This story was written just for fun and is not an attempt to make money or infringe on any copyrights or trademarks. Only the original ideas contained within the works on this nonprofit web site are the property of their authors, and please do not copy these stories to any other website or archive or print without permission of the author.

The Less Than Legendary Journeys http://www.rtis.com/nat/user/chimera/legends.htm

Home is the Hunter Parts III and IV

by Martha Wilson

"This is really funny because usually on our journeys I'm the one that does the babbling."
"Babbling? What, you're saying I'm babbling? Like I'm talking incessantly, babbling? Mumbling anything that pops into my head babbling? That kind of babbling?"
A Star to Guide them

Part III

They set out for Cenchreae as soon as possible, pausing only to grab enough supplies for a few days on the road. Jason had given the exhausted messenger a meal and space to bed down in the barn; the man had offered to go with them but they knew the way and it wasn't as if he had seen the monster for himself. It had apparently attacked three villages, all within the past week, all at night. There were survivors but their accounts were confused, some saying it was large and close to the ground like some kind of serpent, some saying it flew, some saying it appeared and disappeared at will. There was no telling how exaggerated the accounts had been by the time King Pheidon had gotten word of it. Hercules knew they would just have wait to talk to the actual witnesses before making any plans.

The rain stopped finally and the clouds parted a little to let the moonlight through, so they made good time over the muddy forest trail. Despite everything, Hercules was glad to be on the road again, with a firm goal in mind. Get there, find the monster, and kill it.   His recent journeys had all seemed to be desperate attempts to regain lost ground, or pointless attempts to talk sense to impossibly stubborn people.

Speaking of talking sense to stubborn people.... Hercules had sensed considerably less simmering from Iolaus' direction and figured it was as safe as it was going to get to bring up the subject again.   He began carefully, "Iolaus, how did you know about...what I said to the Sumerian Death God? I didn't really remember it myself until you...mentioned it."

Beside him Iolaus shrugged, his eyes focused on the dark trail ahead. He must have been digging around in his old clothes, because the cloak he was wearing over his muddy leathers was an old gray himation that Hercules hadn't seen for years.   He had his pack and his swordbelt slung over his shoulder, tucked under it for protection against the damp and the occasional showers from the wet leaves overhead. "I don't know. It just came to me."

Hercules ducked a low branch. "Those dreams I had, where I was seeing things that were happening to you. Did you see things that were happening to me?"

Iolaus shook his head, eyes still fixed on the path. "No."

"But part of you was with me. Maybe that part has some memories of things I saw and did."

"And all the parts are finally bringing each other up to date?" Iolaus shrugged as if it didn't matter. "Maybe."  

Exasperated, Hercules persisted, "Iolaus, if you're remembering things maybe you should talk about it."

Iolaus gestured in frustration. "I don't-- I'm not-- It's not anything I can talk about. It's just fragments that don't make sense. Herc, I'm sorry I said those things--"

"I'm not," Hercules said mildly.

After a moment, Iolaus laughed.

Hercules grinned down at him, so glad to have the air a little clearer between them that he decided to drop the subject for now.

After a time the trail opened up into a grassy clearing, leading down to a trickling stream, lost somewhere under the shadows of the trees. Hercules paused, studying the gradually lightening sky to judge the time, and shifted his pack off his shoulder. "Hey, let's stop here."

"Huh?" Iolaus was almost halfway across the clearing before he glanced up, distracted as if he had been deep in thought. "Why?"

"We're nearly there. We should eat and let the sun rise before we tackle this thing."

"Oh, right." Iolaus shook himself, seemed to snap out of whatever reverie had occupied him, and came back to help.

Hercules picked a fairly dry spot under the shelter of the trees and started to dig a shallow pit for a small fire, as Iolaus poked through the scrub further in, looking for dry wood. As Hercules got a small blaze going he realized they had gone about making camp without comment or discussion, falling automatically back into old habits. And it felt really, really good. He looked up to say just that to Iolaus and saw his partner had wrapped up in his cloak and lay curled up, his head pillowed on his pack, and sound asleep.

Smiling to himself, Hercules turned to his own pack, digging through the hastily collected supplies for something to make a quick meal. Iolaus could catnap anywhere, under any conditions.

I wish he'd talk about what's bothering him, Hercules thought, making a spot in the firepit for the cooking pot. It wasn't that Hercules wanted his opportunity to explain his actions -- well, yes it was, but not only that. It had to be a...shock, what happened today. It can't be doing him any good to hold it in.  Normally Iolaus was the most straightforward person Hercules had ever known. If he had something to get off his chest, he had to do it immediately. If he was holding back, there had to be a reason.

Hercules wasn't sure Iolaus himself realized why he felt compelled to hide any injury up to those that left him barely able to stagger to his feet. Whenever Iolaus had gotten hurt or sick as a boy, it just meant more work for his mother, already overburdened by the rest of her children. And more proof that his father Skouros was right when he had called him a weakling and threatened to abandon him. It was Skouros' own fault that he had been too proud to admit he was wrong while he was alive, to acknowledge that he had a son stronger than most mortals and more stubborn than most gods.

Hercules paused, turning that thought over. Maybe it wasn't that he was pushing Iolaus too hard to talk. Maybe he wasn't pushing him hard enough.

In a way the demigod had become too used to the Iolaus from the Sovereign's world, to carefully controlling his temper in front of him, to modifying everything he said and did to keep from frightening him. Maybe he had forgotten just how thick-skinned and thick-headed this Iolaus could be, how he thrived on confrontation.   And it isn't as if he can't defend himself in an argument, Hercules thought wryly.

***

He was in that place again, the dark world that had no limits but nowhere to hide either, no way to escape. He was confronting Dahak in a place that looked like a rocky cave and diffuse light came from everywhere and nowhere. It was wearing Hercules' appearance this time. Iolaus really hated that.

It said, "Look."

Iolaus turned his head toward the slash of light in reflex, then it was too late. He saw a forest trail and two men.... It's Herc.   He took an involuntary step toward the image, throat tightening with a surge of loneliness. And...not me.   He stared in bafflement, squinting to see. The figure walking beside and a little behind Hercules looked like Iolaus, but wasn't. For a moment he wondered if he was seeing Orestes somehow returned to life, or some weird vision of an alternate past where Hercules had known the King of Attica. But the man didn't walk like Orestes either.   Then he recognized the outfit. That's the other me, from the Sovereign's world. The Jester, walking with his shoulders hunched a little, looked tiny, almost child-like next to the demigod. I don't look like that when we're...when we were together, did I?  "What..."

Dahak said, "That is a possible future. Hercules returns to the place you call the Sovereign's world and brings back your duplicate. Your replacement."

Still staring at the image, Iolaus shook his head, confused. He wanted to stay confused. He sensed enlightenment looming over him like a headsman's axe. "Replacement...."

"Of course. He's everything you aren't. Obedient. Biddable. Loyal."

Except an axe would have been quick. One brief instant of stunned agony, then nothing. This blow kept falling.

"He has your name, your face, your body," the creature continued. "But he's not a warrior. He's a coward.   And his existence will destroy any memory of you. But perhaps that's what Hercules wants."

