With a hand that seemed guided by sight she reached for a mug on a small table near her and slowly drank the contents. "Daughter, would it not be a friendly gesture to offer our guests some refreshment. My mint tea would taste good, don't you think?"

When the tea was served Granny Bess sighed. "Now, my friends, I must tell you my own tale of the castle. I was not yet born when a man came to the castle and began to fix it up. He was a good man, and he employed many of us here in the village. He established the trade between the caravans and our little community. Life in the village was good then. There was prosperity. Then the master found some ancient scrolls. Much of the language was different than the Greek we use in our little part of the world, but some of it was the same. He set about deciphering the old scrolls. He became obsessed with them, working for hours and days at a time to pull forth the secrets they might hold." She paused a moment. She was a good story teller, and she enjoyed knowing everyone was listening to her and waiting for her next word. "The scrolls had come from the old wizard. They were filled with his spells and incantations, and the master began to use the power he found in the old writings. It was more an experiment to see what might come from the words spoken out loud. He began to change. He had always been fair and generous, but now he was surly and given to anger. The spirit of the people changed. They became frightened. Some still remembered the tales of the builder of the castle. Then the master found the spell needed to create beasts. His first attempt brought forth a wild vicious cat-like animal and the master killed it himself. But he didn't stop there. He tried again and again. He finally made two animals that were smaller and not so fierce, at least not at first. But they began to grow after a year or so. And they became mean. A man who fed them was killed and eaten by them and they grew a little larger. Now they had a taste for human flesh."

Granny Bess sipped her tea. She gave a contented sigh. "The people became frightened and refused to work at the castle. I was young and in service to the master as a kitchen helper. He could be a very charming man when he wasn't consumed by the dark evil he found in the old scrolls and parchments. He caged the beasts to protect the people but he couldn't bear to kill the animals he had come to love. They were his creation, his babies, as it were. So the people lived in fear.

"The area around the castle began to wilt and die. There were babies born deformed. The water became poisoned and the ground sometimes shook. But still the master refused to put aside the evil he had found.

"Then one night one of the beasts got loose and attacked the village. The villagers managed to kill it, and then in fear and desperation they went to the castle and killed the other beast. They confronted the master and demanded he burn the scrolls and parchments. There was much anger and hate shouted by both sides. The master began to call on his power to take his revenge against the village and the people he felt had betrayed him. He ranted and stormed about. The earth shook, and some walls of the castle fell. I was so frightened. I fled the castle and returned to the village. The men of the village returned, bent on storming the castle and putting a stop to the master's evil. And he had finally become just that. He was old now. He had been a good master for nearly sixty years. But now he was twisted and consumed by witchcraft and sorcery. More of the castle fell as the earth was torn apart by his evil spell, and still the people refused to leave. They knew the old man had lost his wits and had been consumed in the black flames of evil. They knew he must be stopped if they were to survive."

No one moved. They all waited for the old woman to complete the tale she had begun. "The old master tried now to conjure up the spell of lightning. He had never used it before because he had no desire to incur the wrath of the king of the gods. But now he tried, so great had his anger and hate become. But somehow his spell failed. The lightning was turned against him and he was killed. Some swore that Zeus had turned the spell against the old master, others thought it was an accident. But whatever the case, the old master was gone. The people stormed the castle and burned the old parchments and scrolls. Much of the castle had fallen from the earthquakes, and then again from the spells the old one had used to try and stop the people. The villagers tore down even more of it. Then they returned home to their families. We were all forbidden to go to the castle. Slowly the water became pure again, the grass began to grow and the people were happy again."

There was silence in the room. Granny sipped her tea.

"Are you," the hunter broke the silence, "saying that the old master has returned somehow and is back to his old tricks?"

"I say only that the similarities between what happened before my grandmother's time, and again when I was a child, and what is happening now should be noted. It's not for me to speculate on who or what has caused the parallels, only to point them out."

The demigod sat back in his chair and let his breath out in a huff. "This whole business just keeps getting more bizarre all the time."

He looked to Sira. She read his mind and nodded. He had wanted to know if she thought the old woman was telling the truth. "I have sensed an ancient death," the empath whispered.

"Now wait one dog gone minute here," the hunter objected. "Are you trying to tell me that you believe that some guy who has been dead for, what, sixty or seventy years, is back now to haunt the place?"

"Maybe," Mary suggested, "it's someone else who has found the old scrolls and is using the same evil."

"But Mother said the scrolls were burned," her mother objected.

"Besides that," the half man offered, "we went to the castle and could find no evidence that anyone is living there." He scratched at his neck absentmindedly. "I say we go back and check it out again. This whole thing stinks, and I, for one, want to put a stop to it."
Sira stood. "Granny Bess is tired. We need to let her rest."

"You're very observant, my dear. I tire easily now. Getting old has many draw backs. My memory of the now is not so good at times, but the past I remember well. Perhaps it comes from a desire to return to one's youth." She shrugged. "You must be careful when you go out there."

Sira patted her hand with her bandaged one. "We will be, Grandmother. Thank you for seeing us. I hope to visit you again."
"Yes. Yes, I'd like that."

They walked in silence for a time.

"You mustn't let Granny Bess frighten you," Mary advised. "She likes to tell stories. I guess it's about all that is left to her now."

"She still has a lot to offer, Mary. Look at her garden. Just because she is old and her mind is sometimes muddled, does not mean she has outlived her usefulness. She is very intelligent and she has life experience as well. We could all learn from her."

Mary shot a guilty look at the empath. "I only meant that you can't always rely on what she says."

"She was telling the truth, Mary. What she told us, she truly believes."

Mary let her breath out in exasperation. "It just sounds so far fetched, like the stories Lizzy told."

"Look, we could speculate on this all day," Hercules interrupted. "But that's not going to get us anywhere. It's too late today. But tomorrow we're going back in there. Let's hope we find something."

His more than sister of the soul could feel her brother's frustration. The intangible came hard for him. He was a man of action, not speculation. He was frustrated with his inability to do something constructive about the plague that threatened the village and the friends they were making here. She could sense his desire to storm out to the castle, tear it down and scatter the pieces. She smiled to herself. And in an effort to give his mind something else to think about, "My brother, the people of the village need a grinding stone to make their flour from the grain they have stored. Do you not think we could come up with something?"

He grinned at her. He knew damn well why she had brought the subject up now. "I'd say we could, if we set our minds to it."

"I'm going hunting," the hunter stated. "I feel the need of some venison."

