1 comments/ 11073 views/ 2 favorites Daughter of the Gods Ch. 01 By: LBDarling Chapter One Dennis' pale eyes rolled open, the first thing they noticed (as they always did) was that there was not a single ray of daylight anywhere. To begin each new day in utter darkness was always depressing. Damn cot. That didn't help his disposition any, no not all. You'd think someone could manage to bring him an actual bed with an actual mattress. Every morning he woke, Dennis was reminded that he was not getting any younger. The screaming ache in his lower back told him so with a fine How-do-you-do? each time he rolled his athletic frame from the damnable folding torture chamber. Very slowly, Dennis stood up to his full height and turned his torso first to the left and then to the right, repeating the pattern slowly and with more intensity, as he tried to loosen the kinks which were most painful in his left side near the kidney area. The first pops of the day were heard and the pain began to lessen slightly. Slender fingers reached toward the ceiling as the muscles in his back howled that they did not want to cooperate with this daily ritual any longer, they wanted a bed. A B-E-D; bed! Dennis ignored the railing and bent at the waist as he reached to touch his toes, drawing in a large breath as he went. "What I wouldn't give for a massage." He mumbled as he stood in his quarters touching his toes wearing nothing but his light blue boxers. "A hot bath and a nice long massage." Dennis let his mind wander off to some darkened candle-lit room where sweet smelling incense burned and a woman's hands kneaded his tired muscles with the most exquisitely painful touch he had ever felt. Starting at the nape of his neck, she worked the muscles there and in his aching shoulders, rolling his skin beneath her fingers as she went. Dennis could feel soft wisps of her hair against his naked flesh. In his (almost) daily fantasy, she never spoke to him nor did he see her face. Somehow he knew she was a young and pretty woman for whom, at this moment in time, there was nothing but him. A nice little fantasy if there ever was one. With the waking grumblings in his groin beginning, Dennis ceased his stretching routine put his black T-Shirt, (the one with Fuck Authority on it) and his military issue sweat pants (olive drab of course). Slowly he made his way from his quarters down three levels to the base work-out area. Every morning the same thing, Dennis would spend the first hour of his morning working with free weights and then going into his own cardio-vascular routine. He wasn't much for working out but around here it seemed to be a requirement and since Dennis was a civilian he did his best to fit in wherever he could. The instructor was supposed to be there to watch him and make sure he didn't hurt himself or anything like that, but like every other morning, good old Lieutenant James was still snoozing the day away, no doubt he was still wrapped in the arms of one of his inferior officers. Dennis went through his morning routine without any particular fuss. With his daily work-out completed, Dennis made his way to the mess hall. What an appropriately titled place! Not only was it a mess but the food was as well. This morning's specialty, runny scrambled eggs, half-cooked bacon and burnt toast. Yummy. As the food was unceremoniously dropped onto the tray with the separate compartments, Dennis glanced across the room until his eyes found what they were looking for. When he saw Dennis looking at him, Richard raised his hand and motioned for Dennis to come to his table when he was finished being served his morning gruel. Dennis took his place at the table with Richard and his other team mates. "Jesus, this looks like shit." He moaned and pushed the tray away. "Yep," Richard agreed as he shoved a forkful of half-cooked scrambled eggs into his mouth. "Tastes like it too." Jaws moving up and down, Richard turned toward Dennis and motioned with his fork. "Nice shirt." "Good morning to you too." Richard smiled as he took another bite. "Are you ready for today, Dennis?" Lee asked as she sipped her coffee. Bright blue eyes stared at Dennis over the top of her cup. "It's put up or shut up time, you know." "I'm aware." He replied in an uneasy tone. Silently he reminded himself that while today had begun as every other day had begun for the last five years, it was not going to end that way. The silver chain around his neck began to feel tight and Dennis fingered it out of his collar, it was a nervous habit he supposed, like pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose when he was annoyed with someone. "Do you still believe your device will work?" Crowen intoned from his side of the table. "Yes." There was no uneasiness or lapse in his voice this time. "It will work." Not wanting to think about the project too much, god knew he'd done enough of that over the last six weeks, he turned his attention to Richard