Dahlia took a step back. “You planned this all along. This is a double cross. You want the warship. All of this talk of your missing man was nothing but a ruse.” Her eyes snapped with anger. “You knew we had an Ancient warship and you made this up so that you could take it!”
“No,” John said. “It’s not…”
“The warship is yours,” Teyla broke in smoothly. “Colonel Sheppard will take you and the Avenger both to your homeworld. But you can see very plainly that Dr. Beckett needs medical attention as soon as possible, and you know that the Avenger is barely spaceworthy. We will go to Atlantis, and there you may call your brother and speak with him. Then you and our engineers will make certain that the Avenger is spaceworthy, and Colonel Sheppard will take you home.”
“And you will copy the specs of the Avenger while you are at it,” Dahlia snapped.
“We already have the plans for an Ancient warship,” Teyla said. “We have had one in our possession before, as you know. But we are no more capable of building one complete than you are.”
“You’ve got to trust us,” John said.
“As you trusted me?” Dahlia demanded. “If I body search you, will I find your intentions?”
“You will have to see from what we do,” Teyla said. “It is dangerous enough to take this ship into space at all. To take it three times further than we must is folly. I give you my word that when we are in Atlantis you may use the Stargate to contact your brother and tell him where you are and all that has transpired.”
“So that you may show him I am your hostage,” Dahlia said.
“I give you my word that you are not,” Teyla said gravely.
Dahlia’s eyes met Teyla’s firmly. “And should I take your word for it, Bloodtainted as you are? What is your word worth?”
It was as happens when sparring, when there is an unexpectedly solid hit that takes your breath away, leaving you gasping for the next thing. Teyla drew in a breath sharply.
“We have heard a great deal of Atlantis, and of you, Teyla Emmagan. We have heard how you set upon a soldier called Bates who feared you Bloodtainted, and how you nearly beat him to death.” Her eyes flicked to John. “And how it was covered up by your lover.”
“She had nothing to do with Bates.” John looked as though he were scurrying to keep up. “That was a Wraith commando loose in the city.”
“That is not what the soldiers said who gossiped in front of Sora Tyrus. In the three months she was in your charge she learned many things. Not the least of which is that you bear a Bloodtaint that should have been stamped out many years ago, madness and cruelty that the galaxy is better off without.” Her eyes slid to John, and there was no anger there, only wonder. “Do you not know what perversions it leads one to? The last Bloodtainted among the Genii killed seventeen women over a period of three years. The one before that killed his mother and his father, and then two officers of the peace who came when people heard the screams. They are criminals, Colonel Sheppard! They are mad criminals who love to cause pain, and who do it for their pleasure, or because they hear voices that urge them to kill. There is no rehabilitation that can be accomplished with the Bloodtainted. They are not safe. If you take such a one to you, one day you will wake with a knife in your chest while she drinks your blood.”
John gulped, and she thought she saw uncertainty in his eyes, though his voice was level. “I know Teyla.”
Though cold ran down her back, she must focus on the matter at hand. “It does not matter at this moment what you think of me. We must do what will best accomplish our mission without anyone dying. And that is to take this crippled ship into Atlantis, where there can be more extensive repairs and Dr. Beckett can get medical attention. Then Colonel Sheppard will take you home and deliver the warship to Chief Radim, as we promised. You may choose not to believe us, but that is what will happen.” Her eyes met John’s for a moment. “When the colonel says he is ready, we will go.”
“And if I do not consent, you will kill me?” Dahlia asked, her chin high.
“I’ll have to lock you in one of the empty crew quarters until we get there,” John said. “You can’t override the locks, not if I tell the ship not to let you. I’d rather not do that. But I will if I need to.”
“Then we will make ready to go,” Dahlia said sharply. “And you may know that Chief Radim will have a great deal to say.” She turned on her heel and headed for the bridge.
John started to say something, but she forestalled him.
“John…”
He turned and looked at her.
“There is no need,” she said quietly. “The things she said are true. That is why those with the Gift were so often hunted. So Charin told me, and so I believe.” She raised her eyes to his, braced for the reaction there. “I am part Wraith. You know this.”
“It wasn’t a problem five years ago, and it’s not a problem now.” His mouth quirked. “If you start turning into some kind of crazy serial killer, I’ll be the first to know.”
“Do you not think that is what I fear?” she asked, and to her horror her voice shook. This was not the time and place for this conversation. Not with Dahlia Radim, not with everyone so exhausted and strung up.
“I know you, Teyla.” He rested his hand a moment on her shoulder. “It’s ok.” He squeezed it once, then let go. “I’ll show you where the suits are. You should probably get Carson into his suit before takeoff. The first problem moment is going to be when we leave the atmosphere. That’s when anything that’s not going to stand up to vacuum will go.”
“Very well,” Teyla said. “Let us do this and go home.”
Chapter Fifteen: The Houses of the Dead
“We are honored by your presence,” the Wraith worshipper said, and then went to his knees in front of Todd. Jennifer could feel Ronon move beside her, and she put out a hand to arrest whatever move he was about to make.
“We have come to negotiate,” Todd said, as if he found the idea a little amusing. “Do not expect to be rewarded for nothing.”
“Of course not,” the man said, but Jennifer thought she could see his jaw twitch. She didn’t dare look at Ronon.
“I’m Dr. Jennifer Keller,” she said. “This is Ronon Dex. Do you have a name?”
The man got to his feet before he looked at her. “I am called Carlin,” he said. “You have come to the Houses of the Dead.”
Jennifer couldn’t help feeling that sounded less than good. “We’re here to talk,” she said.
The man nodded. “Many come to talk. Here in the land of the dead, there is no war among the gods.”
“Or among humans,” Jennifer said. “I hope.”
“The living do not walk among us,” Carlin said.
“Unless your gods wish it,” Todd said.
Carlin nodded, although he looked a little skeptical. “As you say.”
Todd smiled. It wasn’t a friendly expression. “Will you not make us welcome?”
“You are welcome,” Carlin said. “Come with me.” He led them down the easy slope toward the water.
Jennifer followed, trying not to look as thrown as she felt. So, Todd had lied to them. Well, that wasn’t exactly a big surprise. Or maybe not actually lied — he’d promised neutral ground, and it sounded like this was some kind of traditional neutral ground for warring factions of Wraith. That didn’t make their position any better if they were surrounded by Wraith worshippers, though. She was pretty sure they’d take Todd’s side if it came down to a fight. So it had better not come down to a fight.
What had looked like rolling hillside proved to be a small cluster of dugout buildings, their tops grown over with grass, or maybe they’d been hollowed out of the hillside without disturbing the sod. Jennifer saw a few people moving from house to house, all with the same long hair and somber clothes Carlin wore. More than one of them moved haltingly, as if even crossing the short distance from house to house was painful.