CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Practically bowled over at the door with hospitality and swamped, the Covenant finally made their way inside the new compound, each assessing the scene in their own quiet way with a private chuckle. Those clerics who were allowed to be hugged were practically swept off their feet. Those who weren't received endless bows and verbal accolades un til they blushed. Before they could get their bags to the room, they'd been swept into a whirlwind tour.

Carlos glimpsed Damali from the corner of his eye, re laxed, relieved, and oh so glad he got his petition in first. More important, he was able to update them on the plan and debrief them on the issues they'd been dealing with. He told all, left no stone unturned -

especially the part about the fawn hybrid and information he'd received from a nameless source regarding Lilith's worry that had to be Nod. The only disclosure he didn't give up was Yonnie's role and contribu tion to the cause, but did give each cleric a mental picture of his friend, lest they be caught in a firefight and aim for the wrong entity. Father Pat knew him, and although he wasn't comfortable, gave the stay order not to shoot unless ab

solutely necessary.

But as they passed the huge, industrial laundry room, Carlos noticed his wife lagging behind the group. As everyone moved around, giving the clerics the lay of the land, Carlos slipped his arm around Damali's waist as they walked. It was a loose, easy, natural embrace, a warm pull of energies touching. She rested her head on his shoulder when they came to a stop outside the technology room.

"I had to let 'em know what was up ... they'll wanna talk about the fawn hybrid and what it means after dinner," he said quietly.

"I know," she murmured, "although, right now, let's just live in the present. Everybody seems so happy."

He nodded and kissed her hair. "You happy?"

"Yeah."

* * *

With daylight as her cover, and the only member of the Vampire Council who was of Level Seven origin, Lilith made her way topside to find the shadow wall - the weakened section of universal fabric that separated Nod from the earth plane. On the other side, in the dank, forbidden alley where hybrids stole away to seek traces of earth plane sensations, she called out to old Cain loyalists - now her followers - whispering to the rubbery surface until their faces strained against it.

"The time is nigh, be ready for my call. My scientists are back at work, undoing Ausar's shields. He cannot hold the fabric between worlds together indefinitely with his resources so severely strained, like mine. Wait for me near Masada... near the original lands that the foolish humans deemed holy. Just like the Romans finally overran them there, my heir and your numbers shall spill out of the banishment zone in a place where the Neterus will not want to fight, will hesitate to take a stand ... the very location itself will inspire fear. But I will have at my disposal human troops on both sides, as well as any of their allies, to

manipulate as always in any human confrontation."

She chuckled as gaping mouths and contorted faces and bodies pressed against the rubbery surface. Seeking hands tried to push through to touch her and she opened her arms and leaned against the moaning, yearning forms. "Soon, there will be nothing to separate us," she promised, then was gone.

* * *

Lorelei fell out of bed as she awoke with a start to see Lilith reclining next to her with a wicked smile. She immediately went down on her knees and cowered.

"I hope I have not displeased you, Your Majesty. I did find him, Yolando went to a coven in Tijuana, and they're so territorial there, that they blocked my sightline to him." Lilith sat up with a bored sigh and stood. "Yes. We sensed him. A new councilman indulging his topside passions. I should have known." She smiled thinking of Fallen Nuit and Sebastian's jealousy that only Yonnie seemed to be able to move about in the earth gray zone that they dearly missed, unafraid of Neteru reprisal. It quietly gave her pause, but she'd never reveal her hesitation to Lorelei.

"I was able to pick up a detail he left floating in the breeze when he made contact with the seduced Guardian," Lorelei said quickly, trying to appease her ruling entity. "The Neteru Guardians are resource challenged and are going to try to host a worldwide concert. They want to call all their Guardian units to a summit, have a message for them in the last days, and may use our airwaves to broadcast simultaneous images. It was at the forefront of Yolando's mind before he sought to indulge himself across the border."

"Make it impossible for them to get a worthy venue!" Lilith railed. " Crush their attempt to get word out to their own kind and monitor anything they send via any form of airwave we own. I want their music crushed, their message lost, and only violent, foul, and lewd images from our realm to blot out whatever the Neterus have to communicate." She hissed. "I will tell Sebastian to invoke Rasputin for this!"

"We can block her access to all the best venues, sway the radio stations, television stations to not broadcast her event. We can even block her getting those best locations by tying up the process through haggling unfavorable terms... but it'll be more difficult to actually stop them from getting their call to Guardians out over the Internet," Lorelei said, bowing lower. "That's a potential leak."

