he thought they'd have to give Mrs. Weinstein smelling salts when it was finally time for them to leave. Carlos kept breathing back dry heaves - it wasn't that the food wasn't fantastic, but rather the volume on a shaky stomach. Each time his plate was threequarters cleared, a heaping dollop from what should have been a military-chef's spoon dropped more on his plate. The argument Dan's mother gave was re lentless: "Eat. You should be glad a mother is cooking this instead of the government - not that I'm casting aspersions on the government, but who knows how clean army food is?" Who could argue?
* * *
violet beacon light filled the bedroom and mingled with the late afternoon sun's roseorange beauty. Damali lifted her head, feeling a bit better, but still wrung out. At least the headache had gone, and the nausea had slightly calmed. Her white tank top felt slightly damp and another shower was calling her name, but there wasn't time. Damali pushed herself up and then got out of bed, yank ing on her jeans and shoving her feet into a pair of flip-flops. If the Queens had called her like this, then there was impor
tant news to be had. It didn't take long for their warm light to surround her and bring her to their opalescent table.
"Damali," Aset said, walking up to her quickly and dis pensing with all formality. She airkissed Damali quickly, holding her by her upper arms and then hurried back to the table.
"Look," she said, showing Damali the thrashing tenta cles that fought to get out of Carlos's black-box.
"Eiiiw," Damali said, glancing at the writhing morass, and then she looked at Aset and the other Queens. "That came out of the oracle? What the heck is it?"
"Medusa's contribution to the spell," Nefertiti said. "If I tell you what Jezebel added, you will be positively ill."
Damali held up her hand. "I'm already queasy enough, ladies, so - "
"It got on her," Nzinga said, drawing the Caduceus into her hand and tossing it to Eve. Eve caught the golden rod that was ensnared with golden serpents and rammed it into the floor by Damali's feet. In stantly a golden carpet of light spread out along the white marble floor, washed over Damali's flip-flops, and entered her body through her feet, causing a warm, peaceful sensa tion to overtake her. After a few moments, Damali opened her eyes. The residual effects of last night seemed to dissi pate. Right now she would have paid five bucks for a stick of gum, though.
"It wasn't that bad, because her husband caught some of the charge - it only got their hands," Eve said. "But it was a vile spell, indeed."
"Nasty," the Amazon Queen said.
"We'll elaborate to you later, who all the culprits were," Aset said, "but we were able to save your oracle."
"Pearl!" Damali said, hugging herself. "I was really wor ried and was trying not to even go there... but I figured Zehiradangra might be strong-willed enough. But, still, I didn't know."
Aset guided Damali by the shoulders to a small opalescent bowl filled with azure liquid. She could see some type of crystals, or perhaps undissolved salt at the bottom holding the
pearl in place.
"Hi, Damali," the pearl murmured quietly.
"Zehiradangra," Damali said in a gentle tone, going to the bowl and leaning close to coo to the traumatized oracle. "Oh, honey ... I am so sorry. I wouldn't have dunked you in the sea, had I known."
"I know, Damali. Your heart is always pure... unlike that, that... oh ..."
"Shsssh, don't talk. Rest," Damali said. "When you're ready to come home, I'll come get you. But you're safest here, with the Queens. Okay?"
"All right," the pearl murmured. "I'm just sooo tired."
"Sleep, honey. Just rest."
Damali stepped back, raking her locks as Nefertiti cov ered the pearl with a panel of white Egyptian cotton.
"What did they do to her?" Damali asked through her teeth as the Queens drew away from the pearl and back to the table.
"They were trying to make your husband impotent and your lust for him to cause strife, and hit you with jealousy against your team sisters, and - "
"What!" Damali put her hands on her hips. "First of all, that bitch is crazy if she thinks there's anything she could do to make Carlos - "
"We know. It was outrageous, but could have worked if you both hadn't learned your lesson with Cain and hadn't strengthened your bond. That's what she