Chapter 4
Bridle-less, Mystic galloped down the trail at full speed – Jessa, naked, clung to his back, her hands clutching his mane. Her fiery hair blazed in a tumultuous banner, whipped to a frenzy by the speed of their passage. The horse instinctively knew what his rider needed right now – the sense of escape – even if it was tenuous at best – Jessa couldn’t really get away from Ares if he really wanted to pursue her.
Blinded by her tears, sobbing, Jessa was lost in the turmoil of her mind. Hero…Ares... warrior... Ares… warlord… Ares… Warrior Queen… Ares… passion…Ares… passion…Ares… passion… Ares… gods help me…
The trail came to a sharp turn but the horse was sure-footed and he took it easily. However, he did not count on the mud waiting for him around the bend.
He didn’t even have time for its existence to register in his brain before he hit it, full-gallop. Squealing in alarm, he skidded, spinning. His scrambling back feet slipped out from under him and he hit the ground rump-first and then began to flip over. He slammed hard onto his back – but Jessa was already air-borne, cart-wheeling.
The world was a blur… something slammed into her head…
P-A-I-N… darkness…
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Darkness… P-A-I-N…
Jessa groaned and opened her eyes. There was a flickering light in the darkness… it hurt her head to see it… there were figures moving in the flickering light but she could not make them out, everything was blurred. She groaned again.
"She’s coming around," a voice said. A male voice. Close. It was spoken low but still it seemed too loud in her head, and distorted.
Jessa tried to sit up. The blanket she had been covered with slipped down and she could feel the coolness of the night air on her naked skin.
"Make her stay down," a voice said. A different voice, too loud and distorted also, but male as well.
Hands grabbed her by her upper arms and pressed her back down to the ground. Jessa struggled, though it caused her head great pain.
"Hold her feet," the first voice said. Hands grabbed her ankles.
Jessa began to panic. "No!" she cried, "No!"
"You have to stay down!" the first voice insisted. His grip on her arms was strong.
Screaming, Jessa frantically tried to break the grip of the men.
"She’s just going to hurt herself! Let her go!"
Suddenly she was free. Her hand flew to the back of her head, reaching into the depths of her hair. Then, her hand flew in an arc at the shadowy figure of the one who had held her by the arms – something in her hand glittered in the firelight.
"Look out!"
The man tried to block her blow. She did not hit him in the chest as she had aimed, but she did strike him. The blade of the small dagger plunged completely through one hand, to the hilt. The man cried out in pain. Jessa jerked the dagger free, causing the man to cry out again. Grimacing in pain, he backed away, holding the wrist of his skewered hand.
Jessa scrambled to her feet. She stood there, naked in the firelight, weak and swaying, but with her knife at the ready. She struggled to see – the pounding pain in her head was blurring her vision.
"Stay back!" she warned fiercely, "Or I’ll kill you both!"
The second man stepped in front of his wounded companion. "Calm down!" he said, "We’re not going to hurt you!"
"Oh! Of course not! I suppose you two always go around pinning naked women to the ground with nothing but the best of intentions!"
"You’re hurt!" he replied, "You have a concussion! You should be laying down, not running around stabbing good Samaritans that are only trying to help you!"
"Trying to help themselves, you mean!"
"No! We won’t hurt you, I swear!" the blonde man said. "Listen… my name is Iolaus… and this is my friend, Hercules… surely you’ve heard of him!"
Jessa blanched. "You’re Hercules?" she whispered.
"Yes, I am," the tall man responded.
"Right…" Jessa breathed weakly, "And I’m a snake-haired gorgon!"
"What?" the blonde man asked, taken aback.
Jessa’s head started swimming. "I’ve heard that one before… I don’t believe you." She lost her balance and staggered a few steps.
"See! You need help!" The blonde man took a step toward her.
"No!" Jessa cried, waving her knife, "Stay back!"
"Gods! What do I have to do to convince you!"
Jessa was swaying badly now.
The blonde man threw up his hands in frustration. "I guess I could just stand here and wait for you to fall over!"
Jessa staggered again – her head screamed with pain. The world spun in dizzying circles.
"Come on!" the man cried in earnest exasperation, "Let me help you!"
Abruptly, Mystic’s large head appeared over the shoulder of the man. Reaching down, the horse nuzzled the man’s chest, inviting him to scratch his neck. He nickered, a long, staccato call.
"See! Your horse likes me! How bad a guy can I be!"
"Mystic…" Jessa breathed. The last of her resistance melted away. The dagger slid out of her hand and she began to fall.
"Whoa!" the man exclaimed in alarm, as he rushed to her and caught her before she struck the ground.
"Easy, now," he said gently, "I’ve got you – everything’ll be okay."
He picked her up and gently placed her back onto the blanket by the fire where she had first awakened. The tall man covered her with another blanket.
"You really are Hercules?" she asked weakly.
"Yes, I really am Hercules."
Jessa shook her head in disbelief. "What in Hades is it with this place, anyway? Two gods, and two heroes, in two days! Don’t any normal people live around here?"
Gratefully, she slipped back into the darkness.
