Chapter Twenty-One

“Is he outta his mind?” David asked himself as he watched Daniel on the television.  Next to him Calla shuddered. “Don’t you worry, Sunshine, for once I agree with your Daddie ain’t nothing like that is gonna happen without you sayin’ that it’s alright. I don’t care what Danny wants.”  Shaking and moaning David drew her in a little closer and stroked her hair.

Calla knew of Zeus’ decree and she was well aware of what she’d done so it came as no surprise to her to hear that she would spend eternity in the Seventh Level of the Tartarus when she passed from here. Still she wished that weren’t so, she had done a lot of good here and that should count for something, shouldn’t it?  Her only solace and comfort there was the fact that when Ares eventually passed from this world to the next he would be with her.  Considering the fact that she didn’t relish the idea of her own Father being damned for protecting her so many years ago, it was small consolation to her.

It wasn’t so much the fact that she was damned but rather the idea of taking on Daniel, Ares and two other men was enough to make her want to curl up into a ball and huddle in a corner somewhere.  She wasn’t young and vital any longer, Ares and Hades were right she was too old and fragile for such things. Not to mention the fact that it was outright wrong!  She couldn’t do it even if she wanted to not now that she’d been bound to Daniel. How could he possibly expect her to take on Ares?

On the nightstand next to them the telephone started to ring. As he picked it up David looked at the clock on the table; 11:54pm. “Who the hell is that at this hour?” He asked and held the phone to his head thinking that whoever it was had the worst timing in the world. “Hello?”

“Daniel?”

“Nah, it's David, who’s this? Sam?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Hi, David. Is Calla there? Anywhere nearby?”

She sounded very excited. “She’s right here. What’s goin’ on?”

“Put her on the phone!” Sam nearly squealed.

David looked at the phone and he looked at Callie next to him with her long face and frightened eyes.  Once again he thought that Sam sounded like she was bringing them good news. “Ya know she don’t talk too much but hold on a second and I’ll put the phone to her ear.”  That’s exactly what he did. “Hey, gurl, Sam’s on the phone, she wants to talk to you.”

A phone call? Calla couldn’t remember the last time she’d talked on the phone.

“Calla? Calla are you there?  Grunt or something.” Sam said anxiously.

Calla tried to so hard to say ‘hello’ or ‘hi’ or ‘how’s it going Sam’ or just anything that would make sense but what came out was; “Tr-ucks.”  She rolled her eyes and turned away from the phone in disgust. David turned her head back toward it and then put his head next to hers so he could hear what Sam had to say.

“Yeah, hi to you too!  I got great news!  Calla it works.” Sam said finally able to tell the one person she really wanted to deliver this fantastic news to.  “There will be babies in Altair Ain by summer. It works.”  All they needed was some more of Calla’s Ichor and a few more of her eggs and the UPs problem would be completely solved.  Sam went in to detail on that part. “I know you’re probably not up to it yet but when you are I need you to come here to the SGC, ok?”

“It does? Hot damn!” David exclaimed. “Did you hear that, gurl?”

She heard it all right and she wanted to jump for joy but her body wouldn’t let her and her mind warned her to go slowly with this. They couldn’t just let everyone in the kingdom get pregnant and start having babies.  Not right away.  They had to go slow and take it one step at a time because what if this solution wasn’t any better than Bacchus’? What if the new children were born as Wolfgar was said to be?  Without a soul? “Th-th-th-tha-thank y-y-you.” Calla stammered.  Now it was more important than ever that she be clearly understood.

**

Hades quickly made his way back to the Underworld and to the Judges on the Dividing Road where he demanded to be told Calla’s fate and found out that Jackson was right; she was damned.  The pretty little cabin in the woods he’d picked out for her would remain empty for eternity.  While Hades couldn’t say he was looking forward to taking Life away from her he had been looking forward to the company. It got so lonely down here some times especially now that all of the Olympians were gone. “That has to be a mistake.” Hades said.  “If it is not tell me what she can do to change it. I rule the Underworld!” Hades thundered.  “I say she is saved.”

“If only the decision rested in your hands,” Minos intoned, “but it does not, Lord Hades. No matter what you say or what you do, Queen Calla is damned for eternity. You know the rules, Hades. Zeus decreed that one Olympian killing another is grounds for immediate and irrevocable damnation.”

So Zeus did, the old bastard. This wasn’t the outcome the God of Gods had wanted. Zeus had decreed that to keep the Olympians from warring with each other especially over the pettiest of things which they were apt to do at the drop of a hat.  “Calla was but a child when she killed Aphrodite. She didn’t know what she was doing or the consequences thereof. It was a terrible accident with extenuating circumstances.”

Minos shook his head. “Zeus’s Decree does not allow for accidents and circumstance. It cannot be changed. When she passes into this world, Calla will spend eternity in the Seventh Level of Tartarus.”

Consequences be damned if this was the way it was to be then Hades would have to break the rules and do all that he could to ensure Calla lived a very long life.

End of Chapter Twenty-One of
Golden Years
by Moon Mistress
a/k/a Lisa Beth Darling
Go to
Chapter Twenty-Two