"Monitor it!" Lilith screeched. "Put our best on it to en sure anything the Neteru team sends out gets virally at tacked, gets deleted, garbled, and does not reach its destination

... but I want to know who they are sending to, I want every Guardian cell found and destroyed. Rooted out."

"We'll have our best cyberterrorists on it, Your Majesty," Lorelei promised and then clamped her lips shut and cringed.

After a moment, Lilith calmed herself and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "You have done well. I have something for you."

Lorelei slowly looked up with gratitude in her eyes. "You'll finally make me one of the revered?"

Lilith rolled her eyes and scoffed. "No ... not yet." She flung a phony passport, travel documents, plane tickets, and an itinerary across the bed toward Lorelei. "You're going on a trip. Dress like it's a pilgrimage. It is, in a way," she said, laughing in a cackle.

"Jerusalem?" Lorelei whispered with a frown, confused and put off.

"Yes. This way you will have access to travel quickly to Masada when the time is right. The deep caverns and the desertlike mountains around the Dead Sea, also give us endless fallback positions, should we need them. Go to Jerusalem, hide until I call for you - then be ready to go to Masada and await my command."

Lorelei looked at Lilith, a question forming in her mind that she couldn't hold. "But why pick a place where there's so much ... history and energy for the three strongholds of human faith?" Lorelei's confused gaze searched Lilith's face for a moment before she ducked her head. "I only ask be cause I am ignorant, Your Majesty, and wouldn't want to ruin whatever plan you have conceived."

Lilith stood, her black gown trailing behind her, and her gaze narrowed as she folded her arms before her. "Built in Herod's time, Masada was thought to be a palatial and impenetrable citadel, but wound up representing great victory for us once, Lorelei. Eight Roman legions surrounded an encampment of a thousand men, women, and children and drove them to take their own lives rather than face the inevitable torture we would foist upon them. Their own men had to slaughter their wives and their own babies, and then turn on each other to kill themselves until the last man stood. Masada, their refuge, ran with their blood - and my Roman legions were victorious." Lilith closed her eyes as her voice dipped to a satisfied hiss. "Masada is perfect."

* * *

Four clerics had been settled into the compound, given a chance to relax, and then four blessings had been said over the food. Conversation was easy, unhurried, but it was moving toward the unmentionable subject of war, nonetheless.

"That's just the thing," Dan said, picking up on a strand of Jose's explanation about the concert. "I know she's been on hiatus, but every venue I call it's like we were a neighborhood band. I've never seen it this bad." He looked at Damali and then Marlene with an apology in his eyes. "It's like I lost my touch or something ... I can't even get 'em to negotiate."

Carlos glimpsed Damali and then Father Pat. "It ain't you, man. Sounds like the other side is shot-blocking."

"You think so?" Dan asked, his gaze riveted to Carlos.

"I know so." Carlos took a careful sip of lemonade and winced like it was Remy neat.

"Yeah. My inside man dropped the word to get the sting started. Now they're hard-balling on the venues."

"That's a good thing, though," Damali said with a sly grin. "Check it out. They block me from a simulcast, from the best stadiums. Cool." She looked around at the puzzled faces and smiled wider.

"But I thought the last plan was to do a big, international extravaganza?" Bobby said, searching the faces in the group for answers.

"Yeah, true," Damali said with a shrug and flipped her locks off her shoulders. "Hey. They changed, we change This is better." She glanced at Carlos.

"Smaller population, less risk of civilian casualties at the venue," Carlos said flatly.

"Reason numero uno," Damali said, nodding. "But check it out. Think of the buzz, the media capital on the under ground circuit it will have if the Warriors of Light have new

music that is sooo freakin' hot, so off the chain, that the mainstream venues won't play it -

and the only way you can see it is if you were there, or you get a Podcast off the Net."

"Genius, baby," Carlos said, just shaking his head. "Go guerrilla, straight gully, underground combat. You know I'm lovin' it, right?"

"That's just freakin' phenomenal, D," Dan said, waving his hands. "Like, if we got a spot about the size of the House of Blues, or something similar, I could probably book it real quick on an off night, that way it's like a pop-up, surprise thing ... and I can cyberpromote it to Listservs that will hit Guardians all over the place."

"All we need is somebody to hold the digital video -  don't have to be professional, if we going bootleg, under ground," Shabazz said.

