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