and changed the subject. "Do you think there's any possible way that I could get, you know, a bed?" Dennis rubbed the mid-section of his back with a closed fist to emphasize his point. Richard laughed as he put down his coffee mug. "Well, ya know your maw and me," he pointed at Lee with his fork, "we sort of expected you'd move out by now. You're old enough to be away from us. We think you should get a place of your own. The cot was sort of our way of letting you know that. Why'd it take you so long to catch on?" "Why not?" Crowen asked. "I, myself, have been thinking about asking Major General Murphy if this would be acceptable to him. Are you not tired of waking to darkness, Dr. Johnson? I am." Dr. Dennis Johnson had not been doing so well in life when the Quantum Gateway Project approached him eight years ago wanting him to sign on in the off-chance they could get this device of theirs up and running. Geez, had it been eight years already? Dennis smiled a little bit to himself. No, at that time, he was a very young overly educated man who kept insisting that the world change everything they thought true because they were wrong and he was right. While, luckily for him, that did turn out to be true, in the end that didn't put a roof over his head and the world had yet to find out about the discovery of the Quantum Gateway, a miraculous device that lead not just to other worlds but other galaxies. That was quite the coo for a man like him. Dennis majored in Forensic Anthropology in UCLA and minored in Archaeology, he spoke more than a dozen languages, and was comfortable in any setting from a simple Tea Ritual to the Rituals of Death. His talents were invaluable to the team of four—two military personnel, nearly-retired, Colonel Richard Murphy and Major LeeAnn Ford, and Crowen a refugee from a planet known as Titan 4. Together they made up the flag team of the Quantum Gateway Project in a team called QG-A, short for Quantum Gateway Alpha. With so much out there to see, do, and learn, Dennis was content to let the Quantum Gateway Control Center do that for him. The para-military operation could more than afford to house and feed him with their massive budget. All in all, he had no reason to have a place of his own at this point in his life, not when so much of that life revolved around the Quantum Gateway and his adventures to other worlds. But; "Yes, I do miss the sun." He agreed. To this comment Crowen nodded his bald black head and gave a slight smile. "Everything I need is here. All I want is a bed. A real one. With a metal frame, wood head board, and thick fluffy mattress." "Looks like our boy is staying home for a while longer, Paw." Lee sighed as she pushed away what was left on her own tray and took the last drink of coffee from her cup. "Eh, that figures." Richard replied with good-natured disgust in his voice. "Fine, in that case, I'll see what I can do." He ran a hand through his head of short graying hair. A young ensign came up to the table where the team known as QG-A sat talking and not enjoying their breakfast, he whispered something into the Colonel's ear. "Well, that's it then." Richard rose. "General wants to see us." He turned his gaze directly to Dennis. "It's go time." Richard turned as if to leave and then turned back to look at Dennis, "Oh and ah, Dennis," he opened his palms and held them out to him, "change your shirt, huh?" Daughter of the Gods Ch. 02 After having worked well into the small hours of the morning once again, Dr. Dennis Johnson retired to his quarters beneath Black Mountain and to the lumpy torture chamber he jokingly called a bed. His lower back cried out for a mattress and he swore to himself that he would buy a proper bed just as soon as they came back from P456X tomorrow afternoon, after all he really did deserve it for pulling their butts out of the fire on this one. For the last six weeks the Quantum Gateway had sat silent in the Control Room, useful as nothing more than a really big paper weight but tonight he, along with LeeAnn Ford and Dr. Harold O'Gara (not one of Dennis' favorite people by any means) had finally been able to get it working once again. They had not, however, been able to contact the members of QG-G and so tomorrow morning QG-A would go through the Gateway in an attempt to retrieve them. A tired and worn out Dennis Johnson laid himself down on the uncomfortable bed and soon fell into the warm black clutches of Morpheus. Floating in the blackness of the sleeping mind, Dennis began to sense a presence in his dream. Almost as if on cue, a small light appeared some distance away from where he stood. It was not the light of an electric bulb or the light of a fire; at first it was no brighter than a single candle which might have been placed in a window on a cold dark night to beckon a lover home. As it grew brighter, Dennis realized that he was moving toward it. He had not commanded his legs to move and they were not, he