"The hole in the plane will suggest that most, if not all of us, got sucked out through the pressure-seal breaks. And, if you'll notice, courtesy Father Patrick's people, those two names, his and hers, are the only actual ones on the docs." He dug in his sack again and produced the visas for each person to inspect.
Dan waited until each person had looked at their documents and tucked them away into the folds of their robes, both stunned and satisfied.
"My face isn't recognizable, nor is my name," Dan added, "not like you guys who were in the band. Mar has me on the insurance paperwork as the second businessperson in command. It's a limited liability partnership that lives on even if one of the principals-our girl-goes down. So, I can settle the estate, long distance through faxes, or do it in person as the executor once we get home. The fire may be deemed an act of God, though. Therefore we might be assed out as far as a financial recovery from the loss of our compound. They may not settle the estate, either, for like a year, until the search for her has been legally concluded... just so you know. Which is really best, since we don't want to get caught up in any insurance-fraud backlash when girlfriend resurfaces. But for now, I can still manage the business, or draw on what we had in the banks. We have to have resources while-"
"The entire team stays undercover," Berkfield said, finishing Dan's sentence in a whisper. He glanced at the group that held the same awed expression and then looked at Dan.
"When did you notice the names weren't right?" Father Patrick whispered, making the other clerics come into a tighter huddle. "We didn't do that... our people didn't do that."
The group drew in closer and waited, their focus steady on Dan.
"It had to happen in the air," he whispered with a shrug. "It wasn't like that when we took off in Manila. That's all I know." He glanced around and allowed his line of vision to settle on Marlene. "You know how we've all been a little off... like how our gifts have been rusty, not working, right?"
Marlene nodded. "Yeah, baby. Talk to me."
"Ever since Rivera and Berkfield did their thing on everybody with you... and we sat by that lake, I've been getting my old hunches back, thinking clearer." He looked at Rider, then Jose. "How's your snozes?"
"My sinuses are killing me," Rider said, sharing a look with Jose, who nodded.
"Yeah, my point exactly," Dan said, his eyes wide with wonder. "And Mike began complaining of a headache from all the noise in the airport, the same way J.L. and Shabazz have been jumpy."
"And the way it resonated with me when Rider mentioned the Hilton," Marlene said quietly, looking off into the distance. "Our sensory gifts are slowly coming back." She looked at the four clerics who silently nodded their agreement.
"That's why I'm with Rider," Dan said, shuffling forward with the slow-moving line. "If we get to a place where we can really rest, take a load off, eat to replenish ourselves, get some clean water, maybe what we lost will come back."
"Whew," Rider whispered, letting his breath out hard. "This is deep enough to make even me consider wearing a clerical collar."
Damali reached across the small outdoor cafe table and covered Carlos's hand with her own. She watched him toy with a pair of her silver earrings, pushing them around with his forefinger on the rutted surface of the wood as he spoke. He'd told her so much; they had shared so much. Their gifts were so new and there was so much to celebrate. There was also a lot to dread, and her name was Lilith. But as he told her about what happened to his mother and grandmother, suddenly her lungs couldn't hold enough air.
"Baby... I'm so sorry. We have to figure out a way to go back immediately, and-"
"No," he said quietly, his gaze gentle. "I have time to go bury her proper. I'm making my peace with that. It's about patience."
She stared at him, not knowing what to say.
"I saw her," he murmured. "Saw all of them. They're in a better place, and this was part of the whole equation."
Damali tilted her head, not sure what he meant. Grief was stabbing her in the belly, making her breaths shallow.
"I can see them," he whispered, leaning in closer. "Oh, I will address what happened," he added, releasing her hold on his hand and sitting back in his chair. "Trust me on that. But right now, I'm cool. Like the old dudes said-seven days to get my head right and my spirit right. Seventy days to locate all my gifts and gather an army. Seven months to get those resources strong. Yeah. Always operate from a position of strength, baby. You know that. Problem is, with this axe hanging over our heads... with the egg. We can't let that happen on our watch." He briefly shut his eyes. "D, I'm so sorry, baby."
She nodded. "It wasn't your fault. We both didn't think... Next time, if there's-you know what I'm saying-we'll plan."
"Right. I know you're right." He looked at her. "You sure you feel okay, no aftereffects?"
"No," she said softly, and reached forward to clasp his hand to squeeze it tightly. "I'm good."
"Cool," he said, and then looked down at the table.
However, as she watched him glance away, unshed tears sparkling in his eyes as the muscle in his jaw pulsed, she knew he was anything but cool about any of what had gone down. She withdrew the two stones she had in her pocket and held them in her fist above the table before him. "Granite," she said, setting the small white stone down hard to draw his attention away from his pain. "Your spirit has to be impenetrable on the side of white Light. Now I know what this means." She next placed the clear quartz crystal beside it. "Your mind must be crystal clear-laser sharp." Damali paused to allow the information to sink in. "I'm to collect five more stones for a total of seven for you, and until you're healed, I'm not completely whole, either. We're partners. If you go down, I go down, and vice versa.Comprendo ?"
He smiled, although his expression was tense as the tears in his eyes receded and burned away. "We're both in rehab. Gotta relearn the old stuff, plus a bunch of new. I've got your back, and you've got mine-always was that way, girl."
She smiled, tension easing away from her shoulders. "Yeah," she said, covering his hands when he leaned forward. "You can bend light and conceal yourself. I can shape-shift into living natural creatures. Makes me able to hide, or get into small places to hear what I've gotta hear." She paused, struggling with the decision about whether or not to tell him about Raven, and decided not to go there. If he knew she'd try to hit council chambers, they'd be in a huge argument that they didn't need to get into right now.
"We can both travel in the Light bands, just in different ways. Just like these two stones, we just picked up two gifts," she said, covering her dilemma with a tender smile. "Your thirteenth gift and mine. A celebration is in order."
He leaned in closer. "True. That's deep." Carlos sighed. "All right. But what about weapons while we're rollin'?"