Men lay groaning and wounded around her feet and the dirt was soaked with their blood. Some of the dead were from her village and the rest were Cortese's men, struck down by arrows, pitchforks, and spears. Cortese looked at her from across the body-littered ground. Even though his face was hidden behind his mask Xena could tell the warlord was young, maybe even her age, and he seemed uncertain. Victory had probably come easily in the past but Amphipolis was different. Athena was a goddess of war and many of the men who stayed to fight had seen battle in Greece when they were younger.
This was the man that had killed her little brother. His gentle soul would never enjoy a sweet summer again. This had been his last. Lyceus wouldn't catch up to her, growing taller like the fields of golden wheat behind their home. She wouldn't watch him as he became a man and grew cleverer in his woodworking. Lyceus was gone forever.
There was a sharp pain in her heart at his loss and Xena knew it would stay with her for a long time. She stepped over the bodies and made her way towards the coward that had killed a child in an attempt to be the victor. His pathetic effort would fail, she vowed. And Xena would run her sword through his wretched heart.
A man stepped between her and her target. He raised his sword up in challenge. This was Cortese's second in command.
"You only get Cortese if you can make it past him," Ares voice was in her ear again. "He's a terrible swordsman. You have the skill to beat him."
"I have many skills."
"I believe you."
Xena tested her blade again the masked man. She blocked his clumsy swing and returned it with a clean one of her own. Blood flowed from the wound she left.
"Take him, Xena."
"You talk too much, Ares."
Xena thrust at the opening in the defense and struck flesh. The villain cried out in pain and held his hand against his stomach where she'd struck. With the other he held onto his sword, continuing to fight through the pain.
"Kill him. He deserves death, trust me. It's you or him, Xena," Ares said.
Xena kicked up into his sternum and he fell to the ground. The man knew the moment he'd lost the fight. He ripped of his mask, threw down his sword and got to his knees, bowing his head in surrender. He was defeated. Xena pulled back her arm to give the killing blow.
"Xena, no! You're as bad as they are if you do this," Cyrene said from the ground where she knelt watching. She was cradling Lyceus' body, staring at her daughter in horror. Xena raised her sword above her head. She paused there, deciding.
"You're better than they are. Prove it! Think of your brother," Ares said urgently. "You are on the brink of the ultimate in freedom. Do it and you will be reborn into this world and it will be a playground to your will."
Ares' breath was hot and demanding on her neck. She was filled with the vision of herself at the head of a vast army of men. They were calling her name as she led them from one conquest to the next. Xena let her sword drop. Victorious, she looked over at Cortese. The warlord took one look at those steely blue eyes, yielding a sword freshly covered in blood, and fled.
"Cortese!" she screamed as he flung himself onto a horse and galloped away, looking at her fearfully over one shoulder as he rode. His remaining men quickly followed his example, fleeing in all directions. Xena glanced around, anxious to follow. Not one of the men standing was free from a wound and many were seriously injured. She didn't have enough kinsmen left to chase after the remaining outlaws.
"You won," Ares said in delight.
"But at what cost?" Xena asked in return, the death of her brother weighing down her heart even in the light of victory. Several of Cortese's men had been captured in the fighting. She walked over to them now where they knelt in a row, each with hands tied tightly behind their backs.
"No good deed goes unpunished. You know what to do and who to kill. Accept it, Xena. Embrace it."
"Swear fealty to me," Xena said to the first one. Her sword was at his neck and he swallowed hard as he looked into her icy blue eyes.
"I swear my fealty to you, my Lady," he replied.
"Swear fealty to me," she said again.
The next man remained stubbornly quiet, especially after she took his head.
"Swear fealty to me," she repeated. And after a few examples of what would happen if they were refused, they did. It was an uncertain loyalty, she knew. Xena would need to prove herself and even then their allegiance would always be uncertain.
Xena came to the last man kneeling in the line. He had soft brown eyes and grinned up at her with white teeth.
"Hi. I'm Petracles," he said. "I would shake your hand but I'm tied up at the moment."
"Swear fealty to me," Xena said, placing the tip of her sword to his shoulder.
"Who wouldn't?" Petracles asked. "A hot blooded beauty like you could gather a following of men with or without threats. I prefer this way myself."
Ardemus leaned over to speak softly in her ear.
"This man killed three of the villagers," he said.
"Why should I spare you, murderer?"
"Hey, I was following orders. Besides, they attacked first. I'm not into thoughtless killing," Petracles replied. "Tell you what. Spare my life and it's yours. You can change your mind at any time. Give me the chance to prove myself to you."
Xena dropped her sword to the ground as she considered his words.
"Fine. Keep them tied up until I return. But find them horses," Xena told Artemus. Some of the villagers grumbled at her decision and Xena knew she would need to take them out of the village before night fell if she wanted to avoid a conflict. The villagers wanted vengeance for their lost loved ones.
The brigands had been defeated for now but they would be back. Or there would be other warlords. Either way the village needed protecting - and not just this village, but all the villages in the surrounding hills.
Xena was lost in her thoughts when her mother walked over. She had been with Lyceus, patting his curls and kissing the top of his head. Cyrene's face was rigid with shock. She slapped Xena cleanly across the cheek with one hand.
"I want you to leave, Xena. You aren't welcome in my home anymore," Cyrene said vehemently.
"I saved Amphipolis," Xena said in disbelief.
"You got your brother killed," Cyrene said. "If we'd all run then Lyceus would still be alive."