His voice rough with the effort of control, Iolaus said, "He's just trying to get some part of me back. That's your fault. You destroyed my memory." He turned his back and walked away from Dahak, which never worked but always gave him some satisfaction. Until the demon god thought of yet another really good way to punish him for it.

It followed him and sounding furious said, "You're still defending him?"

"You shouldn't have shown me that," Iolaus said grimly. "That's a future where you don't win, because he's still alive." He stopped abruptly at the cave entrance. The landscape had changed again and now the rest of the world was limitless rock, bare mountains in the distance, strange black and purple plants clinging to bare patches of gray dirt. The sun sat low in the sky, red as blood.   This was a real place somewhere, he knew. Dahak didn't have the imagination to make up the different vistas Iolaus had seen here. It had been a forest earlier, more familiar though all the plants had had strangely yellow leaves. It was just another reminder that while he thought he was walking and talking he was just a disembodied wisp of soul, with less hope of getting out of here than of escaping from Tartarus.

Dahak was behind him suddenly, silently. Iolaus didn't look but he could sense it just behind him, feel the solid warmth of its illusionary body, feel breath stir his hair. It said softly, "What do you want most? Name it, I'll give it to you. I'll give you anything."

Iolaus was strangely numb, though somewhere it seemed like there was a distant part of himself that shuddered in horror. Defenseless, he had to tell it the truth.   "To go home."

It wasn't the answer it wanted. Dahak howled rage, transformed briefly into something looming and horrible, then vanished in a whirlwind that knocked Iolaus off his feet. He tumbled down the slope, sliding in raw gravel until he caught himself against a rock. He pushed himself up wearily. This world and this body might be an illusion but his hands still stung from the cuts and his back ached from slamming against the stone.

He just sat where he was, staring into the poisonous red sunset from this other place Dahak had ravaged. He wasn't sure what the creature was so upset about. He hadn't given it what it wanted, that much was clear. He snorted with bitter amusement. His only defense seemed to lie in being inadequate to Dahak's purposes, whatever those were.   Skouros wouldn't be surprised,   he thought bitterly. The sky was going dark, as Dahak's attention receded and Iolaus' only reality wound down like one of King Menelaus' toys....

....then the darkness changed, turned warm and alive with familiar stars and clouds, with the rustle of pine needles and leaves. He could smell damp wool and mud and the campfire. Iolaus leapt to his feet, breathing hard, the last dregs of the dream dissolving. It took an impossibly long moment to register his surroundings, to realize it was just before dawn in a forest clearing in Cenchreae, not.... Not....

"You all right?" Hercules asked sharply from across the campfire.

"Yeah, fine," Iolaus said vaguely. His chest hurt and he pressed his hand to it. Realizing that the source of pain was the scar right above his heart, he dropped his hand and sat down hastily.

Hercules was watching him with concerned eyes. "Nightmare again?" he said cautiously.

"No, a..." Memory, he had started to say. He hadn't remembered that moment until now, but it had the feel of something that had actually happened. And now he realized how he had known about Hercules' confrontation with the Sumerian Death God:   Dahak had shown it to him. It had liked to mix carefully edited bits of truth in with its lies. He knew now that was a large part of what it had wanted from him: truth that it could use. Hercules had told him that Iolaus hadn't given Dahak what it wanted, that it had barely known the most basic facts about the demigod. But Iolaus didn't remember doing that. He remembered being helpless against it, trying to conceal the answers it wanted, but that was all. But if you were hiding all those things from it, you'd have to hide the fact that you were hiding, even from yourself. He shook his head, afraid that was wishful thinking. "Yeah, a nightmare." Iolaus rubbed his eyes wearily. The phantom pain was fading. It was still dark, though the gray light filtering through the green canopy suggested dawn was close. It was too late to go back to sleep. Iolaus sighed. Twenty years of painstakingly training Hercules to let him sleep to a decent hour, wasted. These nightmares were a pain in the ass.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hercules stirred up the fire, still watching him worriedly.

"No, it's nothing." Aware how abrupt he sounded, Iolaus searched desperately for another topic of conversation. His eyes fell on the unfamiliar iron cooking pot. "Is that new?"

"Ah..." Hercules stared at the pot like he had never seen it before. "Uh huh." He dropped the stick into the fire. "You hungry?"

"Yeah." Actually, he was starving. Iolaus remembered he hadn't had dinner -- or anything else to eat today. He waited impatiently while Hercules scooped the steaming contents of the pot into a couple of cheap clay bowls, then dug in with a will.

After his stomach stopped its initial complaining Iolaus had a moment to notice what he was eating. It was just lentils and beans and spiced goatmeat but it reminded him of Alcmene's cooking. He knew Hercules hadn't made it; it wasn't slathered with rosemary. "This is really good. Did Jason get a new cook?"

Hercules hesitated, then said, "No."

Iolaus glanced up, frowning. There was something carefully neutral and suspiciously innocent about the demigod's expression. He said, "Who made this?"

Hercules found something interesting to stare at on the ground to the left of the fire. He cleared his throat. "It's left over from the dinner Iolaus made at the house earlier. He's a very good cook."

"Oh." Iolaus swallowed with difficulty. He saw Hercules watching him and forced himself to take another bite. Just don't say anything, just keep your big mouth shut for once, he told himself. "How nice," he managed.

Hercules found another stick to poke at the fire and ventured, "It would be great if you two got to know each other."

Iolaus chewed mechanically and managed to swallow again.   His jaw was starting to hurt. He said through gritted teeth, "That would make my day complete."

Hercules's brows drew together. He poked at the fire again, apparently trying to arrange the coals in a specific pattern. "He was really surprised to see you."

"Yeah, I gathered that."

"Uh huh. And I know...you were surprised to see him."

That's it. Iolaus wiped his mouth on his gauntlet, set the bowl aside and said briskly, "It's getting late, we should go."

The truce lasted while Iolaus stamped out the fire and Hercules gathered their gear. They started along the trail again, accompanied by the dawn birdsong, the way winding up along the side of a hill. Over the tops of the trees down the slope the sun was rising through wreaths of cloud and the air was cool and sweet. Then Hercules began, "Look, Cenchreae is only about two days' travel away from Epidaurus."

Iolaus eyed him suspiciously. "What's in Epidaurus?"

"Asclepius' main temple."

The sometimes god, sometimes demigod of healing was Hercules' cousin. He never saw eye to eye with Zeus on anything and was the only god to be demoted, made back into a god, killed, brought back to life, and then demoted again. "So?"

"They also interpret dreams for people there."

"Interpreting it is not a problem, believe me," Iolaus said grimly. He shifted his grip on his sword and his pack strap, fixing his eyes on the path ahead.

Hercules was silent a moment, his brows drawn together worriedly. "But Asclepius will be there and he may be able to help you with them."

Iolaus shook his head. "He doesn't like me."

"He doesn't like anybody. That's just the way he is."

"Why should he want to help me?"

