You know you can't hold me forever
I didn't sign up with you
I'm not a present for your friends to open
This boy's too young to be singing the blues
Good-Bye Yellow Brick Road
Elton John

Upon entering the room, she saw the frame of her Master large and strong stretched out upon his bed. The sheet that covered his chest was soaked with blood. With a careful hand, she pulled it away from his body to reveal a laser strike just below his heart. Daniel’s words rolled around and around in her head. She should let him die. She would let him die, if she could. Kanan’s eyes tumbled open and fell upon her distant stare. Standing there, over him, looking down upon him (for once) wounded and frail, his breathing shallow, she watched as blood spewed forth from his mouth as he coughed. With a strength she did not know she possessed until that very moment, she stared down at into the face of her Master and said, “Naganti Kanan, hanna nin yeswe et se yowhen.” (Master Kanan, let me go and I will heal you.)

“Co," The pained look on his face turned into a knowing snarl. “Nin aswanz, gin aswanz.” (I die you die.)

“Hei. Set un yese ginan aswanz, coh’dan.” (Yes. Then we will die as we have lived, together.) Her voice was strong and her eyes did not betray her. In this moment, Calla was willing to end it all right here and now if he did not let her go.

“Cha’Dech!” He hissed at her and coughed once more spraying forth bright red spittle that spattered upon his sheets.

“Nin, insete Naganti Kanan, wunan et grede. Nin hannah.” (I have served you long and well. Let me go.) Calla whispered to her dying Master.

Kanan reached for her hand and then looked past her to the white men standing in the doorway to his chamber. “Co. Ney se, nin waytak ginan.” (No, you are bonded to me.) “Wotok gin, Cha’Dech? Wotok waytak?” (Who will care for you, whore? Who will you bond to?) “Cok’Mon.” (A white man?) “Dan-yell?” His voice turned dark and knowing as his dark eyes locked to Daniel’s light ones. “ Co wotok gin, Dan-yell et Cha'Dech.” (No, Daniel will not bond himself to a mere whore. He will not care for you.)

“Naganti Kanan wotok re maen.” (Master Kanan does not care for me now.) Her eyes teased him as she rubbed her hands together before his eyes creating strands of amber energy between her fingertips. “Naganti Kanan, hanna nin yeswe et se yowhen.”

“What are they saying?” Colonel O’Neill whispered to Daniel as they stood in the door.

“Well, I’m not sure but I think she’s telling him that if he lets her go, she’ll save his life. He’s not too hot on that idea.”

Pain ripped through the large man’s chest, he could feel his very life essence slipping away from him. It was unbelievable to him that she would betray him at this time when he needed her most of all. She would pick now to barter for her life. It was true; Calla had reached the end of her rope. She would rather let Naganti Kanan die and then buried with him rather than to go on living in his castles keep. “Gak Cok’Mon, Cha'Dech. Cok’Mon, wotok wytak, Cha'Dech?”

Calla did not turn to look at the men behind her. “Co. Naganti Kanan Cok’Mon gak. Gak.“ (No. Master Kanan speak the white man’s words. Speak.) “Naganti Kanan homa trey. ) (Master Kanan is running out of time.)

Now it was Kanan’s turn to have his head spinning out of control while he lay with his life's’ blood draining from his frame. “White men,” his throat struggled with the words, “is there one of you will bond the whore to himself?”

I need him. Callas’ words echoed through Daniel’s head and now he thought, to some extend he understood what she meant. Rough and crude as he was, Daniel could see that Naganti Kanan’s touch did not burn Callas’ skin as the others did. For a reason he did not know yet but would find out later, Daniel knew that Kanan would not let her leave this place without unless she was bonded to another man. “I will.” Daniel said in a strong voice as he took a step forward. “I will take her.”

With her back to Daniel, Calla smiled down into the dying face of her Master. “Hasho.” (I told you) She whispered defiant triumph. “Gak.” She insisted.

“Big resabity. You take, Dan-yell?”

Resabity? What was that? Daniel thought for a moment. “Responsibility?” He asked. “It is a big responsibility?”

“Hei.” Kanan agreed. “You take?”

“Yes.”

“You under-st-an-d?” Kanan coughed once more, the hole in his chest opened wide to reveal his internal organs. “You take, free.....fr....free-ly? You rit-uu-all?”

No, he did not understand at all but that was all right for now. “Yes, I understand.” There was something more he was supposed to say, he could feel it rolling around in his head and poking him in the gut. Suddenly it came to him. “I will claim Calla,” Daniel emphasized the use of her name rather than her title of Cha'Dech, “as my own. I will undergo the ritual.”

“Naganti Kanan, hanna nin yeswe et se yowhen. Cok’Mon, Daniel waytok.” (Let me go and I will heal you. The white man, Daniel, will bond with me.)

Wanting to live with or without her and knowing he was beat, Kanan gave in. “Hei.” Kanan nodded his head. “Hei, Calla.”