"I can do the camera," Marj said. "As many Little League and cheerleading events I, as proud mother, videoed, puhlease!"

"Okay," Carlos said, laughing. "So, we got our soccer mom on video." Berkfield laughed. "It'll come out looking like The Blair Witch Project"

"Don't hate," Bobby said, teasing his dad. "They made a mint, shaking camera angles and all - adds to the authenticity effect."

"Makes it really seem like we were on the run, had to do it quick and dirty, so it'll hype the message, make 'em open the package quicker," J.L. said. "This is awesome."

"And just think," Monk Lin said calmly. "Had not this string of negative events happened, you would not have f und such a superior, creative solution."

"Silver lining to the cloud theory," Father Pat said with a smile helping himself to more of Inez's macaroni and cheese.

"Yo, Carlos - from your old club network, you think your boy Yonnie, might be able to get one of those venues to turn over for Dan?" Jose glanced between Carlos and Dan. "I'm just saying, if we've gotta get in and out real soon."

"Naw, man." Carlos said, sitting back in his chair. "That's a problem. Yonnie can't be seen helping us do something that, clearly, his management is against. If they're blocking premo venues, then obviously they don't want us to get the message out. We have to go to a Guardian spot for this, and I don't care if it's a joint with sawdust on the floor. To do this thing like Damali is saying, we gotta be in friendly territory. Go to one of my old joints that's now loaded with vamps and whatever else ... the second Mar poured libations, it would be on."

Father Pat looked up from his plate at the other clerics who had remained unusually quiet. He wiped his mouth and set down his napkin beside his glass of lemonade and sighed. "We can't get you into the big televangelist theaters or on their networks, due to your lyrics and some of the, uh, explicit content... but we do have to ask you to move as quickly as possible on this leg of the plan."

All eyes went to Father Patrick.

"My buddy, Duke - ex-Hell's Angel and a helluva Guardian brother," Rider said, glancing around the table. "Y'all remember him from the battle at la casa - big, burly blond biker."

"Oh, man," Jose said, "How could we forget? The guy has mad-crazy moves and uses a pump shotgun like it's his right arm."

"Yeah, well," Rider said, his expression somber, "he lost one of his best friends out there, Joe. The brother is still shook behind it, never got his piece of justice in a way he could see, feel, and touch it, ya know?"

Everyone around the table fell silent, remembering all the Guardians who had been lost at Morales.

"Well, this type of situation would be perfect for what's left of his squad," Rider finally said. "They have this bar ... on the wrong side of town in Death Valley. They left Texas resettled right in the middle of the hot zone, suicidal, after what happened. Wanted to be where there were no civilians and the joint has sawdust on the floor, with rednecks to go with it - but if you need a spot, all I gotta do is make a call, and Duke will line up the act, have his bouncers in place, and if I know him, will be taunting vamps the night before just to stir up some action."

"Sounds like my kinda joint," Big Mike said with a smile.

"Sounds perfect to me ... we can take a nice drive on over, do the thing, and clean out a nest or two while we're at it," Damali said with a stretch.

"Well, this needs to happen quickly, as Father Patrick suggested," Rabbi Zeitloff said, leaning forward to peer around bodies to better see Father Pat. He hoisted up his short frame in the chair and blinked quickly behind his thick, round lenses, folding his hands before his plate, res olute.

"There is no time like the present," Monk Lin said in a gentle voice, his aged eyes sad, which made his dignified face and small, sinewy frame seem older.

"There is indeed no time like the present," Imam Asula agreed quietly. He rubbed a large, rough palm across his dark, walnut-hued face as though chasing sudden fatigue. "I know it is hard to break up family togetherness ... but..."

The team fell quiet again as Monk Lin averted his eyes. Father Pat nodded and let out a long, weary sigh.

"The scientists have been bombarding the atmosphere again," Father Pat said, shaking his head as he dragged his fingers through his thicket of white hair. "They'd ceased for a while and have recently begun doing things that disturb the electromagnetic integrity of the planet. The technology advancement groups you met with on the way to Tibet are not responsible, and have been aiding us, worldwide, to hunt down these rogue elements. But they move like air - you can't get your hands around them." Damali briefly shut her eyes. "We saw what can come out of Nod."

"Yeah, well, that little fawn that went AWOL on Hubert, Sedgwick, and Sara, washed up on the beach by the hotel, half-eaten by Harpies, we thought, but who knows if anything from Cain's old troops may have stayed stateside." Carlos rubbed the tension from his neck.

