"Look around, baby," she said, extending her arm. "We were brought into the womb of where all creation began, up here . . . when I saw the meadow and the stream, the Twenty-third Psalm jumped into my head."
"It jumped into mine, too," he said quickly.
" 'Hepreparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. He anoints my head with oil, and my cup overflows.' "
" 'Surelygoodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,' " Carlos said, gathering Damali into his arms. "You heard it, too, at the same time as me?"
"Yeah.I did," she said, nodding. "It's a sign, a message."
"Okay, you've always been better at the info coming from the Light than me . . . I sorta had more skills on the other side of the coin, but you really think it's a direct message?"
"I do," she said, breaking their hug to step back and hold his hands. "I also think we should use this opportunity very wisely. I don't know about you, but, when I've come up to Neteru Council before, I never got this high up, this deep into their chamber system . . . I don't know if this is a part of that 'My Father's house has many mansions' thing, or what. But I know they brought us in deep this time."
"Okay, like, what should we do-what do you think we need to get in order while we're here? I'm down for whatever at this point, D, you know that."
"We should go outside, stand face-to-face, put our blades in the rich earth, drawing on the nature and booster from the water, and we should call the Archangels."
"Okay, baby, listen, let's not get too crazy-we don't wanna stay, just to say thanks for having our backs and for the great evening of R and R."
"The water is the river of life, which never stops flowing . . . in fact, I think we should take off our shoes, stand in the water . . . you know, wade in the water, thrust the blades into the fertile soil, and hard-down pray for everybody we love and the world at large . . . while we're up here."
Carlos dropped her hands and rubbed the nape of his neck. "We might accidentally get the real Boss on the conference call, you know . . . and I don't know if my scenario is ready to go before Him, boo . . . seriously. It's two of us that would be out there, and you know how they say, when two or more are gathered in His name . . . D, I don't know-you've got wings, I've still got a lotta bad boy in me plus fangs. What if there was a technicality and they find out, ooops, this one wasn't supposed to make the cut?"
She chuckled, but she also knew he was dead serious. "They would have gotten you by now, if you were supposed to get hotted by sunlight."
"It's not funny, D. I have some baggage that's way different than yours."
Her smile faded. "I want to call them to pray for Father Patrick . . . and Yonnie."
"Yonnie . . . you'd actually do that up here?" He walked away from her. "Father Pat I can see without question. And Yonnie is my boy, don't get me wrong, but I don't wanna see my wife smoked by a thunderbolt for asking for something outta order."
"What can be out of order about asking for a burden to be lifted from my husband's heart?"
He stared at her. She folded her arms.
"All right," he finally said. "We do this together."
It was easy to slip over the low balcony wall and hit the soft grass. It was so pristine that they agreed before the jump to not put on shoes. Cool, sweet green carpeted their footfalls and sprouted between their toes. Oddly, the living plants seemed to coo with pleasure and sent gentle pulsing waves of joy up through their feet.
"Whoa . . ." Damali murmured, holding Carlos's hand as they walked. "You feel that?"
"Yeah," he said quietly as he looked down, and stopped. "I thought I was tripping."
The fragrance coming up from the grass and flowers was nearly intoxicating, and the pungent smell of rich earth made one want to dig one's fingers into the dark, fertile silt just to bring it closer to one's face.
"This is so different than Nod," Carlos said quietly. "There was a pretty replica, but plastic by comparison."
"That's because here is alive," Damali said, closing her eyes and breathing in as they walked the short distance to the stream. "It resonates with life, life force, creation energy, and Divine intent." She turned and looked at him. "This is what it was originally supposed to be about. How can such a place be devoid of sensation or joy or abundance?"
"You can say that again," Carlos murmured, just thinking back on the previous night. He was so filled up with peace that for a moment he even had compassion for Cain . . . no wonder that brother had lost his mind. Then he censored himself, but Damali shook her head.
"The pleasure you feel coming from the grass is peace," she said, leading him by the hand to stand under the wide canopy of a tree she couldn't name. "It is also resonatinglove . The frequency of Heaven is Divine love. Here you can forgive anyone and anything, because you can see how separation from this, from the Divine, is what twists them into ugly behavior, into tragic beings."
He touched the bark of the ageless tree and then quickly drew his hand back, unsure. "It was in a joint like this where my brother, Adam, got in trouble because his wife said that everything would be cool . . . so, uh, I'm just taking it slow because I already know what I don't know. I'm not talking about your Queen or anything . . . I'm not casting aspersions in the least, but, uhmm, you sure we're even supposed to be near this tree, boo?"
"According to the way I read it, there was a command that was not followed. I think we can explore as long as no one says we can't. But the moment we hear an off-limits, do not walk on the grass, don't touch the tree, don't wade in the water, or eat the fruit, I'm out. Cool?"
"That's exactly what I'm talking about. For a minute, D, you had me worried, because, be honest, sometimes you don't listen to authority figures-and I have the same problem."