chapter six

carlos stared down the long wooden table, listening to the conversation, but not. his focus had shifted for a moment to the tension in the ladies' room. to tell inez's mother it was gonna be all right was a trivial use of words. itwas not going to be all right-it was going to be whatever it was. but "all right" didn't begin to cover it.

still, the old woman's wails cut through the noisy crowd in a way that only he could hear in his mind. it was even out of range for big mike-either that or he was doing a really good job of letting it ride. carlos cradled his skull for a second, his elbows on the table. her cries might as well have been his mother's sobs. he tried to pull away from the memory of her loss, but couldn't.

the eddy of thoughts had him, the emotional current swift. he glimpsed dan, remembering meeting his parents-a nice older couple living in the safe bubble of unknowing. should he bring them in, too? there was no way to know. the person he might have asked was dying from a black-charge hit he should have never gotten where he was. the man had been in church! carlos's hands left his skull and became fists.

a thick-bodied brother heading their way with static rolling through his locks cut a swath in the crowd. the distraction was needed, was a relief. carlos had to keep himself from slumping once the wave of rage receded.

"welcome, family-you met mo, oscar, keith, and ty in the kitchen . . . well, i'm phat g," he said, reaching across the table to shake everybody's hand. "y'all also met the minister already, rod, plus who we call the pharaoh, that would be brother ant, and the professor, rene-our security core.then our badass seers, miss chantay, adrienne, lisa, nyya, carmen, annette, ro, andtay . lashonda is on street lookout. the girl is fierce military with a body to go with it-making sure nothing snags innocents coming to or leaving this joint. we're still building after a few firefights, recently . . . you know, trying to get the number back up to twenty-one. but we ain't gonna go there,may they rest in peace. whatever you want, food and drinks on the house-that's how we do up here."

"yo man, the hospitality is over the top. thank you," carlos said, giving phat g a slight bow from where he sat. "but you better let us pay for mike's plates-plural-and rider's bar tab, or you might not wanna have us back."

the table exploded with raucous laughter. he needed that right now. the noise was a shield, the laugher was, too. it blotted out thought as the guardians began talking trash and ordering food. it spiked memories of times in hotels after the band did their thing, times after firefights when they'd won. later, they could take a building tour. it would hold down the stress. later they could talk about the technology j.l. was kicking back and forth online with phat g. right now, he couldn't wrap his brain around reverse-imaging cameras that took cold-reading bit map points,then converted them into digital dot graphics that could be run through 3-d modeling software to build a portrait of something that was supposedly nonphotographable. carlos simply stared at j.l. and g.

his mind was jumping all over the place, couldn't hold focus. oh, shit . . . carlos wiped his palms down his face. the conversation at the table suddenly sounded muffled. where was his wife? he'd seen her come in there and go into the bathroom with mom delores. he wasn't a drug dealer anymore-where did that come from? random thoughts stabbed into his brain out of nowhere.

"whatchu having, hon?"

carlos snapped out of the haze and just stared at chantay for a moment. "uh . . . what's good? there's so much on here that blows my mind, i don't know where to start."

"everybody says that when they come up in here," she said with a big smile. "that's 'cause mo and g really stole mysouth carolina secret sauce when i came to n.y.c. to show 'em how to do the thing right. but we ain't gonna get into all that." she made the crew at the table laugh and then licked the end of her pencil before pressing it down on her pad. "ribs here are a must-do, if you're a carnivore. plus, the greens-say no more, and the mac and cheese will give you a food-gasm. save room, though, baby-'cause we got this pecan sweet potato pie and this banana-coconut bread pudding that'll make you hurt yourself.lynchburg lemonade made with jack daniel's and served in a mason jar crusted with big-grain sugar to top you off. or you could just get the big ass pulled pork and fall out, okaaay? that's what i would get, if i was new here."

"whoooo-weee," mike said, shaking his head. "i just done fount myfavorite restaurant-besides my baby's cooking, of course." mike offered inez a sheepish grin, making the table erupt with laughter again and then looked down at the menu with longing. "since rivera's still deciding, you can gimme all that you just said,plus the big ass pulled pork."