"He's helped you before. You're always unconscious when he shows up but--"

"Still...." Iolaus shoved his hair out of his eyes. "No, Herc, I don't want to."

"Iolaus--"

"Look, let's just do this, all right?"

Hercules shrugged. "All right, all right."

Iolaus glanced up at him, surprised at this easy victory.   The subject stayed dropped for about twenty paces. Iolaus knew that because he was counting them. He was just about to lose the bet he had with himself when Hercules said, "I really think you should talk about what's bothering you."

"There is nothing bothering me," Iolaus said evenly.   And they say I can't control my temper. I am controlling my temper fine. I wish there were other people here to see how well I am controlling my temper--

"I know you were upset when you found out about the other Iolaus this morning. I think if we could just talk--"

"There's nothing to talk about."

"You're repressing what's upsetting you and it's just going to get worse. If you'd talk about it--"

Swearing, Iolaus scooped up a handful of mud and threw it at him. Hercules ducked, but he slipped on the edge of the path and caught himself awkwardly against a tree trunk. Iolaus took advantage of it to hurl a second handful of mud, which caught the demigod square in the head. Iolaus tried to duck the return volley but caught a large muddy clot in the ear that sent him staggering off the path. The fight was on.

After a short but active interval they ended up off the path and halfway down the hill. Iolaus collapsed over a slimy log, spat out a mouthful of mud, and said, "Okay, that's enough of that."

Sprawled on his back nearby, trying to get the mud out of eyes, Hercules said, "Good." He sat up with a squelch. "Did that help?"

Iolaus started to reply then thought about it a moment.   He nodded in surprise. "Yeah. Yeah, it did."

"Good." Hercules nodded.   "Let's go."

***

Hercules waited until they were further up the path, the trail winding up and down through the foothills at the base of the mountains, the pines and beeches clinging thickly to the slopes. It hadn't rained as hard here and there were no handy mud puddles for ammunition. Hercules scratched absently at his shoulderblade. It felt like half the mud on that hillside had gone down the back of his pants and shirt. He was obviously out of practice at wrestling with Iolaus. And the fact that they were both slippery with mud hadn't helped. When he slipped out of that chokehold and got up on your shoulders, that's what did it.  He took a deep breath. Well, here we go again. He said, "Are you sure this isn't about the fact that you didn't like where I buried you?"

Iolaus stopped, buried his face in his hands, leaned on a handy tree and knocked his head against the trunk a couple of times. After this expression of extreme exasperation, he straightened up and said, "I told you it was fine."

Hercules faced him, planting his hands on his hips. "If it's fine then what was that crack about dumping your body in the cranberry bog? I thought you liked that spot up on the hill."

Iolaus let his breath out and rubbed his eyes. "I did. I mean I do." He shook his head wearily. "Look, it's not about where you buried me. Well, maybe it is, a little. I just--"

The realization that they were being watched struck both of them simultaneously and they turned as one. The clearing they had stopped on the edge of was occupied. A group of boggled villagers had crept out of the trees and brush, watching them warily.

Trying to recover control over the situation, Hercules said briskly, "All right, it's us. We're here."

There were about a dozen people in the rough clearing, mostly women, children and a few old men. This was obviously a temporary encampment; there weren't any huts or houses, just a few lean-tos quickly knocked together back under the shelter of the trees. A couple of cows and goats were tethered near them and baskets and bags of belongings were piled about. "Have some trouble on the road?" one old man said. He folded his arms and eyed them suspiciously.

Hercules realized they both still bore the evidence of the mud fight and self-consciously brushed at his face. He glanced at Iolaus, who was squinting up at the sky and seemed to be trying to affect the attitude that he had no idea who this large man standing next to him was. Hercules took a deep breath. "Ah, we're here to kill the monster. The King sent for us."

Some of the villagers looked enlightened and cheered by this news; others looked worried. Another old man scratched his head under his baggy hat and said dubiously, "You're Hercules."

"Yes, I know," Hercules said patiently. He was aware he wasn't handling this in the best possible way. "I'm Hercules, that's Iolaus, we're here for the monster."

"I'm Gelon, the headman," the old man with the hat said. He jerked his head toward the first old man, who was still watching them suspiciously. "That's Anicles."

"The King sent for Perseus," Anicles said. The other villagers nodded in agreement.

"Perseus!" Flabbergasted, Hercules stared at the man.

Iolaus' attention snapped back to the conversation and suddenly he was at Hercules' side, saying in outrage, "Oh, you've got to be kidding!" He planted his hands on his hips. "Perseus?"

Both old men nodded. "Perseus."

Hercules took a deep breath, holding on to his patience with difficulty. King Pheidon must have been uncertain whether Hercules had returned and hedged his bet by sending for Perseus. "It's understood that I take care of things in Cenchreae--" he began reasonably.

"But we heard you'd left Greece," the headman Gelon protested.

"Well, yes, but--"

Anicles topped that with, "I heard Hercules was dead."

"No, I'm dead," Iolaus corrected him. Hercules turned to stare at him and he added blankly, "I said 'was.' Didn't I?"

Taking a deep breath, Hercules turned back to Gelon. "Look, we're here now. Just tell us what happened."

***

They left the makeshift refugee camp a short time later with all the information the villagers had, though it wasn't much. The two old men Anicles and Gelon had both seemed fairly resourceful and from the comments of the others Hercules gathered it was mainly due to them that the survivors had managed to escape at all, with enough of their belongings to keep them from starving. But even they hadn't been able to tell them much about the creature that had descended on their village two nights ago. They had thought it was a lamia, since it seemed to single out the young men, but they had never managed to get a clear look at it during the confusion of its attack. There was nothing to do but go to their village and try to backtrack the creature from there.

Iolaus glanced back down the trail to make sure they were out of earshot. "I can't believe this," he muttered bitterly. Hercules flinched but before he could reply Iolaus continued, "You leave Greece for what, a month? And it's 'Oh, he must be dead, better call Perseus. So what if he just wounds the monster and makes it mad and gets half the countryside massacred and then drags off the King's virgin daughter--'"

Hercules grinned, dropping a hand on Iolaus' shoulder. "At least he won't be able to do all that while he's invisible."

Iolaus laughed, delightedly thumping Hercules on the arm.   "I forgot about that. Hey, you know, Autolycus still has the Shield."

"I'm beginning to think that sounds like Perseus' problem." Hercules stopped, catching Iolaus' arm to halt him and regarding him soberly. "Look, before we go any further, finish what you were saying. Tell me what you didn't like about where I buried you."

Iolaus took a deep breath, looking away. He drew a hand over his face and finally said, "You said I was part of your family -- then why did you bury me like an honored stranger? I could have done without the honor if I thought--" Iolaus waved his hand, wincing, as if trying to wipe out what he had just said. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. I don't mean to sound ungrateful--"

"Iolaus, I wanted people to remember you for what you are -- a hero." It hadn't been lost on Hercules that bogs were places where the bodies of criminals and unwanted or destitute people were disposed of, usually with the minimum effort expended to get their souls across the Styx. "I wanted to put your monument where people could see it," he emphasized carefully.