"Mary, the girls and I are going berry picking," Sira offered.

"So now the grinding stone is my job, eh?"

Sira grinned at her brother. "It would appear that is the case."

"Humph," was his reply.

The women had just finished the clean up from dinner. They had dined on fresh deer meat, roots roasted in the coals, and squash boiled in water. For dessert there had been fresh berries and cream. Sira had caught several fish and had traded them for milk. Her hands, still raw from her burns hadn't done well in the water but she had said nothing. Then she had helped pick berries. Her hands had cracked and bled. They throbbed now with a dull ache. She still said nothing. She had covered them again with bandages to hide the evidence of how bad her work of the day had affected them. Everyone was contented. The food had been good. Sira had shown Mary how to preserve the leftover meat and there was a promise of good food tomorrow to start the day.

Hercules and Simtose were playing chips again. The hunter sat whittling something from a long narrow piece of wood.

"Iolaus, what is it that you're making there?" the farmer asked.

The hunter carefully brushed the bits of wood shavings from his trousers onto the blanket he had put down in an effort to keep the shavings off the floor. "It's just an idea I have, an experiment really. If it works, you'll see for yourself."

Sira looked up and studied her husband's face a moment. Then with a smile she nodded at him.

Megan came to sit on the floor at his feet. She placed her hand on his knee. "What'ya making?"

"A Dumastat."

The child giggled. "What's a Dumastat?"

"Don't know, I haven't made it yet."

"Will you make me one?"
"What makes you think this one isn't for you?"

She giggled again.

He picked up her hand and studied the berry stains he could still see there. "So, Lady Megan, how did the berry picking go?"

"It was such fun. Sira put my cart right next to some plants just covered with berries and I got to pick a whole bunch. When they were gone she moved me and I got some more." She grinned at him. Then in a whisper behind her hand, "I got more berries than Helen." He nodded very gravely. "Then Sira went fishing. Did'ya know she could catch fish with her hands?"

"Yeah, I knew that. She likes to show off."

The child's grin got bigger. "She showed us how to use a pole, but she caught seven fish with her hands and we used them to get some milk. Can you catch fish with your hands?"

"I can, but not as well as Sira."

She whispered again. "Can Hercules catch fish with his hands?"

"Yeah, but he can't do it as well as Sira either."

"Did you know she has brown spots on her feet?"

He chuckled. "You know? I did notice that."

In an even quieter whisper, "How come?"

"When she was a little girl not much older than you, she got berry juice on her feet and the stain just never went away."
The child giggled. "Are my hands going to have brown spots?"

"Probably not. Hands are different, you know."

"I wish I had brown spots on my feet like Sira."

The empath was sewing a tear in the demigod's shirt. She wasn't finding it easy since her hands were so painful but she stubbornly refused to ask for help. She had been listening to the conversation between the child and the man she loved, and thinking how good he was with her. But at her words about the spots the healer had stopped sewing and waited. At the child's last statement the sewing dropped into her lap. Both the demigod and the hunter looked up at her. Tears shown in her eyes.

The hunter winked at her. He had easily read her thoughts. She was touched by the simple innocence of the child's words. She had found it very hard to remove her moccasins and expose her feet to Mary and the children. None of them had said a word, however.

When they retired to the barn the hunter put his arm across the empath's shoulders and she rested her head against his shoulder. "You okay, my love?"

She nodded.

When they reached the barn she removed the bandages from her hands. The inside of the cloth that had touched her hands was soaked in blood.

The demigod grabbed her hands up and looked at them. "Damn it, Sira, why didn't you say your hands were so bad? You shouldn't have tried to do so much today."

The hunter wasn't happy with her either. "When I saw you doing so much, I thought your hands were better."

Tears filled the girl's eyes. Her hands throbbed and the pain had moved up her arms in a fiery emanation of molten pain. The hunter shook his head at the demigod. The big man, still holding her hands, pulled her down on the straw, and without a word he closed his eyes and opened his mind.

The healing went well and the pain eased almost at once. When the healing was complete the big man moved to his own blankets. His sister's need wasn't so great now and he admitted being so close to her in slumber could be hard for him.

She melted into the hunter's waiting arms. She lay facing him, her hands on his chest. They had found it hard to find a time to be alone. The bath earlier had only served to intensify her physical needs rather than appease them. Her desire burned inside her, and when she touched the hunter's mind with hers she found her need mirrored there. They had communicated with Hercus earlier, and this had made her loneliness for her son more intense. His active mind had been like a salve to a wound, but she longed to hold him.

The hunter kissed her forehead. She sighed and made herself more comfortable next to him.

The three of them set out early to visit the castle. Clouds hugged the horizon and made the promise of a sticky day. When they reached the contaminated area Sira gingerly placed her moccasin clad foot on the soil. She felt nothing. She stood for a moment to be sure she could walk on the area without harming herself then she set out at a brisk pace. She deliberately shut her mind to the earth. She was afraid to open her mind and perhaps be burned again. She hadn't gone far when she began to feel ill. She said nothing, however. She wanted to reach the castle and hopefully find a way to stop the bizarre happenings that so terrorized the village of Yucaipia.

Her nausea grew. Perspiration beaded her upper lip. She stumbled but kept going. The hunter had seen the stumble. It was not like her to miss a step. He began to watch her closely. She was pale, her skin waxy. She stumbled again.

He stopped her. "Sira, are you okay?"

She shook her head. "I am so dizzy. And I feel..." She quickly turned away. She was violently ill, and it left her feeling shaky and uncertain.

The demigod picked her up. "We'd better head back."

"No. We have come this far. Perhaps if you carry me I will not be poisoned by this. Can we not try?"

"You're sure?"

She nodded.

When they neared the castle the hunter moved ahead. He scouted ahead to be sure it was safe to enter the courtyard. He motioned for the others to follow.

The demigod carried Sira through the entrance in the outer wall. "Can you tell if the ground here is harmful to you without making yourself sick?"

"Yes, I believe so." He lowered her to the ground. She went to her knees and placed her hands on the soil. "It is not harmful to me here. I will be fine."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. I will be fine."

"I'm going to look around a bit. Be careful, and call if you need me."

She turned to smile at him. "I will. You be careful also."

She stayed where she was, and placing her hands back on the soil she opened her mind. She sent it searching about her. She sensed the same barrier she had encountered before. But somehow, here it was stronger. She had no doubt that someone or something was deliberately blocking her mind probe. She strengthened her mind.

