"She can have them, if she picks a regular guy... But the vamp that desires her'll perpetually hunt her - and the worst part is, he won't stop till he finds her. That's why we have to put this sucker down, permanently, so the girl can have a life."
Shabazz walked around his teammates, becoming frustrated at their lack of comprehension. "Don't you guys get it? Don't you read? Don't you know that the female being was always sacred? A strong woman, Neteru or not, can birth leaders of nations! She can be poor, of the humblest means, but her energy, her beliefs, her prayers, her values - what she teaches those that come from her can change history. The dark side is breaking our backs up here, compromising the strength of so many possible vessels of change!"
Shabazz held out his hands to the group, his words becoming more impassioned as he spoke. He walked in a circle, his arms sweeping now, as he tried to impart what he'd learned, what he'd witnessed.
"Gentlemen... from the great queens of the Nubian Empire - from Eve herself... she was made as the second prototype, after man, when the Heavens perfected the model. The human female was smarter, had more of the gifts from On High of mercy, compassion, understanding, love, trust, healing... wasn't warlike, and could produce life."
He opened up his arms and let his head fall back. "That's why she graced temples and was called a goddess - and then when evil had compromised enough men and gained a foothold, they erased her from the scriptures, from temple walls, and made her a second-class citizen - a breeder. That was not the divine design. But unprotected, no longer cherished, stripped of resources, the earth gift called woman becomes vulnerable - as do her children. More women and children reside in this poverty as the darkness hunts generation-by-generation, nation-by-nation, to find a weak vessel. They've been looking for a female Neteru for thousands of years."
Big Mike stood wide-legged, taking a battle stance. "The dark side knows this, the light weeps because of the abuse, and a woman's womb holds the possibility of nations, like our brother said - this is a serious matter. Shabazz, you are telling this group that for the first time in three millennia, since you and I did Kemet together, like Marlene's past life visions told us, we have a female Neteru to protect, and she could go down by a male vamp? Never. Not on my watch!"
"So, now, we're battling some horny Drac - "
"No, Rider!" Shabazz cut in, disgusted. "It's not just that. Damali is the first Neteru born that crosses two millennia since they made them. She's the strongest one the light has ever crafted! In the past, only a few females were made, because they posed such a risk - but after eons of the male vampire hunters being unable to protect a normal human female carrying a Neteru heir, and with this era being so in need of one, they cast Damali as the millennium bridge. The Covenant came to Marlene and gave her the word, that's how we located the girl after she was lost in the system for a while. We are to form a ring of protection: Damali in the middle, our core, then us, then the Covenant guards our back, the warrior angels guard theirs. This is serious, man!"
"Shabazz," Big Mike murmured, "she's young enough to have an heir every seven years, if I'm hearing you right, and that means four to five possible Neterus in her lifetime, flooding the new millennium."
Shabazz nodded and looked away, breathing hard. "For the Armageddon, brother. Damali, plus five, and the ultimate One who will come again from On High as a lion not a lamb - is six warriors of light, plus the Son, the Seventh, and ultimate warrior to lead during the twenty-first century."
"And, if she's compromised," J.L. whispered, "it can be six on the wrong side of the war, plus their top gun, who will remain nameless in this compound."
"I understand now why Marlene wants her to be able to discern who to be with, man. She's got five windows of vulnerability. Plus, she can't lose her confidence her first time out in this huntress transition, 'cause we might not always be here, or there may be a time when our guard post is breached like it was tonight, and she has to know how to pick up a false reading on her own." Jose blew out a long, weary whistle. "Marlene must be spazzing out."
"Daywalkers, Shabazz... what exactly can those things do, man? All joking aside," Rider whispered. "What are we up against if our girl makes the wrong choice?"
"Neteru crossed with vampire makes a daywalker. Topside chaos. All the dark powers of vampires, and all the evil, able to live on anything we eat, their preference for blood notwithstanding - with no daylight shield to protect us. Plus, we just learned that Nuit's line, the ones seeking Damali, are hybrid - mixed with revenge demons. I can't even fathom what that combo unleashed up here will do, brother."
