The cold evening wind had swept away the last of the drizzle and torn holes in the clouds; through ragged gaps the remnants of daylight seeped over the pitiful cluster of sodden shacks that comprised the village. In a corner of the yard lay three former inhabitants. The man's gaze shifted from the confused heap of arms and legs to the mean, ramshackle buildings they'd given their lives to defend. He wondered why they had bothered, why they hadn't surrendered at the first sight of the armed war-party like their neighbours. There was nothing at the hamlet worth dying for. Was it courage or stupidity that had led the three to make the stand? Either way they were now cold and dead; their mud-covered bodies kicked aside as broken trash, the refuse of war. The man felt an unexpected twinge of sympathy and guilt. He deliberately squashed the emotion, a mental exercise that became easier each time he did it. If the dead men's families cared enough to bury them it could be done tomorrow, after the war-party had moved on.
The man's attention returned to his leader, the tall woman standing motionless beside him, her eyes staring intently into the gloom that had swallowed the distant forests. He had no doubts she'd dismissed any thought of the dead peasants with even less effort than himself. She was focused on her goal; focused with an intensity that was both frightening and exhilarating. The moment he met her he'd known he had only two alternatives, to follow her blindly or to get smashed out of her way. He had chosen the first option, but had never again felt completely secure. Being Xena's deputy was like riding a thunder-bolt.
At last the woman turned her head and spoke. "Okay Marcus, time to decide... which way do we go?" Her tone made it clear she was voicing her thoughts aloud; asking the question mainly of herself.
"You can wait until morning before committing the war-party. Maybe one of the scouts will find out something. If not..." Marcus shrugged. "...you could toss a coin."
It was the wrong thing to say. Xena's eyes flashed angrily. "This is too important to leave to chance." she hissed. "I can't afford to mess up on this. Lycaon has one of the best armies in Greece, but he controls his troops by fear, and they hate him. There's nobody else in his army capable of leading it, since he gets rid of anyone who might take his place. If I kill Lycaon, and present myself as the new leader, people will be able to hear the troops cheering all the way to Athens, and I'll have made the overnight jump from petty bandit chief to major league warlord." The feral smile returned to her lips at the thought.
Marcus reflected that the savage expression had never been far from Xena's face ever since she'd got news of Lycaon's foolhardy raid and had seen the chance, waiting for someone bold enough to grasp it. Leaving his army laying siege to the town of Volus, Lycaon and his bodyguard had made a lightening foray into the hills. They had sacked one of Apollo's smaller temples; rich, easy pickings, however it was not wise to anger a god. Lycaon was definitely getting too big for his boots. Now he was heading back to rejoin his troops. It was the first time in years he had left the security of their massed ranks. He would be with them in days, but in the meantime with little more than a dozen men to protect him he was so very vulnerable to ambush, and Xena was ready to pounce - the only question was where? Lycaon had the choice of two routes back to Volus and in order to intercept him Xena had to guess which one. The right decision would put her at the head of a disciplined army, ready to move forward to claim the destiny she had planned for herself, the wrong decision would leave her scavenging on the sidelines with the mercenary band of thugs she had scraped together.
Marcus could not keep the scowl from his face as his thoughts touched on the men who were currently following Xena. 'Thugs' was definitely too polite a name for them, but the need for haste had not allowed Xena to be choosy in supplementing her small group of followers. They would be out-classed by Lycaon's trained bodyguard but hopefully their numbers would carry the day. Of the new recruits few were competent warriors and none were trustworthy.
Xena regained Marcus's attention as she sighed and rapped his shoulder softly. "No, you're right. I can sleep on it and make my mind up tomo..." She broke off at the sound of a slight disturbance from the other side of the yard. Peering through the dim light they saw Xena's other deputy, Darphus, appear around a corner, dragging a wretched example of humanity behind him. He tossed the cowering man down at Xena's feet.
"I was talking to the villagers ... seeing if any of them knew anything of interest." As Darphus spoke his eyes darted between Xena and Marcus. "And this old guy ..." He nudged the crumpled figure with his boot. "I thought you might like to hear what he has to say."
