"Yes, and not just cows, but swine and sheep, on many farms, not just mine."

"Any other strange things?"

"The lights. High in the sky, and on the ground. They move very fast. We think they are gods coming to punish us. But we don’t know why. We don’t which god to pray to, to ask forgiveness."

"I don’t think it was any god. At least, no god I know of," Xena said.

"Maybe I should take a look at your daughter," Gabrielle said to Milos.

Milos’ farmhouse was little more than a one-room thatched hut. As they walked in, Milos lit several candles. Milos’ daughter, Alylla, about fourteen years old, was sitting in a chair, a rope wrapped around her and the back of the chair several times.

"This is to keep her from falling to the floor. She eats if I put food in her mouth. And she drinks if I put a cup to her lips. But if I didn’t, she would die of thirst and starvation."

Bringing one of the candles closer, Gabrielle brightened it so she could see better. It was obvious there was something seriously wrong with Alylla. Her hair was stringy and dirty. She smelled of sweat and urine. She was very much underweight. And there was a blank, empty look in her eyes.

"Alylla? Can you hear me? My name is Gabrielle. Your father brought me here to help you. I am a Healer, a Goddess of Healing."

There was no response; Gabrielle didn’t expect one.

Gabrielle slowly moved her hands over Alylla, starting with both sides of her head, down to her neck and shoulders, then her chest and back, her belly and hips. When she had finished the examination, a concerned look was on her face, worry in her eyes.

"There is something very wrong with her. Her insides have been — tampered with. I don’t  understand what was done to them. Her heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, everything has been altered."

"Can you Heal her?" Xena asked.

"I think so. There is no damage like there would be of she was sick or wounded. Milos, is there a cot or bed we can lay down on?"

Milos brought up a crude cot he had made himself. Looking suspiciously at it, Gabrielle reinforced the strength of the joints. She gently lay Alylla down on it, then lay beside her, Alylla’s head cradled in the crook of her left elbow, Gabrielle’s right hand on the young woman’s midsection.