"Marvelous, aren't they?"
"Un-fucking-believable," Carlos murmured, still shaken. And he'd thought Nuit's panther had been something.
Chapter Five
"Folks, we have us a real situation," Marlene said, but too calmly for the occasion as she sat down at the kitchen table.
"You ain't said a mumblin' word, Mar," Big Mike uttered on a long, tired breath. "You think the bedroom locks will hold?"
"I hope so," Marlene said, letting her head drop into her hands. "I'm just glad that she willingly went in there after she'd fed. I'm not worried about tonight - it's tomorrow night that concerns me."
"Yeah, but if the reinforced equipment that me and Jose installed fails," J.L. said slowly, "then what?"
"I honestly don't know," Marlene whispered.
"You don't think she'd bite anybody in here, do you, Mar? I mean..."
Marlene looked up at Jose, and cast a worried glance around the team. "You heard the man, and saw the transformation with your own eyes. Plus, we don't even know if Carlos's orders will hold up. This wasn't a normal vamp turn. We don't know to what degree she's beholden to follow his instructions. And if she fluxes hard, coming out of this vampiric state with her body chemistry all whacked out only to go into a full ripening - she's not the only one we have to worry about."
"He's coming back for her," Jose said in a quiet voice.
All eyes were on him as he hung his head. "I don't know why, but me and Carlos have a connection. I can feel where he's coming from... I wouldn't leave my woman, either, under the circumstances."
No one spoke for a moment as their thoughts went to the lost Dee Dee.
"Yeah, but Carlos saved a lot of lives, folks. That counts for something."
Marlene sighed as she studied the newest Guardian. "We like him a lot, too, Dan. But we have to also remember what he is."
Dan nodded. "But, Mar, check it out. Remember the old priest said that there had to be faith, hope, and love?"
"If she goes into a turn," Jose said, "I'll stay with her... I've got the faith, hope, and love for D. I'm not afraid of her."
"That was before dude did our little sister, man. Get a grip. Rivera is all vamp, so is Damali at the moment. No heroics, Jose." Rider crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Jose hard. "Don't be the weak link in this chain, brother. That gets us all f**ked up."
"The faith, hope, and love thing was supposed to be between li'l sis and Rivera to keep the bite from going down like it did," Big Mike told Jose gently. "Ain't no percentage in you putting yourself, or anybody in this compound, in harm's way by letting her out till we get her straight."
"I hear you, Big Mike," Dan said calmly. "But aren't we all out on a crazy limb as Guardians, anyway, with nothing to go on but a whole lotta faith, nothing but hope, and love for each other?"
Big Mike nodded and let his breath out hard. The group studied Dan while he spoke, his words of inspiration holding them all for ransom.
"Well," Dan pressed on, "she loved him, too. Still does. Maybe that's enough to keep her bound to her promise?"
"Kinda ironic, though, don't you think?" Rider said, his gaze going toward the sealed compound windows.
"How so?" Marlene gave him her full attention.
"She helps Rivera fight his worst enemy, Nuit, who was also her worst enemy. In exchange, her accidental brand saves Rivera's life. Then, he helps her fight the biggest battle of her life over in Brazil, an external force, only to wind up fighting the biggest internal battle she's ever had to deal with. Namely, turning into the same thing she's been fighting, while also trying to stay away from him, which is the other pull she's been fighting ever since she was a kid - just like he's been fighting going to her all these years. It's like one big circle of madness between them."
Rider raked his fingers through his hair. "I'm just a nose, not a tactical sensor, but the electricity was in the air. He wanted her throat real bad, but had respect. I'll give him that. I don't think he meant to turn her - or why else would he have brought her home?"
"Rider, sometimes you can be deep." Marlene smiled at him and covered his hand with her own.
"I try," he said sheepishly.
"You just gave me a wild thought, though." She sat back and then leaned forward on the table, making a tent with her hands. "The planets forecast it, but like all things, we can never truly know what they portend until the action starts."
When everyone looked at her, Marlene tilted her head and shut her eyes. "Mars came the closest it's been to the earth in sixty thousand years this past August. And all these cosmic events seem to happen around our girl's birthday and close to home." She paused, looked at the group, and let her words settle in before continuing. "Mars is the planet of war, and we've seen new and awful wars erupt everywhere on this planet during this transit. Just like before, I thought that only had to do with what we were up against in the Amazon."