was floating in the darkened emptiness of his own mind, floating toward the ever growing glow. The light that at first had been more no than a single candle now grew greater than a thousand suns, Dennis raised his hand to shield his eyes as he turned his head away from it. "Look at me," a voice inside his mind said. Dennis lowered his hand and turned to face the voice coming from the glowing ball of amber before him. To his surprise there stood a woman he had never seen before. Tall and slender was she, with full rounded hips and ample breasts. Long locks of golden sunlight streamed from the top of her head and cascaded around her waist. Eyes like Mediterranean Sea stared not at but through him. Dennis realized that the woman was not engulfed in the amber light, she was the light. "Who are you?" He asked in a voice that was small even to his own ears. But to his query she only stood there and smiled a warm kind smile at him. Slender arms reached out to touch either side of his face and draw him nearer to her. Passionate dark red lips descended to bestow a whispered kiss upon his forehead. Something stirred inside of him. One of her hands dropped from his check to touch the place where his heart hid inside his chest. Dennis stared at her, captured by her like a butterfly in a net, his heart racing and pulse pounding. Dropping his gaze from hers, he looked down at the hand resting in the midst of his chest, it too was glowing. Something was coming from her or through her, and it was making its way inside of him, settling somewhere deep in his mind and his heart. "Sa'Tan, Dennis." She said to him. His sleeping mind turned the strange word over and over. "Satan?" He mumbled for a reason he did not understand. Dennis watched as her full lips parted and she laughed and shook her head, long blonde hair spilled golden rays of sunshine all around her. Before she spoke again, Dennis realized it had been him who had misunderstood. "Sa'Tan." (Sah-Taaahn) She repeated. "Sa'Tai Callestah. Sa'Tan, Dennis." The hand which rested upon his cheek now softly caressed his skin. Once more her lips parted and her head descended, Dennis felt the warmth of her tongue as it slid into his mouth and ever so gently, down his throat. The sweet taste of honey mingled with cantaloupe juice filled him. "Sa'Tan" she repeated in a whisper which was strong but just barely audible. She was gone. The dream faded away and Dennis slept comfortably for the next few hours. In the morning Dennis awoke with the oddest feeling, it was as though something marvelous had happened to him in his sleep only he couldn't remember what it had been. Perhaps some great revelation had come to him as he slept. He didn't know, but he did know that if he could remember he knew he would be very excited about whatever it was. Way in the back of his mind a single word echoed and danced. Sa'Tan What was that? He didn't know, but when they returned from P456X later today, he would do some digging and in an attempt to find out. There was something else, was there a certain smell to the air this morning? Strange. The air in the base was drawn in from the outside, circulated through no one knew just how many filters before it reached the lungs of the bases' inhabitants. There was never any smell in the air, most especially not one that did not have the scent of either burnt food, grease, sweat or some type of chemical compound. The latter occurring only if one was either in the infirmary or in one of the research labs. No this scent was different from all of those. What was it? Whatever it was, it was heady and rich with a slightly sweet underlying hint of rosemary and perhaps sage. Two spices which had certainly never found their way into the mess hall. Opening his mouth to give out a small yawn, Dennis realized that his lips were sticky. He ran his tongue along them; the sweet taste of honey filled his mouth instantly. Suddenly, he remembered her, the woman he had seen in his dream the night before. Dennis remembered the warmth of her tongue inside his mouth and her beautifully soothing and familiar face. Dennis reached over and flicked on the radio by the bathroom sink, it was just a cheap little radio that didn't pick up many (if any) stations this deep under the Earth. Today Van Morrison came through the speakers loud and clear; he was singing that it was a fan-tab-u-lous night to make romance 'neath the cover of October skies. Humming along with the tune, Dennis covered his face in lather and put the blade to his cheek. Daughter of the Gods Ch. 03 Major Ford said excitedly, " I've got them!" Over the loud speaker came the voice of Lt. Colonel Andrews. "Good to hear from you guys. Thought you'd forgotten about us." He said. "Any chance we can come home now?" "Roger that." Major General Murphy said with a relieved smile. "We'll shut her down and you open her up on your end. We'll be waiting for you." There was what seemed to be a long