In the darkness of her lair she watched through her inner vision. Her eyes narrowed to cruel, green-glowing slits. Pure jealousy sent her own claws into her palms. If she were free to move about... were she not shackled to a region... just one false step, just one mistake, and she'd have the young Neteru's head on a pike.
It wasn't fair; she'd been robbed. They didn't make Neterus like they used to. This one, from this era, was weak, had no sense of purpose. This one cried. This one believed she had the right to bear the Isis. This one had challenged two very eligible master vampires, and due to a fluke in cosmic law, won. That's why this lucky little bitch had to be dealt with soon. This one would not be allowed to ruin her plans!
Chapter Three
Marlene stood very still in the compound kitchen in silent meditation. She held onto the sink breathing slowly, watching the steel grates lift by timer just as dawn broke. She kept her eyes on the new rose-orange-hued horizon, and didn't turn when she felt a massive male presence at her back cast a shadow in the doorway.
Then she closed her eyes and waited. A pair of male feet would hit the hallway soon. She could feel the weight of the heavy heart coming toward her. The air got denser, literally thickened around her before she heard the first footfall. There was only one guardian in the house that she knew held such private pain. He had a black box around his emotions that was so hidden even she couldn't reach into it.
"Good morning, Rider," she murmured over a sip of mint tea without opening her eyes.
"Yeah," he grumbled and plopped down in a chair.
"You want some coffee?"
She didn't wait for the response as she heard the flask hit the table. Marlene simply went to the counter, and brought back a steaming mug as she came back to sit with Rider. She appraised the cloudy colors around him, noting that his aura had a roiling anger tingeing it. His normal turquoise and light earth tones were dark, smoldering, swirling furiously, and growing, unlike Mike's tight gray line. All of the guardians had gray in their auras now.
Rider's white T-shirt was so crummy and so raggedy that it might as well have been the same color as his beat-up, cut-off shorts - gray. Marlene let out a long, weary sigh.
He gave her a sheepish glance and unscrewed his flask. "Tryin' ta bite the snake that bit me," he said, pouring a healthy jigger into his mug, nearly overflowing it. He leaned over and slurped down the coffee and Jack Daniel's concoction without lifting the mug.
"Oh, shit, Mar," Rider said, taking another sip, making a noise like he was clearing his sinuses while he shut his eyes tightly, then he abandoned the mug and went straight for the flask. He turned it up to his mouth and winced when he pulled it away, swallowing hard. "Getting too old for this."
"I know, baby." Marlene covered his hand, then patted it before drawing it back to reach for her teacup.
"My boy, Jose, is all messed up. Got a newbie, Dan, that's totally battle-freaked - I mean, the kid's real first time out was in Hell... c'mon, Mar. Kid's got nightmares like he's been to 'Nam. The prep time to get these kids ready is spinning by us fast like an out-of-control top. Now, Damali? Our Neteru gets her heart ripped out in Hell? It ain't fair, Marlene, I'm telling you."
"I know. But she'll have to work through the anger and the grief on her own - just like everything else. We can't help her with that, all we can do is support and guide her, now that she's grown. Good people die every day. That's why we do what we do, to trim those numbers back."
"She's not going to get over this, Marlene." He looked at Marlene hard. "This ain't like when we lost the others."
"I know."
"That's all you can say, 'I know'?" Rider stood up and walked over to the sink to lean on it. "Big Mike's hearing is off, and the poor bastard doesn't even want to eat. He ain't about chasing tail with me... I couldn't even tempt him with a little day trip to New Orleans." Rider sighed hard and rubbed the gray-and-blond stubble on his jaw. "I tried to get Jose to ride with me, like old times, go watch a few ladies dance the poles..." He shook his head. "Young buck wouldn't even take the bait. Sits by Damali like a hurt puppy until she gets up and leaves, then waits till she gets back. It ain't healthy. Dan's scared to even leave the compound. That boy is young, he needs to get out before he snaps."
"I know."
"And Damali ain't far behind him. She comes in here every morning smelling like sulfur and demon innards - not like she's been out having fun." Rider pointed to his nose and glared at Marlene. "I may be old, and my nose may be off, but if she'd found a diversion, I'da smelled him on her. This shit ain't healthy. But she's probably afraid to risk being with an innocent, if there's still master vamps out there hunting her down. The child might as well be living in a convent, Marlene! And, who knows, after losing Rivera, she just might do that."
"I know."
"Will you stop with the 'I know,' Madame seer? What're we gonna do?"
"I don't know."
Rider took another chug from his flask. "Marlene, you are making me nuts this morning. I swear I don't know how Shabazz deals with it."
"I know," she said, chuckling. "Give everybody some time. We lost a guardian down there," she said, her voice growing quiet. "That's a hard loss. But she'll come around."
"No, Mar," Rider said, wiping his mouth with his forearm. "We lost our Neteru's soul mate. That's not a loss, that's a cosmic catastrophe."
"I know," she said very calmly, but very carefully. "How's your nose? You said it was off."
"Fucked up."
Marlene nodded. "And Mike's hearing?"
"Jacked." Rider pushed off the sink. "Jose's nose is, too. Dan can't shoot the broadside off a barn - his tactical senses are fried. JL, and I could always count on JL, but our little brother got caught counting cards and almost got iced at the casinos in Vegas... if JL can't do mental sleight of hand, then..."