he hadn't said a word when J.L. stood close to the reservation desk next to Dan, and mysteriously the comput ers found reservations for nine VIP suites. The fellas just shrugged with too-wide grins, and she made a mental note to tell Dan to somehow make quiet restitution with the estab lishment so they could make their soon-to-be highly incon
venienced guests whole. She suspected that the mansion they were seeking might have similar results - people oh so willing to sell the ideal place that they might not have even been considering leaving, and at a reasonable price. Damali sighed as the concierge came over, eager to help, and began handing out keys. She'd beg forgiveness later. Yeah, but, D, think of it this way, Marlene said in a mental chuckle. We're saving the world, so some VIP benefits come with insane membership into this club ... a little courtesy, ya know?
Damali smiled and rolled her eyes good-naturedly. Just make sure Dan hooks those folks up some kinda way, please.
From the corner of her eye, she spied Carlos smoothly mind-stun guests and workers in the lobby for a second and then slip next to the bellman's area with two large luggage dollies filled with the team's gear. He held up her necklace to her with a sly smile and then tossed it to her as she neared him. Laughing, she caught it with one hand, glad that the old him was gradually coming back.
* * *
lilith walked into the midnight clearing, her long Vampire Chairwoman robes softly swishing over the dried grass and leaves in a light rustle. Pleased, she dipped her finger into Sebastian's deadly concoction and pulled out a dripping, oozing glob that she summarily popped into her mouth. The ecstasy spread over her face as she closed her eyes and murmured, "Excellent... Your best batch ever, I believe, Sebastian." With a cluck of her forked tongue, she called her pets to her robe hem. "Release it underground into the sea from Hell."
Bats in the barren trees squeaked in delight as barrel-chested Harpies opened a small cavern in the earth, grabbed the cauldron by its huge round handles, and dragged it into the pit.
Lilith looked at Sebastian and folded her arms. "I guess you've earned your keep, if this works." "It will - "
Sebastian's words caught in his throat as he ducked and an Amazon battle-ax whizzed through the air, narrowly missing him but beheading Medusa. Black blood spewed everywhere as Medusa's hands futilely clutched her head less throat. Her hair began to flame with screaming serpents while her head spun wildly on the ground like a top out of
control.
An Amazon war cry fused with screeches from demon bats, Harpies, and the assembled witches and warlocks to shatter the night. White-light arrows shot into the darkness, torching anything they connected with, and coming at the dark coven out of the unseen void. Black bolts whirred out into the nothingness like tracers, with witches and war
locks taking shelter behind trees and black charged shields, trying to get a directional bead on their attacker. Lilith had instantly transformed into her battle demon form, her huge leathery wings and spaded tail slicing at the darkness as her fangs lengthened and talons presented.
Lilith was off the ground, going airborne when another female warrior voice, an all-toofamiliar voice, made her rum to glimpse over her shoulder. Then her body jerked, and Lilith released a furious screech. Out of the void stepped Eve with two Isis daggers that she quickly stabbed onto Lilith's tail to create leverage and, using strength that was unexpected, yanked Lilith out of the air, swung her hard, and made her collide with a tree. The tree groaned, leaned, and snapped, forcing Siren and Jezebel to run in the opening. Nzinga was on Siren in a heartbeat, releasing a razor-edged boomerang that took Siren's head off before she could open her mouth to scream. "My son?" Eve hollered, advancing on Lilith, while Nzinga and Penthesileia kept the others at bay. Eve released a battle cry that made lightning whiten the sky for several seconds, blinding the coven. 'Tonight is our night to finish it!"
As Lilith flipped up, Eve opened her hand and Madame Isis filled it. Genghis sent a powerful black bolt into Eve's back, causing her to fall as he advanced on her with chain and mace. With a two-handed blow she severed his weapon, eyes wild, causing him to fall back. Lilith flew up for an aerial attack, drawing a funnel cloud of enraged Harpies and bats with her as she yanked the daggers from her tail and flung them at Nzinga and the Amazon Neteru.
The Amazon caught one of the blades and flung it side ways at Machiavelli, who was quickly advancing with a saber - catching him in the liver. He recoiled, holding the wound, stumbling back with electric charges sparking wildly from his right hand. But he stumbled into Nzinga's grasp - who had dropped to one knee, caught the other dag ger, and promptly grabbed his long wavy hair to yank his head back and slit his throat. Just as suddenly, Eve had Genghis on the ground, Isis dagger over his heart. He sent a black charge into the Isis to deflect it, only to see Eve's eyes go to black glowing slits for a moment as her sword drank in his dark current and then ejected as pure white light, exploding his body beneath her.
