"Xara... True Seer..."
It had taken Daniel forever to find the woman Jack had mentioned to him the night before. The archeologist had mulled over his conversation with O'Neill most of the night, and he had to admit that he was intrigued. Of course, Daniel was also as curious as the proverbial cat, which only added to his interest. He couldn't say when exactly he'd decided he was going to go to the carnival and look the woman up, but it had been sometime during the night while he listened to Binky roaming his apartment looking for something to play with.
Now that he was actually at the carnival and standing in front of the brightly colored tent, Daniel was having second thoughts. He didn't know what it was about the woman, but if she'd managed to convince someone as cynical as Jack that she was the real deal, he figured she'd have a field day with Daniel, who was as open-minded as they came.
Really, though, what was the harm? Daniel was pretty much conducting an experiment, and the only way he could complete it would be to talk to Xara and have her read his palm or whatever it was she did. Then he'd see for himself. He walked into the tent, looking around at the sign, and the man in the robe watching him.
"Hi..."
"Hello, good sir," the man bowed, slightly, making Daniel want to bow back – although he managed to stop from doing it at the last moment. "Madam Xara is expecting you." He gestured for Daniel to go through the flap.
"Oh... I doubt that..." Daniel murmured to himself as he walked into the darkened room and looked around with interest. It reminded him of Teal'c's quarters at the SGC, although it might just have been the candles and the solitude.
The woman seated at the table (in front of a crystal ball, Daniel noted, scoffing to himself) didn't even look up when he entered. As the flap closed, muting the sound of the carnival that was going on all around them, however, she spoke before Daniel could.
"You are curious."
Well, duh. Everyone who came into the psychic's tent was probably curious. It didn't take a mind reader to figure that one out.
"A little..." he acknowledged, walking over. "My friends-"
"What is your friend?" She interrupted him before he could complete his announcement.
Daniel was confused by the question, since the woman had asked what his friend was, and not who. As if sensing this, she smiled, and gestured for him to take the seat across from him.
"I know who your friend is..." She said, softly, looking at Daniel intently. "You have a similar aura to his. Not as bright – nowhere near as bright – and yet, the evil you face is the same as the evil he and Samantha face."
"How-?"
"How did I know?" She interrupted, with a smile. She gestured all around her. "I'm a psychic, of course."
"What am I thinking right now?" Daniel asked, and she laughed.
"I don't do parlor tricks, young man. I read the auras of the people around me, and tell them what I see. Most of the time what I see is trivial stuff – someone will become famous, someone will find true love... that sort of thing. Your friends were different. Jack O'Neill practically glows with the power around him, and he is unaware of it."
"He's a high-ranking officer in the military," Daniel said. "He's used to power."
"What I see is not authority," Xara said, shaking her head. "High ranking officers carry authority, but power and authority are two different things."
"What power, then?" Daniel asked.
She shrugged. "I cannot say. I will say this... your friend is special. He walks with a guardian spirit – one who is bonded to him in ways I cannot understand."
"Jaffer's a dog." Daniel said. "He's..." Daniel shrugged. "I was there the day he was born... he's nothing special to anyone but Jack. He's certainly not a guardian spirit."
"Has he ever saved Jack's life?"
"Jack's saved my life a dozen times and that doesn't make him a guardian spirit."
"Jack is a guardian spirit," Xara corrected. "As is Samantha, and yourself."
"What?"
"Oh, not in exactly the same fashion as the dog is," she told Daniel. "But I look at you, and I see a Protector. Someone who stands between the people around him and an evil that I cannot comprehend. When I looked at Samantha and Jack yesterday, I saw this as well."
"But-"
"There are many Protectors, though," Xara said, shrugging. "A Protector is simply someone who will stand up for good when evil is apparent. Who chooses to do the right thing when there are two choices in front of them. Who chooses to help someone when they need it instead of walking away. Many police officers, paramedics, firemen, doctors... the list is endless. Not all of them are even in service professions, although those that are the strongest tend to end up in a place they can readily act on this desire to help."
She paused, waiting for Daniel to say something.
"I'm an archeologist," Daniel said. "How is that a-?"
"Did I not just say many? I did not say all." She reached out and took Daniel's hand. "Your aura is bright, and yet you have had many hurts in your life. Some recent, but a terrible loss in your recent past that drives you to do what you're doing now."