"I.... Yeah, I know." Iolaus nodded glumly. "That was nice of you."

"Was that not what you wanted? I wasn't thinking very clearly when I made the decision," Hercules admitted. A lot of the fight seemed to have gone out of his friend and he wasn't sure that was a good sign. He said cautiously, "I was going to tell you about it and see what you thought we should do with it now."

Iolaus looked up, puzzled. "Do with it?"

"Well, you're not dead anymore. Having a grave marker might be...misleading."

"Oh. Good point."   Iolaus scratched his head. "But part of me is buried there."

"Yes," Hercules agreed. He gave Iolaus' shoulder a shake. "But the rest of you is here." Iolaus still looked intensely troubled. "You don't have to decide now."

"Yeah, I know, let's just take care of this." Iolaus started off again.

Hercules looked after him, still worried. "Right," he muttered.

***

"You did beat it though, didn't you?"
"Eventually, after it ate me."
Cave of Echoes

Part IV

Iolaus whistled softly in shock when he saw the village.   What was left of it stood in a cleared area in the forest, overhung and shaded by the canopies of the tall trees. The small thatched houses were smashed like piles of kindling, with tumbled baskets and broken pottery and other fragments of the inhabitants' possessions strewn on the ground.   A stray cow, unharmed and standing in the middle of a nearly undisturbed vegetable patch, lifted its head to regard them curiously. The birdsong in the trees told Iolaus that whatever had done this was long gone, but looking at the destruction made the skin on the back of his neck itch. The morning shadows in the depths of the forest suddenly seemed much darker.

He and Hercules exchanged a worried look. "Wasn't a lamia," Iolaus commented.   Whatever had destroyed the huts had been much larger and heavier.

"No," Hercules agreed, brows drawn together as he studied the scene.

They slowly advanced through the ruins. Iolaus stepped over the twisted wreck of a low fence and moved around one of the smashed huts, looking for tracks. The ground showed signs of a violent disturbance and occasional fragments of human footprints, but nothing else.   He frowned, shaking his head, and widened his search. After a time, frustrated, he glanced up and said, "I'm not finding any tracks here."

Hercules stood across the way, holding up the remains of a shed's roof to check the debris underneath. He set it down carefully, shaking his head. "And I can't find any bodies. That's...not good."

Iolaus nodded grimly, prodding a toppled amphora with the toe of his boot. Monsters that had a specific purpose, like guarding something or carrying out a curse, were one thing. Monsters that simply liked the taste of human flesh and knew where to find it were something else. Monsters that liked to eat people and could slaughter whole villages....

Hercules picked up a broken sarissa, examining it with a worried frown. Iolaus saw the bent tip at the end of the blade and swore. "Great, it's got armored hide too." He looked up at the overhanging trees and noticed there weren't any broken branches. "Huh. It didn't fly in here. That eliminates some possibilities."

"Why did it take all the young men?" Hercules said, half to himself. He looked at Iolaus. "That doesn't make sense."

Iolaus nodded. "It should go after the weakest first." He could see why the villagers had thought it was a lamia, but while lamia preyed exclusively on men, they really preferred to catch their victims alone. "They didn't have time to fight, so... I don't know." He circled one of the huts again, stopping abruptly as he spotted something gleaming on a broken lintel. He sat on his heels, touching it carefully, then held it up. "Herc, look." It was a scale, about the size of a dinar, with a pearly, luminescent gleam.

Hercules stepped over to him, leaning down to look. "And that looks like a lamia scale."   He straightened up, planting his hands on his hips and surveying the ruined village again, his brows drawn together.   The stray cow lowed. "I don't like this."

"Yeah, a giant lamia with an attitude." Except lamia hide wasn't tough enough to bend a blade. Iolaus shook his head. They would just have to figure it out when they got there. He had the scent now and he just wanted to find the damn thing. Iolaus bounced to his feet, heading for the next wrecked hut.

Now that he knew what to look for, Iolaus burrowed into the wreckage. He found several more of the loose scales rubbed off on broken rafters and smashed into the dirt. Intent on the search, he moved to the trees around the village's perimeter. Soon he spotted another scale, half buried in leaf litter between the gnarled roots. As he flicked it out of concealment, he glanced up to call for Hercules and saw the demigod was standing at his shoulder, looking down at him with an absurdly fond smile.

"What?" Iolaus demanded.

"Nothing. Just...nothing." The demigod looked away, trying to sober his expression.

Iolaus shook his head, hiding a grin. Wrapped up in the hunt, he had forgotten everything, all his worries, all the trouble of the recent past. We're both enjoying this way too much, he thought guiltily.   This thing had killed a lot of people.   But the monster was a straightforward goal and an intriguing puzzle; it was exactly what they needed right now to clear the air. Iolaus' expression sobered, as that thought led him right back where he didn't want to go. He sighed.

"What's wrong?" Hercules asked, a tinge of worry in his voice.

"Oh, nothing." Iolaus got to his feet, absently dusting his hand off on his pants. "Let's try this way, huh?"

***

The trail of scales led them further up the mountain, where pines, beeches, and fern groves grew densely between rocky outcrops.   The wind grew cooler as the day progressed but the bright afternoon sun kept it from becoming uncomfortable.   The brisk uphill walk had left Iolaus feeling fairly cheery, mostly because his clothes were finally completely dry. The dried mud on his skin was itchy, especially where it had worked its way through the lacings of his pants, but this was only a minor problem. Now if they could just find the monster.

They were moving along the base of a high ridge of rock when he stopped to look at a deer rub on a tree trunk, brushing away a tuft of fur caught on the bark. "This thing isn't much interested in meat on the hoof," he observed. "There's plenty of game up here so it's not eating people because it's hungry."

Hercules paused, planting one boot on a low rock and leaning on the heavy stick he had picked up along the way. From here they could look over a little open valley cupped in a fold of the mountain. Trees clustered on the hills all around and a stream fell in a series of miniature waterfalls down the outcrop, cutting across the deep green grass. Iolaus stepped up beside him and leaned against a tree, thinking this would make a good spot to camp after they took care of the monster.

"Could this thing have laid a false trail for us?" Hercules asked suddenly.

Iolaus thought about it, scratching the stubble on his chin.   "It might. A lamia wouldn't be smart enough, but with this thing, who knows?"

"True. Well, let's--" Hercules froze, eyes narrowing.

Iolaus followed his gaze, prickles of unease already climbing up his spine. It took him a heartbeat longer than it should to see it; the creature below faded into the trees on the hill above the valley. When he saw it his jaw dropped. It was a cow. No, it's the cow, from the ruined village. Iolaus dropped a hand to his sword hilt.

The creature's outlines blurred as it shed the guise of a cow's body, the mass of it sparkling with color and growing larger as it flowed towards them.

Hercules tossed his pack aside and fell back a cautious step, eyeing the thing narrowly. Iolaus shed his cloak and pack and drew his sword, dropping the scabbard.   His heart pounding with the prospect of a battle, he shifted to take up a ready stance to the demigod's right.

"At least now we know why the villagers all saw something different. It's a shapeshifter," Hercules said thoughtfully, not taking his eyes off the approaching creature.