"Oh ... no ..." Marlene whispered. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because you guys needed at least twenty-four to forty-eight hours to get your heads together. So did we. We all did," Damali said, glancing around and finding no disagreement in anyone's expression. She turned to Carlos. "We've gotta go block the hole. I need to get my ..." She let her voice trail off about oracles in front of the Covenant, but it wasn't necessary for her to finish the statement. Carlos was right on it.

"I know we're not supposed to breach Nod," Carlos said. "So, we're not proposing anything radical. But we do need to know what's up with Ausar's shields, why they aren't holding. Both Damali and I could make a quick run to meet with our councils, get their take."

"If you can do that quickly, it would be advisable," Father Pat said, holding Carlos's and

Damali's gazes. "Any insight from whatever source would be helpful at this time."

"We all have to be in Jerusalem in the next few days," Rabbi Zeitloff said, growing impatient.

"Jerusalem?" Rider said, first staring at the rabbi, and then sending his panicked gaze to ricochet around the table. "As in the holiest city on the planet - like the one that's considered the center of the world as we know it... biblical Jerusalem?" He stood up and sat back down. "And I stopped drinking."

"What happened in Jerusalem?" Damali said in a tense murmur.

"Nothing," Father Pat said, his gaze now anxious. "The three major branches of faith said that you'd all been to Ti bet, had touched and been infused with the energies of that faith, and felt that you needed to be girded up in the others  -  at least the four to ground you." He let out an exasperated breath. "Think of it like you would the cardinal points." Bodies relaxed.

"So, essentially, they want us to go to church over there right?" Berkfield said with a shrug. "Ain't nothing wrong with that, I guess. Just the timing, Father, is a little bad."

"Tell them, Patrick!" Rabbi Zeitloff exclaimed, becom ing emphatic. "This Neteru team must go to the city of David, the Old City section of Jerusalem. Daniel and his new wife must enter through the Dung Gate to visit the Western Wall -  Kotel... The Wailing Wall... they must touch the stones to feel the tears, martyrs, and history. They must touch the prayers that have been fervently uttered for centuries against it, and now resonate from that stone." He looked at Shabazz. "You must go with Imam Asula to answer the muezzin there in the holy city at El-Aqsa Mosque -  the third holiest mosque in the world, then the Dome of the Rock, where the stone that Muhammad stepped on to ascend into Heaven lies. He rode to that place with Archangel Gabrielle on a winged horse." Carlos and Shabazz looked at each other, eyes wide. Rabbi Zeitloff nodded. "It was called Muhammad's Night Ride. He was taken there to the Masjad El-Aqsa, the farthermost place."

Carlos wiped his palms down his face as Shabazz raked his fingers through his locks.

"Yes," the Rabbi pressed on. "Mount Moriah, Temple Mount, or Kara mesh-Sharif, same place, is where you must go." Rabbi Zeitloff glanced at Carlos. "You, in particular, because it was first built by King Solomon, and now it is ad ministered by the Waqf. The first temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, Carlos."

"The Waqf?" Berkfield asked quietly, his attention paral vzed by the clerics. "I'm sorry, I don't know ..."

Imam Asula nodded. The Waqf is the Muslim Supreme Religious Council, and during the twelfth century," he added, "the Templars made their headquarters there at the Dome. But also understand that the Dome of the Rock is considered by more than one faith to be the center of the world."

"Where Abraham bound his son for sacrifice," Rabbi Zeit loff said, nodding. "And David made incense offerings for his offenses... and subsequently where David's son, Solomon, built his temple."

"There is a staircase leading down into a small grotto," Imam Asula said, his gaze riveting the group to utter silence. "The Well of Souls ... where the dead pray."

"It is here that we heard pieces of prayers," Father Patrick said. "Angel-hybrids being slaughtered ... your team under siege in a way like never before. You must strengthen

your self because something horrific is about to be unleashed on the holy city." His gaze shot around the table. "You must follow Via Dolorosa - the way of suffering, the path Jesus took through the city during His crucifixion ... you must walk on the same cobblestones, feel the incomprehensible, then observe the Stations of the Cross while there, too. Some of this is at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the room of the Last Supper is something you must feel through your skin. At the great church is also the Ethiopian monastery, and next to the ninth Station of the Cross, the Egyptian Coptic monastery ... so many variations of Chris tendom, too." The four clerics became suddenly impassioned as the Neteru Guardian team looked on, silently horrified by their news and vastly overwhelmed.