What are they doing here? the old man thought. How dare they intrude. Who is this woman who can send such power to bombard my carefully constructed shield? She is much too sensitive, much too sensitive by far. The big man is strong of mind also, but nothing like her. The other one is strong also. They can't be here delaying me. How much longer can I keep the woman from discovering my whereabouts?

"Be still, my pet," he soothed the cat-like creature in the cage he stood by. "These are not for you. At least not yet. I need more time. They must not find me yet. Tonight, I will feed you well. But for now, be content with the sheep."

We must be careful, he thought. I'm too close now to take chances. I will have my way in the underworld and then here on the earth. But we must be patient. "You, my pet, must be strong enough to help me."

The old man stumbled. Damn this old body. Why was I such a fool to take over the body of an old man just because it reminded me of my former life. Well, no matter. I'll soon have the pick of the underworld's best fighting men and I can discard this old body. Perhaps, he mused, if I thought about it, I could choose the one best suited to my needs before I return there. I still remember who is there. Only a few escaped who were never found again.

Sira was entranced now, and she called on the power of the earth to help her. She got a quick glimpse in her mind of dementia shrouded in evil. Then as quickly as she had felt it, it was gone.

Damn this woman. She most certainly must be eliminated. I must not fail.

Try as they might, the men could find nothing. Sira tried repeatedly to crash the barrier she felt but it was no use. Hercules carried her back across the dead soil.

"There is someone or something there," the empath insisted. "I felt it without doubt this time."

The big man was frustrated. He had hoped to find something, anything. If Sira was correct, then where could this... Whatever, be? "There isn't any evidence of anyone being in the castle in years."

"I know. But I still feel we are on the right track. The poison is coming from the castle. I know it. It is like it is seeping up from the ground just outside the walls to the inner courtyard. And there is a very definite barrier shielding something. Somehow we must break through."

"I agree. But how do you fight something you can't see."

"What I want to know," the hunter stated. "is this the old master? If so, how did he get undead?"

"There must be a reason that whoever is out there, is doing this. A motive. I felt a dementia, so the motive may be foolish but there still has to be a reason for all of this."

"Maybe the old master wants revenge on the village. After all, it was their attack on the castle that caused him to use the power of lightning and destroy himself. That kind of thing could just make a body angry. But it still doesn't explain how he got back here."

"This is foolish," the demigod objected. "This isn't getting us anywhere."

"Well, it's better than thinking of the consequences if we can't stop this thing," the hunter stated.

"I wonder."

"What?" the healer and the hunter said at the same time.

"Maybe the best time to visit the castle is when whatever is going on, is going on."

"You may have a point," the hunter nodded.

"Yes. You must try it. But you will have to be careful. I fear for what might happen at such times." The demigod studied her face. She knew what he was thinking. "I will be fine. It is the best plan we have come up with yet. I think we should try it."

"But, my sister, you'll need us also."

"I will be all right. I will try and send my thoughts with you. But you will need to worry about yourselves, not me. I will be fine."

The hunter had momentarily forgotten how the disturbance from the castle affected the healer. "I couldn't leave you at a time like that."

"It may be our only chance. We must take advantage of it."

He shook his head.

"It is much too dangerous for Hercules to go alone. He will need your help. We must not let another person disappear. That would harm me more than the pain of the earth's suffering. It does not last long. I can manage."

"So it's agreed then," the son of Zeus stated. "We head for the castle at the first sign of a disturbance."

Sira took the hunter's hand. She could feel the turmoil in his heart. She sent him love and reassurance. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the palm lightly. He knew from experience the burns would heal. But for now the evidence of her recent ordeal sent a shaft of pain through him. Her hand was so small and delicate. She wore a tiny gold band on the middle finger of her left hand. He had given it to her. He had fashioned it himself from a piece of raw gold the healer had found. She had a knack for finding the treasures of her mother. She had been delighted with the simple gift. It was of the earth and from him, and that had made it special.

They had left the dead area and she now walked beside him. The love he felt for her swept over him and left him feeling shaky and vulnerable.

They had been invited to dine with Granny Bess and her daughter. Hercules politely declined. He wanted

time to think. He stayed in the barn and appeased his hunger with dried meat and water from the well. He hated not doing something. He understood the physical. He liked to tackle a problem head on. But what could he do here? He hadn't a clue, and every day there was a chance another person would turn up missing. Using some of the tricks the empath had taught him, he sent his mind out. He felt the barrier. He tested it a little but found it held firm against his attempt to get past it. He hadn't really expected to make a dent when the stronger mind of his more than sister of the soul had been unsuccessful. His thoughts were confused. I need to work on the tangible, he told himself. What do we know? The contamination seems to come from the castle. What was it Sira had said? It seemed to come up from the ground outside the walls of the castle. He organized his thoughts a moment. Let's say there is a being behind this, whether it be the old master or not. Let's say there is a beast of some kind. That would explain the sheep tracks that seemed to lead to the castle. It would need to be fed. Somehow he just couldn't believe that the old master was back, but what that long ago scholar had found and deciphered, another could also do. There were just too many comparisons here to discount the probability that the same powers were at work. Lizzy had spoken of hearing a roar, like from a large animal. A beast definitely answered the question of why animals were missing. He hated to think the missing people might also be explained in this same way. But Granny Bess had said the beasts of the old master had preferred human flesh. He shivered at the thought.

So, he told himself, we're going on the assumption there is indeed a being behind this, and this being has a large animal or two. So where in Tartarus does one hide a large beast? He and the hunter had explored the surrounding area and the castle. It must be close if Lizzy could sometimes hear it. Or maybe it was kept somewhere else and came out at night. He shook his head again. This isn't getting me anywhere. He stilled his mind a moment. Where could a large animal be kept out of sight? Where? It was as if the thought were planted in his mind. Underground. Yes! Why didn't I think of this before? Underground, there must surely be hidden underground chambers in a castle. There always were. They hadn't seen anything that resembled an entrance, but that didn't mean it wasn't there.

He jumped to his feet. The need for action rode him, but it had grown dark while he had been in the barn. Damn! I'll never find it in the dark. He paced the floor of the barn. The old mule blew at him. "What?" He took a moment to scratch absentmindedly at the old muzzle. "We're going to have to be careful. That old place is falling apart. And the last thing we need is for it to fall apart on us."

"Do you always talk to mules?" The hunter and the empath came through the door of the barn.

