Read Online Heart's Desire by Amy Griswold - Free Book Online

the goddess Asherah will come among us so that we may worship her at her temples and provide her with our offerings,” he said. “She has no interest in the trade agreements we have made in her absence, but if she sees the Great General of the Tau’ri standing here among us, I fear that she will be inspired to ask for you as one of our tribute gifts.”
    â€œObviously that’s not acceptable either,” Hammond said after a moment.
    â€œIt was never our intent. We would have returned you to the Stargate well before she arrived.”
    â€œYou might have told us about this before now.”
    â€œAs you might have told us that your servants planned to carry weapons onto our sacred ground during the ceremony,” the High King said. “But perfect trust is a rare thing even between trading partners. Don’t you think?”
    Hammond let out a frustrated breath, for the moment unable to think of a suitable reply.
    Â 
    J ack opened his eyes, immediately aware of several things: he was in a dark, small room with a metal floor, he could feel some kind of mechanical vibration through the floor and the wall to his back, and he ached from head to foot. The last wasn’t surprising for having been zatted, although his right knee protested when he moved it.
    â€œSir?” Carter said, close by. She was sitting against the opposite wall of the little room, which was really more of a large box. He could only just make out her outline in the dim light that was filtering in from some kind of hatch in the ceiling.
    â€œThis can’t be good,” he said.
    â€œWe were captured by pirates, sir,” she said. “I think they’re planning on holding us for ransom.”
    â€œI knew it wasn’t going to be good.” He glanced up at the hatch overhead.
    â€œLocked,” Carter said. “Or else there’s something heavy over it. This wall has some small holes punched in it, and I do mean small — I can’t get my fingers through. But I think enough air’s getting in that we’ll be able to breathe.”
    â€œConsiderate of them,” Jack said. “What about Daniel and Teal’c?”
    â€œI saw Daniel go down,” Carter said. “I think he was just stunned. I don’t know what happened to Teal’c. They might be on the other pirate ship. Apparently Keret — that’s the captain of this ship — is working with someone else, someone he doesn’t entirely trust.”
    â€œFunny how pirates can be untrustworthy.” Jack stretched his leg experimentally, and was glad it was too dark for Carter to see him wince. He thought he could smell blood over the more pervasive smell of sweat, and frowned. “You all right?”
    â€œJust got a bloody nose,” Carter said. “I don’t think it’s broken.”
    â€œI bet I should see the other guy.”
    â€œI wish. In this case the other guy was the canopy of the airship. You missed the part where they basically threw us off a cliff.”
    â€œAnd that’s the best part,” Jack said. “I’m definitely asking for my money back.”
    He couldn’t see if she was smiling or not, but he suspected she was. “So now what?”
    Jack felt for his pistol and was unsurprised to find it gone. He was equally unsurprised if slightly more disappointed that they’d apparently found his knife too, as well as most of the contents of his pockets. They’d left him his boots, though, which could be useful. “Did they leave you with anything?”
    â€œYou mean that seems useful for breaking out of here?”
    â€œI mean anything besides your clothes.”
    â€œNo,” Carter said after what sounded like a brief exploration of her own pockets. “No, wait, I have a pencil. And a piece of paper. I think it’s the receipt from when I stopped for breakfast on the way to work before we started this