Eve chuckled. "I know. Your secrets are safe with me, sister."
"She fought to reclaim me," the Amazon said, attempting to come to Damali's defense and defuse the brewing quarrel amongst the queens.
"Loyalty is an asset," Nefertiti contended. "I will forgive the dress fiasco. But do understand if it happens again, I will cut out your heart, little sis. That was Egyptian linen. 'Zinga didn't deserve that." But her smile toward Damali was kind, and her gorgeous eyes contained so much mirth that no threat seemed imminent. She straightened her bronze midriff-baring gown and held Damali in a tender stare as her silvery symbol gleamed around her navel. "And you were ready to fight, while in so much physical and emotional pain. You've passed my test, baby. We just want you to be shrewd, is all."
Both women nodded, and Damali could almost hear her symbol whisper into her womb;Ntesie matemasie; I have heard it and kept it-the symbol of wisdom and knowledge linked them for a moment.
"She is young, like I was," a stunning blonde said, and her brilliant yellow gown swished as she stood. Her blue eyes held compassion as she peered at Damali. "My own people burned me at the stake for the visions I had, yet I never had the chance to live, to love, to learn to care so deeply. To love. That cannot be a crime."
Damali could only stare at the four hearts that made a floral pattern in the center of Joan's forehead where her third eye was. It all made so much sense that Damali wanted to weep. She could clearly see each of their symbols now. Yes,Nyame nwu na mawu; if God dies, then I may die, thus perpetual existence.
"Her heart is of ours," a tall Native American queen said, her jewel-green headdress sparkling as she spoke. The eagle feathers in it swayed hypnotically as Damali watched the silveryAya tattoo on the muscled part of her shoulder pulse. It was the symbol of the fern, but also the mark of defiance-simply stated, I am not afraid of you. "I remember trying to blend two worlds, standing as a bridge between conquerors and my people for the sake of peace... and for the sake of love. We shall not judge her harshly at this council. I, too, stand with our Amazon sister on this measure."
"But Nzinga is wise and has governed this council well," a queen with an elaborate Asian headdress said, the deep tangerine of her dress a startling contrast to the soft eloquence her voice held. "Before all things, she is a Neteru, and must always have the discipline as her foremost concern."
She bore the interlocking loops of two halves joined to make one, a symbol of hope, just over her heart, her symbol sending a chime resonance to Damali's ears-Birbi wo sow. Nyame birbi wo soro na ma embeka mensa;God there is something in the heavens, let it reach me. Damali almost covered her mouth to hold back a pending sob... the disrespect she'd shown, not to mention the craziness she'd gone through, and her own Sankofa had peeled away in Marlene's white bath when she'd temporarily turned into a vamp. Shame forced her to study the floor.
"Let her speak," a lean Aztec beauty said, her silver and turquoise presence so stunning that Damali almost looked away. Now Damali understood the royal peacock blue. The Aztec queen smoothed the thick rope of black braid over her shoulder. It was wrapped in a studded length of what appeared to be liquid silver and highly polished stones.
"You rule the throat chakra," Nzinga said with a smile. "Of course that would be your choice of action."
"I have led armies of men to defend my people, but never found myself..." The Asian queen's voice trailed off as she shook her head. "So compromised."
"And if you had met Ghengis Khan, in your era?" the Amazon said with a chuckle. "Ruthless bastard, but I heard very interesting rumors-"
"Enough!" Nzinga said, making a tent before her mouth with her hands. "We shall remain focused. My concern is that my protege, the one who says her prayers to me for guidance, and who leads men into battle at this tenuous hour, has not lost her way." She stood and walked behind the table, her long glowing robes cascading from the high throne adding color to the moving white opalescent light on the table. "My child. You carried his seed. A vampire...a...a...I cannot even say it. Willingly allowed yourself to take a vampiric bite. No fight, no battle-"
"Wait," Eve said, standing quickly. "I must interject on her behalf, my queen sister. As the eldest at this table, I can assure you taking his bite was from no simple lapse in judgment or discipline. Trust me when I say, I know the dilemma she faced, and if he was half as convincing as the one I dealt with, then we should allow this daughter to tell her side of it." Eve sat slowly and smiled as Nzinga begrudgingly returned to her seat. "Dear queen sister, they are very, very seductive. May you never find yourself tangling with a six-foot serpent between your legs."
