from exhaustion. "I will come for you in victory one day, my queen!"
Yeah, whatever--hut not tonight. She watched Cain's forces pull back as hundreds of advanced forces of heavily armored, leather-winged hybrid soldiers careened over the edge of the ravine behind her. Thousands were behind them, the strongest had made it to the front line. They were taking the bait. The rip was right there. She could see the sky lighting up with golden shields dotting the horizon. There were multiple rips? Oh, man... which exit wasn't blocked?
Tumbling in a high-speed nosedive toward a thin barrier of light, she closed her eyes, said a prayer, and hollered Nzinga's name.
He'd walked for miles after talking with Ausar, just like he had after the whole blowout at the hacienda. Right through here, he needed a peaceful place, far away from the house, far away from the maddening tourist vibe. The moon had been up for hours, but Damali hadn't come home. What Ausar had told him was wise, but if Damali didn't come back, what was the point?
Carlos looked up to Heaven, wondering why God hadn't answered his prayers. But he knew in his heart the answer was simple; this time, he'd gone too far. The older king had told him, just like Marlene and Yonnie had.
Sometimes a man's luck just ran out, and all his bullshit finally came back to bite him in the ass. Carlos stood facing the ocean simply listening to the waves roll in and out. Some things hadn't changed since the beginning of time, like the tide, it rolled in, and rolled out. It was time for him to be out.
"All I asked for was a sign," he said quietly, pitching the last seashell in his fist.
He looked up and stood still.
A spiraling, sparking stream of light shot across the sky. The shooting star held his attention as the dense, gray clouds seemed to brighten, go golden like a shield of Heru had been raised, then went instantly black and disappeared. But the star kept moving... or was it a comet?
Carlos keened his eyes on the phenomena in awe. It looked like a whirring rainbow lit by lightning or something. All right, what did this sign mean? He should have asked for the answer to go with the mesmerizing spectacle that seemed to be moving closer and closer . . .
Oh, shit... it was headed his way!
He dodged what he thought was a fireball, hit the beach, covered his head, and waited for the explosion. Instead he heard laughter.
"Oh, my God, Carlos!" a very familiar female voice shouted.
He was on his feet in seconds looking at a beautiful, disheveled woman who'd come out of the sky in a blaze of sparks, half-naked, wearing scarves, hair all wild, eyes gorgeous but crazed, and walking in a circle clutching the Caduceus.
"Whooo!'' she exclaimed. "The drag coefficient on this golden rod ain't no joke, brother!"
"Damali?"
"Yeah, baby, lemme tell you what happened! It was wild!"
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY
I t was the most elaborate of dances, just like the old queens had shown her. The fantastic story she told on the beach had a foundation of pure truth, enhanced by exotic, graceful pivots and turns. Evasion was not done with malice, but from a solid place of love within her soul. None of what she told him was illusion as she peeled away onion-thin layers of his hurt, allowing each veil to flow over his ego and drop to the sand while she exposed herself to him bit by bit.
There was a family to maintain, crazy scientists still on their trail, men of knowledge without wisdom who had almost blown up the world. There were so many things out there that still went bump in the night. An almost-lover was still in another realm eating his heart out... but all of those problems could wait for another night to be resolved.
In all this mayhem that would probably never cease, she'd learned on this adventure that to fall on one's sword was not an act of weakness or surrender, but sometimes the most courageous thing one could do. She'd learned how to pull back, retreat, and live to fight another day-- something she'd never fully understood until now. She also understood from firsthand experience how her man had gotten himself into precarious situations, and would forever suspend judgment after all she'd been through. She'd definitely learned the power of an apology meant in earnest, and where the invisible border of the Land of Going