"They must also go to Jericho - not far," the rabbi said, as though speaking only to his fellow clerics. "Most of this can all be done in three days. Even to the tower of David and Mount Zion."

"The Mount of Olives, the last stop before heading to ward the Dead Sea, and the Garden of Gethsemane -  are a must. There, after the Last Supper, Christ prayed and sweated blood, and there is where the Church of All Nations is built, and in it is the Rock of Agony

... where Jesus en dured his passion in what was previously known as the Basilica of Agony," Father Patrick said, pointing down on the table hard. "I want them fortified! Just as when they are in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christ was cru cified by the Romans, we must go to the Chapel of Helena there - where Constantine's mother, Helena, found the ac tual cross."

"All right. We fly them in under pilgrim status," Imam Asula said, glancing at his clerical brethren. "They enter the country via Ben-Gurion International Airport, ten miles east of Tel Aviv, and only thirty-one miles northwest of Jerusalem. First day, they can either stay just outside of the Old City in West Jerusalem at the King David Hotel - one of the most luxurious in the Middle East, or stay in safe houses in the Jewish Quarter, under Rabbi Zeitloff's instructions."

Damali cast Carlos a glance, secretly mouthing the words King David Hotel?

Imam Asula pressed on, not even seeing Damali's ques tion. "Under Rabbi, the team can enter the City of David through the Dung Gate, see the Western Wall, and then we lead them to El-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock on Temple Mount. From there, they move to the Muslim Quarter, under my lead, near Herod's Gate and Damascus Gate, where I then hand them off to Father Patrick to lead them through the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where they will enter the Christian Quarter by New Gate and Jaffa Gate."

"I'll also take them to the Pools of Bethesda - water, where healing in the New Testament John 5 occurred," Father Patrick said, now looking at Damali. "Then to St. Anne's Church, which has the most angelic acoustics... you must hear, child." His voice dropped to a whisper. "The

Virgin Mary was born on the grotto where this church was built and it is named for her mother, Anne." He sighed hard. "If we have rime, by the third day, perhaps we can drive out through the Armenian Quarter by way of Zion Gate, to head down to Bethlehem to see the Church of the Nativity, or even go over to Solomon's Pools and Rachel's Tomb... but I doubt we'll have time to drive north to stop at the Inn of the Good Samaritan. All in all, we want you to see the four communities, seven gates, and three major faiths that touch each other within one square kilometer there."

The clerics fell quiet, sat back, and closed then-eyes, each seeming thoroughly spent. Even Monk Lin seemed haggard from the conversation, as though he'd been shockabsorbing the tension from the others so that they could articulate their points.

"I guess I'd better call Duke ... and get the venue set for tomorrow night, if he can swing it," Rider said, standing.

"I'll, uh, call the dealerships to get us some wheels," Jose said. "Rentals ain't gonna make it."

Mike stood. "Yeah, gonna go check ammo for the gig."

"I'm right there with you," Shabazz muttered.

"I'll get our travel docs straight," Dan said. "Will work with Marj on the camera - Krissy and J.L. on the Internet."

Carlos and Damali stood, watching the clerics watch them.

"We'll go get whatever word we can," Carlos said in a flat tone.

"Yeah. What he said." Damali stood and wiped her palms down her face.

* * *

They didn't speak until they got to their bedroom, but as soon as they closed the door behind them, Carlos and Damali both began talking at once.

"Oh, shit," Carlos said fast, walking in a circle, rubbing the back of his neck. "You see how freaked those old hombres were, D? Like they was holding it all in, then as soon as we mentioned the fawn, they bugged."

"I know, I know, but you told them already on the way here. This was something they'd been meeting about, discussing before - you could tell. It wasn't just about the fawn." She folded her arms over her chest. "It's deeper than that."

"You tellin' me?" He walked over to the window. "It's weird, but it's like you'd think the Holy City would be the safest place in the whole world, but it's also like ... the eye of the storm." He turned and looked at Damali. "You know what I'm saying? You hear all that stuff they were talkin' about that went down there, which you and I both know is only the tip of the iceberg."

