Chapter Ten

I'm crossing that bridge with lessons (I've learned)
I'm playing with fire and not getting burned (burned)
I may not know what you're going through
But time is the space between me and you
There is a light through that window
Hold on say yes while people say no
Prayer for the Dying
Seal

David Jackson lay down next to his new prize. “Lis’en ta me, Callie,” he whispered in her ear, “da walls in dis place they got ears, yew get me?” Confused and scared Calla nodded her head to show she understood. “I’m sorry ta dew dis to ya gurl,” his hand reached out and caressed her from her cheek, down the nape of her neck and across her newly small but unscarred breasts. “Yew sure are fine, Callie.” David’s lips closed down over hers but Calla didn’t back away she greeted him. It had been a long time since anyone kissed her and she was hungry for it.

When she opened her eyes Orion and Naveen were standing in the doorway. Now she did back away. “No, not my sons! No, I won’t do it,” she yelled and squirmed away from David.

“Yu’ll dew wot I tells ya, gurl.” David shot at her and then slapped her hard across the face. “Not here, I gots a bet’a spot.” David grabbed her by the upper arms hauled her from the bed and out of the open air room with Naveen and Orion following close behind.

“No, David, please!” Calla begged as he hurried her down the corridor and deeper into the Black Palace. There was no reply. Looking behind her at her eldest sons she couldn’t believe she was about to be forced to take them. Calla really had enough of sleeping with her relatives she didn’t want to do it again.

Deeper and deeper into the temple they went until there was no sunlight to illuminate the way. “Yew got it?” David asked the men behind him.

“Yes,” Naveen said and tossed him a gold and jewel broach which he’d lifted from his Father’s chest as he beat the holy crap out of Daniel Jackson.

“That’s Kanan’s!” Calla gasped as she looked at it. The broach wasn’t just any old broach it was a symbol of Kanan’s Lordship over his people. Some cultures liked crowns and scepters but the Shankuk ruled by the broach. When Kanan found it missing he was going to go ballistic! She’d suffered at the hands of 25 men for a lousy ring she didn’t take, what was he going to do them when he found out?

“Yep,” David agreed. “Now, it’s your ticket outta here, Callie.”

“What?”

The little troupe stopped for a moment. “Dew yew know wot day’re gonna do to yew, Callie? Yew ain’t gone stay here wit me or anybody else.”

“Why not?”

“Cuz, gurl, you been Damned. They’re gonna send you to Tartarus, it ain’t a nice place, Callie n I know cuz dat’s where I live, also hap’ens ta be where Kanan lives and our new fr’end Andy’s gunna. Yew’ll be stuck dare wit all a us.”

The silence was too long and too deep. It was Orion who cut it. “We were afraid you would chose to stay with Kanan just to stay with us. Andromeda and my brothers and sisters were in on this, Mother. She wasn’t trying to tempt you but to disgust you into staying away from Father.”

“I see it worked.” Naveen said.

It was all a rouse. But not one that Eros, Psyche, Kanan or Andy were in on. Just David and Kanans’ children. “This is why the cup was empty. You’re risking Hades’ wrath…all of you.” Her wide eyes looked at her sons as she reached out to them. “Don’t do this, I beg of you, please. Mother was right, I can’t go back. I have to stay here now.”

“No, Mother, you don’t.” Orion told her and took the hand she as offering, Naveen took the other.

Calla kissed each one and then let them go. “I’ll stay with you,” she whispered as she turned to David. “I’ll be good….quiet, so quiet, I promise. I will please you, my Lord.” Calla dropped to her knees in front of David and kissed his hand with tears in her eyes. “Master David, please let me stay.”

Of all the rotten luck in any world! There she was just begging for it….for HIM and not Danny and there wasn’t a thing David could do about it. David’s hand turned over and caressed her cheek. “I love you, gurl. Yew kain’t stay here.” He sucked in a breath and sighed. “Lord I wish I culd make love with yew. I’d treat yew right not like b’for.”

Naked and on her knees she looked up at him with hopeful emerald eyes. “I’ll be good,” Calla whispered. “I will please you if you let me stay.” She nuzzled her head into the soft flesh near his belly button and reached out for the zipper on his blue jeans. “Go,” she said to the grown men who were still her little boys.

With anger in his step Naveen bent to pick his Mother from the floor and stop her from debasing herself any further. David shot him a cold look and put his hand to stop him while he shook his head. Callie was a stubborn woman and there were some things she just had to learn on her own. Wishing with all his might that he could feel the same tingling in his cock that he felt everywhere else, David Jackson closed his blue eyes and leaned back against the wall as she pulled the zipper down, he didn’t want to see the expression on her face.