"So you've seen one of these before?" Iolaus asked, hoping this was just one of those things Hercules had forgotten to mention.

"Actually...no."

It came to a halt, hovering above them, its fluid form solidifying into a long, heavy snake-like body covered with pearly luminescent scales with a ridge of almost delicate spines sprouting along its back. Its head was round rather than snake-shaped and it had a woman's face, white as snow, framed by a mane of ice-blue spines and fans. "I've been watching you," it said to Hercules, balancing on its coils. Its voice was female too, deep and husky. "You aren't like the others."

Iolaus exchanged a quick thoughtful look with Hercules.   That must have been why it had followed them up here instead of attacking immediately, but it was strange that it didn't seem to know what a demigod was.

It added, "I don't think you'll taste very good."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Hercules said dryly, studying it. "If you want to give up now, we'll kill you quickly and it won't hurt a bit."

The creature ignored the offer. "But that one is like the others," it continued, staring at Iolaus. The way the thing was looking at him made Iolaus feel like he had slime all over his skin.   Hera's monsters seemed wholesome and friendly by comparison. Its eyes were blue-green crystalline facets that bored straight through you. Iolaus felt a sudden urge to step toward it and jerked his gaze away, fixing his eyes instead on the mouth. Its red lips were disturbingly human and female but not nearly as hypnotic.

"Eyes," Hercules murmured warningly.

"I noticed," he muttered back.

Hercules raised his voice to ask it, "What are you?"

Iolaus threw him a worried glance. A general rule in monster hunting was never ask talking monsters questions you didn't already know the answers to, but in this case he supposed they had to make an exception.

It smiled. "You wouldn't understand. I come from another place, far from this world. I entered here through a portal someone carelessly left open."

"Oh, great," Iolaus said under his breath. "Portal" might mean a blue swirly doorway.

Hercules' expression hardened. He told the creature, "Actually we understand just fine."

It shifted closer to them, the head rearing up. "I came to hunt but the portal closed and I couldn't return. It doesn't matter.   The hunting is good here. I think I'll stay."

"I think you made the wrong decision," Hercules said grimly.

The spines behind its head flared as it hissed, then struck. Hercules dove one way, Iolaus the other. Iolaus rolled to his feet in time to see it looming over him, its face distorted as it formed a large gaping mouth filled with fangs. He backed away rapidly but it had him cornered against the high ridge of rock and he was running out of room. Then Iolaus saw the thing's new mouth lacked the iridescent scales, leaving a white fleshy area of its throat relatively unprotected. Hah, that's it, he thought, but before he could go for it a forked tongue shot out at him. Iolaus yelped and ducked, slashing up at it with his sword.

With a yowl of pain it recoiled. Before it could reach for him again it was suddenly yanked backward, giving Iolaus some breathing room. From the startled and angry expression on the still-human portion of its face, Hercules must have grabbed it by the tail.

It turned on the demigod, suddenly sprouting arms.   Iolaus yelled a warning. Hercules dodged the clawed hands that reached for him and swung his stick, catching the creature across the jaw. The shapeshifter reeled back, surprised by the unexpected strength behind the blow. Hercules followed up with another slam to the creature's head, knocking it onto its side. Iolaus saw his chance, ducked under its arm and drove the sword straight into the unprotected fleshy area in its throat.

He let go of the swordhilt, leaving the blade jammed into the wound. With a diving roll he cleared the frantic reach of its claws, coming to his feet in the wider part of the clearing away from the rocks.

Hercules joined him, looking pleased. "Looks like that--"

The creature writhed suddenly, its form blurring on the edges, then it clawed the sword free. A stream of bluish fluid sprayed from the wound but stopped almost immediately.

"--didn't do it," Iolaus finished worriedly.

They both dodged as another arm sprouted to grab for them.

Iolaus scrambled in the dirt, realizing it had forced them too close to the ridge again. He saw Hercules roll to his feet not far away and the demigod shouted, "Thermopylae!"

Iolaus bounced up and into a forward roll. He landed on his feet, back to back with Hercules, reaching up over his head. He realized almost immediately he had landed too far away; he missed the grab on the first try, losing precious instants. Then he managed to catch the demigod's wrists and they shifted smoothly into the leap. Here we go, Iolaus thought triumphantly, right before he felt Hercules' balance shift jerkily. Then Iolaus hit the ground hard, an off-balance Hercules almost landing on top of him.   Iolaus yelled in alarm but the shapeshifter halted its rush in confusion, rearing back, going into a defensive coil.  

"Now what?" Iolaus gasped, scrambling to his feet.

"Regroup," Hercules said, pushing him toward the rocks at the far end of the ridge.

They were nearly to the cover of the tumble of rocks before the creature realized it wasn't a trick. It uncoiled with a shriek of rage, lengthening as it dove for them.

They reached the rocks and climbed toward the crevice near the top, Iolaus feeling the loose gravel slip under his boots. He reached the narrow opening first and tumbled inside, Hercules pushing through behind him. The crevice wound all the way to the other side of the ridge, a bare crack above letting in air and daylight. Iolaus crawled toward the other end. "I missed the grab--" he started to explain.

"And my boot slipped," Hercules finished from behind him. "Sorry," he added ruefully.

Iolaus glanced back at him. "We need practice," he admitted.

Hercules nodded. "We were just lucky we...confused it."

***

The crevice ended in the side of a deep ravine behind the ridge, heavily sheltered by overhanging trees. Hercules was relieved to see it. They needed all the advantages they could get and the open ground in the valley had given the creature too much scope to use its peculiar abilities.

"We need to hit it with something really, really big," Iolaus said, scrambling out of the crevice onto the ledge.

"Uh huh." Hercules followed, studying the rocks just above them. The top of the narrow ravine wasn't far above their heads but it was obscured from above by stunted thorny trees perched along the edge and a bulwark of stones from an old rockfall, braced around several large boulders.   Below their ledge the cliff fell away in sharp terraces, trees and rocks clinging to the edges. "When it follows us down here, I can start an avalanche and bury it."

"I just hope it's feeling cooperative." Iolaus jumped to catch one of the tree roots projecting from the dirt. He used it to climb agilely up the cliffside to the top, where he could crouch in the brush at the base of the tree and watch for the shapeshifter.

Hercules immediately started to scoop dirt and smaller stones out from under the largest boulder, the linchpin that was holding all the other debris in place at the top of the slope.

"Are all the monsters going to be bigger and meaner now?" Iolaus wondered, balancing on the tree roots and peering carefully through the brush for any sign of the creature.

"Early retirement is looking better," Hercules agreed grimly, carefully judging his efforts so the boulder wouldn't give way too soon.

"We could always see if that offer from the Telequor Amazons is still open," Iolaus said over his shoulder. "As long as they didn't call us 'breeders' to our faces--"

Hercules had to admit it sounded a good deal less demeaning right this moment than it had five years ago.

"Hey, here we go. Wow," Iolaus added, and Hercules glanced up. Past the sheltering canopy of leaves something dragon-like but with two extra sets of wings glided overhead. He flattened back against the rock.