"hit me right off with thelynchburg lemonade, darlin'," rider said with a big grin. "i'd be much obliged. no sense standing on ceremony.how many firefights we been in half-lit?"

jose laughed hard and pounded rider's fist with shabazz. "i believe that's half of what pulled us through,holmes ."

"yeah," carlos finally said after the order came back around to him again. "same thing you did for mike, minus the pulled pork platter." he stared at the ladies' room door. "you can also do a vegan platter with fried green tomatoes, greens, yams, and corn bread for my wife-with acorona. ' nez, order something for your mom, too, sis." he stood. "i just need to go check on them."

he excused himself; the team kept talking, but he could feel marlene's eyes on his back. something close to panic was drawing him to damali's energy pattern. but rather than unnecessarily barging into the ladies' room, when he got to the door he stopped-feeling foolish.

"you all right, d?" he called out, hoping she would just come out.

"we're good," she yelled back. "meand mom delores are just talking, baby. we'll be at the table real soon."

"oh . . . okay . . . uh . . . we're ordering . . . just wanted to be sure we got something you'd like."

"you know what to get for me, but order light for mom. her stomach is still a little queasy. all right, baby?"

carlos held on to the door frame when he heard the older woman hurl. "okay, i'mago back to the table and let folks know everything's cool."

"thanks, baby."

damali's words rang in his ears, causing him to pivot too quickly to walk back to the table, and he almost took out a server who was dashing back to the kitchen. two deep breaths, he steadied himself and began walking after the near collision. when he got to the table he made the muscles in his face relax before he met inez's and mike's eyes.

for a moment, he didn't know what to do. he had to stop bugging. the vibe here was cool. the energy flow safe. it was a good place to bed down for the night.a good place to water the horses. but why did he feel like he was ready to jump out of his skin? worse, why did he feel like if he didn't see damali or sit in her presence, he'd lose it? carlos sat down at the table. everyone looked at him for a report.

"how's she doing?" inez asked, trying to keep ayana busy. "i should go to her and-"

"no, no, it's cool. damali's got her and ayana needs your lap right now."

mike put a supportive arm over inez's shoulder. "it's gonna be all right."

carlos nodded, reassuring inez. "d said to order her something light, though."

he and mike shared a look as inez closed her eyes for a moment.

"her stomach . . ." inez kissed her daughter's curls.

"just first flight jitters. she'll be fine, damali said."

carlos watched the guardians relax and after a moment inez seemed to accept the inevitable. it was what it was. her mother was going to be upset for a few, but just like everyone else did, she'd make the team transition.

"it's all good?" shabazz asked, not seeming sure.

"yeah.they're just talking . . . but mom is adjusting," carlos said, as though he had moreintel than he did. he reached for a piece of corn bread from the breadbasket, not knowing what else to do with his hands while trying to ignore marlene's unblinking gaze. he wasn't even hungry, truthbe told.

"you look a little tense, c.how you holding up?" marlene asked quietly, once the normal mealtime banter resumed.

"i'm cool . . . just tired, you know.rough day." carlos looked up almost startled and accepted his drink from chantay. "thanks, my bad."

"hey, man, it's all good," she said, mopping up the slight spill from when he'd bumped her.

if he couldn't sense incoming that close, right over his left shoulder, then what the hell . . . there wasn't that much relaxed in the world.

marlene had that look again that saidopen up a private channel . he shook his head and took a deep swig of his drink, shocked to find himself blinking back tears. the request became more urgent, and he set his drink down with precision and shook his head again, tears burning away.

pasting on a false smile, he leaned around krissy's back to speak to marlene while everyone else was talking.