David and Naganti Kanan crossed paths and talked a lot over the years and Kanan said that look on her face was ‘priceless’ but David thought he’d take a pass. Her hand slipped inside the material and touched down on his flaccid cock, it had been a long time since a woman had done that. Calla wondered why he did not harden, David never had that problem before but she soon found as her fingertips reached down to massage a scrotum that wasn’t there anymore.

“There’s a reason dey sent me ta Tartarus, Callie.” David said as he opened his eyes and looked down upon her to see a mass of confusion in those eyes. “Yew know wot it is, don’cha?”

“You’re a snake.” She said and took her hand away from him.

“Dat’s right, so trust me, gurl, if dey was mo’ in for me to keep yew ‘ere, I wuld.” It was his turn to reach out and bring her back to her feet. She was still so small. “Wuldn’t I?”

“Enough talk!” Naveen shouted. “Mother your time is almost up.”

“You’re a liar, you just want me to leave so you can live in Daniel’s mind.” Calla accused softly. “Live Daniel’s life. I won’t let you do that.”

OK fine they could play it that way too, anything to get her moving. “Yeah, I dew.” David agreed. “I’m tellin’ ya, Callie, life here sucks.” He shook his head harshly and frowned. “Yep it surely dew. I like lookin’ out tru Danny’s eyes and seein’ yew starin’ back at me. I like da way yew look at him just like you was lookin’ at me a few seconds ago.” But that wasn’t going to happen ever again if she didn’t get moving.

“Who says he’ll take me back?” Calla’s face began to pale and she swayed back and forth on her feet.

“I do! Danny does!” David started panicking time was incredibly short they couldn’t stand here any more. “Why dew yew think he’s here?” No more talking, David picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder while the two men followed close behind. “We gotta get outta here.” Running down the hall with her bouncing up and down on his shoulder he looked over at Orion. “How much time we got?”

Orion shook his head. “Minutes. We won’t make it.”

“Daniel is here?” Hanging over David’s shoulder the black marble walls of Hades’ Palace passed by quickly. Calla began to feel ill, suddenly she had a piercing headache which was accompanied by a wave of nausea. Her stomach gave out a wretch. “Put me down,” she said and tried to hold back her stomach. “Please, David,” Calla started to wretch again and then to cough. David stopped running and put her down on the cold floor. There was screaming, screaming so loud she almost crashed to the ground. Screaming, there was screaming inside her head.

“C’mon, Callie, we’re almost there.” David’s arm wrapped around her and held her upright while he dragged her forward. There in front of her the corridor ended in three doors, one in front and one to either side.

The screaming in her head was now in her ears. “Daniel! Daniel is here!” Calla grabbed hold of the door knob to the door on her left.

David slapped her hand away from it. “If yew go in there he’ll see!” He pointed upward.

“Then let Hades see that I won’t go without my Husband.” Calla threw the door open wide and didn’t hesitate to step inside.

Finally a little gumption. “Dat’s my gurl,” David huffed and followed her inside.

“Oh my Gods! Daniel!” Calla called out at the sight of him slumping forward with his hands tied to the chair. His face was battered as was his body. The visions in his head were dancing around the room. Calla watched them pass by her eyes; the women from her paintings, Sha’re smiling so sweetly at her Husband, and then….then….Calla stepped back from the vision of she and Daniel on the night before he left. The vision was stronger than the others, more vibrant, more alive. Calla remembered that night with much fondness and joy. “Why did you follow me here? Daniel!” Every muscle from his stomach to his jaw was stretched to the limit in agony and he screamed and told invisible people to get away from him and leave him alone.

“He kain’t hear yew, Callie.” David told her.

Taking her eyes away from the visions in the room and looking at the chair and the fire pits and finally at the line of glittering glass she looked back up at David. “Get him out of there.”

“I kain’t,” he tossed his head at the other two men, “they kain’t either. Only three things set someone free from dat chair; Hades, Death and Love. You got one of dem, Callie? I mean, ya know, I love my bruther n all but ah not dat much.”

In his Throne Room with Aphrodite by his side Hades sat up and took notice of what was going on. “Do something!” Aphrodite demanded.

“What?” Hades asked.

“Stop them.” She screamed. “She must not leave!”

Hades looked over at the two hour glasses, Callestah’s was almost empty and Daniel’s wasn’t far behind. “She’ll never make it.” Over confidence was a small failing in him but still he didn’t see how she could get out of the situation if she were determined to take her Husband with her and it certainly looked like she was.