"Complete truth," the Amazon said, her gaze locking with Damali's. "My mother-seer met the one that befell our daughter. Oh, man... he came as a panther. What can I say? Magnificent specimen." She glanced at Eve with a sly smile. "From what she showed me, I would have lost my sword, too, if he'd been willing."
Both women laughed and the others swallowed away knowing smiles. But all mirth dissipated as a purple haze rolled across the floor and a triangular window eclipsed the brightness of the rising sun within the other panes. Two massive white lions strolled out of the lit expansion, roared, and sat beside the empty throne. Each member of the council of Neterus glanced at Damali briefly with a solemn warning, then stood, turned to face the open pyramid, and bowed. Damali followed their lead as a stunning entity stepped across the threshold of the Light.
"Nuk ast au neheh ertai-nef tetta. Nuk pu Aset, Isis." The regal entity looked at Damali and translated. "Behold, I am the heir of eternity, everlastingness has been given to me. I am Aset, Isis." As she spoke, theMmra krado symbol, the seal of the law of supreme authority, on her throat flared deep purple. She waited until the council queens stood erect, her wise, almond-shaped eyes unreadable. On her forehead blazed a silvery sun marking ofNsoroma , a child of the heavens, the translation clear: A child of the Supreme Being, I do not depend on myself. My illumination is a reflection of The I Am. "I have been summoned, so I have come. Be seated."
"Behold, Queen Mother Aset, also known as Isis, first queen of Kemet, that had become known as Egypt. Our newest daughter has come before us with great challenges that threaten all we protect."
Aset nodded toward Nzinga and sat down, casting the Isis dagger and long blade on the table before her. Nzinga's eyes filled with alarm as she glanced at Damali and then Aset.
But the queen before her was so completely mesmerizing that for a moment, Damali forgot just how serious her predicament was. Aset's marble-smooth skin was the deepest ebony with red and copper tones beneath it, giving her skin the appearance of black porcelain fired to perfection. Her eyes literally drank Damali in. Their beauty contained so much knowledge that Damali wanted to look away, but could not. Her height was striking, yet her bone structure was as delicate as an Ibis bird's. Her hair was a glistening profusion of onyx-colored, perfectly symmetrical shoulder-length braids woven with what seemed to be living gold bands. Her throat was adorned with a wide golden collar that had an opening to allow her marking to be seen. Precious stones matching the chakra system were set in the collar, and hieroglyphics of the battles of the Neteru were etched across it. Long, kundalini golden snake bracelets covered her forearms with precious stones denoting the power points and meridians within the body energy system. Her gown was of sheer gold, showing her voluptuous nude form in relief beneath the shimmering fabric. Damali's voice became trapped in her throat.
"Queen daughter," Aset said. "I am distressed."
"Queen mother," Damali said, hoarsely. "I am so sorry." She bowed and wrapped her arms around herself. "There's so much that happened in such a short period of time. I never meant to shame you... or my mentor, Nzinga."
"You have not shamed us. You have shamed yourself." Aset let out a weary breath. "A possible daywalker?"
CHAPTER FIVE
"Queen mother, Carlos and I... what happened was-"
"I know what happened," Aset said and closed her eyes. Every woman at the table stopped breathing. "If you had only waited until he was brought forth from Darkness into the Light. Only a few months until his resurrection. How many of the forty-two laws of Ma'at have been violated as a result of your actions? Did your mother-seer not warn you?"
"Yes," Damali said quietly. "Please don't blame Marlene. It wasn't her fault."
"We cast no blame on a mother-seer who advises an adult Neteru who chooses not to listen. Our hearts encircle the mother, for she has sleepless nights, and gnashes her teeth and wrings her hands over the headstrong nature of the daughter she's charged to instruct!"
Aset stood, making the lions on both sides also stand, circle, grumble, and then lie back down at a simple look from her. She pointed at Nzinga. "My warrior sister has not rested since you willingly offered your throat." Aset clasped Nzinga's head as she bowed it. "Do you know how many times she flew to your aid, intervened, sat with Marlene to instruct your battle strategies, and finally was the one who had to sully herself to go into the earth to bring you through the violet door-at Marlene's request?" Aset swept away from her throne and stood behind Nzinga's. "You should be prostrate on this floor before my dear queen sister with thanks that she came to retrieve you! I may not have done the same."