period of silence on Andrews' end. "We'd love to sir, but we have a small problem." "Oh, what's that?" Murphy inquired. "Well, sir, geez, I don't know how to tell you this but Corporal Blood's gone missing. He's gone down into the town, Oz we call it. He left yesterday and hasn't come back. I sent Carlisle after him but I haven't heard from him either." "Damn." "What was that, sir? I couldn't quite hear you." "Stay there. QG-A will come to you. Out." Major General Murphy turned his attention away from the loud speaker and toward the four members of QG-A. "You heard the man. We've got two team members missing. Now, we have no reason to think the inhabitants of P456X are hostile so there's no reason to go in with guns blazing. Just go, find them and bring them back. Understood?" "Understood." Colonel MacNeill returned with a salute. "We'll bring 'em home, General, don't worry about that." Stepping through the Gateway never failed to amaze every member of QG-A. One minute you were standing with your feet planted firmly on good old Mother Earth and the next, well, the next you just weren't. In the second or two that took to get from Earth to P456X, one was falling at the speed of light through a blue/purplish haze. Although they would each report a strong feeling of disconnectedness not just from each other but also from themselves, their individual experiences during that second or two were vastly different. Lee always got the sensation of being wrapped tightly in a warm blanket. Richard felt a burning sensation, not on his skin, not exactly. No, what burned was some place deep in the pit of his stomach, a place where food would never reach. Dennis always felt as though he should be cold, he should be wet. He waited for those two sensations each time he traveled the wormhole to a new and interesting world but it never came. Crowen, who had ridden this ride more times than his compatriots had, did not really notice the second or two which passed by any more. Falling, falling, down further and further, stuck on some wild astral roller coaster ride. And then.... Feet planted firmly on the sod of P456X. No one was wet. No one was cold. That burning sensation in Richard's stomach disappeared at once, as did Lee's blanket. Crowen stood stone-faced, as was his usual expression. Two members of QG-G came forward from the thicket of trees and greeted QG-A. Without much ceremony, QG-G led QG-A first to the caves where they had been living these past six weeks and then down the hillside toward the town. "We have to hurry, it's getting dark. They close the gates when night falls. No one gets in or out." Lt. Col. Andrews reported to Colonel MacNeill. "Looks like there's some big to-do going on in Oz tonight." "To-do?" Dennis inquired from behind as they made their way down the steep sandy hill. "Who are they?" "Sorry, Dr. Johnson." Andrews muttered. "Didn't have time to relate to you what we've found." He stopped in his tracks for a moment, turned to Dennis and smiled, "You are going to love this." "Am I?" Dennis asked with anticipatory surprise. Of course, Dennis had seen the strong hold once they reached the caves. One would have had to be blind to miss it. To Dennis the place QG-G had come to call Oz looked more like an ancient Celtic town. There were thatched huts and wooded houses within the walled fortress; he saw them from the ridge when Andrews was kind enough to allow him to use the binoculars. It was the castles' keep itself that interested Dennis most. It stood roughly three stories high, its thick stonewalls covered the back quarter of the courtyard and serving as an inner fortress. Three large turrets jutted out from the center at the roof. To him it looked like something straight out of King Arthur. Camelot, perhaps. The inhabitants of this land were certainly not of upper European descent and that struck Dennis as very odd. Within the walled city of Oz, Dennis could see bonfires burning in the evening light. From his place on the hillside, he could clearly that there were six separate fires, five of which were burning in the shape of a five-pointed star. The sixth and biggest fire burned directly in the center of the star. No, not a star, but a pentacle, Dennis thought to himself as he watched the fires burn against the purple haze of the coming night. Some type of religious ceremony or rite was going on down in Oz tonight. "Yep." Andrews agreed and then turned his back to the rest of them as he led them closer to Oz. A little further down the hill and Andrews stopped again. "All right, look, you've probably all noticed the skin tone of most of those people." He stopped talking, as he was afraid that his words were in some way racist. "Yeah, I noticed." Richard agreed quickly. "We don't exactly blend in with the locals. What about Blood and Carlisle, they blend?" "Blood's olive skinned but Carlisle's about as white as they come." Richard turned to Dennis, the resident Cultural