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The flickering of firelight illuminated Jessa’s face in the night. Something cool stroked her face soothingly. Slowly rousing, she opened her eyes and saw a face. The blond man smiled and gently spoke.
"Well, hi there… it’s about time… we were beginning to worry about you."
Another face appeared, peering over the shoulder of the first man. "Welcome back."
Jessa tried to focus her mind – it was sluggish. She tried to rise.
"Easy!" Iolaus cautioned, "You’re still weak as a kitten!" He helped her sit up, using Jessa’s rolled-up traveling cloak as a pillow.
"How are you feeling?" asked Hercules.
Jessa gave him a wan smile. "Oh, I’m just fine… but would somebody please tell that band of war-drummers to hold their practice session somewhere other than in my head?"
"She’ll be alright!" the blonde man said as both men laughed.
"Seriously," Hercules asked, "How’s your head doing?"
"Not too bad, really, I’ve had worse headaches… but not many."
"Good, you really did have us worried – you were out for two days."
"Gods!" Jessa exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah, that’s quite a bump you’ve got," he said, as he gently brushed the hair back from her forehead.
Jessa reached her hand up and tenderly touched the swelling. "Gods! It’s the size of Mount Olympus!" she exclaimed.
Iolaus laughed, "Well not quite, but I’ll bet it’s somewhere up in the top ten!
"You know," he said smiling, "For someone in your condition, you sure put up a good fight."
"Oh, gosh!" Jessa said, "I forgot! I’m so sorry!"
"That’s okay… no harm done…" he reassured her.
"That’s easy for you to say!" interjected Hercules holding up his hand. It was wrapped in a blood-soaked scrap of fabric.
"By the gods!" Jessa cried. "Look what I’ve done to you! Oh, I’m so sorry!"
"Hey, it’s okay… I know you didn’t do it on purpose… my hand just got in the way of your dagger!" Hercules joked.
"Oh no!" Jessa cried, refusing to be mollified, "It’s entirely my fault!"
"It’s okay… I can see how you could have misunderstood our intentions. I just wish I could get the wound to stop bleeding – nothing I’ve tried has worked."
"The dagger was coated with a powerful anti-coagulant," Jessa said miserably.
"Oh – so the victim would bleed to death even if the wound wasn’t initially a fatal one," Hercules reasoned, "Great."
Jessa jumped to her feet. "But I can stop it!" She was several steps away before she realized that she had forgotten her blanket.
"Oops!" she said. Snatching the blanket from where it had fallen, she quickly wrapped it around herself.
She grabbed Hercules by the arm, "Please, sit down!" She practically forced him to a seat.
"I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!" she said as she hurried over to where the men had placed her saddlebags. She frenziedly dug into them – sending those possessions she didn’t need flying over her shoulder. The two men ducked and held out their hands, trying to avoid the barrage of items.
"Easy! Easy!" Hercules said, "I’m not going to bleed to death just yet!"
Finding what she needed, Jessa dashed back to his side. Suddenly calm, she took his hand gently into her own.
"I’m so sorry," Jessa apologized again as she unwrapped the wound. Blotting at the seeping blood, she examined the wound. "It’s not too bad," she informed him, relieved, "No ligaments or bones have been damaged." She opened an oiled-skin packet and removed a measure of brown powder. Adding a bit of water to it, she mixed it into a paste in the palm of one hand.
She paused and looked up into Hercules’ eyes, "Now I’m really sorry," she said.
He looked at her puzzled, "What for?"
"This," she said – and scraping the paste off of her palm with one finger, she began pushing it down into the wound, forcing it deep into the tissues.
"Ahhhhhhh!" Hercules yelled loudly, trying to snatch back his hand, but Jessa held it firmly.
"I know it hurts like Hades but we’ve got to get it all the way through the entire wound to stop the bleeding and prevent infection!" She pushed the paste into the wound from both sides of his hand, working as quickly as she could – but there were tears of smarting pain running down the man’s face before she was through.
Now, opening a jar, Jessa began applying a balm. "This will take away the pain… I promise… just give it a moment." Done with that, she tore a length of bandage from a roll and began bandaging his hand.
"You’re really good at that," Iolaus remarked.
Jessa gave him a small smile, "I should be, I’ve dressed more wounds than I can count."
Reaching the end of the bandage, she split the material lengthwise, using her teeth, and tied up the ends, finishing her work.
"All done!" she announced, smiling brightly at her patient.
A bit pale, Hercules gave her a weak smile in return.
Her face fell. She raised her hands to his face and wiped off the tears that still streaked his cheeks. "I am really very sorry! Please forgive me!" She seemed on the verge of tears.
He could hardly bear to see her distress. "Of course," he said sincerely, "It’s all right… all’s forgiven…"
Choking, Jessa placed her arms around his neck, hugging him, burying her face in his shoulder.
Taken aback, Hercules hesitated, but then returned the hug with his one, good arm. He held her for a moment, and then relaxed his grip. Jessa too relaxed her arms and pulled back, but kept her hands locked behind his neck. She looked into his eyes, blinking back the tears.