"If Sira can do it, I can. Besides, this one is just full of good information."

Sira grinned at him. "And what did he tell you, my brother?"

"Lots of good things. Like for instance, maybe the reason we can't find any trace of who's behind this is because they're hiding underground."

The mates of the soul looked at each other. "That's it!" A broad grin split the hunter's face. "He'd have to have a place to hide the beast."

"Or beasts."

Iolaus moaned. "I wish you hadn't said that. Granny Bess didn't say anything about this beast breathing fire, did she?"

The demigod laughed. "No. And I guess it only has one head. It should be a cinch to handle."

The hunter scratched at his chin. "Maybe Sira can zap its mind." He nodded. "So, when do we go?"

"In the morning, I guess. Or maybe we should still wait until the next disturbance. I mean, if there is a way into the underground chambers, it might be open when this wizard, or whatever he may be, is playing with his magic." He ran a hand through his hair. He knew damn well he would never be able to wait. There was a chance for action, and there was a good chance they were on to something. He didn't need the powers of the earth to read the same thoughts in the hunter's mind. He grinned. "Tomorrow. Tomorrow we're going back out there, but if we don't find anything, then we go in again when there's some kind of activity."

The bent old man paced before the cage of the beast. "I know you grow hungry, my pet. That last woman you had wasn't big enough to fill you, was she? Be patient. There will soon be all the human flesh you can eat."

His mind was active tonight. The body he now occupied might be feeble, but the mind inside the body was his. "I grow stronger every day, as do you." He spoke again to the beast that paced the confined space allowed it in the underground chambers of the castle. "It won't be long now, but there are outside forces that interfere. I must constantly keep my shield up, and it drains my strength. The bombardment on my thoughts is so strong. I wonder if there is a way I could tempt this woman away from the others and then she could be your dinner?"

I wonder, he mused, if she could be a god? There seems to be a feeling of the gods about them. But it seems stronger in the big man than in the woman. Still, her mind is like nothing I have felt before. Not even Hades could bring that much power against me. He rubbed at the old back that barely supported the old bag of bones and flesh he had taken for his own. But no matter what she is, I am stronger. I wonder if the ancient ones who discovered this power realized what they had. Surely not, or they would have conquered the gods. Or, perhaps they are the gods. He threw his head back and a bitter laugh filled the chamber. That would be rich. To conquer the gods with their own powers. Zeus has the power of lightning, and now so do I. Hera can make serpents and monsters. Now I can also. I will soon rule the underworld. Won't that gall Hades? Then I will raise an army to conquer this mortal plane, and that will surely anger Ares. But he can't hope to match my power. The old one laughed again, and the sound echoed through the chamber to chase itself down the hall. The beast roared.

The son of Zeus turned onto his side. He had slept for a time, but his mind refused to be still and he seemed to hear every sound the animals made. The call of a screech owl was yet another annoyance and he sat up in frustration. The night was dark. The clouds that had hugged the horizon for two days had moved across the sky to obscure the moon and stars. He could see the empath and the hunter only as shadows, but they seemed to be sleeping and he had no wish to wake them. He rose carefully and made his way silently from the barn. The wind blew slightly and it felt cool and damp on his face. He looked up at the sky in a vain attempt to glimpse enough of the fiery jewels of the night to judge the time. The stars were hidden, and the moon, almost full, was only a brighter globe of light behind the darkness.

He took a drink at the well then headed away from the village. Not really meaning to, he found himself on a ridge overlooking the old castle. He stood watching it. It was too dark to see anything besides a darker outline of shadow. He wasn't sure what he expected to see. A light perhaps, that would prove the existence of someone hiding there? He laid down on his stomach on the edge of the ridge and watched the castle. Why not? He couldn't sleep anyway.

The frown between his brows that was so often a part of him deepened. Had he felt the ground tremble? He rose and started down the ridge toward the castle. He heard a distant rumble like thunder, and this time he was sure the ground had moved. Now there seemed to be a greenish glow hovering around the old buildings ahead of him. He quickened his pace and started across the dead earth. Again the ground moved. No time to get Iolaus now. He felt rather than heard his sister of the soul's cry. He almost turned back. The pain he felt from her was very real, but he forced himself to go on. He sent a prayer scurrying through the air. Whether he was praying to the gods of Olympus or to the yosemin gods he couldn't have said, but his need to see this thing through at the castle and his need to help the girl he cared so much for seemed to tear him in two. He had wanted Iolaus' help when he went into the castle, but now he was glad the hunter was back with Sira.

He wiped the beads of perspiration from his upper lip. The adrenaline raised by the anticipation of danger and the war he fought against himself about where he should be now when he was needed at two places, left him feeling shaky. The earth shook more violently, sending him to his knees. His right leg came down painfully on a sharp rock, but he regained his feet and kept going. He had avoided the thick greenish fog that was now flowing from the entrance of the castle to bathe objects in its path with an eerie light. But to enter the castle, he must go through the gaseous, supernatural vapor. He knew it was poison. It flowed down the natural contours of the earth and out into the valley through the break in the lip of the ridge that surrounded it. Lizzy had said that where it touched the earth died. He believed this, but would it be harmful to humans? With a mental shrug he stepped into the cloud. Almost instantly he felt ill. He gagged and began to choke. He moved away from the vapor and stood shaking his head to clear it. Nausea gripped him and he retched.

Sira cried out in pain. The ground shook beneath her, and with every tremor, she felt she must surely be torn apart. The hunter knelt beside her, his hand on her back. The earth shook again and she screamed.

"Where in Tartarus is Hercules?!" The hunter shouted to be heard above the screams of the frightened animals.

"Go, Iolaus. He is at the castle. Go!" She shoved at him. "He will need your help."

"I can't leave you."

"Go, damn it! He may be in danger."

"No! What is he doing here now? I wanted the girl." The old one's eyes were tightly closed as he concentrated to strengthen his powers. "I must have peace to open the portal. Can't they leave me alone for a moment?" The beast roared. The conjuring up of the evil black power the old master had found hidden in the writings on the old scrolls and parchments always sent the beast into a frenzy. That, more than anything was the reason he sought human sacrifices for the beast at this time. He needed his mind for his work, and the ferocious uncontrollable fits of the creature he had created distracted him. Why not simply take the bounty offered him? This fool can feed my pet as well as the girl. And that will be one less to worry about later. He nodded in satisfaction.