Xena bent down, grabbed a fistful of the villager's hair, and hauled him to his knees. Despite the failing light it was impossible to miss the bruised, puffy face, half-closed eyes and missing teeth. Darphus had a way of asking questions which was very effective, but not subtle.
"So. What is it you'd like to tell me?" Xena prompted.
The man whimpered. When he spoke his voice bitter with self-reproach. "We should've listened to her. She told us you were going to get here and we didn't believe her. We should have. We should've taken our things and run when she warned us."
"Somebody had advance news we were coming?" Xena said sharply. She glanced at Darphus for conformation. Her deputy nodded. Involuntarily Xena's hand clenched in a fist. Her whole plan depended on catching her quarry unaware. "Who is this person? Is she one of Lycaon's scouts or a mercenary spy?"
"No. Just an old mad-woman who lives up in the hills."
"Then how did she know about us?"
"How does she know anything?" The man's words choked on a sob.
"Now listen. I'm a bit more patient than Darphus, but I'm a lot nastier when I'm angry. So why don't you take it nice and slow and tell me everything, and try to see that it makes sense to me?" The softness of Xena's voice did nothing to disguise its menace.
The man gulped. "The old woman who lives up in the hills. She came by here yesterday morning. She wanted to barter for a sack of grain off Mellius, but he would only let her have half a sack since it wasn't a good harvest this year and there wasn't much to spare. So she said Mellius might as well let her have it since a war-party was on the way and soon Mellius wouldn't own it anymore. Then Mellius said it would be over his dead body that any man stole his grain. And she said that was how it would be, but it wouldn't be a man, which didn't make sense at the time, but I can see it now."
Xena clenched her teeth. It still wasn't a useful account, but there was no point pushing it further. Darphus had knocked the man out of his wits, it he'd ever had any, and further beating would only make things worse. "Where is this Mellius? Perhaps he might be able to tell us more."
The man cringed, then pointed over to the heap of bodies in the mud. "That's him. And his two sons."
Xena spoke to Darphus, gesturing at the villager with her thumb. "Take this back to where you got it from. See if anyone else can be more helpful." Once he had gone she turned to Marcus "I want you to locate the spy and find out where she got her information. I need to know..."
A voice from the dark interrupted her. "No you don't, it won't help you at all. And you don't need to know that either."
In stunned confusion the two warriors watched as an elderly woman marched across the yard towards them. How had she got there? They both knew the members of the war-band were not of the highest quality, but the sentries should not have been so lax as to let a stranger wander through the camp, especially one who was clearly making no attempt at stealth.
Xena was the first to regain her voice. "Who are you?"
"There's no point asking me questions. All I can say is that it makes no difference to you since the bridge is down."
"Who...? what...? you...?"
"They won't be able to tell you. I could walk in because I knew where they weren't going to be looking." The old woman continued rambling as she came to a halt beside them.
Xena stared at the mad woman for a second more and then turned angrily to Marcus. "Go and check up on the sentries. Find out what they are doing. Why did they let this person wander in. How long has she been here, and where did she come from?"
"You're a bit slow on the uptake dear, I'm already here, although of course I'm not that." The woman said impatiently.
Xena ignored her and continued. "Once you've spoken to the sentries carry on with what I said before and find Lycaon's spy..."
"So he can bring me back when you've finally thought about what I've said." The woman's tone was sarcastic.
"And send someone to take this lunatic and tie her up with the rest of..." Xena's words cut off abruptly.
"I'd have thought that was obvious." the old woman snapped.
Xena turned her head slowly to stare into the sunken eyes. "You can foretell the future?" Xena stopped again and pinched the bridge of her nose. The old woman watched her, arms crossed, by her manner clearly waiting for something. After a few seconds Xena lifted her head. "Okay. It's a clever party trick, but I would find it a lot easier if you let me speak before you reply."
The woman's head tilted in acknowledgement. "If you want, but it won't make any difference to the final outcome."
Xena's thoughts raced. Her gaze shifted to the dark sky while a grim smile spread over her lips. It made sense. Lycaon had pillaged one of Apollo's temples, so Apollo, the god of prophecy, had sent one of his seers to help punish the offender. Her eyes returned to Marcus who was watching her expectantly. She trusted him as much as she trusted anyone, which still wasn't saying much. If the old woman was going to give a glimpse into the future it was information Xena wasn't about to share. "Okay Marcus. You can leave us now. Keep an eye out for any of the returning scouts, and make sure the men stay sober. We're going to have to leave at first light tomorrow."
