Chapter Twelve
On Epona at the Gate of the Twins
Seeing a gap in the melee, Kyna leaps forward through the wall of the water vortex, sword outstretched in front of her, feeling the same sudden strange weightless sensation as though the universe is trying to pull her apart. Then she is through and facing a Naxen, cowering in the vortex void, a Doublet in his outstretched hand. 'Take it!' he shrieks, his harpoon forgotten on his back. 'Please, mercy!'
Kyna pushes the point of her Xiphos up under his gills and reaches a hand around the Doublet in his hand just as Tara, Myrna and Cailin leap through into the void. Tara, seeing Kyna is about to touch the coin, throws her arms around her as the key unlocks the Stargate and opens the door to Celestia. For an instant Kyna can see everything happen in slow motion, see her hand over the coin, see the Naxen grab her hand, see Tara throw her arms around her then nothing, the void contracts and she is nothing and nowhere at all.
The water wall of the vortex stops spinning and falls back to the surface of the pool, flattening out with barely a ripple as Myrna and Cailin stand dazed and confounded by the sudden disappearance of their Queen, Kyna and the last Naxen in the courtyard. The place is littered with dead Naxen and already there is the smell of rot in the air. Beyond the courtyard is the sound of fighting and Myrna and Cailin move to the doorway. 'We should defend this place, the Queen may well return through the pool.' Cailin gestures to the gate and Myrna nods in agreement and they take up sentry duty until their Queen returns.
Through the Stargate
The vortex reaches up above the pool and then as quickly as it started, falls away, leaving nothing but a ripple on the water surface and a huddle of bodies, knee deep in the pool's shallows.
Tara lets go of Kyna and leaps out of the water but there is no sign of anyone, only a quiet pool in a glade of trees, a cold breeze picking up their leaves and shaking them. Kyna wades after her, unsure as to where or how or what just happened and behind her, on his knees in the pool is the Naxen, breathing heavily in the cold, dry air.
'What should I do with him, my Queen?' Kyna asks, pointing at Gryst with her sword. But Tara raises her finger to her lips in gesture to remain quiet. She reaches down and take the Doublet Kyna is still holding and pockets it for safekeeping and then with sword drawn, carefully makes her way towards a path leading out of the glade into deeper woodland. Kyna is about to follow when she hears a noise in the distance and quietly runs up to Tara and pulls he back from the path, 'Someone is coming!' she whispers, 'Quick, in here' and she pulls her into a dense thicket, letting the shadows of the leaves fall as camouflage over them.
At SGCUK
Daniel and Agnes run to the main atrium as more alarms start sounding. 'Now what?' Daniel yells at a nearby officer. 'It's a Stargate signature, Sir, something has opened a Stargate in the vicinity.'
'A Stargate? You mean someone has come through the pool?' Agnes asks.
'No need to worry Mam, We have a secure perimeter..' the officer is interrupted by an impatient Daniel. 'Or someone or something has triggered it from this end, like we did.'
'Who would want to open it?' Agnes asks.
'Rob Bowden, or whatever had possessed him, I have no doubt whatever that creature he was turning into wasn't from this planet and would want to return home.'
'But he's dead, Bowden is dead!' Agnes follows after Daniel as he runs back to their office and sweeps the coins off his desk into his hands.
'What are you doing with those?'
'I'm counting them... they are all here. OK, so it's not one of these.' Daniel scrabbles around on his desk for the case they were in without any luck, then, catching sight of Agnes's handbag hanging over her chair, grabs it and tips them into it.
'Hey! That's my bag. Do you mind!'
'Keep hold of them and don't let them out of your sight!' Daniel thrusts her bag into her hands and then heads for the door. 'Come on, I have a feeling things are about to get very weird around here!'
At the pool near Blick Mead
From their hiding place in the trees, Kyna watches as a young man strides to the pool where the Naxen is still sitting. The young man holds out a small object that catches the light, a piece of metal, Naxen gold maybe. The Naxen seems to cower away from it and starts to grovel at the young man's feet and then the sound of many people approaching fills the air, a rustling of leaves, feet on grass, noisier than a horse in gallop and the glade is suddenly filled with guards all pointing what look like metal harpoons at the young man and the Naxen. Kyna can sense Tara about to move at her side, perhaps to intervene, perhaps to fight and Kyna lays a hand on her arm and shakes her head. They are safe as long as they remain in the cover of the trees.
Teal'c and Jack O'Neill walk past the team of SGC guards and carefully approach Rob Bowden and the strange creature at his feet.
'Robert, Robert Bowden, can you hear me.' Teal'c asks, moving ever closer to him as Rob Bowden slowly turns away from the creature towards them. For a corpse he seems to be very much alive.
'Well, this explains how you left the SGC.' Jack points to the uniform Rob is wearing. 'You do know you were declared dead back there. We saw you die.'
Rob carefully surveys the armed guards for a moment or two and then raises his hand, holding up the Dragon ring into evening light. The gold glints and the dragon seems to dance in the air above him.
'Do you think he understands what we are saying?' Jack asks Teal'c asks in a low voice.
'I think either the ring has control of him or he has control of the ring, either way, the person he once was is long gone, look at his eyes. I suggest we move back behind the guards.'
Jack looks at Rob Bowden's eyes and recoils slightly as he stares into what seem to be the swamp-green eyes of an alligator. The pupils are narrowed to thin, vertical lines and little sparks of fire burst across the irises that now cover the whole eyeball. Jack is mesmerised by them and it's only the weight of Teal'c's hand on his arm dragging him back behind the guards that breaks the spell.
'Did you see his eyes?' Jack asks, dazed from the effect of them but Teal'c motions for him to be silent and points to the guards, all facing Rob Bowden, all equally mesmerised by his stare.
'I think it is time we leave, quietly..' says Teal'c, stepping backwards as the guards move closer in to Bowden.
'Copy that.' Jack follows his lead and starts to slowly step backwards but manages to step on a twig and the sharp snap it makes as it breaks echoes out across the glade. Before either Jack or Teal'c can react they are grabbed from behind by two strangers and pulled out of sight into a patch of shrubby trees, a hand firmly clamped over each of their mouths.