"Shit..." Rider spit on the cement floor again, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and sat with a thud.
"Damn, man, we told you - give that nasty habit a rest." Jose pushed himself up and began looking at the table, rubbing his chin. "Daywalkers. If a brother and a sister were made, and connected... ?"
"A brother and sister? You have got to be kidding me! That's, that's eeeiiilll - yuck! God, we've gotta drive a few stakes very soon, fellas, 'cause the mating habits of vamps know no bounds!" Rider was on his feet again, and this time Big Mike didn't shove him to sit down.
"That's the deal," Shabazz sighed.
"Why do you think there were rumors about this being done in some of the lines within the old human dynasties? Hell, it happened in some of the Indian empires, and amongst the Incas, Mayans... the Romans and Egyptians, Europeans, Chinese - name an empire," J.L. said in a weary tone. "They all wanted to keep the bloodlines intact, in the family. Cousins, siblings - it was all about maintaining absolute power... topsiders trying to break this Rubik's Cube of DNA code, and a lot of the rulers from the vampire-human traitor ranks, empire leaders, have been trying to break this code since the dawn of time for the vamps. They were close to it, but didn't have both Neteru or guardian halves."
"Fucking genetic engineering the old-fashioned way." Rider sat again on his own accord and just simply shook his head.
"If it goes down, it'll be the beginning of the end of life as we know it," Shabazz whispered. "The daywalkers have eternal life, can reproduce indefinitely, as well as bite and transform a normal vamp to give it a viral immunity to sunlight... they can essentially bring all their nations topside, and the reigning sibling king and queen would be at the very top of the food chain, but still beholden to their father - the master vamp in their bloodline. Power unlimited. That's what Nuit is after, and he's about to open the gates of Hell on Damali's birthday, on five continents. Do you understand?"
"They've already found our Neteru, dude," J.L. said, his words stilling the group. "Probably figured out who she was when Raven saw Damali, in state, and - "
"Another reason why Marlene didn't want Damali out in the street battling so close to the time. What I can't figure out is why this compound isn't under siege as we speak? Rivera already got close and confirmed any hunch the vamps might have had."
"While we've got good security, J.L. - thanks to you, now we're sitting ducks. Before we were safe, because not even the phone company had an address, everything routed to the bogus location, and then switched here. We had the P.O. box; we drove in a different way each time. We've never sustained a breach. But they came right through our door. My question is, what, aside from UV light and our lockdown at the moment, is keeping them from trying to get in again?"
"Don't lose faith," Big Mike warned, his focus on Shabazz. "Beyond all technology stuff, that's our secret weapon. Faith. That's the first and last ring of defense - prayers."
"It's the alpha and the omega, buddy," Rider agreed, picking at the edge of the table as he spoke.
"You know, now that I think about it, it wouldn't have been to Raven's advantage to unseat her own reign," Shabazz said, trying to calm himself and restore confidence to the team. "The planetary alignment told the vamps, just like us, that a Neteru is on the earth, and that her time is near - but the planets never say where. Not to mention, we have every holy order in vigilant watch prepared for battle, knowing the time is near. Something went down. If Damali is so valuable, Raven wouldn't have tried to off her. Nuit wouldn't tolerate that. And, Rivera showed up in here and didn't attempt an abduction. Hmmm..."
"Problem is that at present, a lot of energy from the side of light is getting squandered while we duke it out topside with general-purpose chaos, instead of doing what the vamps just did - coming together and doing this thing united." J.L. raked his fingers through his hair and looked out the window.
"I know, J.L. We're losing good warriors daily who have been manipulated and compromised by the politics." The reality made Big Mike search out a stool and sit down heavily. "Doesn't make sense."
"True dat," Shabazz said in a far-off tone. "The head vamp has been searching for her in the chaos which covers his tracks, and the trail to find our hidden Neteru had to have led him to the one guardian, gone bad, that could have gotten close enough to her... that guardian would be in her head, she in his head... the chemicals connect at the soul level. I don't think that thing between them has ever been broken, plus, he's a born tracker, courageous fighter, master strategist."