The villagers around her were muttering the same thing, like this was somehow her fault. All the years she spent here seemed unimportant. The fact that they'd turned back a horde of bandits didn't seem to matter. They were talking about her, glaring at her, looking down on her. She had risked everything and it didn't count for anything.
"I haven't done anything but try to protect my people!"
"These are not your people, Xena, not anymore. And I am not your mother. No daughter of mine would kill in cold blood."
"Mother, please…."
"You were wrong, Xena. And this was wrong," Cyrene said, and her look was stormy.
"I was only thinking of Lyceus."
"When you think of the dead they can hear you. Was Lyceus listening as you chopped off these men's heads? Is it Lyceus you're thinking about or yourself?" Cyrene asked. She walked away before Xena could reply, back to the body of her youngest child.
"Mom?"
"Leave, Xena. And don't come back," Cyrene said without turning around to face her.
Xena realized that her life here in Amphipolis was over. She could leave with nothing, or take what she needed to forge a fresh life. This was just the beginning of a new path.
"Any men who want to protect our village and the villages that might have to face Cortese should meet me by the gate before sunset," Xena called out loudly. Then she wiped her sword on her dress and went to pack. Her room seemed smaller than it had before. She threw travelling clothes into a sack with the few belongings she had.
The God of War appeared besides her, watching her pack.
"Not a good time, Ares," Xena said as she threw her few belongings into a sack.
"You've got to learn to relax. Just let go," Ares said, rubbing her shoulders. Xena shrugged him off. "Hey, you did what you had to do."
"I know that. If we'd fled Cortese would have hunted us down like dogs. I had to make a stand."
"And make a statement. I mean, wow! When you kick ass, you kick ass."
"I'm supposed to be the good guy," Xena said, biting at her lower lip. "I don't know who I was today."
"You were the one winning. Now why don't we cut to the chase? Follow me and the world will kneel at your feet. Doesn't that make you want to seal this deal?"
Xena glared up at him from reddened eyes. Her look was set and stubborn.
"I'll pass," Xena replied. Lyceus was barely 13. He was just a child, and Ares had chosen not to save him. Now she was responsible for Lyceus' death and her guilt was twofold. She could have called him and asked for intervention but now it didn't matter. She turned from Ares, looking around her small room for the jeweled dagger. She took it from a drawer by her bed and shoved it at him.
"Here, I think this is yours," she said. Ares grabbed her wrist and placed the hilt back in her hand. Her blue eyes searched his face, distrustful.
"Consider it a gift. It suits you," Ares said with his hand still wrapped around her wrist. He let her go and his fingers traced warm patterns on the sensitive skin of her forearm. "We have something special here. I said I was in your blood. Well you're in mine. We'd make a great team, Xena."
"There's only one person on your team, Ares."
"You could change that. Imagine me fighting by your side, us against the world. This isn't about who's right and who's wrong. It's about who wins."
His words were as forceful as his touch was gentle. Neither was easy to resist.
"You've got the wrong girl, Ares."
Ares looked stunned and Xena wondered if she was the first person ever to turn down an offer from the God of War. She had wanted to outsmart him. She hadn't thought it would be as easy as saying no. She looked down at the dagger she still held in her hand. Cyrene had disowned her and Lyceus was dead. This might be her only link to the past on her travels, wherever they took her.
"You wanted answers. I've got 'em. Aren't you even a little curious about daddy dearest?" Ares asked, and Xena heard a note of desperation in his voice. Xena thought of Lyceus and the morning she had dropped him by the creek on her way to Ares' temple. If she'd only known how precious and short her time with him was to be, she would have gotten off her horse and taken him fishing. She never should have made that journey. Maybe Cortese would have taken her to the slave block or maybe she would have died fighting for her family, but at least she would still be the same person.
She pictured herself standing over Cortese's man as he prostrated himself on the ground before her and the guilt rose up in her throat. All that had filled her brain in that moment was Lyceus' face and the need to react, to do, and not to think. For the first time in her life she had complete control and it was her choices and her actions that would define the end of their confrontation. She had been overwhelmed with the power she held. She had wanted to impress Ares with her resolve and indifference. It had been a façade. As the blade came down she had forced away the voice screaming at her that it was wrong. She had closed her ears to her own mother's pleas.
"You said I could have answers but I never agreed to take them. I don't need to know. I should have realized that before. I am who I am."
She tucked the dagger into her bodice.
"Last chance," Ares said. "If you aren't with me you're against me and you don't want me as your enemy Xena. Not when we should be… oh, so much more."
He was going to kiss her, she realized, and she was going to let him. He was already pulling at her blood, letting his power radiate through her and then back to him, like some sort of emotional leech. She was weary of his cat and mouse games and sick of feeling out of control. This was her life and each minute that passed she was one step closer to the end of that life. Ares was immortal. He couldn't relate to the pain of what she'd lost. There was finality to death but for him it never ended. He just was.
Xena refused to let him rule over her choices. Not this time. She looked up at his half lidded eyes and that smirk on his face that said he knew what she was thinking. He was used to getting his way. Her only power over him was her ability to refuse him what he wanted. Xena grabbed the back of his head and pulled his head to hers. She breathed in the intensity of him. She could feel his pulse beneath her hand and it was racing. Xena leaned in and Ares grinned in anticipation.
"Not a chance in Hades, Ares," she whispered in his ear and released him.
"You'll regret this, Xena. I may have underestimated you but you know I'm right. This is far from over," Ares said angrily, and then snapped his fingers and disappeared. Xena let out the breath she'd been holding and finished packing up.