Lilith shrieked in the air at the sight of Eve walking out of Genghis's embers. Whirling on Jezebel and Sebastian as they tried to escape, both Nzinga and her Amazon sister chased them and cornered them in a stand of trees at the edge of a ravine, while Eve ran after Lilith, lobbing white-hot death bolts at her from the Isis.
Backing off the cliff, Sebastian tumbled into a free fall, while Jezebel used the diversion to open a slit in the dirt to disappear. Frustrated, both Neteru Queens turned on the aerial battle Eve was waging with Lilith, deflecting any bolts aimed at their sister and drawing the funnel cloud toward them.
Instantly swarmed, both Neteru Queens locked elbows to gether and ran in a circle of ever increasing speed, battle-ax and boomerang edge extended until they were a blue
white blur that collided with Harpies and bats. The collision be tween the funnel cloud and the Neteru energy whirl was bru tal, tossing out gray and black mutilated demon carcasses in sparking cinders, breaking the cloud's momentum. Injured and straggling Harpies attempted to get away, and seeing her self outnumbered, Lilith opened a yawning cavern in the ground and dove for the safety of the pit.
Eve's rage was white-hot, and the first Neteru summoned the natural trees to her advantage, lighting them with scream ing Neteru fury. She rammed the Isis into the earth and then opened her arms and threw back her head.
"What was mine had thrice been taken - my husband's peace, and two of my sons' lives. I demand recompense, Lilith! Fry, bitch!"
Fury made Eve's Kemetian braids rise from her shoul ders as her fingers spread, with arms outstretched, causing the huge ropes of underground roots to quickly grow and then knit together in what appeared to be a blue-white spi der web blocking the cavern. Lilith was moving too fast to stop, momentum had become her enemy. The massive tree roots lit just as she tumbled into their giant network to be come hopelessly snared. Screeching and twisting in agony as the white light elec trocuted her, Eve didn't miss a beat. Yanking the Isis from the ground as her sister Neterus joined her at the cavern's opening, Eve leapt over the edge onto the root network, scaling it with blade raised to get to Lilith.
Nzinga and Penthesileia guarded their sister as she per ilously advanced, a bleating war cry in their throats the mo ment Eve put her foot on Lilith's chest, raised the Isis, and plunged.
But something stronger and darker than Eve had ever felt ripped Lilith through the roots, forcing her to lose her balance tumble into the abyss behind her. Frantic, Nzinga and Penthesileia immediately put their hands together, drawing an energy line between them that Nzinga drew into her fist and hurled over the edge, yelling Eve's name. Swinging doubled-hand swipes blind, going down like a rocket, Eve sliced at unseen demons and scythe-bearers, backing them away from her hurling form. Lit tree roots held the slowly closing cavern open just enough for Eve to look up at the incoming Light beam. Demons that tried to grab it or attack it, fried. Still, she was hurtling too fast to catch onto it. But the intelligence within all Light dropped it down beneath her and then wrapped around her, slowing her descent so as not to snap her back, and then quickly pulled her up in the opposite direction.
She landed at the edge of the pit in the arms of her pan icked Neteru Queen sisters, but the frustration of nearly conquering Lilith had put blood in her eyes. Holding the Isis blade like a cannon, Eve shot power pulses of Light into the yawning pit behind Lilith, screaming invectives that made the moon shudder.
"You whore! I will rip out your womb myself, for all you've done! I will visit a plague of Light upon your filthy throne and hand-carve my name into the top of it, you bitch!" Silver tears of fury streamed down Eve's face as cin ders from exploding demons and sulfuric ash belched up from the earth.
But a slow, ominous rumbling made the Queens fall back, and within seconds the blackness that flowed over the edge of the open pit was so dense that the lit tree roots sizzled to charred black and fell away. Legions of scythe-bearers poured over the edge. Undaunted, Eve clasped Nzinga's hand and Nzinga clasped Penthesileia's hand, forming a
trinity around the Isis. Violet pyramids opened on their foreheads, a blue-white bolt of shared purpose connecting them that quickly ran through their bodies as though they were ground wires, hit the blade, entered the dark earth, and sent a fast-moving white carpet of nova-energy to fan out from them. Demons melted, dying screaming, only billow ing sulfur remaining. Then it went quiet, so still, that the Neteru Queens didn't move. A low, warning snarl echoed up as the ground snapped shut.
Eve's eyes narrowed as she looked at her sisters. "This time her husband came. We must warn Adam and the oth ers."
* * *