Daniel looked down at his hand, suddenly wishing he were anywhere but there. She was far too accurate for his comfort, and now that she'd turned her attention on him instead of Jack, he could easily understand why O'Neill had been so confused. Daniel was about 99 percent sure she was the real deal. He took his hand away, but Xara didn't seem to be offended.
"What do you do?" She asked, intently, leaning forward. "The evil I see you facing is nothing I've encountered before... your aura tells me it's nothing of this world, and yet I do not see it as being of the spirit world, either. What other worlds are there?"
"I can't tell you that," Daniel said, shaking his head.
"He is poised on the edge of something incredible..." Xara said, looking past Daniel, her eyes unfocused.
"What?"
"Your friend." She said, looking at him, now. "He's... I've never seen anything like it. He has a great purpose..."
"Um... yeah..."
Daniel wasn't sure what she was talking about. Jack was the center of a lot of things just then, but really, none of them were all that great. Not necessarily ordinary, of course – not in their line of work – but not great.
"Why can't you tell me what you do?"
Daniel squirmed, more than ready to leave. He wasn't used to being on the receiving end of such questioning and he wasn't sure what he would give away to someone who could read people so well.
"It's secret stuff." He stood up, almost knocking the chair over in his haste. "I really should be going."
"Why did you come?"
"Because I had to see for myself." Daniel said. "You really threw Jack for a loop last night, and I wanted to..."
"To see for yourself?"
"Yeah."
"And are you convinced?"
"Oh, yeah. Which is why I need to go."
She nodded, smiling.
"Watch your friend, Daniel." She said, gently. "The dangers he faces are great – as are the ones you face. I feel that a simple slip in concentration could kill him, and if that happens, all that could be, probably will not be."
"What does that mean?"
She shrugged. "It is just what I see."
Daniel left the tent with far more questions than he'd had when he'd entered, and only when he was well down the midway on his way back to his car did he realize that she'd called him by name – and he hadn't told her his name.
He faltered and almost tripped, stopping and looking back the way he'd come. Then he shrugged. There was no way he was going to go back and ask her how she knew who he was. He'd had enough psychics for the day. For the rest of his life, for that matter.
It had taken Daniel forever to find the woman Jack had mentioned to him the night before. The archeologist had mulled over his conversation with O'Neill most of the night, and he had to admit that he was intrigued. Of course, Daniel was also as curious as the proverbial cat, which only added to his interest. He couldn't say when exactly he'd decided he was going to go to the carnival and look the woman up, but it had been sometime during the night while he listened to Binky roaming his apartment looking for something to play with.
Now that he was actually at the carnival and standing in front of the brightly colored tent, Daniel was having second thoughts. He didn't know what it was about the woman, but if she'd managed to convince someone as cynical as Jack that she was the real deal, he figured she'd have a field day with Daniel, who was as open-minded as they came.
Really, though, what was the harm? Daniel was pretty much conducting an experiment, and the only way he could complete it would be to talk to Xara and have her read his palm or whatever it was she did. Then he'd see for himself. He walked into the tent, looking around at the sign, and the man in the robe watching him.
"Hi..."
"Hello, good sir," the man bowed, slightly, making Daniel want to bow back – although he managed to stop from doing it at the last moment. "Madam Xara is expecting you." He gestured for Daniel to go through the flap.
"Oh... I doubt that..." Daniel murmured to himself as he walked into the darkened room and looked around with interest. It reminded him of Teal'c's quarters at the SGC, although it might just have been the candles and the solitude.
The woman seated at the table (in front of a crystal ball, Daniel noted, scoffing to himself) didn't even look up when he entered. As the flap closed, muting the sound of the carnival that was going on all around them, however, she spoke before Daniel could.
"You are curious."
Well, duh. Everyone who came into the psychic's tent was probably curious. It didn't take a mind reader to figure that one out.
"A little..." he acknowledged, walking over. "My friends-"
"What is your friend?" She interrupted him before he could complete his announcement.
Daniel was confused by the question, since the woman had asked what his friend was, and not who. As if sensing this, she smiled, and gestured for him to take the seat across from him.
"I know who your friend is..." She said, softly, looking at Daniel intently. "You have a similar aura to his. Not as bright – nowhere near as bright – and yet, the evil you face is the same as the evil he and Samantha face."
