OK, thank you all for reviewing, makes me happy. Dena, Horus, evil laughter is...evil :) I won't keep you waiting any longer then.

Chapter 13

Jack willed his arms and legs to move, to bring him closer to Sam so that he could comfort her or be of some use. The bit of information he had managed to pick up led him round to the conclusion that the baby the woman held was Sam's. However, he had only been in the room a few seconds and he could be wrong.

"Ladies..." a sea of blank faces remained fixed on him in silence.

"You must be Colonel O'Neill." Said the woman with the baby "I'm Eve, and this..." she cradled the child closer "is Sam's daughter. You are just in time to save her life. She's safe now." A tear splashed onto the infant's forehead. Jack felt a little dizzy and speech evaded him for a moment. Something kicked in and he began to tell Eve what was going on, all the while feeling a bit like he was drowning.

"Ma'am, are there other women here?" His voice cracked as if he hadn't used it for a long time.

"Yes, all along this corridor."

"You think you could get these women to help you spread a message?" He gestured to the faces turned on them, faces of people locked out of their conversation. Eve nodded slowly.

"Good. Tell them to remain in their rooms. If they go outside now they'll be killed. When the battle ends they can leave." Evie, after hearing that the warriors were tied with Sekhmet's essence, had come up with the idea that killing the Goddess would also kill the shadows.

"What about the children?" Jack raised an eyebrow in a fashion that would have made Teal'c proud.

"That's why we're here. She takes women who are already pregnant, or...she does it herself." He didn't miss the way her eyes dipped to her stomach and back again. It was a tell-tale sign that she had been violated, and it was then that things fell into place. Anger began to flush his face as he looked from the baby to Sam and back again.

"Did she...?" Her head remained lowered and she refused to meet his gaze, his whole body language screamed hatred and rage.

"I want you to find the children and when the battle is over, get out of here. All of you." His teeth wanted to clench together because when he opened his mouth he wanted to rant and shout that it wasn't fair. "Take Sam with you."

"I'm coming with you." Sam spoke up for the first time, sounding determined but tired.

"You just gave birth." Countered Jack, the words sounded wrong in his mouth. He felt like they might choke him.

"I don't care, I'm coming." Inside he smiled at the fire in her voice, but outside he remained firm. "No. You're sitting this one out Carter." He left no room for argument, tossing her a handgun for defense, he walked out leaving her seething.

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Daniel opened his eyes, a thick fog floated around him for a minute until his senses cleared. He felt over his face and found his glasses dangling from one ear, he secured them again and looked around. He was behind some kind of force field with Rick, Evie, Ahdeth and Teal'c in a vast room. To his right a throne stood with drapes and cushions around it. To his left a door dominated the wall, the door Teal'c had stopped Rick opening. To someone coming through that door, the throne would be centred against the wall and the prisoners would be on the right. A red carpet ran from the door to the gold seat and was lined with images of Sekhmet holding sceptres. He shook Teal'c who blinked and pulled himself into a sitting position before shaking awake Ahdeth. Daniel woke Rick who gently stirred Evie.

"Where are we?" Rick mumbled sleepily. Teal'c gave him a dark look.

"We appear to be in Sekhmet's chamber."

"Beautiful, isn't it." Golden eyes with vertical slit pupils flashed. Sekhmet appeared from behind one of the statues. Her red hair was tousled and curly, falling to her waist, when she turned some of it bounced lightly around her while the rest coiled around her waist. She wore a plain, white tunic dress and no shoes. Her eyes travelled the length of the room with pleasure but when they turned back to her prisoners they were diamond hard.

"Who is Jack?" Daniel sputtered, denying all knowledge. The Godess's hand flew up and the hand device activated causing seconds of pain. "Perhaps you will not be so quick to lie to me next time. Who is..." A noise caught her attention.

"Well, well, well. It seems Jack wants to play hero." She programmed something into the control panel at the side. "Scream all you want, he will not hear you." Sekhmet slinked behind the statue nearest the door and waited.

With a hiss, the mass of gold slid back to reveal a silhouetted Jack O'Neill. On seeing his friends he began his way across the room stopping short at their wild gestures. He turned slowly and came face to face with a very angry Goddess. Her eyes flashed and she bared her teeth ferociously.

"Hello Jack." She greeted maliciously, triggering the hand device. Pain lanced through him and in surprise he dropped his weapon. Beginning to see blackness dancing on the edges of his vision he groped blindly and fruitlessly for the lost gun. With gleaming eyes taking pleasure at his suffering he began to give up. He thought he was dreaming when the device deactivated. He thought he was hallucinating when he saw the blood begin to seep from her neck and forehead. He definitely thought he was going insane when she fell on top of him, lifeless. He felt a pulse and, finding nothing, he breathed a sigh of relief. Jack struggled to move the weight from his body as he strained to see who had killed Sekhmet.

Whaddya think? This story is, by no means, over yet.

Coffee Bean

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