Free Heart's Desire by Amy Griswold Page A

said. “All I’ve heard about your people is that they have a reputation for being unpredictable. I like known quantities.”
    Daniel felt he had to ask, even though he was pretty sure he wouldn’t like the answer. “Who’s the known quantity?”
    â€œOur beloved goddess Asherah, of course,” Reba said. “I intend to offer to sell her the  shol’va  Teal’c, the troublesome Jaffa who’s been inciting rebellion against the gods. I think she’ll find him a very marketable property.”
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    T he hatch in the top of the small metal compartment rattled, and Sam looked up sharply toward the ceiling, and then at Jack. It was too dark to see his face, but she could see the sharp shake of his head, and his ‘hold-up’ gesture.
    She wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about the idea of trying to jump whoever was up there when they were probably armed and she wasn’t, so that was just as well. She leaned back against the wall of the compartment instead, shielding her eyes with her hand against the light as the hatch opened.
    â€œGet them out,” Keret said from above, and rough hands reached in to drag her up and onto the deck. As she tried to shake them off, to no avail, she could see stone rather than sky through the small windows set in the walls. They were flying low, then, through mountain passes, probably trying to lose their pursuers that way.
    The compartment they’d been dragged out of had to be near the front of the airship, she thought, quickly trying to judge its size; most of the deck was taken up with some kind of barred cage stacked high with cargo, with doors leading through a bulkhead to some kind of closed compartment to the stern.
    She saw Jack glancing around as well, marking the two spiral staircases to port and starboard not far away from where they stood. It might have been worth making a break for one if there were any way of freeing herself from the grip of the two men who held her. Still, she watched Jack, not wanting to miss his signal if he was planning on making a move.
    â€œI thought we’d be having this little chat soon,” Jack said, smiling at Keret in a way she didn’t think Keret was stupid enough to interpret as friendly. He looked entirely at ease, not struggling against the men who held him, just waiting to hear what Keret had to say. She wished she thought she looked half as relaxed. “Let me guess. This is the part where you ask if there’s anyone who’s willing to ransom us.”
    â€œAnd is there?” Keret said. He was wearing Jack’s sunglasses pushed up on his forehead like aviator’s goggles, which Sam could see Jack take note of even if he kept quiet about it.
    â€œThere might be,” Jack said. “If you’ll give us back our radios so that we can get in touch with our people, we can probably work something out.”
    â€œYou mean you can signal someone to rescue you,” Keret said. “I’m not that stupid.”
    â€œI’m sorry to hear that,” Jack said.
    â€œLet me make this very simple,” Keret said. “If no one’s going to ransom you, then I might as well dump you over the side right now.”
    â€œYou don’t want to do that,” Sam said quickly.
    Jack just shook his head, as if he’d heard it all before. “What happened to the rest of my team?”
    â€œThey’re probably locked up in Reba’s hold right now,” Keret said.
    â€œâ€™Probably,’” Sam said. “He didn’t make the rendezvous, did he?”
    â€œNo, she didn’t,” Keret said. “It hardly matters to me. I wasn’t planning to waste my time chasing her imaginary treasure, anyway. You’re worth more to me than some useless old tablets.”
    Sam frowned. “The ones being presented at the ceremony? What have they got to do with treasure?”
    â€œReba’s got it through her