"i can't," he said in a tense murmur. "something's worming inside my head, and the only one that i could open a channel like that with is laid out from it already. i don't wanna chance it, mar. i don't even want d near this."

she nodded, their gazes never leaving each other's. "i've been watching you all day. you two need to make a neteru council run, given what you went up against earlier. let them white light scorch it out before it gets too far in you, carlos."

he sat back quickly and gave her a curt nod. senior guardians picked up on it, but let it ride. that was the way things worked on the team. go with the flow; deal with the details later. god . . . where was his wife?

he moaned as blueberries mixed with pancakes, butter, and syrup to create a sugary confection in his mouth. as it slid down his throat he braced himself against the table for the expected violent reaction. when he opened his eyes, valkyrie was staring at him with an unblinking gaze. to his surprise, the sweetness createda warm , comforting slurry inside his belly-not the scorching pain of a dead body rejecting normal human nourishment.

"i've wanted to try these since i was a little kid," yonnie breathed out.

"why didn't you?" her brow creased as she watched him shove another heaping forkful into his mouth. "you were onthis side," she said, her gaze open with wonder. "you were allowed to flee and stay here as a hybrid. i would have triedeverything my heart desired."

he swallowed, slowing his chewing . . . thinking of how to answer her. "when i was on this side, i wasn't free." there was no bitterness in his tone, just a statement of fact. "back when i first wanted these, i was a little kid, but a slave."

her hand went to her mouth in horror. "the humansenslaved hybrids?"

he covered her hand. "that was two hundred years ago. eat your breakfast before it gets cold."

"but you were achild ." pure indignation flared in her eyes."a little boy!"

he put one finger to his lips as patrons turned to stare at her. but he also smiled. the fact that it bothered her so much meant something. at this juncture, he wasn't sure just what, but it did.

"they don't still do that barbaric practice-and please tell me they do not do so to children?"

"naw, after the civil war that ended," he said, swiping a piece of bacon from her plate. "can i have this, since you're not a meat-eater? damn this is good."

"but you said two hundred years . . . you were able to live that long outside of nod?"

yonnie looked up over the edge of his coffee cup and then set it down very carefully."yeah. and they fed me, until i learned to feed myself." he looked down at his plate, unable to meet her innocent, trusting gaze. "but i prefer this." to keep from telling her more, he quietly ate, savoring every flavor that covered his tongue and warmed his insides.

however, her unexpectedtouch made him stare at the graceful hand that had covered his and then look up into her serene gaze.

"on our side there was a civil war, too," she said quietly. "it left manycasualties, many are wounded in their spirits, still, even after the neterus came to help our bodies. the food there is not this . . . freedom of choices . . . menus. i'm sorry that i prejudged you because of what you looked like. we had been battling demon forces that cannibalize we blood carriers, and yet, some on our side have the same outward appearance as you . . . when your teeth grow. but evil is not in their hearts. do you understand my meaning?"

"i have come to learn," he said very slowly, enfolding her hand within his, "that this whole deal is about choice, no matter what.doesn't matter who your people used to be . . . look at cain.perfect example. the brother was a king and lost it all for bullshit. his mom was thefirst queen, and look how he turned out. and my homeboy . . . now that's a brother who made some ridiculous choices and came up in the light." yonnie shook his head, his eyes never leaving hers. he couldn't answer her directly, but he could give her a bit of personal philosophy to ponder.

"you mean, carlos, of whom you speak so fondly?" her voice was quiet and reverent.

"he'd died, crossed over, took a hell throne, was the baddest mutha in the valley-still is-but his ass was crazy-dark for a minute. then, he made a choice and it's all about the silver, feel me? so, right now, i'm choosing to eat blueberry pancakes, steak and eggs with a side of bacon, while talking philosophy in the sunlight with thefinest sister i've seen in a very long time."

she smiled and looked away, but didn't pull her left hand away from his as she began picking at her meal.

"when they sent food allotments over there, did they send strawberry pancakes with whipped cream and hot chocolate?" he smiled when she looked up and shook her head.

"good, ain't it?"

she smiled and licked the excess stickiness from her mouth. "yonnie," she whispered. "wenever had anything like this over in nod. we could dream of it, even manifest it-but to truly taste the full flavor of it . . ." she sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "to feel it going down into your belly, oh . . ."