Damali nodded and went to him just to stand near. "Carlos ... they're preparing this team for the Armageddon." She paused as she touched his arm. "Baby ... they know what could happen if demon hybrids that can come out by day es cape the walls of Nod, and by the way the clerics are acting - even if they don't tell us, they must have heard something that freaked them out ... maybe something they're not at liberty to tell us. But I know one thing, those old guys have been to war with us in how many battles? They started with twelve and are now down to the last four. You no tice they never got replenished like they always do? No new clerics added. Don't you find that strange?" Carlos looked away for a moment and then drew her into an embrace. "This is it, I guess. They must have gotten the word that it was going down." He let his breath out hard.

"What they knew probably didn't make 'em wig, D," he said, burying his nose in her hair.

"They felt the vibe in this house, with this family - and they had such bad news to de

liver, it jacked 'em around ... so they're grabbing at straws, want us to go places, know things, pick up white light power jolts from the original sources ... anything to save our asses in a firefight."

Damali nodded and held him tighter. Her voice was a tense whisper against his chest "It

was the way their voices broke as they told us, unshed tears in their eyes. The rabbi couldn't even look at Dan and Heather ... it was like they were having their own version of the Last Supper."

"Aw'ight, D," Carlos said, holding her back to look at her. "I'm not ready to go out like that. You?"

"Hell no," she said, wiping her face.

"Then me and you gotta pull it together." He waited for her to nod. "Call the Queens, hold my hand while I call the Kinggs - we go in together, assess the damage - come out, do the show, get on a plane, and rock the bells over there in Jerusalem." the transfer was instant. A blinding gold and violet haze blended into one spire, sucked Damali and Carlos up and through it at a dizzying speed, and opened up to gently deposit them in full Neteru Council session. The debate was so intense that the verbal combatants didn't miss a beat. They only stopped as an afterthought and turned to look at Damali and Carlos.

"Ausar's energy is degenerating as we speak, for he was never supposed to continually support the outlying struc tures of Nod," Hannibal bellowed. "The time is now to break the next seal to put an end to this madness once and for all!"

"Earth's scientists that have no respect for the delicate balances of the ecosystem have created the havoc, therefore, it should be within our purview to knit the fabric of the uni

verse back together. This is a man-made crisis, not one based upon timing of the sacred texts," Eve argued. "We must endeavor to use restraint."

"Look at our brother, though," Adam contended. "This recent assault on the veil between worlds has left him de pleted trying to hold up multiple shields. How long can he maintain this without serious injury to himself?"

"It is because of the broken seal," Aset said, sweeping away from her throne and collecting her gown in a swishing rustle of golden fabric over her forearm. "Tell them, Solomon. Bring David into the accord as well. Is it not true that once any of the biblical seals are broken the veil begins to weaken on its own? Are there not to be sightings of beasts and angels during said time? That is a thinning, if not a complete rupture, when humans readily see what has been hidden to all but very few over centuries." Aset went to her husband and laid her hand on his shoulder and wiped his glistening brow. "It is not his fault, or due to any waning power on his part. This was foretold."

"What can we do on our end?" Carlos said loudly, trying to get the combined councils'

attention. When the debate stopped and they looked at him, Carlos began talking fast.

"Ausar can't be expected to hold shields alone, true, but at the same time, just letting demon hybrid squads roll on earth isn't acceptable, either. Like, we could go over there tonight, me and D, and do some damage so our brother can rest."

"One male Neteru kept them in check for eons, right?" Damali said, her hands on hips.

"Can't we go in, do a cleanup battle over there with blades raised, take some of the weight off Ausar, but back 'em up off the breaches?"

"Meanwhile, if the Queens could rig something, any thing ... silver energy nets, I don't know what - Ausar could recharge his battery, so to speak, while we reduce the threat level in Nod. Then, when he's got more juice, we raise shields again." Carlos looked around, tension slowly coiling within him as the council members took their time to decide.

"It could be worth an attempt," Adam said, "an important one. Know this, young brother

... as Ausar's energy dips, it will soon affect each of our power, hence Hannibal's outrage and readiness to go to war now, rather than later. So this has to work, or there will be no alternative."

"Can we get three to five days?" Damali asked.

"We are not supposed to sanction any transgression into Nod," Solomon said.

"Unless it is during the end of days when a seal has been broken," Adam countered.

"Remember, during the last days, it was expected that armies of strange beings would flood the earth, just as strange occurrences in weather and natural dis asters would increase."

"Can you hang for three to five, man?" Carlos asked Ausar with genuine concern lacing his voice.

