Chevron Nine
by Part 8: Deora ar Mo Chroí (Tears on My Heart)
"Well, if this works, we should be able to find Daniel and Sha'uri," Sam said as she closed the panel. "If it doesn't, it could blow up the Gate."
"It'll work," O'Neill declared. "I trust you, seeing as you're the leading expert on Gate technology and all."
"Indeed," Teal'C agreed. "I have every confidence in your abilities, Major Carter."
"Thanks," Sam said. "Let's give it a shot, then." She dialed the coordinates for Earth into the still-malfunctioning DHD, which dutifully dialed the same nine chevrons that had hurled Daniel to God knew where.
Manánnan Mac-y-Leirr's pure white horses brought the chariot to a stop in front of the palace gates, which were standing wide open. "I am afraid you are on your own now, Daniel," he said. "I can only help you once. However, I can still warn you: do not underestimate the lord of the mountain."
"I will remember that," Daniel promised. "Thank you."
The Ocean God nodded and dissipated into fog.
No sooner had the fog blown away than Daniel heard a woman scream. "Sha'uri!" he cried, running through the gate toward the sound.
The old man he had met at the beginning of his journey had Sha'uri by her shoulders and was shaking her. "If you ever again try to escape, I will kill you, do you understand? Your husband is dead by now. He is never coming -"
"Let her go!" Daniel said from behind him.
The old man released Sha'uri, who collapsed, and spun around in surprise. "But... you are supposed to be... it is not possible!"
Daniel didn't respond as he helped Sha'uri to her feet and took her in his arms. She put her hands on his face and kissed him.
But the old man recovered quickly. He unslung a bow from his arm, snatched an arrow from the quiver on his back, notched it, and pointed it at Daniel. The tip of the arrow was stained a glistening red: poisoned. "Move away from the woman. She is mine."
Daniel took one step away from Sha'uri. "You are mistaken, old man. 'The woman' is my wife."
The lord of the mountain drew the arrow back farther. "Then in a moment she shall be your widow."
The arrow flew straight and true, and time slowed to a crawl. One scratch from the tip of that arrow could be deadly, but at that range, Daniel didn't stand a chance of dodging it.
But Sha'uri had already been in motion as the old man released the bow. Almost before Daniel even knew what was happening, his beloved had leapt into the arrow's path, saving his life... at the expense of her own.
The old man cackled with demonic glee at the unexpected turn of events, as if he were watching a well-performed drama.
Daniel looked up at him from where he knelt holding Sha'uri's limp form, his eyes pleading. "What do you want in exchange for the antidote? I'll give you anything, I promise."
"I will not be satisfied until I have Sha'uri."
The woman in question stirred in Daniel's arms and moaned, "I would rather die..."
From just behind them came the familiar sound of the Stargate dialing. "That's the sound of my friends coming to get me, old man," Daniel said to the lord of the mountain. "And when I go, I am taking Sha'uri with me. Give me the antidote to whatever poison was on that arrow, and I swear I'll make sure you get whatever else you want in return." Tears streaked his face.
"You truly care for her, don't you?" The old man sighed. "I suppose, then, that I have no choice."
He pulled another arrow from the quiver and rammed it through his own heart. He was dead within seconds.
And Sha'uri would be next.
Jack O'Neill, Sam Carter, Janet Frasier, and Teal'C simultaneously hesitated before stepping through the event horizon.
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