"tell me about where you used to live," he said, sending pleasure sensations into her palm. "what else couldn't you do?"

she hesitated and then pulled her hand away from his to take up her hot chocolate.

he chuckled and went back to his pancakes. "let me tell you about this side, then." he waited until she looked at him again before continuing. "yeah, we have wars and crime and atrocities. but we also party and have fun.the good with the bad. we dance, eat, drink, andbe merry. we make love, we fight, it's all sensation-and dead or alive, i wouldn't give up on this crazy plane for all the money in it. now that's some raw truth."

"i want to experience some of those things," she admitted after a moment. "we all do. there's not many of us still left in nod . . . most have fled and are in hiding. we can't be seen by the full humans. those of us who are feather-bearers are bad enough, but those who . . ." she looked down at her plate.

"it's okay, baby. i know prejudice real up close and personal. you mean the leather wings, right?homeboys rocking fangs and tails and shit."

"yes," she said in a near whisper. "those still in nod are there because they are afraid and know of no other way to exist."

"dimmed sensation . . . because you're afraid?" yonnie arched an eyebrow as he took a sip of his coffee. "i'd take a bullet first. but then, if you don't know no better, hey. all i know is life is risk.a damned gamble every day."

"but you are brave, yonnie. you walk about among the full humans. most of us have never been so bold. we told ourselves it was because of the edict, but now that the borders are open, it is hard to imagine such freedom . . . or such risk."

"hey, be honest. it was real dangerous where you were, so how bad can this be? plus, you get the perks. sheeit, me myself, i'd be like-if i'ma die anyway, then i'ma go out loving every minute of being in this joint."

she stared at him and he stared at her. until he'd said it, he hadn't realized just how much his seductive pep talk to get next to her was really the absolute truth.

"your courage is admirable," she said without blinking. "i respect that." then she looked away. "carlos is blessed to have a friend like you, as is his wife."

her simple statement did something to him. the purity of her spirit, in the absence of owning one himself, drew him to see beyond her gorgeous face and athletic body, to genuinely appreciate her real beauty. he hadn't felt anything close to that sincetara , and it made him sit back in the booth to consider the dilemma.

"you didn't seem like a woman who was fearful when i met you on the beach," he said after a while, trying to wrest back his game. "you seemed like the type to go for the gusto-the kind of woman who does everything with passion."

she looked out the window and then up toward the sky. "i've spent my entire life in the service of others . . . fighting for right."

"don't they give valkyries shore leave or whatever?" he asked, leaning forward to wipe a bit of strawberry away from the corner of her mouth with the pad of his thumb. "you can be on a mission . . . but in your downtime, i can show you some earth plane sensations that'll knock your head back."

"i want to feel real water," she said suddenly, as though the thought had just occurred to her. "i flew over it, the waves,the blue!" she closed her eyes and laughed. "i want to get drunk on life."

"shit . . . done."

"really?"she opened her eyes and leaned forward like they were coconspirators in a crime.

he leaned forward and ran his tongue over his incisors to keep them back."really. i got this little joint inmexico with a jacuzzi . . ."

but his words trailed off as a stabbing call pierced his temples. "hold up for a second, baby."

"is everything all right?" her concerned gaze held panic as he winced and sat back in the booth with an angry thud.

"damn, val, i'm real sorry-but i've gotta take this call."

"you're connected to the male neteru by telepathy?"

he let his breath out hard. "yeah . . . somethinglike that. but i've gotta bounce."

for a moment, she just stared at him with a look of total confusion on her face.

"i have to go," he said, materializing cash in his pockets and withdrawing a wad to leave on the table. "you go back and stay at the neteru compound. it's definitely safe there-but be sure to leave them some kinda indication that you're there so they don't hot you on site by accident. if i can . . . maybe later tonight, depending on what's jumping off, i'll see if i can hook up with you. damn, this gig gets on my nerves!"

she gave his hand a supportive squeeze. "i understand duty. i will look forward to experiencing water with you, then."

she stood when he stood. he leaned forward to kissher, she gave him a warrior's full forearm grip, looked him in the eye, and lifted her chin. "be valiant, be victorious."

yonnie raked his fingers through his thick afro and smirked."yeah, likewise."

