Chapter Ten
Damali pushed open the compound door, then locked it, and staggered down the hall. She couldn't even hold her blade steady, and she dragged Madame Isis behind her, scraping the tip of it along the concrete floor. She swayed in the doorway as her team yawned and looked up, and then dropped to her knees. Marlene held up her hand to stop the guardians - who had summarily abandoned their card game - to keep them from rushing toward her.
On her hands and knees from fatigue, Damali pushed herself up and slowly stood, picking up the heavy sword, weaving where she finally righted herself. "I woulda called," she said in a weary tone. "But - "
"We know, we know!" Rider snapped. "Something literally came up - "
JL hadn't even checked the monitors when she'd approached.
"Don't look at me, fellas," Marlene said, studying her cards. "We ain't got a single weapon in the house for this - and no, I do not have a cure."
Damali yawned as the steel gates began to lift to let in the sunlight. Out of reflex, she raised her forearm to shield her face from the rose-colored glare.
"Damn. Reminds me of New Orleans," Big Mike chuckled, glancing at Damali, and then shaking his head, slapped down a card. "Relax, y'all. The girl is going out. You know you can't do nuthin' 'bout mojo. It's the most powerful shit in the world."
"Don't go there, Mike," Shabazz said, slapping down a card over his. "This shit ain't funny. The girl's probably a quart low."
"Relax," Marlene said with a weary sigh. "She's protected and grown. I ain't got no thin' to say."
Rider tossed Damali his pair of sunglasses from his vest pocket. Too uncoordinated to catch them, they hit the floor with a clatter.
"Pitiful," Rider said, looking at the now-chipped glasses. "Reflexes are all off... just outrageous. I paid seventy-five bucks for those."
"And, how's our boy?" Marlene said, unperturbed.
"He went home," Damali said through another yawn, and headed toward the kitchen. Damn... what a night.
"This is a full-scale crash and burn," Father Patrick said, shaking his head.
"You do know, Father, that the monastery has asked if we're harboring more than one illegal vampire. They are becoming concerned about the donations... after all, we cannot continue to feed him at this rate, if, well, if his present activity level continues." Monk Lin's nervous glance darted around the group that studied the body in the middle of the cabin floor.
"I know," Father Patrick admitted, glancing at his team, then down at the floor. He stooped where Carlos had fallen through the door to touch his shoulder, noting the fingernail marks that had scored his skin and where his T-shirt was ripped. "We'll figure it out later. Right now, just get him down into his lair."
"He'll be in no condition to deal with Brazil."
Father Patrick nodded at Padre Lopez's comment.
"Okay, that's it," Marlene said, her hands on her hips. "Enough! We've got work to do on this concert tour you've had Dan try to set up - and you haven't even been home or awake long enough to decide on which contracts you want him to sign, what venues you want to do first... chile, I swear! You're in no condition to travel anywhere to fight anything, and haven't worked on a single routine in over ten days."
Guilt swept through Damali, but she was still going out. Okay, so she'd taken ten days to block out the world and to claim a little happiness for herself, and yeah, she wasn't on point, wasn't on the job. But she was only human, and this thing with her and Carlos was new and white-hot.
However, Marlene's glare wasn't one of judgment, just defeat. It slowly made her think about all the things she'd promised herself after she left Inez's. Plus, there was something else in Marlene's eyes that she couldn't put her finger on.
Conflicting emotions battled within her. Marlene was right. True, the world needed a champion. But, damn, did it have to be tonight?
Marlene looked away and ran her fingers through her locks, then glanced up at the ceiling. So help me Father, I wanna slap her. She drew in a steadying breath and closed her eyes, then focused on the threat that Damali was still oblivious to. All right, she wouldn't slap the child's face with that information, and would give her a few more days of peace to get it together. No more innocents would be killed until the next full moon. Had to be demons, vamps had to feed nightly. But it was patently clear that, if Damali was so scattered, she had to pull her thing together on her own in order to be in mental condition to fight. "The fellas are worried, if we're going to a foreign country somewhere to do battle. Everybody's head has to be on straight."
"Yeah, but we've laid down all the new CD cuts, and wherever we finally sign for venues will be cool," Damali said quietly, hoping that Marlene wouldn't make her feel worst than she already did. What was Mar so worried about, anyway? She wouldn't turn, Carlos was fine... it was all good.
Damali tried to steady her hand as she put on her lip gloss in the bathroom mirror, mentally fending off Marlene's words. Just a few more nights, Lord... that's all she needed. Marlene just didn't understand. There was no such thing as the word "no" when it came to this Carlos-thing that gripped her.
"There's nothing I can say to get through to you, is there?" Marlene sighed. The poor chile was still so blind. Something was blocking her third eye - love. All she could see was Carlos, and was seriously off her job. But having been there, too, there was no judgment, just sheer frustration.
Damali set her lip gloss down and looked at Marlene.
"I'm crazy about him, Mar."
Marlene sighed again and leaned against the door frame. "I know. Heaven help me, but I know." Please, Heaven, let this child wake up.