"Yes Xena." Marcus glanced sharply between the two women, his face troubled, then he turned on his heel and left.
Xena gestured towards the hut she had commandeered for herself. It was the most impressive building in the village. In Xena's opinion this meant it was just a little bit too good to be used as a pigsty, although, from the smell, the same sentiments were not shared by the owner. "Shall we go inside and talk." From her tone it was an order, not a question.
The old woman hesitated as an expression of pain crossed her face. "There really is no point you know." However she then clenched her jaw and walked towards the door Xena had indicated.
Once inside Xena turned up the wick on a lantern to supplement the flickering of the fire. The hut was round, with a lumpy earthen floor. A circle of stones in the middle marked the hearth where a small heap of logs blazed. The thatch roof was blackened from decades of smoke. Around the walls were several piles of soiled hay, covered with blankets; the beds where a family of ten had slept. The only original items of furniture were a couple of stools but, with some planks and an empty barrel, Xena had improvised a table. On it was spread a map. She walked to eagerly and pointed at their current location.
"The bridge is down. It makes no difference to you." The seer said quickly.
Xena glanced up. "I thought we agreed to let me speak first."
"I was just trying to save time so we could all get a good night's sleep."
"You just need to answer a simple question and then we can all go to our beds."
"Simple!" The pain returned to the woman's face. "Oh yes, very simple. Who goes to Tartarus, who goes to the Elysian Fields. What could be simpler? Toss a coin and damn a soul."
"Cryptic comments aren't what I'm after."
"You won't believe what I say no matter how I phrase it."
"Try me."
The old woman stalked to the far side of the hut and turned around, holding out her hand as if expecting to be passed something. Xena's eyes narrowed, but as she was about to speak the door of the hut opened and Darphus entered, carrying a bottle. "Xena, I..." He got no further. The toe of his boot caught on the uneven floor, tripping him. The bottle flew out of his hand and landed neatly in the seer's. She didn't need to move a muscle to make the catch.
Darphus stumbled across the room but managed to save himself from hitting the floor. With his balance regained he looked at Xena. "I persuaded a peasant to share his wine stock with us. I knew you'd like a bottle. And I heard you were interrogating someone..." His eyes darted towards the seer. "You want my help?"
Although the last part of his announcement was delivered casually, it didn't take much to spot the eagerness underneath. Darphus did not want to miss out on hearing the prophecy, however Xena had no intention of letting him stay. "It's all right. I can deal with one old woman on my own. Go and help Marcus keep the troops in order."
Darphus's features tightened in annoyance, but he was not about to challenge the order, and left. The old woman passed the bottle to Xena and then sat on one of the stools, staring into the fire. Xena studied her visitor while removing the wax seal and pouring the wine. There was so much the seer could tell her - things Xena was desperate to know. Would she become a war-lord? Would she conquer the world? Would she be revenged on Caesar? However the seer's thoughts were troubled and tormented; that much was obvious from her face. The sunken eyes fixed blankly on the flames while the old woman fought to keep her lips steady. Was the prophecy she had to give really so bleak?
A quiver of unease jarred Xena's stomach as she passed the seer a goblet of wine. She covered it with a show of disinterest. Sitting on the other stool Xena stretched her long legs towards the fire and sipped her drink. When she finally spoke her voice sounded no more than idly curious. "You know, I've been trying to put a name to you. Catching the bottle like that was quite impressive. I can't help thinking a seer of your skill ought to be renowned throughout Greece; and that's where I hit the problem."
The woman shrugged by way of reply.
Xena went on. "There are only two names which come to mind. But last thing I heard Cassandra was dead and Tiresias was a man."
"Well, as Tiresias can answer for one, and you'll demonstrate for the other, neither state is necessarily permanent." The woman's eyes did not leave the fire as she spoke.
Xena caught her breath. The seer was playing word games, and Xena did not like people playing games with her, but she knew it would be wisest to restrain her temper with Apollo's emissary. Forcing her voice to be calm she said. "So you might be either?"