After a long moment Iolaus leaned down to whisper, "It turned back into a snake and now it's just sitting up there on a hill above the ravine. It's turned itself the same color as the trees so I can hardly see it. Looks like it's settling in to wait for us."

"It wants us to come out." Hercules swore under his breath. The damn thing was just a little too cautious. "I'm going to have to go back up and get it to chase me down here. Then I can double back and start the boulders moving--"

"No," Iolaus interrupted impatiently. He was supporting himself awkwardly on the tree roots, with one knee hooked around a sapling's trunk. Their eyes were level though Iolaus was hanging sideways. "It's me it wants to eat. It won't follow you, it'll know it's a trap."

Hercules shook his head angrily. "Iolaus--"

Iolaus' chin set stubbornly. He demanded, "Herc, are we doing this or not?"

Hercules hesitated. It was too soon, he didn't want to see Iolaus risk his life now. But this is what we do. Hercules pressed his lips together, reminding himself that if the thing really had come here through one of the blue swirly doorways, then there was a good chance Iolaus had been baiting monsters far longer than it had been eating humans. And he knew, though he wasn't sure how, that right now the insult of trying to protect Iolaus from his lifelong choice to risk himself as a warrior wasn't one his friend would forgive him for easily. "We're doing it," he snapped. "I'll wait for your signal."

"Good." Iolaus started to swing up again and Hercules gave him a boost from behind to help.

***

Iolaus scrambled out of the brush and stumbled to his feet, carefully not looking toward the rise on the far edge of the clearing.   The shapeshifter crouched there, its skin now a mottled green-brown that melded in with the trees and heavy brush, making it near invisible unless you knew where to look. The birdsong in this glade was ominously silent, a sure giveaway. Iolaus had scouted the terrain while watching for the creature to arrive and started off immediately at an angle to the ravine, impulsively adding a limp.

He moved slowly, trying to look pitiful and helpless and tempting. This wouldn't work with some monsters; sphinxes, in particular, disdained wounded prey, preferring opponents who could fight at their full strength. Iolaus was pretty sure the shapeshifter lacked such a highly developed sense of fair play. He could practically sense the creature's gaze boring into him. He looked around, making his eyes pass over its position without hesitating. He remembered the thing had been willing to stalk them all the way up the mountain and knew he couldn't let it lure him too far from the ravine. He slowed down even further, pushing his hair out of his eyes and looking around more urgently, as if he suspected it was near.

It moved then, uncoiling its serpentine bulk. "There you are," it said, with a low feminine laugh that still made the hackles on the back of Iolaus' neck rise.

He yelped and bolted for the ravine, hearing it hit the ground just behind him as he reached the edge and tore through the brush.  

Iolaus leapt down to the ledge near Hercules' hiding place, then bounded down to the one below. A crash and a roar from above told him the shapeshifter was clawing its way through the trees after him.

He risked a glance back and saw it clung to the ledge just below the boulders. It still had the body of a snake but was now equipped with six legs, its huge claws gripping the dirt to hold it steady. Iolaus rolled his eyes. Damn the thing, it was still too close for Hercules to get above it and start the avalanche.   It didn't want to go any further into the ravine and Iolaus thought he knew why; it liked to move fast over flat ground and it wanted to avoid the rocky cliffs below.

Trying to present a more tempting target, Iolaus jumped for the next ledge, faked a bad landing and sprawled awkwardly in the dirt.   He twisted around, looking frantically up at it.

The big fangy mouth drawn into a rictus smile, it called down, "Keep running, little one. Fear will make you taste better."

Iolaus glared. The damn thing likes playing with food better than eating it. He had done everything but smear himself with honey. "You know, you're a lot scarier when you keep your mouth shut. I bet you got thrown out of your old world because your lines were so bad," he jeered, frustrated.

He knew he must have unintentionally hit a nerve when the shapeshifter's round white face turned livid with rage. "Uh oh," he muttered and rolled off the ledge, landing on his feet and diving for the next terrace. Above him it snarled, hunching its back, then launched itself down into the ravine.

Iolaus dodged sideways as a large clawed hand narrowly missed him, tearing loose a hail of rocks and dirt from the cliff face above.   A stone caught him a hard blow, sending him staggering and he fell back against the dirt wall, shielding his head with his arms. He shook his head to clear the black spots from his vision and looked up to see the hand poised to grab him. With a desperate yell he dove under it, tumbling down to the next terrace. He slid headfirst down a rough slope, throwing himself into the brush at the base of it.

The shapeshifter landed maybe twenty paces away, eyeing him avidly. "Run some more," it said, "I like this game."

"So do I," Iolaus told it, breathing hard, his heart pounding with a dizzying combination of terror and triumph. From here he could see it was a straight shot right up the slope to the boulders at the top of the ravine. Perfect. "But it's over." Then he shouted roughly, "Now, Herc!"

***

Hercules heaved at the boulder, hearing it grind against the stone as it shifted. It gave way abruptly, tumbling down the ravine in a hail of smaller rocks, dirt, and tree trunks. Hercules followed it down, jumping to the ledge below and sliding down the slope, bracing his feet to stop himself, trying to see if the shapeshifter had been hit, if Iolaus was all right. The dust cleared and he saw the snakelike body pinned under the large boulder about halfway down the ravine. Its head twisted, its eyes blood-red now and enraged. Suddenly a clawed arm elongated up, reaching for him.

Hercules scrambled backward but the loose dirt gave way under his feet. He threw himself to the side but the hand slammed down on him, smashing him into the cliff face with stunning force. Through a haze of pain he felt himself sliding toward the edge and frantically grabbed for something, anything to stop himself.

He tumbled over a rocky outcrop and just managed to dig his fingers in as the rest of him swung out into empty space. Dazed, he looked down and saw the shapeshifter struggling below him, its claws just missing his dangling legs. If he slipped he would fall right into the creature's grip.   He flexed his arms to pull himself up and gasped in shock; pain burned across his ribs and back, reaching down into his legs and up into his arms with a numbing agony.

Then Iolaus flung himself down on top of the rock Hercules was clinging to. With a desperate expression Iolaus reached down and grabbed his arm above his gauntlet. Hercules shook his head, trying to tell his friend he couldn't pull himself up. Still keeping a firm grip on him, Iolaus wriggled around dangerously near the edge, bracing his feet against the rock. He had shifted so he could use his back and legs to help him lift, but if the outcrop gave way he would have no chance of saving himself. Hercules could still hear the shapeshifter thrashing as it slowly died beneath them. He knew Iolaus wouldn't let go; it was either let Iolaus try to pull him up or take Iolaus over the side with him when his grip on the rock finally gave out. He managed to nod.

Iolaus hauled back, teeth gritted with the effort. Hercules dug his fingers into the rock, ignoring the pain as he tried desperately to help. It seemed to take forever but inch by inch Iolaus dragged him up.   Finally Hercules managed to get a foothold and pushed, shouting with the effort. He collapsed on the ledge next to Iolaus. His partner struggled up, wrapped an arm around his waist and heaved Hercules further away from the edge, the demigod digging his heels in to help.