There was only one way across to rescue Daniel from the clutches of that evil chair. Calla looked from it to her own bare feet. That was it, just one glance and then she was off. Hot shards of glass sunk into the sole of her aching feet as her weight pushed down on them. Step by painful step she stayed in the middle of the path of hot glass and away from the flames burning around her. She focused only on Daniel and not the pain in her feet.

Crunch.

Slice.

Crunch.

Slice.

Until there were so many shards of glass in the bottom of her feet they threatened her balance as she neared him. “I love you, Daniel.” She called out. “Beautiful? Can you hear me?” Doing her best to stay upright, keep her balance, and remain in the middle of the path with the glass slicing viscously through her skin she continued stumbling toward him. All the while flames from the deepest pits of hell bellowed up and threatened to engulf her if she took so much as one wrong step.

Crunch.

Slice.

Crunch.

Slice…..

The last shard was one too many, Calla lost her unsteady footing and fell to her hands and knees among the sharp pieces of glass. They bit into her knees and the palms of her hands. It didn’t stop her. With the flames surrounding her, her strength and time fading, Calla crawled the rest of the way to him. “I’m sorry, Daniel, I never wanted to hurt you I only wanted you to live. Please live.” David kept telling her she didn’t have much time to make the Crossing and now she wondered how much time Daniel had. It didn’t look like much to her, he didn’t even raise his head or show any indication that he could hear her.

Finally she was past the path of glass and at his feet. “Daniel?” Calla called out softly and got no response. “My love, it’s all right now, I’m here.” She couldn’t untie the restraints on his wrists with palms full of glass and one by one she pulled them out of her flesh and dropped the bloody bits of glass to the floor. Her hands were spilling blood everywhere as her feet were also doing. The last of the glass gone she scooted on her butt to the other side of the chair and undid the ties as quickly as her sore hands would allow. With his wrists free Daniel didn’t move from the chair. “Get up, my love, get up!” Calla cried out and wondered if he were too weak to do that. Forgetting the shards of glass still in her feet and her knees Calla stood up, bent over him and wrapped her arms around Daniels’ beautiful but bloodied body. “I love you, Daniel, please get up.” Calla pulled at him and Daniel came free of the chair.

“Calla?” Daniel croaked as he fell on top of her and rolled his head toward her.

“I’m here,” she whispered, holding him close despite the pain. “We must get you out of here. Can you walk?”

“I’m supposed to rescue you.” Daniel complained weakly and then smiled. “That’s why I’m here.” Battered and tired he rolled off of her and almost fell off the platform. “Whoa, long way down. Hot.”

“Very.” Calla agreed.

“Come on you two!” David shouted from the other side of the narrow catwalk. “We gots ta go!”

“What’s he doing?” Daniel asked.

“Helping?” Calla returned and tried to smile but she was growing weaker by the second. “I’m so glad to see you.”

“Me too,” he looked down at his watch. Two minutes left and that was for him, her time was surely down to seconds by now. No time for plans no time to think, Daniel stood up and saw she wasn’t going to be able to walk back across the glass. Picking her up in his sore arms he sprinted across the path of glass and the high flames to the other side. “Which way out, Davy?”

“Gud ta see yew too, Danny.” Davy cracked.

“You will not take her!” A dark voice cried out but no one was seen.

“Aw, fuck you old man.” Davy said in return. “We gotta git outta dis room.” Sprinting back out into the hall and standing before the last door David said, “Give ‘er ta da boys.”

“What? No way!” Daniel turned his body so that she wasn’t in front of his brother anymore.

Naveen and Orion weren’t in the mood for discussion, Naveen ripped his Mother out of Daniel’s aching arms while David hustled out of his shirt. “Put dis on Danny, hurry up.”

Not understanding what was happening but seeing Calla was safe in her sons’ arms Daniel took the shirt and slipped into it while David grabbed the one off Daniel’s head and tied it on his own.

“Tru dat door there’s a path it goes to the River Lethe,” David said. “Hurry up, Danny, Hades’ is comin’.”

“Why are you helping us, Davy?” Daniel just had to know before he turned around and left David here to make his escape.

“Yew know why, now git goin’.” David warned. “Don’cha stop ‘til yew git across dat River there’s a boatman waiting for you there.”

“Leave it to you find the back door,” Daniel chuckled and took his wife back from Naveen. Calla wasn’t moving anymore, she was still, pale and deathly quiet.

“Run!” David shouted and threw the black door open wide. It opened just as Davy said, onto a large field with a small rutted path.

Holding as tightly as he could with beaten arms and running on worn out legs Daniel Jackson ran like the wind to the river bank.