"Yes. As long as I conserve energy and remain very, very focused," Ausar said with a labored breath, closing his eyes again.

"Okay, we're in," Carlos said, looking at Damali.

"My oracle," she said quickly, glancing at her Queens. "Has there been any change? Is there any information we can work with?"

"Bring her the pearl," Aset ordered, sending away two female Guardian spirits to quickly return with the translu cent energy bowl filled with ancient Blue Nile water. Damali quickly went over to the bowl and caressed the water's surface while two armored female Guardian war riors held it out for her. "Zehiradangra..." Damali called gently to her oracle and then nodded to Carlos.

"Z, baby ... how you feeling?" He dropped his voice to a gentle, sensual murmur. "We miss you. C'mon home." Car los looked at Damali and shrugged what? when she simply shook her head.

Aset also shook her head when the water's surface began to move with a steady, tiny stream of small bubbles.

Damali cut him a glare with a smile. Figures. My damned pearl and she only comes when you call her.

"Carlos?" the pearl murmured.

"Yeah, baby, I'm right here," he said, trying not to look at Damali. "You okay?"

"It was terrible" Zehiradangra said in a long, sad croon. Carlos touched the water with his fingertips and ignored Damali's elbow to his ribs. "It's gonna be all right. I know you saw some really horrible things, but we got you now, boo." The Kings nodded with satisfaction. Nefertiti, Eve, and Nzinga rolled their eyes and conferred with Aset.

"How the hell did he get her oracle to respond to him like that?" Nzinga fussed under her breath. "Untoward, I tell you." She sat back and folded her arms.

"Let it go, he's getting results," Aset said.

"Hi, Z," Damali said with a tight voice.

"Damali!" Zehiradangra said, perking up. "I thought I felt you, too."

"I love you, too," Damali said, sarcasm lacing her tone.

"You don't sound like it." The bubbles in the water stopped moving. Carlos shot Damali a look. Chill... c'mon now.

Damali sighed and blew a lock up off her forehead. "I'm just stressed from all that's

happening, Z. There's so much unrest over in Nod," she said, baiting the pearl back to life.

"I don't know what to do. I know there's entities over there me and Carlos should go help, but who, where, we don't know where to begin."

A flurry of agitated bubbles hit the once still water's sur face. "Oh, please, please, you must go help Valkyrie!"

"I don't know how to find Valkyries unless they come to collect fallen soldiers in battles, Z," Damali said, watching the expressions of the gathered Neterus.

"No, no, my best friend, after Cain - Valkyrie. She is sooo good and honorable and beautiful," Zehiradangra said with pride. "I was so upset after seeing where Cain went after he left Nod, I retraced my energy back home to visit with her. She helped me put things into perspective. Her energy is gorgeous... I just needed to get away from here and go home ... but she's having trouble keeping her troops guard ing all the breaches. Can you help her? She's not mean inside like Cain."

"Yeah, we can help her, Z," Carlos said quickly, looking around at the others. "She's got troops, forces over there covering breaches?"

"Yes, and she's valiant. She now leads the resistance ... did you know she was named for the sacred race of angels that help the fallen - her father was a fallen soldier, I believe in Troy or was it during the Viking era ... she did tell me once, but I am so forgetful. Maybe it was Beowulf's era?"

"It's all right, baby, you rest," Carlos murmured in a deep, soothing tone . "You shoot me and D an image of what Valkyrie looks like, and we'll go over there, give her some reinforcement at the breach-points, all right?"

"Oh Carlos..." the pearl gushed. "It is so nice to have a real man around the house again."

"I love you, too, baby," he said. "I gotta go to work." Carlos quickly put a finger to his lips when Damali's eyes flared. He mouthed, I love you, too. But when Damali shot it to him as a silent message, he shook his head and pointed to the pearl.

"Oh, yeah, I love you, too, Zehiradangra." She withdrew her hand from the bowl and folded her arms. "Yeah ... I gotta go to work."

"Bye," the pearl said and yawned. "I'm still not one hun dred percent. Just that little bit really wastes me." Then the water went still.

The Guardians who'd brought the bowl in quickly retreated. Senior Neterus swallowed broad smiles.

Solomon chuckled quietly. "Let's get you both to Nod to see what can be accomplished." He gave Carlos a private glance and message as he and Adam stood to begin the power transfer. Just imagine my days with over three hundred beautiful ladies just like that... and you wonder why I'm chief counsel and negotiator? Brother, you just don't know.