"Now," Hercules said with mock severity, "No more ‘I‘m sorries’… okay?"
Jessa managed a smile and nodded her head. "Okay." She released her grip around his neck, but then placed one hand on his cheek – a final stroke of apology. When she finally pulled all of the way back from him, turning to face his companion, she missed the look of tenderness that crossed his face.
"Are you alright?" she asked Iolaus, "Did I hurt you too?"
"No," he assured her, "I’m just fine."
"Good." The relief was obvious in her voice.
They all seated themselves around the fire.
"Thank you both so much for helping me," the woman said, "My name is Jessa."
The men smiled and mumbled greetings.
"And this is Mystic." She indicated the stallion by stroking the head that the horse had lowered as he took up position just behind her.
The two men exchanged puzzled looks, but then shrugged their shoulders. "Hello, Mystic," they said, humoring her.
"That’s quite a horse you have there," Iolaus remarked
"What do you mean?" Jessa queried.
"The woods where you were is crisscrossed with dozens of tracks and trails," Hercules said, "The odds of anyone coming across you was pretty slim."
"Then I guess I was pretty lucky you two happened to be on the same trail that I was on," she said.
"No… actually we were on another trail altogether – headed in another direction."
"Then, how…?"
"It was your horse," Iolaus said, "He was screaming such bloody-murder like you wouldn’t believe! I didn’t know a horse scream so loud! We heard him and ran Hades-bent-for-leather toward the racket, not knowing what kind of rampaging marauders we were going to find! Imagine our surprise when we arrived to find one almost-hoarse horse and one unconscious, naked lady!"
Jessa paled as his remark brought back the memories of the events that led up to that situation.
"Hey," Hercules said, concerned, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Are you alright?"
Jessa nodded, but he was not convinced.
"How did you wind up there?" Hercules asked quietly.
Jessa tried to speak, but no words would come. Her cascading hair hid her face as she hung her head.
"It’s okay, Jessa," Hercules said gently, "You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to."
Jessa looked miserably up at the two men. "Listen guys, I really am grateful for what you’ve done for me, but, you would probably be better off without me around – I’ve got two gods who are probably pretty pissed-off at me right now."
"Gods?" Iolaus said in confusion. Then his face lit up. "Wait a minute! You mean Ares and Strife?"
Jessa looked at him in surprise, "How did you know!"
The blonde man cackled and slapped his knee in delight. "You mean you were the reason that Ares was so mad that he wanted to nuke Strife into oblivion!"
"Iolaus," Hercules said.
Iolaus ignored him. "I don’t know if you can even count them as two gods," he said through his continued laughter, "Strife was pretty much toast when we last saw him!"
"Iolaus!" Hercules said more strongly.
"Burnt toast as I recall!" Iolaus completely lost it now – he was on his knees clutching his ribs from the pain his laughter was causing him. Tears ran down his face.
"IOLAUS!" Hercules shouted – he grabbed his friend roughly by the back of his vest and yanked him up so forcefully that Iolaus’ feet actually left the ground for a moment.
Iolaus looked into Hercules’ stern face with shock. "What?" Hercules’ eyes shifted and Iolaus glanced in the direction they indicated.
Jessa was standing, just at the edge of the firelight, her face buried in Mystic’s mane.
Iolaus looked back at his friend in confusion. "What?" he repeated.
"Think Iolaus!" Hercules commanded with a low but hard voice, "Ares was naked when we found him… she was naked when we found her!"
The confusion on Iolaus’ face transformed into horror. "Oh, gods! You mean Ares… Oh, gods Hercules!" He looked back at Jessa, "Oh, gods!"
Hercules released his friend.
"Oh, Herc, I didn’t think… I mean it never crossed my mind…" Iolaus was in obvious misery.
Hercules stalked over to the rock outcropping against which they had based the camp. A blow from his fist shattered a large boulder to pebbles and dust. "That bastard!" he spat from between clenched teeth. "That arrogant bastard thinks that just because he’s a god he can take whatever he wants!"
Iolaus was sitting on the ground, one knee bent, he ran his hands through his hair – his face was sheer anguish, tears filled his eyes. He looked again at Jessa’s weeping form. "Gods! How could I have been so blind!"
Hercules put a hand on his suffering friend’s shoulder. "Iolaus, you didn’t know."
"But I should have! You saw it! But not me – no! – not blind old Iolaus! Not me! Iolaus - always the jokester! – always the clown! – never seeing what’s right in front of his nose!"
"Iolaus, you’re being too hard on yourself."
"How can you say that! Look what I did to her!"
Iolaus lurched to his feet and started off into the darkness beyond the campfire’s light.
"Iolaus!" Hercules called, "Where are you going!"
Iolaus paused and turned back for a moment. His reddened eyes flicked to where Jessa stood – in the opposite direction from that in which he had been going. "I just can’t be here right now," he said, his voice cracking. He turned and hurried off through the underbrush.
Hercules watched until his friend disappeared into the darkness. He then turned and looked to where Jessa was. His eyes seethed with a cold, hard anger. "You’ll pay for what you’ve done Ares," he vowed, "For both of them."
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