Expert, for his advice on the situation. "What do you suggest?" "Let's go." There had been no thought given to his reply. The expression on his face told Richard that Dennis had no idea of why the question was asked of him and that Dennis was too excited to care. After all they hadn't had any problems on any of the other planets they had visited. "I'm sure they've seen a white person at some point. It's not like they're going to kill us for it." The words fell at a slow pace and Dennis continued to stare toward the walled city. It seemed that he could not turn away from it. Something was down there and he was eager to get to it "Yeah, I guess not. Oh and Dr. Johnson, they have seen a white person before. They got one down there but they don't let her out very much." Andrews looked Dennis straight in the eye. "Not to mention the fact that there's, like, what, five maybe six hundred of them gathered down there for whatever it is they're doing. Do you still think we should just march right in?" Andrews motioned down at his own and then the rest of their military attire. Dennis was still staring toward the town of Oz, which was now about a mile and a half away. Richard looked up at him waiting for him to answer. The blank expression on Dennis' face told him that no answer was coming. Nope, Dennis was not currently among them. He was in fact off in a world of his own. The blank stare said so. Richard doubted if Dennis had even heard what Andrews had said. Wanting to get his men out of Oz and the entire team home, he held up his own sub-machine gun "We got these, I'm sure we'll all play nice." Colonel MacNeill pushed past Lt. Colonel Andrews and began leading them toward town once more. Daughter of the Gods Ch. 03 Tossing his long locks back over his shoulder and walking forward in a hurried pace, Kanan grabbed hold on Blood's hand and yanked him onto the podium. With a distinguishing eye, he looked the newcomer up and down. "B'ok tar hesta Cha'Dech?" The language was so strange, Blood could not understand a single word but he was certain that Kanan the King, was asking him if he wanted Dorothy. Blood raised his hands slightly and shrugged his shoulders; he pointed to his throat and frowned, pointed to his ear and frowned. Not knowing exactly what he was doing he raised his eyes and looked directly at Kanan, with two pronged fingers Blood pointed to his own eyes and then at the crowd, he shook his head and lowered his hands. Unsure to say the least, Blood hoped that he had conveyed the idea that he was deaf and dumb, that he had not seen when the other men had lowered their hands. Kanan stood before Blood and looked his over with a stern eye. It was clear the man could not speak nor could he hear, he may well be an idiot. "Jadge nangonan, e'uken nyne n'kan?" (My People, does anyone here call this man friend?) "E'uken en se?" (Anyone at all?) The crowd before him was silent, no man or woman stood to defend the newcomer. "E'uken kedesi nyne?" (Does anyone even know this man?) Again, there was only silence. Snapping out his hand, Kanan ripped the turban from the man's head and the scarf away from his face. "E'uken desesi nyne?" Roughly, he turned Blood on his heels to face the crowd below. In the crowd, a sea of heads began to shake and low murmurs were heard. It was clear that no one knew who the daring man was. "Sage'kotek!"(Outsider!) Daughter of the Gods Ch. 04 It was not long before the group of captives was entering the Great Hall of Kanan's keep. With his keen eye Dennis kept making note of all everything that was Gaelic or Celtic in this place. To him he might as well be standing in Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. Tartan tapestries hung from every wall in brilliant red, green, blue and gold. Heavy furniture graced the room; the chairs alone must have weighed well over a hundred pounds each. Dennis wondered how anyone managed to slide them around the room since they appeared so heavy. Colonel MacNeill was his usual cheeky self, smiling, nodding and saying 'How-do-you-do?' to everyone they passed on their way to the King. All around him eyes widened and mouths gaped open at the sight of them. Finally they were lead into what appeared to be Kanan's Throne Room. A large ornately carved wooded chair was the focal point of this room, its seat and back covered with red velvet, above which hung a large rendition of the King's Family Crest. Sitting on the throne was the same man they had seen giving his women away earlier in the night. Surrounding him was a group of fifteen or so men, all of whom had been engaged in heavy conversation (probably concerning the first white man they had encountered that night), startled they looked up at the sound of the guard's voice. "Ginan kani Cok'Mon odank!" (We found these white men wandering in the town) The guard who had stood by Col.MacNeill's side announced to Kanan who sat upon his throne. Kanan turned from his council and beheld