radiated and remained before them on its own with them kneeling before it palms up.
"I call great Queen Eve, alone, for private counsel," Damali whispered.
The light throbbed. "Enter, my child, at my permission. It is Eve."
Marlene stood and backed away with a sigh. Damali stood and walked forward into the violet light.
Marlene wrapped her arms around herself. "Tell her I said hi."
Lemurs and colorful birds made the heavy cover of trees seem restless. Damali slowly walked through the humid, heavily green- swathed terrain, her gaze sweeping as she searched for Eve. She stopped at the edge of a large pool and glanced up at the thundering falls. When the great queen surfaced from the beneath the clear water, Damali stepped back and noticed the white sheath that was warming on a rock. Eve dropped her head back, smiled at the sun, wiped the water from her face, and began to wring out her braids.
"Oh, Queen Daughter, I so love Madagascar. It reminds me of home."
Eve sighed and walked to the rock, naked and unashamed--pure, natural sensuality oozing from her as Damali handed her the soft linen fabric. She pulled it over her head, shaking lose her long hair, her face radiant with natural beauty as she patted a spot beside her for Damali to sit.
As Damali tried to decide how to begin the difficult conversation, she was so glad that her mother-seer had insisted she shower, rinse her hair with clean rosemary and sage water, and anoint herself with myrrh before coming here. Just sitting near such majestic beauty made her feel so
very uninitiated to true elegance, even while wearing the light, white gauze blouse with flowing sleeves, billowing pants, and plain, flat gold sandals. She toyed with her silver ankh earring to divert nervous energy. Eve could make a plain sheath look like a million bucks.
"I am honored, daughter, that you have sought my private counsel and not Nzinga's. But why?"
"I am honored that you would have me visit you alone," Damali said, bowing her head and keeping total humility in her tone. "I mean no disrespect to Nzinga, she is warrior of warriors, huntress of huntresses, but this is a delicate matter that requires detente."
Eve chuckled. "Ah... and if it is about a male, why not consult Ne-fertiti? She is renowned for her most effective diplomacy with the other half. She bore six daughters in an attempt to offer her king a son, and did not--yet he loved her so that he remained faithful and did not seek to sire a male heir through taking other wives. She is your better counsel on that topic."
"No," Damali said, meeting Eve's merry eyes. "You were first, will always be first, and are the wisest on the council. I owe you deeply; just as the world owes you deeply for all that you put on the line for us. Thank you for that. I also thank you for guiding us to the Himalayas to find... a lair, before." Damali's eyes slid from Eve's with reverence, not ever wanting to mention the Chairman or hurt the elder queen with a reference to her old lover. "Therefore, I have come to you."
Eve clasped Damali's hand and swept it to her mouth to place a kiss of adoration on the back of it, accepting the compassion and respect Damali's tone held. "Tell me, child. What weighs your heart?"
"I said a prayer," Damali replied in a rush, her eyes seeking Eve's so furtively that all the merriment left Eve's eyes. The older queen squeezed Damali's hand tighter, which made Damali's grasp follow suit. "I was angry at my soul mate. He'd hurt me, had done abominable things... so I wanted a change, I thought. Wanted to teach him a lesson. The prayer was darkened by anger, and . . ."
Eve's eyes became wide as her free hand covered her heart. "You didn't slay him, did you?"
"No, no," Damali said quickly. "But I may have injured his spirit." Damali looked away. "In fact I'm sure of that, and I know forgiveness is a part of any relationship, but while under the influence, he took one of my Guardian sisters, and--" Eve snatched her hand away. "He did what?"
Damali stared at Eve as she stood, placed her hands on her hips, and tilted her regal head to the side. "And you didn't plant your Isis in his chest?" She made a hard tsking sound with her tongue and stormed back and forth for a moment before she