The seer closed her eyes. For a long time there was silence, but at last she said in a whisper. "I'm Cassandra."
"Clytemnestra wasn't quite as successful in killing you as she made out?"
"Clytemnestra and I had no quarrel."
Xena's eyebrow rose slightly. "I'd heard she'd murdered you in a fit of jealousy."
Unexpectedly the seer gave a humourless bark of laugher. "And I'll bet it was a man who told you that."
"Do you say that from prophecy or guesswork?"
"Experience." Cassandra snapped. "Only a man could think a woman would be murderously jealous of her husband's rape victim. Especially with a husband like Agamemnon."
"The story I heard was you'd come to love him and threw yourself in front of him to shield his body with your own." Xena's tone was lightly ironic.
"That bastard!" Cassandra snorted in derision. "Clytemnestra and I had identical opinions of him. He'd slaughtered my family, dragged me home as a war-trophy and repeatedly raped me. I'd have stabbed him myself except I knew it would hurt just that little bit more when his own wife stuck the knife in. I'd have given her a hand if she needed it, but she didn't - not a good lady to get on the wrong side of."
"So why did she pretend she'd killed you as well?"
"We made a bargain. She told people she'd killed me and I foretold the future for her. Which was the nearest it got to her actually killing me. Her sweet little Orestes? Mamma's little darling? How dare I say such things about him? I tell you, Clytemnestra has got a tartarus of a temper. But in the end she stuck to her end of the bargain and told folk the agreed story."
"Why?"
"She's a woman of her word."
"No, I mean why did you want people to think you were dead?"
"Anonymity. There was nobody left who I wanted to be with, and this way I didn't get bothered by fools like you, asking me about the future."
Xena's head shot up, her eyes glittered dangerously. "You should be careful of what you call me, or you might be unpleasantly surprised by the consequences."
The seer was unmoved by the threat. "Oh no. Consequences, pleasant or otherwise, are never a surprise to me. I can believe my own prophesies, although you can't." She looked across the hearth at Xena. "Come on girl, wake up. I'm Cassandra, remember? You must have heard my story."
With effort Xena put a curb on her anger; the information the seer had to give was too important to jeopardise. Her expression calmed as she searched her memory. "You were a priestess of Apollo." she began hesitantly.
"Yes." Cassandra confirmed, as if encouraging an infant.
"Apollo took a fancy to you and asked you to become his lover."
"That's right as well."
"At first you said yes, so Apollo gave you the gift of prophecy..." Xena's eyes fastened on the other woman. "...and then you changed your mind and said no. Apollo couldn't recall his gift, but he cursed you so that though you'd always foretell the truth you'd never be believed."
Cassandra pursed her lips. "I guess that covers most of the facts, though it leaves out the important bits, such as motives."
"Well, maybe as a virgin priestess you were a bit naive, but I can tell you it's the sort of thing that really gets guys mad."
"Not Apollo's motives - mine."
"You wanted to play hard to get?"
"Hardly." Cassandra's voice became wistful. "Firstly, I'd given my life to the service of Apollo; I'd have been honoured if he'd merely wanted to shake my hand. And secondly he is an incredibly good-looking guy. When he appeared and said what he wanted I was on the point of crying with happiness... and then the great immortal fool had to go and spoil it. I didn't want to become a seer. I didn't ask for it. It was just a whim of his. As you'll find out for yourself the gods don't have the first idea about what makes humans tick. There I was, carried away with passion, and suddenly the whole future of the world flashed before my eyes."
"I can see the timing was off." Xena commented dryly.
Cassandra showed no sign of hearing. She hugged her arms around her knees and went on in dull tones. "I saw everything that will be, or might be or could be. And I saw what my life would be as an oracle, and what I would be responsible for - the misery I would cause."
"I don't see that foretelling the future makes you responsible for it."
"My prophesies would have changed the future."
"Would that be so bad?"