Hades and Aphrodite didn’t see the two men exchange shirts and they didn’t see Daniel Jackson make his way out of the Black Palace with Calla in his arms so when a figure which looked like Daniel crossed their path they followed it just as David hoped they would. He lead them on a fast and furious goose chase through the Black Palace and out the front door giving Danny the time he needed to get back to Upper World. The diversion worked but not long enough, Hades soon realized the man he was chasing had no woman with him and the God of Death turned back the way he’d come.

Just as David said the path led to a river and there was a ferryman waiting there with a small boat. Daniel didn’t stop to think he just threw the sack of money and Kanan’s broach at him while climbing in. “Go as fast as you can, please, she doesn’t have much time.” Sitting in the little boat Daniel rocked her back and forth in his arms. “Wake up, Kitty, com on honey, wake up.” She stirred in his arms as the little boat made its way across the River Lethe, the River of Forgetfulness to the far shore. “Can’t you go any faster?” The ferryman said nothing he only steered the boat toward the shore. “Come on, baby, you’ve still got a few seconds, we’re almost there. Don’t quit on me!” Glancing down at the watch on his wrist there was less than one minute left when the boat finally reached the other side.

“STOP!” Hades shouted. Still furious at having been tricked by the twin brother he was now standing on the far bank. “Her time is up.” He held up the hour glass to show there was no sand left in it.

“Bring her back.” Lady Aphrodite appeared at his side.

“No.” Daniel called back and climbed out of the boat.

There on the bank before Daniel stood Ares. “Hurry up Jackson, get her out of here.” Lord Ares demanded as he pointed toward an opening with real sunlight streaming through.

Without thinking or looking back Daniel scrambled up the hill. The path before him began to close, the rocks were moving together and squashing the sunlight. “No! Let us out!”

“She may not leave!” Hades shouted across the River.

Check to Hades.

“You tricked her,” Ares accused. “She will not stay.”

“You want a war with me, Nephew?”

“Oh,” Ares pouted, “and after all the business I’ve sent your way over the years. I’m hurt, Uncle. You wound me.” He said falsely.

“I did not trick her she came here on her own!”

“Because YOU!” He pointed harshly at Aphrodite, “told her she’d be welcome here, everything would be all right and she would no longer be in pain. You’re a lying bitch!” Tricking someone into going into the Under World was a definite no-no. “What do you’ve to say to that?”

Aphrodite said nothing but she looked very guilty.

“Trick? What trick?” Hades began to back peddle. “I know nothing about this.”

“Hum, of course you don’t.” Ares sneered in return. Hades knew all right or at least had an idea of what was going on but Immortals, just like Mortals, liked the concept of Plausible Deniability. Keeping her here hadn’t been his order it had been Aphrodite’s plan. “However, what you seek is not within her, Zeus and the others left her long ago, you will not trap them down here with her for they have escaped your clutches forever.”

Hades frowned and pursed his lips. He’d been so sure Zeus was still within Callestah and he’d been waiting to get his Brother down here for a very long time. If that wasn’t to be then there wasn’t much sense in keeping her…well, not right now anyway.

Aphrodite strolled to the waters’ edge and called across to her old Lover, “Ares leave her with me,” she batted her eyes and begged softly from the other side of the River. “She is in much pain and I can alleviate it. She will be happy here.”

“You didn’t want her then and you don’t want her now, you always considered her a burden. You only seek to punish her for an accident which occurred when she a child.” Ares’ voice was both accusatory and sad.

“She has bewitched you, my Lover, as she did her Brother.” Aphrodite shot back. “Callestah stole your heart the first moment you laid eyes on her, this is why I never wanted to bring her home to you.”

“Jealous woman.” Ares chided. “Your jealousy clouds your sight.”

“If she were anyone else you would demand to see her punished for what she did to me!” Aphrodite shrieked.

“It was an accident.” Ares said strongly. “For which she has borne guilt all of her life and it is time for that to end. My Daughter is happy and content with Daniel and that is where she will stay.” Ares threatened darkly. “Unless of course you want that War. And you should remember, Uncle, that I have just as many friends here as enemies. How will you handle an uprising in the Under World?”

Check and Mate to Ares.

No longer back peddling Hades stepped down completely. “No. Take her. She’ll come back sooner or later and when she does I intend to keep her.”

Standing at the closing rocks with his heart in his throat Daniel was elated when they parted and the sunlight greeted him once more. He stumbled through with Calla in his arms and fell to the sand on the other side.

“Not for a very long time, Uncle.” Ares disappeared from the river bank.

End Chapter Ten
Tarnished Heroes:Something Happened on the way to Heaven
Continue to
Chapter Eleven