The demigod made his way around the outer wall of the castle. If he couldn't get to the castle through the fog, he hoped to find a way over the wall. The ground trembled, and in places it had split open to release more of the poisonous gas. He was careful to avoid these places.

The hunter stepped into the fog, and right back out as a spasm of coughing gripped him. He was on the far side of the cloud. He looked around him to try and find the demigod. Almost as if his mind had conjured him up from the air, his friend appeared on the top of the rock wall that surrounded the castle. He could see the demigod over the fog that hugged the ground as the wind whipped it aside. He shouted to the half god but he knew he couldn't be heard over the roar of the ground's vibrations. Holding his breath, he sprinted ahead through the fog. He emerged on the other side of the vapor. There was a clap of sound like thunder, and a bright light flashed. He heard his friend's cry of pain and watched him fall from the wall. It seemed to take forever, as if the scene were being played in slow motion. He could do nothing to stop the fall, and his heart constricted painfully at his inability to stop what was happening before his eyes. His cry of anguish echoed against the stone wall and was absorbed by the fog that blew about his feet.

"No. No. No! I can't get to him now. I don't have time to make the lightning again and he's not alone." The old one made his way painfully down the tower steps and through the panel that hid the entrance to his hidden chambers beneath the old castle.

The earth shook and the hunter heard a roar, like from a huge beast. It sounded like a lion, and yet it was too loud to have come from any normal stalker of the night. He knelt at his friend's side. "Hercules, what happened? By the gods!" he exclaimed. He could smell burnt flesh and sulfur. His friend's shirt was smoldering. The hunter rolled him over to smother the flames in the dirt. The big man cried out in pain from the movement.

"Lightning," he whispered. "It was lightning."

The hunter couldn't understand him. His words were slurred with pain. The big man had fallen hard, and the hunter feared he might have broken something. He quickly checked his friend's limbs but found nothing. The moon was still hidden and the night was too dark to see much. Then, as if hearing the hunter's wish for more light, the clouds moved aside and the moon took possession of the sky. By its light the hunter could see the half man's injury. The big man looked at his friend. Pain, panic, and fear were plainly written on his face and embedded in the blue eyes. The hunter's stomach turned painfully at the look from his friend and at the extent of his injuries. He was afraid he might vomit at the pain in his stomach and heart. The fog still swirled around them and the breeze sometimes brought the putrid smell of the stuff to their nostrils. It smelled of decayed soil and dead flesh. The hunter gagged.

"Let's get the Tartarus out of here."

He pulled the big man to his feet, and with an arm around him they made a start. The demigod leaned heavily on the hunter and he knew they weren't going to get far this way. The half god was just too heavy for him to carry.

The son of Zeus stumbled along, lost in pain. He wasn't fully conscious and his step was unsure. He almost fell and the hunter almost went down with him. But drawing on strength he didn't know he had, the golden one kept his footing and stumbled on. "Sira!" his mind shouted. He was sick with fear. The glimpse he had gotten of the burns on his friend's chest, shoulder, neck, and face had sent a shaft of dread through him. He knew it was bad.

"Come on, Herc. We have to keep going. We have to reach Sira." He wasn't sure the half god had even heard him. "Come on, draw on that damn godly strength you're always showing off." He hated the thought that he might have to leave his friend for a time to reach help. The thought of leaving the demigod in this state filled him with dismay.

"Damn it, Herc! You've got to help me."

"It was lightning, Iolaus."

He wasn't sure if the thought came to him from the demigod or if he simply reasoned it out. "It wasn't your father. Zeus didn't do this. Remember, Granny Bess said the old master was experimenting with lightning. The old bastard used it against you, Zeus didn't." The big man said nothing. "Hercules, it wasn't your father. He wouldn't hurt you. You know that."

Still the son of Zeus said nothing, but he seemed to gain strength and they kept going. They stepped from the poisoned earth and Sira ran to them.

"Sira. Thank the gods." The hunter lowered his friend to the grass.

The healer knelt beside him. Tears of pain and fear glistened on her cheeks. She'd known the moment he'd been hurt, since she'd felt his pain shoot through her. She'd ventured out to cross the dead earth but was instantly made ill and had returned to the safe area. She knew if she allowed herself to become too ill, she would be of little help to the man who had touched her soul as more than a brother.

She moved her hands over him, not touching him but feeling his life force. She felt with her mind for the extent of his injuries. She gasped as her hand passed over his left shoulder and chest.

"You can heal him, can't you, Sira?"

The girl said nothing. She placed her hands on the big man's left arm and cried out as the pain engulfed her. The demigod moaned. He rocked from side to side in an attempt to leave the pain behind.

"Sira?" The anxiety in the hunter's single word tore at her heart. "You can help him?"

"Yes, I believe so." There was uncertainty in her voice. "Yes," she repeated with more conviction. "I must help him. We must get him back to the barn. It is going to rain, and this area is not pure. I need the earth to heal but I cannot find it here in this devastation."

Once again, the hunter pulled the demigod to his feet. The half man moaned with the movement. Together the hunter and the healer pulled and carried him along.

"I'm so thirsty," the big man complained. "I can't keep going. Can't we stop?"

The healer sent strength to her brother and took some of his pain to herself. Then she sent her mind out to Simtose. She had been dimly aware that he had been in the yard when she had run from the village. He met them at the edge of town and took Sira's place beside Hercules. The girl ran ahead and opened the barn door. She spread a blanket on the straw for the big man to lay on.

They lowered him onto the blanket. He whimpered with the pain. Sira knelt beside him and placed the fingers of both hands on his temples. "Sleep. You need only sleep."

"I'm so thirsty." The hunter brought him water and he drank it greedily.

"Now rest, my brother of the soul. Sleep, and leave the pain for a time." She chanted to him, lulling him to sleep. When he was sleeping the healer had Iolaus bring the lantern. She carefully examined the wound on his left side. There was a gaping wound on his chest and shoulder. It was torn and raw, and blood oozed from it to stain the blanket on which he lay. The flesh around the wound was charred and burnt. Tears flowed down the girl's face. She wiped them away with her forearm. "What could have done this?"

The hunter knelt beside the girl he loved. "It was lightning. I saw it." The girl turned anguished eyes to him and he took her into his arms. She rested against him a moment then pulled away.

"I need water and my pack." With a nod he rose and went for the things she had requested.