They collapsed against the side of the cliff, both gasping. There was a shriek of rage from the shapeshifter; it must have counted on them falling into its grip. Suddenly it made what had to be one last enormous effort and a clawed hand struck the rock Hercules had clung to, scoring it deeply. Both Hercules and Iolaus flinched in reaction. The serrated claws dug in and the rock gave way, crashing down into the ravine.

Hercules sank back, leaning heavily against Iolaus. "That was close," he breathed.   The shapeshifter's cries gradually faded, as if that last effort had expended all its strength.

"You okay?" Iolaus asked thickly, still breathing hard.

"Yeah....Ow." Hercules took an experimental deep breath, grimacing. Everything hurt. He could tell the ribs all along his right side were broken. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just...Ow."   He gave up trying to move for the moment.

Iolaus didn't seem much inclined to move either. Hercules looked down at him, seeing his arms were covered with scratches and scrapes and there were leaves and twigs caught in his hair. It looked like he had a cut on his forehead. "How about you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Iolaus slumped against the demigod's chest, sounding tired. "Didn't come close."

This didn't mean much since Iolaus would have said that had the monster ripped one of his limbs off, but Hercules was willing to accept it for the moment. The shapeshifter gave one last lingering cry, then went silent. Hercules shook his head. "That thing...that thing nearly...."

"Kicked our asses," Iolaus supplied.

"Yeah." Hercules looked up and saw something in the sky above the trees, growing larger as it drew nearer. Not another shapeshifter, he thought incredulously. Please tell me that thing didn't have a friend. He squinted, then realized abruptly what it was. No, it can't be. He tightened his grip on Iolaus. "Oh no. It's Perseus."

His voice a little slurred as if he was starting to drift off, Iolaus said, "That's not funny."

"It's not a joke. It's Perseus."

Iolaus lifted his head, squinting up at the sky. He sat up, suddenly completely alert. "Oh no."

"If he sees us...." Hercules' voice went thick with horror. "He'll rescue us."

He and Iolaus exchanged a dismayed look. "We've got to get out of here," Iolaus said desperately.

Gritting his teeth, Hercules forced himself to stand, holding on to his partner for support. The pain didn't matter; he really would rather lie up here and bleed to death than be rescued by Perseus.

They made their way awkwardly along the ledge under the cover of the trees, until they could scramble down the slope between the boulders. The loose scree and pebbles made the going difficult and Hercules knew he couldn't make it much farther. "Try there." He pointed to a cleft in the stone.

It wasn't a cave so much as a sheltered area under a shelf of rock. As they ducked inside Hercules' right knee gave way suddenly and he collapsed. Iolaus tried to catch him but he slipped on the loose pebbles and they both went down, Hercules landing heavily on top.   The breath knocked out of him and his side throbbing with agony from the jolt, Hercules couldn't move, even though he knew he had practically flattened his partner.

Iolaus thumped him on the shoulder and said, his voice muffled, "Herc, if Perseus finds us like this, I want to be on top."

Hercules snorted, then winced as his broken ribs stabbed him.   "Sorry," he managed, carefully pushing himself up as the pain receded a little.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Iolaus asked doubtfully, sitting up as Hercules awkwardly shifted to the back of their shelter.

"Yeah, it's just...I need to catch my breath.  And don't say anything funny."   Trying to breathe shallowly, Hercules settled down onto his side. Lying down like this was definitely better, he decided. He wiped the sweat and dirt off his forehead and looked at his partner.   From this angle he could see there was a bleeding scrape on Iolaus' temple, a dark mottled bruise already forming around it. "You got hit on the head?"

"Oh, it's fine." Iolaus wiped absently at the blood, then sucked in his breath. He wavered for a moment, his eyes going glassy.

"Iolaus?"

"Huh? I'm just woozy." Iolaus blinked, then looked around vaguely. "It's going to get cold down here later. I'll go back up and get our stuff."

Hercules watched him worriedly. "Wait, what about Perseus?"

"Oh, yeah." Iolaus obviously didn't want to admit he had forgotten about the other demigod. "I'll be careful, he won't see me."

Hercules just managed to grab Iolaus' vest and keep him from banging his head on the overhang as he started to stand up. "Why don't you wait a while, give him time to get out of the area?" he said persuasively.

"Well, maybe." Iolaus reluctantly settled back down. He sat there a moment, wavering back and forth a little, then blinked in surprise and folded over.

Hercules caught him as he slumped, easing him down to ground.   He checked him anxiously, pushing back the tangled mane of hair to look at the gash on his temple. Iolaus muttered irritably and pushed his hand away without waking. Hercules sat back in relief. Here they were, lying in the dirt, suffering exhaustion and shock, with Iolaus unconscious and bleeding from the head, while Perseus flew off to take credit for killing the monster. Everything's back to normal, the demigod thought, snorted, and winced again.

***

Iolaus woke slowly, reluctantly. His head hurt with a dull, pounding ache and the rest of him was cold and stiff. He wasn't quite sure what had happened, though he felt certain the danger had passed. From the fresh scent of the air and the birdsong he knew it was early morning. He lay curled on his side on cool hard-packed earth, his back pressed against something warm and breathing -- Hercules. He could also tell from the scent it really was Hercules, too; Dahak wasn't good on details anyway and it had never been able to get smells right. That's a relief, he thought, the need to return to full consciousness receding a little.

"Hey," Hercules said, and Iolaus felt a hand ruffle his hair gently. "You awake?"

"Umm, yeah."

"I've.... Well, there's a problem."

"Hmmm?"

"I can't stand up," Hercules said matter-of-factly.

"Huh?" Iolaus blinked, suddenly wide awake. He remembered the shapeshifter almost using both of them as chew toys. He pushed himself up on his elbow, ignoring the sharp pains in various places as his abused body responded to the abrupt movement and twisted around to look worriedly at Hercules. "What?"

Hercules winced again as he shifted slightly. He was still stretched out on the ground, propped up against the earthen wall of their shelter. "I woke up a little while ago and thought I'd go look for the supplies, but...." He shook his head.  

Iolaus sat up, shoving his hair out of his eyes. "Where does it hurt?"

"It's not...ow." Hercules touched his right side. "Here," he said and admitted, "I've got some broken ribs."

Iolaus carefully pulled Hercules' vest and shirt open and sucked in a startled breath at what he saw. There was a large dark bruise over the demigod's right side. Hercules could be wounded just like an ordinary mortal but he healed far more quickly. Any damage the shapeshifter might have managed to inflict should be nearly gone by now. And that thing just wasn't big enough to do this. He's taken swats from giants three times that size without.... But the shapeshifter hadn't been from this world. That must make a difference.

Hercules looked at the bruise. "Ouch. Doesn't look too good," he conceded reluctantly. "I was hoping it would be better by now."

"Yeah." Iolaus thought rapidly. He would have to make a travois to get Hercules down the mountain. First he needed to find their supplies and get the stock of healing herbs the demigod kept, or the jolting of the trip down was going to be agony for him. "I'll go get the packs."

