Magic Misplaced

Chapter 3

"Something's wrong here, Xena. That vision I had. I've never felt anything like it."

Xena knealt next to her friend, taking out the balance of their bread and cheese for breakfast.

"I think it was just a dream. Nothing to worry about."

Gabrielle was incredulous. "Just a dream? Xena, how can you think this was just a dream? Doesn't it strike you as odd that both of us dreamed about the same place? Or that I..."

Xena stopped listening to Gabrielle's tirade as her eyes were drawn to a section of the wall. Unconciously, she stood and walked over to the images.

They were the same as in her dream, without the beautiful lighting she remembered. Gently, she ran her fingertips over the images, coming to rest on the swirl.

Gabrielle had stopped talking when Xena had walked away. Suddenly, she had a most urgent desire to explore the room.

Unwaveringly, she walked to the small alter that was well hidden against the far wall. Her hands rested heavily on the top, and unbidden, the words of her vision sprang from her lips.

"A warrior must make peace. A peacemaker must make war."

And, just as in her vision, the box opened, revealing a dagger inside. Gabrielle couldn't believe it! Her vision was real.

She turned to tell Xena of her discovery, but saw her friend spinning around in circles before collapsing on the floor. Gabrielle rushed to her side, the dagger still clenched in her hand.

Xena was just getting up when Gabrielle reached her. In her haste to reach her fallen companion, Gabrielle fell to her knees at Xena's side. The dagger in her hand arched overhead before plummeting forward with her momentum.

It struck Xena's outer arm, cleanly slicing a gash across her bicep. Gabrielle gasped and threw the dagger away as Xena stared as if in a trance.

Xena felt no pain, and really didn't know she had been injured. The light from above was brighter than any she had ever seen, and it made her feel at peace with herself, as if all her sins had been washed away.

Then, the light brightened even more, so much so that Xena couldn't stand it's brilliance any longer. She closed her eyes and a rumble echoed in the room.

Gabrielle sat entranced. The blood from Xena's would fell into a puddle on the floor, glistening from the too bright light overhead. That's when she felt it.

The granite beneath them shook and the rumbles of endless thunder reverbated through their bodies. Gabrielle knew they had to run, but couldn't move. She watched as the granite stone fractured where the little puddle began, shooting cracks out in every direction around them.

Terrifyingly frozen in place, Xena and Gabrielle watched as the conclusion of their ritual created the chaos around them. Steam seeped thru the cracks of the granite, curling and congealing slowly in the light. All became dead quiet.

The light faded and revealed a naked man, his hair a long, black curtain trailing to his hips. His muscled arms crossed over his impressively chisled chest in an arrogant pose of disregard. Around the bulging bicep of his left arm was a network of scars in the pattern of the swirl Xena had touched.

Xena and Gabrielle couldn't beleive thier eyes. The most stunningly attractive man either of them had ever seen had just materialized out of the mist, right before their eyes!

The man stared at the two women, casually inspecting them as he would anything catching his interest. He waited for one of them to speak, but when neither looked like they were going to converse any time soon, he became impatient.

"You have summoned Darius of the Djinn. What is it you desire?"