The farmer slipped quietly from the barn. He felt sick and empty. He doubted anyone so torn and burned could live, and the thought ripped at his heart. He liked the big man. They had talked while they played chips, and the farmer had gotten an insight into the loneliness the demigod lived with. It had met the farmer's feelings of inadequacy at his struggle to feed his family and his inability to save his village, and it had grown quickly into respect and friendship.

The healer carefully cleaned the wound then took a finely ground white powder from her pack. Mixing it with water she made a paste to spread over the wound. She had cleaned the area with the same green liquid she had used on her own burns. When she was done she made herself comfortable on the straw beside him, and closing her eyes she began to sway. She chanted the yosemin word for earth over and over, using the incantation to help herself to relax. The soothing rhythm of the single word, almost hummed rather than spoken, helped her bring her mind to the earth and open it for the healing. She touched the mind of the demigod and drew it to her. He responded at first then he abruptly shut his mind from hers. She cried out at the abrupt halt to their joining of the mind. She soothed him and helped him to relax and again touched his mind. She placed her hands on his wound, and a whimper escaped her lips. The sound was so like a child in distress that the hunter moaned and closed his eyes. He hated this, seeing her in pain. I can't keep doing this! he shouted in his mind.

He opened his eyes and placed his hand on her back. She had gone a sickly shade of waxy green, and perspiration beaded on her upper lip. She anchored herself to the earth. Reluctantly the big man responded. Against his will his muddled brain opened to her. Just a little more, she thought. I must have his cooperation to transfer.

"No!" he moaned, and turned from her, closing his mind completely.

Sira shook with reaction to the abrupt separation. "You must let me help you."

He rolled back over, moaning with the pain, and searched her face. "No. I can't"

"But why?" the cry was twisted from a throat gone dry with pain. "Why?"

He shook his head and groaned at the pain his movement brought.

The empath began to cry silently. Tears dripped from her chin and her shoulders shook. The hunter took her hand. "What is it, Sira?"

"He will not let me heal him."

"What?!" The hunter took his friend's arm in a warrior's grasp that hurt with the force of the grip. "Hercules, you've got to let Sira help you."

"No, Iolaus. I can't."

"Is it because you fear the pain I will feel?" the girl whispered.

"Yes. I can't hurt you." His words were halted and slurred.

"But to not heal you does hurt me. To see you hurt and in pain tears me apart."

"I can't, Sira. Please understand."

"But I do not. You seek to ease my pain, and yet you intensify it by refusing to let me help you. I am a healer. I must heal. You have seen enough healings to know I will heal quickly. In only a short time, the scars will fade. It will be as if it never had been." She rocked with the pain she felt from him. Despite his successful closing of his mind from hers, she felt his pain. They were too closely linked for it to be otherwise. "Please, my more than brother. I must be allowed to help you." His mind remained closed to her. "You say that you love me. You say we are closer than brothers and sisters of blood or soul. You have said you accept me and who I am. Is this a lie?"

"No, Sira. I..." his words trailed off to hang in the air.

"Well, this is who and what I am. I am an empathic healer. I must heal. To not do so brings me pain. If you accept me, then you must accept what I can do."

She felt a little of the mental barrier drop. "Please, my sister," his mind pleaded. "There is another reason I can't allow a healing. Please understand."

Her mind responded. Now she understood his reluctance to allow the healing. He knew how intimate the healing process could be. He knew it meant they must be linked closely together, their minds and bodies touching and mixing. "You do not need to fill shame at your feelings for me, my more than brother. It is not something to be feared. It is a wondrous and beautiful thing that the earth has given us. It does me no discredit, and it takes nothing from Iolaus. You must realize it is not a physical love, although you are right. It does arouse our physical desires as well. But it goes way beyond that, to a touching of the soul very close to that of soul mate. But what Iolaus and I have will not be changed by the love you have for me, or by the love I have for you." Her mind willed him to understand and accept what had joined them together.

She felt his thoughts of the physical attraction he had for her. "It is only natural when we are so closely linked. Your are, after all, part human, and you are your father's son. But while I also find you physically attractive, and can enjoy your magnificence, there could never be the true joining of soul needed to complete the link that making love to you should bring. Not while we both love and respect Iolaus. He is my soul, far beyond what you and I share. What I give to him is for no other. That part of my soul is his, and always will be, even unto death. Perhaps if I were to outlive him, I could once again feel a part of me stirred by another, but not now, now when we are one. And you, my brother, love him also. Even if we were to allow our animal drive to control us and we were to make love, it would not be satisfying to either of us, and it would not change the power of my love for either one of you."

"And?" his mind asked her, "what if I can't control my body's reaction to you?"

She grinned. "That is all right. I cannot always control my body's reaction to you either. At times your perfection burns inside of me like a fever."

He moaned. "Damn it, Sira!" his mind shouted. "I love you. How can I feel this strongly for you? You're my brother's wife."

"It is not wrong to love your brother's wife. The wrong would be if you presumed on that love and tried to act on it, if you let it change the way you feel for your soul brother. But do you not see? By our very closeness you have grown closer to him. We are linked so completely. The truth is, we can never really be apart. Our three souls are so entwined that nothing can sever that tie. So what if the three of us were to lay in debauchery together? It would not be wrong because we have the tie of soul. The earth has given us that. But you and I both know that is not going to happen. I do not give a damn if you show a physical need for me. It changes nothing. Nothing that matters. Can you not see beyond the physical to the deeper tie of soul?"

She could sense humor in him now. "It's okay for you. Your physical attraction isn't noticeable to others. Mine is."

"I promise to use my hands only for healing."

"I'm not sure I can make the same promise."

"I should never have borrowed that nightdress from your mother. That night in the kitchen has haunted me ever sense."

"Me also."

"Please, my brother, if you truly wish to save me pain, you must let me help you."

Still he hesitated. She began to cry again. She could feel his weakness and it tore at her heart. "I cannot sit here and watch you in pain, perhaps even dying. It will kill me also. If you continue to refuse to let me help you, I will transfer without your help. It can be very dangerous, but I will do it never the less. The alternative is too painful to think about."

"But what if I'm not strong enough? How can I let myself love you and then walk away? You know damn well before this healing is over, I'll love you even more. I've lost the only two women I've ever cared for. I couldn't just love you and then leave you. If I let this thing take root, I'm lost. And if we allow this to go that far, then I may have to go away. I may have to stay away from both of you. I can't go through that pain again. Not with you. Not with the tie I have with Iolaus."