"Yes, given the sort of questions I was going to be asked - questions like when a nervous war-lord would come to me and say, 'If I attack that city will I succeed?'. Apollo's curse wouldn't let me lie. I'd have to say 'yes' and hundreds would be slaughtered. Without me he'd have lacked the guts to try." Cassandra paused with a frown. "Did lack the guts to try." she corrected herself. "That situation is now past." She shrugged. "It's one problem with being a seer - tense gets so awkward."
"Surely all situations wouldn't have been so..." Xena broke off hunting for the word she wanted.
"There'd have been more bad than good. If I'd just accepted becoming Apollo's seer I'd have been responsible for the deaths of countless thousands. I couldn't face it." Cassandra's eyes fixed on the flames as a sad smile twitched the corner of her mouth. "When you heard my story didn't it occur to you that I knew what would be the result of telling Apollo I'd had second thoughts?"
"You wanted him to fix it so you'd never be believed?" Xena said in realisation.
"Yes. And the world has been a much happier place for it, although I've not had much to smile about. I saw my home destroyed, watched my brothers go out one by one to their deaths, stood by helpless as my father made mistake after mistake, and there was nothing I could do. Hector was my favourite brother. I begged him not to go into battle that day, but he just smiled at me, kissed my forehead, picked up his sword and walked out the door. It was..."
Xena had no time for wailing over lost wars. She interrupted impatiently. "But I need your help now."
Cassandra took a deep breath, pulling her thoughts back from the past. She looked at Xena sadly. "No you don't. The bridge is down. It makes no difference to you."
"So why have you come here?"
"Because it couldn't be avoided. We were fated to meet tonight."
"Destiny?"
"No, just a waste of time..." Cassandra's head sunk. "...or Apollo's last blow. I'm reduced to sitting here crying on one of the few occasions when my prophecies could have done some good. If only you could believe me I could try to talk you into going back. But you can't and I can't, and a soul will be damned on the toss of a coin."
Xena hated riddles - the sense of being played with. While she fought with her temper she tossed back the last of her wine and went to refill her goblet. In frustration her eyes fixed on the map. Cassandra knew which way Lycaon was going to go, but Apollo's curse meant her prophecy would not be believed. A sudden thought hit Xena. Of course! She didn't need to believe Cassandra's advice, merely to follow it, no matter how unlikely it seemed. With a full goblet she returned to her seat, but before she could speak Cassandra raised her eyes from the flames and said. "And after all I've told you, you're still going to ask me to foretell the future for you."
Xena nodded.
"Do you realise I've already answered your question three times?"
Xena frowned as she searched her memory. Surely Apollo's curse was supposed to cause disbelief, not amnesia? "Try me again."
"Okay. In nice easy words. The bridge has been washed away so Lycaon is trapped. Therefore it makes no difference to you which..." Suddenly Cassandra's face crumpled as the pain which had been underlying her voice all evening ripped through. "To you - just to you. It makes no difference to you... but to one of them it is..." Her voice died in sobs.
Xena's lips compressed in a tight line - why did oracles have to play the wild mystic? Why did they have to be so dramatic? Why did they insist on turning their advice into a guessing game? She sighed. "All right. If that's the way it has to be, give me the riddles. Tell me what you see."
"What I see?" Cassandra raised her head. Tears were flowing down her face. "I see a spinning coin. And I see two young girls, all blond hair and innocence. Sleeping... they're sleeping under their parents' roof... for tonight. One last night, and no way to save them both. I see broken dreams and madness. A damned soul. I see blood and blades and fire and the gates of tartarus gaping like the jaws of death, swallowing..."
Xena interrupted harshly. "You can't frighten me with visions of tartarus. I've already accepted that's where I'm headed."
Cassandra buried her face in her hands, rocking dementedly backwards and forwards. There was a long time of silence but at last she got herself under control. When she dropped her hands her eyes were dead, and so was her voice. "And the irony is you might yet avoid it. But one of them can't."
Xena was getting impatient. "Look, what I want to know is..."
"Which one will love you? Which one will hate you?" Now it was Cassandra's turn to interrupt.
"I'm not some teenage girl, giggling over the name of her future lover."
"You think anything else is at issue here?"
The two women glared at each other. Xena opened her mouth to speak but a distant sound caught her attention - horses and shouting, getting louder. She turned back to the seer. "I'm going to have to find out what the commotion is about, but first, a simple answer, east or west. Which way do I go?"