"sebastian, fallon!" yonnie hollered as he walked through vampire council chambers. "you bad-timing motherfuckers better have a damned good reason for calling me with extreme measures! i'da came for lilith, no problem-but she gave you the override code to blow my head up? why!" he stood in front of the pentagram-shaped bargaining table with his arms folded, fuming. "where is madame councilwoman, anyway?"

"onseven , clearing the path for a reanimation ceremony. she will be here shortly, if all goes well."

be valiant, be victoriousstill singed the edges of his mind, along with valkyrie's voluptuous body. he was in no mood for guessing games with sebastian, especially not with fallon nuit smugly laid-back in his throne like the ultimate pimp.

yonnie looked at his rolex-it was more for show, since he already knew what time it was. "you wanna be more specific, since a brother has places to go and people to see?"

"we're filling two council seats," nuit said coolly, leaning forward and making a tent with his fingers before his mouth. "vampire council law of the dark realms dictates that all existing councilmen must be witness to the installation process, unless dispatched to do otherwise by their current chairman . . . and i guarantee you,brother, you will not want to miss this."

now they had his attention. carlos and d definitely needed to know about a one-third expansion of the vampire council. more important for him, it also meant two more bastards he'd have to maneuver around just to stay alive. yonnie pulled his cuffs down and strolled over to his throne, grabbing a goblet off the table, but hesitated.

"although we are daywalkers," nuit said coolly with a disdainful sniff, making sebastian chuckle, "you may find that black blood doesn't mix well with blueberry pancakes or whatever else you've consumed. like fine wine, the pure essence of life is best savored on an empty stomach and with a clean blood palate. however, suit yourself,monami . i'm only informing you out of gentlemanly courtesy . . . given that we will have two new members at council, whom i assume you'd rather not see you in a weakened state unbecoming to a senior councilman."

yonnie stared at nuit's arrogant smile and then looked down into his goblet as though poison were in it. ego warred with common sense. if nuit was warning him, then there was something really foul about to go down. nuit didn't do courtesy.

"then as they say in your nativenew orleans , let the good times roll." yonnie lifted his goblet but sat down in his throne without drinking from it.

to raise a glass in a toast and not drink from it was akin to flipping nuit the bird. but oddly, rather than take the bait, nuit simply smiled like a man with an ace up his sleeve. yonnie set his goblet down with precision and sat back. it was now a tense visual standoff until lilith appeared.

"i hope you boys have been playing nicely together while i was gone?" lilith smiled as she sashayed over to her throne, subtly nodding to sebastian and nuit.

yonnie stared at her and her smile grew. he was on the outside of their collusion, and that was a dangerous place to be.

inhaling deeply, lilith laughed. "blueberry pancakes, yonnie?"

"i've wanted some since i was a kid," he said flatly, his gaze on her deadly.

"don't be so touchy," she said, her good mood making him more wary. she dismissed the subject with a wave of her hand, clearly bored with it in light of her other news. "i know what sebastian was doing during his first morning . . . now i smell what you've been doing, yonnie-eating at some pancake emporium. fallon . . . tell me, have you been a good boy?"

yonnie watched fallon sit back, his slender fingers laced beneath his chin. from the corner of his eye, he watched sebastian lean forward ever-so-slightly. the games had begun.

"your husband, our dark lord, is beyond genius," fallon began calmly, and then took a graceful bow from where he was seated. "by him attacking the male neteru's father-seer in a cathedral, this presented yet another opportunity for our side."

lilith arched an eyebrow. sebastian offered nuit a respectful nod. yonnie remained as still as stone, listening.

"this is my specialty . . . understanding the whims and weaknesses of carlos rivera. as i'm sure your husband knew, what he sent the priest would fry a human mind. but, for someone such as carlos, who had seen the depths of decadence from a vampire council throne, these images were mild, by comparison. therefore, in his heroism, the neteru would go in, take the images from the old man-as much as possible, and jettison them away."

lilith released an evil chuckle. "best coke i've had in a while."

"precisely," nuit crooned. "but the part that is of true note is that said attack only infuriated the neteru. the frustration of not being able to retaliate is causing the old dark vapor within him to rise."