"It will not be like that. What the three of us have is different. You cannot judge it by human standards. It is not a human emotion. It is of the earth. It is of the soul. Think about the feelings you had for Deianeira. They were of the soul, and yet not completely. Think about what you felt for Serena. It was much different. You also have feelings for Xena and Nemesis. Is what you feel for me anything like these feelings?"

"No, Sira, it's much different."

"And do you know why it is so different?"

"No."

"Because I am not human. I am the earth, and she has given this to us. It is not for us to question the gifts of the earth. We must trust her and allow her to lead us."

"You truly believe this?"

"Yes, my brother of the soul, I truly believe it. And if you would but open your heart you would feel the truth of it also."

She felt a little of the barrier lower. "What if I can't keep my hands off of you?" his mind asked her.

"That could be very interesting. But I am not worried."

"I am."

She moaned with the pain she felt. She needed to transfer to help strengthen her resistance to the pain. "Please, my brother, you must help me. I cannot do this much longer." Now she used her voice not just her mind. He could hear the fatigue and pain in her spoken words and feel them in his heart.

"Forgive me, Sira. I wanted to spare you pain, not give you more." He reached for her hand with the injured arm and held his other hand out to the hunter. "Please forgive me, old friend. What may come of this is not something I can help. I need your help and understanding."

The hunter had no idea what his friend from childhood, and more than friend of adulthood meant. But he sensed the lowering of the big man's resistance. Relief swept over the golden hunter and left him feeling shaky. He knew what it might have done to Sira if she had not been allowed to heal the demigod and he knew what it would have done to him if his friend had proven once and for all if he truly was immortal.

The girl beside the half man, half god cried out in pain. Her mind grabbed onto that of her brother of the soul and pulled him into the healing light. The air around her glowed with a brilliance of blue white light. She anchored herself and instructed him to do the same. The wind moaned through the rafters of the drafty old barn and blended with the moans of the healer. Lightning flashed, and the first few drops of rain fell. Thunder shook the ground, and the animals, still frightened by the earthquakes of earlier shook with renewed fear. The transfer was made, and as the empath took more of the injury to herself she cried out again and collapsed beside the demigod. Somehow he had felt it coming and braced his mind as he reached for her hand. He knew too well how important the physical touch was once the true transfer had begun.

The hunter was frightened. He put both of his hands on the girl's hands and opened his mind to her. She stirred and opened her eyes. "Sira, are you all right?" She nodded. "You should go slower, my love," the hunter beseeched her. You won't be any good to Hercules if you take too much on yourself too quickly."

She sat up and took his hand in hers. "You are right. I went to quickly." She turned to the demigod. She could see the pain in his eyes. She placed both hands on his wound and began to chant. "Cantos, cantos, cantos. Earth, earth, earth."

The room was light with brilliance again and the demigod winced. Sira groaned. She felt hot all over, then with a rush that left her dizzy the heat was replaced by a cold that seemed to gather in her stomach and move out over her body to leave her shivering. She sensed evil and witchcraft. She smelled death and decay, and the dream she had had on the trail flashed through her mind. The green iridescent fog was the same as she had seen at the castle. She shuddered with revulsion. It may have been lightening that had knocked the demigod from the rock wall and burned him so deeply, but the lightning hadn't come from a natural source. It was a manifestation of necromancy and corruption.

The empath healed through what remained of the night and into the rising of the sun, not that the sun made much of an impression on the gloom of the day. The clouds still ruled the heavens, and their dark moisture laden undersides chased the sun's brilliance from the earthly plane where a yosemin empath struggled to save her more than brother of the soul who writhed and moaned in his delirium, and where a golden haired hunter of the forest agonized over the pain they must share.

Mary brought them food, but neither the healer nor the demigod ate. They were lost in the trance of healing. The hunter left the side of the woman he loved long enough to force down a few bites of food then he returned to the healing. He wasn't sure how much help he was to the actual workings of the earth's powers, but he had felt Sira's desire that he help and he had every intention of doing just that.

She built the barrier on her mind needed to halt the transfer. She had become so lost in her fatigue and pain that she wasn't fully aware of what she did. She crumpled to the straw beside the demigod, and with an extreme effort she rolled over and curled herself around the big man. She planted a kiss on his chest, and with a sigh she closed her eyes.

The hunter was a little shocked. He knew the girl he loved and his companion shared a special bond. He had always been glad that they did. He knew they needed to be close to aid in the healing. But the intimacy of the kiss the healer had place so tenderly on the half man's chest sent a shaft of jealousy through the hunter's heart. He knew the feeling did him no credit. But the fact remained, it was there.

The rain had turned into more of a mist than anything, and the day grew warm. The moisture laden air in the barn became stifling. The hunter had slept for a time, but the heat had awakened him. He opened the barn door, and grabbing a change of clothing he visited the brook. When he returned he went to the house, in hopes he could talk Mary out of some tea. She took his soiled clothing from him and insisted she could launder it for him.

"I don't want to make more work for you."

"I have to wash anyway. What's one more shirt and pants? Besides, I insist."

He gave her a sheepish grin and accepted the mug of tea she offered. She had made the tea the healer had shown her how to make. Its cinnamon taste tingled his tongue. He savored the aroma as he sipped at the amber brew.

The farmer's wife placed a hand on his forearm. "How are they?"

He gave her a noncommittal look. "I'm not really sure."

"This is tearing you apart, isn't it."

He nodded. "I can't stand to see either one of them hurt." He let his breath out in a puff. "What Sira and I share goes way beyond husband and wife. The soul's touch brings an intimacy that means we feel each other's feelings and emotions. The good and the bad. And Hercules and I have been together since we were kids. We're closer than brothers."

Mary nodded. "It's plain to see the bond between the three of you." She smiled at him. "If there's anything you need, please ask. We want to help if we can."

He smiled at her, and with a quick salute of his mug of tea he headed back to the barn. Both the healer and the demigod still slept. He laid down beside the girl he loved, and resting his head on his arm he stared up at the rafters of the old barn. With a sigh he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

They slept for only a short time then the healer led the three of them in another healing. She felt a desperate need to ease the pain her brother felt. She was pleased with the results of the first healing, but she knew it would take more than this to keep him from real danger. Infection was a real concern. She bathed the wound with the green liquid once again, knowing it helped fight the poisons that could invade a wound and turn it septic. She made the liquid from moss she gathered in the forest. It had long been used by the yosemin people in their healing rituals. Sira had seen it turn a dangerous infection back and speed the healing. Her hands, not yet completely healed from the burns the poisoned earth had given her cracked and bled. Her face was raw and the dress she wore was stained with blood on her left side. She used some of the healing liquid on herself, but only sparingly. She wouldn't be able to gather and process more of the moss now that she was in the healing, and she wanted the healing power of her earth mother saved for the demigod. She whimpered with the pain she drew from his tortured body and brought to herself. The wound was deep and it had grazed the big man's lung. She lived in fear his lung would collapse and further complicate the healing. She knew how to inflate the lung should this happen but then there was always the chance that fluid might form in the lungs. How the wound had missed his heart she couldn't say, but her probing mind assured her it had missed this most vital of organs and she could feel its strong beat through her hands.