several white men now waiting in for his attention. Yehwe was a night known to be full of mischief and magick; it seemed the festival would live up to its reputation tonight. "Madwan? E'gni hamesh?" (What do you want? Where do you come from?) Kanan asked in a voice that not betray the coolness in his eyes. O'Neill shot Dennis a harsh look. "Looks like you're on, Dennis." With more apprehension than usual, Dennis began the task of making first contact and communication with people from a new world. He began much as he always did, speaking in a very slow calm, almost hypnotic voice, "I'm Dennis." Dennis held out the palm of his hands and waited a moment but Kanan did not respond. The dark eyes of the man grew wide at the sound of Dennis' words. Using only his eyes, Dennis, looked around to see that the men were talking to each other in hushed whispers. "We have come for our friend. You," Dennis pointed to Kanan, "you took him away." Dennis put his hands together as though they had been bound, he motioned toward the dark man on the throne once again. Although his eyes seemed to grow larger with each word Dennis spoke, there did not seem to be any recognition in them. Dennis dropped his hands and then pointed toward the window behind him and the courtyard beyond. "Out there. Our friend," he bound his hands together again, "on the podium" he made a sort of box shape with his hands, "you took him...." "Mowtot!" Kanan bolted from the seat upon which he had been sitting. "B'yon ye, Cha'Dech, nin." Dennis began to speak again but the man held up a large hand to silence him, he realized that the leader of this world was not speaking to him. "N'om!" One of the guards immediately left the room off on whatever errand Kanan the King had presently sent him on. Now the man's eyes were definitely upon Dennis and his friends, "Ciptu." The large black hand motioned toward the long table and chairs behind the group. "Ciptu." "Sit?" Dennis asked and bent his knees slightly as though he were going to seat himself. "Ciptu." Kanan repeated and nodded. "Pama." "I think he wants us to sit and wait until the guard returns." Dennis said over his shoulder. They made their way to the chairs just behind them, eyes on everyone in the room as once, light smiles on their faces, and they sat in the heavy wooden chairs. "Ciptu." Dennis said looking at Kanan and watched as the large man nodded his head. "So, what are we waiting for?" Lee asked through a smile so fake she thought it might freeze on her face. "I don't know. Guess we'll find out soon enough." Daughter of the Gods Ch. 04 Before returning to his room, Kanan ordered her to bring food up to the strangers. When she protested that she was tired and did not wish to spend further time with the white people (oh what a lie! She was certain he would see it on her face!) he struck her full across the jaw and repeated his demand. All of his other women were off with their lucky consorts for the night, there were very few people left in the keep to serve the Cok'Mon on this night. Kanan insisted she fulfill her duties and feed them. "Wisane et Cok'Mon." (Make food for the white men.) "Byan nin bagan k'shew." (Come to my bed when you are finished). Tears streaming down her alabaster cheeks, she retreated from him and into the large kitchen to fix food for the newcomers. This is a test, she thought as she worked. The guards will be there, she must not speak to them. She was only to prepare the food and bring it to them. She knew that she would not be able to hold to that, not even under penalty of punishment and Kanan knew it as well. It was why he was sending her to them. Wasn't it? She knew not what the white men would eat, and so she just put together a conglomeration of what was now leftover from the Yehwe festival that had been so rudely interrupted earlier in the evening. Pulling the long sleeves of her dress down over her wrists and making sure all of her buttons were done up, she ascended the great stair case with a silver tray full of food and a guard on either side of her. As she made her way down the corridor she noticed that there were guards posted outside of the room where the white men a white woman and a Nuki were waiting. The small procession stopped and one of the guards opened the heavy oak door. The woman stepped inside to see the fire burning brightly in the hearth. The men rose when she entered but the woman remained seated. Try not to look at any of them, especially not the one with the familiar eyes. She placed the tray laden with food onto the table and made her way to leave. "Wait," Dennis said quietly. She froze in her tracks but did not turn to look at him. "What is it?" To her it was a very strange question, clearly she had laid food before them, couldn't he see that it was something to eat? With her back to him, she shook her head and made her way toward the door once more. "How did you get here?" Dennis asked as he took a step in her