"yes, yes," lilith said dismissively. "we know all about it. that was lu's plan. piss him off so badly that he breaks another seal . . . blah, blah,blah ."

"but the darkness that is beginning to envelop his silver life-force pulse is visible." nuit sat back with a triumphant smile, waiting a moment to allow the concept to sink in. "essentially, he's got a gps locator on him from our side. therefore, as long as he's not inside a place that is additionally prayer-barriered to us, we can see him. soon, as the rage further implodes, we'll be able to pick up the white-hot dark signal as though he were beeping on radar."

lilith lifted her goblet slowly, raised it in nuit's direction, and then took a sip from it. "touch�, fallon . . . this is precisely why you are a member of council."

he lifted his goblet toward her, bowed slightly, and took a sip. "and since the male and female neteru are linked under the one-flesh marriage clause-if he's detectable, she's detectable . . . and because i was aware that one of the guardians, her best friend from her old life, i believe, had a child . . . i knew that after the dark lord breached a cathedral and attacked her husband's father-seer, damali would go to the preventive rescue of that at-risk child. that, dearlilith, is how i spent my first morning in the sun after centuries of darkness-in your service, as always."

nuit looked at yonnie with a scowl. "i was not eating blueberry pancakes to destroy my vampire palate. nor was i out trying to get laid by human blood carriers." he turned away from yonnie to stare at lilith, raising his goblet. "i was at work for the empire, advancing our unholy cause, attempting to drive a further wedge in the male neteru's mind by making him know that his family-every far-flung member of it-willnever be safe. that will enrage a man such as carlos rivera, to the point where he might as well have a neon target on his back. it will also ultimately send him over the edge into urban ride-or-die mode, as he used to call it, and that will have cataclysmic results."

lilith set down her goblet and clapped in a slowly, seductive pulse. "bravo, nuit. as always, your treachery completes me." she turned to sebastian. "you see why i said he is such a good match for your first choice.she thinks like that, as well. both are of theschoolofmachiavelli ." lilith clucked her tongue. "i so miss him, too."

yonnie ignored nuit but keyed in on the word "she," now staring at sebastian. dissecting the information quickly, he had to get word out as soon as it was possible. nuit hadn't lied. that shit that just went down would take carlos dark in a heartbeat. now he understood some of why he hadn't been able to get to his boy. no wonder he'd put up additional barriers at the homestead.made sense that carlos and his family had to be behind clerical walls or in a guardian safe house somewhere.

"yes, i agree with nuit's approach to time well spent," sebastian said, oblivious to yonnie's inner turmoil. he sat up taller, his tone haughty. "while some people were simply indulging their childhood appetites, i was advancing the cause of the empire as well. my research into viable candidates that had not been slain by a neteru blade yielded rare gems. lilith, my hope is that my suggestions have been accepted for induction to council."

"he gets to choose both candidates?" nuit said, losing his former reserve. while his tone was calm and even, his body was tense. "i had a few candidates in mind, myself . . . hence my earlier comment to yonnie that he would not want to miss this induction." nuit stared at sebastian with a lethal gaze for a moment before taking his petition back to lilith. "i assure you that my knowledge base of female candidates throughout antiquity isvast . are you certain he isqualified to make such a critical selection?"

"in this case," lilith said, baiting nuit. "but you will like his selections, i'm sure."

nuit made a tent in front of his mouth. "is that due process? i deliver you access to our arch-nemeses, while he only does mere research, and yolando eats pancakes. lilith, to say that i am concerned and object is an understatement."

"if i deliver you lucrezia borgia, do you still object?" sebastian asked with a wry smile, and then sipped from his goblet.

"non. . ."

"oui,"sebastiansaid, his smile widening as he set down his goblet."all for you,mon ami . when i raise her, that will be the condition of her council seat-she's yours."

"speechless, fallon?cat got your tongue?" lilith teased. "normally with such a gift presented, a man says thank you."

"merci . . ."nuit whispered indananu , still stunned."first daylight . . . thenlucrezia? how can this be-she died ahuman. "

sebastian stood and opened his arms wide. "i am the master of master necromance-->>

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