Chapter 55
"Well?" Osiris demanded hotly, left hand fisting in Vala's hair and yanking hard. Her right hand dropped to her waist, drawing a wicked-looking dagger from its sheath. The blade was lifted slowly to the shorter woman's exposed throat.
Daniel hesitated, catching the unspoken declaration of defiance his partner gave him. There was also fear in her eyes, darkening them from smoky blue to storm-gray. He recognized the look as one he'd worn a number of times himself: not afraid of death, but not prepared to accept it just yet, either.
He understood, perhaps better than anyone else possibly could have. The threat of his own death didn't even bother him any more, too many brushes--and out-right collisions--with the Grim Reaper had left him jaded, but not reckless. Dying for a cause that was just was acceptable, but giving in before all options were exhausted was not.
"Very well," the Goa'uld spat, "I'll start with 'Qetesh'. Did you not think anyone would sense you were no longer blended?"
"I hadn't planned on getting close enough to anyone for them to find out," Vala replied coolly.
"Worthless Tok'ra. All your subversions are mere child's play in a game far more dangerous than you can comprehend."
"Tok'ra? Me? Don't insult me like that, please!"
"The jewel around your neck was of Tok'ra design. Do not take me for a fool."
Vala rolled her eyes. "Believe you me, I wasn't. I'm a thief--a pretty good one, if I say so myself--and have acquired a number of, ah... peculiar relics."
"I see," replied Osiris, looking as though she didn't care one way or another. "Who are you?"
"Vala," she answered, "and that's my apprentice, Theadan. Not the brightest student I've ever had, but he's decorative enough, don't you think?"
The Goa'uld scowled, pressing the tip of the dagger against Vala's neck and drawing a short line of garishly bright blood. "I am not amused."
Daniel inhaled, attempting to quell the nervous energy tightening his muscles. Without knowing if Osiris had immediate access to a healing device or a sarcophagus, he couldn't risk Vala being killed over something as simple as acknowledging his name. Osiris knew who he was, so all she sought was verification.
For the moment, anyway.
"Let her go, Sarah."
She smiled cruelly. "Nothing of the host survives, Daniel."
Arms still pinned behind him, he could only nod his head at Vala. "There's proof you're wrong."
There was a brief flicker of... something, but it faded as quickly as it appeared. "Impudent as ever, I see."
"I had a good teacher," he replied. "What do you want?"
"I want many things," she answered at length, the blade moving from Vala's vulnerable throat to trace along her jawline. "You have still to give me a satisfying answer for the fate of my Queen."
"Isis?" Vala guessed, involuntarily flinching from the cool metal.
"She's dead," Daniel replied.
Osiris drew another short line just above the first. The sudden blossom of color contrasted sharply with the former host's pale skin. "Where is she?"
He shook his head. "I told you. The canopic jar in which she was trapped was apparently damaged at some point. The seal was broken. If it's any consolation, she didn't feel a thing."
The Goa'uld snarled and stepped back, releasing her hold on Vala's hair as she moved. Before Daniel could call out in warning, the jewel on her palm glowed, sending a translucent wave of energy at the helpless woman. Crying out in shock, Vala was hurled fifteen feet across the room, slamming into a wall and bouncing off it onto the floor. He winced in sympathy, but bit his lip to keep from expressing his opinion of the cowardly attack.
Osiris re-sheathed her dagger, then moved her now-free hand to the unusual protuberance on the back of her ribbon device. Two brilliant flashes of light appeared almost immediately, fading to reveal a pair of tall, armored creatures with pinpoints of blue where eyes would normally be on humanoids.
Two sets of conflicting emotions immediately sprang to Daniel's mind. The first, was curiosity and horror at what sort of nightmare had created the imposing-looking warriors. The second, was confusion and dread for how a Goa'uld had come to possess Asgard beaming technology.
Another fleeting thought left him asking himself who had modeled the black armor after the white suits worn by Imperial Stormtroopers. Sarah had always claimed to despise science fiction, which would certainly explain why she'd loathed his outlandish theories about the foundation of Egyptian society. A tiny, petty part of his mind wondered what her opinion of his ideas was now.
He closed his eyes, berating himself. Sarah Gardner was not a Goa'uld, but the victim of one. She deserved better.
Osiris casually strolled over to where Vala lay softly groaning, then motioned for one of the newly-arrived creatures to approach. By the ease with which it lifted his partner by her upper arms, he knew these "men" to be at least as strong as a Goa'uld.
"I will see your entire race destroyed for this," the curly-haired woman hissed coldly, stalking toward him.
"Hey!" Daniel protested. "You know, it very well could have been that no-good brother of yours, Seth. Maybe he was the one who dropped the jar, not one of us 'lowly humans'. If that's the case, you owe us a favor for killing him." He squinted his eyes as though thinking hard, then shrugged. "Well, technically it was Sam that killed him, but I'm sure she won't mind if I accept her owed favor on her behalf."
She reached out and caressed his jaw with her metal-encased fingertips, perhaps in mockery of a lover's touch. "I shall enjoy making you suffer, Daniel. I have all the memories of my host, all the fond times you shared together. I know how to bring you great pleasure and greater pain." Suddenly, she slapped him, the sharp edges of the ribbon device cutting cruelly into his skin, bringing the bitter taste of blood to his mouth. "You will beg for death before the end."
"We've already established that Isis is pretty much out of reach, now," he replied, swallowing. "I'd be happy to answer any other questions you might have if you'll leave out the begging for death part."
Osiris smirked. "I know what you were, Daniel Jackson. My hand can touch you now, but it would not have not long ago. I want the secrets of Ascension. The answers are in your mind, and I will take them by force if necessary. Anubis' power is great, but mine will be greater."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
She gestured to the remaining armored figure, directing it to take the place of the two Jaffa who had been holding him up until now. Daniel was relieved to be able to stretch his arms from the uncomfortable position in which they'd been held for so long, but winced when he felt the tremendous pressure being applied to his shoulder by the inhumanly-strong being.
The Goa'uld placed her hands on her hips. "You are not the only one who possesses peculiar relics, Vala. I have acquired a number of devices which shall make obtaining the answers I seek far easier... and more enjoyable."
The level of enjoyment, Daniel knew, was relative. Remembering the insidious effects of the hallucinogenic drug known as the Blood of Sokar, he dreaded to think what chemicals and contraptions were at the disposal of a Goa'uld who apparently had access to Asgard technology. As bad as he believed his situation to be only an hour ago, he was only now beginning to realize just how much he'd underestimated the gravity of his situation.
"Jaffa, summon those who were involved in the patrol. Their failures have not gone unnoticed."
"Yes, my lord," the Jaffa trembled, bowing and hastening out of the throne room.
"As for the two of you," she continued, walking a figure-eight around her prisoners, "I will enjoy destroying your minds. I may even leave enough of you, Vala, to make a gift to Baal. And you, Daniel, will perhaps make an excellent host. The powers you posses will then be mine."
"I don't think so," he answered, lifting his chin defiantly, though the thought of having a Goa'uld in his head was... beyond terrifying.
"Take them away," Osiris ordered the silent soldiers. "I will return for them shortly." Once more touching the back of her ribbon device, she vanished in a flash of light.
Author's Notes:
To quote Jack, "Dun dun DUN!" I know, I'm being oh-so-very cruel... but it's so gosh-darn fun! Consider it my inner sadist at work.
Osiris was always one of my favorite villains... I just LOVED the way she could say "Dahn-yel Jackson" and make it sound so NASTY!
