his wish had also come true. She was standing before all eyes having to explain the deeply personal and very inexplicable sequence of events.
"I never called for anything negative, so Cain might actually be on our side," Damali said slowly, her gaze meeting Marlene's before going toward the window. Oddly, she was no longer worried that Carlos would die in a brawl. She sensed the entity that Carlos had rolled through the rip with had more discipline than that, given what was at stake. If Cain made the wrong choice, it stood to reason that his Neteru status would be immediately revoked, snatched, then he'd be sent into the lowest levels of the pit as a human, and with the Chairman gone... no.
The entity she'd just met was many things, but she didn't pick up on insanity. Why go to Hell, burn like a human, get your light stamped out and exterminated because you posed a threat from Dante's direct line to a throne versus the next Antichrist's pending rule on it, when you could do earth and stay in good stead? Level Seven had made that mistake once before by creating a premature monarch, and they wouldn't sloppily mess up like that again.
Plus, Cain had been thoroughly offended down to his core when she thought that was who he might be--she'd felt the bristle that wasn't an act. And he'd been honest in his own way, told her that if she knew his name she would jump to conclusions, which she would have. Even told her his mission, in a roundabout way, as well as his connection to Carlos. The man hadn't lied.
"Wild as this sounds," Damali said while the team quietly waited for her decisions, "he was very restrained when he first appeared, and was talking about trying to fulfill his mission of Light after reincarnating repeatedly and needing one last mission to get it right so he could ascend... but I was sorta making that difficult for him to keep focused."
As she spoke, the whole conversation reminded her of the way Car-los's turn had been broken to the team. She stood between them and him, forbidding a sudden execution so they could learn more, accomplish more, and they did. Damali sighed. The Light was working her overtime on this lesson. Cain had also told her if she didn't get it right the first time, the Light would repeat the lesson, harder each time, until she did. Had said he would spare her that traumatic experience if he could, but couldn't. Damali smiled a half-smile. This guy was a trip, and to be honest, she kinda liked his style. But what was the lesson?
The worry for Carlos's safety was getting further and further away in her mind. Instinctively she knew he was okay. The Light would protect him over in Nod, and would probably just kick his wayward butt with a lesson or two. The team could temporarily stand down. Not a full off-duty relax, but there was no need to panic. What was important now was finding out answers, understanding what the new mission entailed, and getting Carlos's behind back in the compound... why did she always have to pull him out of some mad-crazy situation?
Instant fatigue made Damali complete her instructions to the team in a weary tone. Suddenly she just needed a hot shower and to lie down. "Maybe Cain's mother's DNA is what's dominant in him, if he crossed over from my prayer--especially since he's sired normal kids in the past, regardless of his paternal link. Think about it. Strong Neteru versus strong demon, our side always wins, and the Light was all over him when he stepped through... Plus he was talking ascension and tried to keep his hands off me so he wouldn't get in trouble. Everything female and veteran huntress in me says if the guy was leaning vamp, trust me, you all might have walked in on a floor show." She sighed and shrugged, the exhaustion and adrenaline spikes taking their toll. "Maybe that's why Carlos isn't dead or busted up?"
The speakerphone was silent and so was the team.
"Well, the Chairman is ash, by your hand, I might add, and further down in his family tree would be unadvisable to consult, no matter how crazy you are, D. So, it's not like you can just waltz into Hell and ask his daddy or his granddad about his proclivities, to know for sure, can you?" Rider snapped sarcastically, the strain evidently