best auntie for you." They both smiled sadly as Heather kissed both of Damali's cheeks. "Guess I'd better go pack for Jerusalem, then, and take some Motrin."
"Yeah, and get some rest. It'll be a long flight and a long security-clearance process." Heather nodded then left. Damali pulled herself up using the sofa and staggered to the
bedroom, closing the inner suite door, then went to the bathroom and closed that door, too. She turned on the tub water to drown out the sound bub bling within her. Numb, she found the farthest comer away from the doors and pressed her body into it, her hands covering her face, wings shielding her head and arms, as she let out a moaning wail washed by bitter, bitter tears.
* * *
"I thought my request was clear," the beast said, his voice a deep ramble within the Level Seven caverns.
"I was ambushed, and - "
"So, then, let us dispense with quibbling and splitting hairs, Nuit. You failed."
" Non ," Nuit said, trying to hold his own against the complete Darkness, unable to fathom another round of torture. "I brought you a hostage. You were not specific in what that might be."
A deep chuckle filled the cavern. "Ohhh.... And you now bargain with the bargain master. How droll. Amuse me."
"Bringing you a body is passe. Soon people write the vic tim off as a lost cause and resume their lives, even if shad owed by the loss. But a person's sanity is something that you can play with forever."
Silence greeted Nuit for a long pause.
"Whose sanity did you bring me?"
Nuit sighed, satisfied. "I'm sure by now Damali Richards's ... if she tried to heal that poor Guardian sister of hers."
* * *
"My, my, you're in quite the chipper mood," Lilith said, looking Nuit up and down.
"Topside seems to do you well, I see."
He smiled. "Yes, Lilith, I always loved the unfettered night... the way she smells, her perfume of blood in the air. But when you sent me on your food errand, cheri, you did not say if you wanted it to be male or female ... you know how temperamental you are. Unable to decide," Fallen added with an aristocratic wave of his hand, "I picked them up at a quaint beef-and-beer establishment in Death Valley. I think the male might even be a genuine cowboy."
He snapped his fingers and her Harpies dragged in two struggling, muted victims. Leaning down, Nuit stroked the young barmaid's blond hair and then slit her tight T-shirt off her with a fingernail to allow her breasts to bounce free. He yanked a handful of brown hair and made the strapping young man the Harpies held almost fall. Sebastian sat up, and Nuit sighed. "Must I feed him, too?"
"Be nice, Fallen," Lilith cooed, staring into the terrified eyes of the dinner Nuit had brought. She glanced up at Nuit. "I like your choices. You can let them scream now. It makes the food taste so much better, n'est-ce pas?"
* * *
Carlos stood out on the mountainside overlooking the house. He'd put a call out to Yonnie, and he waited as fatigue threatened to make him collapse. Soon the familiar
signature flowed through his sinuses, and Carlos didn't even turn.
"Hey, man," Carlos said, relief settling in his shoulders. "You cool?"
"Yeah, brother. I'm all good. Few nights over in Tijuana, ya mean. If you wasn't a married man - "
"But I am a married man," Carlos said, putting up a hand. "So don't even tell me."
"Aw'ight, but you know the honeys over there ain't no joke - "
"Yonnie, man, I'm real tired." Carlos wiped fatigue from his face with both palms. "We gotta go on a pilgrimage .. . Jerusalem. I wanted to let you know we might be gone for a few, so not to panic."
"You know me," Yonnie said calmly, but there was strain in his voice. "I don't never panic, bro."
"Here's the thing," Carlos said, turning to look at him. "If they're sending our team to the original holy land .. . then it's gonna get hectic - everywhere." The two fell silent, holding each other's line of vision.
"I feel you," Yonnie finally said. "But, you know, since all the masters are gone and topside zones are all fucked up right now - since y'all did your thing, there ain't no interna
tional pass required, or embargoes on subterranean travel, and shit. As council, until the empire is reestablished, I can go where I want ... so, if a brother needs