"The bridge is down. It makes no difference to you." Cassandra's voice had shrunk to a whisper. Then she looked up, her face more settled. "But that's five times I've told you so I can go now."
The sound from outside was getting closer. Xena stood and walked to the door, aware that Cassandra was at her shoulder. As they stepped through the old woman said, "We'll meet twice more. It will never be easy, but this time is the worst." Xena ignored her.
Outside the drizzle had returned, falling as a soft whisper on the mud of the yard. While they had been talking true night had fallen. With clouds hiding the moon it was scarcely possible to see to the buildings opposite, however Xena recognised Marcus's voice calling her name. "What is it?" she shouted back.
Three figures came close. In the light from the doorway Xena recognised Marcus, Darphus and Allium, one of her better scouts. Darphus spoke first. "We've got news of Lycaon, you've got to hear this."
Xena beckoned them into the hut, noting that Cassandra was gone, taking advantage of the distraction to slip away into the night. A small loss, Xena told herself. Whatever her skills as a seer the woman was completely deranged, although fortunately harmless.
"What is it?" she repeated to the scout.
Allium drew a deep breath. "Lycaon must have been nervous, away from his army. He pushed the pace on his return journey. I got to Dalantria, thinking he'd be arriving there soon, to find he'd already passed through. He's a full day's march ahead of where we'd thought."
Xena swore and spun to stare at the map, taking in the distances. It was hopeless. The plans for an ambush were wasted.
Marcus coughed to attracted her attention. "There's more." he said gently.
"What."
Allium hesitated for a second then went on. "It hasn't done Lycaon any good. The bridge at Perrios has been washed away by a flood. It won't be fixed for at least another two days. Lycaon is trapped on this side of the river and his army is on the other."
Xena's eyes bored into the map, glinting like blue fire. Her finger rested on the symbol for the bridge. "We can get there before the bridge is fixed?" she asked for confirmation.
"Just about, with luck."
"Which route is the quickest?"
The scout sucked in a breath as her considered the question. He shook his head. "Nothing in it. Lycaon is going to be camped beside the fallen bridge, so it doesn't matter which way you go."
Xena froze, then covered her eyes with her hand. "She told me that, and I didn't..." She twisted her head to glance at the door, tempted to go in search of the old seer, but there was no point and other, more pressing, things to do.
"We need to leave at once and travel fast." Darphus said.
Marcus frowned. "That might be a problem. The troops are low on supplies. We'd intended to forage a bit on the way."
"One way to solve both problems." Darphus said curtly.
Xena rejoined the debate. "What do you suggest?"
"Leave the remains of the food and bedding here. We'll travel faster without the extra weight. Tomorrow night we can hit a village and replace everything we need. It would do the troops good as well." Darphus's lips twitched in the parody of a smile. "A third of them have never been blooded before, and another third are soft. An easy fight, a bit of bloodshed and mayhem, and it will fire them up for the battle with Lycaon. There's nothing like killing a few people to make a man feel like a warrior."
"Make a man feel like a butcher, you mean." Marcus did not hide his disgust.
"There ain't that much difference - neither can afford to be frightened of blood."
Xena stepped back in before the disagreement became an argument. "Darphus is right." Even as she spoke a momentary expression of doubt flitted across her face at the thought of setting the ill-disciplined troops loose on civilians, but she could not afford to be squeamish. She went on quickly. "Allium, you know this area. Which of the two routes has a village at a suitable position, big enough for the supplies we need, but not so big as to put up much of a fight?"
The scout considered the map. "They both do. If we take the east route it would be this one here." His finger rested on a circle next to a name. "And if we take the west route it would be this one."
"What's to chose between them?"
"Absolutely nothing. All the villages in these parts are identical."
Xena stood back. Almost without thinking she dug a dinar from the pouch on her belt and balanced it on her thumb. Her eyes fixed on the coin and for a second she froze. There was something Cassandra had said, something about tossing a coin, but it didn't matter. As the mad seer had told her repeated, it made no difference. Xena glanced back to the map, noting the names of the two villages and tossed the coin.
"Heads we go via Cirra, tails it's Poteidia."