"I don't understand, then," Damali said quickly, almost wanting to bolt from the bath. "I--"
"Spell it out," Nzinga said with a sly smile. "Hey, I wouldn't have picked this up, either. Me, I'm blades and arrows, okaaay? This finer art is way past my specialty."
Damali bobbed her head and offered Nzinga a glance containing quiet thanks.
"Draw out of the bath, darling," Nefertiti said, opening a large Turkish towel for Damali to wrap herself in. "I want her shaved as clean as a
newborn," Nefertiti commanded, clapping her hands twice and making two young initiates appear.
"Oh... wait... dear Queen... uh, talk to me, okay?" Damali tightened the towel around her as two beautiful brown-skinned teenage girls approached wearing big smiles, bright white gowns, and their hair wrapped up in crisp white cotton. She peered at the golden trays they carried bearing exotic, shimmering bottles in every hue. Each crystal vial seemed to contain lotions and potions foreign to Damali, but she immediately recognized a straight-edged razor, then panicked.
Nefertiti sighed. "Don't they teach you young queens anything today?" She shook her head with disgust, waved the girls to sit on the floor at Damali's feet, and made Damali sit on the rim of the tub next to her. "My goodness!"
"Dear Queen," Damali said, her voice becoming shaky as she saw the resolve in Nefertiti's eyes. "I'm supposed to do what, exactly, in this process of killing him?"
A broad smile spread across Nefertiti's face. "I want you to go in there," she said in a calm, breathy murmur. "I want you to so distract him and so deplete his energy that he will hand you the Caduceus without bloodshed or struggle... and when he attempts to follow you across the barrier, we can tie him up, siphon the rest of his flesh protoplasm, and send him back. After which, he will not have enough energy all on his own to be able to cross at will."
Again, words failed Damali as she stared at Nefertiti.
"Meanwhile," Aset said coolly, "I will confer with Ausar about lending us a shield or two." She stood and began to pace. "That will be a delicate conversation. You know how the old kings are... even when our counsel is wise, they must debate it into infinity until they think it was their idea. They always object to us assisting in their affairs, even though they regularly require our wisdom. And, given this issue is about one of their own, a male Neteru, I don't know."
Nefertiti smiled. "Then, take it to the pillow, dear sister."
Aset smiled a half-smile. "As I said, my discussion would be a delicate one."
"Oh, brother," Nzinga sighed. "You married queens have to go through such loops over the basics that it frays my nerves." She stretched out on the bench to watch everything from a distant vantage point. "Just tell Ausar he's violated the rule of no two male Neterus being on the planet at the same time, and the one in Nod is empire building."
"Empire building isn't exactly considered an offense from their perspective," Nefertiti said, still smiling. "You know how the kings of old view that. They've all done it. War, from their perspective, is often a necessary byproduct of being in the right. They may only slap his wrists until they are clear he is truly offending their codes. Thus, Aset could be in negotiations for months arguing the merits of having the superior Neteru rule humanity... they could vote either way, and avoiding war at all costs is not even in their DNA."
"Yes," Aset replied, finding the chaise lounge to recline on. "We have this debate regularly. He feels that sometimes it's necessary for the right cause, whereas you know our Queens' Council abhors war as an option. Too many innocent lives... especially women and children get caught in the middle of male-created disputes. Even if Cain is talking about dominating humanity with a super race of hybrid entities, with the shape that humanity is presently in, as long as his forces are not strictly demons and have a soul, my dear husband might think Cain's plan has a rational basis." Aset let out her breath hard in frustration.
"But, by law," Nzinga argued, "Ausar has to give up a shield of Heru so she can place the shield over the breach from the earth plane side to strengthen where the veil is thin. Once placed, we can obscure it to human sight. He already has a young male Neteru in