direction while keeping an eye on the guards. "You don't belong here, do you?" To this she did turn to look at him, the one called Den-yo. She covered her mouth and her ears, once again shook her head, and thought; I am not to talk or listen to you. Why not? Dennis thought but did not say. He watched in surprise as the green eyes of Naganti Kanan's Cha'Dech grew wide. A spark ignited inside his mind, something strange and warm began to move around in there. Do you hear me? I hear you. Her eyes dropped from Dennis' and down to the silver chain around his neck. Light blue eyes followed her line of sight, Dennis' hand reached up to his neck to touch the silver chain that he wore. Her eyelids fluttered as he covered the symbol with his hand. "Maen, Cha'Dech." Said one of the guards inside the room. "Naganti Kanan howah." (Now, Cha'Dech, your master waits for you.) The woman turned her to face to look at the guard who had spoken to her and when she did the light of the fire fell upon the left side of her face revealing a fresh cut below her eye. Dennis reached out a hand to stop her from leaving with them "Ka'nok re!" She shouted at him as she jumped away from Dennis' touch. Without further words or ceremony, she left the room. Dennis knew she would be back before the night was over. Daughter of the Gods Ch. 05 Naganti Kanan paced his chambers as he waited for the Cha'Dech to return to him. Large strides of heavy legs moved at a rabbit's pace as he rubbed his face and flicked his braids behind his shoulder. She should have returned by now. As the thought went through his mind, the main door to the chamber opened and she stepped inside. "Took you long enough." He scolded in his own language. "Did she speak to them?" The latter was directed to the guard who had brought her to him. "Co." The guard said strongly. It was a lie but a small one, to his ears at least, she had not spoken except to tell the one called Den-yo not to touch her. The guard saw no reason for Kanan to know that small detail. "Go." The powerfully built man waved a substantial hand in the air dismissing his underling for the night. The guard quietly shut the door to the Master's chambers as he exited. "They have not come for you. When morning comes, they will regain the companionship of their friend, they will take him with them through the N'kte and you will stay with me." Large dark fingers reached out to caress the green velvet dress that encased her small frame; nimbly they began to undo the buttons which held it closed around her. "They will not give you a second thought. They will walk through the N'kte and not even Den-yo will look back at you as he goes." Frightened green eyes stared up into their Master's dark ones, "I saw how he looked at you." Kanan's lip curled into a snarl. "You will see. They will all leave and you will stay." The nimble fingers that had been so deftly, almost gently, undoing the buttons of her dress suddenly seized it by the collar and ripped it apart. Ivory buttons flew across the room. "You will see." Swiftly he picked her up off her feet and tossed her onto his bed. "I know what you think, I saw the symbol. Ares will not come for you." One thick ebony hand between her linen breasts, holding her firm to where she lay, the other ripped the belt from waist. "Never will he come back here. Always, you are mine." Kanan grasped her wrists firmly and held them together while he bound them with the belt, as always she offered no resistance. No, she knew better than to defy him now, although part of him wished that she would, it would make his entering her that much sweeter. Kanan took the free end of the belt and secured it tightly to the bedpost at the top of the bed. "Come on, Cha'Dech, fight me. You know how much I love it when you fight." Kanan whispered in a voice which dared her defiance. Her slender white body trembled and shook beneath his thick black hand. "Go on; tell me that I'm wrong." With everything she had she wanted to scream at him that he was wrong! They had come for her! He would see, tomorrow he would know! Tomorrow. But tonight she nothing more than the receptacle for her Master's spew. Not like every night, she reminded herself as she lay quite still. Master Kanan had not partaken of her in some time; long ago he had learned that one of the best ways to punish her was simply to leave her alone. Besides, he had all of those other women to soothe his aches and fill his wants, there was no need to limit himself to this one no matter what title had been bestowed upon her. Kanan crawled onto the bed with fire in his eyes and his groin, he was fully erect as he swung a thick leg over her head and parted her lips with his fingers. Her Master was long and hard, his flesh hot against the back of her throat. Still laying quiet, still laying quite quite still, she worked the flat of her tongue along his hardness and suckled her lips around it. Air in her lungs was scared as put