Iolaus turned, scrambling to his feet, only to thump back to the ground. Shaking his head, he twisted around to see what he had tripped over. To his astonishment, he saw Hercules' hand was clamped firmly around his right ankle. "Herc! Stop messing around and let go, I need to--"

"You need to listen to me," Hercules said, patiently insistent.

Iolaus wriggled into a sitting position, trying to pull his ankle free. "We don't have time for this," he said angrily. "You know it's going to take me all day to get you down the mountain then--"

Hercules nodded calmly. "That's why you need to listen to me."

"I need to get you some help--"

"It won't take long."

Iolaus stared at him, then pressed his lips together. Hercules' injuries meant that violence was out of the question. He gestured in frustration. "I can't believe you're doing this."

"I need to explain to you about the other Iolaus," Hercules said patiently.

"Son of a Bacchae." Iolaus ran a hand through his hair, looking away. Hercules wouldn't give up. Iolaus could break down and shout at him all he wanted and Hercules would look hurt, sulk for two heartbeats, and then come back for another round. Hercules couldn't give up. In the combination of mortal and god, the giving-up part had somehow gotten dropped out of the mix. And you should know, he thought, because it's the only reason you're sitting here now.   Still, he tried, "I told you, you don't have to explain anything to me."

"Yes, I do." A hand under his chin turned his head back to face the other man. Unconsciously Iolaus ducked his head, hiding behind his hair, but Hercules leaned down to foil the attempt to avoid his gaze. Almost against his will, Iolaus found himself meeting the demigod's eyes. Hercules said deliberately, "I didn't open the doorway for myself. I didn't go there to look for him."

Iolaus pulled away and took a sharp breath. "All right." It shouldn't matter, but it did.

Hercules sat back, still watching him worriedly. After a moment, he said, "I found a blue swirly doorway. I don't know how long it was open; it might have been the one the shapeshifter used to get here.   But some villagers had gotten pulled into it and I went in after them." He told the story briefly. "After we got back here, I showed him around a little. He didn't know how to live in the real world, he'd been locked up in that palace most of his life--"

"I know." Iolaus drew his hand over his face, rubbed his eyes. He didn't want to think about the sheer insanity of the Sovereign's world. Even while trapped there the place had felt as unreal as an elaborate set on the stage of an Athenian theater. It had seemed so incomplete he had kept expecting to turn a corner and come to a drop-off into empty space; he was surprised the other version of him had lasted a week in the real world.

"After a while he decided it was time to make his own way and he left." Hercules hesitated, as if debating how much more to say, his face pensive and regretful. "That was really for the best. I didn't realize how hard it would be. I already had trouble believing that you were really gone -- part of me kept expecting to turn around and see you. And then when I kept turning around and seeing you...." Then he shook his head a little and added, "It was hard on him too. He's still afraid of me."

Iolaus blinked in surprise. Sometimes people were nervous or suspicious of Hercules, especially if they had had bad experiences with gods or demigods. But once they spent any time around him, they warmed right up. "Even after you rescued him?"

Hercules shrugged. "He couldn't help looking at me and thinking of the Sovereign, any more than I could help looking at him and thinking of you. And then things I'd say would frighten him. Things that seemed perfectly innocuous to me."

Iolaus lifted a brow. "Things like what?" There were some subjects that Hercules could be naive about.

"'It looks like rain today.'"

Iolaus stared at the blue morning sky visible past the rocky overhang, wondering if Hercules had gotten a blow to the head too. "No it doesn't."

"No, I mean that's one of the things that worried him once."

"Oh." Iolaus nodded.   "I see what you mean."

"It doesn't give you much to work with."

"Yeah. Kind of awkward." Iolaus took a deep breath. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh." Hercules' face lost that absent echo of pain. He shook his head slightly, looking away with a wry half-smile. "You're not going to believe this."

"Try me."

"I forgot about it." He shook his head hastily at Iolaus' incredulous expression.   "Not forgot...I just didn't think about it. In Egypt I wasn't thinking about anything that had happened here in the last few months. It didn't occur to me until the day we got back that you didn't know, then....It just didn't seem like the right time."  

Iolaus rested his chin in his hand. Hercules would never admit that this was certainly one thing he had inherited from Zeus. It was typical of that whole "don't go to Alturia because the food is bad" speech Zeus had given them when the actual problem was a crazed half-brother who had been turned into a minotaur. Except of course that Hercules wouldn't lie, he would just stare at you blankly and hope that somehow you would guess what he was unable to tell you.

Hercules looked away again. "Bringing him here...I'm still not sure if it was the right thing to do for him. Maybe it was a little selfish. Helping him find his way here gave me something to think about, but.... It seemed like the right choice at the time and...I couldn't face failing both of you."

"Failing both--" Iolaus stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"I failed you, Iolaus. And both of us need to admit that," Hercules said gravely.

"You didn't--"

"I did. Iolaus--   I told you I wasn't in the best of shape to make decisions when it came to your monument. I didn't handle all this very well. I didn't handle it at all."

Iolaus shifted uncomfortably. "You're a half god. Gods aren't meant to feel grief, or pain, or get over things that happen to them. At least not our gods."

"That's not much of an excuse--" Hercules' face went still, then he winced. "Ow."

"What?" Iolaus studied him anxiously.

The demigod touched his side gingerly. "This is really starting to smart."

"Look, we'll talk about this later, okay? We need to get you off this damn mountain."

"All right," Hercules agreed reluctantly.

Iolaus pushed to his feet and ducked out of their shelter.   At least it was a clear morning, the sky blue and cloudless. He paused to look down the ravine. The shapeshifter's body had turned gray and rubbery, like a dead squid. He frowned, seeing something wrong with the outline of it, then swore in annoyance. Perseus had cut the creature's head off and taken it away as a trophy. What does he do with something like that? Iolaus wondered, climbing back up the rocks to the top of the ravine. Nail it up on the wall so it can look at him with those eyes?   Yech.

He climbed back over the ridge and retrieved his sword, still lying in the dirt where the shapeshifter had flung it. The blue blood had dried on the blade and turned a flaky gray. He scraped it off on the grass and was gathering up their supplies when he spotted movement at the far end of the little valley. He shaded his eyes. It was two men, leading a mule. "What the...." he muttered.

They waved when they saw him and Iolaus ran across the field to meet them. As he got closer he saw with relief that it was two of the villagers, Gelon the headman and Anicles.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Perseus stopped at the camp to say you were dead," Gelon explained, leaning on his staff. The mule snorted and stretched his nose toward Iolaus, trying to search him for treats. "But he didn't bring your bodies back. We thought that was a bit odd. We thought maybe he meant for us to go get you, but he wasn't real clear on it."

"Couldn't see the King of Corinth or King Pheidon being real keen on us leaving you up here," Anicles put in. He was still looking at Iolaus suspiciously, but apparently he looked at everybody like that. "Besides, we heard you were dead before, then you turned up here."

Iolaus nodded. "Good thinking."

***

Continued in Part 3

The Less Than Legendary Journeys http://www.rtis.com/nat/user/chimera/legends.htm