When she once again halted the healing, night had begun its slow process of domination over the slowly turning planet. The bats left their hiding places of the day and went in search of nourishment. An owl flew over the farm and swooped down near the barn. The bits of grain left from feeding the farm animals always lured mice and rats into the open, and the father of the forest night hoped to take advantage of this fact. The winds that caressed the blue dome of the sky had shredded the clouds to whiffs of gauze and the rain had moved north to shed its liquid silver shards of moisture there.

Sira cried with the pain she had brought so willingly to herself and wrapped herself around the man she had grown to love more than a brother. She had, in the healing, felt so many of his emotions. He possessed a depth of sorrow that twisted her heart and drew their tie of the soul tighter still. She sensed some of his struggle with who and what he was and the loneliness he felt about the godly father who never seemed to be there for him. She had told him once that he was a healer, using the god given strength he possessed to heal others in a physical way. She felt the depth of compassion that made him a practitioner of the art of healing and it touched a responsive cord in the child of the forest. While their healings were practiced much differently, they were still a manifestation of their compassion for others and a use of the powers they possessed. They both had felt uncomfortable with the forces that ruled their lives and had at times felt the sting of nonconformity.

The empath caressed his chest and ran a shaky finger across his lips. They were dry and chapped from the fever that possessed him, and her hope was to heal them. The caress of her finger on his lips made him shiver. Capturing her hand in his he kissed the finger tips.

The hunter turned away. He hated the feelings that twisted inside him. Feeling his emotions the healer held a hand out to him, and despite the fact it was cracked and bleeding he took it in his.

"Please do not mind, my love. There can only be one for me. You know that. What we have is forever. Nothing will change that. No matter what may happen, that part of our souls will remain forever bound. What I give to you I could never give to another even if someday I should find myself alone. My soul might someday take another mate, but it would never be with the same joining of soul that I share with you. There is only one soul mate. One 'Anmchara'. I must be free to heal. You love Hercules also. Please try to understand."

He laid down beside her and held her. "I'm sorry, my love. I don't know what's come over me. I'm being a selfish bastard and I don't really even know why."

"I love you, my soul." Her words were slurred with fatigue.

He tightened his hold on her and felt her twitch as she drifted to sleep. But she only slept for a short time, a few minutes at best. Quiet tears slipped from the corners of her closed lids. She felt torn for the first time by her feelings for both of these men. I am so tired, she thought. I hurt so much, I just cannot think about it now.

The hunter hadn't realized she had awakened. He held her and sent his thoughts of comfort to her. He felt tired also but he was unable to sleep. He thought about his feelings. Why am I jealous? he asked himself. I know she needs to be intimate to heal. Why does this particular healing bother me so much? True, she showed more affection to the big man than he'd seen her display in her other healings, all that is, except his own. But she was closer to Hercules than to the others he had seen her heal. He went over it and over it. He began to realize that some of his jealousy came from his own feelings of inadequacy. It hadn't always been easy living in the shadow of a hero. When they were youths together, it often seemed that Hercules always got the girl. No matter how many times he helped his friend or how much he did to help, it was the demigod that people thanked so enthusiastically. Sometimes his friend seemed larger than life. He also realized that if there could ever be another for Sira, it would be the demigod. He wasn't even sure she had acknowledged this to herself, but he knew it was true. And yet he also knew he wouldn't lose her to his friend. So why be jealous? He didn't really fear Sira and Hercules might share a physical relationship. And even if they should he knew that it wouldn't change the way she felt about her mate of the soul.

He felt like a child with a new toy who didn't want to share. And yet what would he lose in sharing? Nothing. He believed this and yet he still felt jealousy. I'm being a damn fool, he chided himself.

He rolled over carefully so that he could see her face. He felt like retching. The burn had distorted her face and given her the look of a stranger. He knew the wound and scar would disappear but it tore at his heart to see her otherwise perfect features marred by the healing. He could feel the pain her healing brought her, and not for the first time he cursed whatever powers there be for making these things come to her.

The roar of the beast was deafening. The old man let two sheep into the cage and stood watching as the beast devoured them. The creature had grown so large that a couple of sheep hardly filled him. The old master knew he hungered for human flesh. It galled him that he had been unsuccessful in his attempt to kill the big man and bring his lifeless body for the creature to dispose of. It must be soon, he thought. My powers grow stronger every day, but this old body grows weaker. It might take me days to build the spell needed to leave this body and inhabit another. He hated the thought of the delay. He was keenly aware of the outside forces that now threatened him. He knew now that the woman was no human. His powers came from magic and the dark forces of evil. But where did her power come from? He had gotten a sense of Zeus, and yet that had come more from the big man than the woman. Still, her powers were stronger than his. He had no desire to tackle the king of the gods, at least not yet. He knew he must first grow stronger. Could Hades have sent these people here to force his return to the underworld? He had every intention of returning there, but not until he was ready. He loathed the god who ruled the underworld. He thought him foolish and soft. He spends too much time in the Elysian fields. He's lost his edge, trading it away for the euphoria the eternal spring the other side of Tartarus offers.

It had been all too easy to escape the underworld while it was in such chaos. Releasing Cerberus was a good idea. It had allowed him to open the portal to the outside world and join the others that used it for escape. Most, if not all of the others had been returned now. But his magic had shielded him from the god of the underworld.

When I return, it will be in power. Hades will never be as foolish a second time. He would simply strip me of my powers and I will become just another soul sentenced to eternal damnation. But the portal will soon be open, and my beast will eliminate Cerberus. Then I will turn my powers against Hades and rule his domain. Then perhaps I will tackle his brother.

The beast rested his head against the bars that held it confined and watched the man before him. The old one reached out a hand to pet the creature. It snapped at the hand and the man just missed being maimed. "So, you forget your manners. Be careful, or once Cerberus is dead, you will follow."