his full weight upon her slender chest, she fought for more of it, just to breathe. Still she lay quiet and allowed him to take her the way he wanted. The act was always repulsive to her, the way his hands groped her body and pulled at her hair. It had been so long since he had entered her. Did she want him? No. Never did she want his touch. Did she need him? Yes. Always did she need his touch and the deposit he would leave inside of her. Whether he dropped it down her throat or inside her cunt made little difference, just so long as he dropped it. Kanan's hips thrust his hard cock in and out of her mouth and down her throat; she gave the first sign of resistance by choking involuntarily. Kanan's eyes gleamed as she fought against the feeling rising at the back of her throat and swallowed before her stomach could heave. "Always mine." He whispered again as his balls pressed to her chin. "Mine." A rough hand snatched out to grab a handful of auburn hair at the back of her head, bringing it forward to meet his thrusts. A small sound escaped her. It could have been 'no' but she was smart enough never to say such a thing to him, especially not a moment such as this. Her small hands clenched into fists as they resisted the leather that bound them and then bit into the soft flesh of her wrists. The fire in his belly grew and he withdrew from her mouth. Turning her harshly onto her stomach, raising her lower back, and hips into the air he entered her in one quick thrust. The woman let out a coarse cry. Again, he thought it could have been 'no' and he leaned in close to her in case she should utter it again. The pain in her extremities was agonizing. Her Master was not a small man in stature or size. One hand planted roughly upon her hip, the other between her shoulder blades, pushing her face down, into the mattress and again it became so hard to breathe. He had pulled her as near to the end of the bed as he could so that he could stand while he fucked her, the leather which bit into her wrists would give no grace. As she shut her eyes and tried to shut down her mind to what was happening to her another cry escaped her though she tried to hard to bit it back from her lips. "Do you refuse me?" His voice threatened from behind her. She shook her head in response and admonished herself for being so stupid. She must not say it again or he would hear her! The lightning bolt that thundered through her back door quickly diminished any hope she had that her response would cause his thrusts to ease. "Never refuse me." Kanan sunk deep into the walls of her ass. Tears streaming down her face, hot spent breath hitching her lungs, her head stuffed so far down into the clutches of the pillow she thought she would never see daylight again; she uttered the cry once more as Kanan dropped off his deposit. It was 'no' or 'co' or even 'stop'. It was Den-yo. When Naganti Kanan was done with her, the Cha'Dech lay in her customary place on the floor next to her Master's bed with her eyes open long into the night listening to him breathe and then as he began to snore. Once he was finished with his thrusting and sweating, Kanan always slept like a rock at the bottom of the ocean. She lay there wondering if the pain in her back would allow her to rise and if what he had given her would be enough. Stealthily, she rose upon legs that felt like rubber and gathered the sheet around her naked body. Stopping to take one look back, just to be sure he was really sleeping and satisfied that he was, she quietly opened the glass door to the balcony and let herself out onto the terrace. As she breathed in the night air, she became certain that all around her were deep in the clutches of Morpheus for the night. No one would come. No one would see. No one would know, except maybe... The Cha'Dech closed her eyes and opened her mind, praying with all her heart that her suffering had not been in vein. Looking for the power and strength inside herself first, she began to search for the mind of the man who wore Ares' symbol about his neck. Daughter of the Gods Ch. 05 No, nothing was sure. Nothing was right. Nothing except the fact that Dennis was not Ares and he had not been sent by Him either. Perhaps, Dennis was not who she thought him to be at all--the one from so long ago. Hope fell again and this time her heart fell with it. Would she never get out of here? Would her Father never come to claim her and bring her home? Would He never forgive her? Some day, yes maybe that could be so. Not today. Callas' eyes wandered off, down the portico to the balcony door where the white men now slept, strong and powerful as he may be, and as much as she may desire it, Dennis and his friends were probably not the ones she had been waiting for. They could do nothing for her and the only thing she could do for them on the morrow was to help them answer Naganti Kanan correctly and see them safely off on their way home. Wherever that really was.