"How-?"
"How did I know?" She interrupted, with a smile. She gestured all around her. "I'm a psychic, of course."
"What am I thinking right now?" Daniel asked, and she laughed.
"I don't do parlor tricks, young man. I read the auras of the people around me, and tell them what I see. Most of the time what I see is trivial stuff – someone will become famous, someone will find true love... that sort of thing. Your friends were different. Jack O'Neill practically glows with the power around him, and he is unaware of it."
"He's a high-ranking officer in the military," Daniel said. "He's used to power."
"What I see is not authority," Xara said, shaking her head. "High ranking officers carry authority, but power and authority are two different things."
"What power, then?" Daniel asked.
She shrugged. "I cannot say. I will say this... your friend is special. He walks with a guardian spirit – one who is bonded to him in ways I cannot understand."
"Jaffer's a dog." Daniel said. "He's..." Daniel shrugged. "I was there the day he was born... he's nothing special to anyone but Jack. He's certainly not a guardian spirit."
"Has he ever saved Jack's life?"
"Jack's saved my life a dozen times and that doesn't make him a guardian spirit."
"Jack is a guardian spirit," Xara corrected. "As is Samantha, and yourself."
"What?"
"Oh, not in exactly the same fashion as the dog is," she told Daniel. "But I look at you, and I see a Protector. Someone who stands between the people around him and an evil that I cannot comprehend. When I looked at Samantha and Jack yesterday, I saw this as well."
"But-"
"There are many Protectors, though," Xara said, shrugging. "A Protector is simply someone who will stand up for good when evil is apparent. Who chooses to do the right thing when there are two choices in front of them. Who chooses to help someone when they need it instead of walking away. Many police officers, paramedics, firemen, doctors... the list is endless. Not all of them are even in service professions, although those that are the strongest tend to end up in a place they can readily act on this desire to help."
She paused, waiting for Daniel to say something.
"I'm an archeologist," Daniel said. "How is that a-?"
"Did I not just say many? I did not say all." She reached out and took Daniel's hand. "Your aura is bright, and yet you have had many hurts in your life. Some recent, but a terrible loss in your recent past that drives you to do what you're doing now."
Daniel looked down at his hand, suddenly wishing he were anywhere but there. She was far too accurate for his comfort, and now that she'd turned her attention on him instead of Jack, he could easily understand why O'Neill had been so confused. Daniel was about 99 percent sure she was the real deal. He took his hand away, but Xara didn't seem to be offended.
"What do you do?" She asked, intently, leaning forward. "The evil I see you facing is nothing I've encountered before... your aura tells me it's nothing of this world, and yet I do not see it as being of the spirit world, either. What other worlds are there?"
"I can't tell you that," Daniel said, shaking his head.
"He is poised on the edge of something incredible..." Xara said, looking past Daniel, her eyes unfocused.
"What?"
"Your friend." She said, looking at him, now. "He's... I've never seen anything like it. He has a great purpose..."
"Um... yeah..."
Daniel wasn't sure what she was talking about. Jack was the center of a lot of things just then, but really, none of them were all that great. Not necessarily ordinary, of course – not in their line of work – but not great.
"Why can't you tell me what you do?"
Daniel squirmed, more than ready to leave. He wasn't used to being on the receiving end of such questioning and he wasn't sure what he would give away to someone who could read people so well.
"It's secret stuff." He stood up, almost knocking the chair over in his haste. "I really should be going."
"Why did you come?"
"Because I had to see for myself." Daniel said. "You really threw Jack for a loop last night, and I wanted to..."
"To see for yourself?"
"Yeah."
"And are you convinced?"
"Oh, yeah. Which is why I need to go."
She nodded, smiling.
"Watch your friend, Daniel." She said, gently. "The dangers he faces are great – as are the ones you face. I feel that a simple slip in concentration could kill him, and if that happens, all that could be, probably will not be."
"What does that mean?"
She shrugged. "It is just what I see."
Daniel left the tent with far more questions than he'd had when he'd entered, and only when he was well down the midway on his way back to his car did he realize that she'd called him by name – and he hadn't told her his name.
He faltered and almost tripped, stopping and looking back the way he'd come. Then he shrugged. There was no way he was going to go back and ask her how she knew who he was. He'd had enough psychics for the day. For the rest of his life, for that matter.