“Ginan kogan? Kume.” (You will let us go. Promise this.)

“Kume. Yowhen nin, et se waytok arit, Dan-yell.” (I promise. Heal me and I will allow the ritual to bond you to Daniel.)

“Hei.” Calla repeated to Kanan.

“Hei, Calla.” His failing eyes cast away from her and toward J’Quin who stood at the foot of his bed. “B‘yan et se mordish.” (Send for the priests.)

At his words, freedom was finally within her grasp. Calla rubbed the palms of her hands together until that amber energy built up between them and then she laid them upon his chest. Amber light surged from her and into her dying Master, within seconds the wound, which had threatened to take his life, vanished with no sign that it had ever been there at all. Exhausted, Calla collapsed to the floor upon which she slept. Guards rushed to her side but were cast away by the female attendants in the room. The women quickly set to their work and it was obvious to the members of SG1 and Corporal Blood, the lone member of SG 3, that this was something at which they were very adept. Two women stripped the bloody sheet from Kanan’s body while two others stripped the clothes from the woman on the floor. This latter was done with no ceremony and without regard for the men in the room. It was then that Callas’ wounds were revealed. There was a gaping gash upon her leg, just where Sam’s had been not twenty minutes before and a larger hole between her breasts. With deft arms, the women scooped her up before Daniel could ask what was happening to her. They hesitated for a moment as they looked down upon the bed where their Master lay, his eyes rolled towards them and he gave a slight nod. Calla was laid next to him, skin to skin, Kanan not without great effort, swept one large around her to cradle her body to his own.

Before his eyes could close again, Kanan turned to look at the man who would replace him as Callas’ Master. “Big re-spon-sa-bil-it-ty.”

Daniel and the rest of the team were ushered out of the room as the women covered the two naked people on the bed with a clean heavy blanket.

“What the hell are you doing?” Jack spat as they walked down the hall back to the chambers they had slept in the night before. He did not wait for Daniel to answer him. “I’ll tell you what you’re doing, you’re thinking with your dick, that’s what you’re doing.”

“So what if I am?” Daniel shot back. “It’s not like I have anyone back home. No wife, no girlfriend, not even a dog....”

“She’s not a fucking pet, Daniel! “ Jack interjected angrily. “She gonna stay in your quarters?” Jack clasped his hands together and smiled like a girl while he batted his eyes. “How cozy.” Colonel O'Neill snapped his fingers in front of Daniel's eyes. "C'mon, damn it! Use that lovely brain of yours and think!"

“I promised her that I would take her away from here if she helped us. She doesn’t belong here.” Daniel stressed. “I'm just living up to my word, Jack. So what if I take her away from here?”

“I dunno, Daniel. Don’t get me wrong, she’s beautiful and all but I guess you just never struck me as the type of man who really wanted his own concubine.” His tone, like his eyes, accused his friend of hiding something deeper. For a moment, Colonel O’Neill thought about ending this whole fiasco right here and now by telling Daniel that he would not allow the Cha'Dech to return through the Stargate with them.

“That’s not what I want from her. “ Not exactly the truth but close enough, Daniel imaged as he stood in the hall arguing with Jack.

“Oh, please! “

“She’s more than that.”

“Yeah, I saw.”

“Are you telling me that she won’t be of any ‘military value’ back home? That the boys in the lab wouldn’t love to get a gander at what she can do?” He thumbed his finger back in the direction that they come from.

“What?!” Jack removed his cap and shook it at Daniel unable to believe what he had just heard. For a moment, Colonel O’Neill thought about ending this whole fiasco right here and now by telling Daniel that he would not allow the Cha'Dech to return through the Stargate with them. There was something in Daniel's eyes, to Jack it looked like desperation. “Is that what you want for her? For O'Gara and his boys to get their hands on her?”

“I’m telling you….”

“And I’m tellin’ you, you don’t know what you’re getting into!” Jack shot in an exasperated tone. “You don’t even know what this ritual of theirs is!”

“Stop it! Both of you!” Major Carter said from behind them. “I can’t believe you two! Two high school football stars fighting over the head cheerleader. It’s ridiculous!” She shook her blond head while her blue eyes admonished both of them. “The testosterone level in here is really just too much.” Sam left the two men where they were standing in the corridor and made her way back to the room she had slept in the night before.

“Hei, Dan-yo?” One of the guards called to him and Daniel looked up to see the man standing at the end of the hall waiting for him. “Maen.”

“You speak English?” Daniel asked as he remembered the surprisingly understandable words that had come from Kanan’s mouth. The puzzled look on the guards face was not encouraging. “Nin gak Cok’Mon?” He asked.

“Co.” The guard returned. “Naganti Kanan gak Cok’Mon yetehew.” He held his fingers about a half inch apart.

Daniel understood him to say that he did not speak English and Kanan only spoke a few words of it. It was probably just enough to ask the questions he had posed and possibly enough to take part in whatever ritual was to come. “Naganti Kanan,” Daniel stopped as he groped for the word for ‘give’ and could not find it. He held up a finger at the guard. “Give me your hat.” He said to the Colonel. “Make a big to-do out of it.” Jack took the hat from his head and held it out to Daniel, “Naganti Kanan give” Daniel took the hat and held it close to himself, “give,” he repeated, “Calla,” he pointed to himself, “ et Daniel?”

“Hei.”

“Why?” Daniel shrugged his shoulders and looked around the corridor. To this, the guard only sneered as though the white man had lost his mind.

“O-Nell, maen.” The guard ignored the question and instead pointed to a door on the other side of the corridor.

“He wants you to go in there.”

“Dan-yo, b’yan nin.”

“He wants me to go with him.”

“Why?”

“To get ready for the ritual. Go on, I’ll be fine. I'm sure it's not big deal.”

Colonel O’Neill crossed the hall and entered the room that he had shared with Daniel and Teal’c the night before. “Be careful, huh? You don’t know what you’ve gotten us into.”

“Right.” Daniel agreed as the door between them closed. He followed the guard to the third floor of the castle keep and to a small room where a fire was burning brightly in the hearth.

“Dan-yo,” the guard said in a strong voice and then pointed to the floor and the rest of the room. He tossed his head toward the still open door, then shook it back and forth, and pointed to the floor once again. Stay here.

“OK, I’m not going anywhere.” Daniel was alone in the small room where the fire burned. Two of the walls around him were lined with floor to ceiling bookcases, the contents of which was stacked neatly in rows on the shelves and then had more books squeezed on top of them. A small canopy bed rested against the near wall to his left, on it was an old rag doll. Tapestries that appeared ancient hung on the walls; they were fraying and badly in need of cleaning but their colors were still bright. Images of fighting men graced all of them. As he looked at them, closer Daniel thought he recognized one of the scenes depicted upon on of them.

A tall light-skinned man with dark curly hair rode in a chariot pulled by two horses, one pure white and the other pure black. Daniel knew the names of those horses, Flame and Terror. His long hair flew behind him as the horses raced toward the scene of a battle, his jewel encrusted sword drawn and ready. The smile on his face was unmistakable as was the gleam that had been sewn into his eyes; clearly, this was a God who was handsome as he was cruel. “Ares.” Daniel whispered and reached out to touch the cloth. It was cold under his hand. Somewhere, he was unsure if it was around or somewhere inside of him, Daniel heard the sound of laughter.

He turned his attention to the small bed in the room, no bigger than a trundle mattress, the canopy that hung above it had once been a shade of pink but it was heavy with dust now making it look more like some odd mauve hue. Two pillows covered with the same fabric as the canopy and lined with soft lace lay at the head of the bed and upon them sat the old rag doll. There was a small vanity in the room. A good-sized mirror in an ornate silver frame hung above the marble top on which sat a matching comb and brush made of silver. Daniel picked up the brush and realized it was too small for his hand; it had been made for a young girl to use. Feeling as though he were holding something he should not be holding in a place he should not be standing, Daniel put the brush back on the vanity and crossed to the room’s only window. The view faced north and the looked over the rear wall of Kanan’s keep. Off in the distance was a muddy river slowly making its way toward whatever sea there was on this planet and below him, just outside the walls, stood a perfect ring of five rowan trees.

A light knock fell upon the door and before he could answer it, it opened and an older woman stepped inside. In her arms was a heavy cream-colored robe, a wreath of greens that looked and smelled like bay leaf, and a large wooden staff. She laid the items upon the small table and then crossed the room to where he stood. Dark hands held a small book out to him. “Read.” She said.

“Nin gak Cok’Mon?” Daniel asked.

“Hei, a little. Calla taught me long ago but now it is forbidden. I am Able.” Daniel took the small book from her hands and opened it. The contents of which were written in the language of this world.

“I don’t understand it.”

“You must.” She insisted. “You must say the words tonight.” She stopped for a moment and then continued. “In your speak. When the light fades from the sky, they will come for you. You must be ready. You must not fail her.” She warned.

“Or what?”

“Or she will die.” The woman spoke as though it was the most natural conclusion in the universe. “She must be bonded to her Master. Kanan will not take her back if you fail. You must say the words. You must go through with the ritual, even if it is difficult for you.”

“I can’t read it.” Daniel repeated. Now the heaviness of his decision began to rest on his heart. It was clear that he had not understood the responsibility he was being asked to take upon himself and already it was too late to back out.

She looked him up and down and thought of what she should say next. The words Calla had taught her so long ago danced around in her head and made their way to her tongue. “Read the words. When the time comes, speak with your heart.” Without further words, she took her leave of him.

End Chapter Seven
Daughter of the Gods: Every New Beginning
By Moon Mistress
Continue to
Chapter Eight

This story and all stories in the Kingdom of the Gods & Daughter of the Gods series are copyrighted to Lisa Beth Darling these stories may not be transferred outside of this URL in any fashion.